Cody Nespor

MORGANTOWN — The impact of Tucker DeVries can’t be replaced by any one player on the WVU basketball roster. The Mountaineers are preparing for it to be a full team effort to make up for DeVries’s absence, however long that may be.

For any Mountaineer football fans who have misgivings about the program rehiring Rich Rodriguez, the higher-ups at WVU are trying to assuage any concerns.

It’s fair to say Rich Rodriguez would not have been named WVU football’s head coach today if it weren’t for Jacksonville State. The Gamecocks gave Rodriguez his first head coach job in five years when they hired him in 2022 and he thanked his former institution on Thursday.

There was a lot of excitement for the return of Rich Rodriguez inside the WVU Coliseum on Friday, but at least one person in attendance wasn’t happy. During Rodriguez’s opening statement, one attendee stood up and began to shout, drawing boos from the crowd while he was escorted out by police.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Javon Small led with 27 points, Jonathan Powell scored 14 in his first career start and WVU basketball defeated Bethune-Cookman 84-61 inside the WVU Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — There was no grand speech or last-minute advice given to Jonathan Powell before he made his first career start on Saturday. “You’re starting,” was all first-year WVU coach Darian DeVries told the freshman before the game.

WVU basketball keeps winning, but the Mountaineers’ latest victories haven’t been impressing many people across the nation. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had the Mountaineers as one of the last four teams in March Madness in his Bracketology two weeks ago, but two wins over weak non-conference opponents have them out of the field in his latest update.

WVU football cornerback Ayden Garnes will enter the transfer portal, he confirmed on social media Wednesday evening.

Offensive lineman Johnny Williams IV is the latest WVU player to enter the transfer portal, announcing the move Thursday on social media.

Freshman Jonathan Powell will continue to start for WVU basketball in place of the injured Tucker DeVries, first-year head coach Darian DeVries announced on Friday.