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ESPN has finalized their top-100 rankings for the 2018 men’s basketball recruiting cycle and a pair of West Virginia Mountaineers recruits can be found on the list. Men’s basketball recruiting can be much finickier than football. With the varying amount of scholarship year-to-year, some schools will take 3 players, some will take four and others may only take 2. This can certainly affect average rankings in a far greater capacity than the standard 25 scholarships that are given out annually by football coaches.
For Huggins, this recruiting cycle saw him convince three players to join the Mountaineers. We’ve already featured two on the website, Jordan McCabe and Trey Doomes but the highest recruit, Derek Culver, hasn’t gotten much press. Until now. With the release of the ESPN rankings, fans, players and analyst will certainly take notice.
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Derek Culver - Warren, Ohio
According to 247Sports, Culver is the highest rated recruit to join the Mountaineers since Esa Ahmad. Culver had offers from around the country, including Big 12 powerhouse Kansas Jayhawks. As a big man, Culver displays an array of talent including the ability to move his feet and keep smaller, quicker forwards in front of him while displaying a mid-range jumper. Culver doesn’t look to jam it home when he’s in the paint, either. He keeps his head up and has shown the ability to move the ball around the arc, finding open teammates instead of attempting a contested rim shot.
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Jordan McCabe - Kaukauna, WI
Jordan McCabe should be no stranger to fans by now. With several videos on youtube displaying his ball-handling prowess, fans have been excited to see McCabe in a Mountaineer uniform. We got the first taste of the what McCabe could do this past weekend when he and future teammate Trey Doomes teamed up to win the 3-point and slam dunk contest, as well as taking home co-MVP in the Scott Brown Classic. McCabe’s ball handling skills will hopefully help alleviate the loss of star forward Jevon Carter.