Josh Eilert makes pitch to retain players on West Virginia roster

West Virginia opted for a bit more potential short-term instability in favor of a better long-term solution to replace departed head coach Bob Huggins, tabbing assistant coach Josh Eilert as the program’s interim coach for the next 10 months. Now cobbling together a capable West Virginia roster is key.

Multiple players entered the NCAA transfer portal before and since the decision, which Eilert said he’s OK with.

“I don’t want to hinder them in any way if they feel like they have another opportunity that would be better suited for them,” Eilert said. “I’m going to give them that opportunity, and if they want to take a look at something else, that’s fine.”

Still, Eilert would obviously like to get some of his players back.

Guard Joe Toussaint has entered the NCAA transfer portal and is actively taking visits to new potential programs. Center Mohamed Wague entered the transfer portal, while forward James Okonkwo planned to.

Though he’s not going to stand in anyone’s way, Eilert did make it clear he’s also pitching them on a return to the West Virginia roster.

“I’m also going to say the message here: We’ve got something special,” Eilert said. “We’ve got a special group of individuals, we’ve got a special administration, we’ve got a special staff and we can do something really, really neat here and turn this thing around, turn the page and keep the tradition alive of the Mountaineer culture.”

The team’s top four scorers from a year ago — all of whom averaged double-figures scoring — are gone, with Touissaint being the fifth-leading scorer. If he’s gone, as well as Wague and Okonkwo it will mean only one of the team’s top nine scorers from the West Virginia roster a year ago returns.

Now, five transfers have been added to the West Virginia roster, so things aren’t quite as dire as they sound.

Arizona‘s Kerr Kriisa, Syracuse‘s Jesse Edwards and Montana State‘s RaeQuan Battle highlight the list of incoming players.

In any case, though, the pitch to the players to stay on the West Virginia roster will be an important one. The Mountaineers simply need numbers in addition to possible production at this point.

“I mean these are 18- to 23-year-olds, so there’s a lot of uncertainty in their life right now,” Eilert said. “There’s a lot of options in their life. And the biggest message that I have and our staff has is we care about them. We want them to know that we want to reassure them that this is a great place for them. And it is a great place for them.”