MORGANTOWN — There just may truly be a West Virginia connection in just about any situation, to the point where even Josh Eilert found one in what was the most-unusual way to become a men’s head basketball coach.
Eilert handled his first preseason media conference Tuesday, just one day after practice began at WVU.
It was the first time since 2007 that Bob Huggins was not sitting behind the microphone, and it was Huggins’ DUI arrest and resignation in June that set up Eilert becoming the interim coach in the middle of the summer.
How could Eilert possibly find a West Virginia connection in that?
“There really wasn’t that case study to make a phone call to and get some guidance,” Eilert said. “I did talk to several people who went through similar situations. Joe Mazzulla presented a great amount of perspective.”
If there is anyone in the coaching world who knows what Eilert is going through, it’s Mazzulla, a former WVU standout who landed his own interim tag a year ago with the Boston Celtics.
Mazzulla went five months with the interim tag, before being named the Celtics’ official head coach last Feb., and he led Boston to the second-best record in the Eastern Conference in his rookie season.
“Joe basically told me to look at it as the greatest opportunity of your life,” Eilert said. “In a lot of ways, you’re playing with house money, and I am. I get a chance to show myself and prove myself and be a leader of this organization.
“He said there would be a lot of challenges and control what you can control. That’s certainly helped me sleep at night when I’m staring at the ceiling trying to figure out how I navigate this challenge or this challenge.”
The Celtics were one game away from reaching the NBA Finals in 2023, making the experiment with Mazzulla seemingly a successful one.
Yet there were five months of unknowns and maybe some uncertainty on Mazzulla’s future until the former Mountaineer point guard proved he belonged.
Eilert has yet to coach a game — WVU opens the season on Nov. 6 against Missouri State — so he hasn’t had the opportunity yet to prove he belongs.
Until then, there may be that same cloud of uncertainty around the situation.
“I really don’t think he dwelled too much on that. That’s really not his personality,” Eilert said of Mazzulla. “He forced that on me to go every day and attack it and how you do best by your guys and the organization, and then things will work out.”
As it stands now, it’s simply about basketball now for Eilert.
Gone are the worries about guys transferring in and out. There are no more holes to fill on the coaching staff.
“It is a sense of relief,” he said. “Every morning we wake up wondering how we can put ourselves in the best position to win and grow and develop as a team.
“Chemistry is a major concern. Some of these guys just got here a few weeks ago, so we’re trying to do everything we can to build that chemistry. You can have the best pieces in the world, but if they don’t work together and mesh, it isn’t going to work.”
In terms of news, Eilert is worried about a lack of depth at the center position and the wait for the NCAA to make a decision on RaeQuan Battle’s immediate eligibility is still a concern.
Eilert also confirmed that transfer guard Noah Farrakhan will have to sit out this season after transferring from Eastern Michigan.
He is also putting in an entire new offense, while maintaining much of the man-to-man defensive principles taught under Huggins.
“I would say (to the fans) to give us your full support,” Eilert said. “I think they’re going to be pleasantly surprised. We’re going to play with a chip on our shoulder. I would say give us your full support and I think we’ll feed off of it, and you’re going to see things you probably didn’t realize you’re going to see.”
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