Mountaineers will take time, but will adapt

A Big 12 beatdown isn’t fun for the opposing team. West Virginia learned that the hard way Saturday after the men’s and women’s basketball teams got blasted by perennial powerhouses Kansas and Baylor, respectively.

Though the outcomes of the games shouldn’t have been surprising, it’s another lesson in humility for Mountaineer fans who expected West Virginia to find success easily during the transition year to the Big 12 Conference.

Clearly, the Mountaineers were not expected to win yesterday, but those who had hopes of watching close contests were sadly disappointed as both teams were trounced in almost every aspect of the game.

Football season gave everyone the idea West Virginia would have the ability to sweep into the Big 12 and plant its flag as a legitimate contender for conference supremacy in its inaugural season.

The preseason hype and early season fireworks ultimately fizzled into a disappointing finale for the team, and lots of questions remain after the departure of several members of the football coaching staff.

Basketball season was a fresh start for the Mountaineers, and fans had high hopes for the teams’ hoops prospects. Now, as we near postseason play, it’s clear the Big 12 wasn’t as welcoming as we all thought it would be.

A myriad of factors have contributed to the men’s disappointing season, many of which have occurred off the floor. Getting used to cross-country road trips, new venues and new opponents has proved a task that required more than a couple of weeks.

This hasn’t come as a surprise to the administration, the coaches or even the teams. Some fans expected this, but even those who had doubts hoped the transition would be a little smoother.

It’s apparent now the learning curve is much steeper than expected for all West Virginia athletic teams.

Though things have looked bleak across the board, I can assure you things will get better – though probably not as hastily as you’d like.

Regardless of what sport is being discussed, the things West Virginia has had a tough time with will be addressed, or else failure will occur.

In the wild, natural selection weeds out those components of the environment not fit for survival. This "change or perish" nature of the wild also applies to West Virginia in the Big 12. Sure, things don’t look good now, but the pieces that are working will strengthen, and those that don’t will be removed.

The future of West Virginia athletics may be unknown, but I can say some things – whether it be style of play, makeup of rosters or other related inputs – will change, or evolve, for all Mountaineer athletic teams.

And that’s a good thing.