West Virginia men’s basketball opens the 2023-2024 season tonight against Missouri State and after an offseason that seemed to last forever, the Mountaineers will be returning to the court for the first time in the 2023-2024 regular season.
While this offseason carried the weight of a coaching change, multiple transfers (both in and out), as well as the mess of waiver denials and suspensions, the games will count for real beginning Monday for the Mountaineers.
Josh Eilert, Welcome
West Virginia will not have Bob Huggins on the sidelines for the first time since 2007 when the Mountaineers begin their season. Despite how it ended, Huggins’ run at West Virginia was nothing short of historic, and Eilert is going to have big shoes to fill after the Hall of Famer resigned this summer.
Eilert seems to be accepting the challenge with as much positivity as one can have. Eilert is a Huggins understudy and has said multiple times how much he respects him. Eilert also filled his staff with Huggins’ guys in Da’Sean Butler, DerMarr Johnson, Jordan McCabe, and Alex Ruoff. The noise will be turned up if things start to slide at all this season for the interim head coach Eilert, and seeing how he manages it all will be something to keep an eye on.
Eilert has seemingly managed the rollercoaster of an offseason as best as he can but as the hits keep coming — most recently with the RaeQuan Battle waiver and Kerr Kriisa suspension — how will Eilert respond now that he has to win games in order to try and stick around past this season.
The start is not going to be easy
West Virginia was already thin in terms of depth but they will be even thinner following the injury to Akok Akok and the suspension of Kerr Kriisa.
This team is going to have to someone step up in the immediate future if they want to put themselves in a good position heading towards the back-half of non-conference play. West Virginia has seven non-conference games against teams in the top-150 of KenPom, and they will be without Kriisa for six of those seven.
Enter, Kobe Johnson, who is going to have to take a big jump forward from where we have seen his production levels be at the past two seasons. Him along with Seth Wilson are going to carry a huge load. They’ve been in the program for two full years and as they enter year three, is this going to be the time they can take that step forward.
If this team is going to want to be an NCAA Tournament team, they are going to have to not have many slip ups in non-conference play, but a lack of depth can mean early foul trouble could put you in precarious situations before we even get to January, and every game matters for the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.
New Big 12
West Virginia will no longer be in the old 10-team Big 12 they are used to, and they are going to be facing new teams and not play a home-and-home with everyone in the league. But, with the new teams, will the Big 12 be better or worse?
Short answer, better. The top of the league just got even stronger with Houston, while Cincinnati and UCF, finished in the top-60 of KenPom last season. Texas Tech finished 63rd in KenPom last year, the lowest ranking of any team in the league. BYU would be the lowest finisher at 77th based off of last year’s numbers. Come the winter months of January and February, this league will still be just as hard and just as much of a grind as before they expanded.
Jesse Edwards, this is your team
Jesse Edwards is going to be the most valuable and important player on West Virginia this season. The Syracuse transfer will be a true big man who adds another element to what the Mountaineers have had down low in a long time.
Edwards will be uber-important throughout the season, but especially when Kriisa is not on the floor. Dumb fouls early will cost him and this team chances at wins because after Edwards there is really not much depth at all at the five position. Edwards will get a lot of volume and this team will go how he goes especially early in the season without Kriisa.
Battling for Battle
West Virginia’s RaeQuan Battle had his immediate waiver denied in order to play this season, before the Mountaineers appealed the decision. In addition, West Virginia’s Governor and Attorney General also sent letters to the NCAA urging them to reconsider their decision.
Battle is a difference maker on the court due to his size and athleticism, but if he’s off the court, this team continues to search for answers. You are crossing every finger and holding onto every hope that Battle gets cleared if you’re West Virginia, but with their being no timetable, you really don’t know.
Realistic Expectations
For West Virginia, what are realistic expectations. Right now this team feels like a bubble team that enters the season projected on the wrong side of things. Being without Kriisa for nine games is a big punch to the gut, especially with it coming days after Akok’s on-court medical emergency.
If Battle can’t get cleared, that’s your most athletic and bouncy guy, who can turn a game around not on the floor. If Battle does get cleared by his appeal, then this season’s expectations take an optimistic turn. Either way, an NCAA Tournament appearance for a team who has been through so much since March, seems like a victory.
