Eilert

SHEPHERDSTOWN — The most serious accomplishment shown by the 2023-2024 West Virginia basketball team in what could be a tempestuous season has been a two-point loss to a ranked Virginia team on a neutral court.

Otherwise, the in-fluctuation Mountaineers have played five other games and have had wins over Missouri State, Jacksonville State and Bellarmine. They’ve lost to Monmouth (New Jersey) and the Cavaliers.

In late June, Josh Eilert was appointed the team’s head coach. He was surrounded with ex-Mountaineer players at almost every turn as the coaching staff underwent a general transformation.

Eilert is not new to Morgantown or to WVU basketball. He has been associated with the men’s team for the last 16 years.

Now he is the front man — facing the media and his players full time.

Eilert’s position is as far from ideal as is possible in NCAA Division I in men’s basketball.

His useful player depth is almost impossible to find. Possibly his most influential player is guard Kerr Kriisa, a transfer from Arizona.

But Kriisa has yet to play, and still has three more games to watch from the sidelines, before the NCAA says he can play. There are still two other players missing games, who have yet to play.

With the small current group of seven players who have seen nearly all the game-time minutes, Eilert has tried to find somebody with enough late-game enery and stamina to get wins.

Tonight’s opponent is St. John’s of the Big East Conference. Two other non-conference opponents with some notoriety are Pitt and Ohio State.

And then comes the mostly blue blood Big 12 schedule.

The Mountaineers have drawn crowds in the 9,250 range for the most part. That’s a tribute to WVU followers who are learning fast this team’s limitations.

Bellarmine is new to NCAA Division I basketball, becoming a member of the highest level of competition only in the 2020-2021 season.

The Louisville-based Knights won the Atlantic Sun Conference last season.

What will happen if the Mountaineers have to continue on with only seven useful players? The Big 12 Conference teams won’t give them any solace.

That league has more than a few teams primed to reach the NCAA Tournament . . . and then do the damage giants like Kansas usually do.

The far-ranging league now has Houston, Cincinnati and Brigham Young as well Central Florida.

Which teams are beatable by seven-player teams? Certainly not Texas, Texas Tech, Baylor, Oklahoma or even Iowa State. Texas Christian, Kansas State and Oklahoma State are probably the teams with the least chance of doing damage in the conference.