NCAA Basketball: 6 teams that should target West Virginia transfer Jose Perez

No player in NCAA Basketball has had a more complicated story in the past few years than Jose Perez. He started out his career at Gardner-Webb, where the 6’5 guard averaged over 15 ppg in two years as an All-Big South player. He then went to Marquette, where Perez only averaged a few points per game in 10 minutes played.

Two years ago, Perez transferred to Manhattan. In what ended up being his lone season there, the guard averaged a team-leading 18.9 ppg and 4.5 apg on 40% shooting from the field. He was named the Preseason MAAC Player of the Year for this past season until a sudden coaching change at Manhattan threw everything into chaos.

Perez ended up as one of several players to transfer out and picked West Virginia. However, the senior guard was forced to sit out the entire 2022-23 campaign, as the NCAA denied a waiver to be able to play. The hope was that he’d suit up for the Mountaineers next year but after head coach Bob Huggins was forced out after a DUI arrest, there was yet another sudden coaching change.

Several players on the WVU roster had both opted to stay and enter the transfer portal, with Perez being part of the latter group. After guys like Joe Toussaint and Paul Mulcahy picked their own destinations, the options for perimeter players are thin in the portal.

There is still some power conference talent that still needs to find a landing spot. Here’s a list of six programs to potentially keep watch.