The last week has been interesting to say the least for RaeQuan Battle.
Now, seven days after testifying in court, Battle will make his season debut on Wednesday night against Radford.
He’s not 100 percent. He went yesterday (at practice). You could tell it was not RaeQuan at his 100 percent level but he’s getting there, he’s certainly on the mend. Hopefully I see more improvement today,” West Virginia interim head coach Josh Eilert said.
The past week for Battle has certainly been tumultuous. He was the face of the case against the NCAA which changed their multi-time transfer rules, and then he was sick Saturday and had to miss the UMass game.
“Excited for him that things are going in the right direction for him in terms of his health. The entire day on Saturday, he warned he thought he wouldn’t be able to play but said let’s pump the brakes, figure out what I can do for you throughout the day,” Eilert said.
“I didn’t bring him to shootaround, let him rest and by the time we were loading the bus and heading in, he was getting ill even walking into the building. I knew at that point he wouldn’t be able to go and being down 13 pounds, I’d be doing a disservice by throwing him out there in the condition he was in or forcing the action.”
Battle will certainly be a welcomed sight back as the Mountaineers will be without starting center Jesse Edwards. Eilert raves about Battle’s athleticism, saying on defense, he can guard the one through the three positions, and then also has the obvious ability to score the ball at a high level.
“He’s probably our best athlete, he’s so quick twitched. Even RaeQuan when he makes a dumb decision defensively, he can recover so fast. So, not only is he hard to go by, he’s a natural scorer, he’s a natural athlete, he can run, he can jump, he can create his own shot. It’s one of the hardest thing in college basketball to do is get your own shot,” Eilert said. “He gives us that different dynamic and I look forward trying to get him back in the fold as quickly as possible.”
Eilert added when asked if Battle will play Wednesday night, “yes, 100 percent.”
West Virginia hosts Radford on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m., and the game will be televised on ESPN+.
