Following the resignation of West Virginia men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins, more dominoes are starting to fall. Three players from the team enter the transfer portal.
Kerr Kriisa has reportedly returned to the transfer portal, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. In April, the former guard for Arizona made a commitment to the Mountaineers.
According to Travis Branham of 247Sports, WVU guard Joe Toussaint and forward Tre Mitchell are also headed out, as reported by Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. Mitchell has scheduled a visit with Kentucky already.
Huggins left soon after his arrest in Pittsburgh for allegedly driving under the influence. He was already in hot water after making fun of Catholics and Xavier supporters in a radio interview and using an anti-gay slur.
The Hall of Famer’s full-time replacement has not yet been hired by the Mountaineers.
There was bound to be some turnover in the program at a time when collegiate athletes have more freedom than ever.
Givony was informed by Kriisa that, depending on how the current coaching search turns out, he’s willing to return to West Virginia.
“For now, I’m entering the portal, and want to get this figured out as soon as possible,” he stated.
With the Mountaineers, Kriisa was expected to be a key member of the backcourt. In 2022–23, he averaged 9.9 points and 5.1 assists in his junior year.
In contrast, Mitchell was expected to be the team’s top returning rebounder (5.5 rebounds) and scorer (11.7 points) from the previous campaign. The fact that Kentucky has already taken notice of him indicates the fifth-year senior’s
skill.
Conversely, Toussaint, who transferred from Iowa, averaged 9.4 points and 2.6 assists in 2022–2023 play.
Huggins’ successor may inherit a challenging circumstance.
