MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- By virtue of their early commitments to the 2010 recruiting class at West Virginia University, Noah Cottrill and Storm Stanley are in a unique position.

Cottrill pledged last July, before his sophomore season at Poca High, and Stanley committed last week, just after his sophomore season in Toledo, Ohio.

Should they choose to stick to their word - and both say they'll do just that - and keep the scholarship promise in the back of their minds until signing day in November 2009, they can simply focus on improving themselves instead of proving themselves.

"In a way, you're already proven," Stanley said Monday afternoon at the Summer Jam Fest inside WVU's student recreation center. "You just go out and play hard and work hard to get better. You don't have to worry about getting discovered or getting (scholarship) offers."

In some regard, the hard part is over. All that remains is hard work to live up to the premature promise. It's considerable motivation because a scholarship offer so soon in the process is based largely on a projection of what a player might be many years down the road.

"It's incentive to get better," Cottrill said. "You commit early on and you know everybody is going to be watching you to see how good this kid is."

Stanley and Cottrill wandered from their normal AAU team, the 16-and-under Ohio Basketball Club, to play for the 17-and-under West Virginia Rush on WVU's campus. Stanley, a 6-foot-10, 220-pound center, was scoreless in the Rush's first game of the tournament and struggled to fit in with his teammates.

There's a logical explanation, though.

"We've never played together," Stanley said.

The OBC is off this week as key players heal injuries before next week's national championship tournament. Cottrill said he recruited a couple of players to play this week for the Rush.

"We don't have any plays," he said. "We don't have anything in place. It's just take it and go."

That benefits Cottrill, the quick point guard who thrives in the open spaces of a fast break. He finished with 17 points - including four 3-pointers - and helped the Rush close with a flurry by making two difficult layups. The second was a three-point play in which he absorbed an obvious hack designed to keep him from scoring.

That's becoming part of the repertoire, especially when Cottrill, who turns 17 later this month, plays against kids at least a year ahead of him in school.

"It's tough to get to the rim when you're playing up, so I've tried to put on a few pounds," he said. "It's a big difference playing up. There are bigger guards and more mature players out there. It's a different game. It's harder."

Stanley felt the extra attention focused on him and spotted WVU Coach Bob Huggins, assistant Billy Hahn, Director of Basketball Operations Jerrod Calhoun and graduate assistant Kevin Schappell seated directly under a basket at the start of the game.

"I didn't play too well," he said. "I wanted to play well, and that wasn't it."

Stanley, who just turned 16, has simple goals. He needs to add muscle to his frame and hasten his footwork, both of which are things that come over time. 

"You can see he's not a skinny kid and he's got talent," Cottrill said. "It's a big difference going up against older kids here. Coach Huggins thinks he's going to be a big-time player. He just needs some time to get there."