Doors open for Ross Hodge to finish WVU's roster with new court rulings against NCAA

The West Virginia Mountaineers had to pull off a major roster rebuild this offseason, and head coach Ross Hodge delivered. WVU ended up named one of the biggest offseason winners after snagging an elite transfer portal haul and top high school recruiting class, making it seem that the Mountaineers will be good hands this season.

But there is still one roster spot open for WVU basketball, which Hodge recently said he is looking to fill with the best available player while hinting at wanting "familiarity." He also announced that one expected significant piece of WVU's rotation, Boise State transfer Javan Buchanan, had his eligibility waiver denied, leaving him to seek legal recourse to be able to play.

But injunctions had already been granted when that news broke, and on Friday, another round of court decisions poured in across the country as several players who the NCAA explicitly denied eligibility were granted it through legal channels. And that's big news for the Mountaineers.

What does recent round of courst decisions mean for WVU basketball?

Well, one piece of good news comes in the fact that it seems that courts are very willing to grant these injunctions, particularly for players who have played four seasons in four years – the NCAA's attempts to short change the recruiting Class of 2022 seems to be destined for failure. So it's likely that Buchanan will end up getting to play for West Virginia.

But that's also good news Ross Hodge when it come to filling that final spot, because there are a couple players that have familiarity with Hodge as a coach who are now seeing a significant path opened for a return.

One of those comes in Brenen Lorient. He played for Ross Hodge last season at West Virginia, as well as for one season at North Texas. There are rumors he's interested in a return, and as one of those players with four seasons played in four years of collegiate eligibility, it's likely he is awarded an injunction if he seeks one.

And one of the names that was granted an injunction on Friday was Jason Edwards, who played for Providence last season. If that name sounds familiar, it's because he was considered a top target earlier this offseason for West Virginia, having played for Ross Hodge previously at North Texas. But nothing materialized due to him also needing a waiver, which must have, at the time, seemed unlikely.

But now, he is going to be able to play, and if Hodge wants to fill that final spot and Lorient isn't ready or able to step into the role, perhaps Edwards will be. Now, Hodge has multiple options to fill the final slot on his team – and if he lands either of them, he'll certainly be happy with the outcome.

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