Official WVU Nike Pro Combat Uniform

It has been officially announced that West Virginia will wear their Nike Pro Combat unforms against Pitt in the Backyard Brawl on November 26th.

The new uniforms were unveiled Wednesday morning in a ceremony in New York City. Bob Huggins, who has been associated with Nike for many years, came on stage to give the speech and unveil the uniforms. (Video Below)

The Nike designers started with a white uniform and imagined what it would look like after emerging from a coal mine. “The result is a smudged black coal dust pattern you see on the helmet, base layer, numbers and down both pant legs,” Huggins said.

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Former Mountaineer star Da’Sean Butler has signed a contract with the Miami Heat. He is now the Heat’s 18th player under contract heading into training camp. The terms of his deal remain undisclosed.

Butler was the 42nd player taken in the draft, but the Heat had him rated as the 21st best player on their board. Butler was a second team All-American and averaged over 17 points and 6 rebounds during his senior year at West Virginia. He hit countless big shots for the Mountaineers including two game winners in the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden. The second of those two game winners gave West Virginia their first Big East Tournament Championship in school history. He ended his career at WVU as the third leading scorer in school history behind NBA Hall of Famers Jerry West and Rod Hundley.

Butler slipped in the draft after tearing his ACL in the Final Four against Duke, but doctors expect him to be able to participate in most aspects of camp when the team begins their workouts in late September.

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Mike Shaw is a 6′8, 220 pound power forward from De La Salle Institute in Chicago, Illinois. He recently cut his list down to just five schools. The five schools that made the cut are West Virginia, Notre Dame, Illinois, Marquette, and DePaul. Shaw is rated a 4-star and is ranked #58 in the Rivals 150 for 2011.

He is a physical player, but also a very skilled player. He can be a matchup problem on offense with his quick feet and ability to get to the basket. He is very versatile defensively and is able to defend multiple positions. Rebounding is another strong point in Shaw’s game. He uses his quickness and jumping ability to crash the offensive and defensive boards. Shaw also handles the ball well, and is a great passing big man.

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Football season is almost here! Will this be the year West Virginia re-claims their spot at the top of the Big East and proves who the real big dog is in the conference?

When the Cadillac is available, you don’t jump in the Chevette to go out cruisin’. That’s why you don’t play the Friends of Coal Bowl in Huntington when Morgantown is available for the weekend. West Virginia University has the bigger and better stadium, the harder rockin’ atmosphere, and the more charming town. Sorry, Huntington, you know it’s true. I happen to think this game should continue, just not on Marshall’s terms. They simply haven’t done a thing to earn the right. The all time series favors the Mountaineers 9-0 dating back to 1911. It’s West Virginia that brings TV audiences via the Big East-ESPN television deal. It’s clear they’re just trying to get a piece of that action when Marshall brings nothing more than hot dogs and off-brand cola products.

So why continue the series at all? Ya’ know? Marshall wants to show up with their plastic cup but they ain’t pitched in for the keg.

Here’s why. Marshall needs to be put in their place every single year. They somehow get the nerve to try and punk down West Virginia for not wanting to play the alleged ‘In-State Rivalry’. I don’t where they find the nerve, my guess is it gets washed down river during floods or something along those lines. They print words claiming ‘West Virginia is afraid to play Marshall at Huntington’. The only thing West Virginia fears about playing in Huntington is having their shoes smell like crap for the rest of the season. For now, let’s stick to Morgantown, when they prove to be a worthy opponent and not schedule filler then we can renegotiate the terms.

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Last season it seemed the Mountaineers tiptoed the tight rope of injury disaster by being one player away from fielding what amounted to essentially a junior varsity squad. The offensive line was playing ‘Iron Man’ football with five gritty big fellas (let the record show that ‘Iron Man’ football at the BCS level in this day and age means not having an alternate). When Jarrett Brown fell to the ground concussed against Marshall there was not a quarterback with a shred of experience to take snaps. In 2008, an injury to Noel Devine would have crippled the roster to the point forcing Devine back onto the field in a wheel chair or with bionic limbs. Last year, Ryan Clarke helped bolster the running back position a bit, but he was just a redshirt freshman not completely capable of implementing a full offensive game plan. As if the lack of veterans on the defense wasn’t scary enough, every defensive unit was a broken bone or torn muscle from becoming not only swiss cheese, but a dripping, melted liquid with slightly scorched edges.

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Jermichael Selders verbally committed to play football at West Virginia University today. Selders is a 5′11, 180 running back from Cypress Creek High School in Houston, Texas. He has offers from Arkansas, Baylor, California, Colorado, Iowa State, Memphis, Minnesota, Mississippi State, and several other schools. Recruiting services have him listed as a 3-star. Selders is another player that most people expect to take a jump in the recruiting rankings after an impressive summer.

This is a big pickup for the Mountaineers as Selders was one of the players at the top of West Virginia’s recruiting board this year. West Virginia coaches, including his lead recruiter Chris Beatty, love what they have seen from the Texan. Coaches and scouts describe Selders as having tremendous speed, vision, and lateral quickness. He has a very solid frame and can definitely add weight and muscle after spending time in the weight room.

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Justin (J.T.) Turner has been granted his release from the University of Michigan and will transfer to West Virginia. Turner was one of UM’s prized recruits last year. He was unhappy with his playing time at Michigan and decided to transfer. He will have to sit out a year at WVU before becoming eligible next season.

Turner is a 6′2 195 pound defensive back that can play safety or corner. Scout rated him as a 5-star and the #3 rated CB in the country. Rivals had him listed as a 4-star and the #3 safety in the country, as well as the #35 player overall nationally. Turner played football at Massilon High School, which is one of the nation’s top high school programs. West Virginia recruited Turner out of high school, but in the end it came down to Michigan and Ohio State.

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Jabarie Hinds is a 5′11, 165 pound point guard from Mount Vernon, NY. Most West Virginia fans recognize Mount Vernon as the school that produced current Mountaineer star Kevin Jones.

Hinds has cut his list of schools to just three. The three schools that made the cut are West Virginia, UNLV, and Oklahoma State. He had a very impressive offer sheet that included schools like Connecticut, Louisville, Wake Forest, Miami, Florida State, Boston College, Seton Hall, South Carolina, Cincinnati, Virginia, and St. John’s.

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