Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU's nationally recognized best place for sports links, information, sophomoric humor and daily distractions. We're being brought to you today by Weyerbacher Fireside Ale.
Plenty to peruse today, but two major themes are abundantly clear. 1. The young basketball team is growing up fast. 2. Recruiting. We have lot's of recruiting news today for both hoops and football. Several basketball prospects were in town over the weekend for a local tournament and the football team picked up another commitment from their impressive list of visitors. More commitments coming? We shall see. Ollie also talks scheduling in a sit down interview (we have video and articles) over the weekend.
What You May Have Missed:
Oliver Luck Sheds Light on Big 12 Schedule, FSU - WVillustrated
The WVU athletic director discusses the factors going into the football schedule for the 2012 season, including how it will handle non-conference opponents.
Oliver Luck on The State Journal's Decision Makers - WVillustrated
WVU athletic director discusses a number of events surrounding the Mountaineers' programs. Take a look at his full interview, right here.
Study Hall: West Virginia 70, Clemson 33 - Football Study Hall
Statistics and analysis from West Virginia's 70-33 destruction of Clemson in the 2012 Discover Orange Bowl.
Football: Award Winners For 2011 Season - MSNsportsNET.Com
The West Virginia University football coaching staff has named its award winners for outstanding performance for the 2011 football season.
Austin unlimited - Charleston Gazette
College football's most prolific ground gainer will receive the Hardman Award as West Virginia's Amateur Athlete of the Year.
PHOTO GALLERY: East -West Shrine Game - WVillustrated
Check out exclusive photos of Keith Tandy, Najee Goode and Julian Miller from the 2012 East-West Shrine Game.
WVU Pros Weekend Basketball Recaps 1/23: Da'Sean Butler & Casey Mitchell - WVU Pros
Recapping the Mountaineers in professional action from this past weekend.
News of Note:
Despite wins, Huggins still not satisfied - Charleston Gazette
"No, I think we should have beaten Baylor,'' Huggins said. "All we had to do was make a free throw.''
Young Team Growing Up Fast - MSNsportsNET.Com
What’s not to like about one of the youngest teams in America being right in the thick of things in one of the best leagues in America?
HERTZEL COLUMN Mountaineer youngsters begin to grow - Times West Virginian
In fact, when asked about whether or not they were growing up, his answer was typical Huggins at its best. “We don’t give them a whole lot of choice,” he said.
WVU playing better than most thought - Charleston Daily Mail
Well, it seems that for the ninth time in the last 10 seasons, WVU (15-5, 5-2) seems destined to finish as high as or higher than it was forecast. In fact, if the Mountaineers don't finish better than seventh, it will be a surprise.
WVU has come a long way since exhibition loss to D2 team - Charleston Daily Mail
"It's the same team, but it's just maturing," said senior forward Kevin Jones, who had his 13th double-double of the season in the Mountaineers' 77-74 overtime win against Cincinnati on Saturday.
Weekly Watch: Week 7 - ESPN
The Missouri Tigers and West Virginia's Kevin Jones take home the major awards as we look back at the week that was and look forward to the week ahead.
Recruiting:
WVU Recruit Macon Plays in Morgantown - WVillustrated
WVU Basketball Recruit Elijah Macon was playing games this weekend in Morgantown.
VIDEO: Huntington Prep On WVU - WVMETRONEWS.COM
Rob Fulford, Andrew Wiggins and Elijah Macon
WVU Recruit Wiggins Checks out Campus - WVillustrated
Article and video
VIDEO: Mountaineer Prospects - WVMETRONEWS.COM
Carolis Morris: Arlington Country Day; Goodluck Okonobob: Tilton School; and Wayne Seldon: Tilton School
JUCO Lineman Glowinski Commits to WVU - WVillustrated
Lackawanna Community College sends another athlete to the Mountaineers.
College Football Recruiting Rankings 2012: Which Classes Are Championship Quality? - SBNation.com
Having a big class with a lot of athletes is one thing, but which 2012 programs are setting themselves up best for future championships by recruiting efficiently?
The Beginner's Guide To College Football Recruiting: A Glossary - SBNation.com
What's a soft verbal? What's it mean to be loose in the hips? If you're an high-waisted road-grader with ankle flexibility who projects as a safety, is that a good thing? Time to brush up on your recruiting terminology.
Around the League (and Beyond):
Notre Dame 67 - Syracuse 58: The Day The T-Shirts Died - Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician
Louisville 73, Pitt 62: Somewhere, Kyle Kuric Is Still Shooting Threes - Cardiac Hill
The Youth Shall Lead Us: Georgetown Beats Rutgers 52-50, Moves To 16-3 - Casual Hoya
Final: Villanova Downs St. John's In Overtime, 79-76 - The Nova Blog
No. 21/22 Marquette 79, Providence 72 - Anonymous Eagle
USF Destroys DePaul 75-59, IS THIS REAL LIFE!?! - Voodoo Five
UConn Men Feeling Ryan Boatright's Absence - Hartford Courant
What's On Tap:
(1) Syracuse Orange vs. Cincinnati Bearcats - ESPN
7 pm tonight at Fifth Third on ESPN
Video of Interest:
The basketball team talks about what they've accomplished this season, Gary Browne's high school coach talks about his performance this season and future Mountaineer Elijah Macon talks about the Mountaineer faithful.
Video of (Dis)Interest:
Miss Throwdown:
Today's Miss Throwdown is former Victoria's Secret model Kylie Bisutti. Click on her picture for today's gallery.
Weyerbacher Fireside Ale image via www.bruguru.com
