WVU Basketball

West Virginia hired Darian DeVries as the school's next men's basketball coach on Sunday, with the two sides agreeing to a five-year deal.

DeVries has served as the head men's basketball coach at Drake since 2018.

ESPN's Pete Thamel first reported the deal was being finalized.

Three-year Drake starting guard Tucker DeVries is expected to join his father in West Virginia, according to Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68.

DeVries, winner of back-to-back MVC Player of the Year awards, recorded 21.6 points per game for the Bulldogs this season. That average is more than five points higher than any player currently on West Virginia's roster.

The Bulldogs won the Missouri Valley Conference tournament and made the NCAA tournament in each of the past two seasons under DeVries' leadership.

DeVries will take the place of interim head coach Josh Eilert, who replaced former head coach Bob Huggins last June.

The Mountaineers decided to move on from Eilert after West Virginia finished the 2023-24 with a 9-23 overall record, their first campaign with fewer than 10 wins since 2002.

West Virginia will hope DeVries and his son can lead their program through a similar turnaround as what they recently helped orchestrate in Des Moines.

Prior to hiring DeVries, the Bulldogs had not recorded a 20-win season since 2008, and had never before recorded back-to-back 20-victory campaigns.

After DeVries joined the program in 2018, Drake went on to record six straight 20-win seasons. The team's 28 wins in 2023-24 tied for an all-time program high.

DeVries will now be expected to take West Virginia back to the NCAA tournament. The team earned nine bids during Huggins' tenure from 2007 to 2018, including a trip to the national semifinal.

Prior to taking the helm at Drake, DeVries served as an assistant coach at Creighton for 17 seasons. DeVries worked for both Dana Altman and Greg McDermott as the Bluejays made 11 trips to the NCAA tournament.

Negotiations over DeVries' next contract will likely include a buyout of his deal with Drake. The head coach signed an eight-year extension with Drake in 2021, which ran through the 2028-29 season.

Other head coaching candidates considered by West Virginia included Mark Byington of James Madison and Niko Medved of Colorado State, according to Greg Carey of West Virginia MetroNews. Medved also had Drake connections, having coached there for one season prior to DeVries' tenure.

West Virginia forward Akok Akok is reportedly alert and communicating after collapsing on the court during the team's charity exhibition game against George Mason University, according to ESPN's Myron Medcalf.

Akok was transported to Ruby Memorial Hospital on Friday night after leaving the court on a stretcher, while the school is currently calling the incident a medical emergency.

West Virginia interim head coach Josh Eilert gave a positive update after the game, although there is still uncertainty regarding the cause of Akok's collapse.

"I just got briefed with our medical staff," he said, via Medcalf. "He's stable. He's talking. He's in a good place. He wanted to wish the guys well and congratulate them. He's in a good place. But they're going to monitor him overnight and do a lot of testing overnight to figure out what's going on. That's all I've got."

Mountaineers forward Quinn Slazinski revealed to reporters that Akok was texting his teammates following the game, per Wesley Shoemaker of Blue Gold Sports.

"Akok, all is well," Slazinski said. "He's admitted overnight and we're super proud with him sticking with us. Everything should be good. Really freak accident"

Akok played for Georgetown last year before transferring to West Virginia this past summer.

"It's music to my ears that he's doing good," Eilert said (via Medcalf). "He's such a good kid and a great teammate. I never thought I'd see that moment and have to deal with that. It's heartbreaking."

Former West Virginia men's basketball head coach Bob Huggins entered a diversion program in the wake of his June arrest for driving under the influence, according to the Associated Press' John Raby.

John Lynch of WTRF in Wheeling, West Virginia, reported Tuesday that Huggins resolved his case by agreeing to the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition for first-time DUI offenders. In addition to the diversion program, his driver's license was suspended for 60 days. He also had to pay all court costs and will need to complete a 12.5-hour "alcohol highway safety school" class.

Huggins was arrested on June 16 in Pittsburgh. His sport utility vehicle was stopped in the middle of traffic, and one of the tires was almost completely shredded. Officers at the scene said he failed a field sobriety test and registered a .210 on a breathalyzer test.

The arrest happened more than a month after Huggins received a three-game suspension and saw his salary slashed by $1 million for using an anti-gay slur on a Cincinnati-based radio show.

On June 17, Huggins announced he was resigning as the Mountaineers' coach.

His daughter, Jacque, said on Facebook that the Hall of Famer told WVU president Gordon Gee and the university's board he was prepared to enter a rehab program for 60 days before resuming his coaching duties. School administrators allegedly "refused" the offer.

Huggins subsequently contested his resignation in July and claimed he didn't write the statement that was released by West Virginia. His lawyers said the message originated from his wife's email account. The university maintained it followed all of the proper channels regarding his departure and that his resignation was legitimate.

The Mountaineers promoted Josh Eilert to the role of interim head coach ahead of the 2023-24 season.

After threatening to sue West Virginia and demanding he be reinstated as head coach of the men's basketball team, Bob Huggins released a statement on Monday to address the situation.

Huggins stated that he never resigned from his position as head coach following his arrest for DUI in June, and he reiterated his desire to remain in the role.

WV MetroNews' Hoppy Kercheval reported that the University called Huggins' claim "completely factually inaccurate," as his resignation letter was sent in by his wife and he also met with players to inform them of his departure last month.

Huggins said in his statement that he "did not draft or review" West Virginia's announcement of his resignation, and "The false statement was sent under my name, but no signature is included." He further questioned the validity of the University's claim that he resigned.

"I never submitted the notice required under the Employee Agreement to voluntarily resign," he stated. "I let WVU know that I was seeking rehabilitation."

While Huggins remains intent on regaining his job and proving that the University "did not handle the situation appropriately," West Virginia doesn't plan on backing down from its position.

"The University will not accept Mr. Huggins' revocation of his resignation, nor will it reinstate him as head coach of the men's basketball program," the school's statement read. "Moreover, if Mr. Huggins or his counsel attempts to publicly suggest that he somehow did not resign and retire from his position, please be advised that the University will swiftly and aggressively defend itself from these spurious allegations."

Huggins was arrested in Pittsburgh on the night of June 16 for driving under the influence. He had failed multiple sobriety tests and had a blood-alcohol level of .210, which is over 2.5 times the legal limit. Earlier in the offseason, he was suspended by West Virginia for three games and received other penalties after he twice used an anti-gay slur during a radio interview.

It's clear that neither side is ready to back down, so it could be a long fight between Huggins and West Virginia.

The end of Bob Huggins tenure with West Virginia University just became even more complicated.

It was reported that the coach resigned following his DUI arrest in June, but WV MetroNews' Hoppy Kercheval reported that Huggins is claiming that he never resigned from his post, and plans to sue the university if he isn't reinstated.

Kercheval then reported that the University called Huggins' claim 'completely factually inaccurate' and that they received his resignation letter from his wife and that the coach spoke to the team about his departure.

Jeff Jenkins of WVMetroNews reported that the University is getting mixed messages from Huggins' attorneys, and Kercheval reported that the University will not reinstate Huggins under any circumstances.

Huggins had been the head coach of the Mountaineers since 2007 and had a 345-203 overall record. West Virginia qualified for the NCAA Tournament six times in those years, advancing to the Sweet 16 three times.

The controversy surrounding the coach in recent months began when he used an anti-LGBT slur on a radio appearance in Cincinnati and was suspended and fined by the University. This all preceded the DUI incident, and his resignation was announced shortly thereafter.

The University named Josh Eilert as the new interim head basketball coach in June. He had been with the team since 2007 alongside Huggins and was named a full-time assistant in 2022.

The fallout of Bob Huggins' resignation from West Virginia continued Monday.

Former Mountaineers power forward Tre Mitchell announced on Twitter that he has committed to Kentucky. Mitchell entered the transfer portal on Friday and visited Lexington over the weekend, according to 247Sports' Travis Branham.

This will be Mitchell's fourth stop in his college career, as he began his career at UMass and also spent a year at Texas. He has one season of eligibility left.

Mitchell averaged 11.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 34 games for the Mountaineers. He was led the team in minutes per game and was tied for second in scoring. West Virginia went 19-15 and lost to Maryland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Mountaineers have had several players enter the transfer portal following Huggins' resignation, and Mitchell is the first to officially leave. The futures of Joe Touissant and Mohamed Wague are still up in the air, while Kerr Kriisa opted to withdraw his request and remain in Morgantown.

The university recently named assistant coach Josh Eilert as the interim head coach, a move attributed to players entering the portal. Huggins had been at the team's helm since 2007, and Eilert has been involved with the program since then and was promoted to full-time assistant in 2022.

Kentucky went 22-12 in 22-23 and lost to Kansas State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

One week after Bob Huggins resigned as head basketball coach at West Virginia, one of his longtime assistants, Josh Eilert, is going to replace him on an interim basis for the 2023-24 season.

The school announced its decision Saturday following a report by CBS Sports' Matt Norlander that Eilert was expected to move into the role.

Stadium's Jeff Goodman added West Virginia athletic director Wren Baker used a search firm to look into "big names" who might have been able to take over, but the talent pool was limited at this point in the offseason.

Huggins, who was arrested in Pittsburgh on suspicion of DUI, released a statement on June 17 announcing his resignation from West Virginia:

The 69-year-old was originally hired by the Mountaineers in April 2007. He spent 16 seasons with the program, racking up a 345-203 record with 11 NCAA tournament appearances.

West Virginia advanced to the Final Four during the 2009-10 season for the first time in 51 years.

In the wake of Huggins' resignation, Tre Mitchell, Kerr Kriisa and Joe Toussaint have all entered the transfer portal.

Mitchell led the team in rebounding (5.5 per game) and tied for second in scoring (11.7 points per game) last season. Toussaint averaged 9.4 points per game in his first season with the program after transferring from Iowa.

Kriisa is back in the transfer portal after committing to West Virginia in April. He spent the previous three seasons at the University of Arizona.

Eilert worked with Huggins for 17 seasons dating back to his time as a graduate assistant at Kansas State in 2006-07. He made the move to West Virginia in 2007.

The Kansas State alum previously worked as an interim assistant coach and was hired as an assistant coach in July 2022. This will be his first stint as a head coach in college basketball.

Eilert is taking over a West Virginia program that finished 19-15 last season. The Mountaineers made the NCAA tournament as a No. 9 seed, losing in the first round 67-65 to Maryland.

More dominoes are beginning to fall following the resignation of West Virginia men's basketball coach Bob Huggins.

ESPN's Jonathan Givony reported Kerr Kriisa is re-entering the transfer portal. The former Arizona guard committed to the Mountaineers in April.

CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein reported WVU guard Joe Toussaint is on his way out as well, along with forward Tre Mitchell, per Travis Branham of 247Sports. Mitchell has already lined up a visit with Kentucky.

Huggins' departure came shortly after he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in Pittsburgh. He had already found himself in hot water for using an anti-gay slur toward Xavier fans and mocking Catholics during a radio interview.

The Mountaineers have yet to hire a full-time replacement for the Hall of Famer.

At a time when college athletes have more freedom than ever, the program was inevitably going to experience some turnover.

Kriisa told Givony he's open to rejoining West Virginia pending the outcome of the current coaching search.

"For now, I'm entering the portal, and want to get this figured out as soon as possible," he said.

Kriisa figured to play a big role in the Mountaineers backcourt. He averaged 9.9 points and 5.1 assists as a junior in 2022-23.

Mitchell, meanwhile, was to be the team's leading returning scorer (11.7 points) and rebounder (5.5 boards) from last season. That he's already on Kentucky's radar is a sign of the fifth-year senior's talent.

Toussaint, meanwhile, averaged 9.4 points and 2.6 assists in 2022-23 after transferring from Iowa.

Whoever succeeds Huggins could be inheriting a difficult situation.

West Virginia men's basketball coach Bob Huggins announced Saturday he has submitted a letter of resignation following his recent DUI arrest:

The school responded in a statement that it has accepted the 69-year-old's resignation:

Stadium's Jeff Goodman first reported that Huggins informed the team of his decision to resign Saturday.

Pete Thamel of ESPN and Ethan Bock of WV Sports Now provided more context into the decision:

Huggins was in tears when he spoke to the team Saturday, per Goodman.

Huggins was arrested in Pittsburgh for driving under the influence. The criminal complaint against him stated he failed multiple sobriety tests and had a blood-alcohol level of .210, which is over 2.5 times the legal limit.

It was Huggins' second infraction of the 2023 offseason. In May, West Virginia suspended him for three games, reduced his salary by $1 million and required him to attend sensitivity training after he twice used an anti-gay slur during a radio interview. His multi-year contract was amended to one that would be reevaluated on a year-to-year basis.

Huggins' career record of 935-414 places him eighth on the all-time wins list among men's college coaches. Prior to joining West Virginia in 2007, he also served as head coach at Akron, Cincinnati and Kansas State. He has made 26 NCAA tournament appearances with two trips to the Final Four in 1992 with Cincinnati and in 2010 with West Virginia.

During his time with the Mountaineers, Huggins has led the team to a 345-203 record and 11 trips to the Big Dance. He is a three-time Conference USA Coach of the Year and one-time Big 12 Coach of the Year.

Huggins was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2022.