RaeQuan Battle had his waiver denied this week. What’s next for West Virginia basketball though is equally as important as the result of the waver.
West Virginia interim head coach Josh Eilert spoke publicly for the first time on Wednesday since the denial of RaeQuan Battle’s waiver to make him immediately eligible to play this season. Eilert said there will be an appeal process as well as now a “Plan B” for the Mountaineers as they move forward into the start of the 2023-2024 season.
“I was very disappointed. I wouldn’t say I was shocked with the result because it seems like a lot of these are being denied,” Eilert said.
“Seems like your success rate has a lot more to do with the appeal process. I thought there was no holes in it and it was pretty a sure win thing for RaeQuan, but I very am still optimistic that they’re going to do right by him. A new fresh set of eyes will probably help that case.”
On Monday, the Mountaineers got the news of Battle — a two-time transfer — being ruled immediately ineligible to play. At the time, Eilert said WVU will appeal the decision, something they are meeting to discuss Wednesday afternoon.
“We’re meeting on that this afternoon. We’re going to sit down together and figure out what the game plan is working through the appeal. We haven’t gotten too deep into it, we’ll get there,” Eilert said.
As far as when, Eilert said there is not a specific timetable on the matter, but that it will be solved, “hopefully sooner than later.”
Without Battle on the court, West Virginia is going to be in a precarious spot until a final decision on the appeal process has been brought about. Battle’s versatility on both ends of the floor as well as his elite athleticism means it will not be as easy to plug and play and replace his production.
“I knew this was going to be in limbo, so i’ve gotten a lot of guys reps that probably wouldn’t have gotten as many reps had I known he was eligible immediately,” Eilert said. “I’ve worked through a lot of those challenges and with some foresight kind of understood this could be down the line and could be playing without him maybe for a week, maybe two, maybe even the whole season. I don’t want to think that way but you always got to have a Plan B.”
As for what that plan looks like to replace Battle’s services, it means having different guys step up and maybe alter their game to fill in for what is being lost.
“We got a lot of other pieces, we certainly do. I think just having guys who can step up to the challenge and pivot and we might have to change our approach to certain things offensively. The optimism is still there,” Eilert said. “They all rally around each other and I talked a lot about chemistry early and how we really need to develop that chemistry and they’ve really bought into each other and you see brotherhood really taking shape in the locker room which really pleases me.”
“You’re not just going to replace him with one guy. It’s a combination of different lineup combinations and certain guys that probably are pass-first guys have to look to take a shot. Certain guys that come off the bench were going to get limited minutes are going to have to take up that responsibility and take advantage of that responsibility in terms of what we’re going to need to rely on to win games,” Eilert added. “It’s a group effort. Certainly, nobody on the bench, you’ll say, you’re going to say, you’re going to replace RaeQuan. Nobody down that bench is going to replace RaeQuan.
“It is a hit. Defensively, he’s as probably as natural of an athlete as we have. He’s probably as quick twitched as anybody we have. He can make mistakes defensively position wise and make up for it in the snap finger. That will hurt defensively as well. Like I said selfishly, it hurts our team, it hurts our program, but I worry for RaeQuan Battle and his mental health more than anything, not having basketball.”
For what the appeal process looks like, Eilert said it’s mostly new people getting brought in and taking a look at Battle’s file.
“To my knowledge, it’s more a fresh set of eyes, it’s more a group of your peers than the NCAA in terms of their people on the inside. I think it’s a group of your peers that takes a look at the appeal process. There’s not a lot that changes from the file. Certainly, I think you put another stamp of your summary on it and you submit it,” Eilert said.
Part of the reasoning behind West Virginia’s waiver to get him eligible was for mental health reasons. Eilert said there are people on the panel that are supposedly experts in the field, but that without basketball, he worries for Battle’s mental health.
“I think in the NCAA panel they have certain experts that they turn to in terms of assessing his mental health and his individual situation. What they do on the inside I have no idea and how they come up with the denial, you get a certain amount of feedback but it’s not a lot,” Eilert said.
“RaeQuan is such a great individual and a great teammate. A very, very positive person despite all the challenges that he’s had in his life. RaeQuan, and I’ve said this over and over, needs basketball in his life, he really does. To not be able to compete, if he loses some of that optimism, I worry for him.”
Eilert said in the interim he’s going to continue to be a mentor for Battle and will continue to have his back.
“Just having those conversations with him daily, being that mentor for him daily and sitting down with him and putting my arm around him and telling him, one way or another I’m going to be here for him and West Virginia basketball is going to be here for him,” Eilert said on how he’s approached Battle since receiving the news. “I have those conversations with him daily and certainly it is a challenge for his mental health not to be able to compete, but I’m never going to leave his side.”
Eilert said West Virginia is still optimistic about the situation, saying they still have hope he’s going to play this year.
“We’re operating as this process is going to take some time and we’re going to get through it and he’s going to be playing for us this year. We have a Plan B and there’s some of these other challenges if we don’t have him but we’re certainly very optimistic he’s going to be playing for us this year,” Eilert said.
In the meantime, all Eilert can do is hope that the Mountaineers will win this appeal, but knows nothing is more important than the health of Battle.
“You got to look at differently offensively where everybody else is going to have to step up and be more of a threat. He makes me a heck of a lot better coach I can tell you that because if things break down, RaeQuan can get the ball and get a shot off.
“I can be selfish about this whole thing and yeah, I need him and our team needs him, we’re a lot better ball club with him. But for Rae personally, he needs basketball in his life and that’s what I worry about the most is his mental health and not having that competition.”
