MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Bob Huggins showed his tender side, an inevitability once he saw his senior guards growing tearful before their final home game.
The coach shared emotional embraces with Juwan Staten and Gary Browne, an emotional prelude to West Virginia beating Oklahoma State 81-72 on Saturday in the regular-season finale.
Though the Mountaineers showed ample resilience—controlling the game without its starting backcourt—Huggins realized the context of the moment. These Senior Days can be difficult, especially when the sendoff involves two gritty guards like the ones WVU honored Saturday.
“I don’t like to think about it because I get emotional,” he said.
Browne’s eyes were reddened before he even grabbed the mic for his pregame speech. The Puerto Rico native told the sellout crowd that he would “cry all day” if they let him speak long enough.
Then came Staten, so stone-faced and poised typically, but not this time. He nearly dropped his framed jersey as the sentiment overwhelmed him. Soon, the 61-year-old Huggins was wiping his eyes too.
Thank goodness Devin Williams was around to provide some levity.
“Those guys, they’re soft,” he said afterward. “I’m going to have to get onto them about that crying. I expected tears from Gary because he’s like that, but it surprised me when Wannie bowed his head and dropped a couple.”
Watch Huggins’ complete postgame news conference after West Virginia closed the regular season at 23-8 overall and 11-7 in the Big 12.