OT: Pretty good article about Huggins

[Henry Sugar]

From Joe Posnanski's blog

What I appreciate about the article is that it takes Huggins away from being a caricature and adds a human element.  It really is worth reading.

http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2010/03/31/huggs/

[reinko]

From Joe Posnanski's blog

What I appreciate about the article is that it takes Huggins away from being a caricature and adds a human element.  It really is worth reading.

http://joeposnanski.com/JoeBlog/2010/03/31/huggs/

Does it discuss his habit for recruiting players that have a tendency to kidnap their college roommates and burn them with wire hanger? 

[rocky_warrior]

You know, I don't think I'll ever respect Huggy as a coach because of the shenanigans that he lets his players get away with.

However, I do believe someday I'll really enjoy him as a TV analyst ala RMK. 

[AlumKCof93]

I don't think its that great of an article - its an article written about a flawed man during a time when he is near the peak of his career.  It acknowledges his mistakes, without going into any details.  Yet details the subjects responses to those flaws in generalities, most often by using the well-worn excuse that those who harbor his flaws against him just "don't know". 
What followers of Huggins do know is that he is a very accomplished coach who gets his kids to play very hard for him.  However, those same kids have had a tendency to get in great trouble off the court and do not get rewarded for the considerable efforts on the court by earning a degree.  Defenders of Huggins career at Cincinnati and his 0% graduation rate tell of the flawed system in determining the graduation rate, but the underlying question is why did not a single kid in Huggins 13 years earn a degree?  The flaws do exist in the system do exist, but not for all those kids.  For this to be "good" article, it needed to be balance the question of how Huggins success is balanced with the graduation and character questions his detractors hold against him.  This artivle doesn't do that.

[AlumKCof93]

I thought this was a great post by someone from the article.  I love college basketball, but the following is undeniable.

Hey Huggins,

Winning is important, but only when the contest is important. Sorry to disappoint you and your dad, but amatuer basketball games are not important contests.

Winning in the class-room, or the job market, or in raising a better family than the one you came from are all important contests. Unfortunately, you seem to focus on the unimportant, probably because thats all you know and all you've ever been good at. Talk about taking the easy way out.

[bma725]

The 0% rate wasn't for all the years Huggy was there, it was for 4 specific years during the mid part of his tenure at UC.  During his entire time there, the rate was closer to 30% and much higher if you include the JUCOs and transfers, which the NCAA didn't.

People like to paint his entire tenure as one where he didn't graduate a single kid and had a 0% rate the entire time.  The reality is very different.

[karavotsos]

Does it say anything about Huggins that the Logo's son is at WVU and that Huggins has played him to hit some crucial 3's this season?  He wouldn't seem to be the typical Huggins recruit, and you would think that Jerry West would be able to steer his son elsewhere if he thought Huggins was bad news.  I understand that West is a WVU alum and that could be at least part of the reason his son is there.  Does it give Huggins any additional credibility as a human being that West let his son be coached by Huggins?  Have no idea.  Just something I have wondered about.

[Pepperoni_Cannoli]

I am always shocked when a WVU broadcast mentions Huggins graduated magna cum laude.

[GGGG]

I thought this was a great post by someone from the article.  I love college basketball, but the following is undeniable.

Hey Huggins,

Winning is important, but only when the contest is important. Sorry to disappoint you and your dad, but amatuer basketball games are not important contests.

Winning in the class-room, or the job market, or in raising a better family than the one you came from are all important contests. Unfortunately, you seem to focus on the unimportant, probably because thats all you know and all you've ever been good at. Talk about taking the easy way out.

If amateur basketball games are not important, than why are you posting on a message board dedicated to such contests?  I'm sorry, I don't like Huggins, but the comment is pretty lame.

To add further to this, one thing I cannot stand about some people is their "above it all" mentality when it comes to sports in general.  Clearly it is not important to the author of that particular comment, but he obviously is in the minority.  Sports is hugely important to a good section of our populace.  It is so important that we give kids a free college education if they are good enough to represent the college in which they are enrolled. 

And I'm supposed to weep for those who don't take advantage of that opportunity?  Please...

[Dawson Rental]

The article mentioned something about a horse getting punched, I couldn't remember the story, so I dug up this classic from the Cincinnati Enquirer.

"Cody, a 21-year-old quarterhorse, shared headlines with two UC basketball players.

An officer riding Cody in May 1995 said Bearcat center Art Long punched the 2,000-pound animal four times during a traffic stop in Corryville. The officer also said Long's teammate, forward Danny Fortson, was disorderly.

At trial, defense lawyers said Long was petting, not punching, the horse, and the men were stopped because they'd called the officer a derogatory name.

The jury deliberated less than two hours before acquitting both men."