I am finally ready for a complete overhaul in the basketball program. This is very difficult for me because I loved Huggs as a player, I've loved him as a coach, and I think he's been a great Mountaineer, West Virginian, and person. It's time for a change though.
I think overall he has done a marvelous job getting this team to 19 wins so far, and eventually probably 21 or 22. This team has a lot of holes, and the only way to hide those holes is to play exactly the way we do - balls to the wall, 94 ft, in your face, and win ugly. This is the ONLY way this team can win. We can't shoot anywhere (3's, 2's, FT's, and worst team I've ever seen scoring at the rim), we are awful at passing the ball, our 1/2 court offense is just atrocious, and we can't defend in the 1/2 court. So the only chance is to turn people over and create enough offense out of our defense to win. Against equal or lesser teams that has been enough, but all of our weaknesses are now being exposed by better teams and that formula for success just won't get it.
So what is the answer? Getting better players - Huggins has said as much. He's right. The problem is he's not going to get them. The game has changed, players have changed, and Huggs is a dinosaur. His coaching style is incompatible with those changes and the best players just don't want to be treated the way he treats his players. What could be excused in the past as intensity on his part is now just embarrassing and boorish - Huggs has become a caricature of himself. It hurts to see that. This team plays hard and has exceeded most people's expectations, but one only needs to look at the players faces to see the cumulative effect of his coaching. This team looks exhausted emotionally, and combine that with the physical exhaustion that comes from the season-long frenetic pace with which they have played, and you have a team that is done.
This team will probably be better next year, assuming all the principle players return, and will probably win 20 again, but if winning a B12 championship or NC is the goal, it's not going to happen. You can win games with X's and O's, but you have to have the Jimmies and Joes to win championships and/or compete at the very highest level. Huggs can't get those players to Morgantown. It embarrasses me to watch him on the sideline anymore. I don't want him fired, but I hope he retires. He's earned the right to go out out on his own terms, and I hope he does that before his legacy becomes tarnished.
This post was edited on 2/15 2:59 PM by mountainEERnation
