West Virginia Mountaineers Basketball Team Begins Search for New Coach
The West Virginia men’s basketball team is on the hunt for a new coach after playing this season under interim coach Josh Eilert. The team’s athletic director, Wren Baker, announced on Wednesday that Eilert would not be staying on as coach and that a national search was underway. This decision comes after the Mountaineers ended the season with a disappointing 9-23 record and a loss to Cincinnati in the first round of the Big 12 tournament.
Baker expressed his gratitude to Coach Eilert for his leadership during a challenging season, praising him and his staff for facing all obstacles with class and professionalism. However, Baker made it clear that the focus now is on the future of the program. “We are now focused on our collective future, and I am excited about what comes next,” Baker said in a statement released by the school.
The program was thrown into chaos last June when former head coach Bob Huggins was arrested for DUI in Pittsburgh. This incident came just a month after Huggins made anti-gay slurs in a live interview on a Cincinnati radio show. While a resignation letter from Huggins was sent out from the school, he argued that it was a false statement and that he should have been able to keep his job.
In response to Huggins’ departure, Baker promoted Eilert, who had previously served as an assistant coach and director of basketball operations. However, the team struggled under Eilert’s leadership, ending the season with six straight losses and winning only one of their final eleven games.
Now, West Virginia is eager to move forward and find a new coach who can bring stability and success to the program. The search is expected to be swift, with names such as Dusty May from Florida Atlantic, Dustin Kerns from Appalachian State, and Mark Byington from James Madison being potential targets.
As the search begins, the Mountaineers are hopeful that they can find a coach who can turn the team’s fortunes around. With a fresh start and a renewed sense of purpose, West Virginia is ready to put the chaos of the past behind them and look towards a brighter future on the basketball court.