WVU photo Javon Small had an impressive showing during the Mountaineers’ three games in the Bahamas. WVU hosts Georgetown at 7 p.m. today on ESPN2.

MORGANTOWN — If the cold north wind that was blowing through Morgantown on Thursday didn’t do it, certainly heading out onto the floor in a rocking Coliseum to face a strong Georgetown team in the Big 12-Big East Challenge will bring West Virginia’s basketball back to reality after a successful Thanksgiving holiday tournament in the Bahamas.

The Mountaineers played three quality games against three quality teams, each going to overtime, and they brought home two victories over Gonzaga and Arizona.

But now comes the big question — how will they respond to success?

Earlier this season, we all saw them bounce back from adversity after they were run off the court in Pittsburgh. Now they have to see how they react to victories as it’s all part of the growing process a new coach and new team must go through.

“Our guys learned a lot about their ability to compete at a high level,” Coach Darian DeVries said in a Thursday press conference. “We played three really quality teams in a three-day span and got put into some adverse situations with the three overtimes. From a coaching perspective and a team perspective, there were a lot of valuable things we could take from it .. good and bad.

“I am kind of looking forward to seeing how we respond after having a good weekend. But it’s like I told the guys … We have not arrived. This is not the end game. Our goal is to continue to improve; continue to get better and, as I’ve said before, to maximize what this group is capable of.

“We still have plenty to grow into and get better, but I do like our mindset. They have come back with a very positive outlook toward practice. They continue to want to be coached and continue to want to get better.”

The truth is, that loss at Pittsburgh may have been a good thing in disguise.

A really good disguise.

Tucker DeVries, the coach’s son who went wild from long distance against Arizona in the final game of the swing into the Bahamas with 26 points and 8 3s, some of them from deeper than the ocean that was surrounding them, explained how that could be with a new team trying to learn its identity.

“As I’ve noticed through my career, you can be as close as possible as a team but you really don’t build up chemistry until you go through things good and bad together,” he said.

“Obviously, I would have loved for the Pitt game better, but it may have been the best thing for us. You have to go through some adversity, and I thought our group overcame that pretty well. We looked at ourselves in the mirror and realized what we need to change and fix,” he went on.

“Preparing for the Bahamas, we did that really well. To be able to see the results of what we were able to change gave us a lot of confidence that we are heading in the right direction.”

And now, they come home with true belief in themselves and also a better understanding of what it takes to win.

Much was learned during the holiday tournament.

It began with Javon Small, who probably was the best player in the field. Also the most durable, playing 43 minutes in each of the three games scoring 31 and 26 in the first two games, then 14 with 8 assists in the last game.

“Javon had a great three days,” Coach DeVries said. “Even the last day, you score 14 points with 8 assists, that’s a pretty solid night. What I love about Javon is it’s all about winning. That’s all he cares about. Some nights he might need to get 30, some nights it means he gets 8 to 10 but has seven assists.

“I love him as a player. He’s all bought into trying to have a great year, not only for himself but for this team.”

And then there was Amani Hansberry, who showed himself capable of playing with the big guys, something he is going to have to do against Georgetown at the Coliseum and all season through the Big 12.

“That’s probably the part I was most pleased with,” DeVries said. “I thought Amani did a really good job of holding his own at 6-7 against some legitimate size every single night. I thought the rest of the team has really bought into team rebounding and getting involved in post-up situations and not leaving Amani on an island by himself.

“That was a piece we hadn’t seen yet against teams that like to throw it inside, too, so I was very pleased with that.”

And flying under the radar was Toby Okani, who closed out a big tournament with 20 points in the Arizona victory.

“This weekend he was incredibly valuable. Javon, Tucker and Amani got most of the accolades but Toby was terrific, very efficient,” DeVries said.

“He’s doing a terrific job of trying to adjust his game to what this team needs. Right now, he is shooting at a high rate from 3, doing a great job of putting himself in a position to rebound. He’s screening for other guys, which not only is getting them open but himself and then defensively he’s so versatile for us because he can guard 1 through 5 with his great length.”