It’s not often that you can add a pre-season player of the year to a roster after the season is already underway but that is what West Virginia is currently balancing.

Jose Perez has enrolled for the upcoming spring semester and brings with him plenty of exciting credentials during his time at Manhattan.

A 6-foot-5, 220-point guard from the Bronx, New York, Perez started 29 of 30 games played last season, where he averaged 18.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists, earning First Team All-MAAC honors.

He was tabbed as the pre-season player of the year in the league prior to this season but elected to enter the transfer portal after his head coach was surprisingly fired.

That led to a five-day whirlwind of a recruitment that eventually led him to Morgantown. The Mountaineers were far from the only program that threw their hat into the ring for Perez’s services but the thought of being able to play for head coach Bob Huggins was appealing.

On the floor, Perez is going to give the Mountaineers an exciting skill set.

“Jose certainly gives us more fire power for our team," Huggins said. "He's a guy who can score the ball at different levels, he shoots the ball well, he drives it well and he scores it close. He's another experienced guy who has played a lot of basketball. We think he will be a great fit."

The Mountaineers have stated to find a groove with the current roster, so there are obviously some questions on what will occur once Perez is thrown into the mix. West Virginia is currently awaiting a waiver to the NCAA on when exactly Perez will be able to practice and play with the team.

“We’re waiting for a response,” Huggins said.

Huggins doesn’t believe the transition of acclimating Perez into the rotation once that waiver is eventually decided upon will prove all that difficult to navigate.

“I wouldn’t think as tough as what people are making it out to be. I had to do that at Akron, I had to do that at Cincinnati a time or two. It’s the same thing, I play people because they deserve to play,” Huggins said. “I don’t play people because their name or who they think they are.”

The goal is to put the best groupings on the floor that are going to allow West Virginia to have success and it seems that Perez should be able to add to that in some form.

“That has really yet to be seen who are best seven, eight, nine – guys that will play the majority of the minutes are,” Huggins said.

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