Undoubtedly this season would have been far better had Huggins kept his crap together. But I don't think the long term prospects of the program were "blown up" by what happened. Whether replacing a retiring great like Nehlen or an underperformer like Holgorsen, the next hire is what really determines the fate of the program. But, again, whatever damage occurred to this season and whatever damage carries over into later seasons was primarily caused by Huggins himself.
‘His future with WVU sports is totally at an end’
- Thread starter oceantide83
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Undoubtedly this season would have been far better had Huggins kept his crap together. But I don't think the long term prospects of the program were "blown up" by what happened. Whether replacing a retiring great like Nehlen or an underperformer like Holgorsen, the next hire is what really determines the fate of the program. But, again, whatever damage occurred to this season and whatever damage carries over into later seasons was primarily caused by Huggins himself.
We have taken a year off from any type of recruiting and have zero players lol - if you don’t think there will be long term consequences of that I don’t know what to tell you.
It's obvious you are not up to speed with the new order of instant portal fix. Recruits will rarely come from high school anymore except as a fill in player. Top high school players will go to blue blood teams only. If they don't play then they will hit the portal to be recruited by another team.
I don’t doubt that we will field a team in some capacity next year. The issue is we haven’t been recruiting any of them for 10 months. Its like we’re picking last in gym class for the 2nd year in a row
I never said it wouldn't have an effect, just not the catastrophic consequences like WVU is doomed to a long term drought as you frame it. That may happen, but that would be on the next hire more so than any issue with this wasted year. And I will always beat this drum, any and all damage that comes from this regardless of whether you or I are more correct is on Bob Huggins. He made this whole disaster possible.
Exactly. The man who caused it all seems to get a pass by the “fans”. He could’ve went out in style and they could’ve had his successor planned ahead of time with his input. Bob caused this turmoil and people need to understand that.
Beilein brought three of the players he was recruiting from Richmond with him...Patty B(of course), J D Collins, and J Herber
he also signed Pittsnogle and Dy'or Fischer that year... wonder if the newbie will have players following him?
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When Nehlen left he left the right way. Wvu had time to survey the landscape and hire a coach during the normal hiring season. When Huggins got busted last June the normal hiring season for basketball coaches had passed. Baker started a search but didn't find what he was looking for. Instead of committing to a lesser appealing candidate he decided to appoint an interim into the position. What part of this do you not understand? Who cares if he hired a video coach or the guy that mops the floor the 23-24 basketball season was not going to be good. Let me dumb this down for you. Tennessee lost Lane Kiffin at a time when the normal hiring cycle for coaches had passed. What did they do? They hired an unappealing candidate from La Tech who set their program back further. Ohio State lost Tressel at a time when the normal hiring process had passed. What did they do? They hired interim wrote off the ensuing football season and then hired a coach that won them a national championship. Baker took the OSU route which was the smart route instead of risking setting the program back further.
Beilen was a good coach. He took over Wvu basketball at a time when no one else even Huggins wanted anything to do with it. Beilein made this job appealing again. When it comes to Catlett I was glad when he left but he was not a failure by any stretch. Catlett was a good coach in the 80's he had 7 straight 20-win seasons. His tenure lasted longer than it should have. If he would have walked away in 98 after the sweet 16 he would probably be remembered more favorably, but he only had 3 losing seasons while at wvu. If you're worried about the days of Catlett returning, then don't. They are already here, and they have been here the last 5-6 years. The Bob Huggins of 2010 is long gone. He is more like Catlett these days.
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Wvu didn't blow up anything Huggins blew it up when he decided to drive Drunk and get busted for a 2nd time.
I don't think WVU will ever see another coaching era last as long as Huggins. I think most coaching stints will only last 5 years or so going forward in basketball.
I have to say it...Huggins looks ten years younger than what he did a year ago..perhaps this is best for him..he's one of us, and I'll always think of him for the good he's done
In fairness, Catlett feasted on a weak schedule. The program has greatly improved since the days of the Atlantic 10 affiliation. The good teams he faced were Temple, UMass, and Rhode Island. Temple was a power. UMass was a short lived power under Calipari. And Rhode Island gave us a hard time. Granted you only play who is in front of you. Until 1998, I don’t believe WVU won a single Big East Tournament game.
It's true that Catlett benefitted from the Atlantic 10 days, but Wvu didn't have the resources back then that it does today. The guy coached at Cincinnati for 6 years prior to coming to Wvu and he had the bearcats in the ncaa tourney in 3 out of those 6 years with one NIT appearance. In his 30-years of coaching division 1 basketball he has only had 3 losing seasons and that was towards the end of his career. I would not classify him as great, but his career numbers are better than average.
1. If people cared about their entertainment as much as you say, that would make them MORE likely to want to gloss over the best available coach's indiscretions. This is projecting as you are the one wanting to give Huggins a pass because of his coaching ability which is very elitist and prioritizing YOUR entertainment over anything else.
2. What the hell does WV being full of "degenerate junkies" have to do with anything? Again you postulate that other people being pieces of crap as a reason Huggins shouldn't be held to account which is a complete non sequitur. There is only one WVU basketball coaching job in all of WV and it is worth more in 1 year than the average WV resident will make in their lifetime. It is reasonable to expect it to have a higher code of conduct than a ditch digger. But even if you cannot agree with that, the more logical conclusion is that the degenerate pieces of crap that are not WVU basketball coaches should be held more to account as opposed to just ignoring crimes of the guy you really want coaching WVU.
You are right, but knowing when to quit means quite a lot. Catlett's first half of his career at WVU was much better than second half. First 11 seasons he made 6 NCAA tournaments and 8 20 or better win seasons. Last 13 seasons he made 2 NCAA tournaments and had 3 20 or better win seasons. Now had he left after the Sweet 16, that sentence reads "last 9 seasons he made 2 NCAA tournaments and had 3 20 or better win seasons." Still a decline, but not nearly as catastrophic along with not ending on a 4 season run where the highlight was first round NIT loss and the low-light was the lowest win total since 1943. He is much more remembered for those last 4 years than the first 11. He did have a limitation in only making it past the first weekend of the NCAA tournament once out of all 8 appearances, however his career at WVU was not as bad as those last 4 seasons looked. But, like I said, he bears some responsibility as you got to know when it is time to hang it up.
Had CATLETT had WVU in the Big East during the 1980’s, he likely would’ve been fired. Catlett rarely beat the good teams. UNLV was his biggest win and that was huge. However, I just remember WVU struggling with annual games against teams like Robert Morris. WVU typically was the 3rd or 4th best team in the A10. I think everyone, including Catlett himself, got a reality check when WVU joined Big East play. The program has since improved greatly.
Catlett might have very well flamed out if Wvu was in the Big East in the 1980's. In fairness that was not the reality of the situation. The A10 for the most part is not or has never been a destination conference for coaches. Catlett was willing to stick around and give WVU serviceable results when others would have looked for a bigger gig. I think when the Big East era started, we could have attracted a better-quality coach. Catlett was probably not a Big East or Big 12 quality coach, but he was respectable for the A10 or conferences at that level or below and that's where Wvu basketball was for most of his tenure.
The only coach that did was John Chaney. I never understood why Temple basketball wasn’t in the Big East.
You going to learn to be funny or continue to be lame?
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