West Virginia basketball suddenly has stiff competition for a star transfer who was denied his chance to play by the NCAA last season named Jose Perez.

The Gonzaga basketball and Michigan basketball programs have emerged as front-runners for Perez's services. Meanwhile, West Virginia basketball is hanging onto a glimmer of hope as the Perez sweepstakes heats up.

It's been a tumultuous offseason for the Mountaineers' basketball program. An ongoing controversy involving Bob Huggins has captured the hearts and minds of Mountaineers fans everywhere. The venerable coach Huggins released a statement last week after threatening to sue West Virginia basketball.

Now the waiting game begins for Perez, the Mountaineers' 6-foot-5, 220 pound guard from the Bronx, New York who averaged nearly 19 points per game in 2021-2022.

Perez is one of the prizes of the college basketball transfer portal this offseason and appears to have narrowed his college choices down to the aforementioned two teams as he seeks to leave Morgantown, although West Virginia is recruiting him back. The current graduate transfer Perez committed to West Virginia basketball in hopes of playing immediately but was denied a waiver to play by the NCAA.

According to longtime New York basketball writer Jaden Daly, Perez has been showing out on the Summer League circuit and is preparing for the next chapter of his career, with the Zags emerging as a strong contender to land his services next season alongside Juwan Howard's Wolverines.

Michigan basketball has a crying need for talent after losing star forward and Howard's son Jett Howard to the NBA this past season, along with fellow first round pick Kobe Bufkin of the Atlanta Hawks.

While the Zags can pitch a winning program and a strong chance of reaching the Final Four to the West Virginia basketball star, Michigan basketball can pitch a program that is one of the best in recent years at developing NBA talent, especially last season.

West Virginia basketball offers a deep roster of potential teammates including Arizona transfer Kerr Kriisa.