WVU’s Isaiah Cottrell is Already Looking Ahead to Next Season Following Successful Surgery

West Virginia men’s basketball freshman Isaiah Cottrell had successful surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon in his left leg last week, WVU coach Bob Huggins announced Monday morning.

“According to Dr. [Kelly] Bal and according to his mother, the surgery went as well as could be,” Huggins explained. “It was a very good surgery.”

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Surgery time!!

— Isaiah Cottrell (@IsaiahCottrell) January 6, 2021

Following the surgery, Cottrell is already doing everything he is able to work his way back for next season, according to Huggins

“Isaiah’s already started doing whatever it is they allow him to do at this point, which obviously isn’t very much right now,” Huggins said. “Isaiah wants to play and something I love is that he wants to do it in a West Virginia uniform. He wants to play at West Virginia, he wants to represent the state He loves the people, loves the state. He’s on a mission to be able to come back and play.”

Cottrell suffered the Achillies tear in WVU’s victory against Northeastern on Dec. 29. The extent of the injury was revealed the following day, putting an end to his freshman season.

The 6-foot-10 freshman had an early role in WVU’s rotation as the Mountaineers’ second forward off the bench behind Gabe Osabuohien. In 10 games, Cottrell had played 56 minutes with 16 points and 14 rebounds. His best game came against No. 1 Gonzaga when he played a career-high 11 minutes due to fouls issues and scored a season-best six points. Huggins described Cottrell as a stretch forward, saying he was a really good jump shot and can pass better than any of WVU’s other forwards.

“His skill level surpasses any of the other bigs that we have in terms of skill,” Huggins said. “Everything went as well and is going as well as it could possibly go…You certainly don’t want to rush it. The kid’s got a great future.”