West Virginia is now through 10 games on the schedule but has still yet to play with a full roster.
The Mountaineers now sit at 4-6 after the most recent 87-79 loss to Massachusetts but despite that disappointment there were some reasons to be excited for the future.
After a nine-game suspension for receiving impermissible benefits, junior guard Kerr Kriisa came back to the lineup and his presence was felt almost immediately. The point guard kicked the offense into a different gear, especially in the halfcourt as he was able to find open shooters and score the ball.
The 79 points was a season high for the Mountaineers and Kriisa chipped in with 20 of those on 6-16 shooting to go along with 7 assists in 36 minutes of play. The shooting numbers are likely more than head coach Josh Eilert wants to see long term, but his presence took pressure off others.
Still his presence allowed the Mountaineers to play at a much faster overall pace.
“He did a lot of good things. He made a lot of shots for us, but 15 threes probably we shouldn’t have to rely on him as much to score the ball,” Eilert said.
West Virginia also welcomed guard Noah Farrakhan for the first time this season after he was ruled eligible due to the injunction on two-time transfers. Displaying a different speed and athleticism in the backcourt, Farrakhan scored 15 points while going 7-11 from the field with 4 assists.
“He brought a lot of spark off the bench and handled the ball and really put a lot of pressure on the rim going downhill. That was a good addition to our roster and our depth,” Eilert said.
The role for Farrakhan is only expected to continue to grow after playing just 18-minutes.
The Mountaineers are still waiting for one more piece to be thrown into the mix as well as senior guard RaeQuan Battle, who also is eligible due to the court ruling, has yet to see the floor. That was expected against UMass but due to an illness he did not play in that contest.
The hope is that Battle suits up Dec. 20 against Radford which is going to open things up even further and take even more offensive pressure off the rest of the roster. It also should allow Kriisa to fall into more of a distributing role instead of being forced to shoot the basketball.
Battle felt he had ate something wrong after he testified in court Wednesday for the suit and didn’t practice Thursday due to weight loss and being under the weather. Friday he returned but took a turn for the worse Saturday which kept him out of the game.
But with the addition of new pieces, it means that everybody on the roster will need to buy into new roles and accept and excel in what they are being asked to do. That is the next challenge as Eilert looks to navigate the roster issues.
And the latest challenge could come with the status of center Jesse Edwards who was limited in the game against the Minutemen due to a wrist injury.
"It hurt not having Jesse out there and that injury to the wrist scares me. I'm praying that he's healthy," Eilert added.
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