Mr. Jones And Me...

Kevin Jones steps into the role of the big star at West Virginia following departures of DaSean Butler and Devin Ebanks. (Photo courtesy of Sports Illustrated)

When you look at West Virginia, the Mountaineers are not the same bunch that knocked off Kentucky on their way to the Final Four. The reigning Big East champions lose DaSean Butler and Devin Ebanks this season, as both have gone to the NBA. Junior Kevin Jones is still there, and the expectation in Morgantown is that the Westchester County native carries the team back to where they ended their season a year ago.

At Big East media day, coach Bob Huggins stated his goal was to be "playing in the last game," and he has a team that is capable of making yet another deep run in the NCAA Tournament despite the loss of their two top scorers. Aside from Jones, Darryl "Truck" Bryant and Joe Mazzulla return in the backcourt for Huggins; who also gets sophomore big man Deniz Kilicli for a full season.

The Mountaineers open their season next Friday at home against Oakland University, significant only for the fact that Oakland guard Larry Wright is a former Big East player, having spent his first two seasons at St. John's. From there, West Virginia plays a very favorable nonconference schedule highlighted by a tournament in Puerto Rico before its Big East opener on December 29th against Steve Lavin and the aforementioned Red Storm.