West Virginia basketball coach John Beilein certainly has the attention of Mountaineer fans. In his first season after taking over for Gale Catlett, Beilein took a ragtag bunch of leftovers and rushed out to a 9-3 start that included a win over Tennessee and a shocker over Florida. WVU stumbled down the stretch, but there was enough sunshine to provide hope to those in the Mountain State.

"I like our direction," Beilein said. "We're building a program now, not a team. We want four-year players that are low-maintenance kids."

Beilein cut loose many of Catlett's recruits and played freshmen last season. He's hoping that pays off as he tries to follow the example of programs like Pittsburgh and Oregon. "I think we're still very much into rebuilding," Beilein said. "Last year we were so far behind the 8-ball but had to do things the right way and lost a couple players.

"This year, we'll have [transfer] D'or Fischer and three or four freshmen playing. Two or three of the freshmen will have to play big minutes. So we're still in a rebuilding phase. Very much so."

Beilein does, however, return standout Drew Schifino, who led the team in scoring last season with a 20.1 average, and 6-foot-10 shooting phenom Kevin Pittsnogle, who contributed to the USA Junior National Team this summer in Greece.

FRONTCOURT

The frontcourt is WVU's strength, especially if you include Schifino, who plays offensively as a forward and defensively as a guard. A third-team All-Big East pick as a sophomore, Schifino is a classic slasher. "Drew is very comfortable along the baseline and below the foul line," Beilein said. "He had a sensational year last season but had to play a lot of minutes, and that took a toll."

Schifino played in all 29 games last season for a team-leading 991 minutes played. His weakness was 3-point shooting; he hit at a 30 percent rate. "He's steadily improving that," Beilein said. "That will be important for him and us."

The team's leading 3-point shooter was, surprisingly, Pittsnogle, the big man, who hit 48 percent as a true freshman.

"Kevin had a sensational freshman year," Beilein said. "He's one of the premier shooters in the country."

The coach likes playing Pittsnogle on the perimeter, especially in light of the sophomore's lack of strength. To stick there, though, he'll have to improve his perimeter defense.

Beilein's game plan is to keep Pittsnogle outside and move in Fischer, who sat out last season after transferring from Northwestern State. At 6-11, 220 pounds, Fischer gives the Mountaineers the size they lacked last season when they were forced to use 6-7 Chaz Briggs down low.

Tyrone Sally, now a junior, is another returning starter at forward. He is one of WVU's best defenders but has problems maintaining weight.

BACKCOURT

The Mountaineers return both guards, yet may have a new starter in the backcourt.

Heralded freshman recruit Tyler Relph will challenge Jarmon Durisseau-Collins at the point. Relph hits the 3-point shot from NBA range, sees the floor and distributes nicely. If he's not ready, however, WVU is in fine shape with Durisseau-Collins, a speedy floor general with good defensive skills.

"Jarmon had a tough shooting year last season," Beilein said, "but he only had 27 turnovers. He did all the little things right."

Actually, at 5-10, Collins is a little thing. But that's not the case with fellow returning starter Johannes Herber, who stands 6-6 and weighs 205 pounds. Herber isn't fast but knows the game and takes care of the ball -- he had just 68 turnovers to go along with 111 assists. In addition, Herber usually guarded the opponent's best big man.

The coach's son, Patrick, proved to be a pleasant surprise as a freshman and should continue to contribute as a shooter off the bench.

FINAL ANALYSIS

The Big East may be in disarray, but one who stands to benefit is Beilein, who has been universally accepted in West Virginia as a winner. If the state's beloved football program falters, Beilein could take over as the big man on campus.

His second team, on paper, figures to be stronger. But conditioning and chemistry will be key this season. WVU looked exhausted at the end of last year and lost nine of its last 12.

If Fischer and Relph can contribute right away and Schifino and Pittsnogle continue to progress, Beilein should have West Virginia back in postseason play for the first time since 2000-01 -- when the Mountaineers lost to the Beilein-coached Richmond Spiders in the NIT.

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