MORGANTOWN - For the most part, the light weeks for West Virginia's basketball team aren't really all that light. Practices under Bob Huggins can be far more grueling than games at times, so if there's a break in the schedule it usually means it's time to buckle down and work on something.
MORGANTOWN - For the most part, the light weeks for West Virginia's basketball team aren't really all that light. Practices under Bob Huggins can be far more grueling than games at times, so if there's a break in the schedule it usually means it's time to buckle down and work on something.
This week was one of those exceptions, though.
The Mountaineers haven't played since Monday and don't again until Sunday's game at Providence. On the heels of a three-game losing streak over a span of just six days, the recipe for improvement wasn't more work, but less.
West Virginia is back at it now, having practiced hard Thursday and Friday. But the two days before that they did nothing. Whether or not that helped won't likely be known until the Mountaineers begin playing again, but the break was certainly appreciated.
"I figure everybody needed a break from each other - the team, the coaches, everybody,'' senior forward Kevin Jones said Friday. "I think it worked, and I think everybody will respond well against Providence.''
The Mountaineers (15-8, 5-5 Big East) face Providence (13-10, 2-8) at noon Sunday at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, R.I. The game will be televised by the Big East Network, locally on WCHS.
What did the players do during those two off days on Tuesday and Wednesday? Well, Jones said he stayed as far away from basketball as possible. He didn't think about and he certainly tried not to think about the consecutive losses the Mountaineers suffered at St. John's and Syracuse and at home against Pitt.
He hopes no one else thought about it - or will think about it - now, either.
"I just figure we don't even bring it up. It's kind of in the past now,'' Jones said. "We have to look at it as a whole new season. We've got eight games and we'll take it from there.''
Unfortunately, the Mountaineers probably will have to take it from here without redshirt freshman backup center Kevin Noreen, who broke his ankle Monday in the loss to Pitt and is likely out for the season.
On the surface, the loss of Noreen might not appear all that critical. After all, he was averaging just 2.3 points and 2.7 rebounds and was playing only about 12 minutes per game, numbers that had decreased to a total of only 15 minutes in the three games prior to his injury.
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In-season break is rarity for Huggins
MORGANTOWN - For the most part, the light weeks for West Virginia's basketball team aren't really all that light. Practices under Bob Huggins can be far more grueling than games at times, so if there's a break in the schedule it usually means it's time to buckle down and work on something.
This week was one of those exceptions, though.
The Mountaineers haven't played since Monday and don't again until Sunday's game at Providence. On the heels of a three-game losing streak over a span of just six days, the recipe for improvement wasn't more work, but less.
West Virginia is back at it now, having practiced hard Thursday and Friday. But the two days before that they did nothing. Whether or not that helped won't likely be known until the Mountaineers begin playing again, but the break was certainly appreciated.
"I figure everybody needed a break from each other - the team, the coaches, everybody,'' senior forward Kevin Jones said Friday. "I think it worked, and I think everybody will respond well against Providence.''
The Mountaineers (15-8, 5-5 Big East) face Providence (13-10, 2-8) at noon Sunday at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, R.I. The game will be televised by the Big East Network, locally on WCHS.
What did the players do during those two off days on Tuesday and Wednesday? Well, Jones said he stayed as far away from basketball as possible. He didn't think about and he certainly tried not to think about the consecutive losses the Mountaineers suffered at St. John's and Syracuse and at home against Pitt.
He hopes no one else thought about it - or will think about it - now, either.
"I just figure we don't even bring it up. It's kind of in the past now,'' Jones said. "We have to look at it as a whole new season. We've got eight games and we'll take it from there.''
Unfortunately, the Mountaineers probably will have to take it from here without redshirt freshman backup center Kevin Noreen, who broke his ankle Monday in the loss to Pitt and is likely out for the season.
On the surface, the loss of Noreen might not appear all that critical. After all, he was averaging just 2.3 points and 2.7 rebounds and was playing only about 12 minutes per game, numbers that had decreased to a total of only 15 minutes in the three games prior to his injury.
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MORGANTOWN - For the most part, the light weeks for West Virginia's basketball team aren't really all that light. Practices under Bob Huggins can be far more grueling than games at times, so if there's a break in the schedule it usually means it's time to buckle down and work on something.
This week was one of those exceptions, though.
The Mountaineers haven't played since Monday and don't again until Sunday's game at Providence. On the heels of a three-game losing streak over a span of just six days, the recipe for improvement wasn't more work, but less.
West Virginia is back at it now, having practiced hard Thursday and Friday. But the two days before that they did nothing. Whether or not that helped won't likely be known until the Mountaineers begin playing again, but the break was certainly appreciated.
"I figure everybody needed a break from each other - the team, the coaches, everybody,'' senior forward Kevin Jones said Friday. "I think it worked, and I think everybody will respond well against Providence.''
The Mountaineers (15-8, 5-5 Big East) face Providence (13-10, 2-8) at noon Sunday at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, R.I. The game will be televised by the Big East Network, locally on WCHS.
What did the players do during those two off days on Tuesday and Wednesday? Well, Jones said he stayed as far away from basketball as possible. He didn't think about and he certainly tried not to think about the consecutive losses the Mountaineers suffered at St. John's and Syracuse and at home against Pitt.
He hopes no one else thought about it - or will think about it - now, either.
"I just figure we don't even bring it up. It's kind of in the past now,'' Jones said. "We have to look at it as a whole new season. We've got eight games and we'll take it from there.''
Unfortunately, the Mountaineers probably will have to take it from here without redshirt freshman backup center Kevin Noreen, who broke his ankle Monday in the loss to Pitt and is likely out for the season.
On the surface, the loss of Noreen might not appear all that critical. After all, he was averaging just 2.3 points and 2.7 rebounds and was playing only about 12 minutes per game, numbers that had decreased to a total of only 15 minutes in the three games prior to his injury.
But Noreen was invaluable in that he was by far the most dependable backup to Deniz Kilicli in the middle. Now that role falls to junior college transfer Dominique Rutledge, who has yet to fully grasp the nuances of WVU's offensive and defensive systems.
"Dom's problem is it's hard to run anything when he's in the game because he just doesn't know what he's doing,'' Huggins said. "But we're going to have to try to get him, as best we can, up to speed. We'll try to simplify some things for him as best we can.''
That's in stark contrast to what Noreen brought. While far less athletic and certainly not flashy, he was Mr. Dependable.
"He's always in the right place,'' Huggins said. "He gets his hands on balls, he's in the right place defensively, he knows what he's doing on offense.''
Without Noreen, then, Kilicli will likely have to stay on the floor longer - he averages 25 per game but played 35 against Pitt - and he and Jones can't afford to be forced to the bench for long periods.
"We have to play smart. We can't get in foul trouble,'' Jones said. "Other teams are going to see that we have one more guy down and they're going to try and get us in foul trouble. We just have to stay away from stupid plays for the most part.''
"But Dom has been playing good. He's going to have to step up and he knows it. He's going to get a lot more playing time than he normally has, but I think he'll be prepared for it. He and [Kilicli] are making each other better and that's all we can ask for now.''
Reach Dave Hickman at 304-348-1734 or dphickm...@aol.com or follow him at Twitter.com/dphickman1
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This article is available only to our premium digital content subscribers.
In-season break is rarity for Huggins
MORGANTOWN - For the most part, the light weeks for West Virginia's basketball team aren't really all that light. Practices under Bob Huggins can be far more grueling than games at times, so if there's a break in the schedule it usually means it's time to buckle down and work on something.
This week was one of those exceptions, though.
The Mountaineers haven't played since Monday and don't again until Sunday's game at Providence. On the heels of a three-game losing streak over a span of just six days, the recipe for improvement wasn't more work, but less.
West Virginia is back at it now, having practiced hard Thursday and Friday. But the two days before that they did nothing. Whether or not that helped won't likely be known until the Mountaineers begin playing again, but the break was certainly appreciated.
"I figure everybody needed a break from each other - the team, the coaches, everybody,'' senior forward Kevin Jones said Friday. "I think it worked, and I think everybody will respond well against Providence.''
The Mountaineers (15-8, 5-5 Big East) face Providence (13-10, 2-8) at noon Sunday at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in Providence, R.I. The game will be televised by the Big East Network, locally on WCHS.
What did the players do during those two off days on Tuesday and Wednesday? Well, Jones said he stayed as far away from basketball as possible. He didn't think about and he certainly tried not to think about the consecutive losses the Mountaineers suffered at St. John's and Syracuse and at home against Pitt.
He hopes no one else thought about it - or will think about it - now, either.
"I just figure we don't even bring it up. It's kind of in the past now,'' Jones said. "We have to look at it as a whole new season. We've got eight games and we'll take it from there.''
Unfortunately, the Mountaineers probably will have to take it from here without redshirt freshman backup center Kevin Noreen, who broke his ankle Monday in the loss to Pitt and is likely out for the season.
On the surface, the loss of Noreen might not appear all that critical. After all, he was averaging just 2.3 points and 2.7 rebounds and was playing only about 12 minutes per game, numbers that had decreased to a total of only 15 minutes in the three games prior to his injury.
