THE SHOTGUN THROWDOWN: Bob Huggins signs another transfer player

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JUCO TRANSFER

West Virginia men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins has added another transfer player to his roster. Jimmy Bell Jr. has signed with the Mountaineers for the 2022-23 season. The 6-foot-10, 290-pound forward previously started for Saint Louis and then played for Moberly Area Community College in Missouri, the same NJCAA that sent Jaysean Paige to Huggins. Last season at Moberly, Bell averaged 9.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game. He also shot 59.1 percent from the field and made 67.5 of his free throws. Bell will have two years of eligibility remaining when he joins WVU.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TRANSFER

New women’s basketball coach Dawn Plitzuweit is also starting to rebuild her first West Virginia roster with transfer players. Colorado transfer Kylee Blacksten has signed to play for Plitzuweit and the Mountaineers. Blacksten is a skilled player and versatile defender. After spending two seasons at CU, she has three years of eligibility remaining.

WEST VIRGINIA ROUNDUP

• Former West Virginia pitcher Alek Manoah is continuing to light it up for the Blue Jays. Toronto has now won 18 of the 22 games that Manoah started in, including the last 10 in a row.
• Midway through the season, the West Virginia baseball team has broken the school record for steals in a season, with 115 and counting.

AROUND THE BIG 12

• Iowa State men’s basketball star, and Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year, Tyrese Hunter has entered the transfer portal.
• The Oklahoma women’s gymnastics team has won its fifth national championship in school history.

AROUND THE NCAA

• The transfer portal is altering college sports, and not for the better. Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney recently discussed how it is forcing coaching to change the way they approach spring practice.

ODDS AND ENDS

• Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics silenced Kyrie Irving and the Brooklyn Nets in Game One of their Eastern Conference First Round series in the NBA Playoffs.

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