WVU Coach Bob Huggins Talks Big 12 Realignment, Kenyon Martin, More in B/R AMA

Adam WellsOct 12, 2022

Bob Huggins is one of the most successful college basketball coaches of this generation. The 69-year-old became a head coach during the 1980-81 season when he was hired by Walsh University in Canton, Ohio.

After a three-year stint with the Cavaliers, Walsh spent one season as an assistant at Central Florida. He moved on to Akron before getting his first high-profile job at the University of Cincinnati in 1989.

Huggins went 399-127 with 14 NCAA tournament appearances in 16 seasons with the Bearcats. He was at Kansas State for the 2006-07 season before being hired by his alma mater, West Virginia, in April 2007.

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Heading into his 16th season at West Virginia, Huggins ranks second in program history in games (514) and wins (326). His 10 NCAA tournament appearances are the most in school history, and he's one of only two Mountaineers coaches to reach the Final Four (Fred Schaus in 1959).

Huggins was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame over the summer as part of the class of 2022. His 916 career wins as a head coach are the fourth-most in men's Division I history.

As Huggins prepares to lead West Virginia into the 2022-23 season, he sat down with B/R for an AMA about the Big 12 realignment, past players he's coached and the outlook for this year's squad.

Coach, obviously an interesting time in the Big 12, some of the mainstays departing from the conference but also bringing in some new member schools real soon. Cincinnati and Houston have definitely made some waves in recent tournaments...How do you feel about conference expansion and getting that sort of shakeup?

Sometimes I think shakeups are good. In our case, we’re losing two great schools, but we’re replacing them with more neat schools. You hate to see them go but you’re excited to see what the new schools can bring to the table.

@Channing Have you ever thought about WVU in a different conference down the road?

No, not really. I didn’t know much about the Big 12. I went to Kansas State and I found out real quickly how good the Big 12 was. I think my first two games, one of them was against Coach Knight and the other against Rick Barnes. So now you’re looking around like: ‘I hope everybody ain’t like this’ … but they are. We have great coaches in the league. We have great players. We’ve had more NBA draft picks than any other league. We’ve had more first rounders than any other league. When you combine great coaches with great players, it’s a heck of a league.

@ReidVandy Among opposing Big 12 arenas, is there one environment that sticks out that either the crowd makes things tough or every time you know that game is coming up, you feel a special energy about it?

I don’t like going to Kansas. Bill and I are great friends but it’s hard to make adjustments. It’s so loud. It’s a great home atmosphere for them, but for the opposing team it’s rough just because of the noise. The noise is off the charts. I don’t do sign language so they can’t hear ya. Unless they read lips, it’s hard.

@WVU005 Which opposing coach was always toughest to go against not because the quality of their team necessarily but because you felt like they always are prepared or make the right adjustments?

I think that’s multiple guys. It would be hard to say it’s one coach. The coaches in our league are great at making adjustments. They are great at taking people and putting them in positions that are most advantageous to them. The coaches are terrific. The great thing is we all get along. When we get the opportunity to see each other, we enjoy it. It’s an extremely hard league, and to a large degree because the coaches are fantastic.

@DainfamousB What do you like about this year’s Mountaineers squad? (Obviously a bit of a more mature team, different dynamic perhaps)

The biggest thing is we can make shots. We have multiple guys that can make shots. We have three guys who haven’t really been on the floor yet, as they’re healing up from injuries. Those are also able to make shots. The hardest teams to guard are the ones in which everybody can make shots. You can’t help off one guy on someone who is having a good night because those guys who you helped off of are very capable as well.

@KToler What’s one word you would use to define this year’s team?

Courageous. I think we got a lot of guys that made tough choices. We have guys who came from the state of Washington. They had to go get a plane ticket and fly across the country and come here with a great attitude, which is important and they did. They came here with a fantastic attitude.

@StephenWallace14 Let’s talk Kenyon Martin. Guy had a great 4 years at Cincy. What do you remember about his recruitment?

He was a great competitor. Incredible. On top of that, he had ungodly athleticism. He could run, he could jump, he could move his feet. Ken could do virtually anything. Sadly, we were on our way to winning a national championship and he broke his leg. When you think about it: here’s a guy who broke his leg, got it healed up and played years after the injury, and played very well. He went No. 1 with a broken leg. That’s how good he was.

@WVUgirl101 Any tips for staying motivated after such a long time coaching?

I love basketball. I was born in a home where basketball was really important. When I was born, my dad was still playing. As a little kid, I didn’t remember a whole lot of it, but I remember my dad playing. He then went on to become probably the most famous coach in the history of Ohio basketball. I’ve been blessed. … I’ve been around coaches my whole life. I’ve been around a guy named Ed McCluskey who was one of the greatest coaches in Pennsylvania and he was like my grandfather. When I went to Walsh and I thought I knew what I was doing, he was one of the guys who helped me. I’ve been blessed to be around some of the greats. Coach Knight and I had a great relationship. Jimmy V and I had a great relationship. Roy Williams and I today are still very good friends. I’ve been around the best and the brightest and shame on me if I didn’t learn something from it.

@JasonKessler16 If you had to put together 5 former WVU players to execute your signature press defense, who are you going with?

You probably put Nate Adrian on the ball. Jevon Carter is going to take one of the guards. It’s hard from there. I don’t know if you put Tarik Phillip or Daxter Miles, but one of those two on the other guard. You got to have Sagaba Konate in the back because he blocked everything. I guess that’s five. That would be one heck of a pressing team.

@ChuckSailor (I know you have the treadmill that you’re known for at practice.) Have you ever thought of any other unconventional techniques for teaching players like ping pong for hand-eye coordination or anything of that sort?

We haven't done ping pong. We have done a lot of other things, but we haven’t done ping pong. Shaun Brown, our strength coach, is terrific. When our position opened up, I called 3 guys I worked with in the past and they all said hire Shaun Brown and he has been fantastic. He does a great job with our guys.

@Just_in_Time Who was the first person to call you Huggy Bear? Have you been called any other nicknames throughout your career?

I absolutely have no idea where that came from. It may have happened when I was at Cincinnati, but I don’t know if that’s for sure.

@d_jonesy Was there a time in which you got ejected when you were like: “ya I probably deserved that one”?

I think the majority of times that happens, I deserved it, generally. We have crazy rules. It used to be if it stepped out on the floor as a coach, but today they give you a little bit more leeway.

@WVPizzadog In your own words, what makes a good recruiter?

Honesty. If you are honest with a guy and they know you are honest. If they can trust you and their parents feel like they can trust you that goes a long way.

@D_Jonesy Now that you’re a Hall of Famer, what is still on your basketball bucket list?

Winning a national championship. At least one.

@JHeim19 Funniest player you’ve ever coached?

Probably Taevon. He made everyone laugh.

@Hbraz98 What is your favorite and least favorite Halloween candy?

I don’t really like any of them. It makes me happy when my wife’s giving them away.

@HBraz98 Favorite thanksgiving food item?

Turkey. We have turkey, we have ham, we have everything. Generally, we have the players who can’t get home over. Whatever they like, my wife cooks up. They wouldn’t come and eat if I did it