MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia University men's basketball coach Bob Huggins has announced that Jose Perez has enrolled at WVU for the upcoming spring semester.
His eligibility status for games and practices will be determined at a later date.
"Jose certainly gives us more fire power for our team," Huggins said. "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 experienced guy who has played a lot of basketball. We think he will be a great fit."
A 6-foot-5, 220-point guard from the Bronx, New York, Perez started 29 of 30 games played last season at Manhattan, where he averaged 18.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists, earning First Team All-MAAC honors. He led the MAAC in scoring and in free throws made (182) and was second in assists (136). Perez had 14 games of 20 or more points. He had 27 points at home against Iona, including the game-winning basket with less than five seconds to play, scored a MAAC-best and season-high 38 points at Niagara (season-high seven 3-point field goals), had 12 assists versus Manhattanville and scored 21 against Rider in the MAAC Tournament.
He played the 2020-21 season at Marquette, where he played in 10 games. Perez scored a season-high eight points at DePaul and had five points in the victory at North Carolina.
Perez spent his first two seasons at Gardner-Webb, where he helped the Bulldogs to the 2019 Big South Championship. In his sophomore season, he averaged 15.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. Perez reached double figures on 18 occasions, including hitting for at least 20 points or more on four occasions. He hit a then-career high 35 points against Winthrop and had a season-high 11 rebounds against UT Martin.
As a freshman, Perez broke the Gardner-Webb single-season freshman scoring record for the Division I era with 526 points, averaging 15.1 points per game. He reached double figures in scoring 29 times, playing in all 35 games with 26 starts. Perez was one of only two freshmen in Division I to record a triple-double that season, along with Duke's R.J. Barrett. He did so with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Savannah State. Perez had a team-best 19 points in the NCAA Tournament opener vs. eventual national champion Virginia.
Perez has played in 97 career games, starting 76 during his collegiate career. For his career, he has scored 1,460 points, grabbed 444 rebounds and dished out 338 assists.
Perez played a postgraduate season at Putnam Science Academy (Conn.), where he led the Mustangs to a 38-4 record, a No. 1 national prep school ranking and the program's first-ever National Prep Championship. He led Putnam Science in scoring at 18.8 ppg with 5.2 rpg and 3.7 apg. Perez played his prep basketball at Wings Academy, where he was a two-time All-New York City and NYSSWA All-State selection. He earned Second Team All-New York City honors as a senior, averaging 23.4 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game en route to garnering All-State honors.
Perez played on the U17 Dominican Republic Junior National Team in 2015 and on the U18 Dominican Republic Junior National Team in 2016.
His eligibility status for games and practices will be determined at a later date.
"Jose certainly gives us more fire power for our team," Huggins said. "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 experienced guy who has played a lot of basketball. We think he will be a great fit."
A 6-foot-5, 220-point guard from the Bronx, New York, Perez started 29 of 30 games played last season at Manhattan, where he averaged 18.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 4.5 assists, earning First Team All-MAAC honors. He led the MAAC in scoring and in free throws made (182) and was second in assists (136). Perez had 14 games of 20 or more points. He had 27 points at home against Iona, including the game-winning basket with less than five seconds to play, scored a MAAC-best and season-high 38 points at Niagara (season-high seven 3-point field goals), had 12 assists versus Manhattanville and scored 21 against Rider in the MAAC Tournament.
He played the 2020-21 season at Marquette, where he played in 10 games. Perez scored a season-high eight points at DePaul and had five points in the victory at North Carolina.
Perez spent his first two seasons at Gardner-Webb, where he helped the Bulldogs to the 2019 Big South Championship. In his sophomore season, he averaged 15.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game. Perez reached double figures on 18 occasions, including hitting for at least 20 points or more on four occasions. He hit a then-career high 35 points against Winthrop and had a season-high 11 rebounds against UT Martin.
As a freshman, Perez broke the Gardner-Webb single-season freshman scoring record for the Division I era with 526 points, averaging 15.1 points per game. He reached double figures in scoring 29 times, playing in all 35 games with 26 starts. Perez was one of only two freshmen in Division I to record a triple-double that season, along with Duke's R.J. Barrett. He did so with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists against Savannah State. Perez had a team-best 19 points in the NCAA Tournament opener vs. eventual national champion Virginia.
Perez has played in 97 career games, starting 76 during his collegiate career. For his career, he has scored 1,460 points, grabbed 444 rebounds and dished out 338 assists.
Perez played a postgraduate season at Putnam Science Academy (Conn.), where he led the Mustangs to a 38-4 record, a No. 1 national prep school ranking and the program's first-ever National Prep Championship. He led Putnam Science in scoring at 18.8 ppg with 5.2 rpg and 3.7 apg. Perez played his prep basketball at Wings Academy, where he was a two-time All-New York City and NYSSWA All-State selection. He earned Second Team All-New York City honors as a senior, averaging 23.4 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game en route to garnering All-State honors.
Perez played on the U17 Dominican Republic Junior National Team in 2015 and on the U18 Dominican Republic Junior National Team in 2016.
