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Huggins is VERY Overrated

At some point, don't we need to disclose where we think Huggins is rated as a coach before we label him over, under or appropriately rated.

Some things are not ratings, but simply objective numbers. Number of wins would be a prime example. I don't think many people that coaches should be rated based on total number of career wins. Obviously, longevity is a factor and to an extent a large number of wins means little more than the person coached a long time. Now, obviously one needs to be permitted to coach a long time, so not many bad coaches will climb near the top of total wins lists, but it also has a lot to do when people first became head coaches. Huggins and Beilein were young, for example, and are not necessarily now better coaches than people who were assistants for a long time before becoming head coaches and thus have fewer wins at similar ages. They also aren't necessarily better than people who are simply younger than them and so have fewer wins. (or former coaches who retired aafter coaching for fewer years).

Winning percentage, while a better measure, is far from perfect. As some have alluded to above not all positions provide equal chances for success so that differentials in WP don't correspond to relative coaching ability. That also goes for conference titles, tournament success, etc. there are a handful of schools with large built-in advantages, a much larger number with built-in disadvantages and a lot in the middle. (And, even at those in the middle, timing is important. For example, it was a LOT easier to take over at WVU in 2007 than it was in 2002 so meaningfully comparing Beilein and Huggins at WVU requires more than looking at records).

In sum, if you are arguing Huggins is the 3rd best active coach because he's third on the total win list, you will need to defend that against charges of overrating. If you have him very near the top because of winning percentage, without allowing for the advantage he had coaching Cincinnati in relatively weak leagues for a lot of years you could also be accused of overrating.

If, on the other hand you don't have him in the upper echelon because he has only been to 2 final fours and no national titles, you are open to accusations of underrating because he's never been at a school where that was less than a herculean task. You would also be dismissing sustained success across a large number of conferences and a long period of time and changing rules, officiating differences and styles of play.

I'd personally say, he's at least in the top 20.

Huggins also never coached at a premier university, where the path to recruits and national championships are more accessible.

Would Huggins have been a good fit at UCLA, Kansas, UNC, or Duke? I'm not so sure. He'd have success, but ultimately I don't see it working.

Now, I think he's a great fit for Cincinnati, K-State and WVU.

I've read that Huggins has turned down NBA jobs. Again, not sure if that's the right fit.
 
Huggins is going to coach his way. He is hard on the guys, and it can fail quickly. For every Kevin Jones there is going to be a Terry Henderson. It hurts us sometimes, but it's also going to make WVU scrappy every year.
 
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Huggins is going to coach his way. He is hard on the guys, and it can fail quickly. For every Kevin Jones there is going to be a Terry Henderson. It hurts us sometimes, but it's also going to make WVU scrappy every year.

What coach isn't hard on their players?

Scrappy is great. Good and scrappy is better.
 
He's a good coach, which is obvious by his overall win percentage, but he's not a great tournament coach where you have to adjust and game plan quickly against unfamiliar opponents.
Very interesting distinction and observation you made there.

Although you didn't state it explicitly, I might agree with your implication that Huggins may need to make the championship game at some point to be mentioned among the top echelon of coaches.

That said, I am very happy with his tenure at WVU overall. However, it is equally true that the stunning first-round exit this season was a catastrophic failure and one of the most unforgivable losses in Mountaineer basketball history.

Unfortunately for Bob and the players, 2016 will be remembered as an embarrassing underachievement to much the same degree as 2015 was a great overachievement. They're all going to need a far, far better tournament performance in 2017 to overshadow the Stephen F. Austin disaster and rewrite their legacies at WVU.
 
Stellar guard play is needed to make a serious championship run. If you have stellar guard play with some bigs who can rebound and play great defense you can win it all. Huggs has yet to get all of the aforementioned in one group of players.

Rebounding and defense is great and can win you a bunch of games but until he gets some guards that can shoot and make smart basketball decisions at crucial junctures it isn't going to happen.

Also, Bob can be too rigid and inflexible at times which you cannot be in a NCAA run to the title.
 
No
Q
What coach isn't hard on their players?

Scrappy is great. Good and scrappy is better.
huggs pulls players out for not playing d, and has no reservations about getting on players faces on national tv. I know he's not the only coach to do so, but are there a lot of coaches like that?
 
HA! I'm sure 99% of the coaches out there would trade their record for any failures and multiple successes Huggins has had over the years. How myopic to focus on his few failures compared to an overwhelming winning record and a couple final fours.
since you're from NC.I'm sure you're aware of who "Bam" Adebauo is..
 
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