Josh Eilert describes emotions of returning to alma mater as opposing head coach

It was an emotional evening for West Virginia interim coach Josh Eilert as the Mountaineers faced Kansas State on the road. A former player for the Wildcats in the early 2000s, this was the first time Eilert had returned to Manhattan as a head coach.

It ultimately didn’t end the way he would have hoped as WVU fell 94-90. However, it was still an opportunity for him to reflect on how far he had come in his coaching career since walking on at K-State all those years ago.

Not only that, but he was back in his home state and got the chance to spend time with loved ones.

“I was surrounded by family and friends the last couple of days,” Eilert said. “We came in on Saturday night and that’s always a great opportunity to get to see so many of my family that I don’t get a lot of time to spend with. I spent a lot of time sharing stories and catching up with people. You walk out on that floor and you think back to the time you had here. I was a walk-on here at Kansas State. I did it for the love of the game. I wanted to scratch that itch. I wanted to continue with the game of basketball one way or another. I didn’t know where it was going to take me.”

Things didn’t start off well for West Virginia, which would fall behind by 25 points early in the second half. However, the Mountaineers clawed their way back to take a 77-74 lead with 2:13 remaining. The game would ultimately go into overtime, where WVU fought to the finish but was ultimately unable to pull off the win.

Eilert has struggled after taking over for Bob Huggins this offseason, and the loss dropped West Virginia to 9-19 (4-11 Big 12). It seems unlikely given that performance that he will stay as the head coach past this season.

However, this year has afforded him plenty of memorable experiences with returning to his alma mater being one of them. Josh Eilert was also a graduate assistant at Kansas State from 2005-07 and has spent the remaining 15 years of his career in various roles at WVU.

Now after all this time, he knows he wouldn’t be where he is today without that early experience with the Wildcats. It was all a part of his journey.

“I wasn’t the most talented guy by any means, but I wanted to continue to scratch that itch and play that game,” he said. “If you love something, it loves you back. Case and point is where I’m at right now. I’ve continued to love the game and be passionate about it and it’s got me to a position where I’m trying to take advantage of a great opportunity that I didn’t see happening this way.”