West Virginia basketball promotes Josh Eilert to interim coach after Bob Huggins' abrupt exit

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One week after longtime head coach Bob Huggins stepped down, West Virginia tapped Josh Eilert as the interim basketball coach, athletic director Wren Baker announced on Saturday. Eilert currently serves as an assistant coach.

Huggins, who abruptly resigned hours after a drunk driving arrest, was named the Mountaineers head coach in 2007. The promotion gives Eilert his first head coaching opportunity.

Baker said in made more sense for the basketball program to select an internal candidate given the difficulty of conducting a broad search during the summer.

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FILE - West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins watches from the bench during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Iowa State, Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, in Ames, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File)

"I spoke with knowledgeable basketball people around the country over the last week, including coaches, professional basketball executives and others of whom I trust to identify a strong group of candidates to speak with," Baker said in a statement. 

"Ultimately what I came to recognize, was that conducting this search in late June was difficult for many of our candidates, and also it put our talented student-athletes at a real disadvantage. With that said, we will conduct our national search at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season."

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In accordance with NCAA rules, WVU players have 30 days to decide whether they want to enter the transfer portal. The athletes would have already entered the portal still have the option to