Alright, WVU fans. Time to give you something to talk about on this here blog.

West Virginia is one of the most unique teams in the country, let alone the Big East. Up until last year, they were characterized by a cast of misfits…a freakish 7-1 center who drained 24-footers with regularity, a feisty German swingman, a skinny white kid who could always play smart, unselfish, high-quality basketball. This year, with the exception of senior forward Frank Young, they’ve become a cast of no-name freshmen and sophomores.

One thing, however, remains the same: Coach Beilein’s game philosophy.

If he were to write a description of his philosophy in forty words or fewer, it might read something like this: “Play aggressive, zone (1-3-1), trapping defense to force transition hoops. On offense, motion around the perimeter, and if at any point you catch a slightly obscured, fleeting glimpse of the rim, jack up a three!”

I have two questions about this philosophy. 1) Can WVU really expect to win a championship this way? 2) Who would even want to play in this system?

Certainly, they’ve had success in the past few years. I’d be both remiss and incorrect if I didn’t admit this. Big East tourney runner-up and regional finalist two years ago; Big East Tourney semi-finalist last year and a sweet 16 berth. Yet, while competitive, they never really seem to get over the hump. They haven’t won that big, big game to earn them a conference championship or get them to a Final Four. I know, I know…you could say this about tons of teams in college basketball. But considering no team has ever won a championship using the type of system that Beilein uses, I think it’s more than fair to question his philosophy.

Let’s start with the offense.

Offensive Philosophy: The old saying goes that if you live by the three, you die by the three. And then there’s West Virginia, who jacks up more threes than any other team in the Big East. They’ve attempted 531 three-pointers this year—the most in the Big East by 67 attempts (Notre Dame is in second place, having played two more games than WVU). These numbers are consistently absurd, and absurdly consistent.

This particular style of play has been established for several years now under the tutelage of Beilein. They’ve jacked up more threes than any other Big East team for each of the last few years. But why play in this manner, when most other college basketball programs, and most of the greatest college basketball coaches in the world, have their teams shoot so many fewer three-balls per game? Wouldn’t someone have said, “Uh, coach? Why are we taking such low percentage shots every time down the floor? Shouldn’t we get closer to the rim, and then use the three to spread the defense? You know, keep them off-balance?”

Indeed, West Virginia plays Keno, while the rest of the country plays blackjack.

But is there method to this madness? Maybe. Perhaps Beilein recruits players to fit this mold—guys who can drain 22-footers all night. Perhaps Beilein feels that this type of offensive play forces the opposing teams into a competitive mental state where they attempt to match threes for threes, thus bringing opponents out of their gameplan. Who knows. All I know is, they haven’t won that big game.

Now, to the defense.

Defensive Philosophy: I’m sorry, but the 1-3-1 is gimmicky. It screams: “We can’t man up! Try to beat us using diagonal passes!” Certainly it can be effective because teams aren’t used to seeing it on a regular basis. It’s difficult to prepare for a half-court trapping zone defense in just a few days’ time, and WVU uses this to its advantage. Still, more often than not, a balanced, disciplined team is going to exploit their defense. Which is part of the reason why they’ve never won that big game.

Now, on to the second question: who would ever want to play in a system like this? Well, just ask all of the NBA players who hail from WVU.

Oh, wait. There aren’t any active WVU alums in the NBA.

In fact, WVU is the only Big East team that currently doesn’t have an alumnus playing in the NBA. Even South Florida has NBA representation, for crying out loud!

And here’s a question for you Howie Schwab types: Who was the last player from WVU to play in an NBA game?

Give up?

Lowes Moore, class of 1982.

Yes…”Damn!” is what I said too.

Why no representation in the NBA? I say part of it is due to Beilein’s system.

First of all, WVU is considered a soft team. They play a gimmicky defense, which you never ever see in the NBA. Furthermore, their perimeter trapping defense, combined with their perimeter offense, usually means that they’re being out-rebounded in every single contest because they’re so far away from the rim during any given play (last in the Big East this year in total rebounding). Frontcourt players are forced outside, severely limiting their rebounding potential. And NBA scouts notice. Kevin Pittsnogle, for example, was 7-1, agile, and one of the worst rebounders on last year’s team. Think about it: if an NBA team is going to draft somebody who’s 7-1, they’re going to want him to box out Yao, grab boards, and play in the post, not sit outside the arc and throw up bombs. Part of the reason he’s not in an NBA uniform is probably his fault, but surely part of it is the system in which he played.

The same can be said about the backcourt players. They show a decent amount of athleticism, but much of what they do is pass the ball and jack up threes. If you want to be able to play in the pros, you better be able to show the pros that you can do more than shoot and pass, you better be able to take someone off the dribble…which WVU doesn’t stress in their offense (last in the Big East this year in total free throw attempts).

Look. Don’t get me wrong. I love the way WVU plays. On both ends of the floor, they play differently than 99% of the teams in Division I college basketball, which is really cool to watch. Moreover, the players themselves look as though they’re having fun playing this way. However, just because their style of play is pleasing to the average spectator doesn’t mean that their style of play is the best way to build a championship program or produce professional-caliber players. In fact, the evidence clearly points to the contrary.

Unless you can convince us otherwise, Coach B.

Categories: Commentary, Mister D, West Virginia