Latest Colorado court update delivers major blow to Brenen Lorient, Javan Buchanan

The West Virginia Mountaineers are back on campus for classes and preparing for the upcoming basketball season, as Ross Hodge is looking to parlay the momentum from a College Basketball Crown championship in his debut with WVU into an even stronger second season.

But to make that happen, Hodge needs to make sure he has adequate talent on the roster. But he out forth an impressive effort when putting together his roster during the offseason. And a recent ruling in a Colorado court granting an additional year of eligibility to Class of 2022 athletes who played four seasons also opened the path for a return from starter Brenen Lorient.

But both Lorient and transfer forward Javan Buchanan – whose eligibility waiver was denied by the NCAA – are currently reliant on a court ruling to have eligibility this coming season. And the latest update in the Colorado court case could spell disaster for both players.

Federal court halts Colorado court ruling granting additional eligibility

The NCAA's stay request in the Colorado court ruling was granted by a federal court on Friday, essentially nullifying eligibility for these fifth-year Class of 2022 athletes – which include Buchanan and Lorient.

This means that both Buchanan and Lorient currently are unable to play this season, delivering a massive blow to West Virginia's depth at the forward position, and their overall hopes for the coming season.

We've already laid out what Lorient's addition meant for the team. And if you take Buchanan out of the fold, you're losing a critical piece of your portal class who was an assumed starter before Lorient's comeback attempt.

But that doesn't mean all hope is lost for Buchanan, Lorient, and the Mountaineers: there is one more legal avenue to be pursued to get both on the court this spring. Both players have filed a joint lawsuit in West Virginia court for eligibility that is yet to be decided upon, and they could be granted an injunction that grants them both eligibility once again.

But that certainly won't be the end of the drama. The NCAA also issued a statement after the stay was granted in the Colorado case, promising to continue to pursue such appeals to any other court cases granting eligibility to fifth-year Class of 2022 athletes.

That means that if Buchanan and Lorient are approved for additional eligibility in their separate lawsuit against the NCAA, it will likely be appealed. And with appeals granted in favor of the NCAA in multiple court decisions already in an expedited fashion, another injunction on behalf of WVU's two players will probably be halted before the start of the season.

So while nothing is finalized yet, West Virginia fans may want to start getting used to how a lineup might look this season with Buchanan or Lorient. Because as of now, that is the reality – and any future court decisions in their favor are already at risk.

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