Mike Gerrity & Devin Ebanks: CHN Co-Players of the Week

Jeff Borzello — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 12:56:55 -0800

CollegeHoops.net Co-Players of the Week: Mike Gerrity, USC and Devin Ebanks, West Virginia

A holiday-shortened week that featured zero games on Thursday, four games on Friday and only one game on Saturday had no shortage of outstanding games and performances across the country. There were upset-spurring showings from Brett Harvey of Loyola (Md.) (25 points in a win at Indiana); UAB’s Aaron Johnson (12 points and 10 boards against Butler); South Alabama’s Tim Williams (21 points and seven rebounds at Florida); and Oral Roberts’ Michael Craion (18 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists vs. New Mexico). There were standout individual performances from Charleston Southern’s Jamarco Warren (37 points), Hawaii’s Dwain Williams (58 points in two games), Lipscomb’s Adnan Hodzic (34 points and 13 boards) and Morgan State’s Kevin Thompson (23 points and 25 rebounds). Don’t forget about big-time weeks from Georgia’s Trey Thompkins, Louisville’s Samardo Samuels, Alabama’s JaMychal Green, Missouri’s Kim English, UTEP’s Randy Culpepper, Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez, BYU’s Jimmer Fredette, Georgetown’s Chris Wright, Texas’ Damion James – and Seton Hall’s Jeremy Hazell and his 41 points in a losing effort.

When it came down to it, the last two finalists for Player of the Week were Mike Gerrity of USC and Devin Ebanks of West Virginia – and we couldn’t separate the two. Gerrity, a transfer from Charlotte who became eligible just four games ago, has completely transformed the Trojans. They have not lost since he arrived, and they went to Hawaii for the Diamonds Head Classic and won the title. In the three games in Hawaii, Gerrity averaged 15.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. Sure, the numbers aren’t All-American quality, but the way USC has gone from Pac-10 cellar dweller to potential conference contender under his leadership has been tremendous.

Ebanks came into the season expected to have a breakout season, but those plans were derailed when he missed the first three games due to a personal leave of absence. However, he showed his lottery pick potential this past week in two wins over Mississippi and Seton Hall. Ebanks went for 14 points, 13 rebounds and four assists against Ole Miss, but followed that up with 22 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists in an overtime win at Seton Hall to open Big East play. Furthermore, he played all 45 minutes and was essentially the point guard for WVU at Seton Hall.

It’s not protocol to select co-Players of the Week, but it felt necessary to give coverage to both Gerrity’s impact on USC and Ebanks’ dominant statistics. On the season, Gerrity is averaging 14.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.3 assists, while Ebanks is putting up 13.2 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists.

Previous CHN Player of the Week:

Dec 22: Dexter Pittman - Texas

Dec 14: Jacob Pullen - Kansas St

Dec 7: Trevon Hughes - Wisconsin

West Virginia Basketball Preview: #7

Joel Welser — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:41:58 -0800

Overall Rank: #7

Conference Rank: #2 Big East Conference

2008-09: 23-12, 10-8

2008-09 postseason: NCAA

Coach: Bob Huggins (49-23 at West Virginia, 639-234 overall)

Coach Bob Huggins has been bringing his type of players into West Virginia and those players are now experienced veterans. Only one player is gone from a team that went 23-12 overall and 10-8 in a very difficult Big East conference. The Big East will not be as good as it was last year and the Mountaineers will be much better.

Key Losses: G Alex Ruoff

Key Newcomers:

The biggest issue in this recruiting class is replacing Alex Ruoff at the shooting guard spot. Coach Huggins did just about as well as he could with the addition of the much acclaimed junior college transfer Casey Mitchell. The National Junior College Player of the Year is a superb shooter and could immediately replace the impressive shooting of Ruoff. This group needs some depth on the perimeter too and the versatile Dalton Pepper is just what the doctor ordered. The newcomers up front will find it more difficult to find playing time, but Deniz Kilicli should be a great player in a year or two and Danny Jennings is a physical presence under the basket.

Backcourt:

The point guard position looked good for a while when freshman Darryl Bryant replaced the injured Joe Mazzulla seven games into the 2008-2009 season. Everybody expected both to be back, but some off the court issues made their return questionable. However, both have been cleared to play and that gives the Mountaineers two superb ball handlers. Bryant will use his strength to get to the basket, but he is also a decent shooter. Mazzulla will not score as much, but he is a better distributor at this point in his career. Due to a lack of depth on the perimeter, do not be surprised if both are playing at the same time during certain situations.

Frontcourt:

This is where WVU gets really good. Wellington Smith, Da’Sean Butler and Devin Ebanks all started at least 34 games last year and should once again find themselves in the starting lineup, although younger players will be pushing them for minutes. Smith will not put up eye popping numbers, but he is the prototypical glue guy. Butler led the team in scoring, averaging 17.1 points per game last season and is one of the most dangerous inside-outside players in the nation. Sixth man Kevin Jones was very productive when he could find minutes and John Flowers is an active forward who can score in bunches.

Who to Watch:

Yet, it is Ebanks who is the emerging star of this team. As a freshman he averaged 10.5 points and a team high 7.8 rebounds and those numbers should go up with a year of experience. More importantly, Ebanks is tilting the scales at about 220 pounds now as opposed to about 195 pounds when he arrived in Morgantown. That extra strength will make him a dominating player in a frontcourt that should dominate most teams.

Final Projection:

Thanks to the return of Bryant and Mazzulla, West Virginia has everything it needs to win the Big East. Even if it takes the newcomers some time to adjust to the level of play, Bryant and Mazzulla can do enough to get the ball to the forwards. Having Mitchell emerge as a consistent outside shooter would be beneficial, but Butler and Bryant are both capable shooters and can stretch out the defense enough to give space to Ebanks under the basket.

Projected Post-season Tournament: NCAA

Projected Starting Five:

Joe Mazzula, Junior, Guard, 5.6 points per game

Casey Mitchell, Junior, Guard, DNP last season

Wellington Smith, Senior, Forward, 5.2 points per game

Da’Sean Butler, Senior, Forward, 17.1 points per game

Devin Ebanks, Sophomore, Forward, 10.5 points per game

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devin ebanks

Mike Gerrity & Devin Ebanks: CHN Co-Players of the Week

West Virginia Basketball Preview: #7