West Virginia landed its first high school commitment in the Darian DeVries era last Thursday in 2024 guard KJ Tenner. Tenner, who was named Mr. Basketball in the state of Tennessee, is following DeVries to WVU as he was once signed with Drake.
“It was very important to me because I had built a relationship with him. I feel he believes in me and what I am capable of,” Tenner told WV Sports Now. “I love how calm he is regardless of how the game is going, he gets the best out of his players. As a person, he is a fun guy to be around and he’s pretty funny!”
DeVries accepted the West Virginia job on March 24, leaving Drake’s roster of players uncertain of what to do moving forward. Drake opened a national search while promoting assistant Marty Richter to interim HC before hiring Ben McCollum, a long-time Division-II winner at Northwest Missouri State.
Tenner is a 6-foot prospect out of Cordova High School in Memphis. Tenner, as well as Drake’s second signee from the 2024 class Andrell Burton Jr., requested releases of their National Letters of Intent from the University.
“The last couple weeks were very interesting to say the least, hearing from schools that were still interested in me reaching out,” Tenner said. “The request went smooth it took a week to get finished and Drake was very helpful with this whole process.”
Before committing to Drake last fall, Tenner received offers from Arkansas State, Bradley, Central Michigan, Murray State, North Alabama, Texas State and others. Tenner also had interest from Memphis, Ole Miss and Tulane during his recruitment.
Tenner averaged 23 points as a senior and led the city of Memphis in scoring with 28 points per game as a sophomore. Tenner was the first Mr. Basketball at Cordova HS since former Memphis, Iowa State and South Florida guard Tyler Harris won it back in 2018.
Tenner’s stats were great at the high school level, but he’s willing to do whatever DeVries needs of him at WVU.
“I’m a point guard that plays hard and very smart. I’m a great teammate on and off the floor. I make the right plays for myself and teammates and I’m willing to do whatever it takes for us to win,” Tenner said. “If I need to score, I will. Rebound, I will. Play the best defense, I will!”
Tenner now joins a West Virginia program that did not recruit him before DeVries took over as head coach. The incoming freshman is excited for a new chapter in his life.
“I know that West Virginia hasn’t had the best past couple of seasons,” he said. “The school is in the Big 12, which is very attractive considering the competition and exposure that is there. I know their fans are very supportive and I’m excited to play in front of them!
“I’m very excited to be a Mountaineer and I’m ready to start my journey with this amazing fan base! I will be bringing that Memphis swagger to Morgantown,” Tenner added. “I’m ready to build off winning Mr. Basketball and taking that same confidence to the Big 12.”
WV Sports Now will keep you up to date on the latest recruiting news for West Virginia.
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