Ray Mernagh, West Virginia News

NBE STAFF SUPPORT SERIES: JOSH EILERT, WEST VIRGINIA

by RAY MERNAGH

Josh Eilert is going into his third year as the video coordinator for Bob Huggins at West Virginia, a job that requires more than a few sleepless nights be spent inside the WVU basketball offices breaking down video for scouting purposes. You get the feeling that’s just fine with Eilert, because if there’s one thing that a small-town kid raised in western Kansas is familiar with, it’s work. One constant of Eilert’s childhood in Osborne, Kansas — population 1,000 — from an early age was a full-time job during the summer (his first was driving a tractor when he was 12). It wasn’t uncommon for Eilert, and most kids in Osborne, to work all day on farms (both sets of Eilert’s grandparents had farms) and then play American Legion baseball at night if they could find enough players. “When it was harvest time it was tough to find enough bodies to play,” says Eilert, “but somehow we always seemed to manage.”

Talking to Eilert you can tell he appreciates both the positives and negatives that growing up in such an isolated locale brings. “It instills in you the importance of hard work and I appreciate that,” he says, “but there wasn’t a lot of exposure if you wanted to be a college basketball player.” And Eilert wanted that just about more than anything — despite the obstacles.

Obstacles?

Well, we already covered the population of Osborne, but for those who’ve never been to that part of the country let me try to illuminate how it might be tough for a ballplayer from that part of Kansas to be seen by college coaches. The nearest AAU team was four hours away in Kansas City (ditto the nearest airport). It’s a 90 mile drive to the nearest Walmart (most folks can throw a rock from their porch and hit two of those behemoths). Eilert’s graduating class totaled 32 students. So despite being a 6’7″ kid, with some toughness, who averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds his senior year, coaches weren’t logging on to mapquest for directions to Osborne. So Eilert took his game to a local JC — Cloud County Community College — that played in the prestigious Jayhawk conference. After two years there Eilert decided to go to Kansas State, major in marketing, and forget about basketball. For fun, and to keep in shape, Eilert learned that the women’s team needed guys to practice against so he started playing against them.

Shortly after starting the practice routine made famous by Pat Summit at Tennessee, then Kansas State coach Jim Woolridge walked up to Eilert and asked him if he wanted to join the Wildcats as a walk-on? So a guy that never got any exposure finally got some by playing against women. A week or so later Eilert was in the Virgin Islands for a preseason tournament as a member of the Kansas State team. “I didn’t get much playing time,” says Eilert, “but I experienced some great things and made great connections.” Before he knew it, Eilert was working for one of the better coaches in the country (Bob Huggins).

When Huggs made the move to Morgantown after one season at KSU, he took Eilert with him. Video work has been Eilert’s main task in Morgantown and it’s a job that’s crucial for the program. The video setup in Morgantown includes six DirecTV boxes with DVR’s along with eight-to-ten DVD recorders. The DVR’s can each record 2 games at a time so the capability is there to record up to twelve 7PM games at the same time (36 games on a normal weeknight) and up to 60 games on most Saturdays. Eilert says his first year, transitioning from the Big 12 to the Big East, was by far the most difficult. “Trying to learn sixteen new teams was like preparing for non-conference games all season long,” says Eilert, “now that I’ve been in the league for a few years it’s easier to scout them because you know their tendencies from seeing them before.”

I asked Eilert if he focuses on anything specific scouting-wise now that he’s been in the Big East for a few years?

“I try real hard to see any subtle changes guys might make from year-to-year,” says Eilert, “because most are very routine with their approach to things.” Asked the one big difference between the Big 12 and Big East that he’s noticed Eilert points to the guard play in the Big East. “The Big 12, even when I was playing in it, was a big man’s league,” says Eilert, “the Big East tends to get better guards than the Big 12 had.”

So, what’s in the future for Josh Eilert? “Definitely coaching,” says Eilert, “I need to make a move soon.” Eilert says Huggins is not only aware of this but has encouraged him over the last year or so to explore any possibilities that might be out there in terms of assistant coaching jobs.

“He’s so selfless,” says Eilert, “it’s pretty amazing because he really wants what’s best for you even if, in the short run, it might not be the best thing for him.”

Eilert and his wife have a 15-month-old son and he knows it’s about time to move up the ladder. He’s been in two high-major leagues and done the type of grunt work that prepares a coach for a D-2 or a lower level D-1 assistants job or maybe even a DOBO in the right situation. It’s a natural progression that will happen sooner than later, as Eilert is ready to start doing the one thing he hasn’t been able to yet — recruit on the road.

“Somebody will have to take a chance on me,” says Eilert, “and they’ll know going in that the scouting aspect of the job will not be a problem.”

One would think a guy that’s spent the last three years helping to prepare scouting reports for Bob Huggins by watching endless hours of video on Big 12 and Big East players will be able to identify talent and where that talent fits. Eilert laughs when asked about the days in Osborne when he wondered if he’d ever get a chance in basketball. “Sometimes I think how did I end up in Morgantown,” says Eilert, “it’s definitely been an interesting journey.” A journey that’s really just begun.

Makes you wonder: Where’s the next stop?

PREVIOUS STAFF SUPPORT FEATURES:
Cary Collins, Providence