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Dominion Post
3 days ago
- Sport
- Dominion Post
Best Virginia, Shell Shock look very similar heading into TBT quarterfinals
MORGANTOWN — If Best Virginia is to make a run to The Basketball Tournament (TBT) semifinals for the first time ever, it just might have to beat itself. The WVU alumni team faces Shell Shock (Maryland alumni) at 6 p.m. Monday inside the Charleston Coliseum with three more wins separating Best Virginia from the $1 million winner-take-all prize money. On paper, the two teams are nearly identical. In winning the James Madison Regional, Shell Shock shot a combined 43.4% from the floor, averaged 74.7 points and 40 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Best Virginia won the West Virginia Regional while shooting 43.5% and averaging 77.7 points and 40 rebounds per game. Both teams averaged just over nine 3-pointers per game. Shell Shock averaged 15.3 makes from the free-throw line. Best Virginia made 14.7 free throws per game. 'The blessing is we'll be back here in the friendly confines,' of Charleston, Best Virginia head coach Jarrod West said. 'The way we play, we'll have to rest up for a couple of days and get our legs back. It's funny, we've played three totally different teams. First game was 94 feet, run and jump and wear you down. Second game, throw the ball 15 feet and in. The third game was about veterans and professionals and isolation (plays).' The quarterfinal game may simply be like looking in a mirror of sorts. Both teams know about being in close games. Best Virginia's three wins came by an average of seven points a game. Shell Shock's margin of victory was 3.3 points per game. Best Virginia has the more explosive scorer in former North Texas guard James Reese, who is averaging 21.7 points per game in TBT. Shell Shock has the more recognizable player in 6-foot-10 center Diamond Stone, a former 5-star recruit who was a McDonald's All-American and ranked the No. 6 overall player in the 2015 recruiting class. He was a one-and-done player at Maryland before becoming the 40th overall selection in the 2016 NBA Draft. Shell Shock's leading scorer, Ronald March (17.0 ppg), just may be one of the better stories of the tournament, too. He began his college career at Houston Baptist, before transferring to a junior college. He finished his college career at tiny NAIA-level Philander Smith (Little Rock, Ark.) University, before embarking on a professional career that's taken him to parts of the world such as India, Sweden, France and Ukraine. 'We should be well prepared and ready to go for whatever we face,' West said. One change West will likely make to his lineup is getting 6-foot-6 power forward J.D. Weatherspoon some more playing time. After sitting out the team's first-round game, Weatherspoon, who played collegiately at Ohio State and Toledo, has scored a combined 26 points and added 21 rebounds in Best Virginia's next two games. 'I could have pouted, but I didn't say anything to the coach,' Weatherspoon said about sitting out the first game. 'I didn't want to send negative energy towards the team, you can't do that. I just kept a positive attitude. I knew the team was going to need me.' 'I take all of that blame,' added West. 'I told him going into our second game to be ready and we've been riding him ever since.' BEST VIRGINIA vs. SHELL SHOCK WHEN: 6 p.m., Monday WHERE: Charleston Coliseum TV: FS1 (Comcast 271, HD 857; DirecTV 219; DISH 150)
Dominion Post
23-07-2025
- Sport
- Dominion Post
Best Virginia advances, James Reese quickly making a WVU connection in TBT run
CHARLESTON – The connection between James Reese and the WVU men's basketball program has generally been a story of respect from a distance. That's changed over his last three days inside the Charleston Coliseum, where he dropped 21, 20 and 24 points over three games that led Best Virginia to the West Virginia Regional championship and a trip to the TBT national quarterfinals following a 79-68 victory against top-seeded Elite Nation on Tuesday. TBT is a $1 million winner-take-all tournament. 'Back in my college days, WVU was always one of those teams I loved to watch,' said Reese, who nailed the game-ending 14-foot shot against Elite Nation that gave him 24 points to go along with six assists and four rebounds. 'They were always that tough and gritty team that played hard defense and never backed down. That's sort of my basketball DNA, too.' Best Virginia, the WVU alumni team competing in its sixth TBT all-time, is in the final eight for the first time since 2022. Best Virginia will remain in the state, as Charleston will host the quarterfinal round. Best Virginia will play Shell Shock – an alumni team from the University of Maryland – at 6 p.m. Monday for the right to advance to the semifinals. Shell Shock won the James Madison Regional with a 68-62 victory against NXT ERA Elite on Tuesday. Some of Reese's college days were spent at North Texas, where he played for then-assistant coach Ross Hodge, now the WVU head coach. That's Reese's distant connection to the Mountaineers. He was also a former roommate at South Carolina with former WVU player Erik Stevenson. 'Actually, when Erik was called up to the Miami Heat for (NBA) Summer League, it opened up the spot here,' Reese said. 'He was the one who called me and told me about the opening. That was how I got connected.' For added measure, there was also a sort of mutual respect between Best Virginia head coach Jarrod West and Reese. When West's son – also named Jarrod – played at Marshall, the two would bang against each other often in Conference USA matchups. 'Him and Lil Jarrod went at each other a few times,' coach West said. 'I knew his game from afar. Getting to know him more now, James is about doing the right things. He does the things that I've tried to instill into my own kids. 'Having him join our team was a no-brainer. He's a winner, it's in his DNA.' That became clear when it appeared Best Virginia was headed for defeat midway through the third quarter. Trailing 54-42, Reese nearly went on a one-man scoring spree. There was a driving lay-up, a free throw and then a wide-open 3-pointer. After former WVU standout Kedrian Johnson nailed two free throws, Best Virginia had cut the lead to 59-58. 'I never would have dreamed of having three games like this,' Reese said. 'Being with these guys at Best Virginia, they get all the credit. We've got a great coaching staff and great teammates. It all just kind of came together for me, but this has been a real blessing.' That fourth quarter belonged to Best Virginia, to Reese and to teammate J.D. Weatherspoon, who came up with five big points and some even bigger rebounds in the fourth quarter for Best Virginia. Reese added a 3-pointer that gave Best Virginia a 64-62 lead with 8:01 remaining. By the time the Elan Ending was set, Best Virginia's lead had grown to 70-63. That set the target score at 78. During the Elam Ending, Reese hit two free throws for a 74-63 lead. Moments later, he hauled in a pass from Toby Okani and drove in from the right side. His game-ender came a step inside the foul line. 'I thought we executed well in the Elam Ending,' West said. 'I think we took only one bad shot. I don't think they took any good shots.' Reese's final connection with the WVU program, well, that came with the firing of the Mountaineers' musket. 'The only reason it didn't scare me was because I was paying attention,' Reese said. 'Man, that thing goes off loud, though. That is something else.'
