By Bill Nestor Sports Editor
The Tar Heels have been a thorn in the side of Mountaineer Nation recently. During this hoops postseason, the University of North Carolina had been a major contributor to the demise of both the women’s and the men’s basketball teams at West Virginia University.
The women made the NCAA Tournament and earned a number six seed. They opened up postseason play with a definitive 78 to 59 beatdown of Columbia. Intense pressure and easy buckets led to a 46 to 29 halftime lead. It was cruise control in the second half as WVU went on to a 78 to 59 win. Second year head coach Mark Kellogg dialed up the heat that led to 25 turnovers that resulted in 28 points.
The Mountaineer backcourt combined to do the majority of the damage in the tourney opener. JJ Quinerly and Jordan Harrison netted a combined 50 of their team’s 78 points. Jordan Thomas was the only other West Virginia player to find double digits with 12. Quinerly dished out a game high seven assists while Harrison was just behind with six dimes. Thomas had a team best nine rebounds in the triumph.
The second game against the third seeded Tar Heels started well. Even though the Eers were on the road in a difficult environment, they still managed to play even with Carolina. Even though they were close in every segment of the affair, they just couldn’t get over the hump. Foul trouble was a major hurdle for Kellogg and his team.
Thomas and Kylee Blacksten fouled out and Quinerly was on the verge of extinction, which adversely affected their ability to play aggressively. This trio averages a combined 32 points per game, but versus North Carolina, they would muster a mere 14 points.
The loss ended the year with a 25 and eight mark, moving Kellogg’s total wins number to and even 50, which proves that he has been a successful hire for Athletic Director Wren Baker.
Kellogg is the third coach that Quinerly has played for, and now the last as she departs the program, leaving some big shoes to fill moving forward.
On the men’s side, the Mountaineers didn’t have the opportunity to prove its worth on the hardwood. On selection Sunday, Darien DeVries and his squad were on the outside looking in as the team dubbed “the first out.” The team that was the “last in” was North Carolina.
Ironically, the Chair of the NCAA Division I men’s basketball Selection Committee is Bubba Cunningham. Cunningham is the Director of Athletics at the University of North Carolina.
With WVU out of the postseason picture, DeVries was free and clear to talk with any school that would be interested in his services. Before you could spin a basketball on your index finger, he was whisked away by Indiana, making him a one hit wonder in Morgantown. He took with him his injured, but talented son and the hearts of so many innocent Mountaineer fans that believed he was in for the long haul.
The only haul DeVries is making is at the bank where he will be making a significant contribution after signing a six year deal reported at nearly five million per year. Looks like the DeVries family is looking a little more like the Jeffersons every day – moving on up!
Baker moved swiftly to hire a replacement in Russ Hodge. Hodge has been lighting up the North Texas sky with fireworks over the past two years as the man in charge of the Mean Green. We will go over the hire in detail as I take time to digest the move.
That will do it for now! Until next week . . . take care and God Bless!!!
