Javon Small was the best player on mediocre teams during his first three college seasons. Now he’s the Big 12’s leading scorer and a major reason why short-handed West Virginia is relevant again.
No. 21 West Virginia was picked to finish 13th in the 16-team Big 12 under first-year coach Darian DeVries. Buoyed by its first win at Kansas last week, West Virginia (11-3, 2-1 Big 12) is ranked for the first time in two years and is off to its best start since going 15-1 in the 2017-18 season. And DeVries has the best record for a first-year coach through 14 games at West Virginia since 1960-61.
That's due in no small part to Small. He leads the league in scoring at 19.5 points per game —three more points than anyone else. Two of his five career double-doubles have come in the past week that included a pair of 11-rebound games. He's among the league leaders in steals and free-throw percentage.
"We’re going to keep going to him,” DeVries said. “He’s been incredible. He’s playing at a high level. I think he’s one of the best guards in the country.”
Small spent his first two seasons at East Carolina. He averaged team-highs of 16 points and six assists in 2022-23 before a leg injury ended his season and the Pirates lost nine of their final 15 games. At Oklahoma State last year he averaged 15 points and four assists on a team that went 12-20.
He chose West Virginia because he was familiar with DeVries’ system at Drake and knew Chester Frazier, who spent the last three seasons as an assistant at Illinois and is now West Virginia’s associate head coach. Frazier brought current WVU players Sencire Harris and Amani Hansberry with him.
“I just do what the team needs me to do,” Small said.
Small and the Mountaineers will be challenged to keep up the pace.
Small has logged the most minutes in the league. Upper body injuries have sidelined standout teammates Tucker DeVries and Jayden Stone. DeVries, a two-time Missouri Valley Conference player of the year at Drake, has missed six games while Stone, a prolific scorer at Detroit Mercy last season, has yet to play this season. Hansberry missed a game last week with an ankle injury.
They'll also have to continue leaning hard on their defense, which had held four opponents to 50 or fewer points.
“Defense is all about communication,” Small said. “We all understand our spots as far as where we’re supposed to be. But if there’s no communication, something might slip up or break down, then we won’t know what to do. So you’ve always got to talk.”
The depleted lineup took a hit Tuesday night. Small scored 17 points but no other Mountaineers were in double figures in a 75-56 loss to Arizona that snapped West Virginia's seven-game winning streak.
“We’re fine. Injuries happen, foul trouble happens,” Darian DeVries said. “We’re going to play. That’s just part of it.”
Instead, he said his players weren't as physical and aggressive as in previous games.
“Our formula is the same,” he said. "We have to play a certain way to be successful. We understand our margin for error is not very big. If we deviate from that at all, these are the results that we get.”
Still, midway through the season, West Virginia has beaten three ranked teams, including a nonconference win against Arizona in November, and has already surpassed last year's win total.
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd said he's impressed with how Darian DeVries has turned West Virginia around with an entirely new roster, especially considering the injuries.
“I mean, you win some of these close games, you beat an Arizona, you beat a Gonzaga, you beat Kansas. Are you kidding me?" Lloyd said. "If I was that guy’s agent, I would have two more years in that contract right now.”
___
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
