USATSI
West Virginia has promoted assistant men’s basketball coach Josh Eilert to interim head coach for the 2023-24 season, the university announced Saturday.
Eilert will replace his longtime former boss, Hall of Famer Bob Huggins, who resigned on June 17 — one day after he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol in Pittsburgh. Huggins, who could not name what city he was in when approached by law enforcement, had a blood alcohol level of .210, according to the police report. His departure left West Virginia in a maelstrom. June is an inconvenient time for a school to be searching for a basketball coach, let alone a high-major program that built a roster, in part, through the transfer portal and had legitimate 2024 NCAA Tournament expectations.
In light of Huggins’ resignation and due to the uncertainty around who would replace him next season, West Virginia’s roster suffered upheaval in recent days. Senior point guard Joe Toussaint, junior combo guard Kerr Kriisa and senior power forward Tre Mitchell — all projected starters — went into the portal. Others were held off from transferring, sources said, as WVU athletic director Wren Baker expedited the process of making a hire.
Eilert was the preferred choice of the Mountaineer players, sources said. He won out Saturday over two other finalists. Eilert has no head coaching experience, but he is beloved in the area. He’s been a part of WVU’s men’s basketball program for 15 years, serving the majority of his time as a support staffer, first as video coordinator, then as WVU’s director of basketball operations. He was promoted to an assistant’s post in July 2022. Eilert went with Huggins to West Virginia after Huggins hired him in his lone season at Kansas State in 2006-07.
Baker, a former AD at North Texas, was hired at West Virginia in November 2022. Sources said he held multiple Zoom interviews with candidates this week, but ultimately opted to stick in-house. Had an external candidate been brought aboard, some feared an outright roster purge could have happened. It being June, the most desirable potential candidates for the job are already committed to their schools for 2023-24. Baker and WVU brass can test-drive Eilert for a season, then open up a true national search with many/more available candidates come March of next year.
