MORGANTOWN — Speculation continues to circulate on whether West Virginia sophomore Devin Ebanks will return next season or turn professional.
“It’s totally up to him,” coach Bob Huggins said recently. “I don’t know.”
Ebanks, a 6-foot-9, 215-pound forward from Long Island City, N.Y., said last week he had not made a decision. He insists the matter is on the back burner until postseason play is over.
“No, I haven’t decided about next year,” he emphasized after the Mountaineers finished the regular season with a 24-6 record, third place in the Big East and ranked in the Top 10 nationally. “I’m just trying to focus on school work and our tournament games. I still think we have a good chance to reach the NCAA Final Four this year.”
Ebanks made the All-Big East third team this season and a place on last year’s all-conference rookie team as a freshman.
“No, coach Huggins hasn’t talked to me about next year,” Ebanks said. “He’s busy focusing on the postseason now. All of us are.
“I think the Big East is the best conference in the country this year. It’s so competitive from top to bottom (as the many upsets proved)”
He is West Virginia’s leading rebounder with 273, an average of 8.3 per game. He also has scored 324 points — 12.4 per game — and had 66 assists, 28 steals and 19 blocked shots.
Ebanks played in only 26 of the 30 regular-season games, including 23 starts.
Ebanks, one of five players on The Sporting News preseason All-America list, was a highly ranked recruit when signed by WVU in May 2008 and has 15 double-doubles this year.
Huggins has said the big guy has been a significant contributor to the team’s success. But the veteran coach didn’t offer any specific reasons for Ebanks’ early-season absences.
Neither has the player.
“I learned quite a bit from coach Huggins in my two years here,” Ebanks admitted. “But I know I can get an idea (from scouts) where I might go in the NBA draft.
“I am very proud to have made some key plays — baskets and/or rebounds — in some close games that we won. My season has gone well this year.
“But I’m just not sure yet about coming back next year.”
Going into postseason play, Ebanks had played 61 games as a Mountaineer, with 57 starts. He averaged 31.8 minutes per game during his two years here and logged 690 points (11.3 average) and 490 rebounds (8.0 rpg).
Ebanks’ other career totals include 250 of 533 field goals (.469 percent), 182 of 251 free throws (.725 percent), 159 assists, 57 steals and 44 blocked shots.
He was named USBWA’s Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for his outings against Ole Miss and Seton Hall. He became the first WVU player to grab 17 or more rebounds in back-to-back games since Maurice Robinson (1977).
