Mountaineer Retweet: Depression & Regression

Welcome back to Mountaineer Retweet, your look back at Mountaineer Basketball through the medium of Twitter. And oh boy, I don't even know where to start with this one.

So, without any further ado, let's (ugh) (do I really have to do this) (it's for the good of the blog, Matt, come on) (okay I'm ready) delve into the Twitters and get some real time reaction to West Virginia's crushing defeat by the Kansas State Wildcats.

Great sign to see Eron Harris making an early jumper. That's huge. #WVU

— Randy Gyorko (@gyorkocfn) January 18, 2014

This game actually started off great for the Mountaineers, with Eron Harris seemingly breaking out of his #KobeSystem slump and draining two quick threes to help WVU jump out to an early 8-3 lead.

This is all for the sake of giving all of us the slightest bit of false hope that will be drained from our souls as the afternoon progresses.

Moving along.

Send all complaints to @NCAA RT "@BartKeeler Why do we not have any big men?? This has been a problem all season. #WVU"

— SmithFire13 (@SmithFire13) January 18, 2014

#FreeHolton

KState has already used 10 players. They'll keep defensive pressure up against #WVU all day

— Dave Hickman (@dphickman1) January 18, 2014

This was a team with actual depth versus a team with what basically amounts to a seven or eight man rotation and it shows. WVU's offense didn't particularly do much to get out of its own way, but you have to give a ton of credit to Kansas State's excellent defensive effort.

#WVU really turns into a tepid offensive team when they don't have Henderson, Harris and Staten on the floor at the same time

— Doug Walp (@dougWalp) January 18, 2014

Teams have figured out that we've got no one who can consistently produce on offense besides the Big Three of Juwan, Eron, and Terry. When they're all clicking, we can be a tough out, but they just haven't been doing that recently. Shut down one or two or get them into foul trouble and we're shooting blanks offensively. Nobody is afraid of Brandon Watkins.

I'm not sure a 15 foot contested jump hook from Brandon Watkins is what the #WVU offense needs right now.

— Chris Anderson (@CMAnderson247) January 18, 2014

Presented without comment.

His good games seem great and his bad games seem dreadful. Today looks to be one of those dreadful games.

— SmithFire13 (@SmithFire13) January 18, 2014

This is Re: Devin Williams. And this is a freshman problem. I stand by the idea that this kid is going to be absolutely phenomenal for West Virginia. But he's not there yet. He can be soft around the rim at times, and that's not good from someone who is now your primary big man. A summer in the weight room should do wonders for Williams.

Shane Southwell is single-handedly causing the day drinking ratio in West Virginia to shift today. #WVU struggling vs. him and Wildcats.

— Marc Basham (@marc_b) January 18, 2014

I got a "Shane Southwell is gonna have a double-double" text from Smitty Saturday morning before the game. He finished with 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.

So just sit there in your wrongness and be wrong, Dave.

(he produced his stat line in 24 minutes on the court)

Ow.

37-24 WVU trails K State at the half. 9 points for Eron Harris and 7 for Juwan Staten to lead the Mountaineers.

— WVU IMG Sports (@WVUIMGSports) January 18, 2014

/self pep talk time

It's only half time. Larger comebacks have happened and basketball is a game of runs. Juwan, Eron, or Terry could get hot at any second and it's not like K-State is going to continue shooting 900% percent from the field.

Right?

That first five minutes has passed and #WVU is down 22 points. Not the start it wanted.

— Keenan Cummings (@rivalskeenan) January 18, 2014

MY EYES.

THE GOGGLES DO NOTHING.

You're gonna have games like this when you miss out on a few top recruits who would be juniors and seniors, and the guys you got leave. #WVU

— Andrew Little (@AJLittle304) January 18, 2014

We could have had highly ranked and successful recruits like Tobias Harris, Adreian Payne, and Ryan Boatwright (to name a few) in recent years. We came inches away from Harris and Payne and had a commitment from Boatwright. Instead, we got (clears throat) (seriously why am I doing this to myself) Dalton Pepper, Dan Jennings, Noah Cotrill, Darrious Curry, David Nyarsuk, Jabarie Hinds, Aaron Brown, Tommie McCune (I literally forgot this guy existed), Keaton Miles, and Aaric Murray.

/surrounds self with 2010 Final Four memorabilia and assumes the fetal position

That's a list of players that have, since 2009-2010, came and went from the West Virginia Mountaineers basketball team for one reason or another before the end of their eligibility. Some never suited up to begin with. Particularly killer is the Jabarie Hinds-led 2011 class of 7. From that, we have Gary Browne, a solid role player, but nothing more. Absolutely devastating to a program. That's what we've had to deal with. Turnover is a thing that all programs have to deal with, but our lack of roster stability and recruiting success has been unbelievable. And, if this continues, it eventually will fall entirely on Bob Huggins. Huggs still has the whole of my support and my belief that he can turn this around (next year), but the results are out there and they need to change.

WVU falls to Kansas State, 78-56. #HailWV

— WVU Men's Basketball (@WVUhoops) January 18, 2014

Okay. This happened. I can't go play by play with this game any more. It's physically painful. Let's move on to something even more painful: admitting I was wrong about sports.

Anybody else want to lecture me about how close #WVU is to being really good?

— Patrick Southern (@patricksouthern) January 18, 2014

Time to steal a line from Priddy that might become a Mountaineer Retweet classic.

Patrick is snarky and Patrick complains a lot and Patrick seldom has anything positive to say but Patrick is 100% right about this. But LOL YOU HAVE PROPERTY AND CON LAW THIS SEMESTER SO I GET THE LAST LAUGH.

/looks at Evidence book

Damn it.

None of this is ok.

— Country Roads (@CountryRoadsWV) January 18, 2014

Watching #WVU it's hard to feel like this team is very close. Repeated defensive breakdowns, poor offensive sets...they're regressing.

— Brandon Priddy (@abpriddy) January 18, 2014

Regression. That's the word of the day. We've regressed right back into 2012-2013 and it has happened rapidly.

This was never a good team. They had issues--on the defensive end most prominently--but they seemed to be a group that cared and battled for West Virginia University. They couldn't get a quality win, but each time it looked like they were getting closer and closer. Eventually, I thought, they would get that one big win that would show a young, talented team that they really could do this.

I bought in to this team. I didn't even necessarily buy into this team as a team that could sneak into the NCAAs, but as one that would realize their potential, grow together as a team, listen to their Hall of Fame coach, and always be a group that battled. For most of the season, even in losses, they were fun.

I was wrong--at least at this point in time. They still might grow by the end of this year, and I still am a firm believer in the idea that the 2014-15 Mountaineers have the chance to be, as Bob Huggins likes to say of his great teams, special. But, as it stands right now, we might as well be the same awful basketball team we saw in Morgantown last season. Good teams respond to tough losses like ours against Oklahoma State with energy and a desire to get back out on the court with fire and passion. Ours responded with, well, absolutely nothing.

And like Country Roads said, nothing about that is okay.