MORGANTOWN, West Virginia — Good news very well be on the way for the struggling West Virginia basketball program! After the Mountaineers barely beat Drexel at home on Saturday night, interim head coach Josh Eilert spoke to the media. The question of where RaeQuan Battle’s case against the NCAA came up and Eilert appeared to be cautiously optimistic.
“You know, these things always seem to drag on,” Eilert said in his postgame conference. “You think you’re going to get a quick answer, but from the initial waiver to the appeal to the reconsideration, everything is just taking time. It’s taking way longer time than I expected it to. I hope we get some great news and I think it’s very important to get this one right and I hope that they do. We have brought new information to the table and asked for a re-consideration and so there’s a re-consideration in place so it’s up to them what they do with it.”
Eilert went on to say that he feels his team would be fine with Akok Akok, Kerr Kriisa (who returns next game from a 9 game suspension) and Battle back in the lineup but is keeping his eye out on in the transfer portal. One name that the West Virginia coaching staff has reached out to is former Kansas State forward Nae’Qwan Tomlin, who was recently dismissed from the team for “not living up to expectations the program requires of their players.” Tomlin was arrested for disorderly conduct a few months ago, but is exceptionally talented on the floor. Last season, Tomlin averaged 10.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in 36 games for the Wildcats.
If the Mountaineers get Akok Akok back healthy, Kerr Kriisa to run the show, RaeQuan Battle eligible and a guy like Nae’Qwan Tomlin to add depth and experience on the front court, this could go from one of the most difficult starts to a West Virginia basketball season to one of the most exciting in a flash.
