Joe Mazzulla, Cavaliers GM pitch West Virginia players to stay following resignation of Bob Huggins

Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla and Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Mike Gansey met Monday afternoon with West Virginia on Zoom in an effort to keep players from transferring, according to a report from college basketball insider Adam Zagoria.

Both Gansey and Mazzulla are graduates of West Virginia.

The Mountaineers are at a point of potential upheaval following the resignation of long-time head coach Bob Huggins this past weekend.

West Virginia players are allowed an extra 30 days to enter the transfer portal following the departure of the Mountaineers head coach.

Huggins resigned and announced his retirement following a DWI arrest where he blew a 0.21 breathalyzer test. Earlier in the offseason, West Virginia had suspended Huggins following a radio appearance where he used a homophobic slur on air.

“My recent actions do not represent the value of the University or the leadership expected in this role,” Huggins said in a statement announcing the decision. “While I have always tried to represent our University with honor, I have let all of you — and myself — down. I am solely responsible for my conduct and sincerely apologize to the University community — particularly to the student-athletes, coaches, and staff in our program. I must do better and I plan to spend the next few months focused on my health and my family so that I can be the person they deserve.”

Huggins — who was born in Morgantown, W.V. and played for the Mountaineers — coached West Virginia from 2007-2023. He had a 345–203 record with the program and has an all-time record of 935-414.

Mazzulla played for Huggins from 2007-2011 after enrolling at the school in 2006 under former head coach John Beilein. He started 25 of the 145 games he played for the program, averaging 4.8 points and 2.6 assists for his career.

His best season with his senior year when he started 16 games and averaged 7.7 points, 4.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds in 28.8 minutes per game.

Mazzulla took over as interim head coach of Boston before the start of the past season. The Celtics removed the interim tag in February.

Gansey played his first two years at St. Bonaventure before transferring to West Virginia. In his two seasons with the Mountaineers, he started every game for the team and was its second-leading scorer. He averaged 14.4 points over the two years with a 39.4% 3-point percentage plus 5.4 rebounds. Gansey was promoted to general manager of the Cavaliers in 2022.