Kevin Jones and Truck Bryant: By The Numbers - End of 2011-12 Regular Season Update

End of the regular season for WVU Seniors Kevin Jones and Truck Bryant. Pictured slow dancing together. Truck going in for the kiss. [Photo from BlueGoldNews.com]


The Mountaineers finished off the regular season with a much-needed win at South Florida, yesterday and even though it was a low-scoring affair, it still produced a bump in the career stats for the two senior WVU players.

I have enjoyed watching both KJ and Truck compete at WVU and wish them nothing but the best in whatever they do after their time in Morgantown. Hopefully, they still have several more victories in them and can lead us on nice runs in the post-season tournaments.

I know stats aren't always super exciting but I think once you look at the stats/records these two guys put while wearing the Mountaineer uniform you'll appreciate BOTH of them even more. Enjoy and Let's Go Mountaineers!!

Kevin "KJ" Jones:

Let's start with the man that SHOULD (and hopefully will) be the Big East Player of the Year...Kevin Jones.

KJ running off the court. [Photo from my sister]

Kevin finished off the regular season strong with outputs of 22 points (DePaul) and 18 (USF). All combined Kevin has accumulated 619 points thus far in the 2011-12 campaign, for a season scoring average of just about 20 points/game (19.97 if you want to get technical). Another interesting stat about Kevin's point production for the season is that he not only scored in double figures in EVERY game of the season, but he never scored less than 12 points in a game. Kevin also had 20 double-double performances this season, alone. Pretty impressive stuff right there.

For his career that gives Kevin a total of 1,784 career points at WVU...that currently ranks 1 point behind Rod Thorn (1,785) for 6th place on the all-time scoring list (at WVU). He is also just 13 points behind Greg Jones (1,797) for 5th. He, obviously, should be able to pass both of those guys relatively easily considering we should have AT LEAST two games remaining, if not more. It's a bit of a stretch to go higher but he is 66 points away from Wil Robinson (1,850) and 4th place. So if WVU plays just 2 more games he'd have to average 33/game, if we play 3 games he'd have to average 22/game and so on. Not out of the realm of possibilities, but it doesn't matter much considering he'll be in the top 5 by scoring just 14 points in the next 2 games (since you have at least 1 Big East Tournament game and 1 NCAA Tournament game left).

Of course we all know the top three of 3rd place DaSean Butler (2,095), 2nd place Hot Rod Hundley (2,180) and of course the all-time leading scorer, Jerry West (2,309). But as you can see those aren't happening unless WVU goes on a tear and wins the Big East Tournament or NCAA Tournament.

But anyway, back to KJ's impressive numbers...

So as we sit here he's on the verge of 6th place on the career scoring list at WVU. That's pretty impressive all by itself. But you really start to see just how great a career KJ has had at WVU once you start looking at the other statistical categories in which he has racked up the numbers.

KJ getting excited during the Capital Classic in Charleston. [Photo from BlueGoldNews.com]

Kevin "KJ" Jones career statistics (thru the USF game - end of 2011-12 regular season):
Career Points: 1,784 (7th all-time at WVU)
Career Rebounds: 1,034 (4th)
Career Offensive Rebounds: 443 (1st)*
Career Blocked Shots: 108 (9th)
Career Minutes Played: 4,263 (2nd)
Career Games Played: 137 (6th)
Career Games Started: 102 (13th)**
Career Double-Doubles: 32 (T-7th w/Hot Rod Hundley)
Career 20 Point Games: 22 (T-16th w/Damian Owens)
Single Season Double-Doubles: 20 in 2011-12 season (6th)
Single Season 20 Point Games: 18 in 2011-12 season (9th)
Single Season Total Points: 619 points in 2011-12 season (14th)
Single Season Total Field Goals Made: 245 in 2011-12 season (9th)
Single Season Total Offensive Rebounds: 135 in 2009-10 (1st), 134 in 2011-12 (2nd) and 108 in 2010-11 (4th)
Single Season Total Blocked Shots: 34 in 2009-10 (23rd) and 33 in 2011-12 (24th)

* Denotes a stat that wasn't recorded until much later in WVU basketball history so it's hard to really gauge this one compared to Jerry West, etc. Kevin is the record holder, obviously, but just wanted to point out that the stat hasn't always existed or wasn't recorded as anything other than a normal rebound until long after Jerry West was out of Morgantown.

** Others ahead of him in career starts (but lower in career points) are Kevin Pittsnogle, Alex Ruoff, Truck Bryant, J.D. Collins and Joe Herber - just to name a few that have played within the past decade (there are more if you go back further), to help put things into perspective.

Other career high (in a single game) stats for KJ:
Points in a game: 30 vs Kansas State (Dec 2011)
Field Goals Made (Game): 13 vs Alcorn State (Nov 2011) and Baylor (Dec 2011)
Field Goals Attempted (Game): 22 vs VMI (Nov 2010)
3pt FG Made (Game): 3 vs Seton Hall (Dec 2009), Cincinnati (Feb 2010), Washington (March 2010), Kentucky (March 2010), St. John's (Dec 2010), Marquette (March 2011), Clemson (March 2011), Alcorn State (Nov 2011), Seton Hall (Dec 2011), Connecticut (Jan 2012), Marshall (Jan 2012) and Louisville (Feb 2012)
3pt FG Attempted (Game): 8 vs St. John's (Dec 2010), Alcorn State (Nov 2011) and Connecticut (Jan 2012)
Free Throws Made (Game): 8 vs Coppin State (Dec 2009)
Free Throws Attempted (Game): 14 vs Coppin State (Dec 2009)
Rebounds (Game): 18 vs Kent State (Nov 2011)
Offensive Rebounds (Game): 11 vs Louisville (March 2011)
Assists (Game): 6 vs St. John's (Dec 2010)
Steals (Game): 3 vs DePaul (March 2009), Duquesne (Dec 2009), Coppin State (Dec 2009) and Oakland (Nov 2010)
Blocked Shots (Game): 4 vs Ohio State (Jan 2010)
Turnovers (Game): 4 vs VMI (Nov 2010)
Minutes Played (Game): 51 vs Pitt (Feb 2010)




Darryl "Truck" Bryant:

Truck dribbling up the court with his gold/yellow shoes. [Don't remember where I found this photo. So it's either BlueGoldNews.com or WVIllustrated.com]


And so that brings me to Truck's stats at WVU. I know a lot of people complain about Truck but he put up pretty impressive numbers nonetheless. Truck currently sits at #14 on the WVU career scoring list. He is 55 points behind Damian Owens (1,616) for 13th place so I there's a chance he could get to that if WVU plays more than just 2 post-season games. If WVU only plays 2 games he'd need to average 27.5 ppg - and if he was doing that I'd assume we're winning games and continuing on in March. But you see where I'm going so back to the stats. Here they are...

Darryl "Truck" Bryant's career statistics (thru the USF game - end of 2011-12 regular season):
Career Points: 1,561 (14th all-time at WVU)
Career Minutes: 3,745 (6th)
Career Games Played: 133 (7th)
Career Games Started: 121 (T-2nd w/J.D. Collins)
Career 20 Point Games: 16 (T-29th w/Lee Patrone, Dale Blaney and Chris Moss)
Career Assists: 387 (10th)
Career Steal: 114 (22nd)
Season Free Throws Made: 161 in 2011-12 season (14th)

Truck enjoying the game. [Photo from my sister]

Other career high (in a single game) stats for Truck:
Points (Game): 34 vs Villanova (Dec 2011)
Field Goals Made (Game): 12 vs Villanova (Dec 2011)
Field Goals Attempted (Game): 23 vs Villanova (Dec 2011)
3pt Field Goals Made (Game): 5 vs Miami (Dec 2011), Providence (Feb 2012), Marquette (Feb 2012)
3pt Field Goals Attempted (Game): 12 vs Providence (Feb 2012)
Free Throws Made (Game): 12 vs DePaul (Feb 2012) and South Florida (Feb 2012)
Free Throws Attempted (Game): 16 vs DePaul (Feb 2012)
Rebounds (Game): 8 vs Providence (Jan 2011)
Offensive Rebounds (Game): 6 vs Pitt (Feb 2012)
Assists (Game): 8 vs Notre Dame (Feb 2012)
Steals (Game): 5 vs Louisville (Jan 2010)
Blocked Shots (Game): 1 vs Providence (Feb 2009), Marquette (Dec 2009), Villanova (Dec 2011) and Georgetown (Jan 2012)
Turnovers (Game): 6 vs DePaul (Jan 2011), Kent State (Nov 2011) and Missouri State (Dec 2011)
Minutes Played (Game): 50 vs Kansas State (Dec 2011)

KJ and Truck goofing off after the Rutgers at WVU game. [Photo from my sister]

I'm sure I'll go back and update as many of these stats as I can after the season is officially over, but just thought I'd pass them along to any of you that would like to read them.

Thanks for reading!! Feel free to comment, if you'd like. Let me know if you believe Kevin Jones will win Big East Player of the Year...and if not, who will?

Back and rambling

Took a little time away from the blog and computer. Obviously, I missed posting about a few things, but you probably know all of that stuff, by now.

I'm going to ramble now so try to stay with me, the best you can...

WVU vs the Big East is over. WVU will be a member of the Big 12 starting in July. This came as no surprise to those at WVU that challenged to get out of the Big East early and claimed they would be out in time for the 2012-13 season. Mission accomplished. WVU has to pay a lot of money but given the amount of money they'll receive from the Big 12 TV contract I'm sure they see it as an investment to get out the way they did.

To be totally fair, the Big East was a pretty good home for WVU, for the time WVU was in it. I had some issues with it, but I'm sure I'll have some issues with the Big 12 as well. The football conference may have been "weak" by national perception but we still ended up getting to 3 BCS Bowls from the conference (and won more, ourselves, than the entire ACC). But sometimes change is a good thing and given that the Big East, for years, has given too much power/influence to schools that don't play football in the conference (despite football being the obvious money-maker) and not enough power/influence to teams that did play football in the conference - it's probably best WVU and the Big East part ways.

A lot of people are complaining about the lack of (Big 12) conference teams in the surrounding areas of West Virginia. I get that, but let's get with this century. Regional teams aren't as important in the current structure of college football. College football is a business now, not a cute sport where you play your neighbors...just because you have for 50+ years or because they're nearby. Travel is so easy now that teams crisscross the country every weekend. Because of it's a business you now compete to make the most money (which includes having the best facilities, paying coaches, etc), not to beat that team down the road. And in reality is that so bad?

College football changed a lot when they instituted scholarship limits. It changed a lot with the BCS. The BCS title game gave us the #1 vs #2 team each year (at least according to some super computer). And the BCS bowl games gave opportunities for others to shine on a national stage (while collecting a BIG pay day). Of course from there everyone would like to see some sort of playoff happen next. The most likely scenario is the "plus one" model and I figure that will come about within the next 5 years. But the point is that college football continues to evolve or grow. And if you consider the ever growing TV ratings, season ticket sales, merchandise sales and so on it's obvious where this is all heading.

As it continues to grow you have people arguing that college (student) athletes should be paid, on top of getting a FREE college education. But if you start paying student-athletes where does the money come from...and maybe more importantly where does it end after that? If you start paying these athletes $500 a month then won't you have to pay them $1000 a month in a few years? And if we start paying athletes how are they called 'amateurs' anymore? Why not just get rid of the education aspect and make college athletics into a minor league for all sports?

I'm rambling off topic, but the point is still the same. The way college sports (football especially) are headed each team needs all the money it can make. If the NCAA allows for a stipend to players then the school has to find a way to provide it to every scholarship player. Do you really think a small stipend means anything to a big program like Alabama? Nope, just a drop in the bucket. They'll find the money. But can the same be said for smaller programs? Of course not. Do you think a team in a conference that pays each member institution 1/4th as much as power conferences in TV revenue monies can afford to pay each player that stipend? That's going to be pushing it. And if that's pushing it then are you not creating a wider gap between the have's (Alabama, etc) and the have not's (any non BCS conference team)? Absolutely you are. Maybe the easiest answer is that the NCAA just allows players to have jobs...you know like the rest of America does to find ways to get through college. But that's asking a lot...apparently.

So what's happening is college football (primarily) is driving all of this and they're driving towards the dollar signs. In WVU's case they could sit still in the Big East and get around seven or eight million a year from television revenue or they could go to the Big 12 that will pay them at least double that, annually. Now, if you're presented with job A and job B and job B pays you more than double of job A aren't you more often than not going to choose job B? You would if your job was as competitive as the college football landscape is. WVU moved to the Big 12 so it could make more money and play a better schedule. The money WVU makes will go to fund athletic improvements that will continue to grow the WVU brand. The schedule will challenge WVU's athletic teams to get better. The teams will need better players and better players are attracted to successful programs that have the best facilities and play tough schedules. See where I'm going? So while the added prestige of the conference is a great addition, it's really all about funding (or money, if you prefer that) and WVU will get a lot more of that just from the TV contract revenues alone in the Big 12 to more than justify the move.

And let's not go all crazy here about losing the Pitt game. Pitt announced they were leaving the Big East prior to WVU so there's a good chance that had WVU stayed in the Big East and Pitt left for the ACC you'd lose the rivalry game just the same only a year or two later than it's happening now. So let's not pin all the "losing rivalries" thing on WVU going to the Big 12 when both schools are moving on to do what's best for them. The ACC repetitively has said it doesn't want WVU so WVU had to go somewhere and it ended up in the Big 12 (easily a better football conference). With the moves to different conferences where each team will have MORE conference games a year, it's asking a whole lot to demand to keep a game like that every year. In the Big East we had only 7 conference games - meaning we had room for a ridiculous 5 non-conference games a year. In the Big 12 we'll have 9 conference games meaning we will only have room for 3 non-conference games a year. Going back to the money angle anyone that's paying attention knows you play a warm-up game at the beginning of the season, typically against a lower division school, because they'll ALWAYS play at your place and it's virtually a guaranteed win. Home games make you more money so playing those games against lower division schools are good money-making opportunities. Of course if the NCAA allowed an exhibition game or two, you could get rid of those pay day games, but that's another topic for another day.

Back to the Pitt game...in reality does that game mean as much when you aren't in the same conference? When you don't have to go through the other school for a championship? If you're honest the answer is no. Are you surviving without Penn State on the schedule? Yep. Without VT (which I actually argue is a "better" rivalry game - at least within the last 15 years - for WVU)? Yep. You'll survive without Pitt every year. Plus, why is that so important to everyone? Because it sells out? Because WVU fans get such a kick out of the "Eat Sh!t Pitt" cheer? Beyond that what does that game add for WVU? Pitt (and their fanbase) haven't taken football seriously since Dan Marino left. So losing Pitt and replacing them with Texas and Oklahoma sounds like a pretty good trade-off to me. You can't tell me with a straight face that those games in Morgantown won't sell out every year. If if our fickle fans don't show up Texas and OU fans will. Then again, the last time or two that Miami came to Morgantown (and at least one of those times they were a top 3 team in the nation) it wasn't a sell-out so maybe I'm giving the fanbase too much credit.

We'll be fine without Pitt, as long as you don't sit at home and cry about not having Pitt on the schedule. I honestly saw 5-6 people post on the WVU Football Facebook page that they thought the 2012 football schedule "sucks." WHAT??? So in their minds playing a Big East schedule that got us ridiculed year-in and year-out is a good schedule but bringing Oklahoma to Morgantown "sucks" -- apparently I missed the new definition of what "sucks" because that makes no sense. And come on, you and I both know they'll put Pitt on the schedule as often as they can - if for no other reason than to fill the spot to keep Marshall off of the schedule. And let's be honest here...a Big 12 schedule gives us a lot more credibility nationally. So much so that we'll be able to have a choice of who to schedule in those 3 open non-conference games a year...instead of having to play the Marshalls of the world just to fill an open spot on the schedule. So one thing being thrown around is that WVU will have an alternating schedule between Pitt and Maryland where they play one year 1, the other year 2 and continue to rotate it like that. That's just one option. But the point is you need to worry less about if Pitt or Rutgers or Syracuse (or whichever team) is on the schedule and worry more about the insane quality of football we're about to experience in the new conference. And to do well in said tougher conference we're going to have to support the team even more. No more non-sellouts just because it's a team you don't care about. I don't see that issue at Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Oklahoma, Texas, etc and those stadiums hold a lot more people than WVU's does.

I'm just tired of everyone whining that we don't get enough respect. I'm tired of being the underdog. I'm tired of not having a national championship (in football or basketball - unless you consider the first NIT in bball). Why can't we grow into a national power? Well it starts with acting like one and that starts with showing up to EVERY game and playing in a better conference. We've got the better conference part. Now let's kick the rest up a notch and expect greatness instead of celebrating mediocrity (like the Big East or less than 10 win seasons in that crap conference). I don't care if we're playing a retirement home, you don't come to WVU games for the other team...or at least you shouldn't. You should be there to cheer on the Mountaineers. You're there to experience Mountaineer athletics. You should be there, every game, because that's how the "big boys" act. And until WVU fans get that we'll continue to be patted on the head and told how cute we are. I want more than that and you should, too. So here's to new beginnings in the Big 12. It's time for a championship and if you're not on board with that premise...go away!

Let's Go Mountaineers!

Sports update 1/18/12

Here's your sports update for Wednesday...

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WVU football news:

                 Mike Smith (left) with Aaron Maybin (right).


WVU hires New York Jets assistant. Late on Tuesday it was announced that WVU has added to it's defensive staff with the addition of Mike Smith. Smith played linebacker for Mike Leach and Dana Holgorsen at Texas Tech. WVMetroNews article.

Monday evening ESPN anchor John Buccigross "tweeted" that Randy Shannon and WVU were close to an agreement on Shannon becoming the defensive coordinator. This led to a lot of other media members contradicting said tweet. Some going as far as to say that WVU and Shannon hadn't been discussed. Since the original tweet and the responses by Bruce Feldman, FootballScoop and others there have been others that say there has been contact between WVU and Shannon but that Buccigross may have jumped the gun (or whoever told him that did) in declaring it close to a done deal or whatever the terminology was. Regardless, at this point there's no concrete evidence that Shannon is a candidate and there's also no definitive evidence that he isn't either. So the point is...we'll see.

It appears a lot of WVU fans are worrying that Holgorsen hasn't named a defensive coordinator yet, but in the mean time WVU has picked up two verbal commitments. One from defensive back (cornerback) Nana Kyeremeh and the other from running back Torry Clayton. Click on each player's name for the write up from WV MetroNews. ESPN profile for Nana Kyeremeh. ESPN profile for Torry Clayton.

In the process of awaiting the announcement of the next defensive coordinator it appears a few players have "decommitted." It does appear that Trevor Williams is gone. Some word on the street that Bret Niederreither is going to explore his options as well (and many feel this is a mutual parting - as it appeared he was a Kirlav "project" type). There are a few others that are rumored to be looking around as well. One other name that came up was Da'Quan Davis - as he is a high school teammate of Trevor Williams, but WV MetroNews caught up with his mother and she said there is no truth to her son looking around -- read here.

Side note: RB David Smith picked Oklahoma over WVU, as expected.

As you should realize, by now, recruiting is a goofy, never predictable circus. So we'll watch the WVU commitment list to see how it changes.

A few names that people feel WVU has a good chance at are DT Trae Clark, MLB Garrett Hope, DE Eric Kinsey, WR Travares Copeland, S Clint Heaven, OT Kameron Davis, OG Adam Pankey, MLB Schyler Miles, WR Joel Caleb, OLB Deaysean Rippy, OT Mark Glowinski and maybe an outside shot at CB Tracy Howard.

[All names compiled by searching ESPN Insider articles, BlueGoldNews Football free board and visits list along with the free posts on Eersports.com (both are great sites if you want further information on recruiting as it happens). If you want further info subscribe to your site of choice. As of late though it seems Eersports.com produces the most information - with several posts daily. They also have a cool free trial so you can check them out.]

Last weekend (according to BGN visit list) WVU hosted a few recruits that are not yet committed to WVU. These would be Miles, Heaven, Pankey and Glowinski. According to the visit list (again BGN) this coming weekend is a BIG one with a visit from WR Joel Caleb (long considered a kid leaning towards VT). Also expected is Garrett Hope. Tion Green (a Cincinnati commitment) appeared to be coming this weekend, as well, but with the commitment of Clayton this may not be happening anymore. Obviously, the Caleb visit is big as he is a "big fish" per se. We'll find out soon enough what happens but all the recruiting sites seem to think we'll see a good bit of shake-up from the commitment list today and those that actually sign on Signing Day.

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Other WVU sports news:

WVU women beat Marshall, 69-57.


WVU men play Marshall tonight, in Charleston, at 7:30pm. The games at the Civic Center, as of the past several years, have become ridiculous foul fests. Hopefully, this year they'll get some officials that aren't rejects from the local YMCA. And being at the Civic Center you never know what else will go wrong. Scoreboard or clock issues, buzzer issues (that result in the use of an air horn), dead floors, crappy rims from the 1980s or whatever. They've supposedly made some improvements but I can't imagine it's anywhere near enough. We shall see. Let's just hope Marshall's head coach doesn't take another flop (that ended up resulting in foul shots for Marshall - and wouldn't you know it they won by one point, hmmm) like this...

Let's Go Mountaineers!!

Sports update 1/14/12

Here's an abbreviated sports udate for Saturday...

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DeForest officially announced.

As we all know, by this point, Joe DeForest was expected to be announced as one of the new WVU defensive assistants by the weekend and today, WVU officially announced he has joined Dana Holgorsen's staff.

Here is the official release from WVU.

Now we await the other defensive staff additions and who gets what title...which will happen when after the staff is completed.

Stay tuned...

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WVU takes out Rutgers, again.

WVU basketball beat Rutgers, 84-60 today at the Coliseum. Kevin Jones led the way with 24 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block -- continuing his strong push for Big East Player of the Year. In the process today, Kevin passed Dale Blaney (1,520 career points) and Lester Rowe "from Buffalo" (1,524 career points) to move to #15 on the all-time (career) scoring list at WVU with 1,527 career points. Next on the list for Kevin Jones to pass is the great Mark Workman (14th all-time with 1,553 career points) and Warren Baker (13th all-time with 1,556 career points).

Other scorers: Truck Bryant added 18 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists (1 turnover). Deniz Kilicli added 14 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal (4 turnovers). Jabarie Hinds added 11 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals (3 turnovers). Keaton Miles added 6 points (on 3-4 shooting) with 4 rebounds and 7 assists. Gary Browne 6 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals (3 turnovers). Kevin Noreen 3 points, 9 rebounds. Aaron Brown 2 points, 1 rebound and 1 steal (1 turnover).

Mike Rice (Rutgers head coach) had the first technical of the game. Later Bob Huggins received a "t" as well and the last one went to Jerome Seagears for motioning at an official that he thought Gary Browne shoved off on a play he was whistled for a foul on.

The win was extra special for the Mountaineers as it was a Men's Basketball Reunion weekend. Read here.

The win for WVU takes them to 13-5 on the season heading into the Capital Classic in Charleston against Marshall on Wednesday night (7:30pm).

Side note: Dana Holgorsen was interviewed at halftime of the basketball game and made mention of the DeForest hire, Casteel's departure and so on. Read about it here.

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Other WVU sports news:

WVU women's basketball fall at Providence, 51-48.

WVU women's soccer player Erica Henderson drafted by Western New York Flash in WPS Draft, Friday.

WVU's Clara Grandt places 7th at Olympic trials.

WVU wrestling defeated Michigan State.

Sports update 1/13/12

Here's your sports update for Friday... 

Was this the Heisman pose from Tavon, while playing?? Obviously, not intentionally, but looks like it!

Brent Venables

I meant to mention Brent Venables yesterday in the post as possible defensive staff additions at WVU and just forgot so here's his name mentioned now. Apparently Venables has been offered the defensive coordinator job at WVU (although that could be a co-defensive coordinator job) The move makes some sense as Venables is currently the defensive coordinator at Oklahoma but is having head coach Bob Stoops' brother, Mike, forced upon him in a new co-defensive coordinator situation. So now it appears Venables is looking elsewhere and according to reports on Thursday he was offered the defensive coordinator position at WVU. Which was followed by reports that Oklahoma was going all out to try to keep him. The angle that may be more entertaining in all of this is the obvious message Dana Holgorsen (and WVU) is sending to the Big 12 that not only are they coming into the league, but that they're all-in and doing everything they can to win, at all costs. And going and taking two of the better assistants in the league from the two Oklahoma schools says to the rest of the league that WVU isn't messing around. Not only would having guys like this be beneficial because they know the league, but they also know two of the bigger/better schools in the league and maybe most importantly they can flat out recruit (at least DeForest anyway). Add all of that up and if you're a fan of a Big 12 team you have to see this as WVU firing a preemptive strike.

It also appears if Venables does come on board he will bring along Willie Martinez the defensive backs coach for the Sooners. Word around the internet says that WVU and Venables both will release statements (or some sort of communication) on their coaching situations on Friday (which makes sense as they can't officially announce new guys until the old ones sign on at Arizona - which is the same day the Arizona staff is officially announced as well) but at this time it isn't known if Venables is indeed headed to Morgantown, or not. Ironically, Clemson fired their defensive coordinator in the past 24 hours as well (even though the university said he left to 'pursue other opportunities' he said he was fired - gee, wonder why he was fired) and they are among a few other places (Tennessee, etc) that are apparently considering Venables, too. So it could come down to Clemson vs WVU once again...we'll see.

As pointed out in this article on Venables' career opportunities it's obvious the mere attempt to add these guys at WVU is making people take notice. Good. There's your warning shot, Big 12 fans. We're coming for ya.

All of this does raise the question of where does Brian Stewart fit into all of this? The answer is (at 3am Friday) that no one knows. You also have to wonder what Steve Dunlap does. In the case of Dunlap it was obvious he wouldn't go out to Arizona seeing as how Rodriguez fired him when he took over at WVU, originally. It is thought that Dunlap may be THE guy Holgorsen tries to make room for in order to try and keep what defensive recruits are leftover from the previous coaching staff, but who knows how that would work out. Dunlap was Don Nehlen's defensive coordinator and did a pretty good job then went on to Syracuse when Rodriguez took over, followed by NC State and Marshall before returning to Bill Stewart's staff in 2008. We shall see what he decides to do but I'd expect that if he does part ways with WVU he'll end up back at Marshall again.

Brian Stewart was THE hot name there for several days and very well could still end up on staff at WVU but it appears Dana Holgorsen is exhausting all his resources to try to add as much quality to the defensive staff as he can. A good sign for WVU fans as it shows he realizes how important a solid defensive staff is for a pass-happy fast paced offense that will often put the defense back on the field quickly after fast drives.

So if you're around or have access to the internet while at work make sure you keep an eye out for WVU coaching news today as many feel there will be some sort of announcement. As I keep saying WVU will obviously try to move as quickly as possible with Signing Day approaching quickly.

If anything official breaks I'll post it on my Twitter feed so that's the fastest way to get information. I'll post it here, as well, as soon as possible.

WVU news:

WVU defender Raymon Gaddis was drafted Tuesday afternoon by the Philadelphia Union in the MLS SuperDraft in the second round (35th overall).

Not sports related but WVU received it's largest ever donation to the university of $34 million from Mon. County residents. Must be nice to have $34 million to throw around.

Sports update 1/12/12

Here's your sports update for Thursday...

[Note: A LOT of information in this post. And a LOT of links as well. So if you're wanting further information click all the links - as they all are different. Enjoy!] 

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Another fun photo from the Clemson game that I found online...

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WVU football coaching subtractions:

The widely rumored/reported Jeff Casteel to Arizona move finally came became official yesterday evening. Casteel will take over as Arizona's defensive coordinator (the same position he held at WVU) and will bring along defensive line coach Bill Kirelawich and defensive backs coach David Lockwood. No surprise really, unless you just haven't been paying attention. Here's the official release from the Arizona athletic department. And in a classy move from WVU, athletic director Oliver Luck released a thank you statement to the departing coaches.

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WVU football coaching additions:

Because of the above moves WVU's Dana Holgorsen now will move on to fill out the remaining defensive staff positions. And at least one assistant appears to already be on board (at the time I'm writing this - it may be official by the time you read it) as Oklahoma State special teams coordinator and safeties coach Joe DeForest resigned his position at Oklahoma State on Wednesday to join Holgorsen's staff at WVU. At this point, it hasn't been reported as to which position DeForest will fill at WVU. Some have speculated he will be THE defensive coordinator, others think he may be co-defensive coordinator (as well as special teams coordinator) so we'll see what his official title is at a later time. Tulsa newspaper story here.

The interesting thing here is DeForest was reportedly making around $400,000 (or so) a year at Oklahoma State so you'd assume he'll get some sort of raise at WVU. It's not out of the realm of possibilities that an assistant would make so much (especially given DeForest's recruiting ties in Houston and along the Gulf Coast) but it does make you wonder what position he will be filling given the large sum of money he'll make. Although Doc Holiday made around that same amount to essentially be WVU's lead recruiter (prior to leaving for Marshall) so maybe the co-defensive coordinator thing does make some sense (especially when you consider that DeForest has head coaching aspirations and will more than likely jump at the first head coaching job he's offered).

Some interesting info on DeForest:

• One of his primary nicknames is "Mr. Houston" for his recruiting ability in the greater Houston, Texas area (a fertile recruiting ground). 
• He has coached the Ray Guy Award winner (2008) and Lou Groza Award winner (2010). 
• He is heralded as a "not good but great" coach by Texas head coach Mack Brown. 
• He was a "replacement" player during the 1987 NFL strike season for the New Orleans Saints.
• Worked for NASA after college.
• Was hired by Les Miles (2001) at Oklahoma State (and hadn't left until now).

With DeForest apparently in the fold, attention will now focus on whether or not long-rumored Brian Stewart will find a place on the staff as well. Stewart, most recently of the Houston Cougars (and previously the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator), would be quite the addition along with DeForest, given both of their resumes. Stewart recently left his position with the Houston Cougars to "pursue other opportunities" and it has been widely rumored he will join Holgorsen's staff. The "I coached in the NFL" angle always seemed to sway all kinds of recruits to Pitt for Dave Wannstedt so you'd think landing Stewart couldn't hurt the recruiting efforts given he's worked with multiple NFL teams and was the defensive coordinator for arguably the most popular NFL team. Stewart's University of Houston profile remains viewable, at the moment, here.

Interestingly, Chris Anderson from "Eersports" is saying up to 5 recruits have told him they've been told that Brian Stewart is the new defensive coordinator. You can read Chris' mention here. Considering I doubt WVU coaches would lie to recruits about that I'd assume this is true. And if this is true and we add this to DeForest's addition you very well may see a "co-defensive coordinator" set-up between the two. Or DeForest could become special teams coordinator and recruiting coordinator and have just gotten a pay raise. Much like Casteel, DeForest may view himself a career assistant at the school he just left. Rumor has it Casteel felt getting away from WVU could help his head coaching chances - as it would show he had success at multiple places - and so I'd imagine this could be true of DeForest as well. All just speculation, at the moment, but you get the point.

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WVU recruiting news:

RB David Smith will choose between Oklahoma and WVU on January 17th at 2pm at his high school.

WVU commit Brandon Watkins is rumored to be leaving his high school in Atlanta, again, for Greenbrier East High School in West Virginia for his senior season. Not reporting it's true, but it is getting a lot of circulation so figured I'd share it.

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Other WVU news:


Mediation ordered for WVU vs Big East. Exactly what was expected. Mediation hopefully can end this without it going to court.

Mountaineers Picked For All-Star Games. Najee Goode, Keith Tandy and Julian Miller to the East-West Shrine Game (Jan 21st - 4pm NFL Network) and Don Barclay will play for the Casino Del Sol All-Star Game (Jan 16th - 6pm Fox Sports Arizona and Fox Sports Southwest). If you're asking what about Bruce Irvin? I'd expect him to be going to the Senior Bowl. They haven't released their rosters yet. If he doesn't go there...then be upset.

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Other National Headlines:

Crosby to resume skating.
Syracuse improves to 18-0.
Kobe Bryant scores 40 in back-to-back nights.
Indianapolis Colts hire Grigson as GM.
New York Jets hire Tony Sparano as offensive coordinator.

Sports update 1/11/12

Here's your sports update for Wednesday...


WVU news:

Good to see "Obie" is out of the hospital...

Obviously, the BIG news is that it is expected that Arizona will announce Jeff Casteel as their new defensive coordinator, today. Casteel is expected to bring along Bill Kirelawich and David Lockwood, as well. Arizona newspapers/media outlets are suggesting Arizona will have a formal announcement of the new coaches at some point today. WV Illustrated's story here.


With those departures it opens up a few defensive positions on the WVU staff. It now appears the names floating around as possible additions to the defensive staff include Brian Stewart (Houston Cougars, Dallas Cowboys, etc), Joe DeForest (Oklahoma State) and Zac Spavital brother of current WVU assistant (QBs). The Tulsa newspaper mentioned DeForest around 6pm EST yesterday - and you can read it here. WV Illustrated mentioned, around the same time, that the Arizona football site had pages created for the new coaches. Colin Dunlap isn't as sure as the rest of the WV media that Brian Stewart is next in line for defensive coordinator. Dunlap went so far as to say Spavital could replace Casteel, but then seemed to indicate Joe DeForest has the best chance. Meaning: we'll find out soon. If the Arizona announcement does happen today I'd expect to see WVU announce the new additions by the end of the weekend, as Signing Day is quickly approaching. Stay tuned...


WVU women beat Seton Hall, 79-63.


WVU football finished in the top 20 of each final poll. Surprisingly, WVU is behind Virginia Tech. No one is quite sure as to why.


Other headlines:


Robert Griffin, III declares for the NFL Draft.
Oakland Raiders fire Hue Jackson.
Baylor basketball stays unbeaten, escapes Kansas State.
Jacksonville Jaguars hire Mike Mularkey.
Boise State's loses o-cordinator, Brent Pease, to Florida.
Illinois upsets Ohio State.
Providence upsets Louisville, 90-59.
Paul Maholm signs with Cubs.
Bud Selig to be offered contract extension.
Kobe Bryant scored 48 in win over Suns.
Brian Schottenheimer out as Jets' offensive coordinator.

National Champs

LSU got their butts kicked against Alabama in the least anticipated re-match, in years. As if anyone is surprised the game was all field goals and was very low scoring (except for a late 34 yard rushing TD by Trent Richardson). The only thing that was somewhat surprising is that LSU got shut out. No one understands why Jordan Jefferson played the entire game. I don't know why they don't bring the "Honey Badger" in for a few offensive plays (jet sweep anyone?) either. I also didn't get ESPN's love-fest for A.J. McCarron after the game. He had 156 passing yards (0TD) in 1st half. Only had 5 completions for 78 yards passing TOTAL in 2nd half (0TD). 0 completions last 5 drives. That's the offensive MVP? And he played "great" according to the ESPN people? Chip Kelly said "one of the greatest QB performances in a National Championship" -- WHAT?? It has to be that coming into the game everyone expected McCarron to be a liability and he didn't end up turning it over. Big deal. He also didn't score, couldn't get a TD on a drive that started on the LSU 27 (or two other drives that started at midfield or in LSU territory), completed all of 5 passes in the 2nd half when the score was still close enough that a fluke play here or there could have made it a one score game, and the last 5 drives he completed ZERO passes! If they wanted to say he didn't hurt them or he played well enough, sure, I can agree with that, but saying he played "great" and that Chip Kelly line make absolutely no sense. If not for the FG kicker wouldn't they have said the fact that McCarron couldn't score TD was a huge difference in the game? In reality it was an award that they had to give to someone, so I guess he's about the only true offensive option - unless you go with Trent Richardson since he actually scored a touchdown.

So the game was a snooze fest. Who's shocked? Congrats to West Virginia's own Nick Saban on winning another BCS title, though. Arguably, has to be one of the best coaches in the BCS era.

Along the national champions talk...


WVU lost to UConn in a close game at the XL Center. Don't get worked up over the loss. What we've seen thus far in the Big East 2011-12 season is that winning on the road, in conference, is extremely challenging. Sure, that last out of bounds call was horrendous. But so was shutting down the last few minutes of the game. Regardless, this is a young team, still that doesn't get much scoring help beyond their experienced guys (Jones, Bryant, Kilicli) so this type of game is bound to happen a few times this year. But one would hope that it won't continue throughout the remaining schedule. WVU is 17 games into the schedule now. So there's no reason to use the inexperience line anymore. That was just UConn scoring when it mattered and WVU didn't. 12-5 at this point in the season though is probably better than you would have expected early in the season (especially after the exhibition or Kent State games). So we'll see what happens. I still believe that given the strength of schedule and RPI of this season WVU can get in with 18-19 wins, IF they don't lose to anyone else that they shouldn't. 14 conference games left, plus the Big East Tournament should provide enough opportunities to get to 18-20 wins on the year. And given that the Pac-12 literally has maybe one team that is good enough to get in the NCAA Tournament and several other power conferences aren't "great" you should be able to get in with less than the usual 20+. The Mountaineers return to action on Saturday, in Morgantown, against Rutgers (again). Rutgers is an improved team from last year, as they have beaten Florida and UConn at the RAC of late, but they also lost BIG to WVU just 6 days ago, so we'll see what happens this time around.


In other WVU news...


Still no official word on Jeff Casteel. I'd imagine it will be resolved by the end of the week though as recruiting is about to kick back up a notch for the final push towards Signing Day. If you're interested the two "big" names that have been mentioned as possible replacements for Casteel (assuming he leaves) are Randy Shannon and Brian Stewart. Everyone knows who Randy Shannon is from his time with "the U" but if they could land him it would be a pretty big splash and certainly would help maintain Florida recruiting. I won't rule anything out, at this moment, but it does seem like a long-shot. Shannon has been rumored all week as the new Tennessee defensive coordinator. This is also a guy that sued WVU back in the day over getting hit in the head by a trash can at Mountaineer Field. Would he be willing to forgive and forget? It could actually end up being a good PR move for WVU as inevitably the media would pick up on the story. We'll see. If you're curious, Shannon mainly ran a 4-3 defense at Miami.


Brian Stewart on the other hand isn't as well-known to the casual observer, but has quite the track record/resume himself. Stewart just recently resigned his position as defensive coordinator at Houston after Kevin Sumlin left for Texas A&M. A lot of people believe he's going to end up as the new Mountaineers DC as obviously he has a connection to Holgorsen. Stewart has a lot of NFL ties, which is always a nice selling point for recruits, as he was the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator for two years (2007-08) along with assistant positions with the Eagles, Chargers and Texans. At Houston the past two seasons, Stewart employed a 3-4 defense.


Obviously either of those two would present somewhat of a personnel shift from the 3-3-5, but in reality WVU plays safeties as linebackers part of the time which would be similar to a 3-4 and they have used 4 defensive linemen at times as well, which obviously is what a 4-3 employs...so in reality, the only difference would be the base defense's name and what they are primarily set up in. Casteel has always said part of the reason for running the 3-3 stack is because of the lack/inability to recruit the quality to play anything else. I guess if Shannon or Stewart take over we'll find out.


In recruiting news...


5 recruits enrolled for the spring semester. Far less than originally hoped for, but still getting some in early does help. You can also take those 5 off of the list as fall enrollees meaning WVU can sign 5 more to replace those guys...as the 5 that enrolled will count back towards last year's class. Again, 25 is the "limit" but expect WVU to sign a few over that, if they can. One of the things that gets overlooked is the state of scholarships that Holgorsen walked into. Due to attrition, and Stewart's intentional small signing classes, the number of scholarship players is well below the maximum allowed. So that's why you'll see a push to bring in as many as possible.


A few names to watch: LB Ike Spearman, LB Schlyer Miles, S Clint Heaven, G Adam Pankey (former Pitt commit), T Mark Glowinski and LB Garrett Hope. Those are most of the ones expected to visit prior to Signing Day. Probably several others but that's enough for tonight.

WVU announces football additions

WVU head football coach Dana Holgorsen has announced that 5 players have enrolled for the spring semester at WVU and will join the football program (aka early enrollees).


The following players have enrolled early:


QB Ford Childress - 6'4" 210 lbs - Houston, Texas/Houston Kinkaid HS
WR Jordan Thompson - 5'9" 163 lbs - Katy, Texas/Katy HS
DT Imarjaye Albury - 6'1" 280 lbs - Miami, FL/Miami Northwestern HS
S Karl Joseph - 5'11" 190 lbs - Orlando, FL/Edgewater HS
S Sean Walters - 6'2" 195 lbs - Hallandale Beach, FL/Hallandale HS


Obviously, the big name here is Ford Childress the stud QB out of Houston, Texas. But don't sleep on the other 4 enrolling early.


Childress did put up video game type numbers this season with 3,171 yards 41 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions while completing 63% of his passes.


Want to know more about these guys? Here is the official release from WVU. Check it out!

BREAKING: Barry Larkin elected to baseball Hall of Fame

Just reported on MLB Network...Barry Larkin elected as the only member of the 2012 baseball Hall of Fame class.


Barry Larkin has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. 12-time All-Star with the Cincinnati Reds, .295 batting average and 3 Gold Gloves. Larkin gets in with 86% of the vote. He was also the first "30-30" short-stop in baseball history.

Some thoughts...

In an attempt to make the blog a little more entertaining I believe that I'm going to just post throughout the day anytime there's a big story or something worth posting on. Or at least put out smaller updates. I probably will still put out a daily update but maybe not to the same large scale I had been.

If you're reading this please subscribe and/or comment so I know who is reading. And tell me what stories you care most about. I would assume most of the readers are WVU fans, but if you enjoy the other sports stories as well, please let me know. I'll try to change the blog around to fit the wants of the people actually reading it...at least somewhat.

I still like having all the sports news in one place but you'd be surprised how long it takes to compile all of that with links and so on.

Anyway let me know what you'd like to read about. And subscribe by email as well so you get the updates right away and don't have to go through Facebook posts.

Thanks for reading!