Midway through his 31st season as a college head coach, Bob Huggins can point to 30 teams easier to coach than this one.
He acknowledged this fact during his Thursday night call-in show, which came less than 24 hours after a 69-67 loss at Iowa State in which West Virginia fashioned an 18-point second-half comeback behind a four-guard lineup.
It’s a small-ball attack Huggins vowed to repeat, the kind of midseason switch indicative of a team in flux and a coach in desperation mode. Frustrated by a 1-3 start in Big 12 play — and peeved by big men who are chronically misaligned, passive and unproductive — Huggins isn’t afraid to change his philosophy.
“We’re going with a small lineup,” he said. “(The bigs) have had ample opportunity. They’ve had over half the season. I mean, how can it be worse? We’re 1-3. How can it be worse?
“It comes down that I’m the dumb one because I continue to believe that they’re going to do the right thing when they consistently don’t.”
Though Iowa State failed to reach the 70-point mark for the first time this season, Huggins hardly considered his team’s defense acceptable. Too many back cuts unchecked. Too many shooters uncontested. Guess where Huggins found fault?
“It was our bigs — they were supposed to hard hedge on screens and they didn’t hard hedge,” he said. “(Iowa State) ball-screened and our bigs didn’t do anything. They just kind of stood back there in the lane.
“I’ve got like three guys who think they’re Shaq, except they’re not. So they just stood back there.”
Sophomore forward Kevin Noreen, the lone big man to show the aggression Huggins desired, played 29 minutes — the same amount of court time for which Deniz Kilicli and Aaric Murray combined.
Noreen did not attempt a field goal and scored only one point, but he grabbed 10 rebounds and set screens that helped spring the guard collective of Jabarie Hinds, Eron Harris, Juwan Staten and Matt Humphrey. That group not only rescued WVU from the brink of a blowout, down 56-38 with 9:04 to play, but equalized the game at 67-all on Hinds’ 3-pointer with 11.6 seconds left.
Watching his small-ball crew spread the floor and sink 9-of-12 from 3-point range in the final 11 minutes, Huggins embraced two prongs of an inconvenient truth. WVU should cease running its offense through the low post, should revamp a rotation constructed for the rugged Big East.
“Playing with those bigs hasn’t worked — just has not worked,” Huggins said moments after the game. And that wasn’t merely the declaration of coach swept up in the aftermath of a narrow loss, because Thursday night he reiterated the need for WVU to acclimate to its new neighborhood.
“The Big 12 is a much more athletic league, and the Big East is more physical,” he said. “And the officiating is different (in the Big 12) because they don’t want the same style as the Big East has. They want it to be a more fluid, free-flowing, free-movement kind of deal.”
For Huggins, who didn’t anticipate WVU being merely a .500 team through 16 games, that means one more inconvenient truth: If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
WHISTLE BLOWER?
Emphatic following the loss in Ames that Iowa State’s Chris Babb fouled Harris before the final horn, Huggins said his opinion hadn’t changed after reviewing the play on video.
“In my estimation, it could have been called,” he said.
Gold and Blue Now Wednesday, June 19 
Gold and Blue Now Monday, June 17 
Gold and Blue Now: Friday, June 14 
Sportsline: Jed Drenning 
Sportsline: Morgantown's Amanii Brown 
Sportsline: John Bowers 
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Comments
Bob
How much has the Big 12 changed since Huggins left K State for WVU? Surely that issue was there before he left the Wildcats? What does he do when he plays 10-12 non-conference game? How will that system survive in the NCAA Tournament?
January 17, 2013 at 11:43 pm | Report comment
Larry
Thanks for the articles Allan!
We really appreciate your work!
January 18, 2013 at 12:05 am | Report comment
Uncle Fester
And people were talking before the season about Aric Murray being a one and doner and going to the NBA after 1 season. LOL. What a joke. What is a bigger joke though, is Huggins recruiting. Pathetic. Now that John Beilein's recruits have all gone, hard times have fallen on Huggins. Why? Because his recruiting is abysmal.
January 18, 2013 at 10:20 am | Report comment
cutty77
Huggs is a Harded Headed Coach.Its taken this long to figure out in Todays Basketball you have to have alot of Guards.Look back at which Teams have won and won it all,they all had alot of guards.He started here Darrius,and Mazzella,and they took very far.Then got that got I can't play guard Truck,and has been playing catch up since then.Now he has some good ones.PLAY THEM NOW.
January 18, 2013 at 10:32 am | Report comment
WILLIAM
Bob " It's my fault, I'll fix it" HUGGINS is overpaid, overrated. and is one of the worst coaches in WVU history! He looks terrible wearing a BLACK and SILVER sweatsuit. Look at the other teams coaches. They are in suits and look professional
January 18, 2013 at 12:29 pm | Report comment
Larry
William,
You left one out...OVERWEIGHT!
January 18, 2013 at 6:20 pm | Report comment
Justin
Lol.. You guys can't be serious. WVU has the most fickle online fans I can imagine. We have a home grown Hall of Fame coach who is having one tough season and he's all of a sudden "overrated".
Who would we have if it wasn't for Huggs??
January 19, 2013 at 9:00 am | Report comment
Wemakerain
If there were an unlimited number of great guard recruits everyone would be great all the time. Obviously that's not possible, so just be patient. Next year's class (which is already signed) are all McDonald's all-American nominees. Next year this young team grows up in a big way.
January 18, 2013 at 1:42 pm | Report comment
JP
Size doesn't matter? That's not what his wife said
January 18, 2013 at 4:06 pm | Report comment
Chalkdust
He Look's terrible??? What the hell are you???? Some kind of metro- sexual? Keep it up Bob, You'll win your share of games.
The thing thang with me is he's overweight and it is scary.............................................................................
January 18, 2013 at 9:41 pm | Report comment
Scott
This team wasn't built around Big 12 play, simple as that. I'm sure coach remembers what Big 12 play was like, thus the incoming recruits in this freshmen class were quick, agile guards.
January 18, 2013 at 4:09 pm | Report comment
Derek
Everyone was behind him when we went to the Final Four. This fanbase is a joke.
January 18, 2013 at 6:52 pm | Report comment
jordan
I have always been a bob Huggins fan. And I think he's one of the all time greats. An he has the resume to show for it. But this year he just seems stressed,unhappy, maybe even burnt out. Anybody else see that ? I love him. But maybe he's done. .. Not that he don't have more to give. Its just the will an drive seems to be gone. And I believe his actions show that.
January 18, 2013 at 10:34 pm | Report comment
DK
Noreen and the young guards play with heart and deserve to see the majority of the playing time.
January 19, 2013 at 12:35 am | Report comment
bob
Don t be so quick to judge coach huggs. They are young and will mature. They also have a lot of traveling to do. Same as the football team. I think they have to learn to play with each other and adjust to long plane rides and getting home in the hours.
January 19, 2013 at 9:22 am | Report comment
Pghmountaineer
I think that Huggs is one of the most intelligent basketball coaches in the game. He knows exactly what to do and when to do it. I don't think anything the opposition throws at him cathches him by suprise. I think his biggest problem is that he's hard headed, doesn't show his players public respect, and doesn't appear to be a positive motivator. It doesn't take a smart person to see these kids don't appear to be having any fun out there and it is obviuos that Huggs isn't having any either. We all know most of these players wouldn't start at most BCS schools. I've said it before, todays recruits aren't the same personalities like they were 15 years ago. If your a parent and your kid is a Division 1 recruit and you're watching WVU's coach publicy demeaning his players on and off the court, I have a hard time believing that's where you would want your kid playing ball. As a result, we're left with 2nd and 3rd tier recruits at best. I mean look at places like Butler and Gonzaga, they're no place special but their coaches get it done and without all the negative feedback.
I love Huggs, I really do. It breaks my heart to see this team struggle like this, but he has to look in the mirror and make some changes. When Belein left and we got Huggs, I was really happy because I knew he was a mental wizard when it came to basketball. Now, all he has to do smile a little bit and maybe show his players a little love and perhaps they'll step up their game. At least I hope so. What do we have to loose at this point?
January 19, 2013 at 9:34 am | Report comment