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9. West Virginia. Though the Mountaineers lost just two players from last year's rotation, no Big East team faces a greater transition than West Virginia. Out are John Beilein and his extreme, perimeter-based offense built around spacing and nailing threes. In are Bob Huggins and his in-your-face intensity and drive-and-kick offense built around aggression and brute force. With the possible exception of Bob Knight, no other replacement for Beilein would have given West Virginia fans a starker contrast than Huggins, both in temperament and style of play.

This shift makes the Mountaineers a particularly difficult team to diagnose as the season sits two months ahead. By the end of last march, West Virginia was clearly a top-40 team and perhaps better. After just missing out on the NCAA Tournament, the 'Neers romped through the NIT, capping their run with wins over Mississippi State and Clemson in Madison Square Garden. Now they'll have their hands full trying to get back in the NCAA Tournament with their coach in Michigan and their team leader, Frank Young, playing pro ball.

I've spent several thought moments considering which players will benefit or be hurt most from Huggins' arrival. Joe Alexander's athleticism should keep him on the floor - he was more of a backdoor-cutter and basket-defender than a jump shooter for Beilein. If he can add some meat to his bones - and Huggins is trying to get all of his players to become stronger - he should get plenty of run at both forward spots. Da'Sean Butler came off the bench to do a lot of damage for West Virginia last year, and his ability to defend and do a bit of rebounding should give him a starting nod alongside Alexander. At 6-8, 210 and 6-7, 205, Alexander and Butler aren't the stout set of forwards Huggins prefers, but they're the best options on this roster, and both have diverse skill sets.

In the backcourt, senior Darris Nichols is the man. The senior from Radford, Va., was one of the best offensive players in the country while leading Beilein's offense, and while his efficiency will drop off in Huggins' style, he's still the best option at the point. Last season, Nichols shot 57 percent on 2-pointers and 42 percent on 3-pointers, and he got to the line better than any other Mountaineer who got big minutes - he made 84.3 percent when he got there. He also was terrific at initiating the offense, though he's not a superior defender thanks to merely average quickness. Huggins shouldn't ask him to be the penetrator he often employs at the point guard spot, as Nichols is ill-suited for that responsibility, and he may also struggle to pressure the ball to Huggins' liking.

Those factors should open the door for sophomore Joe Mazzulla to see expanded minutes. That Nichols barely left the floor last season meant that Mazzulla didn't see much floor time in his first year out of Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick, R.I. When he got on the floor, he was often over-anxious and foul-prone, but he should be able to establish a flow with more run this winter. He was the most relieved Mountaineer when Beilein left for Ann Arbor this spring and was particularly impressive this summer. Mazzulla should be able to pierce defenses with the bounce and is particularly adept at getting to the foul line. With the chance to play more, Mazzulla's shot, which abandoned him last year (just 26 percent from deep), should return to the exceptional form he showed in high school.

Alex Ruoff is the third guard in what should be an interesting rotation for Huggins. Ruoff figures to be the man most likely to suffer under the new regime, as his game was ideally tailored for Beilein's style. At 6-6, Ruoff will have a hard time defending opposing 2-guards because of his mediocre quickness, while his thin frame will make stronger wing players a problem. Still, Ruoff led the West Virginia in steals rate last season, so he clearly has good defensive instincts. Ruoff took the second-most 3-pointers on the team last year (behind Young) and a 33.7 percent success rate indicates that he could benefit from an offense that is more selective in shooting the bombs this year.

The top freshman entering West Virginia is late signing John Flowers out of Leonardtown, Md. Built along the lines of Butler, Flowers will face you up and take you to the hole, but he lacks a dependable jumper and a strong post game. But he should be good enough to back up both forward spots as a freshman, and he's the type of versatile player that fits into the kind of team Huggins hopes to build. Finally, I would be remiss should I fail to mention Wellington Smith, a sophomore, sparingly used last year, who some compare to former Mountaineer Tyrone Sally. He's another option on a wing loaded with playmakers.

That gives West Virginia seven options at the 1-4 spots, but we've yet to address the gaping hole in the middle of the team. Beilein's West Virginia teams were terrible on the glass and just as bad defending inside. Last year's team was 15th in the 16-team Big East in 2-point field-goal defense, 13th in defensive rebounding, 16th in offensive rebounding and 11th in opponents free throw rate (stats courtesy Ken Pomeroy). West Virginia was able to make up for those horrid figures by being so good everywhere else, but Huggins' teams are built the same. The Mountaineers will be better in those numbers because of the switch in style but not by much, and certainly not enough to make up for the expected drop-off in offensive efficiency.

Huggins' first priority during this recruiting period will be to bring in big men capable of banging in the Big East, because his roster is without one. Rob Summers was hardly a bruiser, but he was capable on the boards and a decent shot-blocker. But he's gone, which leaves Jamie Smalligan, who has none of Summers' talents but he is an able shooter, though Huggins is unlikely to consider a 7-0, 250-pound jump shooter an asset. Smalligan is a modest rebounder and not much of a defender, but with 6-9 freshman Jacob Green the only other player taller than Alexander, Smalligan may be the only option.

While Huggins certainly wants to mold his alma mater in his own image, he'd be better served to go small in the front court and favor his team's strengths. This squad was uniquely built for a precise style, so much so that, if this squad were coached by Beilein, WVU would be a top-five pick in the Big East. And this has nothing to do with Huggins' coaching ability, but, in a league with such a strong mid-section, West Virginia could fall to 10 or lower.

Huggins will get WVU back in the top half of the Big East shortly, but an inaugural year of growing pains could see West Virginia, like last season, fighting for its NCAA Tournament life down the stretch. It's ironic that, with a team that is sure to look entirely different this season, West Virginia could, in the first week of March, end up in the same predicament for the second straight year.