What More Can He Do?

Morgantown, West Virginia – What more can he do?  Bob Huggins has essentially done it all in the sport of college basketball, yet he remains on the outside looking in of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

Tied for 4th on the all time wins list with 899, Huggins has built an incredible coaching resume during his 38 year career.  He currently has 899 all-time wins, tied with the great Bob Knight and will pass him for 4th behind only Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim and North Carolina’s Roy Williams (who is only currently 2 wins ahead of Huggins).

The fact that he is not in the Hall of Fame is not only baffling, it’s absolutely shocking and embarrassing!

During every West Virginia basketball game, commentators express shock and dismay with the fact that Bob Huggins has not been inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, and this will only grow as he continues to be snubbed.

The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame voters are kept secret and we may never know why they continue to withhold this honor from Huggins, but here are some potential guesses as to why he still isn’t in the Hall of Fame:

#1 – Huggins is one of only ten coaches in college basketball history with 800 or more victories, he’s been to 24 NCAA tournaments, has led his teams to nine Sweet Sixteen appearances, four Elite Eights and two Final Fours, but he has never won a national championship, which is ultimately what separates him from Roy Williams, Jim Calhoun, Bob Knight, Jim Boeheim and Coach K.

In addition, while he recently passed Adolph Rupp and Dean Smith in total career wins, they have three national championships between them.

#2 – Although Huggins has led one of the cleanest basketball programs in the nation, his embarrassing dismissal from Cincinnati following a drunk and driving arrest back in 2005 has been a permanent black eye on his otherwise flawless record as a head coach.

This, of course, is unfortunate, but the Hall of Fame expects their candidates to be pillars on and off the court.  With that said, could one bad night 15 years ago really be the determining factor of what he’s done on and off the court during rest of his long and illustrious career?

A lack of a national championship and the arrest in 2005 are the only two possible explanations for him not being inducted by now.  However, numbers don’t lie and Bob Huggins has produced wins better than almost anyone in the history of the game.

Bob Huggins belongs in the Hall of Fame.  Everyone except the secret panel of voters know this and there absolutely should be some accountability.  Simply keeping him out without explanation is unacceptable.