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MORGANTOWN - West Virginia concluded its preseason Wednesday night with a convincing 98-55 victory against Wheeling University inside the Hope Coliseum.
With it came some positives, some concerns, too, but also one major question: Are these Mountaineers with 12 newcomers ready to embark on a new college hoops season?
"We still have a lot of learning," said Ross Hodge, who is in his second season as WVU's head coach. "I think our ceiling to improve is high, but they're willing listeners. Up to this point, they've really tried to do what we asked of them, whether it was in practice or games."
There were moments that stood out, beginning with the Mountaineers starting the first and second half with dunks, courtesy of assists from WVU freshman point guard Miles Sadler.
Sadler's key moment came with 10:46 remaining in the first half, when he took his game to his fastest gear about 45 feet from the bucket. He blew right past three Wheeling defenders for an easy lay-in.
"We were about to run a set play, and he just, yeah, the speed," Hodge said. "It wasn't like he just caught the ball and went. He was able to change pace and keep the defense off balance."
Sadler finished the three exhibition games as WVU's top scorer, averaging 16 points and five assists per game. He finished with 15 points and six assists against Wheeling.
"Miles is young and he's a five-star (recruit). We all want to see him succeed and do super well," said WVU guard Finley Bizjack, who added 14 points. "I think he grew a lot in the exhibitions. Against Maryland, he fouled out, and so, he had to grow up fast. He's grown incredibly fast to make the adjustment from high school."
WVU forward Joson Sanon, who sat out last week's exhibition win against Glenville State with a thigh bruise, found himself in a heat check in his return to the court. The St. John's transfer nailed three consecutive 3-pointers in what was a 13-0 WVU run for an early 15-4 lead.
"I'm good to go now," said Sonon, who finished with 11 points and five rebounds.
To begin the second half, the Mountaineers connected on 16 of their first 21 attempts, which included three dunks, three 3-pointers and 10 lay-ups.
There were also some moments that created a pause. Against an outmanned Division II squad, the Mountaineers went a stretch of 8:14 in the first half with no field goals, although they were a solid 11 of 14 from the foul line during that same stretch.
"Historically, if you look at some of our guys' foul rates, they draw a lot of fouls," Hodge said. "Miles has the ability to draw fouls. Finley can draw fouls. (Brenen Lorient) has had a high foul rate in his career. A lot of those guys, they just naturally know how to get fouled. When runs are happening against you, it is a good way to calm everyone down and get to the line and step up and make them."
All of it leads the Mountaineers into next Monday's season opener against Niagara, which is coming off an 8-22 season under Greg Paulus, a former Duke standout point guard from 2005-2009.
It will be a challenging nonconference schedule of 14 games that includes the likes of ACC mainstays North Carolina and Wake Forest. A trip to Las Vegas in November will feature a game against Auburn and quite possibly a pre-Big 12 match-up against Kansas.
There's also two rivalry games: one at Pitt and one in Morgantown against Virginia Tech, before a grueling Big 12 schedule begins.
The way Hodge put it, the Mountaineers may not be set just yet for a back-to-back against Texas Tech and Arizona, but his team is in a good spot to start the nonconference season.
"I think we're ready to play," Hodge said. "We're not anywhere close to a finished product, but I think we have what we need to play the game on Monday."
Former WVU standout Kevin Pittsnogle was in attendance to watch his son, Kwynsie, play for the Cardinals. Kwynsie had six points on two 3-pointers and Wheeling was led by Levon Jacobs' 13 points.