On a conference call with members of the West Virginia media, Bob Huggins touched on several topics. He said that he has been watching episodes of Naked and Afraid during quarantine, that he fully expects Oscar Tshiebwe to make the wise choice of returning to school after he explores the possibility of entering the NBA Draft, and he also said that he he has no interest in poaching players from other teams during the offseason.
While coaches around the country slobber over players who enter the transfer portal, Huggins refuses to reach out to players unless they contact him first. While it’s commendable for Huggins to show respect for other coaches and teams by not openly attempting to bring players to Morgantown, he’s missing out on tremendous opportunities to land incredibly talented players.
Several outstanding players – including Radford’s Carlik Jones, Purdue’s Matt Haarms, Harvard’s Seth Towns and Bryce Aiken, Pittsburgh’s Trey McGowens and Ohio State’s Luther Muhammad – all would have been key additions for the Mountaineers, but only Carlik Jones and Luther Muhammad have really been considered by Huggins because they reached out to him.
Bob Huggins’ job is to put his team in position to win national championships. Huggins’ top priority should always be to get as much talent to West Virginia as possible. However, he will not compromise his principles and standards, and in a day and age when winning is the only thing that matters to most, Huggins stands alone as the coach who puts his integrity above all else.
Huggins has never been involved in rumors or speculation about paying players and has managed to run one of the cleanest, most respectable programs in the country. When (not if) the West Virginia Mountaineers win a national championship, Huggins will do it the right way, free of any accusations or compromises. Bob Huggins is truly a once in a lifetime coach and West Virginia University is lucky to have him.
