Bob Huggins’ Friday night DUI arrest in Pittsburgh and his subsequent resignation that might destroy his Hall of Fame career continue into the new week as West Virginians try to understand the issue.
Why would Huggins blow a.210 Breathalyzer after Pittsburgh police discovered him with a flat and destroyed tire in the street?
Why, as a wealthy guy who could hire a driver, would he put himself in such a predicament after putting together a national-level team?
But why? Isn’t it human? No one knows how many errors it takes to learn, but they claim you learn from them.
Some have far greater levels.
Huggins’ blunder was likely his last.
Huggins is paradoxical.
He is kind, generous, and loyal. After his resignation, former forward Gabe Osabuohien tweeted, “Love ya Bear @CoachHuggs Changed my life,” while former point guard Jordan McCabe wrote:
WVU freshmen year, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Bob Huggins took her to Morgantown and promised the greatest surgeon and treatment. 4 years cancer-free. Thanks coach.
Such tales abound. Bill Koch, who covered Huggins in Cincinnati, authored a book on his Hall of Fame induction in which he let past and present players relate their tales.
But if you consider how many people he injured with his homophobic insult a month or two ago on Cincinnati radio, how widespread his digression and resignation are, and how much they affect the individuals he was so good to.
Jordan McCabe was expected to return to WVU this season as a graduate assistant under Huggins, according to a source. He must alter his plans.
In limbo are Huggins fans, assistant coaches, trainers, and administrative employees at a basketball facility. Jason Kuntz, a second father to Huggins, took over roster building. His future remains unknown.
The majority of Huggins’ players, transfers and prospects, are deciding whether to remain or depart. To maintain Huggins’ group, transfers have 30 days to decide.
The Bob Huggins Fish Fry earned millions for cancer research and a regional cancer hospital.
Bob Huggins loves family, players, city, state, and university.
That is true, but his judgment has often been dubious over a tumultuous career.
Why first?
Who’s second.
Who succeeds? The timing is crazy since people have jobs, teams, and are recruiting for this year and next.
Sportswriters fling names as WVU flung the basketball at its worst. They choose a jobless candidate, but we don’t sure what athletic director Wren Baker is thinking.
He’s new and different from everyone else. Football and basketball have struggled under Huggins, so this is a hire he must get right.
In a changing NCAA landscape and reorganized league, the institution is at a crossroads. With Oklahoma and Texas gone and four new schools coming in, none of them with the might of the Sooners and Longhorns, the league has a power hole, and WVU is positioned to fill it.
Baker must choose the ideal replacement for Huggins and Neal Brown in the football office.
It’s a major responsibility and a huge challenge, but it’s also a chance to transform a negative into a positive and offer WVU a seat at the Big 12 power table.
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