MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Guard Jose Perez has enrolled at West Virginia for the spring semester after leaving Manhattan following the firing of coach Steve Masiello.
West Virginia coach Bob Huggins announced Perez’s enrollment Thursday, saying the player’s eligibility status for games and practices will be determined at a later date.
Perez is a 6-foot-5 fifth-year senior and was chosen as the preseason Player of the Year in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. He averaged 18.9 points, 4.5 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game a year ago.
West Virginia is his fourth school. Perez spent two seasons at Gardner-Webb and one each at Marquette and Manhattan.
West Virginia lost its top four scorers from a year ago when it finished 16-17.
“Jose certainly gives us more fire power for our team,” Huggins said in a statement. “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.”
Masiello coached for 11 seasons at the New York school and was fired Oct. 25.
West Virginia (3-0) hosts Penn (1-3) on Friday night.
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