Basketball Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

After Huggins’ Exit, Interim Coach Josh Eilert Up For Challenge With Rebuilt Lineup At WVU

West Virginia had an offseason that no one hoped for. Hall of Fame coach Bob Huggins is gone following a June drunken-driving arrest. Assistant Josh Eilert was named interim coach and worked to keep his roster from imploding.

West Virginia had an offseason that no one hoped for.

Hall of Fame coach Bob Huggins is gone following a June drunken-driving arrest. Assistant Josh Eilert was named interim coach and worked feverishly to keep his roster from imploding because players had an emergency 30-day window to enter the transfer portal.

Several veteran players found new schools, others who had entered the portal stayed put and many newcomers arrived weeks after Huggins left. An August exhibition trip to Italy was postponed until next summer.

“It was a balancing act,” Eilert said. “It was a very delicate situation. First and foremost, I wanted to figure out who was all-in and I wanted to back them and let them know that they’re part of the foundation moving forward. And then slowly but surely as the 30 days came to a close, we’d start moving forward and putting those other pieces together and bringing those pieces in.”

On the wall of his office — Huggins’ old office — Eilert has a large photo of his introductory news conference. In the background is a reminder of his current situation: a TV graphic with the word “interim.”

In his view, Eilert, who was given a 10-month contract, is the head coach throughout the upcoming season, interim or not, and he wants to prove that he’s capable of building a program and having that tag removed.

“Now, is there a lot of pressure? Absolutely,” Eilert said. “But I’m excited to take on that challenge.”

OUT BEFORE THEY PLAYED

Once practices began, Eilert kicked graduate transfer guard Jose Perez off the team. Perez said on X, formerly Twitter, that his exit was over an academic disagreement involving study hall. Eilert said he set some non-negotiable rules during their first team meeting.

“I wasn’t going to compromise the integrity of the program and the culture of the program,” Eilert said.

After transferring from Manhattan, Perez sat out last season when the NCAA denied his waiver to play immediately. He transferred to Arizona State.

The NCAA also denied waiver requests by guards Omar Silverio and RaeQuan Battle. Silverio was Perez’s teammate at Manhattan but never played there and previously played at Hofstra. The Mountaineers planned to appeal the decision on Battle, who averaged 17.7 points last season at Montana State and previously played at Washington.

PROJECTING THE LINEUP

Only four players are back from last season’s roster.

The focus of the offense will be on Syracuse transfer center Jesse Edwards, who averaged 14.5 points and 10.3 rebounds last season. He’ll get plenty of looks from guard Kerr Kriisa, who averaged 10 points and five assists per game at Arizona.

After that, it gets tricky. In Battle’s place, the Mountaineers could turn to returning guards Seth Wilson and Kobe Johnson.

In the mix at forward are Georgetown transfer Akok Akok; Iona transfer Quinn Slazinski; freshman Ofri Naveh and veteran bench players Josiah Harris and Patrick Suemnick.

INTERNATIONAL LOOK

The roster has a considerable international flavor. For many of those foreign-born players, soccer was their first sport.

Edwards is from Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Kriisa’s hometown is Tartu, Estonia. Akok, who grew up in Manchester, New Hampshire, and backup center Ali Ragab are natives of Cairo, Egypt. Naveh is from Neot Golan, Israel.

“Yeah, it’s fun. Everybody’s got different cultures, different backgrounds,” Edwards said. “For the American guys, it might be something new, seeing all these dudes with different ideas and accents.”

THINKING OF HUGGS

Huggins signed Kriisa in April. Like others, Kriisa initially re-entered the portal after Huggins’ arrest, then decided he would remain with the Mountaineers.

“After everything went down, Bob told me that he’s going to be here for me. Whatever I need,” Kriisa said. “I felt that made me feel very comfortable, even though if he’s not around the team, he’s still going to be here in Morgantown and be here for me.”

THE SCHEDULE

West Virginia opens the season at home Nov. 6 against Missouri State. The Mountaineers start Big 12 play at No. 7 Houston on Jan. 6, host No. 18 Texas on Jan. 13, top-ranked Kansas on Jan. 20 and No. 20 Baylor on Feb. 17.

'Blue Demons: A West Virginia Legacy' Premieres Oct. 24 On WVPB TV And YouTube

The Northfork High School "Blue Demons" were a force to be reckoned with from 1971 to 1984, setting national records including most consecutive state championships. The small coal mining town in McDowell County received national attention. People wore jackets and hats that had the slogan “Northfork West Virginia — Basketball Capital of the United States."

CHARLESTON, WV — WVPB Television proudly announces the premiere of Blue Demons: A West Virginia Legacy. The half-hour television program will air Monday, Oct. 24 at 9 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s TV and YouTube channels.

The Northfork High School “Blue Demons” were a force to be reckoned with from 1971 to 1984, setting national records including most consecutive state championships. The small coal mining town in McDowell County received national attention. People wore jackets and hats that had the slogan “Northfork West Virginia — Basketball Capital of the United States.” The town desperately needed the positive feelings brought on by its success on the basketball court. As jobs in Northfork were really starting to disappear, the high school winning the state title brought hope to the community.

“Blue Demons is a story that has been near and dear to my heart for quite a while,” commented Producer John Hale. “The roots of this documentary started out as an episode of the Inside Appalachia podcast, but I had a greater mission for the film, to tell the story of one of the greatest AA title runs in high school sports history and to highlight the people who made it happen. I always knew about the team itself but to find out the close personal connection that I had to the material and the positive representation of southern West Virginia made it imperative for me to produce this film.”

Blue Demons: A West Virginia Legacy

When Northfork High School closed, it became a middle school. The school was closed permanently in 2002.

The high school sports trophies were moved to the local Northfork Museum. After that building began to fall into disrepair, they were then moved to City Hall. Years of accomplishments remain housed in a tiny bank vault to this day.

“West Virginia Public Broadcasting makes it our mission to tell stories about West Virginians that inspire and reveal who we are,” said Eddie Isom, WVPB Chief Operating Officer. “The story of the Blue Demons goes beyond basketball. It’s a story of hope and triumph that everyone in West Virginia can relate to.”

Update: WVU Coach Bob Huggins To Be Inducted Into Hall Of Fame

West Virginia University men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins will be inducted into the sport’s hall of fame this year.

Updated on Monday, April 4, 2022 at 11:30 a.m.

West Virginia University men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins will be inducted into the sport’s hall of fame this year.

Huggins was amongst the 13 honorees in the The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2022 announced Saturday, April 2 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The Enshrinement event will take place September 9-10 in Springfield, Massachusetts.

National sports reporter for The Athletic Shams Charania broke the story Thursday night that Huggins would be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in September.

Fellow 2022 inductees include National Basketball Association (NBA) players Tim Hardaway and Manu Ginobili, Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) star Swin Cash, and NBA coach George Karl.

WVPB reached out to the Hall of Fame and WVU Communications to confirm, but they did not immediately respond.

A Morgantown native, Huggins was named head men’s basketball coach at WVU in 2007. During his tenure, he led the team to 326 victories and 10 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament appearances.

With 916 wins throughout his collegiate coaching career, Huggins has the eighth-most wins of any basketball coach in NCAA history.

Huggins was announced as a North American committee finalist for the Hall of Fame in February. He will join fellow West Virginians Jerry West and Hal Greer in receiving hall of fame honors.

*Editor’s note: This story was updated to reflect Huggins’ official naming to the Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 2.

Former Coach Remembers Slain Beckley Basketball Player As An ‘Amazing Kid,’ Strong Student-Athlete

Friends and family of 18-year-old Dwayne Richardson Jr. held a vigil Wednesday afternoon in Beckley. Richardson was shot and killed on Sunday evening, according to Beckley Police. The ceremony came just one day before the Flying Eagles play in the West Virginia state high school basketball tournament.

Richardson was a junior at the school and a key player on the team. This week, fellow teammates, family, friends and an entire community are mourning his death. Roy Blankenship is a teacher at Beckley-Stratton Middle School. He was Richardson’s basketball coach in 8th grade.

Dwayne Richardson Jr., number 2, played for Beckley-Stratton Middle school on the basketball team. The team was coached by Roy Blankenship.

“One of the neat things, and a lot of the other teachers have just been talking about, what an amazing kid he was and what a joy it was to have in class,” Blankenship said. “He loved to make people laugh. He was a very funny kid, and had really good grades. He was as good of a student as he was an athlete. Just a warm personality.”

Blankenship said it was shocking to hear that he died from a gunshot wound.

The Beckley shooting marks the second such tragedy in the Mountain State in the past month. Kelvin “KJ” Taylor, 18, and a beloved high school football player at Charleston’s Capitol High School, was shot and killed April 7 as he stood on the street on the city’s West Side.

Now another community is trying to understand the loss of a promising teenager to gun violence.

“It truly broke my heart,” Blankenship said of Richardson’s death. “I mean, it brought me to tears.”

Wilson goes into the state tournament ranked 8th after a scrappy season. Morgantown High School is ranked first.

“We had a lot of hopes with this team. They made an amazing turnaround. The season had gotten off to kind of a rocky start. They weren’t doing very well and they’ve won several of their last games,” Blankenship said. “It’s gonna be very hard to go up there and watch (the game) without him. I can’t imagine what the players are going through. I’m sure they all want to win and do well for him, for his memory.”

The loss has also sent heartache through the entire community.

“Beckley is basketball and it’s very devastating. I’m going up to the game tomorrow and I can’t even imagine not watching him play,” Blankenship said. “He was one of the most exciting basketball players I’ve seen. He was a slasher, he just had a way of getting to the rim with the ball. He was a really good passer, really was a big lift for the team when he got in the game. All the boys, I’ve spoken with a few of them, are just devastated. They can’t believe that, you know, he was a rock … and just a great kid.”

Wilson will play at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Charleston Coliseum.

Late Wednesday afternoon, Beckley Police announced the arrest of Jeriamyah Jacob Fortner of Beckley. According to a news release, police said Fortner, 20, was recklessly handling an AR-15 rifle and accidently shot Richardson. Fortner was charged with voluntary manslaughter and four counts of wanton endangerment.

WVPB will have more memorial stories about Dwayne Richardson Jr. in the coming days.

Reach reporter Jessica Lilly at jlilly@wvpublic.org

May 28, 1938: NBA Hall of Famer Jerry West Born in Cabin Creek

Basketball hall of famer Jerry West was born on Cabin Creek in Kanawha County on May 28, 1938. He led East Bank High School to a state basketball championship before going on to rewrite the record books at West Virginia University. As a sophomore, his Mountaineer team finished the regular season ranked first in the nation. In 1959, he took WVU to within two points of a national championship and was named Most Valuable Player of the NCAA Tournament. After his senior season, he won a gold medal in basketball at the 1960 Olympics.

West went on to a 14-year pro career with the Los Angeles Lakers and played in 14 all-star games. He was named MVP of the league in 1972 and was the third player in NBA history to score more than 25,000 points. His playoff scoring average is still among the league’s highest. Later, as the team’s general manager, he built the Lakers’ “Showtime” dynasty of the 1980s.

The NBA logo is based on Jerry West’s silhouette, a reflection of his impact on the game. And he is widely regarded as West Virginia’s greatest athlete.

‘Fear Is Not Going To Be Constructive Here’ — Governor Urges Preparation, Not Panic

Only a handful of states have no reported coronavirus cases to date, one of which is West Virginia. Gov. Jim Justice held a press conference Thursday to talk about the state’s plan to prepare.

Although a coronavirus case has not been diagnosed in West Virginia, state officials said it’s likely only a matter of time. All bordering states have cases.

Gov. Justice instructed all state agencies to avoid holding large gatherings and issued a travel ban.

“Today I’m issuing a state employee travel ban for both out of state and international travel for our state businesses,” he said.

He also urged all West Virginians to reconsider nonessential travel out of state or internationally, citing particular concern for the state’s elderly population. Older adults and those with preexisting health conditions have been hit hardest by coronavirus internationally.

Justice also asked nursing homes to severely restrict visitors except in the case of serious illness or end of life circumstances and suspended the state’s high school basketball tournaments.

The panel of experts called these measures “preventative.”

“The risk today in West Virginia is not dramatically different than the risk yesterday,” said commissioner for public health, Dr. Kathy Slemp.

“With all these interventions we know they make a difference if you do them early rather than later so we know they’re disruptive, they’re awful, we hate to have to make these decisions. The challenge is if you wait too long to make them we have the disruptions but not the benefit. If we do them early, we maximize the benefit so it’s a better balance.”

When pressed, the Governor acknowledged concerns about the various cancellations and closures impact on the state’s economy, pointing to market nosedives happening at the federal level. But said keeping West Virginians safe was of the utmost importance.

When asked about the state’s capacity for testing, Slemp was vague on the exact number of tests the state could perform a day — saying prevention is not about testing.

“It’s about all of us at this point taking all the measures we can do to reduce our own risk, to protect our families and to protect especially our elderly so it really is about how we work together as communities to get the job done,” she said.

Speaking to her after the conference, she said from a public health perspective, it’s more important for those with mild symptoms that can be managed at home to do that rather than going out in public and potentially infecting other people. Additionally, if the disease were to hit West Virginia hard, hospital capacity is always a concern, especially in light of recent hospital closures and the ongoing demands on hospitals already, such as managing the opioid epidemic and chronic diseases.

Despite these preventative measures, Justice said although West Virginia is preparing for the virus, panic is not necessary. Live your life he said, wash your hands and stay home if you aren’t feeling well.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from Marshall Health and Charleston Area Medical Center.