Edwards nearing return for West Virginia basketball team
West Virginia didn't have center Jesse Edwards for the win over Texas but a return could be on the horizon for the talented big man.
Edwards has been out of the lineup since following the loss to Massachusetts on Dec. 16 when he sustained a fractured wrist. It was a massive blow to the Mountaineers' roster considering the Syracuse transfer was the only true five-man on the roster and simply couldn’t be replaced.
At the time of his injury, Edwards was averaging 14.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.7 blocks while shooting 56 percent from the floor. Others have filled in at the spot with Akok Akok and Patrick Suemnick playing out of position at the five, but Edwards would provide a proven option at the five.
It’s been over three weeks since Edwards underwent surgery on his wrist and for now will have the brace on for a few more days before it’s examined and a determination is made on where it’s at.
During his time away from the floor, Edwards has had zero mobility with his wrist so it remains a fluid situation when he will be able to make it back in terms of the rehab required.
Related: West Virginia knocks off No. 25 Texas 76-73
Eilert had expected that it would take four weeks for Edwards to get back on the floor but with that approaching he realizes that isn’t set in stone.
“It was kind of like construction: they tell you two weeks and it ends up being four,” he said. “But we have to do what’s best for Jesse. We’re going to make sure we do right by Jesse Edwards.”
While Edwards has been away from playing on the floor, Eilert said he has been focusing on developing his other hand and has continued to work on mobility and conditioning. Both Athletic Trainer Randy Meador and Strength and Conditioning Coach Shaun Brown have both played a critical role in working on strength and keeping him locked into what he’s doing without using his wrist.
“He continues to stay locked into what we’re doing. He’s a great teammate throughout the process and he wants to do everything he can,” Eilert said.
It goes without saying that once Edwards does return to the floor it will be a massive boost to what the Mountaineers are doing now that the backcourt has real depth. His presence is going to allow West Virginia to play inside, out and take some of the pressure off the guards.
It also will bring forth some changes to the offense as well.
“I think we’ve tabled a lot of the actions that we had to throw it close,” Eilert said. “We’ll certainly have a reorientation with some of those actions to get those back into the fold to make us more of a balanced attack on the offensive end.”
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