MORGANTOWN, W. Va. — He was the last to rise from the scrum of bodies in the lane, extending his left arm to a teammate for a pull-up while his right arm hung motionless. He checked out of the game, did Deniz Kilicli, walked to the end of the WVU bench and gingerly sank into a seat beside the team trainer, Randy “Doc” Meador.
Grimacing into a towel, Kilicli began taking Ibuprofen, but as the Turkish forward noted after the game, “Ibuprofen doesn’t do anything anyway.” At least not enough to make him forget about the shoulder that “popped out” during Friday’s practice.
Too sore to complete Friday’s five-on-five drill, but too driven to miss Saturday’s must-win game against Texas Tech, Kilicli played through the pain and brought some to the Red Raiders: 25 points and eight rebounds’ worth. And every bit of that proved necessary as West Virginia beat Tech 66-64, dodging an upset by the length of the whiskers on Kilicli’s beard.
Joe Sadlek/All-Pro Photography
For these arduous past three months, Kilicli has been the bushy-faced poster boy for West Virginia’s underachievement, carrying the weight of a failed season on those burly shoulders. His scoring, field-goal percentage, free-throw shooting, rebounding and minutes all down from his junior year, Kilicli seemed as good a blame bearer as any, especially when coach Bob Huggins repeatedly explained that the difference in this season from previous successful ones was that “my seniors have always stepped up.”
But for all the press conference pokes that required reading between the lines — and the courtside chewing that require dlip-reading censors — Huggins adores the player. For certain, he wishes Kilicli was a better finisher around the basket and a meaner go-getter where 50-50 balls are concerned, but stats and wins aside, the emotions this coach has invested in his only four-year senior will last a lifetime.
“Deniz and I have always had a really good relationship,” Huggins said. “I mean, we had a good relationship even when he didn’t speak English. I didn’t know what the hell he was saying, but he’d always hug me so I thought that was all right.”
Now Kilicli comprehends English just fine, which isn’t always a positive when message boards are jammed with critics blasting him for what is on pace to be WVU’s worst season in a decade.
Huggins, recognizing Kilicli’s need to vent and discuss, said the two have talked for hours on the coach’s back porch, and during those late-night return flights from Big 12 country, the two are known to pow wow in confidence while other players recline and sleep. It was during a recent charter flight that Huggins apparently offered some of his most reassuring counsel at 30,000 feet.
“A lot of people tried to get me down, more than tried to get me up, but Huggs helped me out a lot,” Kilicli said. “I trust him, and I don’t trust anybody else. Once he trusts me, I don’t care what whoever else thinks.
“I talked to him, he told me some stuff, and then I start playing better because mentally I was in better shape.”
His head clear, and his coach clearly in his corner, Kilicli has averaged nearly 14 points during a five-game stretch of which WVU has won four. After watching the banged-up Kilicli make 9-of-11 shots from the floor against Texas Tech, Huggins felt validated for sticking with the 6-9 senior when some fans clamored for his benching.
“I’ve been very tempted to save all these letters I get from the guys who coach better than I do and know more about Deniz than I know,” Huggins said. “Maybe I should just take a month and go evaluate their place of work and send them a letter about what kind of job they’re doing, and what kind of job their employees are doing.
“If they have employees. In some of these cases, it might be how well they’re cooking the French fries at McDonald’s. You can overcook those.”
Yet before Huggins takes a victory lap around the drive-thru, let’s not forget the frustration he emitted after limiting Kilicli to only eight minutes in December’s 15-point loss to Michigan.
“I’m sick of it,” Huggins steamed that night in Brooklyn. “I’m sick of watching guys stand around. I’m sick of watching guys not compete. I’m sick of guys missing shot after shot after shot but never coming in early (to practice), never staying late, don’t even think about coming in on an off day. And then telling me they care?”
That, of course, was post-loss Huggins, grappling with the depth of his team’s flaws. By comparison, Saturday’s two-point escape at home against conference weakling Texas Tech seemed sweet relief.
And Kilicli emerging as the day’s MVP? That was just salt on the fries for the big guy’s naysayers.
Gold and Blue Now Friday, May 24 
Gold and Blue Now Thursday, May 23 
Sportsline: Randy Mazey and Kyle Wiggs 
Sportsline: Dana Holgerson 
Randy Mazey 5-20-2013 
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Comments
big tom
i am amused about all the comments about the team and the coach, and i will forever drink the kool-aid, and accept mediocrity for to be a true fan you must aim low and hope for average
February 17, 2013 at 3:24 pm | Report comment
Protechcpa
If anyone wonders what causes the critical comments currently expressed by fans, look no further than the "business" attitude taken by the athletic department. Every year, we hear about a new plan to raise ticket prices, rearrange seating packages and set up more "high profile" (read larger donation level) areas for both football and basketball. When you constantly ask the fans to pay more, do not be amazed when they ask for more in return and are somewhat dismayed when they actually get less for their hard earned money. True team spirit died when the program became totally about business.
February 17, 2013 at 4:00 pm | Report comment
JDJ
Sure, this has been a tough season and it does seem that recruiting and talent wouldn't have been an issue only three years removed from a Final Four appearance and a Big East championship. However, bad seasons strike the best of programs. Just ask Coach K following the loss to Huggins in the Sweet 16 game in 2007. Check with Calipari regarding the Elite 8 loss to Huggins in 2010. We'll have our day again. I personally can't understand the lack of patience with a man who's won well over 700 games and has coached over 1,000. If not Bob Huggins, then who would y'all turn this team over to? By the way, Beilein seems to think he's better off in Ann Arbor. We barely got by Creighton (Tyrone Sally dunk in the waning seconds) in the opening round of his Elite 8 run and luckily upset Wake Forest. Our quality and quantity of wins have certainly increased under Huggins. By the way, recruiting suffers when the fan base loses patience with the coaching staff. Keep that in mind next time you feel the need to voice displeasure on the heels of a win...
February 17, 2013 at 4:44 pm | Report comment
Jethro
This isnt a professional team. U can't hire and fire college players. What we have is what we have. Go root for the heat or the Lakers. This is the problem with a state with no professional sports team
February 17, 2013 at 5:09 pm | Report comment
big tom
so , what's your point
February 17, 2013 at 8:11 pm | Report comment