MORGANTOWN — If it is indeed darkest before the dawn then the WVU athletic department seems overdue for a ray of sunshine.
Long has there been a sort of blackout, seemingly filled with disappointment, frustration and dread, one that would make you think it’s time for a turnaround, yet we’re afraid it’s not coming in the immediate months ahead.
“We’ve had a lot of turmoil these first few months, but I also understand that it’s not because anything is wrong with WVU,” athletic director Wren Baker said a couple of weeks back, after announcing Josh Eilert would take over the men’s basketball program following the resignation of Bob Huggins.
And this is where the question needs to be asked: If there is nothing fundamentally wrong with WVU, what’s it going to take to remove these storm clouds hovering over Morgantown?
We hesitate to review the facts of the situation only to spare those who have already suffered enough.
In truth, you already know what’s happened with a football program that hasn’t had a 10-win season since 2016 and hasn’t won more than six games since 2018.
You saw the 2023 Big 12 poll, placing expectations on the lower end by being predicted to finish last in the conference.
The men’s basketball team made the NCAA tournament last season based on its strength of schedule more so than an impressive body of work.
Yet it still finished eighth in the Big 12 just one season after finishing last. It’s gone three straight seasons without winning 20 games. It hasn’t won a single NCAA tournament game since 2018.
And now Eilert has been thrown into the toughest of situations, trying to stabilize a roster in an era where rosters everywhere are anything but stable.
The school announced Friday the team would not take its exhibition tour of Italy next month.
“A lot of factors went into the decision, but it became clear that getting our roster finalized and continuing our workout schedule here in Morgantown was the best course of action,” Eilert said.
As it stands, Eilert has eight guys on scholarship, and two of those still need to be cleared with a waiver from the NCAA in order to play this season.
More than anything else, a simple lack of bodies at the moment was a major factor in skipping Italy.
The women’s basketball team will have a second head coach in two seasons.
The baseball team exceeded expectations and won a share of the Big 12 title, but missed a giant opportunity to win it outright and then continued a downward spiral in the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments.
If WVU athletics was a stock, you’d sell it.
The answers you expect are still months away from being finalized, and even then, they may not be the answers you want.
Fire Neal Brown. Hire a big-name men’s basketball coach. It’s simple to write all of that, much more complicated to execute it.
As much as we’d like to believe WVU should be among the upper class, the days of Da’Sean Butler and Pat White have been over for quite some time, even if those memories still seem fresh to many.
There is no quick fix. There is no hero waiting in the wings. There is no Hall-of-Fame coach just itching to get to Morgantown like there was with Huggins back in 2007.
If anyone realizes the full scope to this, it’s Baker. Having already gone through two coaching searches in his first six months on the job, he’s got a feel for what WVU can get and what it can’t get.
He’s got to know by now WVU likely can’t get the sexy pick, so it’s got to be tactful. He needs precision over pricey, ingenuity over home runs.
A mere bowl game is not going to change WVU’s current national perception, no more than a NCAA-tournament victory would.
WVU’s next bright horizon won’t come easily or quickly. It is indeed dark at the moment, and Baker somehow has to find a way to turn on the lights.
We agree with Baker that there is nothing wrong with WVU, which also means things could get worse.
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