Josh Eilert describes changes in second half of Drexel win
West Virginia trailed Drexel 33-31 at halftime. The Mountaineers walked away with a 66-60 win. After the game, WVU head coach Josh Eilert weighed in on his team’s second-half surge.
“In the two days leading up to the game, the big message from me to our guys was, ‘Don’t lose the joy in this game. We all dreamed of being in a position to be where we’re at, whether it’s us as coaches or those guys as players,'” Eilert said.
“I said, ‘Don’t second guess yourself. Play with complete confidence and if you get a good look, you shooters let it fly.”
The Mountaineers took the message to heart. West Virginia shot 28-58 (48.3%) from the field and 7-17 (41.2%) from beyond the arc. The team wasn’t afraid to share the wealth, dishing out 17 assists compared to Drexel’s mere nine.
For reference, WVU is shooting 29.7% from 3-point range this season, ranking 293rd in the NCAA. The Mountaineers needed the win. The victory boosted their record to 4-5, and halted the team’s two-game losing streak.
West Virginia fights through adversity
West Virginia guard Seth Wilson was pivotal to the turnaround game. In the win, Wilson recorded 11 points and five assists while shooting 3-6 from deep. Eilert was happy to see his junior guard find his footing.
“Seeing Seth get that early one — you could just tell there was a flip of a switch,” Eilert said. “I’m gonna go to the hot hand whenever I can. It was refreshing to see, 7-17 [from beyond the arc] it’s a good change of pace.”
Eilert is battling for his team. After spending the last 16 seasons on the Mountaineer basketball staff, Eilert was named the interim head men’s basketball coach on June 24, 2023. The announcement came after WVU parted ways with former head coach Bob Huggins.
Huggins resigned after undergoing several controversial incidents, including being arrested for a DUI. West Virginia felt the shockwaves, losing seven players to the transfer portal. It wasn’t the end of the Mountaineers’ troubles.
Josh Eilert provides update on RaeQuan Battle
Following the Mountaineers’ victory over the Drexel Dragons, Eilert revealed that the program is pining for a reconsideration for RaeQuan Battle from the NCAA, but it remains to be seen if it’s granted.
“You can bring new information to the table and try to ask for a reconsideration,” Eilert explained, during his press conference over the weekend. “There’s a reconsideration in play. It’s up to them what they do with it.”
Alas, the saga began when Battle’s initial waiver request was denied this spring, after the former Montana State star decided he wanted to take his talents to West Virginia.
The NCAA denied Battle’s initial waiver request at first, and then denied West Virginia’s appeal on his behalf last month, after the NCAA announced more stern guidelines for transfers. The aforementioned guidelines included, “proof that a transfer would enhance a player’s mental health if it had been ‘impaired’ at a previous school,” ESPN’s Myron Medcalf reported.