West Virginia has effectively a new roster from a season ago returning only five players that combined to average just 9.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game or just 12-percent of the total production.
Those four players are Seth Wilson, Kobe Johnson, Josiah Harris and Patrick Suemnick while the other in Jose Perez sat out all of last season due to transfer rules.
That means there’s a whole bunch of new faces on the roster but that also presents the challenge of trying to mesh those new players together when it comes to chemistry. Especially when you consider that the Mountaineers added a number of players late in the process after departures from the roster.
One of the most important pieces to retain was center Jesse Edwards, a transfer from Syracuse. That was critical not because of his production after averaging 14.5 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game last season but due to the fact that there simply wasn’t much depth behind him.
“He was probably the critical piece that we wanted to make sure we maintained throughout the summer and we could build off,” Eilert said.
Now, there will be challenges on the defensive end as Edwards has played 2-3 defense during his career and now will be asked to play man-to-man so he needs to protect himself and not be in foul trouble given the hole on the roster behind him.
But while the defensive end will be an adjustment, on offense Edwards is as long and impressive of a rim runner that the Mountaineers have had in pick and roll situations.
“Those guys that can handle the ball and throw it up to him, it's going to be easy to rack up some assists with him putting that pressure on the rim,” he said.
And because teams will likely sag back in to defend Edwards it should open up shots on the perimeter if the Mountaineers are able to maintain their spacing.
Also in the front court, West Virginia will be able to play Georgetown transfer Akok Akok some at the five although he will spend more time sharing the four position with St. John’s transfer Quin Slazinski. Akok has shot the ball well in practice and has a better looking shot than his numbers would suggest. But it’s on the defensive end where he can make the biggest impact.
“His best attribute is on the defensive end. He’s so active. I think he’s going to be able to protect the rim for us and give us that depth at the five,” Eilert said.
Slazinski is more of a shooting, stretch four that also can rebound the basketball and provide a different look similar to what the Mountaineers had in Tre Mitchell who transferred to Kentucky.
The other piece in the front court that is going to be called upon is Suemnick as West Virginia is going to ask him to play both the four and the five as he’s one of the biggest and strongest options on the team but has to realize where his best opportunity to see the floor is going to be.
Perez expects to take a large chunk of the minutes at the three, but the Mountaineers also have gotten production out of Harris especially when it comes to offensive rebounding. If he continues to do that he will be able to stay on the floor moving forward. The other option would be forward Ofri Naveh who the Mountaineers added late in the process from Israel.
The biggest question remaining comes with RaeQuan Battle, the transfer from Montana State who averaged 17.7 points and 2.9 rebounds while shooting 47-percent from the floor and 35-percent from three. His eligibility remains in question as he is currently awaiting word on a waiver and what unfolds there could go a long way toward determining the ceiling for this team.
“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, athletic and quick compared to everybody else on the floor,” Eilert said.
Wilson and Johnson return to round out the two-spot to give the Mountaineers some veteran presences that can hit shots and contribute on the defensive end.
Finally, for as important as Edwards was at the five the same can be said for Arizona transfer Kerr Kriisa at the one. Kriisa averaged 9.9 points and 5.1 assists last season and led the Pac-12 and is a pass-first point guard that looks to get his teammates involved.
Having a strong five and strong one is a recipe for success and the Mountaineers made it a priority to keep both in the fold after what occurred this off-season.
“From a coaching perspective you love it. You want that guy that can run the show and get everybody in the right place,” he said.
Behind Kriisa, West Virginia added another transfer in former Florida State point guard Jeremiah Bembry brings a different skill set as a big, long and athletic guard option. He doesn’t have nearly the experience under his belt but can be an option if Kriisa struggles to guard a specific type of body or you need somebody with long athleticism to provide a counterpunch.
West Virginia has a lot of options and now it’s up to Eilert to mesh it all together.
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