West Virginia basketball roster still has questions

The roster is now set for the West Virginia basketball team although some questions remain.

The biggest is largely focused around the outcome of eligibility waiver for transfer guard RaeQuan Battle.

Battle is the most critical to the outcome of the current season as the Montana State product is being counted on in a significant role.

A first-team all-Big Sky selection this past season, Battle averaged 17.7 points and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 47-percent from the floor and 35-percent from three.

This would be his second transfer after leaving Washington for Montana State earlier in his career but the Mountaineers took their time when it comes to formulating the plan in order to request the waiver.

If approved, Battle is expected to step into the starting role as the two guard in the West Virginia backcourt and is an option that can not only score off the bounce with his athleticism but can stretch defenses with his shooting ability.

"RaeQuan is special. He really is special. He's our most natural athlete and he really scores the ball well, he can get his own shot. Defensively if you go back to the Press Virginia days he’d fit right in because he’s so smooth, and so athletic and so quick compared to everybody else on the floor," interim coach Josh Eilert said.

Adding that into the equation with what else the Mountaineers have done with the roster construction gives the program a lot of options with what Battle could bring.

It remains unclear if the waiver will be approved and given the turnout of recent attempts that were denied for both Manhattan transfer guards Jose Perez and Omar Silverio there is certainly room for concern. For now, the issue is still ongoing.

"There has been some communication back and forth to get the information they need on some follow-up issues. We’ve been getting that to them in a timely fashion and I look forward to getting an answer in the coming weeks," Eilert said.

But each of these situations are different and the coaching staff is expected to have a strong plan to argue their case to the NCAA.

There is no set timeline for when decision could be rendered at this point and regardless if Battle is approved or denied he would have one year left in his career.

But Eilert understands the importance of him on the roster this season.

"That waiver certainly looms over our head. It's something I'm very concerned about. That would hurt our cause drastically because he is a special player," he said.

If Battle isn’t available it will certainly cause some upheaval in the backcourt and thrust others into larger roles than expected this coming season.

Noah Farrakhan, also a two-time transfer with a one-year stint at East Carolina prior to his time at Eastern Michigan, might have a more difficult case in terms of receiving an immediate eligibility waiver and it's not likely it is even applied for at this stage.

He is coming off a productive season with the Eagles where he averaged 12.1 points and 2.3 assists per contest and the year prior the scoring total was at 16.6 per game. He was a late addition to the roster as the 13th scholarship player and sources have indicated that the coaching staff is looking at his situation as one more geared toward the future than the upcoming season.

"Noah can’t play this year but he’s going to help us every day on scout team and next year he’s going to be prepared to make a big statement for the Mountaineers. He's going to help in the future here," Eilert said.

There is always a chance that a waiver could be submitted for Farrakhan but at this point, it seems more likely that he will sit out this season and have two seasons left in his career so this season will be spent largely on scout team.

The final decisions on both situations will be worth tracking moving forward and the outcomes could have major impacts on what exactly the product on the floor turns out looking like in the end.

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