Mar 17, 2021 3 min read

In college basketball, participating in March Madness isn’t everything – it’s the only thing.

So when West Virginia was named the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region for the NCAA tournament, it was easy to point to the Mountaineers’ primary reason for success: sophomore guard Miles “Deuce” McBride.

When McBride takes the floor Friday night against Morehead State, he’ll join the likes of Jevon Carter, Da’Sean Butler and Mike Gansey, as “the guy” for the Mountaineers’ run against the national field.

“It’s not surprising to me,” McBride said. “I put in the work my whole life to get to this point. I’ve had a lot of days, with quarantine, just constantly working out with my brother (and) my dad. To me, it’s not surprising, but on the outside looking in, it’s probably a big-time growth.”

In addition to leading the team with an average of 15.5 points per game, the sophomore guard ranks first on the team in assists. He has proven himself as the team’s No. 1 option, scoring 19 or more points 10 times throughout the season – including a 31-point performance against Kansas on Feb. 23.

His play during the regular season earned the Mountaineers an 18-9 record while McBride earned All-Big 12 second team honors and received honorable mention on the Associated Press All-America team.

Yet, on the verge of playing in one of the most talked-about sporting events of the year, McBride’s path almost didn’t stop at the “Big Dance.”

A two-sport athlete at the famed Archbishop Moeller High School in Cincinnati, McBride suffered a severe foot injury in a football game during his junior season, forcing his year to come to an early close.

Because of the injury, which resulted in missing the majority of that year’s basketball season, McBride received only seven scholarship offers. He signed with the Mountaineers in November 2018 – the only Power 5 school to extend an opportunity.

“I think if you lit any more fire underneath Deuce, you’d have a forest fire,” WVU head coach Bob Huggins said. “Deuce doesn’t need (to be) lit up. He’s a guy who comes in every day and works. He’s a guy who spends countless hours on his own working on his game. Deuce doesn’t need the motivation of somebody transferring out to play harder or work harder.”

Since stepping on campus in 2019, McBride has grown from a second or third option coming off of the bench during his freshman year to the Mountaineer’s primary ballhandler in his second season.

Last season, McBride often came off the bench in relief of Jordan McCabe, saying at the time that the rotation allowed him to gain a better perspective of the opponent. Now, the shoe’s on the other foot.

Now looked to as the team’s leader, McBride – like the rest of his teammates – is here to win. But, in his first appearance on college basketball’s biggest stage, he’s checking off a box in his life of basketball.

“It’s been one of my biggest dreams to play in March Madness,” he said. “It’s a little different this year but, nonetheless, I’m still so happy to be here … There’s always been big upsets and big shots by big-time players, and this is where they all come and really get rolling. It’s exciting being here.”