MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia's first exhibition game against Vanderbilt was in an empty gym in Cincinnati. Friday night's exhibition matchup against George Mason will be in front of people inside the WVU Coliseum with proceeds benefiting WVU Medicine Children's Hospital.
 
The two teams playing on Friday are going to benefit greatly as well. 
 
"It's an exhibition game and we're going to try to win it, but we've got to figure out what we need to improve on so when Missouri State comes to town, we're a well-oiled machine come Nov. 6," West Virginia interim coach Josh Eilert said earlier this week.
 
Eilert noted his team played well in stretches against a Vanderbilt team returning three starters from last year's squad that won 22 games. The Commodores won the closed scrimmage in overtime while continuing to use three players who fouled out.
 
"Both teams got a lot out of it," Eilert admitted. "I played it true, and coach (Jerry) Stackhouse had three guys foul out that he continued to play. (Josiah Harris) had two fouls early and I had to pull him, and he didn't have his best game, but I wanted to play it true, and I was going to figure out rotations and who we could rely on and those sorts of things.
 
"It was a very competitive game with 23 lead changes. It went into overtime. We were down two and had a shot to win it, and I wasn't real excited how we executed the final possession," Eilert admitted. "I didn't call timeout with 12 seconds to go and let them play through it, and we forced a 3 when we probably should have went downhill and tried to get it to the rim and tied the ballgame."
 
An area Eilert is seeking immediate improvement is defensive rebounding. George Mason, in its recent scrimmage against St. Thomas, Florida, was plus-13 on the glass and had a 32 to 2 advantage in paint scoring.
 
"I touched on it early that it could be an issue, and it was an issue and that's our defensive rebounding," Eilert said. "We've drilled that and drilled that and hopefully it gets through to them that before we run out, we've got to check our man. It's a give and take, especially if you are trying to score early, but we've got to do our job on the defensive rebounding side of things before we run out and not put all that pressure on one or two guys."
 
In terms of the operational aspect of things, Eilert thought interactions went smoothly with his new assistant coaching staff consisting of Da'Sean Butler, DerMarr Johnson, Alex Ruoff and Jordan McCabe. Longtime coach James Dickey is also available in a senior advisory capacity.
 
What has not gone smoothly is West Virginia's request for a transfer waiver for athletic 6-foot-5, 195-pound scoring guard RaeQuan Battle. His waiver request to transfer from Montana State for mental health reasons was denied by the NCAA on Monday, requiring WVU to submit an appeal. 
 
"It was very disappointing, but I wouldn't say I was shocked because a lot of these are being (initially) denied, and it seems like your success rate has a lot more to do with the appeal process," Eilert explained. "I thought there were no holes in it and a sure-win thing for RaeQuan, and I'm still optimistic that they are going to do right by him. A fresh set of eyes will probably help that case."
 
Eilert said the staff met with WVU's athletic administration staff on Wednesday afternoon to strategize on how to move forward. "RaeQuan needs basketball in his life. I've said that repeatedly, and if he loses some of that optimism, I worry for him," Eilert said.
 
Battle's off-the-court story has yet to be revealed, Eilert preferring to let Battle tell it, but on the court, he has the potential to be one of the best shooting guards in the Big 12. He averaged 17.7 points per game last year at Montana State and has an uncanny ability to score when plays break down.
 
Eilert has previously said that Battle's athleticism and skills would have fit in nicely with West Virginia's "Press Virginia" teams of a few years ago. One onlooker not associated with the basketball staff compares Battle favorably to former All-Big East performer Damian Owens, with perhaps even more athleticism.
 
That's saying a lot.
 
Eilert admits he has had to adjust with Battle unavailable for games.
 
"You've got to look at things differently offensively to where everybody else is going to have to step up and be a threat," he noted. "(Battle) makes me a heck of a lot better coach, I can tell you that, because when things break down RaeQuan can get the ball and get a shot off. Yeah, selfishly, we need him, and we are a much better ballclub with him, but for Rae, personally, he needs basketball in his life."
 
The uncertainty of Battle's eligibility status is just another obstacle in the way for Eilert, who has seemingly dealt with obstacle after obstacle since assuming the head coaching duties on an interim basis in late June.
 
His entire roster of players were basically free agents in the month of July, and he ended up losing seven from last year's squad. With Battle down to one final appeal, Eilert could end up with only 10 available players to take on the Big 12 Conference this season.
 
When the NCAA decision became public late Monday afternoon, Eilert's first call came from good buddy and former WVU player Darris Nichols, now coaching at Radford. Nichols told Eilert to just stay on the boogie board and ride out the waves. 
 
"The waves seem to still be coming, but I'm going to stay optimistic and stay on that boogie board," Eilert said.
 
As for Friday night's game against George Mason, Eilert admitted there remain unknowns on both sides of the scorer's table.
"Tony (Skinn) came from Maryland, and he's a first-year head coach; I'm a first-year head coach, and there isn't a lot to go off in terms of scouting," he said. "They did play the other night against St. Thomas so we did get a chance to watch that.
 
"In our scouting report it's us versus us. We must transition what we did against Vanderbilt and clean those things up, whether it's defensive rebounding and our rotations and spacing or us taking advantage of more opportunities in transition," Eilert said.
 
"It's going to be a good challenge for us. They were plus-13 in rebounding and had 11 offensive rebounds. They were 32 to 2 points in the paint," Eilert added. "They didn't shoot it very well, but they had a strong presence inside. (Woody) Newton is a transfer from Oklahoma State, who I believe was a mental health waiver that got approved."
 
Aside from the many unknowns on Friday night, there is one certainty: Eilert has officially retired the coaching stool that once became a staple in front of the West Virginia bench.
 
"It felt good standing rather than sitting. I can see a lot more," he laughed.
 
Tickets for as low as $10 are available through the Mountaineer Ticket Office and can be purchased by calling 1-800-WVU GAME or by logging on to WVUGAME.com.
 
The game will be televised on ESPN+ with Nick Farrell and Warren Baker handling the call. Mountaineer Sports Network radio coverage begins at 6 p.m. on stations throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the Varsity Network and WVU Gameday apps.
 
Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.