By embracing transfer portal, Bob Huggins has West Virginia back in NCAA Tournament
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Unless you’ve been around him a lot, it’s hard to know whether a question to Bob Huggins is going to earn you a glare or a heap of wisdom delivered in a gruff voice that is sometimes so quiet you need to strain to hear it. Even at age 69, his mere presence can intimidate as much as it can impress. As much success as he's had over four decades as a head coach, he’s not going to be for everyone.
“I knew he was probably the hardest coach to play for in all of America,” said forward Emmitt Matthews, Jr.
The question of whether that reputation still works in the current college sports environment, and particularly in a geographically difficult outpost like West Virginia, has been very much in play in this late stage of Huggins’ Hall of Fame career.
In both 2019 and 2022, the Mountaineers went 4-14 in the Big 12 and missed the NCAA Tournament by a mile. Along the way, West Virginia lost some significant players to the transfer portal like Oscar Tshiebwe, who became national player of the year at Kentucky, along with Jalen Bridges (to Baylor) and Sean McNeil (to Ohio State).
Then this season, languishing at 0-5 in the rugged Big 12, Huggins fired longtime assistant coach Larry Harrison, who had been with him nearly a quarter of a century. It looked like perhaps Huggins’ time might be up next whether by his choice or the school’s.
“We had opportunities early, particularly in the conference season where we should have won games and we didn't win games,” Huggins said. “We missed free throws, we missed lay-ups, we threw it away at a crucial time. We just did a lot of things that are uncharacteristic of, really, of this group. And it cost us. And it got to the point where it was time to sit down and say, ‘Fellas, we have screwed up. We put our backs against the wall. And we can either fight our way out or we can give.’ Obviously they decided to fight their way out.”
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In the end, West Virginia turned its season around enough to not just make the NCAA Tournament but to earn a No. 9 seed and an opportunity Thursday against No. 8 seed Maryland. Even at just 19-14 on the season, the Mountaineers are slight betting favorites to advance and likely face No. 1 overall seed Alabama in the round of 32. Because of Huggins’ reputation for coaxing the absolute maximum out of what he has, it’s always a scary proposition to face his teams in March.
But how many more runs does Huggins have in him? At this point, we should cherish every one of these opportunities to hear what he has to offer on this stage.
Like Wednesday, for instance, when Huggins was in a reflective mood, turning the conversation from basketball to growing up “in a trailer with four sisters and two brothers” and the lessons learned along the way.
“Don’t be the last one in the tub,” Huggins deadpanned. “It’s rough. Last one in the tub is rough. You know, you are in a trailer. You kind of share the same water.”
The reality, though, is those lines play really well when you’re gearing up to play in the postseason. Not so much when it looks like the Big 12, and college basketball generally, has left your program behind.
And at this point, West Virginia looks — by design — like a year-to-year proposition.
You’re unlikely to hear Huggins complain anymore about the transfer portal and the general culture of college basketball in 2023. Because even though West Virginia lost a lot of talent to the transfer portal, Huggins has essentially turned the Mountaineers into a program that is going to operate primarily through the portal. Win some, lose some. Don’t put too much into long-term development of players who might not stick around, just get some guys and coach.
West Virginia's leading scorer this year, guard Erik Stevenson, played at Wichita State, Washington and South Carolina before landing in Morgantown. Tre Mitchell, their starting center, made stops at UMass and Texas. Sixth man Joe Toussaint spent three years at Iowa. And Matthews actually played three years at West Virginia, left for Washington, then came back.
All of them will be gone next year, and Huggins will be starting almost from scratch. With no high school recruits committed, the Mountaineers will be back in the portal soon looking for talent.
“I'm trying to get our guys ready, give them every opportunity to win,” Huggins said. "That's what we're supposed to do. We'll worry about that later.”
Can this work as a sustainable formula for Huggins in the final chapter of his career? We’ll see. It certainly comes with complications. Earlier this season, Huggins admitted that he didn’t completely know what to do with his new players, who perhaps weren’t used to his aggressive coaching style or had difficulty breaking old habits and adapting to the way West Virginia plays.
That’s always going to be a risk with so many new pieces in a sport where you don’t have a long runway to work out problems.
But the fact West Virginia got things on track in time to make the NCAA Tournament illustrates why Huggins is Huggins, making two Finals Fours and nine Sweet 16s despite rarely having cream of the crop talent.
“I have a way,” Huggins said. "It varies. You know, the idea that you treat them all the same is absolute BS. You can't treat them all the same. They are all different. They are all different. They have different expectations, they have different goals, you find out what makes them tick. You find out where they want to go, what they want to do, what they want to be. It's the same thing that happened to me as a player.”
With so many coaching legends retiring the last few years, it’s good for college basketball that someone as authentic as Huggins is still around. Whenever he’s at an NCAA Tournament, it feels like he belongs here.
At this stage of his life and career, basketball fans should savor every last one of these opportunities to see him on the sidelines.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bob Huggins, West Virginia embrace transfer portal to reach tournament
