The West Virginia men’s basketball team has a large off-season approaching after losing to No. 9 Maryland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Mountaineers had three fifth year starters who are ineligible to return, as well as another three players who walked on Senior Day but are eligible to return. Two players have already hit the transfer portal in Josaiah Davis and Jamel King, so there are plenty of scholarships for Huggins to give out to fill out the roster for next season. There are currently no high school players committed to the Mountaineers, so Huggins will once again look to the transfer portal to fill out his roster.
Potential returners
There are three players who walked on Senior Day who have the ability to return to WVU for another season. Tre Mitchell, Jimmy Bell and Joe Touissant were all honored on Senior Day and all have the chance to return to Huggins’ squad. Mitchell and Bell were both starters for the Mountaineers this past season, while Touissant was one of the first players off the bench. Huggins would likely welcome them all back with significant roles on next years squad. In addition, WVU will be adding Jose Perez who was on the roster last season, but was ruled ineligible by the NCAA.
Guards
WVU will lose their multiple year starting point guard in Kedrian Johnson, leading scorer Erik Stevenson and backup guard Joe Touissant has yet to commit to playing for the Mountaineers next season. Huggins will likely look to add multiple guards to the roster, as Jamel King and Josaiah Davis, both guards, entered the transfer portal as well.
One transfer guard has already committed. Omar Silverio, former Rhode Island and Hofstra guard committed to West Virginia on March 2nd. Silverio averaged 10.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists for Hofstra in 2021-2022, and transferred to Manhattan last off-season but sat out the season.
Kerr Kriisa, a former Arizona Wildcat entered the transfer portal after their first round upset loss to No. 15 Princeton. Kriisa led the Pac-12 in assists, while shooting 36% from three. Huggins showed immediate interest in Kriisa, and was able to have him for a visit over the weekend. Kriisa would provide a passing point guard for West Virginia, something they have lacked for the past few seasons.
Bob Huggins will almost certainly be adding multiple guards to the roster, even with the addition of Silverio and potential addition of Kriisa. There are big holes to fill in the guard position, as guards were arguably the most productive unit for WVU last season. Huggins will most likely look to bring in a true point guard, such as Kriisa, and a scoring guard to replace Stevenson.
Wings
Emmitt Matthews came back to WVU for his final season of collegiate basketball, and did what he was expected to do. Provide an athletic wing player for Bob Huggins who can do a little bit of everything on the court. But he is now gone, and West Virginia needs to find his replacement.
Huggins has not hosted anybody for a visit yet, but will likely be looking for somebody in the mold of Matthews to fill his void. West Virginia will likely look for somebody who is athletic and can fill up the stat sheet, while being able to defend for the wing position.
Forwards
This is likely the trickiest part of Bob Huggins’ off-season. No forward from last season has departed the program yet. Starters Jimmy Bell and Tre Mitchell can both return for another season, while James Okonkwo and Mohammed Wague are young players who should continue to grow.
Just because no one has departed yet, does not mean Huggins will not look to add another big man to the roster. WVU finished eighth in the Big 12 in rebounds per game last season. For a coach who emphasizes rebounding, Huggins was likely unhappy with that statistic. Huggins also likes to play through his big men on offense, but there was no offensive production on the block last season. Mitchell is mostly an inside-out scorer, and Bell, Wague and Okonkwo did not show the ability to score from the post. Huggins could look to bring in another big man or two that provides offense and rebounding.
