Quick Hits: Josh Eilert on unselfish basketball, Kerr Kriisa’s imminent return

Quick Hits: Josh Eilert on unselfish basketball, Kerr Kriisa’s imminent return

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The WVU men’s basketball team now enters finals week with a win, and the Mountaineers have a week off from game action before their matchup against UMass next weekend.

Here are the biggest takeaways from interim head coach Josh Eilert’s postgame comments Saturday evening following his team’s 66-60 win over Drexel:

Unselfish basketball

WVU finished Saturday’s game shooting 48.3% from the field, which was its second best total all season. Three players (Jesse Edwards, Quinn Slazinski, Seth Wilson) all scored in double-figures.

“[The] first thing that kind of sticks out when I look at the box score is us 17 assists,” Eilert said. “[When] you look back at the game against St. John’s, I believe we had six, so we definitely played well together [tonight] and shared the ball.”

A much-needed lift

Forward Akok Akok played 12 minutes in his second game back from being medically cleared following his health scare in the preseason. Akok recorded a team-high plus-minus of 15, scoring five points with two assists and a block.

“More than anything he just gives everybody a lift on the defensive end,” Eilert said. “With his size and length, he can sit down and guard a point guard if he has to, he can switch onto anybody on the floor, he can guard bigs. From a coaching standpoint, it gives you so much more leverage out there to do what you want to do defensively. He was a huge lift.”

Incoming reinforcement

Saturday marked the final game of point guard Kerr Kriisa’s nine-game suspension for receiving impermissible benefits while at the University of Arizona. Kriisa is expected to rejoin the team next week in Springfield when WVU takes on UMass.

“[Kriisa] knows our plays inside and out, and he can really be that coach on the floor,” Eilert said. “I think, with him in the game….having [both Kriisa and guard Kobe Johnson] in the game at the same is going to be just as effective as anything.”

Copyright 2022 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | Washington, DC.