Morgantown, West Virginia – The West Virginia Mountaineers improved greatly this past season, going from 16-17 overall and 4-14 in the Big 12 during the 2021-2022 season to 19-15 overall and 7-11 in the Big 12 last season.
Most of the improvement can be attributed to the coaching staff’s success in the transfer portal last year. The Mountaineers added Erik Stevenson, Joe Toussaint, Emmitt Matthews, Jr., Mohamed Wague and Jimmy Bell prior to the start of the season. With Stevenson and Matthews gone, West Virginia will once again have to rely on finding success in the transfer portal.
So far, the Mountaineers have added Jose Perez and Omar Silverio. Perez, a 6’5 guard from Bronx, New York, averaged 18.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game during the 2020-2021 season at Manhattan. Silverio, a 6’3 guard from the Dominican Republic, averaged 10.9 points and made 73 three-pointers during his last season at Hofstra.
With those two players on board, West Virginia currently has the #1 ranked transfer class in college basketball, according to 247Sports’ Brad Crawford.
The Top Ten Transfer Classes According to Brad Crawford:
- West Virginia
- South Carolina
- Syracuse
- TCU
- Creighton
- Louisville
- Minnesota
- Alabama
- Texas Tech
- Austin Peay
Although West Virginia currently ranks as the top transfer class, Bob Huggins and his staff have a lot of work remaining to do to replace starters Kedrian Johnson, Emmitt Matthews and Erik Stevenson. West Virginia has been very active in the transfer portal in the offseason, reaching out to virtually every big name that has entered the portal.
Although Bob Huggins thought that he would hate the transfer portal a few years ago, he’s adapted and learned to use it to benefit the Mountaineers. “I don’t think the transfer portal is good for your fans,” Huggins said last season. “I don’t think years from now our fans are going to be talking about a guy who played here for a year. I kind of favor having the guys here for several years.
I thought I’d hate the transfer portal. I thought I’d hate it but I like it. As long as you’re able to pick out who you want like we did, it’s pretty good. I like it.”
