MORGANTOWN — For 16 years Josh Eilert watched, listened, learned and stayed put.
In college basketball years, that would normally account for two or three different addresses for someone working their way up the ranks. Not Eilert.
“It’s unheard of, especially in this business,” Eilert said in terms of staying at WVU for 16 years. “I think it’s a lesson for a lot of people to stay true to the people who are true to you. You know, the grass isn’t always greener.”
Eilert took over the reins of the Mountaineers program on an interim basis last Sunday, saying it was business as usual.
Players were in the weight room. Coaches were in their offices getting ready for the July recruiting period.
Yet the air around the program is anything but settled, as WVU looks to turn the page from the legacy that was former head coach Bob Huggins, who resigned his post on June 17 following a DUI arrest in Pittsburgh.
“I look at it as an opportunity,” Eilert said during a press conference Monday. “I’m excited to show what I can do and what our staff can do and what our players can do in a difficult situation.”
The situation got a little more difficult in the hours that followed the press conference. Junior forward James Okonkwo announced via social media he was entering the transfer portal, the fifth player to do so since Huggins’ resignation.
Of those five, point guard Kerr Kriisa opted to return to WVU, while starting forward Tre Mitchell decided to enroll at Kentucky.
The book is still out on Okonkwo, as well as Mohamed Wague and Joe Toussaint.
“These are 18 to 23 years olds,” Eilert said. “There’s a lot of uncertainty in their life right now. There’s a lot of options in their life. The biggest message that I have and our staff has is we care about them. We want to reassure them that this is a great place for them.”
In moving in as the interim head coach, Eilert’s role expanded greatly, to the point, he joked, that his hair is going to be on fire.
July is a traditional hot month for evaluating high school prospects at AAU tournaments. In early August, the team will leave for Italy on a foreign tour, where the Mountaineers will play three exhibition games.
And then there is the fact Eilert must evaluate his current staff and decide if any changes need to be made.
Even though Eilert is the interim coach, WVU athletic director Wren Baker has given him the keys to the program.
“He has my full support and the full support of this department to make decisions he feels are in the best interest of the program this season,” said Baker, who added the school may hire some sort of senior advisor to aid Eilert in his transition. “He doesn’t need to feel like he doesn’t have the ability to make changes that he sees fit to make. He is the head coach and I want him to feel and know he’s empowered in that role.”
The school is still working on Eilert’s official contract. The term sheet calls for Eilert’s interim run to end on April 30, 2024.
He gets the usual perks like a company vehicle, 20 tickets for each home men’s basketball game, six for each home football game, a golf club membership and four passes for Club 35 at each home men’s hoops game.
He will earn $1.5 million, plus incentives, over the next 10 months.
All of this news basically covered Day 1 of Eilert’s tenure.
As for the days that follow, maybe those 16 years of learning and watching will pay off for Eilert in becoming a head coach.
As for Eilert’s coaching philosophy, he has some ideas.
“Coach Huggins’ philosophy will be engrained in me the rest of my life,” Eilert said. “He’s a very defensive-minded coach. I think I’ll take a lot of his principles defensively. Offensively, I’d like to change some things.”
It was Huggins who first brought Eilert to Morgantown in 2007 from Kansas State. A bond was formed then and strengthened over those 16 years.
“He’s been a huge influential part of my life, and that’s not going to change,” Eilert said. “If I need to reach out to him, I promise you that he’ll take my phone call.”
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