MORGANTOWN — WVU head coach Bob Huggins added two more recruits in his reshaping of the Mountaineers 2022-23 roster on Monday with Iowa transfer guard Joe Toussaint and junior-college forward Mohamed Wague.
Toussaint, 6-foot, 190-pounds, was a priority for the Mountaineers once he entered the transfer portal at the end of March, and was able to secure his pledge following a weekend official visit.
The veteran point guard appeared in 98 games during his time at Iowa, starting 41 of those and averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 assists, 1.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Wague, a 6-10 forward, averaged 15.1 points and 12.1 rebounds at Harcum (Bryn Mawr, Pa.) Community College, located just outside of Philadelphia. He would have three seasons of eligibility remaining.
Wague took his official visit to WVU on March 25, before committing on Monday.
The Mountaineers were among a long list of schools that contacted Toussaint, including Maryland, Seton Hall, Xavier, Cincinnati, Rhode Island, Kansas State, Ohio and Nevada.
The Bronx, N.Y. native found all he wanted in Morgantown, taking his only official visit of the process at WVU before announcing his decision.
“West Virginia made me a priority from the start. They had me on a visit by myself and all the coaches were there locked into me,” Toussaint said. “It was all hands-on deck and everybody was genuine and family oriented. There was no take love, it was different.”
A tough-nosed point guard, Toussaint should fill that role for the Mountaineers as a player that can score off the bounce, as well as dish the ball to his teammates.
He becomes the second transfer to join the program this season, along with former South Carolina guard Erik Stevenson.
Both transfers are considered elite defenders and Toussaint’s mentality should be a perfect match for what Huggins wants out of the point guard position.
“He wants me to make shots, create shots for myself and get downhill and create plays for others,” he said. “And he wants me to defend.”
Both transfer options also were in high demand upon entering the portal and should form a nice tandem to go along with the rest of the returning roster and incoming recruits.
The three new recruits brings WVU’s total to 11 for next season.
That means that the Mountaineers can currently take two more pledges to get to the allotted 13 scholarships.
— STORY BY KEENAN CUMMINGS
