Josh Eilert TCU Preview
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00:00 - Good morning, you know, looking forward to having TCU
00:04 in here and, you know, a team that's, you know,
00:09 had played very well this season in terms of what they do
00:14 and how well they do it.
00:16 And I know it's gonna be an emotional night for us.
00:18 You know, we're saying goodbye to 10 people, you know,
00:22 six players, three managers, and one student trainer
00:25 that have given a lot to this program.
00:28 So one last time, you know, in front of the great fans
00:32 of this state and this university,
00:35 I can't say enough about what the fans have given us
00:38 this year and the support.
00:40 And, you know, even through everything we went through,
00:43 the fans have always been there
00:44 and give us everything they had.
00:46 And that's a testament to the great people of this state
00:49 and the loyal people of West Virginia University.
00:53 So excited to have one last chance to prove ourselves
00:57 on the Coliseum floor and show out
01:00 and represent the great people of the state,
01:03 the great people of West Virginia University.
01:05 - Josh, obviously struggles this year,
01:08 but when you look back on the year,
01:10 give me some of the positives on the court, off the court.
01:12 What are you gonna remember besides the struggles?
01:16 - I think I'm gonna remember like more than anything,
01:18 I mean, there's gonna be certain points in anybody's life
01:21 like that they gotta figure out how to navigate
01:25 and you're gonna find out that people have a lot more to 'em
01:29 than what meets the eye, you know?
01:32 So it's how people handle struggles and adversity.
01:37 And some of the conversations I've had
01:39 throughout the course of the year with other coaches,
01:41 and they're very, very complimentary,
01:44 which kind of throws me off sometimes.
01:46 And they'll say to me, they'll say,
01:49 "You will learn more from this year
01:52 "than you will the rest of your coaching career."
01:56 There's more life lessons, there's more lessons
01:58 in terms of how you handle things in this one year,
02:01 probably, and from the outside looking in,
02:03 everything you've had to deal with
02:06 than you will the rest of your career.
02:08 So, and not all is lost by any means.
02:12 We're all trying to figure out
02:13 how we're becoming the best versions of ourselves.
02:17 And that's no different than me and an assistant coach
02:21 or a player at the bottom of the roster
02:23 fighting for minutes.
02:24 Or a manager that gives every single moment
02:29 of his extra time to help his program be successful.
02:34 Those people that don't get recognized
02:37 and those thankless jobs.
02:38 So from top to bottom, there's lessons to be learned.
02:42 There's opportunities that we can look back and reflect
02:45 and figure out, man, we navigated that.
02:50 What can we take from it?
02:52 Will it make us stronger or will it hold us down?
02:56 And I choose for it to make us stronger in the end
02:59 and grow from this experience.
03:02 - But you're saying six players are walking,
03:04 so I'm assuming it's gonna be all seniors,
03:07 not just fifth year.
03:08 - Yeah, it's a crazy day in college,
03:11 athletics in terms of who has more eligibility,
03:13 who doesn't, who's graduating.
03:16 So I think we had the same situation last year.
03:20 There's several that are exhausting their eligibility
03:23 between Raekwon, Jesse, Quinn, and Cook.
03:27 Kerr will be graduating and will have more eligibility.
03:33 Pat Sumnick will be graduating, will have more eligibility,
03:36 but they will be choosing to walk tomorrow.
03:41 - I think Quinn had said at the beginning of the year
03:42 that he could still seek a medical registration.
03:46 - Yeah, that's still a possibility.
03:47 That's certainly something he's been having conversations
03:51 with compliance and trying to do some of the,
03:53 to figure out some of the back end work
03:54 in terms of what it would take to get a waiver granted
03:59 for that one year at Iona,
04:02 when I don't remember exactly how many games he played,
04:05 but he played one extra game past that a lot of time
04:09 that we re-aggravated the injuries.
04:11 So yeah, I think he has looked to explore that option.
04:17 I don't know.
04:19 It's gonna take some time to figure out
04:20 whether he's gonna actually have that year back or not.
04:23 - That stuff usually happens after the season.
04:25 - Yeah, typically, yeah.
04:27 - To what you were saying before when Greg asked you
04:29 about the guys talking to you and giving you advice,
04:33 does it kind of drive home how unforgiving this sport is?
04:36 Because those guys that are giving you advice
04:37 are also trying to beat you.
04:39 - Yeah, yeah.
04:39 - You know what I mean?
04:41 - And they've all, I mean,
04:43 they can all look back at a year or, you know,
04:46 I've said from the beginning,
04:47 this wasn't the normal challenge.
04:50 This wasn't the sunshine and rainbows, you know,
04:53 get up in front of a podium and, you know,
04:57 start the building process, you know.
04:59 I was put in a position that very, very few
05:03 have ever been put in,
05:04 and I might be a case study in that regard
05:08 in terms of you tell me one other situation
05:11 that was similar to this,
05:13 to where, you know, it's a late summer,
05:17 you're thrown into the fire late summer,
05:19 and you're trying to put together a roster
05:20 to compete against the best of the best
05:23 and the best conference in the country
05:25 in college basketball.
05:26 So, and I won't even go into all the challenges,
05:29 but, and those aren't excuses.
05:30 I mean, that's just reality.
05:32 And so, you know, at the end of the day,
05:34 I'll probably be that case study.
05:36 And, you know, there's certain people
05:38 who've been interim head coaches
05:40 that are thrown in at different times,
05:43 but the timing in which I was thrown in
05:45 and the situation is unique and unlike so many others
05:50 that were interim head coaches.
05:52 - Almost like driving in the fog at night.
05:54 - Yeah, yeah.
05:56 You make your own way.
05:58 You make your own way.
05:59 You try to navigate it the best you can,
06:01 and you do it with the most, you know,
06:04 class and integrity.
06:06 - Do locker room handle the struggles well?
06:08 I mean, sometimes there could be a divide
06:10 when losses accumulate,
06:12 but do you think players have handled it
06:14 as well as they could?
06:15 - Yes and no.
06:17 I mean, I'd like a more consistent, you know,
06:21 disposition out of them, certainly.
06:23 And I advocate for that every day when I speak to them
06:28 and I read their body language.
06:31 I would say, you know, the last two and a half minutes
06:33 of the game against Texas Tech
06:34 was probably as frustrating as I've been with them.
06:37 And I let them know that.
06:38 I felt like the kind of wind fell out of their sails
06:42 and we got two games left
06:46 and we got a conference tournament.
06:48 So anytime I see situations like that,
06:52 even in small increments, you know,
06:54 I try to address it
06:55 because that's not the way you approach life in any way.
06:58 You fight to the bitter end.
07:00 And so that's been my approach from day one.
07:03 And so I let them know yesterday when we came back for,
07:07 and before we started getting into TCU much,
07:10 and you know, that was one of the most disappointing,
07:12 you know, small increments of time
07:15 because it was a six point game with 2.20 left
07:18 and we really needed to get a stop
07:20 and we didn't get that stop.
07:23 And it carried on, that mentality carried on
07:25 to the next offensive session
07:27 and it kind of fell apart from there,
07:29 especially when we kind of burned all the timeouts
07:31 that we had.
07:32 And so we couldn't, you know,
07:34 call a timeout in that situation and check them.
07:37 So.
07:37 - How did you handle recruiting this year?
07:41 I mean, and you know, were you received well too?
07:46 I mean, as far as, you know,
07:48 the uncertainty of your situation
07:49 and it's been a program situation.
07:51 - Well, I mean, the elephant in the room
07:54 is a situation where, you know, there is no contract,
07:56 you know, it's an interim contract.
07:57 So what I have done with, you know,
08:01 I got great young assistants
08:02 that are very good with creating relationships
08:05 and I've told them from the beginning,
08:07 let's just, let's do nothing different
08:11 than we would any other situation,
08:13 whether we had a five-year contract.
08:16 We can't, we have to approach it like,
08:18 you know, we're gonna be here, absolutely.
08:20 So, you know, yeah,
08:22 we just continue to build relationships
08:25 and certainly we didn't go heavy after the 24 class
08:30 because those, majority of those
08:33 are gonna make that decision way before a decision is made
08:37 as to whether, you know, I continue here.
08:40 So we went heavy, you know, after the 25 class
08:45 in terms of making relationships
08:46 and seeing kids on the road.
08:48 So knowing full good and well that the whole,
08:53 in terms of the makeup of our roster,
08:55 we were probably gonna have to go heavy portal again,
08:58 you know, the following year.
09:01 - Getting back to the advice,
09:04 is there one piece of advice you got from somebody
09:06 throughout the year that you're like,
09:07 yeah, that really, really hits home
09:09 and it really applies to what I'm doing?
09:12 - Yeah, one of the most respected coaches in the league,
09:15 you know, he said to me, you know,
09:17 after the game and he's very complimentary
09:19 and he said, "Once you will be able
09:24 to build your own program,
09:26 it'll take time to where a situation
09:28 where you have all your guys."
09:31 And, you know, it's not gonna happen overnight,
09:35 but once you, you know, get to the point,
09:39 you have all guys that are 100%,
09:43 you know, in your camp, in your boat,
09:45 it'll take some time, but once you get that,
09:48 it'll be much smoother sails.
09:52 - Coach, kind of for your opinion here,
09:55 I mean, minus all the stuff that happened over the summer,
09:58 once you got into this season,
10:00 if it had been a better situation,
10:04 if the kids had been eligible from day one,
10:06 you know, Jesse doesn't get hurt in December
10:11 and, you know, you had kind of a chance
10:14 to play with a full deck from the beginning to end,
10:17 how much of a difference do you think
10:20 that could have made?
10:22 - I mean, it had been a significant difference for sure.
10:24 I mean, you know, if you're going to Italy
10:29 with a full roster and you're building those relationships
10:33 and you're building that chemistry in August
10:35 rather than canceling that trip
10:38 and trying to figure out who's gonna be your last
10:39 two or three pieces of your roster,
10:42 yeah, I mean, and then not to mention, you know,
10:47 not having a point guard.
10:49 Biggest concern really going into it
10:51 is that we really didn't have a backup point guard
10:54 and we didn't have a backup big.
10:57 And, you know, I remember from the exhibition game,
11:01 you know, it was my, you know,
11:04 I think I said at halftime, you know,
11:07 my biggest concern was, you know,
11:10 having Jesse in foul trouble
11:12 and then AK was our backup five
11:14 and he was in foul trouble as well.
11:17 And consequently, you know,
11:20 that was the day that AK had his medical emergency.
11:23 And so he goes out for, you know,
11:26 extended amount of time.
11:27 And, you know, I find out that in that same timeframe
11:31 that our starting point guard has nine game suspension
11:34 that was inherited from the previous institution.
11:38 So we really didn't have backups for those two positions.
11:41 And if you want to build a championship program,
11:44 you got to have those positions shored up,
11:46 you know, as tight as possible.
11:49 So yeah, we had our challenges.
11:53 That's a broken record, but we,
11:56 each and every day we try to navigate those challenges
11:58 and figure out how we, you know,
12:00 become the best versions of ourselves that day.
12:02 - What's your message to your team
12:03 for tomorrow's game against TCU?
12:05 - Leave it all on the floor, you know.
12:08 A lot of people have come before you
12:11 and worn this jersey and, you know,
12:13 I don't think you can,
12:17 you have to represent yourself first,
12:19 you review your family,
12:20 but you got to understand you're representing
12:22 West Virginia University.
12:24 And I felt like in the last two and a half,
12:26 three minutes of that Texas Tech game,
12:27 we did a very poor job doing that.
12:30 And I was disappointed and I know they were frustrated,
12:34 but that's one last time to put on that jersey here
12:38 in front of your home crowd.
12:40 And, you know, regret in life is, you know,
12:46 it's, can be very painful and last forever.
12:50 So never, you know, don't hold onto regret,
12:54 leave everything you got out on, you know, on the floor.
12:57 - Kind of a follow up.
12:59 I mean, you guys have obviously seen every,
13:02 what every team in the Big 12 has to offer firsthand now.
13:05 You've obviously seen past years and the good teams.
13:13 The talent, it obviously takes more than talent,
13:17 but talent wise, is there talent,
13:22 enough talent on this roster?
13:24 You know what I mean?
13:25 I mean, did the talent match up the way you thought it would?
13:30 - There's a lot of skill.
13:31 - Right.
13:32 - There's a lot of skill.
13:32 It just depends on if you're trying to compete
13:40 at this highest level of the Big 12 basketball,
13:43 which it is the best conference in the country.
13:46 And, and the talent takes time to gel as well.
13:51 And we had never really had that time to gel
13:53 or I was naive enough to think that it would gel immediately
13:58 and that's not really the case, but it has a lot of skill.
14:03 I think that the biggest problem for us is size
14:08 and strength, size and strength in this league is critical.
14:13 And I don't think we had nearly the size and strength
14:17 to compete night in and night out.
14:19 In a lot of ways we had the skill, you know,
14:22 we have the shot makers, we have the guys can make the pass,
14:25 but do we have the size and strength and the physicality
14:28 to compete night in and night out?
14:31 That was probably our biggest challenge and depth.
14:35 - Gelling is a huge X factor.
14:37 - Yeah, it is, it is.
14:38 Chemistry and chemistry is huge in basketball.
14:43 And we all know that.
14:45 And so, you know, I think I spoke to it at one point.
14:50 I think I saw, and somebody can look this up
14:52 and correct me if I'm wrong,
14:54 but there was like close to 10 programs
14:58 that had seven plus transfers for, you know,
15:00 from the, from the portal.
15:02 And I think they're all on the outside looking
15:04 into the NCAA tournament.
15:07 So I don't think that's a,
15:08 I don't think that's a coincidence.
15:11 Yeah.
15:12 - Just travel, I mean, obviously after Cincinnati,
15:15 do you come home?
15:16 Do you go straight out to Kansas City after that?
15:18 What's the schedule?
15:19 - Well, that's an earlier game.
15:21 And we will travel out on Sunday to Kansas City,
15:26 but being, you know, we had an opportunity to,
15:30 kind of a regional shorter flight.
15:31 So we're taking a smaller plane,
15:34 30 seater out of Morgantown to go to Cincinnati.
15:39 So we should get back at a very decent time.
15:42 And then we'll load up with a full load of everybody
15:46 we take to the conference championship on Sunday.
15:49 So.
15:50 - Clarksburg show.
15:51 - No, for once we won't do that.
15:54 I think that's the first in our history.
15:56 - The experience this year,
16:00 all you've been through and everything,
16:02 has that soured you on the profession
16:04 or has it stoked the fire?
16:07 You know, how has this year affected your view of coaching
16:11 and, you know, the college game and the likes?
16:14 - It hasn't soured it in any way.
16:17 I mean, it's, at the end of the day,
16:19 it's all about pouring yourself into, you know,
16:22 young men that are going to become fathers,
16:24 going to become, you know, husbands.
16:26 And if you can have that positive impact,
16:30 it goes way beyond basketball.
16:33 Because, I mean, there's a certain few
16:36 that might continue to play basketball
16:39 off this roster as a career.
16:42 But, you know, for the most part,
16:44 that ball's going to stop bouncing for a lot of these guys.
16:47 And what they learned and the example,
16:51 I feel like, you know, I gave them as a person,
16:55 as a father, as a husband,
16:58 and the lessons I taught them, I hope,
17:01 is something that carries on with them for years,
17:05 you know, after their time here at West Virginia.
17:08 - Coach, you mentioned the emotional impact
17:10 for your players, but for you,
17:12 it might be your last time at the Coliseum
17:15 for who knows how long.
17:16 Have you had to process that?
17:18 And have you been able to reflect at all
17:20 on how tomorrow might be it for you as well?
17:23 - I'm not going to put too much thought into that.
17:25 You know, it's another beautiful opportunity.
17:28 You know, I've been here 17 years,
17:29 and in every single capacity, so,
17:32 you know, I'm not going to let those emotions
17:37 get the best of me.
17:38 I'm going to take the opportunity
17:40 to live in the present and be there.
17:43 And I think that's something that we have a hard time
17:45 as our society, is living in the present.
17:48 We worry about the past,
17:50 and concerned about what the future's going to hold,
17:55 but we forget to appreciate the present.
17:58 And I got one more opportunity, I know that for sure,
18:01 and I'm going to go out there with a smile on my face.
18:05 - One more with the jelling and building the chemistry.
18:08 A lot of that takes place over the summer,
18:11 the workouts and everything.
18:16 It's also, to me, in my opinion,
18:18 it seems like that's probably what most people,
18:20 most fans, overlook.
18:23 That say, "Oh, you know, it's summertime,
18:25 "and it's really not that big of a deal."
18:27 I imagine you would really kind of disagree.
18:29 - No, it's critical.
18:31 I mean, in today's college basketball,
18:33 you basically be on the floor 300 and some days a year.
18:39 I don't know what the exact number is,
18:41 but there's only a few times where you're off the court
18:46 for more than a week at any given time,
18:49 and maybe two weeks at the most.
18:54 I know you're required seven days off
18:57 after your final competition,
19:00 but then you can get right into workouts again.
19:03 And you got the eight-week period during the summer,
19:05 and it's just, you're on the floor
19:08 with these guys nearly year-round.
19:11 So yeah, I mean, the chemistry is built year-round.
19:14 It is built in the weight room.
19:16 It's built in the short individual workouts
19:21 during the spring.
19:22 So yeah, we were late to the ball game,
19:26 and then got thrown a wrench
19:28 in everything that we were trying to do.
19:31 Every time I turned a corner,
19:32 it was another wrench I'm trying to dodge.
19:35 - TCU game, one on TCU.
19:38 What went wrong in the TCU game in Fort Worth?
19:41 How do you have to flip it around?
19:43 - Get played into their game.
19:45 You look at it, and I think they had,
19:47 they're number one in the country in fast break points,
19:51 and they had 18 points, if I remember right,
19:54 in fast break, and they scored off our turnovers,
19:57 and that's what they need to do to play their game.
20:00 They don't play a whole lot of half-court offense.
20:02 It's more, let's turn you over
20:05 and get downhill as fast as possible.
20:07 And they got the guys to do it.
20:09 And we played right into it.
20:11 We didn't take care of the ball.
20:12 I think if I remember right, that Texas 2 trip,
20:15 it's burned into my memory.
20:16 I think 59 points off turnovers in those two games,
20:21 and so it was something we had to shore up quick.
20:24 And so, you know, try and learn from our mistakes
20:28 and figure out how we fix that at home.
20:31 - Guys like Kerr, Pat, Puck, and a couple others,
20:37 you said were gonna graduate.
20:39 The office is still up one year left.
20:41 What role will you play,
20:42 and what decisions they'll make about their futures?
20:47 - Whatever role they allow me to play, I guess.
20:50 You know, that's gonna be on them at the end of the day.
20:53 So I've never been the one to step in front
20:57 or try to manipulate a kid in any way.
21:00 If he feels like he's got a better opportunity elsewhere,
21:04 you know, case in point, Joe Toussaint felt like
21:07 the better situation was Texas Tech.
21:11 And I think the world of Joe Toussaint,
21:13 I think the world of Jaylon Bridges.
21:15 They're both having great careers at Baylor and Texas Tech.
21:19 So, you know, whatever that may be,
21:23 if they have that conversation with me
21:25 and they heed my advice, I'm happy to give it
21:28 in whatever capacity I'm in,
21:30 but I'm not gonna step in their way of making decisions.
21:35 I've always said, you know, it doesn't matter,
21:39 you know, if guys don't wanna be there,
21:43 there's no sense in fighting for them to be there.
21:46 You know, they have to wanna be there each and every day.
21:49 They have to want to love the game of basketball.
21:52 They wanna love being where they're at
21:55 or they're not gonna be successful.
21:56 - Anything else?
22:01 Thanks, thank you. - Thank you.