NCAA denies waiver for Jose Perez to play immediately at West Virginia after late transfer from Manhattan
Jose Perez won’t be able to play for Bob Huggins at West Virginia just yet.
The NCAA denied a waiver for Perez's immediate eligibility after he transferred in from Manhattan following the sudden firing of coach Steve Masiello. Perez enrolled at West Virginia for the spring semester, and he’s eligible to start practicing officially on Saturday.
Perez, however, isn’t able to play for the team yet. Huggins said Friday that he plans to appeal the ruling with the NCAA.
“We were disappointed by the news that we received this afternoon from the NCAA,” Huggins said. “All of Mountaineer basketball is hurting for Jose.”
Perez averaged 18.9 points, 4.5 assists and 3.2 rebounds last season at Manhattan, where he was selected as the preseason MAAC Player of the Year. The 6-foot-5 guard transferred to Manhattan from Marquette, which was his second stop after two seasons at Gardner-Webb.
Masiello was fired by Manhattan on Oct. 25, just two weeks before the season started. Masiello, who had led the program for 11 seasons, was entering the final year of his contract. He is now working on Rick Pitino’s staff at Iona.
If his appeal isn’t granted, Perez will be eligible to play next season for the Mountaineers.
West Virginia is currently 8-2 on the season headed into Sunday's game against Buffalo. The Mountaineers will open Big 12 play on Dec. 31 against Kansas State.
