The West Virginia Guard RaeQuan Battle is shown before the game against the Pittsburgh Panthers on December 6, 2023, in Morgantown, West Virginia. Battle, formerly of Montana State, has yet to play this season. College athletes like Battle, who were denied the opportunity to play immediately after transferring for a second time, can return to competition for now, after a federal judge issued a 14-day temporary restraining order Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023, against the NCAA. (William Watring/Dominion Post via AP)
MORGANTOWN — Usually, all you see is players hugging each other and heading to the bench at the start of a basketball game, and the five who get on the floor are the starting five.
It sounds simple enough for a coach, but there’s a lot more to it than wondering if you’ll run out of ink before you finish writing it.
You go to who’s hot, who’s not. You look at what style of play you want to use that night, and whether the other team’s weakness is rebounding or handling three-point shooting pressure. You think about matches, where your advantage may lie, where your opponents may lie.
But Josh Ehlert’s lineup for Saturday’s Hall of Fame Classic at 6:30 p.m. in Springfield, Mass., against the University of Massachusetts and his coaching partner, Frank Martin, who got him the graduate assistant job at Kansas State when he was starting out, was a tough one. More complicated than most.
Not only will Keir Kresa be available after his nine-game ban, he will have RaeQuan Battle and Noah Farrakhan, making them the team Ehlert was hoping to have for the season.
“We have had many conversations with a variety of parties since Wednesday’s court ruling in the Wheeling case,” Ehlert said in a statement. “But more importantly, we had extensive discussions with Raekwan and Noah and their families. They expressed their desire to compete with their teammates and represent West Virginia University on the field. This was their decision to compete. Like I said, we will always fully support them and certainly look forward to having them on board.” Our active list.
Players are returning to action after the NCAA was hit with a 14-day temporary restraining order by a federal judge in Wheeling over the organization’s ban on granting eligibility to college players who transfer a second time without a waiver.
They will join the portal’s top acquisition, point guard Keir Krysa, who returned from a nine-game suspension for infractions at Arizona prior to his transfer, in being eligible for their first games of the season.
The issue developed even though the court allowed them to play with the NCAA saying that if it won the court case after the TRO hearing, it would enforce its rule that if a player played in one game it would count as a year of used eligibility.
Which led to the decision being placed on the school and the players. This will be the final year of Battle eligibility.
The battle, of course, was fighting for eligibility with a number of NCAA players, leading to a showdown in court.
On the surface, it seemed like a no-brainer, as the courts had paved the way for them to play. But it was a bluff with the Mirror as the body later clarified the situation, saying it wouldn’t be a problem for the school if those players played but if they won the court case after playing TRO, it would cost them a year of eligibility.
“It’s basically about eligibility,” Ehlert said during a Zoom call Thursday. “In 14 days, we’ll play three games. If the decision is overturned and (Patel and Farrakhan) play during this session of the season and lose that year of eligibility, it doesn’t look like we made the right decision by the student-athlete.”
So the decision had to be made within possibility, which meant they needed input from everywhere.
“These conversations need to be had with these student-athletes, their families and our administration to figure out what is best for them and for us as a whole,” Ehlert said. “I want to make all the facts clear to everyone involved before making those decisions. “I think this is the right way to deal with these matters.”
With Battle at guard alongside Kerr and perhaps Coby Johnson, and Gregg Slaczynski on the offensive line with Jesse Edwards, it’s a whole different ballgame, so to speak.
“He’s a lot faster. We had to virtually slow everything down to be competitive because of our lack of depth. We still moved Akok Akok back to No. 4. If we had Noah and Ray, that’s depth at guard. We’d have fresher legs there,” Ehlert said. “.
“Certainly, it’s easier for the coaching staff to hold players accountable for what they do out there when it’s easier to replace them.”
The only question now is how much rust Krysa and Patel will carry after missing nine matches, despite both having trained with the team all season.
“In terms of knocking off the rust on game day, that could be an issue. They missed nine games,” Ehlert said. “Kerr got a chance to play doubles in a closed scrimmage (against Vanderbilt) and against George Mason, but Noah and Ray didn’t have the experience This match day for a while.
“These guys have been super competitive and super tanky in practice every day, not making any moves in any way. They’ve been training together. It’s not like they’ve been sitting out. I don’t see that being a big issue. All the indications I have point to The rest of the guys are really excited.
The upcoming trip to UMass is generating buzz among Mountaineers as they prepare to face off against the Knights in a highly anticipated match. The Knights are set to arrive in full force, ready to bring their A-game to the field. Fans and sports enthusiasts are eager to see how the Mountaineers will fare against their formidable opponents. This exciting showdown is sure to draw a crowd and provide an intense display of skill and strategy on the sports field. Stay tuned for more updates on this thrilling upcoming event.