The Clock is Ticking and a Decision Needs to be Made

Wren Baker needs to put an end to this coaching search now.

West Virginia has lost three key members of its men's basketball roster over the last two days due to uncertainty with who will replace Bob Huggins as head coach.

Tre Mitchell entered the transfer portal on Thursday and on Friday, Joe Toussaint entered while Kerr Kriisa re-entered. Their departure is not a certainty, however. Their final decision will depend on who the next head coach is and who else is on the coaching staff.

Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers and Adam Zagoria of the New York Times reported that RaeQuan Battle, Jose Perez, Jesse Edwards, and others are in a "wait-and-see" mode before making any sort of transfer decision. 

It's been nearly a week, Wren. It's time to anoint a new head coach and give whoever that person may be a realistic chance at salvaging the roster before it's too late. According to several reports, many of the players on roster want Josh Eilert, Jay Kuntz, DerMarr Johnson, and Ron Everhart to remain on staff.

The only way to realistically ensure the current staff remains intact is to give the interim tag to one of them and honestly, it's something that should have been done days ago. 

There's no need to enter a national search in mid-June. The list of candidates available and willing to consider the position now is a far cry from what will be out there next spring. And let's face it, college basketball is a year-to-year game now. There is no roster building thanks to the transfer portal. It's about who can best manage their roster on a yearly basis. The best chance for WVU to do that is to "promote" from within, giving the interim tag to Everhart or Eilert. Going outside poses a major risk to the current roster and there's no point in settling on a coach that you don't love and agree to a multi-year deal with. 

If Baker does choose to go with an external option, the only name that makes sense is Andy Kennedy. He has had success at the high-major level and has done a great job at his alma mater, UAB. He served as an assistant under Huggins at Cincinnati from 2001-06 and would have the Hall of Famer in his corner. 

Regardless of what route Baker chooses to go down, he must make the call now.

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