When Chris Obekpa committed to St. John's the Bearcats had a couple of scholarships that could be filled for the 2012-13 season with only Titus Rubles joining the squad. Mick Cronin has obviously been looking for players. To be frank it was a little odd that the Bearcats didn't get into the transfer market for a big.
As chances would have it things have worked out for the Bearcats. Dave Nyarsuk is going to get the extra scholarship for this season and the next as well. This according to multiple outlets, though not yet confirmed or announced by the program itself. Nyarsuk has an interesting story overcoming issues with the NCAA, Department of Justice, and more recently his school closing its doors.
Mountain State University (Beckley, WV) was a NAIA school, and one with a good Basketball program that advanced top the finals of the NAIA tournament in 2010-11. Nyarsuk was a big part of that team the question is how does he fit in with the Bearcats and the guard centric direction this team is taking?
Now it is clear that Nyarsuk has talent. He is a good athlete for a man his size and West Virginia obviously thought he could compete in the Big East or they wouldn't have taken his letter of intent back in 2010. But he was a raw then and remains so now. My thought that playing two years in NAIA did little to speed his development. For what its worth Nyarsuk did have a big game in a win against Morehead State last year, albeit in an exhibition against a Kenneth Faried-less Eagles team, highlights of which can be see here.
Nyarsuk is a good asset to add to the roster and he should be able to help the Bearcats in the admittedly rare situations where a true center is needed in a Big East game. Or in another scenario as an anchor to the 2-3 zone that Mick Cronin has grown so fond of over the last two seasons. It remains to be seen what his full contribution to the squad will be.
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