West Virginia lands Manhattan transfer Perez

MORGANTOWN, W.Va.– Guard Jose Perez has actually registered at West Virginia for the spring term after leaving Manhattan following the shooting of coach Steve Masiello.West Virginia coach

Bob Huggins announced Perez’s enrollment Thursday, stating the player’s eligibility status for games and practices will be figured out at a later date.Perez is a 6-foot-5 fifth-year senior and was selected as the preseason Gamer of the Year in the City Atlantic Athletic Conference. He averaged 18.9 points, 4.5 assists and 3.2 rebounds a year ago.West Virginia is his 4th school. Perez spent 2 seasons at Gardner-Webb and one each at Marquette and Manhattan.West Virginia lost its leading four scorers from a year ago when it ended up 16-17. “Jose certainly offers us more fire power for our group,”Huggins stated 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 skilled man who has played a lot of basketball. We believe he will be a fantastic 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.