West Virginia University interim head men’s basketball coach Josh Eilert has announced his staff for the 2023-24 season, effective today.
Da’Sean Butler, DerMarr Johnson, Jordan McCabe and Alex Ruoff will be assistant men’s basketball coaches. Ron Everhart will transition to director of community relations and player outreach, Jay Kuntz will continue as the director of player personnel/recruiting, Trent Michaels will be the director of men’s basketball operations, Jared Kortsen will be the video and scouting coordinator and Tyler Cheng will remain the athletic data statistician for men’s basketball.
Butler, a graduate assistant on the men’s basketball staff in 2012-13, returns to WVU after a stint as assistant video coordinator for the New York Knicks in 2022-23. Previously, he was an assistant coach of the College Park Skyhawks in the NBA G League and an assistant coach at Wheeling University. Butler also served as an NBA Summer League coach for the Utah Jazz and Boston Celtics and as an NBA G League Elite Camp head and assistant coach.
Butler is the all-time winningest player in WVU history, playing on teams that won 107 games from 2007-10. He scored 2,095 points in his Mountaineer career to rank third in school history behind Jerry West and Hot Rod Hundley. In 2010, he became WVU’s ninth first team All-American after he was named to the Basketball Times and John Wooden All-America teams. Butler was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame in 2020.
“We are thrilled to welcome Da’Sean back to Mountaineer basketball,” Eilert said. He’s a Mountaineer legend who is just a great human being. Da’Sean has NBA connections and is such a personable guy; he will fit in our program extremely well.”
Johnson, who joined the Mountaineer basketball staff on Jan. 16, 2023, will enter his first full season as an assistant coach at WVU. Johnson played 16 seasons of professional basketball, including seven seasons in the NBA. Prior to WVU, Johnson was a member of the basketball staff at Cincinnati.
“DerMarr also has tons of NBA and professional connections,” Eilert said. “He has a great rapport with our guys, and he sees things differently with his years of experience in professional basketball. He has great attention to detail, and we are fortunate to have him on our staff.”
McCabe played in 94 career games for WVU from 2019-21. He recently completed his collegiate career after playing two seasons at UNLV. He earned his undergraduate degree in sport management from WVU in 2021 and received an MBA Certification from UNLV.
“Like Da’Sean, we are elated to have Jordan back with Mountaineer basketball,” Eilert said. “We are fortunate to have a former point guard on our staff. He will be able to develop our guards and help them with the vision of where we are going. He, too, is wonderful with people in creating and maintaining relationships.”
Ruoff will begin his second consecutive season on the WVU men’s basketball staff after serving as a graduate assistant last season. Ruoff is WVU’s all-time leader in career 3-point field goals. Following his time at WVU, he played 12 seasons of professional basketball.
“Alex is a hard worker who brings tremendous energy every day,” Eilert said. “He has a ton of experience from competing professionally overseas and a tremendous basketball IQ. He truly knows how to be a professional on and off the court.”
Everhart moves into his new role after serving as an assistant coach at WVU since the 2012-13 season. Kuntz continues in his role and has been a part of WVU men’s basketball for the last 15 years. Michaels will assume a new title after spending last season as operations coordinator. Kortsen and Cheng will remain in their current positions. Kortsen joined the staff in August 2022, while Cheng will begin his sixth season and 10th year overall.
“The rest of the staff is invaluable to our program,” Eilert said. “They work many, many hours behind the scenes and all make vital contributions to our team’s success.”
