Rodriguez might not be such a jerk after all! I'm just kidding. Nothing will ever justify the way things have gone down between Rodriguez and West Virginia. It's been one stinking mud slinging mess that hasn't benefited either party. Suggestions of racism that probably aren't true. West Virginia fans shredding Rodriguez along with a slew of youtube's taunting Rodriguez. And of course, the WVU administration enslaving Rodriguez. Hell, I just want the season to start just so we can get out of this silly off season.
But it's hard not to look at the new contract signed by West Virginia basketball coach Bob Huggins, and not wonder how screwed up the lines of communication are at West Virginia.
Yet, the deal was a surprise even to some who shouldn't have been stunned. That's because WVU's administration -- continuing to be battered by the Heather Bresch bogus degree scandal -- did this deal behind the backs of its athletic leaders. It was a spin move right out of a Joe Alexander post-up. The WVU athletic staff had no knowledge of the "lifetime" contract talks until WVU Athletic Director Ed Pastilong finally was informed about it 24 hours before the dog-and-pony show to announce it.
The Bresch thing, if you don't know, is about Governor Manchin's daughter receiving a masters degree from West Virginia without earning it. The whole story is best read here (language warning). Back to my point though, who's in charge of the athletic department if the athletic director doesn't know a coach is getting a raise?
West Virginia's president, Mike Garrison, probably wanted to make a splash in his first year. But I doubt this is what he was looking for. He's single handedly ushered out the most successful football coach in Mountaineer history and has 80% of the faculty calling for his resignation over the Bresch scandal. Not bad for just over seven months on the job! And now leaving the athletic department in the dark about contract negotiations. It's been a bad year off the field for West Virginia. A little house cleaning might be in order before it works it's way onto the field. My suggestion would be to start at the top.
Conference meetings always produce a lot of talk, but little action. What makes the talk interesting is the curiosity over who started the conversation. Take this little bit of gossip from the Big East basketball coaches.
At the Big East meetings last week, one coach proposed a rule that would allow members to recruit prospects who are released from their letters of intent by a fellow league member in the event of a coaching change. It's becoming more common for players to be released under those circumstances, and the coach argued it would be better if that talent remained in the league. The proposal did not gain strong support.
The Big East has one of the tightest restrictions on transfers and poaching within the conference. Essentially, once a player signs with a Big East school, that player can never go to another Big East school to play that sport. Period. Not even as a walk-on paying his/her own way. It stems from the earliest days of the league when it was a basketball only league and most of the schools were in such close proximity and constantly battling over the same recruits. Hard feelings, bitter relations, and nasty accusations among the schools and coaches over players. There was a good reason why they instituted the rule
That the coaches in the conference would reject such a minor exception -- coach leaving, the school formally releasing the player from his letter of intent and the kid never even setting foot on the campus as a student -- is a little surprising. Still, old habits die hard.
The fun part is speculating on which Big East coach made the proposal. My guess: Seton Hall, Bobby Gonzalez. He's been fighting for a slew of recruits in just his first year, and has just missed on a few blue-chippers. He would have the most to gain from this. When you consider that the coaches likely to be on the hot seat next year -- Norm Roberts, St. John's and Tim Welsh, Providence -- are competing directly against him. Not to mention that Jay Wright at Villanova spent the past year contending with rumors that he was heading to the Sixers or a bigger job.
It would also explain why the proposal met with little interest. Gonzalez's, um, intense nature, tends to grate on a lot of people -- especially fellow coaches.
According to the NCAA, if it wasn't for the "squad size adjustments" to the APR results this year, 43.6% of the Division 1 basketball programs would be under the Academic Progrees Rate (APR) this year (PDF, page 5). The Big East is a team worse than that average as 8 of the 16 basketball programs are under the 925 minimum score. The rankings are still incomplete as the APR is to be based on a rolling 4-year rankings, and this is only year three. Teams that are right around 900 are not penalized as there are "squad sized adjustments" to the figures. The NCAA expects that teams around 900 will reach the 925 floor by next year.
Villanova 993
Notre Dame 977
Georgetown 970
Syracuse 948
Rutgers 943
Providence 938
UConn 934
Marquette 927
Seton Hall 921*
Louisville 920*
WVU 915*
St. John's 909*
Pitt 907*
USF 898*
DePaul 893*
Cinci 838**
Cincinnati was penalized one scholarship for not even being close to the confidence level of the APR. Cinci apparently anticipated this, as they have not used all 13 of their allotted scholarships. While the blame will fall largely on former coach Bob Huggins, Cinci was really hurt by the firing of Huggins and the subsequent quitting and transfers of players afterwards.
With Bob Huggins going home (yeah, yeah, "Country Roads, take me home..." I'm asking for a moratorium on that one-trick song) to West Virginia, the big subplot would be the fact that Cinci -- his old employer -- is now in the Big East. So that first trip the Mountaineers take up the Ohio River to the Queen City would be an eagerly anticipated event for many.
The last two seasons, WVU and Cinci have played each other twice in the season. It seemed the Big East Conference saw the two as natural rivals based on geography. This season the Big East will play an 18 game conference slate. The teams will play each team once with 3 home-and-homes. So surely, the Mountaineers and Bearcats would play a home-and-home. Not according to Andy Katz at ESPN.com ($$ subscription).
[Big East Commissioner Mike] Tranghese wants the first game between these two schools in Morgantown with year two being the return of Huggs to UC.
According to the little nugget, the home-and-home would be determined by TV, natural rivalry, and top teams. WVU and Cinci meets at least the first two categories. The real reason, as alluded to in the short paragraph is that the Big East doesn't want to embarrass Cinci and especially the school President Nancy Zimpher with a pro-Huggins sentiment at the game.
If a WVU-Cinci game doesn't happen in Cinci this year, don't rule out West Virginia scheduling a road game with Xavier for next season. That was one of the first things Huggins did at K-State when he took over. I wouldn't be surprised to see him do it again. It would help his recruiting in the area anyways, but it would drive the Cinci administration nuts to never fully get rid of Huggins.
This is awkward. I don't particularly like Bob Huggins, but I don't like distorted history either.
Aside from K-State fans, there is not an overwhelming outrage over Bob Huggins departing after only one season at Kansas State. What national outrage there is seems to be of the opinion that Huggins owed more to the Wildcats because the "rescued him from the scrap-heap," after his dismissal from Cinci and a year out of college basketball.
This is convenient revisionism. From the time of Huggins "resignation" in August 2005, he was working towards a return to college basketball. As an unemployed coach, he was unbound by NCAA recruiting restrictions. He was openly visiting players like Bill Walker, Michael Beasley and Herb Pope. Everyone knew that whoever hired him would have a great potential recruiting class coming in for the 2007 season. It was just a question of how big or high profile a program would come for Huggins and a fast winning record.
He wasn't a blackballed coach out for years, or banned by the NCAA. He had been fired from Cinci in a power struggle with the school's President. He wasn't fired for the DUI. That took place in 2004. The DUI certainly played a part, but so did the poor graduation rates and reputation for having players who had issues with the law.
Kansas State didn't care, because they were desperate for the other part of the equation. Huggins is a very good coach who produces results on the court and recruits very effectively.
[Kansas State Athletic Director Tim] Weiser and [President John] Wefald didn't inherit any surprises with Huggins. They knew they were hiring a master of deception. They knew Huggins would cut corners whenever he could. If they didn't, they didn't do any homework before they hired him.
Somehow his past is treated as "Huggins the Job-Jumping Deceiver." Before Huggins came to K-State, he had 2 Division I jobs. Five years at Akron and sixteen years at Cinci. Apparently the fact that Huggins had used interest from other schools, including WVU in 2002, to negotiate bigger money from Cinci is a sign of his duplicitous and disloyal behavior. You know, the same thing that every other successful coach in college does.
He also left behind a top-20 if not potentially top-10 team in Kansas State to do it. Kansas State may have panicked and shown that the inmates run the asylum by hiring Frank Martin to keep the 1-year wonder recruiting class intact, but that kind of points to the flaws and desperation of K-State.
This one has been in the works for a while, but it's finally been announced. The Big East and SEC will play a limited challenge series over the next several years. I'm sorry, they are calling it an Invitational. It will be a four game rotation for the next four years.
The games will take place on December 5-6. On December 5, two games will be played at the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center in Birmingham Alabama. The two games will be: West Virginia-Auburn and Georgetown-Alabama. On December 6, the games will be at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. That will have South Carolina-Providence and LSU-Villanova. The games will be aired on ESPN2 and ESPN.
"This Invitational will showcase two of the premier conferences in college basketball," said Pete Derzis, senior vice president and general manager of ESPN Regional Television. "Both conferences compete at the highest level, as evidenced by their recent appearances in the Final Four, and we are pleased to feature them on two consecutive nights on our networks."
Of course, only 2 of the Big East teams selected for next year were in the NCAA Tournament and none of the SEC schools even made the NIT.
How do the teams get picked each year? Well, that gets left to ESPN "in consultation" with the conferences. Considering ESPN will be handling the "Big East/SEC Invitational's organization, operation, sponsorship, marketing efforts and more," I'm guessing the consultations pretty much follow whatever ESPN tells the conferences to do.
To review, this week West Virginia lost coach John Beilein to Michigan and pocketed a $2.5 million buyout in the process. Then West Virginia took coach Bub Huggins from Kansas State and paid a $100,000 buyout in the process.
Yeah, I'd say WVU got a pretty good deal here.
Pat Forde is maybe the best college basketball writer in the country, but he couldn't be more wrong than he was when he just said on ESPN that Huggins' leaving is "reprehensible." It's part of the college basketball business, and everyone knows how the game is played: Beilein knew he'd have to find a way to come up with the $2.5 million when he left for Michigan. West Virginia knew its athletic department would do well financially if Beilein left early. Kansas State knew a small buyout would be no obstacle to Huggins leaving.
I don't feel the least bit badly for any of Huggins' recruits, either. The kind of player who gets recruited by Bob Huggins isn't some naive kid who's planning to spend four years with a coach who can mold young minds. Big-time high school players understand what the recruiting business is about. Both the WVU administration and the big-time recruits who will no doubt play for Huggins at West Virginia know exactly what kind of coach they're getting.
The Anti-Beilein is taking the job at his alma mater and home town. The Big East has the villain it has lacked for a while. A coach fans from all the other teams can hate without reservation. The ripple effect this one hire generates within the Big East is tremendous. Storylines to expect out of this:
West Virginia. The prodigal comes home. Huggins was the guy WVU wanted 5 years ago, but Huggins had a good thing at Cinci, was getting plenty of money to stay, he was happy there with plenty of recruiting ties built up, and (I know many will find this hard to believe) he felt some loyalty to the program he helped bring back to national prominence.
Cincinnati. I have to believe the added bonus of taking the job was the pure revenge factor of being able to go at his old employer at least once every year. He has such a bond that still is strong with the Cinci faithful, that you can bet that first road game to Cinci will result in a lot of cheers for Huggy-bear.
Pitt. Let me say as a Pitt fan, I am happy to see Beilein gone from WVU because I actually liked and appreciated what he was doing. It's annoying when your rival has a likable coach. Huggins restores a lot of the hate in the Backyard Brawl. Then there is this tidbit. One of Huggins closest friends is in Pittsburgh and happens to operate the top AAU team in the area. The same guy who all those years ago steered Danny Fortson to Huggins. Recruiting will become a nasty, vicious thing between Pitt and WVU. Lots of paranoia begins in 3, 2, 1...
Louisville. One of the best new rivalries in the Big East started in football with Louisville and WVU. It was looking pretty good in basketball with the double-OT game in the Big East Tournament. Now you've got the basketball coach Louisville fans absolutely hate from his Cinci days. This is just a great way to throw some more gas on this. Two teams with coaches that absolutely demand defense -- but the styles contrast completely.
Marquette and DePaul. They took years of abuse in C-USA from Cinci and Huggins. You just know the fans now have the urge to want payback. That, or fear.
That only scratches the surface. The 2007-08 season can't come fast enough.
Bob Huggins has resigned after one year as head coach at Kansas State to take over at his alma mater, West Virginia, according to a local newspaper. Huggins replaces John Beilein, who left West Virginia this week to become the head coach at Michigan.
Huggins leaves behind an extremely talented roster -- he is perhaps college basketball's best recruiter -- and there will be immediate speculation about whether his recruits will stay at Kansas State. The incoming freshman class was supposed to be among the best in the country, but it's highly unlikely those players will enroll at Kansas State now.
Kansas State now faces two questions. One, of course, is who will be the next head coach. We'll hear plenty of names tossed around, mostly names of coaches currently employed by mid-major programs.
The other question is whether hiring Huggins was worth it for Kansas State. Yes, he brought a lot of talented players to a school that hadn't had much basketball talent. But just as everyone suspected, he bolted as soon as a better offer came along.
Don't cry for Kansas State or for Huggins' K-State players, though: They knew what they were getting when they got into bed with Huggins.
With John Beilein and his five year itch taking him to Michigan, the next question is who takes over the Mountaineer program? The good news is the program is in good shape -- far better then when Beilein came in and NCAA sanctions were a distinct possibility. There is some good talent on hand, the fans are supporting the team and funding has improved. Plus, the Athletic Department will be getting a $2.5 million dollar windfall thanks to a well thought out contract with a sliding buyout.
West Virginia could simply promote assistant coach Jerry Dunn to head coach. Dunn has head coaching experience and even some success at Penn State. Of course by the end of his time at PSU, the program had fallen back to its natural state of bottom feeder and apathy.
Another choice could be Eastern Kentucky Head Coach Jeff Neubauer. He spent eight years as a Beilein assistant at WVU and Richmond before becoming a head coach 2 years ago. This past year at EKU, he won the OVC and got the Colonels into the NCAA Tournament. Neubauer is only 36 and could reasonably be considered a rising coaching talent. The advantage to Neubauer is his familiarity with Beilein's system and the transition with the players on hand and their skill set would be much less drastic.
Travis Ford's name is getting mentioned. A former player at Kentucky and Rick Pitino protege. He was the head coach at Eastern Kentucky before taking over at UMass. He has steadily improved the Minutemen in two years and is another young coach on the rise. Despite no ties to the program, his name is coming up and he is reportedly interested. The knock is that his ambition suggests more of a stepping stone view towards the job.
Then, of course, there is the dark lord. Bob Huggins. The West Virginia alum and prior target. WVU pursued Huggins a few years ago, but he just used them to get a nice raise from Cinci. It seems doubtful that he would bolt K-State so quickly. Especially with the talent he has brought in for next season. Still, it doesn't hurt to ask.
Rodriguez might not be such a jerk after all! I'm just kidding. Nothing will ever justify the way things have gone down between Rodriguez and West Virginia. It's been one stinking mud slinging mess that hasn't benefited either party. Suggestions of racism that probably aren't true. West Virginia fans shredding Rodriguez along with a slew of youtube's taunting Rodriguez. And of course, the WVU administration enslaving Rodriguez. Hell, I just want the season to start just so we can get out of this silly off season. 
Conference meetings always produce a lot of talk, but little action. What makes the talk interesting is the curiosity over who started the conversation. Take this little bit of 
According to the NCAA, if it wasn't for the "squad size adjustments" to the APR results this year, 
With Bob Huggins going home (yeah, yeah, "Country Roads, take me home..." I'm asking for a moratorium on that one-trick song) to West Virginia, the big subplot would be 
This one has been in the works for a while, but it's finally been announced. The 
To review, this week West Virginia lost coach John Beilein to Michigan and pocketed a $2.5 million buyout in the process. Then West Virginia took coach Bub Huggins from Kansas State and paid a $100,000 buyout in the process.
The 
With John 
