Shanna Rose | WV Sports Chat
KANSAS CITY — West Virginia women’s basketball is heading into the new season with a clear identity: versatile, balanced, and defensively tough. At Big 12 Media Day on Tuesday, head coach Mark Kellogg highlighted the team’s focus on blending experienced leaders with a group of talented newcomers.
“The irony a little bit is the roster is smaller,” Kellogg said. “We only have 11 players, so that doesn’t always go hand-in-hand with the depth and balance, but I do think we have a very balanced roster and versatility is really the word that allows us to play different ways. We’ve tried to, through the transfer portal and through recruiting, identify some areas maybe that we were a hair deficient in a year ago to see if we can’t kind of knock down that proverbial Sweet 16 wall, if you will.
“But we’ve been within possessions and back-to-back years of making the Sweet 16. And we needed to clean up some rebounding and hopefully we can shoot it a little bit better from three and not lose our defensive identity that we’ve kind of been known for. So I think we have had a great plan of attack. We like what we’ve had with the players so far. Great group. All 11 of them get along. We’re just still learning a little bit about each other and we’ll continue to learn as the year goes.”
While losing players like JJ Quinerly and Kyah Watson was tough, Kellogg believes the new roster dynamics are an opportunity for a more balanced offense.
“I think we’ll be a little different now on the offensive end,” he said. “I think we’ll maybe be able to score and have a little more production in the paint than we have in the past. So it will be fun to have a balanced inside-and-out attack, which is going to just be a little bit different for us than what we’ve had my first two years.”
Despite having several new additions, defense is still going to be a focus for the Mountaineers. There is still work to do, but Kellogg plans on it remaining a top priority.
“We got a little bit of work to do, don’t we, still on that end, they’re all nodding,” he said. “But they don’t really have a choice in some regards. It’s just kind of the identity. It’s what we are about.”
Leadership from upperclassmen remains central for WVU, and senior guard Jordan Harrison is ready to guide the team.
“I would definitely say just making sure that I’m not turning down any shots,” she said. “I’m being more productive, being more of a leader, just trying to get my new teammates acclimated to the system because I can’t do it without them. So, if they don’t know what they’re doing and I do, it’s not going to work. So, yeah, just trying to help my teammates out and just be that leader and that helping ear for them for sure.”
Guard Sydney Shaw emphasized communication and team chemistry as essential for integrating the newcomers.
“I think on the court we focus on communicating effectively,” she said. “Off the court it’s easy. I think they did a really good job recruiting good people, funny people, that’s important for me. But we get along great off the court, so on the court just meeting everybody where they are and trying to, you know, get everybody on the same page.”
The senior guard spent the offseason focusing on her game and becoming a better leader for the newcomers and younger players.
“Decision making, for one. I think that I’m aware of how much I have to step up this year,” Shaw said. “So, not looking at it as pressure, but as opportunity. So take, like Jordan said, taking those shots. We’re in a blessed position where coaches like shoot it. You know, a lot of people aren’t in that position. So just taking advantage of that.”
Kierra Wheeler is in her first season with the Mountaineers, but as a graduate student who spent the last three seasons playing at Norfolk State, she is a seasoned veteran who fits right in with Kellogg’s crew and knows how to lead by example.
From her first visit to Morgantown, Wheeler felt right at home and instantly bought in.
“When I first came on my visit, it was very welcoming and I just like everything that the Mountaineers really represented, and that’s something I want to embody, not in basketball but in my life as well,” she said.
The 6-foot-1 forward brings a lot to the table for WVU.
“I think Coach Kellogg used it earlier, but versatility, like my ability to score in the paint, but also bring my defenders outside when I do get put on bigger defenders,” Wheeler said.
With flexibility throughout his roster, Kellogg is excited to have numerous options.
“We still will use a lot of our defense to lead the offense, play in the open court when we can with a numbered advantage. When we get in the half court, though, I think now we just have the ability to throw it inside,” he said. “Obviously, that’s the highest percentage shot, as we all know, and last year we had to do it a lot off the dribble. So, hopefully a few more assists, sharing the basketball, just allowing us to play inside-out. We can run some high-low stuff with some of these post players if we would like to, but that’s the kind of versatility I’m talking about. We can get into ball screen action, we can get into some high-low action, but we really just have a better ability now to score really at all three levels than we’ve had in the past.”
The Mountaineers face a challenging early-season slate, including top programs like Duke, Ohio State, and Villanova. Kellogg also stressed the importance of home-court advantage in Morgantown, where fan energy helped West Virginia go 16-0 last season.
“We have some of the best fans in the country, and I think they get really hyped and riled up because of our defense,” he said. “But having them is important because if we are kind of in a slump, having their energy and them encouraging us kind of helps us. And it’s just more exciting playing in front of people that’s cheering for you.”
With veteran leadership, versatile newcomers, and a renewed inside-out approach, West Virginia is poised to compete for another deep run in the Big 12 — and potentially beyond in the postseason.
Photo credit: WVU Athletics
