MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – WVU men’s hoops wrapped up Day 12 of preseason workouts Tuesday, and interim head coach Josh Eilert is pleased with his team’s week-to-week development so far.
Here are the biggest takeaways from Eilert’s third media session of the preseason:
Saturday scrimmage notes
Friday’s pickup-style scrimmage during Mountaineer Madness was followed by a 20-minute closed intrasquad scrimmage during practice Saturday that was a bit more formal. Eilert provided a few meaningful stats from the second scrimmage in his weekly availability.
Between both teams, WVU produced a 19-to-14 assist-to-turnover ratio, which is one of the two stats Eilert says he looks at the most (the other being points per possession). He said that number is better than what he’d seen in earlier preseason practices.
“[It is] certainly going in the right direction,” he said.
On the perimeter, guard Seth Wilson made 4-of-4 three-pointers, and Iona transfer forward Quinn Slazinski nailed 4-of-5 from deep.
“The future of Mountaineer basketball”
One of the stars of Friday’s Mountaineer Madness fan event was Eastern Michigan transfer Noah Farrakhan. The 6-foot-1 senior guard impressed in the team’s dunk contest, but fans will have to wait in order to see Farrakhan take flight next season. West Virginia is the New Jersey native’s third stop in college, and he will be ineligible for this upcoming season.
“I certainly wish he was eligible,” Eilert said. “Especially [because] he’s so good in the open floor. He’s so athletic and so quick, and he’s one of those quick-twitch guys that can make a play and be down the floor in two or three steps it seems like.”
Whether it be Eilert or another face leading the program next season, the interim head coach has high hopes for Farrakhan and his role in the future of the program.
“It sure would be nice to have him, but he’s going to be the future of Mountaineer basketball, and something for all you fans to look forward to in the future,” he said.
RaeQuan Battle update
Eilert doesn’t have any updates on the status of RaeQuan Battle’s transfer waiver, but Battle returned to practice Monday after sitting out the weekend with an injury.
As for the waiver, news could be coming soon.
“I hope to hear this week,” Eilert said.
Eilert believes that the ruling on Battle’s eligibility could come this week because of the timely manner in which WVU filed his paperwork. As for typical timelines, the NCAA tries to have a ruling by the time the regular season rolls around.
“They give you a timeframe to work with and they try to – if you meet certain requirements in terms of timelines – try to get that done before your first competition.”
