--West Virginia head coach Josh Eilert said that that nine days ago they had a scrimmage with Vanderbilt in Cincinnati to see what they needed to work on and improve on. They are looking forward to raising some money for charity against George Mason and see a different opponent. There are things they need to clean up on from the scrimmage.
--Defensive rebounding was an issue in the scrimmage and before they run out they need to check their man. They need to do a good job on the defensive rebounding before they run out.
--Eilert said he was very disappointed but not shocked about RaeQuan Battle. The success rate had a lot more to do with the appeal process and he is very optimistic that they will do right by him. A new fresh set of eyes will help that case. They are meeting on it this afternoon and working through it. It depends on how long it will take for the process and they will do their part to make sure they have it in as soon as possible. Eilert knew this was going to be in limbo so he got guys reps that might not have if they knew he was going to be eligible immediately. They could be playing without him a week or two or maybe the whole season.
--To Eilert's knowledge it will be a fresh set of eyes and a group of their peers to determine and look at the appeal process. There isn't a lot that changes from the file and you'll put another stamp on it and a summary. RaeQuan Battle is a very positive person despite the challenges and he needs basketball in his life. Just having those conversations with him daily and being a mentor to him regardless of how this turns out. It's a challenge for his mental health to not be able to compete.
--West Virginia hasn't had any discussion about redshirting him but they are operating under the belief that he will be eligible this year and are very optimistic that he will be playing for them this season.
--If Battle isn't in the lineup everybody else is going to need to step up. They need him and they're a better ball club with him, but personally he needs basketball in his life and this is a sad situation.
--In the NCAA panel they have certain experts they turn to in terms of assessing his mental health and his individual situation. He doesn't know how they come up with a denial outside a few thoughts that they share.
--Eilert doesn't want to touch base on his story and wants to let Battle tell his story sooner or later because it needs to get out there. He needs to tell his story.
--Eilert said they've got a lot of other pieces and having guys step up to the challenge and pivot. The optimism is still there and they've really bought into each other and you see the brotherhood taking shape in that locker room.
--Darris Nichols called Eilert when the news came out and first thing he said was stay on that boogie board. The waves are just going to keep coming but he's going to remain optimistic about it.
--Coaching the team felt second nature to him and it felt good standing instead of sitting in the scrimmage. He is excited about the opportunity. There were 23 lead changes in the game and went to overtime and they had a chance to tie it down two against Vanderbilt. It was really competitive. Eilert played it true and had three guys foul out, but Jerry Stackhouse kept his guys in the game with three that fouled out.
--In the scouting report, it's West Virginia vs. West Virginia for this exhibition because they need to clean certain things up and keep improving to figure out where they're at. They will do a scout and treat it like they would any other program.
--You're not going to just replace RaeQuan Battle with one guy it's a combination of different options. Battle is so quick twitched and can make up for mistakes on the defensive end. It hurts their team and their program but he worries more about him not having basketball.
--Offensively they are further ahead than on the defensive end.
--There will be no stool, the stool is retired. But he does plan to dress casually.
--Eilert said that it's going to be tough because of the depth. Teams have a lot more athleticism than they do and more depth in the Big 12. They have Big 12 caliber players but they need others to develop because it's around 7-8 guys that can compete in the league. They have a strong top half, but need to develop the bottom.
--Eilert said they are working with what they've got and aren't looking at adding anybody else at the mid term.
--Defensive rebounding was an issue in the scrimmage and before they run out they need to check their man. They need to do a good job on the defensive rebounding before they run out.
--Eilert said he was very disappointed but not shocked about RaeQuan Battle. The success rate had a lot more to do with the appeal process and he is very optimistic that they will do right by him. A new fresh set of eyes will help that case. They are meeting on it this afternoon and working through it. It depends on how long it will take for the process and they will do their part to make sure they have it in as soon as possible. Eilert knew this was going to be in limbo so he got guys reps that might not have if they knew he was going to be eligible immediately. They could be playing without him a week or two or maybe the whole season.
--To Eilert's knowledge it will be a fresh set of eyes and a group of their peers to determine and look at the appeal process. There isn't a lot that changes from the file and you'll put another stamp on it and a summary. RaeQuan Battle is a very positive person despite the challenges and he needs basketball in his life. Just having those conversations with him daily and being a mentor to him regardless of how this turns out. It's a challenge for his mental health to not be able to compete.
--West Virginia hasn't had any discussion about redshirting him but they are operating under the belief that he will be eligible this year and are very optimistic that he will be playing for them this season.
--If Battle isn't in the lineup everybody else is going to need to step up. They need him and they're a better ball club with him, but personally he needs basketball in his life and this is a sad situation.
--In the NCAA panel they have certain experts they turn to in terms of assessing his mental health and his individual situation. He doesn't know how they come up with a denial outside a few thoughts that they share.
--Eilert doesn't want to touch base on his story and wants to let Battle tell his story sooner or later because it needs to get out there. He needs to tell his story.
--Eilert said they've got a lot of other pieces and having guys step up to the challenge and pivot. The optimism is still there and they've really bought into each other and you see the brotherhood taking shape in that locker room.
--Darris Nichols called Eilert when the news came out and first thing he said was stay on that boogie board. The waves are just going to keep coming but he's going to remain optimistic about it.
--Coaching the team felt second nature to him and it felt good standing instead of sitting in the scrimmage. He is excited about the opportunity. There were 23 lead changes in the game and went to overtime and they had a chance to tie it down two against Vanderbilt. It was really competitive. Eilert played it true and had three guys foul out, but Jerry Stackhouse kept his guys in the game with three that fouled out.
--In the scouting report, it's West Virginia vs. West Virginia for this exhibition because they need to clean certain things up and keep improving to figure out where they're at. They will do a scout and treat it like they would any other program.
--You're not going to just replace RaeQuan Battle with one guy it's a combination of different options. Battle is so quick twitched and can make up for mistakes on the defensive end. It hurts their team and their program but he worries more about him not having basketball.
--Offensively they are further ahead than on the defensive end.
--There will be no stool, the stool is retired. But he does plan to dress casually.
--Eilert said that it's going to be tough because of the depth. Teams have a lot more athleticism than they do and more depth in the Big 12. They have Big 12 caliber players but they need others to develop because it's around 7-8 guys that can compete in the league. They have a strong top half, but need to develop the bottom.
--Eilert said they are working with what they've got and aren't looking at adding anybody else at the mid term.
