Morgantown, West Virginia – Let me preface this by saying that Bob Huggins has earned the right to stay as the West Virginia head coach for as long as he wants. He’s earned that.
But at some point, even Bob Huggins has to be held accountable.
Huggins, 69, was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, has amassed 926 wins during his legendary career and is without a doubt one of the best, most accomplished head coaches in the history of the game.
With that said, Huggins’ results over the past five seasons have just been average. Or, more accurately, subpar. West Virginia finished 15-21 during the 2018-2019 season, 21-10 in 2019-2020, 19-10 in 2020-2021, 16-17 last season and is currently 10-5 this year. That is 81 wins and 63 losses over the past five seasons, which is a 56% winning percentage. Not terrible, but certainly not elite.
The real issue is in conference play. The Mountaineers are 28-46 in Big 12 Conference play in the last five years. That’s a 38% winning percentage in the Big 12 Conference. That is unacceptable.
West Virginia has also lost 11 straight conference road games. Also unacceptable.
While Bob Huggins is an absolute, bonafide, certified legend, these are far from legendary results.
Huggins himself is certainly not the problem. You don’t go from being one of the best ever to being unable to coach overnight, but there are issues within the program that Huggins could and should address immediately.
Huggins’ loyalty to his assistant coaches has ultimately been detrimental to the progress and future of the West Virginia basketball program. Huggins surrounded by fresh faces and new perspectives would do wonders. Hiring young assistants who could not only bring new ideas to program but also better relate to the players would be a complete game-changer for Huggins and West Virginia basketball.
Following West Virginia’s loss to Kansas, Huggins said the following: “I want so badly for us to be more than nationally relevant again because the people of West Virginia deserve it.”
What he’s saying is completely sincere and his heart is certainly in the right place, but results matter, and right now, Bob Huggins is not getting the results that are expected of him.
Big 12 Conference records for West Virginia head coaches since Neal Brown arrived at #WVU:@CoachHuggs – 37.8%@NealBrown_WVU – 40%@wrenbaker
— The Voice of Morgantown (@voicemorgantown) January 8, 2023
