Ex-PHS star Conley on Citadel roster

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CHARLESTON-His journey to a Division I-A college basketball program took a little longer than he wanted, but former Parkersburg High School standout Nathan Conley is glad he made the trip and is looking forward to tonight's 7 p.m. showdown with No. 8 West Virginia University at the Civic Center.

"I really wasn't ready (mentally) for this level," said Conley, a freshman member of the basketball program at The Citadel, WVU's opponent. "The two years I spent at Fork Union allowed me to not only grow in size, but as a student and an athlete."

A 2007 graduate, Conley concluded his three-year stay with the Big Reds by averaging 19.4 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds per game. Numbers that would appear to have been good enough to earn him a shot at many of the Division II schools that make up the West Virginia Conference, but not good enough to land him a spot in college basketball's premier stage.

"I got a chance to play against every player that was listed among the top 100 recruits in the country," continued Conley, who was with his teammates in Springfield, Mo., playing in the Hispanic College Fund Challenge at Missouri State University. "The experience really opened my eyes to what I needed to do if I wanted to play at this level."

The 6-foot-2 guard made the most of that experience, earning enough playing time to catch the attention of The Citadel's head coach Ed Conroy.

"Right now, I'm still rehabbing after suffering a torn ACL over the summer," added Conley. "My playing time isn't exactly where I would like it to be, but I'm in the mix and I'm hoping that, as I get stronger, my playing time will increase."

The Citadel enters tonight's out-of-conference matchup with a 3-2 mark following a 2-1 mark over the weekend. The Bulldogs have registered wins over Kenyon College (64-45), Eastern Michigan (63-56) and Maryland-Eastern Shore (88-62) while losing to Charleston Southern (61-60) and Missouri State (72-55).

Conversely, the Mountaineers will be making only their second appearance of the 2009-10 season following a season-opening 83-60 win over Loyola University back on Nov. 5.

Senior preseason All-Big East selection Da'Sean Butler led WVU in its opener with a game-high 26 points and seven rebounds and will be joined in the starting lineup by senior forward Wellington Smith (3.0), junior guard Casey Mitchell (13.0) and sophomores Kevin Jones (14.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg) and Darryl 'Truck' Bryant (15.0).

Sophomore forward Devin Ebanks, who tallied 19 points and hauled down 10 rebounds in WVU's exhibition win over Mountain State Academy, is still listed as questionable for the contest. Others who are expected to see action will be freshman Dan Jennings, who had a game-high 12 rebounds in the win over Loyola, and juniors John Flowers (2.0), Cam Thoroughman (1.0) and Jonnie West.

The Citadel will counter with senior Joe Wolfinger (15.8 ppg, 8.6 rpg) at center with juniors Bryan Streeter (4.0) and Austin Dahn (5.6) at the forwards. The guards will be juniors Zach Urbanus (10.8) and Cameron Wells (16.8).

Following the contest the Mountaineers will take off for Anaheim, Calif., where they will participate in the 76 Classic. WVU will face Long Beach State at 2 p.m. on Thanksgiving.

West Virginia returns to Morgantown to take on Duquesne at 7 p.m. on Dec. 9.