MORGANTOWN - How about a heaping helping of Huggins and hoops? It'll warm your soul - and perhaps elevate expectations - as West Virginia heads into its home basketball game against Bethune-Cookman tonight (7 p.m., Root Sports).
The Mountaineers are off to a 3-0 start. Although the wins have come against Northern Kentucky, James Madison and Stetson - teams with a combined 3-7 record and losses to The Citadel, Oral Roberts and Morehead State - there's plenty to like about West Virginia's undefeated start.
WVU has a pair of 40-point victories: 46 points against Northern Kentucky in the season opener and then 41 points against Stetson on Friday. That puts the Mountaineers No. 8 nationally in scoring margin (33.3). It's early, true, but West Virginia (3-0) is also No. 4 in scoring (98.7), No. 5 in rebounding margin (17.7), No. 3 in steals (13.0), No. 9 in turnover margin (7.3) and No. 1 in offensive rebounding (21.0).
Bethune-Cookman (2-1) should offer ample opportunity to reinforce or enhance those numbers. The Wildcats lost by 25 points to Richmond, and the Spiders lost to a JMU team WVU beat and put away Stetson by 23 points.
Add all of that up, and WVU should roll again.
The Mountaineers' schedule beefs up after tonight, though. Richmond awaits in Las Vegas on Thursday. San Diego State or California will be the opponent Friday. Nationally ranked Virginia comes two games after that.
West Virginia deserves to be ranked, too. This is a Sweet Sixteen team that lost two key pieces, Juwan Staten and Gary Browne, but has since added much more in terms of newcomers (particularly Esa Ahmad) and the overall improvement of the returning players.
That's my biggest takeaway from seeing the Mountaineers in person twice last week.
Devin Williams is a monster. He has three double-doubles in three games, and has climbed to No. 14 on the school's career double-double list with 20. He passed Bob Camp, Ricky Robinson, Willie Bergines and Darryl Prue with his 23-point, 10-rebound performance against Stetson. The next three names on the list: Damian Owens, Marcus Goree and Mark Workman.
"Devin Williams has a pretty good aptitude [for the game]," said WVU coach Bob Huggins, who also lauded Williams' pre- and post-practice work after Friday's game. "Devin understands what you're telling him. Other guys, honest to God, they look at you like you're speaking a foreign language."
Williams is getting plenty of help on the interior, too. Jonathan Holton had a double-double in each of the first two games of the season, and then sophomore big man Elijah Macon scored a career-high 18 points on 8 of 8 shooting against Stetson.
Macon's confidence is up, his weight is down and he is flashing an array of skills, like his penchant for passing.
"I'm glad you're catching on to that," Macon said to me after Friday night's win.
Macon said he has dropped about 10 pounds and is focused solely on basketball these days.
"I've been watching a lot of film and I've just tried to keep my mind on basketball this year," he said. "I had a lot going on last year."
Macon and Williams have both flashed passing skills out of the post.
"I think we both pass the ball very well," Williams said. "It's not seen as much when you have a Juwan Staten and Gary Browne out there, it's not needed as much. Our role last year was just score the ball close and grab rebounds ... it's a chance for us to go out there and show what else we can do."
WVU could take another step when the overall game of Esa Ahmad transitions to the college level. The 6-foot-7 freshman scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds against Stetson, but he also turned the ball over five times and missed four of his five foul shots.
It's a mixed bag, but the kid from Cleveland can play.
"I think he's more complete," Huggins said when comparing Ahmad to other freshmen he has coached. "He hasn't shot the ball very well because he really bruised his shoulder and they wanted him to not use that shoulder so much. He isn't shooting the ball very well because he hasn't shot very much.
"He can pass it, he can rebound it, he can handle. We are going to try and make it so I can say he can guard too. If he's in the gym all the time, he shoots it OK."
Huggins later added a few words that should delight WVU fans: "He's kind of a joy to coach," he said.
Ahmad scored 10 points combined in his first two games, but increased his involvement on the offensive end against Stetson.
"I'm just working my way in, day by day," Ahmad said. "I've been fighting a shoulder injury, but it felt great. It was good for me."
There have been other highlights. It's encouraging that the starting guards, sophomores Jevon Carter and Daxter Miles, have combined to average 30.0 points per game. Reserve guard Tarik Phillip had a career-high 10 assists against Stetson. Jaysean Paige is showing to be a reliable reserve, averaging 10.7 points per game and 45.5 percent 3-point shooting off the bench so far.
The team has a 10-man rotation, with Paige, Macon, Phillip, Teyvon Myers and Nathan Adrian coming off the bench.
Myers is struggling in his transition from junior college. He has missed eight of his first nine shots and is averaging 10.0 minutes per game. He has one assist against four turnovers.
WVU can overcome those kinds of dips, though, if it stays healthy. With James Bolden out for the season and Huggins talking redshirts for Lamont West and Brandon Watkins, there are only 10 scholarship players available.
Injuries could be tougher to stomach, but Huggins' response to how good his defense can be compared to last season can actually be applied to the overall prospects of the team.
"I think we can be better," Huggins said. "You're talking about the same guys, pretty much, with a year's experience. Potentially we can be better ... but it's a grind."