Bobby Huggins For Big East Coach of the Year

Losing talent, overcoming adversity, building chemistry and winning. That is the measure of great coaching performances. West Virginia University's Bobby Huggins has done all of these and has set his team up for another 20 win season, another year with a winning record in conference play, and an NCAA berth.

First of all, Huggins had to reconfigure his team to adjust to the losses of three starters. Smith, Ebanks, and Butler all contributed defense, points, and leadership in clutch situations last year. Most teams reload with capable freshmen. Huggins had the worst luck with his recruiting class. Some did not qualify, some never made it to practice. One is left on the team, but is out for the season due to injury.

Then he dealt with player infractions and a player defection as Dan Jennings quit in the middle of a game. However, Huggins teams don't quit. They circle the wagons and rebound (in more ways than one.)

West Virginia was not picked to finish well in conference this year and that was before the entire freshman class plus a key reserve was lost. Huggins has had his team forge for themselves a very good year despite all obstacles. He has earned Big East Coach of the Year.

Nice Guys, Players, and Coaches

On the way home from a tournament in Pittsburgh Saturday evening, I was talking to a couple of our 6th grade travel team's players in the backseat. We were talking about Bobby Huggins and his reputation for not always being the nicest guy in coaching. One of the players responded that people who are nice all of the time don't make great coaches. It's true. Sometimes a great coach has to play mind games. Sometimes they have to be gruff and abrasive. However that alone will not get those players to run through a wall for you. They have to know that behind the occasional yelling that the coach cares, not just about winning, not just about basketball, but about the player as a person.

Bobby Huggins' team did not beat Duke the other night. They came out slightly flat, lacking the emotion that helped them win so many games against the best teams in the country. Duke shot the ball better than they had all season long. However, Huggins and his team emerged from the floor winners in a different way.

West Virginia's basketball team has a bond with themselves and their coach that will last a lifetime. Love, commitment, passion, teamwork pervades this team and it flows from the man that patiently worked to bring them together. When star guard Da'Sean Butler hit the floor with a knee injury, ending his team's chance at a national title, we saw the growling coach grasp his stricken player by the head and hand and talk him through the crushing sorrow evident all over Butler's face.

Huggins had to do this once before. At Cincinnati, star player Kenyon Martin's injury ended a run at the national title. Huggins talks occasionally about that player being upset over letting his team down. Emotion fills the coach's voice when he speaks of that incident.

Huggins talks about being special. Definitely getting to the Final Four is special. The adoration of fans who will remember every name on this team forever is special. Even more special is the personal bond between coach and player and the players with each other. As the disappointment fades, the bonds remain cemented in place forever.

We saw Saturday night why Bobby Huggins is a great coach. Beyond the screaming and the scheming is a human being that cares about his players, a figure cared about by the young men he leads. Plenty of nice guys are out there that are very pleasant to be around, but neither feel nor inspire a great depth of emotion from most people. Huggins has legions that admire and despise him. Those who dislike him need to revisit that minute or two when the coach guided his young star emotionally before helping him off the floor.

Thanks AARP, No More Jazzies or Rascals

The AARP fought hard to get Obamacare passed. Now we are beginning to see many of the changes that they tried to hide until the bill passed.

One move sure to be unpopular is the elimination of the ability of the elderly to purchase motorized chairs such as Jazzies or Rascals on Medicare. One can still buy the much more expensive and difficult to maneuver rehabilitation chairs.

While Republicans tend to have problems with entitlement programs and spending in general, Medicare purchases of this kind of equipment tend to increase mobility, reduce dependence, and lessen the chance of injuries from those attempting to walk or use walkers.

It may or may not pass the fiscal responsibility test for some Republicans, but AARP is supposed to represent retired and elderly people. These people rely heavily on these devices for mobility. I seriously doubt that most members of that organization support this, or many other parts of Obamacareless.

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Congratulations to West Virginia for making the Final Four. Bobby Huggins has brought a can do, no excuses attitude to Morgantown and has his team in contention for a national title. His basic mantra demands hard work and results and is a powerful example for anyone to follow. WVU has no sure fire stars, but refuses to be intimidated. The entire state is proud of their accomplishments