After previously closing in mid-May, the transfer portal reopened for 30-days once former head coach Bob Huggins resigned his post atop the West Virginia basketball program.

It was a decision that thrust the basketball program into initially choppy, uncertain waters as the administration conducted a week-long search that led to Josh Eilert being tabbed as the interim head coach for this season.

But that time between Huggins resignation and Eilert taking the job left plenty of uncertainty for players and everybody else involved. Making that window critical.

And if you do the math that window is ending with that target July 17 date rapidly approaching if anybody remaining on the roster wants to utilize that option.

The Mountaineers have seen five players take advantage of the window to explore their options – and four of those eventually leave the program.

Forward Tre Mitchell (Kentucky), guard Joe Toussaint (Texas Tech), forward Mohamed Wague (Alabama) and forward James Okonkwo (North Carolina) all selected other schools while guard Jose Perez remains in the portal but open to returning to West Virginia which could be a significant development.

However, on the flip side the basketball program did retain players such as center Jesse Edwards, point guard Kerr Kriisa and guard RaeQuan Battle – each of which were massive off-season additions. Others such as guard Omar Silverio and forward Josiah Harris also appear as if they will remain as well.

So, while there has been some shakeup to the roster, a sizeable chunk is still in place in order for the program to make the most of this coming season. No, it won’t be the same roster prior to what happened with Huggins, but those decisions were likely made as soon as that incident occurred.

It’s important to note that the opened window is only to enter the transfer portal, so the Mountaineers are still very much on the hunt for players to round out the roster.

Graduate transfers are not restricted by the same transfer portal rules and can enter at anytime so there could be more players emerge in the coming weeks as well to further bolster what the program has.

West Virginia has already postponed the trip to Italy for next summer in order to primarily focus on the roster construction in the coming weeks in order to make the roster as competitive as possible.

Josh Eilert and company have already added one new commitment in Florida State guard Jeremiah Bembry, but the 6-foot-6 versatile transfer only brings the total scholarship total to 10. And that’s if Perez indeed remains with the program for this coming season.

That means that more roster movement is coming but the good news is that time is running out for that to be exiting the program instead of entering into it.

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