West Virginia interim head coach Josh Eilert returned to a familiar place on Monday night, when he faced off against Kansas State. Despite being on the other bench, Eilert reflected on his time in Manhattan, Kansas, as well as what Kansas State means to him.
Josh Eilert, a native of Osborne, Kansas, was a walk-on basketball player at Kansas State. Then, he was a graduate assistant, before coming to Morgantown with Bob Huggins.
Eilert had been back to Kansas State many times as an assistant coach, but Monday night was different. It was his team, that returned to his home.
“Tried to reflect back on my time here at Kansas State. I didn’t want this to be anything about me but I talked about the love of the game with our guys. College basketball has really changed over the years and I really felt like from day one, I’d take advantage of every opportunity I got and I just love the game of basketball,” Eilert said. “I told these guys, it’s taken me a long way in life, it’s provided for my family. In about every capacity I’ve worked in the game of basketball. So, my message to our guys is just to appreciate opportunity you have to play the game.”
Eilert’s team was basically lifeless in the first half of WVU’s overtime loss to Kansas State Monday night, but they turned it on in the second half. They eventually got it to overtime, before falling. Despite losing though, his message to his guys is to play the game the right way, because he knows where the game can take you — from a walk-on to a power five head coach.
“Sometimes people think we ain’t playing for anything, but at the end of the day, we’re fighting to play the game the right way, fighting to play with pride, and just fighting to understand every opportunity we’re blessed with to play the game of basketball, it’s important,” Eilert said.
“I was disappointed with that first half and I don’t feel like that kind of message resonated with the way we played. I’ll give our guys credit, they had that grit and tenacity to compete and had every opportunity to win that game late. Never felt like we could get the ball to bounce our way or get the timely call when it mattered. Credit to Kanas State, I know I follow them very closely, I know what their record is in overtime. And Coach Tang, they do an excellent job, and they just find a way to win in those tough situations.”
Eilert said he was happy to be able to see a lot of people that mean a lot to him over the weekend and into Monday. Eilert said when he walked out on the floor he thought of his time at K-State. Eilert said his journey relates to the message he’s trying to show his team.
“You walk out on that floor and you think back to the time you and here and I was a walk-on here at Kansas State and I did it for the love of the game. I wanted to scratch that itch. I wanted to continue with the game of basketball one way or another. I didn’t know where it was going to take me,” Eilert said.
“I wasn’t the most talented guy by any means, but I wanted to continue to scratch that itch and play the game. You love something, it loves you back and case and point where I’m at right now. I’ve continued to love the game and be passionate about it and it’s gotten me to a position where I’m trying to take advantage of a great opportunity I didn’t see happening this way.”
Eilert said he didn’t think a lot about returning to his former school in the moment, but was happy to be with many of his friends and family.
“I didn’t have a lot of time to think about it,” Eilert said of his return. “I was surrounded by family and friends the last couple of days. We came in on Saturday night. It’s always a great opportunity to get to see so many of my family that I don’t get a lot of time to spend with. Spent a lot of time sharing stories and catching up with people.”
