West Virginia basketball roster 2023: Complete depth chart, positions, coaching staff and players
The West Virginia Mountaineers had perhaps the most disruptive offseason of all Division I men's basketball teams.
First, coach Bob Huggins was suspended for three games for using homophobic slurs on live radio. A month later, he resigned after being arrested for a DUI in Pittsburgh having 0.21% blood alcohol content, almost three times the legal limit.
As a result of his decision, the dominoes started falling. Suddenly, a settled roster was given special dispensation by the NCAA to enter the transfer portal after it had been closed if they chose to do so.
Several players took flight and entered the transfer portal leaving the program reeling and seeking to shore up its roster for next season.
Athletic director Wren Baker announced that assistant coach Josh Eilert had been named interim head coach on Saturday. The move surprised West Virginia observers who thought that the job would go to Ron Everhart.
Everhart has experience as a head coach at McNeese State, Duquesne and Northeastern versus Eilert, who has never risen above being assistant coach.
So, what's on Eilert's in tray regarding his roster?
On this edition of @WVUhoops Playbook, @TonyCaridi sits down with Coach @josheilert!
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West Virginia's transfer portal, ins and outs
Replacing a legend has never been an easy task and newly-named interim coach Josh Eilert has a task on his hands to marshall the troops.
West Virginia had to plug the leak. While announcing the move with Eilert, Wren Baker stipulated that a thorough, nationwide search for a coach would be made at the end of the 2023-2024 season.
Eilert assumed assistant coaching duties last year, and he has been on Huggins' staff since he arrived in 2007. He has never held a head coach position before, and he has big shoes to step into replacing a Hall of Famer.
The first player to take advantage of the NCAA 30-day window to enter the transfer portal was big man Tre Mitchell. He joined coach John Calipari with the Kentucky Wildcats.
Eilert got an early boost after point guard Kerr Kriisa, who had entered the transfer portal, decided to withdraw and stay with West Virginia. It would have been a blow to lose Kriisa, who was a highly sought-after transfer from Arizona.
Joe Toussaint entered the transfer portal and has scheduled visits to Kansas State, Texas Tech, Alabama and will have Zoom calls with Miami and the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
Toussaint is clearly a player in demand. He averaged 9.4 points and 2.8 rebounds last season for West Virginia and coach Bob Huggins after transferring from Iowa.