I thought it looked like the ball was deflected as well. And I'm sorry, Georgetown played tough defense down the stretch, but Carolina looked absolutely terrible, like they had no clue what to do. They couldn't even manage to get fouled.

and my Mountaineers have made it to the finals of the NIT

not too shabby for a young team that wasn't supposed to go anywhere this season

Not too bad at all. Great 21 foot shot 3-point shot by Nichols as time expired to beat Mississippi State. 26-9 Overall Record. This team should be a lot of fun to watch the next 2-3 years. Great youth, talent, and energy from the Young guns.

Good luck to WVU tonight and Georgetown on the weekend. Nothin' could be finer that two Big East teams being the only ones to finish their post-seasons with a win.

so far the BE is 1-0

we took care of Clemson and the ACC

now it's up to G'town to do its part

congrats to the mountaineers. the conference has done pretty well for itself in a "down" year.

the conference will be absolutely loaded next year. jeff green will probably leave. will hibbert? will scottie reynolds? wilson chandler? there are rumors about thabeet leaving uconn for the nba. assuming only green leaves early, how would you rate the teams 1-16 next year?

I wouldn't even attempt to rate the league until the coaching carousel has stopped

Let's gooooooo, Big Ten!

DOH!

damn suckeyes

beilein apparently gone to michigan. what's next for the mountaineers? if they CAN'T get huggins (i assume they'll try hard) where do they look? will the current players fit into another "system"? is there a beilein disciple waiting in the wings?

Understand, WVU has 2.5 million to play with in pursuing its next coach -thanks, Michigan.

1. Huggins, Kansas St.

Pros: WVU Alum who has always stated WVU is his dream job. Owns several properties in Morgantown area. Loves to Hunt in WV. Also, his dad lives a hour and hlaf from Morgantown. Has a built in cluase in contract that allows him to leave for WVU. KSU school president is interviewing for WVU school president. Top 10 prospect Patrick Patterson will almost certainly sign with WVU. WVU's system players are a lot more athletic than in years past.

Cons: Almost accepted back in 2001, but last minute negotiations closed the door. The old president that is rumored to have been the reasoning for not giving Huggins the last bit he wanted is on the way out. However, he will have a a lot of input. KSU's recruiting class is #1 in nation. Will Huggins leave that? WVU currently doesn't have Huggins

type players. Would want a huge Salary - 1.2 million or so.


2. Jeff Neubauer, Eastern Kentucky

Pros: Was an assistant coach at WVU under Catlett and Beilien. Ran Beilien's offense at EKU with great success. Led EKU to a NCAA tourney this past year. Almost beat kentucky in Lexington. WVU players would possibly not miss a beat with Neubauer. He might actually inject more energy with being a players coach.

Cons: Coaching with success at EKU compared to coaching a Big East school is almost as different as night and day.

Please, no, not Bobby Huggins!!!!! Beilen and he are near total opposites in the class department. The BE was fortunate to get rid of him once- getting him back would be a bummer.

Yes, keep "Bob THuggins" and his 30% graduation rate at that bastion of academia, K-State.

Wow.....quite an improvement over his days at Cincinnati.

Please Read:

http://www.enquirer.com/bearcats/2002/03/0...fends_grad.html

"That's all"

Make no mistake about it. If Huggins comes to WVU, the record of recent success will continue. His track record is undeniable.

It all depends on how much WV administration and fans are going to handle the problems that may come with him. We all know about him at Cincy, and it's uncertain as to whether one year is enough to judge his tenure at KSU.

Clean cut is not Huggins' image, but again if wins and losses are truly the barometer that the school sets then anything else that may occur will not be a big issue.

WVU's never had academic or athletic scandals. WVU's administration won't give him a free pass nor will he expect one. Huggins has an opportunity to win championships in the Big East doing things the right way. WVU fans or the athletic department demands all coaches to play by the rules. Huggins won't get a pass because he's one of our own. No one is worried at WVU over this. Only fans of opposing teams need to be worried

They'd probably be better off with the guy that will continue what Belein has started. BH will no doubt continue to be successful although it seems his teams have often been a disappointment in the NCAA's.

There has been some debate amonst WVU fans on how Huggins teams fade some in the NCAA tourney. Some of tose great Bearcat teams were ranked in the top 5. One school of thought on this has been his Cincy teams played in the CUSA and were not battle "tested" for NCAA compared to teams from power conferences. Playing in the Big East and BE tourney, Huggins won't have to worry about the quality of play as every night in the Big East is a bloodbath.

He's been to 1 final 4, 3 Elite 8's, and 6 Sweet 16 during his 13 years of coaching at Cincy. Playing in a power conference will no doubt give him the stage he needs to win a NC.

Huggins alleged had a 0 percent graduation rate at Cincy in his 13 years at Cincy



which gets repeated as 0% ad nauseum, here are the facts....

***Bearcat Graduates under Bob Huggins (23)

Steve Sanders, BA Communications Art, '90
Benjamin Ward, BS Criminal Justice '92
Michael Reicheneker, BS Criminal Justice, '92
Andre Tate, BS Criminal Justice, '92
Keith Starks, BS Criminal Justice, '92
Anthony Buford, BA Economics, '92
Jeff Scott, BS Sociology, '93
Erik Martin, BS Criminal Justice, '93
Keith Gregor, BA Health Promotions, '96
Terry Nelson, BA Liberal Arts/Social Sciences, '98
Terrance Davis, BS Criminal Justice, '98
Jackson Julson, BA Communications, '99
Keith Legree, BS Criminal Justice, '99
Levertis Robinson, BS Criminology, '97
Rodrick Monroe, BS Criminal Justice, '97
Ryan Fletcher, BS Criminal Justice, '00
Donald Little, BS Liberal Arts.Social Sciences, '02
Rodney Crawford, BS Criminal Justice, '02
Leonard Stokes, BS Liberal Arts/Social Sciences, '02 Jimmy Hubbard, BS Criminal Justice, MA Labor and
Employee Relations, '03
Taron Barker, BS Criminal Justice, '03
Derek Hollman, BS Criminal Justice, '03
Rod Flowers, BS Liberal Arts/Social Sciences, '03

23 in 13 years? that really doesn't sound all that great

if Huggins is hired, I'm done giving to WVU

He had 8 players leave early for the NBA. Also, there were multiple transfers out of the program. That's almost 2 players per year. He had 4 other players that's graduated after he left cincy.

That's 27 players in 13 years. While that's not the best in America. It certainly isn't the worst as some champion him as being.

As you know, those rates won't fly at WVU. WVU expects better. I do think he will improve in Morgantown as he knows the ethical level he'll be held too. I'm sure that won't be a problem He's a Mountaineer through and through.

Actually:

Paying to leave

Beilein, not Michigan, responsible for buyout

By Larry Lage
AP Sports Writer
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan desperately wanted to hire John Beilein and was willing to make him the highest-paid basketball coach in school history.
Beilein clearly coveted the job because he’s going to pay his previous employer to leave — and he accepted an offer without visiting the Ann Arbor campus.
His contract with West Virginia had a $2.5 million buyout clause — $500,000 for each year remaining on his deal — and he said his lawyers are taking care of that.
“The buyout issue is sensitive, but I wanted to be the coach of Michigan,” Beilein said Wednesday after being introduced at a news conference. “Obviously, the buyout was something I had to consider.”
Michigan will pay Beilein $1.3 million a season, plus bonuses, as part of a six-year contract.
Athletic director Bill Martin, who said football coach Lloyd Carr is making $1.6 million a year, hopes Beilein’s contract demonstrates a commitment to basketball at a school where that has been questioned.
“It does to me,” Martin said.
Martin said negotiations on economics with Beilein took 10 seconds, adding he didn’t need to address the buyout issue.
“It never came up because there was no way Michigan was going to pay it,” Martin said. “To John Beilein’s credit, he said, ‘The buyout is my responsibility.”’

I doubt W.Va will get the $2.5 million, but whatever amount is agreed upon, Beilein is actually going to pay so that he can get out of Morgantown!! Ouch.

"I doubt W.Va will get the $2.5 million, but whatever amount is agreed upon, Beilein is actually going to pay so that he can get out of Morgantown!! Ouch."

Nope, he is paying it. Any other questions?

Btw, I love that WVU was finalizing the deal with Huggy while Beilien was in Ann Arbor talking with Michigan.


What other school upgrades coaches and gets 2.5 milllion in the process? Its good to be a MountainEER!

HAS huggins gotten a bad rap re: graduation rates? i think he most certainly has. i would hire him in a second at providence (my favorite team).

even though west virginia is a "competitor", i hope they do get huggy bear. i always root for the conference to be strong.

i do find it interesting that gymmountaineer calls huggins an upgrade though...i seem to remember him singing beilein's praises rather loudly. no doubt there'll be a talent upgrade in morgantown, but i don't think any coach gets much more out of his talent than does beilein.

michigan missing the tournament for a decade is perhaps the biggest travesty in college basketball, given their resources, size, recruiting backyard, etc. i think that drought will end...pronto.

Huggins to WVU. The native son returns home.

http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/6648384


No more having to tolerate the cookie and milk brand of basketball that was known as "Beilein ball" Expect top recruits in the naiton to follow suit to play a fullll court press, inside presence, rebounding, and a man to man in your face defense brand of basketball will be inserted by Huggins.

Huggins, Pitino, Calhoun, Boheim, Crean, Thompson II, Dixon, and Wright

What other conference has a lits as impressive as this?

quite an impressive list. will someone remind me why the hell tim welsh still has a job???

now if only huggins could bring michael beasley et al with him... yikes.