MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — Bob Huggins has one open scholarship to play with for next season.
His plan: He’s going fishing.
“You go out there and if you catch a really good crappie, you probably keep him,” the West Virginia men’s basketball coach began. “If you catch a large mouth, small mouth or walleye, you know, if the ones you catch aren’t very good, you toss them back in and tell them to grow up. It’s kind of that way.”
Brandon Knapper’s transfer to Eastern Kentucky is the reason for the open scholarship.
The Mountaineers have already signed two high school forwards in Isaiah Cottrell and Taj Thweatt, as well as junior-college guard Kedrian Johnson.
That trio took the scholarships left by seniors Chase Harler, Jermaine Haley and Logan Routt.
It gives the Mountaineers 12 scholarship players next season with depth and experience seemingly at every position.
That includes five guards: Jordan McCabe, Miles McBride, Sean McNeil, Taz Sherman and Johnson; three wings in Emmitt Matthews Jr., Jalen Bridges and Thweatt and four power forwards in Oscar Tshiebwe, Derek Culver, Gabe Osabuohien and Cottrell.
“We have an opportunity to select for the first time in a long time,” Huggins said. “We can kind of sit here and look to see who is available and see if they fit.”
Realistically, Huggins admits the 13th scholarship is sort of an anomaly, “We’re probably not going to play all 13 guys next year,” he said.
And if you’re wondering if there is the possibility of not using it and keeping it for the 2021 recruiting class, Huggins said that is an option, as well.
“I don’t want to bring in anyone who doesn’t fit, because we have a great group right now,” he said. “I don’t want to bring in someone who doesn’t fit and doesn’t work with our guys.”
WVU is already projected as a preseason top 25 team and in the upper tier of the Big 12 without a 13th scholarship player.
What would make an interesting question is how much could the Mountaineers rise by signing an impact graduate transfer, who would be immediately eligible?
If such a player is available in the transfer portal, Huggins would certainly be intrigued.
There is also the option of signing an undergraduate transfer. The NCAA Division I Council is expected to discuss a one-time transfer waiver on April 24, and then vote on the proposal next month.
The proposal — if it is passed — would allow all college athletes to transfer once without having to sit out a season. It would go into effect immediately if it is passed.
Previously, all undergraduate transfers in basketball had to sit out a season after transferring, unless they received a waiver from the NCAA. That is how Osabuohien was eligible to play last season after transferring from Arkansas.
One such transfer option was former Ohio State guard Luther Muhammad, who listed WVU as one of his final five schools, but Muhammad announced Tuesday he was transferring to Arizona State.
Currently there are nearly 800 men’s college basketball players in the transfer portal. They would all be eligible to play next season if the proposal passes.
Huggins, like many other college coaches, is not in favor of the proposal.
“I think what’s going on is dead wrong and this immediate transfer thing is ridiculous,” he said. “Maybe if those (NCAA) guys making decisions over there in Indianapolis had to see kids make really horrible decisions, because they were convinced to do that and were allowed to do that by our current structure, I think maybe they would have a different idea about the whole deal, too.”
As for the Mountaineers’ available scholarship, well, it may all depend on what kind of player nibbles on Huggins’ fishing line.
“There are very few (teams) who have the number of people coming back that we have,” Huggins said. “I think we have a great chemistry right now. I think we’re in pretty good shape.”
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