Oscar Tshiebwe, West VirginiaCredit: Mark Alberti/Icon Sportswire

We hope your 2021 is off to a better start than the West Virginia men’s basketball program.

What will presumably be lost in the general haze that is New Year’s Day morning, Mountaineers head coach Bob Huggins told reporters that sophomore big man Oscar Tshiebwe will be leaving the team.

Rauf Report: ACC woes, next year’s star
Arizona’s self-imposed postseason ban
SUBSCRIBE to today!

Gold and Blue Nation’s Anjelica Trinone reported early Friday that Tshiebwe is stepping away from the program, and when asking Huggins about if his return to the team was possible, Huggins simply said “No.”

“Did it catch me by surprise? No. What are we going to do moving forward? Win more games,” Huggins told reporters.

Now without one of the notable faces in the Big 12, here are three reasons why Tshiebwe’s departure will be a significant blow for West Virginia:

To view the rest, LOG IN or SUBSCRIBE!

Subscribers have access to every piece of Heat Check CBB premium content, including our weekly email newsletter, analysis, breakdowns, rankings and more at just $5.99/month.

Discover more from Heat Check CBB

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading