If Huggs went to WV while at UC

[MicksTheGuy]

Lets imagine that Huggs did not get fired and got his 4 year rollover back. I was just wondering what would have happened had Huggs decided to leave UC and went to WV. Mainly because he just didn't like Nancy Zimpher. Would you be mad at him or would you understand that it was his hometown. I think this might have happened and we would have been in a much darker place right now if it had. Of course we might have Beasley and Walker! They are both only going to stay one year so I like our current situation much better right now.

In the end I would have been really mad at him I think but then again he was past the point of no return after the DUI for me. Thoughts?

[loshow22]

Things work out the way they do for a reason. I would have been upset, but ultimately would have come to an understanding. Mick will prove to be an excellent face for UC basketball and the city of Cincinnati.

[SLMadiCat]

Look, I'm a huge fan of MC and think we will be better off in the long run, but why start another pissing match? Huggs didn't stick around so it doesn't really matter.

[OldBay]

Now that the "hangover" from all that mess has faded away (for me at least), I agree with you that our current situation is great. We made it through the biggest downer year, and we are starting to see Cronin do what everyone said he was capable of (of course we will really see when play begins, but I know I am excited). It's interesting to think about if Huggins would have stayed, and then went to WV now. Cronin would probably not still been at Murray State, and who knows if everything would have worked out as well as I think it did for us in the end. All said and done, Huggins ends up at his alma mater, and so does Coach Cronin. As hard as it was to deal with at first, I love the direction our program is headed with Mick at the helm. Now it's time to see how he does year in and year out against two of his most influential coaching mentors. I hope he owns both of them!! (One can always hope!!)

[loshow22]

I didn't think of it as a pissing match. It is a question that a lot of people probably think of. I'm glad we are in the state we are in, looking up, but I do not see a problem in wondering "what if" every now and again. Besides 100% of Bearcat fans wonder "what if" when they think of the '99-'00 season. Go Cats.

[Bearcat_DF]

It is hard for me to imagine your scenario. If Huggins had stayed, our first two years in the Big East would have been great and we would have the number one recruiting class in the county. We would likely have OJ Mayo in the fold too. So, we would be set to compete for a BE championship and a National Championship.

I cannot imagine Huggins walking away from that.

If he had, I would have been upset. Still, we would have been in a good position to get a coach - who wouldn't want to walk into that position?!

So we could have gotten AK, Cronin, or another top notch coach.

Go Cats!
DF

[ralph1950]

Hindsight being 20/20 O J Mayo would not have come to UC, he wanted to go to LA as that is the best place for him to market the "O J Brand". To get Beaseley he would have had to hire Delonte Hill as an assistant coach which would have been possible with the firing of Legree. He walked away from the #1 recruiting class at K-State so there is no reason to think he would not have done the same at UC. He had tried for years to get other jobs while at UC but got turned down for all of them. The going home thing is over blown as the day after Arkansas fired Stan Heath he called Arkansas to try to get that job. His dream job was anywhere but Manhattan, KS, he could not stand living there.

[MicksTheGuy]

That is interesting DF. I don't think we get OJ though. I just think Huggs hates DZ so much that he would have left. Our team would just be in shambles right now. At least I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. Not trying to diss on huggs with this question but how is WV recruiting going right now? I know all of the schools with coaching changes are struggling right now. Just curious.

[bearcatmark]

Ok the whole thing about Huggins never being offered other jobs was a bogus story. West Virginia clearly offered him the job the first time around...and then after he turned it down they had a PR disaster trying to find someone else to fill the spot before finally getting Beilein who worked out great.

I do think we would have gotten Mayo and Walker if Huggins was here. Huggins had tremendous ties with those guy...Mayo, however, was not going to go to Manhatten Kansas for his college career. He chose a place where he could market himself at USC. I still think he would have come to UC..but that is debatable.

I also think beasily would have been here because Huggins had good ties with him..and after Legree was fired i think Huggins would have gone with Hill(though eric Martin would have still been a possibility). Huggins had ties to Hill through recruiting and also knew a lot of him through his relationship with Bobby Lutz... He was a logical choice.

I also think if Huggins had a chance to recruit at UC in the Big East he would have produced tremendous results. He would have continually gotten top 10 recruiting classes...and would have competed for a conference title and a national title every season. On the off chance Huggins had decided to abandon UC when WVU came calling this time..I believe UC would have been in amazing shape to replace him with virtually any coach they would like.

However, I think Huggins wanted to beat Nancy. I think he would have felt with the players he had at UC now...he could outlast nancy..that he would have had the power...and I don't think he would have given her the satisfaction of leaving at that point. I think Huggins clearly wanted to be in Cincinnati. He loved the city, and had developed tons of relationships within the community. I think with Huggins here right now we would be in the best years of UC basketball since the 60s.


All that being said I am happy with the direction the program is heading under mick, especially considering the miserable way the situation was handled prior to his arrival. We are clearly heading back to the big time. WHo knows with the advantages of Varsity Village and being in the Big East Cronin may achieve more than Huggs ever did...I certainly hope he does... But if Huggins had remained I believe a National title was just around the corner. That whole situation still bothers me... having to wait for what was so close to being there still bothers me. Losing a man who was loyal to my university still bothers me.

Mick will get us back... I am 100% behind Mick.... but since you asked the question...that's what i think

[Bearcat_DF]

I just think Huggs hates DZ so much that he would have left.

If you read through the correspondence between the lawyers before UC and Huggins came to their mutual parting of the ways, you can clearly see that Huggins was trying to find a win/win/win. He was trying to keep his job, he was trying to protect the program he had built, and he was trying to find a way for UC/administration to not lose face.

He may have had animosity for DZ, but he was on the brink of another NC caliber class and he was doing everything he could to make it work.

rALph makes a good point - Huggins did walk away from a number 1 rank class in Manhattan. He may have walked away from one at UC, but there are 2 things that go against it - 1) UC would be in a better position than KSU currently is; 2) UC is in a better position to make a run at a NC than KSU.

Finally, if he had left this year, the program would not have been in as much turmoil nor would it have been for as long as it was the way it did play out.

Who knows what would have happened, but 3 likely things that would have happened had Huggins stayed and then left this spring:
1) we make the NCAA the last two years
2) we don't finish last in the BE
3) we have a better team going into 2007

Go Cats!
DF

[bengals21]

Wow somebody on here really hates Huggins. Pretty much every post they make is something negative about him. He was a great coach and there is no denying that. He had plenty of chances to leave UC but stayed. It wasn't because he didn't have any offers it was because he loved what he had here.

[ralph1950]

Simply not true, he wanted out of UC since 1997 but could not find a job because of his bad reputation, deserved or undeserved. He applied for many jobs but was unsuccessful, no one wanted him. Yes he was a great coach and won a lot. Per Fox Sports, CBS Sportsline, Kansas City Star, he did not turn down West Virginia 4 years ago, the President of WVU turned him down, and he applied for the Arkansas job the day after Stan Heath got fired. He took the K-State job because it was his one and only offer and jumped ship as soon as he could find another job.

Wow somebody on here really hates Huggins. Pretty much every post they make is something negative about him. He was a great coach and there is no denying that. He had plenty of chances to leave UC but stayed. It wasn't because he didn't have any offers it was because he loved what he had here.

[jeffto]

He evidently had some NBA interest.

Don't forget he tried for the Missouri job too. Mizzou backed out even though Sunvold (who basically calls the shots) wanted him. The President said no way.

[cpawfan]

Simply not true, he wanted out of UC since 1997 but could not find a job because of his bad reputation, deserved or undeserved. He applied for many jobs but was unsuccessful, no one wanted him. Yes he was a great coach and won a lot. Per Fox Sports, CBS Sportsline, Kansas City Star, he did not turn down West Virginia 4 years ago, the President of WVU turned him down, and he applied for the Arkansas job the day after Stan Heath got fired. He took the K-State job because it was his one and only offer and jumped ship as soon as he could find another job.

All of those media reports about the President of WVU turning him down came out recently. It was a made up story after the fact to allow the fine folks of West Virginia to feel better about themselves. In other words, just another Urban Legend that got reported as "fact"

Doyle and Whitlock are the ones claiming Huggins tried to call about the Arkansas job and neither is reliable. Also, if you're going to keep repeating these Urban Legends over and over, you should at least use Whitlock's Arkansas story as it is better for your cause. His story is that no one at Arkansas would return Bob's calls.

[jkwuc89]

This thread was going nowhere (i.e. it was just rehashing stuff we've been over countless times before). That is why I closed it.