Shanna Rose I WV Sports Chat
In a week, Best Virginia hits the court for the Throwback Tournament (TBT), a 64-team, $1 million winner-take-all event. This year’s tournament returns to Charleston, West Virginia from July 18-23 with a new coaching staff headlined by Jarrod West, former West Virginia assistant Ron Everhart and Donald Kummer.
West played for Best Virginia in their initial TBT appearance in 2019, but is taking over the reins as head coach this season.
A familiar face returns to the court for Best Virginia this summer with John Flowers making his return after acting as general manager last year. Now 36, Flowers is making what could be his final appearance in TBT.
Flowers played at West Virginia from 2007 through 2011, where he averaged 5.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. After his tenure with the Mountaineers, the forward spent 12 years playing basketball overseas.
Joining Flowers on Best Virginia are several familiar faces, including Eduardo Andre, Jermaine Haley, Kedrian Johnson, Wesley Harris, Toby Okani and Tre Mitchell.
Andre played for WVU this past season, making nine starts in 31 games. He averaged 5.0 points and 3.8 rebounds. The 6-foot-11 center led the Mountaineers with 44 blocks. Prior to coming to Morgantown, Andre spent two seasons at Fresno State, where he scored 533 points, grabbed 409 rebounds, blocked 86 shots and had 65 steals.
Okani was another member of last season’s team. He spent one season with WVU, averaging 8.2 points and 4.1 rebounds. The 6-foot-8 guard spent two seasons with UIC where he averaged 11 points.
Johnson returns to Best Virginia after a year hiatus. He spent three seasons with the Mountaineers. During the 2022-23 season, he averaged 11.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 33 games. The 6-foot-3 guard scored career-high 27 points against Maryland in the NCAA Tournament. After college, Johnson went on to play overseas and played for the Bristol Flyers this past season, where he averaged 17.4 points.
Haley spent two years with WVU before going on to a professional career. Last season the 6-foot-7 guard played with the Motor City Cruise in the NBA G-League, where he averaged 3.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. During the 2019-20 season with the Mountaineers, Haley averaged 8.9 points and 4.3 rebounds.
Harris was a member of the Mountaineers from 2017-19, where he averaged 6.3 points and 3.9 boards per game while shooting 37 percent from the field over those two seasons. The 6-foot-7 forward played for FC Arges Pitesti in Romania this past season. He averaged 7.8 points and 1.8 rebounds.
Mitchell played one season for WVU before finishing his collegiate career at Kentucky after former Mountaineer head coach Bob Huggins resigned. In the 2022-23 season, the 6-foot-9 averaged 11.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists per contest in 34 games and 32 starts. While with the Wildcats, Mitchell averaged 10.7 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.0 blocks in 30.2 minutes per game in 27 appearances.
Jarrod West Jr. is joining his father’s staff as a player. The 5-foot-11 guard played at both Marshall and Louisville. He spent four seasons with the Herd, scoring over 1,200 career points before spending his final season with the Cardinals, where he averaged 6.1 points per contest.
Best Virginia also has some new faces this year, including J.D. Weatherspoon, James Reese V, Marcellus Garrick, and Will Vorhees.
Weatherspoon attended Ohio State and Toledo. The 6-foot-6 forward has spent several seasons overseas playing. This year he averaged 8.2 points and 4.7 rebounds.
Reese spent his collegiate career at Buffalo, North Texas and South Carolina. With the Gamecocks 10.4 points on 41.9 percent shooting during the 2021-22 campaign. He shot 33.8 percent from beyond the arc. After college, the 6-foot-4 guard played for the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks
Garrick played for Cal Poly and averaged 9.3 points and 2.3 rebounds. This past season he played for Beselidhja Lezhe, where he averaged 13.6 points.
Vorhees attended Notre Dame College and played overseas for the Obera Tennis Club in Argentina. The 6-foot-8 forward averaged 14.4 points this past season.
Best Virginia opens the tournament against the Dubois Dream on Friday, July 18 at 8 p.m. at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center.
Photo Credit: Shanna Rose
