Quick Hits: Battle's Waiver, Early Thoughts on Offense/Defense, Newcomers + More

WVU head basketball coach Josh Eilert met with the media for the first time ahead of the 2023-24 season.

How challenging recruiting was this summer

"We were backed up against the wall in a lot of ways because the majority of the schools out there, they may have one scholarship left, two at most. And we had five, six, seven spots to fill. We had to get creative in which direction we went recruiting-wise to figure out how we can best piece this roster together and put a competitive product out there, so we can compete in the Big 12."

What he wanted to do to fill the coaching staff

"Three of the four guys that are on the floor every day, they've worn the jersey. They've worn the Old Gold and Blue and they know what it means to this state and these people. So first and foremost, they have equity in the whole process. They want to represent us the right way. That's huge. We got a good group."

How big keeping Jesse Edwards was

"Yes. He probably was the critical piece that we wanted to make sure that we maintained throughout the summer and we could build off. Anytime you look at championship teams, they have a really good point guard and a really good big and then they have a lot of really good pieces around them. That was my main concern was keeping Jesse and keeping Kerr [Kriisa]."

Full 2023-24 WVU Men's Basketball Schedule Revealed

Players that transferred out

"Several of them went in before I got the job. That whole week was critical. I think some of them would have left anyway even before everything went down with Coach Huggins. We were looking at certain pieces to bring in to really load up the roster. I had my concerns that certain guys would leave if we brought those pieces in anyway. And you really got to look at the guys that are graduating and had immediate eligibility, you wonder if they were going to take that chance."

How the defense looks

"Every time I sit in a staff meeting, we drill defense, we drill defense, and we drill defense and I worry that every time we get to five on five we probably don't do as good of a job carrying all those things over. That's probably my biggest concern. That's the thing with these rosters, it's such a revolving door. I think we got four fifth-year guys. They've all come from different defensive backgrounds. So trying to figure that out and think it's going to happen right away, it's not. Jesse [Edwards] sat in a 2-3 zone at Syracuse for four years. We don't have a whole lot of depth there at the five, so one of my main focuses is trying to keep him out of foul trouble. I need him on the floor. I have my concerns but we're in day two of practice. We're going to get there."

How the offense looks

"Offensively, I think we're getting there. Every day we're making progress and now we got a little more time to work with them and can slow things down with myself and the assistants, so I think we're good there. We're excited about that and we're trying to play as fast as we can. Really push the ball get the playmakers involved and keep Kerr in a decision-making mode because he's a pass-first guy and is going to get everybody involved."

Akok Akok

"I've been very pleasantly surprised with him. He's shot the ball really well in practice. He's got a good-looking shot. His numbers in the past haven't really proved it if you look back at his previous years, but I think he's going to make shots consistently. But probably 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-man if we have to slide him down."

Josiah Harris

"Josiah has been good. He's probably been our most effective offensive rebounder to this point. He's really crashing the glass."

Kerr Kriisa

"We're probably going to have to beg him into being more aggressive in terms of taking his shot because he really is a pass-first guy. He's going to have to be a little more aggressive and try to take those open shots when he gets him."

RaeQuan Battle's waiver status

"That's still ongoing. It's in their hands and there's been some communication back and forth to get the information they [the NCAA] need on some follow-up issues but we've been getting that to them in a timely fashion and I look forward to getting an answer in the coming weeks."

How good RaeQuan Battle is

"RaeQuan's special. He really is special. He's probably our most natural athlete. He really scores the ball well. He can get himself his own shot. But 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 twitched compared to everybody else on that floor."

How much having Senior Advisor James Dickey around has helped

"He's been awesome. I'd like to consider him the ultimate glue guy in a lot of ways. He's that guy that has zero ego and can provide a lot of wisdom. He's been through the trenches in college basketball whether it be as an assistant or as a head coach for a decade plus at the Power Five level, so having him being able to mentor each and every one of us...he has a lot of wisdom to share and has zero ego about it. He just wants to help us and it's a breath of fresh air."

Message to the fans

"Give us your full support. I think you're going to be very pleasantly surprised. We're going to play with a chip on our shoulder and this state's always going to operate with a chip on its shoulder. So I would say to them, give us your full support and I think we'll feed off of it and you're probably going to see things that you probably didn't realize you were going to see. We're going to come together each and every day and grow as a team, as a unit, as a coaching staff, and I'm going to keep these guys together and we're going to pull in the right direction and we're going to do it the right way. We're excited about representing this university and this state. Where it goes from here, we don't know, but I promise you we're going to pour our heart into it."

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