Last Year: 19-15; Eighth (7-11) in the Big 12 Conference
Head Coach: Josh Eilert; Interim head coach, no previous head coaching experience
Projected Starting Lineup
| PG Kerr Kriisa – 6’3″, 185 – Junior |
| SG Seth Wilson – 6’2″, 220 – Junior |
| W RaeQuan Battle – 6’5″, 195 – Senior (5th) – Awaiting NCAA waiver approval |
| PF Akok Akok – 6’10”, 225 – Senior (5th) |
| C Jesse Edwards – Senior (5th) |
Projected Starters’ 2022-23 Stats
Kerr Kriisa: 9.9 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 5.1 apg, 0.6 spg – 36.6% 3FG @ Arizona
Seth Wilson: 4.2 ppg, 0.9 rpg, 0.5 apg, 0.4 spg – 41.5% 3FG
RaeQuan Battle: 17.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 0.9 apg, 0.8 spg – 46.9% FG @ Montana State
Akok Akok: 6.5 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.0 apg, 2.0 bpg – 45.5% FG @ Georgetown
Jesse Edwards: 14.5 ppg, 10.3 rpg, 1.6 apg, 2.7 bpg – 59.2% FG @ Syracuse
Experienced Reserves
| G Noah Farrakhan – 6’1″, 170 – Senior – Awaiting NCAA waiver approval |
| F Quinn Slazinski – 6’9″, 230 – Senior (5th) |
| G Kobe Johnson – 6’3″ 205 – Junior |
| C Ali Ragab – 7’0″, 275 – Junior |
| F/C Patrick Suemnick – 6’8″, 235 – Senior |
| F Josiah Harris – 6’7″, 215 – Sophomore |
Experienced Reserves’ 2022-23 Stats
Noah Farrakhan: 12.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.3 apg, 0.7 spg – 43.2% FG @ Eastern Michigan
Quinn Slazinski: 8.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.3 apg, 0.6 spg – 42.6% FG @ Iona in 2021-22
Kobe Johnson: 2.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 0.5 apg, 0.2 spg – 56.5% FG
Ali Ragab: 2.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 1.1 bpg – 73.9% FG @ Gannon University
Patrick Suemnick: 1.4 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 0.2 bpg – 50.0% FG
Josiah Harris: 1.8 ppg, 0.9 rpg, 0.2 spg – 35.7% FG
Freshmen
| G Jeremiah Bembry – 6’5″, 185 – Redshirt Freshman |
| W Ofri Naveh – 6’6″, 185 – Freshman / Israel |
It’s been an offseason in Morgantown. You might have heard a thing or two about it.
Instead of finishing out his second decade as the head coach of his alma mater, Bob Huggins instead was ushered ignominiously away from the program that he’s been building and rebuilding. It was a legendary downfall, but out of the resulting conflagration will inevitably step the 2023-24 West Virginia men’s basketball team. And the darndest thing is, prior to all of the drama, this had been looking like quite an impressive basketball team.
Despite the fact that a couple of the players who had originally been lured to Morgantown to play for Huggins decided to sign elsewhere while the dust was still settling, West Virginia has lured what has been described as one of the consensus best transfer classes in America. And despite the fact that part of the team’s returning core also broke away, West Virginia has added both the quality and depth to absorb those hits. There will not be a talent gap reflective of a team which has regeouped on the fly this season when the Mountaineers take the floor.
Rather, the questions about this team will have to do with its leadership; namely, who will do the leading on the court – and what about interim head coach Josh Eilert? Though he’s been a part of West Virginia’s staff for more than a decade, Eilert was generally not being considered for head coaching jobs in the vicious Big 12 Conference prior to becoming the Mountaineers leader for the time being. “Josh Eilert is the right person to lead our men’s basketball program next season,” West Virginia vice president and director of athletics praised Eilert in a statement. “He has been an important part of our success, and he has displayed great integrity, work ethic and dedication. He has been involved in all facets of our program during his time on the basketball staff, and he has earned this opportunity to coach our team on an interim basis for the 2023-24 season.”
Eilert has accomplished priority #1: convincing most of the existing talent pledged to the Mountaineers to hold to their commitments. Now, with the support of the rest of last year’s coaching infrastructure around him, Eilert must guide the talented players cohesively. It’s sometimes a tough task even for experienced coaches to blend Portal talent which has just arrived into a true team, and the challenge facing Eilert at the highest level is a mighty one.
The crown jewel among a host of proven players which West Virginia has added from the Transfer Portal is former Syracuse pivot Jesse Edwards; and Eilert had to have breathed a mighty sigh of relief when Edwards officially stepped onto the court for fall practices. “Goin’ Nowhere. Time to make this a special year,” Edwards said in a statement confirming his commitment to the Mountaineers. The Atlantic Coast Conference All-Defense pick was somehow only good enough for just the All-ACC third team, but this season Edwards is going to make a run at all sorts of hardware. It took him a bit to get rolling for the Orange; over his first two seasons and 39 games played, Edwards was a nondescript young backup. The past two seasons, though, the agile 6’11” Edwards has evolved into a terrific player, averaging 13.4 ppg, 8.7 rpg, and 2.8 blocks per game on 62.8% shooting. This season, Edwards is likely to be featured like never before, and his new fans can’t wait to see how high his ceiling truly rises.
Growing up in the Netherlands, Edwards started out playing soccer, and only slowly began to take hoops seriously. “I was alright. I wasn’t too bad I just didn’t have a lot of skills. I relied on my athleticism to grab a few boards or whatever the coach told you,” Edwards told Anjelica Trinone of WBOY News this summer, speaking about his entry to basketball. The once-gangly kid who struggled to score among the trees owns a 70.4% mark on shot attempts around the rim over the past two seasons, per Bart Torvik, and Edwards has thrown down 104 dunks over that span. His mid-range game is a work in progress, but his confidence spotting up for jumpers has visibly grown and Edwards owns a 40% mark on shots away from the rim over his last couple of campaigns. He’s never going to be a wide-bodied Shaqtus, but Edwards makes up for his comparatively lithe frame by being one of the more nimble, creative and intimidating shot-swatters in the country. Eilert will count on Edwards to be the play-making heart of this team’s defense, and an eraser when other elements break down. The Netherlands-born big man will have to prove both that he can stand up to the pounding he’ll absorb from Big 12 defenders while remaining a two-way force, but knowing what he’s up against, Edwards has prepared like never before.
While Edwards never re-entered the Portal, Kerr Kriisa, lately of Arizona, did so. Maybe Eilert has some wicked hops over the jaanipäev fire, or else West Virginia’s full-court press of funding and adoration worked, because the Mountaineers managed to reel their wayward Estonian lead guard back to Morgantown for the season ahead. A brash highlight-reel regular who doesn’t shy away from big shots or matchups, Kriisa will now be largely handed the keys to West Virginia’s offense. “We’re trying to play as fast as we can [and] really push the ball,” Eilert told Gold and Blue Nation this September. “Get the playmakers involved, and keep Kerr in a decision-making mode because he’s a pass-first guy, and he’s going to get everybody involved, so that’s exciting.” If Eilert says it, then Kriisa really enjoys passing the ball; and some Arizona fans would probably enjoy a spirited discussion with him on the topic. “Honestly I just think it was good for a fresh start for me and obviously for the program,” Kriisa told former teammate Pelle Larsson and his co-host Josh Kahn on A Nameless Podcast this summer. “I’m very grateful and thankful for the three years I was here…I’m happy with my decision. Of course it’s sad to leave Tucson but it is what it is.”
When he’s not setting up his buddies, Kriisa is very likely to be checking out a deep shot he might like. Of the 622 shots Kriisa attempted over his 76 games in Tucson, 503 of them came from the land of trey. The word ‘mercurial’ has been used to describe Kriisa’s shot selection and free-wheeling style in the past, and it will likely be used again in the future. When he’s on, though, Kriisa can light up the opposition. After making less than 34% of his triple tries two years back, Kriisa bagged 83 of them last winter at a career-high 36.6% rate. He also hit double figures in scoring 18 times, but down the stretch, Kriisa wasn’t his best self. Over Arizona’s final 12 contests, he averaged just 7.3 points and, with his play under a more powerful microscope than usual, Kriisa had a couple of memorable turnovers and some frustrating missed free throws. In Morgantown, he now has a new supporting cast and a clean slate from a fan base which is happy to have kept him. As much as his decisions have been called into question, Kriisa managed to post a new career-best 180:91 assist to turnover ratio last year. Chaos of a different sort may have found him even in Appalachia, but for his part, Kriisa is hoping to set things right with a career year and prove that he’s a winning point guard.
With the inside/outside combo of Edwards and Kriisa, WVU needed some scoring on the wing. They’ve found it, but just how much of that firepower they’re allowed to utilize this season remains to be seen, especially after the news in early October that high-scoring transfer guard Jose Perez is no longer going to play for the Mountaineers. RaeQuan Battle and Noah Farrakhan are a pair of proven scorers, and West Virginia can’t wait to add their skills to the attack. It’s just that, because each of them is a multiple transfer undergraduate player, both Battle and Farrakhan will need the NCAA to approve a waiver in order to play.
“He’s a high-major player. There’s a reason he went to Washington before (Danny) Sprinkle got him. Danny obviously was able to nestle that athleticism and make him a good defender. He’s an extremely good cutter. He’s an extremely good scorer both late clock and early clock. Defensively, he plays passing lanes well and plays with a motor. I think he can play both ends of the floor. I see him having success at West Virginia and in the Big 12 because he’s got that size, he’s got that athleticism, but he’s actually a two-way player. He’s probably the one guy out of our league that you would say would make an impact on both sides of the ball,” Sacramento State head coach David Patrick told 247 Sports when describing Battle’s game this summer. Battle averaged 13.1 points on 35.1% shooting combined from the land of trey for two consecutive Montana State teams which reached the NCAA Tournament, and would be a great #3 option for West Virginia if allowed to play. Farrakhan, meanwhile, has averaged 14.2 points on a 33.5% rate from deep over his past two seasons at Eastern Michigan. He’s smaller than Battle, but a genuine shot creator who can be a secondary facilitator who sparks plenty of action whether off the bench or starting.
Wilson is another guy who can make the three, and with proven scoring depth lacking, he will have the opportunity to let it rip this winter
With or without Battle or Farrakhan, Seth Wilson is the team’s leading returning scorer with his modest production of 4.2 points per game. Wilson is another guy who can make the three, and with proven scoring depth lacking, he will have the opportunity to let it rip this winter. Wilson is a physically strong combo guard who made the most of his opportunities last year, nearly doubling his average minutes as a sophomore and knocking down the third-most triples of any Mountaineer last season. With his solid frame and handle, West Virginia’s staff would love to see Wilson focus his efforts a bit more around the basket; he’s attempted just 25 shots in close through two seasons, per Bart Torvik, and Wilson has taken 11 career foul shots in 76 games. In Kriisa and Wilson, Eilert will have guys who can stretch defenses and make passes, but he’ll also need the veteran guards to get downhill on occasion.
One of the few other returnees from last Mountaineers team, Kobe Johnson knows how to put it on the floor, drive to the rim and make things happen when he gets there. Like his classmate Wilson, the junior-to-be is now going to be counted on to help lead the West Virginia backcourt. Johnson hasn’t played many minutes on average, but he saw the floor consistently as a reserve and has played some at the point already. Unlike Wilson, Johnson has made eight starts, and Huggins liked his energy and willingness to get after people defensively. If he can guard effectively and provide more and more steady production as a contrast to Eilert’s other veteran ballhandlers, Johnson could earn an expanded role on this team.
| Five Stats Which Tell The Tale (with national ranks) |
| .394 – Free Throw Attempts Per FG Attempt (22nd) |
| .387 – Opponent Free Throw Attempts Per FG Attempt (322nd) |
| 76.0 – Points Per Game (54th) |
| 50.9% – Opponent Effective FG Percentage (198th) |
| 32.2% – Team Offensive Rebound Percentage (25th) |
The experience which Johnson and Wilson bring will be important in helping Kriisa and the coaching staff figure out the right blend. Assistant coach and former Mountaineers star Da’Sean Butler has been working with Eilert – and the primary ballhandlers – to define and freshen West Virginia’s offensive attack this fall. “Guys are starting to understand what other guys can do. The more we can develop in that area, the better off we’re going to be,” Eilert told Gold and Blue Nation in speaking of the team’s developing chemistry. “I’m continually trying to mix and match with the rotations and the teams, so it’s competitive day in and day out.” Eilert’s first new commit since taking over is Jeremiah Bembry, who redshirted last season at Florida State. A big, rangy guard who can create for others as well as himself, Bembry is another guard who likes to force the action inside. He has worked to add strength, and after waiting so long to officially play college games, Bembry could force his way into a prominent role as a freshman. Jerry Meyer of 247 Sports described Bembry as an “ambidextrous handler and finisher” coming out of high schools. “Best dribble move is a left to right crossover,” he said. “Crafty player with body control…Loves to utilize the Euro-step, pivots and fakes.” If Bembry’s playmaking skills at size play well alongside Kriisa, it may give WVU a different look to run the show.
The frontcourt renovations have by no means been limited to the addition of Edwards; in fact, reserve big Patrick Suemnick is the Mountaineers’ only returning player who saw meaningful time last year – and he averaged just 5.4 minutes per game. After Eilert was installed, WVU saw a trio of transfers up front, depleting what had been a strong point for the roster. Suemnick is strong, tough and a capable defender. He is looking forward to earning a bigger role this season, but the former junior college transfer is going to see competition from a couple of late additions to roster.
Former UConn and Georgetown transfer Akok Akok brings size, talent and needed high major experience. “I have been very, very pleasantly surprised with [Akok],” Eilert enthused as fall practices began. “He’s shot the ball really well in practice thus far. He’s got a good looking shot. His numbers in the past haven’t really proved it…I’m going to try to instill that confidence in him.” A former Top 100 recruit, Akok has dealt with injuries which have stunted some of his development. Still, last year he started 31 games while averaging more than 30 minutes per game, posting a host of career-highs along the way. He finished twelfth in the Big East with 6.2 rebounds per game, and ranked second in the league with two blocks per contest. Though he doesn’t create many of his own looks, Akok has been highly efficient in cashing in the quality looks that he gets. Akok can shoot it out to three, and will make defenses pay for leaving him open; if his confidence and percentage from deep rise apace from one another, Akok could become a terrific two-way forward next to Edwards. Akok is long and mobile defensively, and has developed both keen awareness and good positioning around the lane. “Probably his best attribute is on the defensive end. He’s so active,” Eilert told Gold & Blue Nation. With two proven bigs who will each rank instantly among the best rim protectors in the Big 12, West Virginia’s interior defense should improve. The Mountaineers ranked well under 200th in opponent 2FG% last year, and the is hope that a weakness may even become a strength.
| Five Out-of-Conference Games to Keep an Eye on |
| vs St. John’s – December 1 |
| N – Wisconsin / Virginia – November 22 |
| N – Ohio State – December 30 |
| vs Pitt – December 6 |
| vs Drexel – December 9 |
If he’s healthy, former Louisville and Iona transfer Quinn Slazinski will add more outside shooting and solid defense at the forward spot. Slazinski had been set to continue playing for Rick Pitino at St. John’s, but switched his commitment to Morgantown after the Red Storm landed a who’s who of talent in the paint this summer. After missing significant chunks of time at each of his previous stops, Slazinski would really like to play this season, and if he can provide a consistent floor-stretching presence, it will help Edwards and the Mountaineers’ other scorers. While Slazinski isn’t the intimidating rejectionist that Edwards or Akok are, he’s a clever passer and stays in good position at the defensive end. Josiah Harris returns for his second season in Morgantown having played a deep reserve role as a freshman, and will look to beat out Slazinski for a few minutes per game. He offers some versatility defensively, and Harris has good athleticism and untapped scoring potential. He turned down Ohio State, Xavier and Virginia Tech to play for the Mountaineers, and having stayed on with the program, sees a path to future success in the Mountain State.
There’s also an intriguing new forward who, uniquely among WVU’s additions, doesn’t have previous college experience. Ofri Naveh is a new freshman from Israel, and he’s joining the Mountaineers after a strong showing at the FIBA European U-18 Championships this summer. Competing for his home country, Naveh shot 47% from downtown over the tournament, averaging 11.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, two steals and a block per game. Though he’s going to need to add strength to hang in the Big 12, Naveh does a bunch of things well and has the size and length to help out in a few different lineup combinations. He’s comfortable on the perimeter, and confident enough in himself to take the rock inside. “Ofri has really good skills for his size, especially guard skills,” said Eilert upon Naveh’s signing. “He’s young, and he’s going to continue to develop his body and increase his strength. He has a really good first step to get by the opposition.” Ali Ragab rounds out the Mountaineer roster, and adds plenty of size and strength to the paint. A transfer from Division II Gannon University, Ragab was a reserve pivot who missed a chunk of last season. He will compete with Suemnick to back up the post for WVU, and though Ragab has yet to put up any particularly impressive stats in his career so far, you can’t teach someone to be 7’0″, and 275 pounds.
It’s been an uncertain offseason for the Mountaineers, and unfortunately, the uncertainties seem destined to March right through the start of what was once looking like an extremely hopeful season. The talent remains for this to become a Top 25 team, even in the meat-grinder conference they inhabit. There are just a lot of questions which only on-court performance can answer.
If Battle and/or Farrakhan cannot play this year, the guard depth behind Kriisa will be thin or unproven. This is a situation which could exacerbate what have been seen as some of Kriisa’s past issues. The frontcourt looks stout, and Eilert will lean upon his proven dudes around the lane. “We knew if we stayed together we could do something really special,” Edwards told WBOY News this summer.
“We’re really getting there,” Eilert said. “Each and every day we’re making progress, and now that I’ve got a little more time to work with them every day, and I can slow things down with myself and the assistants, I think we’re going to get there,” Eilert said this fall. He has talented, experienced assistants and proven, veteran players up and down the bench. If the Mountaineers’ new leader can continue to hold his squad together and succeed, it will be quite the feat. And for the turmoil and perseverance they show through it, the success which this West Virginia side achieves this winter will feel all the sweeter.
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