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West Virginia’s Huggins looks to make Naismith Hall of Fame on fourth try
Bob Huggins speaking at a press conference during West Virginia’s Final Four run in the 2010 NCAA Tournament (Photo: Bob Huggins, Courtesy: MGN Online https://twitter.com/coachhuggs)

West Virginia’s Huggins looks to make Naismith Hall of Fame on fourth try

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (BVM) — College basketball can be a fickle endeavor at times. Between the recruitment process the transfer portal and the ever-changing rosters collegiate basketball offers far more questions than answers. However over the last 30 plus years West Virginia University men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins has remained a consistent winner amidst a game filled with uncertainty.

In a storied career that includes four Final Fours two Elite Eights and five Sweet 16 appearances in the NCAA Tournament spanned across four programs in as many different decades there is one major accolade that Huggins has yet to achieve — being inducted into the Hall of Fame. For the fourth consecutive year, Huggins finds his name on the Naismith Hall of Fame ballot hoping that this is finally the time that he is able to attain the highest achievement someone in his profession can attain.

Huggins’ ties to West Virginia are obvious. Not only was he born in Morgantown, the location of West Virginia University, but he also graduated from the school in the late 1970’s and immediately began his coaching career there as an assistant. While the 2021 class also includes some NBA legends in Paul Pierce and Chauncy Billups, few could argue Huggins’ case is not the strongest of the current year’s nominees. Getting his first head coaching gig with Akron, the man nicknamed “Huggy Bear” did an admirable job with limited resources reaching postseason play in three of his five seasons at the helm for the Zips, highlighted by a NCAA Tournament bid in the 1985-86 season.

Before the 1989 season, Huggins was hired to be the coach of a Cincinnati Bearcats program that was trying to recapture the glory of its former teams. At Cincinnati, Huggins really started to make a name for himself as one of the premier coaches in the sport. Before Huggins’ arrival the Bearcats had not made the NCAA Tournament in 12 years; by his third season, the Bearcats made it all the way to the Final Four. In Huggins’ tenure as head coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats from 1989 to 2005, he compiled 399 wins, the most in school history, and masterminded the Bearcats to ten conference regular-season titles and eight league tournament titles. Additionally, and perhaps more successfully, Huggins was able to lead the Bearcats to postseason play in each of his 16 seasons in charge.

After a year hiatus from the game and a one year stop at Kansas State during the 2006-07 season, which saw the Wildcats finish fourth in the Big 12 Conference, an opening appeared that was too good to pass up. Huggins’ secured his release from Kansas State and has been with the Mountaineers ever since. Despite the love affair the West Virginia faithful have with Huggins, the success he has produced, while secondary to his likeability, should not be overlooked. In his 14 years with WVU, Bob Huggins has garnered another 300 wins as well as a second Final Four appearance.

Huggins’ dominance at Cincinnati and West Virginia have propelled him into a category of a select few. He ranks 6th alltime in wins amongst division I coaches with 890 and is only the second coach, along with Roy Williams, to win 300 games with two different programs. The unfortunate thing is, those who Huggins is accompanied by have all been inducted into the Hall of Fame. The five coaches who rank ahead of, as well as the two immediately behind, Huggins in wins have received the prestigious accolade so many covet but so few fulfill.

The consensus around the game from analysts and coaches alike is that this is the year Huggins will get the phone call and claim his rightful place alongside college basketball royalty. Third time’s the charm, but for Huggins it may take four.