Thursday could not have come any quicker for point guard Noah Cottrill, who signed his National Letter of Intent to attend WVU and join the Mountaineers next fall.

“It felt great, man” Cottrill told EerSports.com Thursday night. “Being anxious for three years was a little overwhelming. It’s one step closer. I’m really excited.”

Cottrill is a 6-foot-3, 190-pound guard who played for Mountain State Academy last year, as a junior. While starring at MSA, he averaged 25.8 points a game. Before his junior year, Cottrill played both his sophomore and freshman years, at Poca High School, averaging 30.9 points and 23.8, respectively.

Back in the summer of 2007, Cottrill gave his verbal pledge to WVU head coach Bob Huggins, a commitment that never once wavered. Cottrill was recruited by other schools such as Florida, Kentucky, Louisville, Marshall, UCLA and Wake Forest, but he always knew where he would end up.

“There was no second doubts or anything,” said Cottrill, a Poca native. “I’m ready to play for the best coach that’s ever coached the game and play for the state of West Virginia.”

“Noah knew what he wanted to do and I think representing the state is extremely important to him,” Huggins said of his point guard of the future, who at this time is the lone class of 2010 signee. “Noah gives us a point who can pass. He knows how to play. I think his learning curve maybe won’t be as steep as some because he does have a good understanding of how to play and he can make shots.”

Cottrill said the thing he’s most looking forward to about joining Huggins’ team is, “Just going out and putting on a Mountaineer jersey and playing in the Big East. That says it enough right there.”

With the addition of Cottrill, WVU will be well-stocked at the point guard position next year. He will be joining Truck Bryant, now a sophomore and Joe Mazzulla, who is currently a red shirt junior.

“I’m definitely happy to have him,” Bryant said. “I’d be happy to have anybody here to help win the national championship.”

“That’s everybody’s ultimate goal,” Cottrill said. “That’s everybody’s dream. I just was to go up there and prove it every day.”

Over the summer, Bryant watched Cottrill put on a clinic in the annual Jam Fest AAU tournament, held in Morgantown. While Bryant, like all who were wowed by Cottrill’s scoring ability, was impressed, he explained, “All of us scored 30 [points a game] in high school. This is college now, it’s different. He’ll be fine because he’ll be working with me and Joe [Mazzulla] everyday.”

Senior forward Da’Sean Butler won’t get the chance to play alongside Cottrill, but has seen flashes of brilliance in Cottrill’s game. “He can pass. Wow,” Butler said. “Actually, he’s one of the best passers I’ve seen.”

Cottrill can play the point or shooting guard positions, possesses outstanding court vision, gets his teammates involved and has a great feel for the game. ESPN Scouts Inc rated Cottrill the No. 16 overall point guard in the 2010 recruiting class and evaluated him with a 94 scouts grade.

“You can’t get enough point guards. We needed another guy with ball skills and I think Noah gives us pretty much the whole package,” said Huggins. “I think he fills a lot of needs for us.”

Before joining the Mountaineers next year, Cottrill said he wants to continue to get stronger and improve his defense and quickness. “I need to work on moving without the ball,” he said.

“He’s grown. He’s stronger,” Huggins said. “He’s done a really good job physically of trying to make himself ready to come in and play.”

For his senior season at Logan, Cottrill said he is looking forward to winning a state championship.

WVU has just one player on it’s current roster who hails from the state of West Virginia. Cottrill said he grew up watching Mountaineer sports and is excited about the opportunity to shine in front of his home state.

“My family are West Virginia fans and I grew up as a West Virginia fan,” said Cottrill. “That’s where I want to be.”

Huggins said, “I would hope that every kid growing up here in the state wants to play here. That’s kind of what we’re shooting for.”