West Virginia attempting to show grit, pride despite difficult season
West Virginia now sits at 8-17 with just six games remaining.
There is of course the avenue of making a run in the Big 12 Tournament that is still alive to keep the postseason in play but the Mountaineers are now guaranteed to finish the regular season with a losing record.
But according to head coach Josh Eilert there is still plenty to play for this season.
The Mountaineers have dealt with plenty of blows this year when it comes to the roster and who is available at certain points either due to eligibility concerns or injuries.
West Virginia has been able to get the entire roster together down the stretch run of the season but the chemistry has been lacking which has led to some up and down results. More of that down than up of late as the Mountaineers have still yet to win a game away from Morgantown.
“Now all our pieces are here, what's stopping us from maximizing our potential on the way out?” Eilert said about his basketball team.
That can prove challenging at times in the dog days of the season when things have not gone the way that anybody associated with the program expected. But that is a hurdle even when teams are winning given the difficulty of the Big 12 Conference slate.
Still, it’s up to both the coaches and players to change the trajectory of how this year will be remembered. Anybody around the program understands the difficult circumstances that Eilert and his coaching staff were thrust into but the Mountaineers now have to attempt to close strong.
“There’s times when the effort and intensity starts lagging but I feel like they respond pretty well in the majority of moments,” he said.
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And while the opportunity for postseason play could be determined down the line, at worst this team is playing for pride at this stage of the season and display improvement.
“We’ve all got to look at ourselves in the mirror and figure out what we can do better to help our program be successful. That’s top to bottom. Everybody in the program can find ways to improve and get better each day. What can we do today to improve?” Eilert said.
The odds of continuing this season beyond the Big 12 Tournament aren’t high, but the way this team closes also can leave a lasting impression for those players on the roster on how to carry themselves moving forward. Basketball doesn’t always go your way and how you respond matters.
Now, it’s about going out and doing it with a schedule that includes a home game against UCF, road trips to Iowa State and Kansas State, home contests against Texas Tech and TCU before closing on the road at Cincinnati before the league tournament begins in Kansas City.
“They will carry this forward in terms of how they finish the season,” Eilert said.
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