Saturday, June 27, 2015
Mitch Vingle: Whispers, answers from WVU’s Lyons, etc.
Mitch Vingle
Ye olde Sunday buffet:
• As the band “Neon Trees” are wont to say, it started with a whisper.
“Didja hear,” came the hushed tone, “new WVU AD Shane Lyons put Oliver Luck’s projects on hold until he can take a look at them.”
That was the whisper. When reached this past week around staff retreats, however, Lyons said that is not case. The timetables of some projects have simply been slowed.
“The biggest thing,” Lyons said, “is at one point we thought we could have all the stadium work done by the start of the 2016 season … But we were forcing the issue. We’re going to a better pace now. We want it done right.”
Lyons said when digging started for utilities, it was discovered the job was larger than expected. One large goal is to open up the Milan Puskar Stadium north entrance to alleviate foot traffic. Portals for the east (student section side) and west (press box side) will be added to make the flow easier.
According to Lyons, the west side portal now won’t be completed until after the 2016 season. “It’s a more extensive project than we thought,” he said, pointing to American Disabilities Act requirements, among other standards.
The literal Mountaineer Field will also undergo change, but not until after this coming season. That’s been known for a while.
“We’re replacing the turf and I want to take the crown out,” Lyons said. “There’s just not enough time to do that this year. That will start in mid-January and finish in mid-summer of 2016.
“We’re still on track for the other work, widening the Coliseum concourse and expanding concessions and renovating the Shell Building and facility for our Olympic sports,” he said. Those, however, are further in the future.
• Lyons said his staff retreats this week were centered on “planning for next year and the next couple of years.
“We talked about our objectives and goals,” he said. “We have a lot of projects going on right now and we want to make sure we’re on the same page.”
He’d also like to get on the same page with new Pitt athletic director Scott Barnes for a football agreement.
“We’re working on Pitt,” Lyons said. “Their AD just started. For those non-conference games, I’d like to keep traditional opponents like Virginia Tech, Maryland and Pittsburgh. Now that Scott’s on board we’re looking at dates. It probably won’t be until 2021, ’22, ’23, somewhere in that area.”
In a press conference with Pittsburgh reporters on Thursday, Barnes said he called Penn State AD Sandy Barbour to ensure the future of that series. He called it a “priority.” He called a potential series with WVU “an important factor.”
“Hopefully in the next four weeks we’ll have some more non-conference games ironed out,” Lyons said. “I’m also open to neutral game sites… I’d be interested in going back to Atlanta [where WVU played Alabama last season]. They are supposed to open the New Atlanta Stadium in 2017. I’d like to see us play there around 2020, ’21, in that area. We have a great following down there and people get excited about those kinds of games.”
• Back to aforementioned whispers. Aside from the ugly Kentucky game, much has been trending up for WVU basketball coach Bob Huggins. His young team made last season’s Sweet 16. And Mountaineer fans are excited about incoming four-star Ohio standout Esa Ahmad.
There was concern behind the scenes, though, about Ahmad’s academic status. When reached this week, however, Shaker Heights High coach Danny Young said Ahmad seems on track to be eligible. He said the 6-foot-7, 210-pound standout “scored four points higher” on his ACT, is taking online classes and is scheduled to arrive in Morgantown soon. All, of course, has to be cleared by the NCAA.
• In case you’re wondering, WVU’s first football practice is Aug. 3 this summer and Marshall’s is Aug. 6. (If you’re not wondering, go ahead and disregard.)
• I texted Buckhannon native and Memphis Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace after Thursday night’s NBA draft. If you missed it, Wallace and company drafted former LSU standout Jerell Martin. I figured since Wallace is a huge WVU backer, he just might have seen Martin put up 18 points and 14 rebounds to help the Tigers hand the Mountaineers their first loss last season.
He did not.
• While on the subject of the NBA draft, WVU’s players have to feel a little bit better after watching four Kentucky Wildcats go in the first 13 picks and a record-tying six overall.
• And finally…
Congratulations to former West Virginia guard Darris Nichols, who recently landed as an assistant coach to Mike White at the University of Florida.
Nichols’ star has been rising quite rapidly in the coaching ranks and I caught up with him this past week.
A few notes. First, one of his former Wofford players, Jeremiah Tate, recently drowned in a South Carolina lake. “He was a freshman, a walk-on when I was there,” Nichols said. “We didn’t have enough players and he just came into our office and asked if he could play. We did a background check and found out what we thought, that he was a great kid.
“He was one of the first guys to text me when I got this job. Just an awesome kid.”
Second, Nichols said the recruiting part of his job just got easier.
“When you call and say ‘University of Florida’ you don’t have to repeat it,” said the coach. “You’re able to get involved with a lot of kids because of the name.”
And third, there’s that upcoming Big 12/SEC Challenge that will pit the Gators against Nichols’ alma mater WVU in Gainesville, Florida.
“I don’t know enough about [West Virginia] and I don’t know enough about us to know what to think,” Nichols said about the matchup. “I just know it will be a little different than if we were playing at the Coliseum.”
Reach Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827, mitchvingle@wvgazette.com or follow on Twitter @MitchVingle
- See more at: http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20150627/GZ02/150629250/1419#sthash.c4IcTKKF.dpuf
Mitch Vingle: Whispers, answers from WVU’s Lyons, etc.
Mitch Vingle
Ye olde Sunday buffet:
• As the band “Neon Trees” are wont to say, it started with a whisper.
“Didja hear,” came the hushed tone, “new WVU AD Shane Lyons put Oliver Luck’s projects on hold until he can take a look at them.”
That was the whisper. When reached this past week around staff retreats, however, Lyons said that is not case. The timetables of some projects have simply been slowed.
“The biggest thing,” Lyons said, “is at one point we thought we could have all the stadium work done by the start of the 2016 season … But we were forcing the issue. We’re going to a better pace now. We want it done right.”
Lyons said when digging started for utilities, it was discovered the job was larger than expected. One large goal is to open up the Milan Puskar Stadium north entrance to alleviate foot traffic. Portals for the east (student section side) and west (press box side) will be added to make the flow easier.
According to Lyons, the west side portal now won’t be completed until after the 2016 season. “It’s a more extensive project than we thought,” he said, pointing to American Disabilities Act requirements, among other standards.
The literal Mountaineer Field will also undergo change, but not until after this coming season. That’s been known for a while.
“We’re replacing the turf and I want to take the crown out,” Lyons said. “There’s just not enough time to do that this year. That will start in mid-January and finish in mid-summer of 2016.
“We’re still on track for the other work, widening the Coliseum concourse and expanding concessions and renovating the Shell Building and facility for our Olympic sports,” he said. Those, however, are further in the future.
• Lyons said his staff retreats this week were centered on “planning for next year and the next couple of years.
“We talked about our objectives and goals,” he said. “We have a lot of projects going on right now and we want to make sure we’re on the same page.”
He’d also like to get on the same page with new Pitt athletic director Scott Barnes for a football agreement.
“We’re working on Pitt,” Lyons said. “Their AD just started. For those non-conference games, I’d like to keep traditional opponents like Virginia Tech, Maryland and Pittsburgh. Now that Scott’s on board we’re looking at dates. It probably won’t be until 2021, ’22, ’23, somewhere in that area.”
In a press conference with Pittsburgh reporters on Thursday, Barnes said he called Penn State AD Sandy Barbour to ensure the future of that series. He called it a “priority.” He called a potential series with WVU “an important factor.”
“Hopefully in the next four weeks we’ll have some more non-conference games ironed out,” Lyons said. “I’m also open to neutral game sites… I’d be interested in going back to Atlanta [where WVU played Alabama last season]. They are supposed to open the New Atlanta Stadium in 2017. I’d like to see us play there around 2020, ’21, in that area. We have a great following down there and people get excited about those kinds of games.”
• Back to aforementioned whispers. Aside from the ugly Kentucky game, much has been trending up for WVU basketball coach Bob Huggins. His young team made last season’s Sweet 16. And Mountaineer fans are excited about incoming four-star Ohio standout Esa Ahmad.
There was concern behind the scenes, though, about Ahmad’s academic status. When reached this week, however, Shaker Heights High coach Danny Young said Ahmad seems on track to be eligible. He said the 6-foot-7, 210-pound standout “scored four points higher” on his ACT, is taking online classes and is scheduled to arrive in Morgantown soon. All, of course, has to be cleared by the NCAA.
• In case you’re wondering, WVU’s first football practice is Aug. 3 this summer and Marshall’s is Aug. 6. (If you’re not wondering, go ahead and disregard.)
• I texted Buckhannon native and Memphis Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace after Thursday night’s NBA draft. If you missed it, Wallace and company drafted former LSU standout Jerell Martin. I figured since Wallace is a huge WVU backer, he just might have seen Martin put up 18 points and 14 rebounds to help the Tigers hand the Mountaineers their first loss last season.
He did not.
• While on the subject of the NBA draft, WVU’s players have to feel a little bit better after watching four Kentucky Wildcats go in the first 13 picks and a record-tying six overall.
• And finally…
Congratulations to former West Virginia guard Darris Nichols, who recently landed as an assistant coach to Mike White at the University of Florida.
Nichols’ star has been rising quite rapidly in the coaching ranks and I caught up with him this past week.
A few notes. First, one of his former Wofford players, Jeremiah Tate, recently drowned in a South Carolina lake. “He was a freshman, a walk-on when I was there,” Nichols said. “We didn’t have enough players and he just came into our office and asked if he could play. We did a background check and found out what we thought, that he was a great kid.
“He was one of the first guys to text me when I got this job. Just an awesome kid.”
Second, Nichols said the recruiting part of his job just got easier.
“When you call and say ‘University of Florida’ you don’t have to repeat it,” said the coach. “You’re able to get involved with a lot of kids because of the name.”
And third, there’s that upcoming Big 12/SEC Challenge that will pit the Gators against Nichols’ alma mater WVU in Gainesville, Florida.
“I don’t know enough about [West Virginia] and I don’t know enough about us to know what to think,” Nichols said about the matchup. “I just know it will be a little different than if we were playing at the Coliseum.”
Reach Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827, mitchvingle@wvgazette.com or follow on Twitter @MitchVingle
- See more at: http://www.wvgazette.com/article/20150627/GZ02/150629250/1419#sthash.c4IcTKKF.dpuf
