Following a down year for West Virginia, Bob Huggins and his coaching staff have quietly put together one of the best transfer classes in the country. According to EvanMiya, WVU ranks No. 4 in the country in transfer portal additions.
Huggins and his staff got with the times and recruited four productive veterans.
WVU’s INCOMING TRANSFERS FROM THE PORTAL:
EMMITT MATTHEWS JR. / WASHINGTON
11.7 PTS / 4.7 REB / 0.6 AST
TRE MITCHELL / TEXAS
8.7 PTS / 4.0 REB / 1.3 AST / 0.7 BLK
ERIK STEVENSON / SOUTH CAROLINA
11.6 PTS / 4.8 REB / 2.8 AST / 1.1 STL
JOE TOUSSAINT / IOWA
4.3 PTS / 1.7 REB / 3.2 AST / 1.4 STL, 2.33 AST/TO RATIO
West Virginia got their kind of guys. It all starts with South Carolina transfer guard Erik Stevenson, who played for Huggins’ former assistant Frank Martin. Stevenson, who will be playing at his fourth school in five seasons, won’t be bothered at all by the toughness that West Virginia needs from their players. Stevenson will take one of the starting spots as he has just one year of eligibility remaining.
After Stevenson came Iowa transfer Joe Toussaint. WVU’s coaching staff loved the grittiness of Toussaint as well as his assist-to-turnover ratio.
In need of a wing, a familiar face re-entered his name into the transfer portal. Emmitt Matthews Jr. committed back to WVU after one season away at Washington. Matthews elevated his game, shooting 43 percent from the field for the Huskies. Matthews played three years under Huggins at West Virginia, helping the Mountaineers reach the 2021 NCAA Tournament earning a 3-seed.
West Virginia was able to conclude their portal recruiting class with former 2-time Atlantic-10 team recipient Tre Mitchell. Mitchell spent this past season at Texas under head coach Chris Beard. The Pittsburgh native left the Longhorns in February for personal reasons. Before his Austin stint, Mitchell averaged 18.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks on 49 percent shooting in 44 career games for UMass.
WVU has a great chance at rebounding from a last place finish in the Big 12 last season.
TPR’s PROJECTED LINEUP FOR WVU:
JOE TOUSSAINT, G
KEDRIAN JOHNSON, G
ERIK STEVENSON, G
EMMITT MATTHEWS JR., F
TRE MITCHELL, C
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