[Editors Note] WVMountaineerSports.com is excited to welcome a new member of the team. Jeremy Curtis is a senior news-editorial major in the Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism at West Virginia University. He works as a sports correspondent for The Dominion Post, serving the greater Morgantown area. Jeremy is from Va. Beach, Va. and is the son of John and Linda Curtis. The Mountaineer tradition runs throughout his family. He is currently living in Morgantown and you can find him at all Mountaineer home games.

PROJECTED STARTERS

PG Darris Nichols 6′3″ 200 lbs Senior (Radford, Va.) 10.9 PPG 4.6 APG

SG Alex Ruoff 6′6” 215 lbs Junior (Spring Hill, Fla.) 10.3 PPG 5.3 APG 72 steals

SF Wellington Smith 6′7” 215 lbs Sophomore (Summit, N.J.) 2.3 PPG 0.9 RPG

PF Da’Sean Butler 6′7” 225 lbs Sophomore (Newark, N.J.) 10.1 PPG 3.5 RPG

F/C Joe Alexander 6′8″ 230 lbs Junior (Mt. Airy, Md.) 10.3 PPG 4.3 RPG 38 blocks

IMPACT PLAYERS OFF THE BENCH

PG Joe Mazzulla (6′2″ 210 lbs Sophomore), C Jaime Smalligan (7′ 265 lbs Senior), F John Flowers (6′7″ 195 lbs Freshman), SG Jonnie West (6′3″ 175 lbs Freshman).

SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN

The Mountaineers begin the Bob Huggins era with two winnable games at home against Arkansas-Monticello and Prairie View A&M in the Legends Classic tournament. Then they’ll travel to Newark, N.J. for the final two rounds of the Legends Classic, where they’ll battle no. seven Tennessee and either New Mexico State or no. 16 Texas. Butler and Smith will need to have a good showing in their home state as West Virginia will be tested in these early season match-ups. WVU hosts Winthrop on Saturday, Dec. 1, the same day of the football team’s 100th Backyard Brawl with Pitt. The Mountaineers will travel to Birmingham, Ala. Dec. 5 to play in the newly formed Pizza Hut Big East/SEC Invitational against the Auburn Tigers. Dec. 19 will be a homecoming game for Nichols as WVU travels to Radford. WVU and Oklahoma will meet in Charleston, W.Va. Dec. 29.

The Mountaineers will enter the Big East portion of their schedule Jan. 3 at Notre Dame. The no. 12 Marquette Golden Eagles come into Morgantown Jan. 6. WVU will hit the road shortly thereafter and play conference rival and sixth-ranked Louisville Jan. 10. The Syracuse Orangeman will come to town Jan. 13. That early stretch of tough conference games will be pivotal and will reveal how this Mountaineer team will compete in college basketball’s premier conference.

West Virginia and Marshall will play again in Charleston, Jan. 23.

Only three days later, the no. five Georgetown Hoyas will come into Morgantown. Huggins will have a chance to get his first signature win against a Final Four team from last year and the defending Big East champions. WVU will host Cincinnati at home Jan. 30. That will mark the first game Huggins will coach against his former Bearcat team. Critical road tests at Providence and at no. 20 Pitt follow. The Mountaineers will play at no. 25 Villanova Feb. 20. Pitt will head down I-79 and brawl with WVU for the second time, Mar. 3. WVU wraps up its regular season schedule at St. John’s Mar. 8.

The Big East tournament begins Mar. 12 and hopefully the Mountaineers will be in position to head to Madison Square Garden and boost their tournament resume.

SCOUTING THE NEW-LOOK MOUNTAINEERS

The word around Morgantown is small-ball. Don’t be surprised to see the Mountaineers go with a small lineup to try and create mismatches on the floor. Everyone will be interested to see the Beilein-system players adapt to the intense, in-you-face, athletic style of Huggins. WVU should be aggressive, physical and scrappy on both sides of the ball. Alexander is up to 230 and they’ll need him to be a shot-blocking force. He can provide the team with much needed physical defense and rebounding. Expect to see Alexander throw down some rim-rocking dunks that may blow the roof off of the Coliseum. Nichols is one of the most underrated point guards in the nation. He will look to score more and take over a leadership role, as the departed Frank Young will be sorely missed. WVU must fill Young’s void with scoring and especially clutch scoring. Butler and Smith should provide a nice one-two punch at the forward positions. Ruoff will need to be steady and provide defensive sparks with his knack for getting steals. This core of players knows how to win. Look back to a year ago. A 27-win campaign, topped off with a NIT championship, isn’t too shabby for a “rebuilding” team. Huggins has assembled an elite coaching staff. He and his assistants have produced countless NBA players. Huggins will continue to accumulate wins and is a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame. If the Mountaineers can continue building their tremendous team chemistry, be patient, especially early on in the season, and buy into Huggins winning style of play, there is no reason this team can’t be successful and earn an NCAA bid.

PROJECTED BIG EAST FINISH

1. Georgetown Hoyas 2. Louisville Cardinals 3. Marquette Golden Eagles 4. Providence Friars 5. Villanova Wildcats 6. Connecticut Huskies 7. West Virginia Mountaineers 8. DePaul Blue Demons 9. Notre Dame Fighting Irish 10. Pitt Panthers 11. Syracuse Orange 12. St. John’s Red Storm 13. Cincinnati Bearcats 14. South Florida Bulls 15. Seton Hall Pirates 16. Rutgers Scarlet Knights

PROJECTED POSTSEASON APPEARANCES

Georgetown- Elite Eight; Louisville- Final Four; Marquette- Sweet 16; Providence- NCAA second round; Villanova- NCAA first round; UCONN- Sweet 16; WVU- NCAA second round; DePaul- NCAA first round; ND- NIT; Pitt- NIT; Syracuse- NIT; St. John’s- NIT.