YE OLDE (lengthy) notebook:
I had a chance to interview WVU basketball coach Bob Huggins the other day, and some of his comments, I believe, proved pretty intriguing.
The man has only Kevin Jones, Truck Bryant, Deniz Kilicli and Kevin Noreen returning for next season. His team plays in the toughest conference in the country. He has nine newcomers.
On the hoof, it doesn't seem to add up to success, right? Yet Huggins is, well, optimistic.
"We have a very, very talented bunch," said the coach. "If they stay together, I'm telling you now, we could have something special."
He may not mean this coming season, but keep in mind the Mountaineers will be taking a trip to Italy this summer. When asked about that, Huggins glowed. (OK, OK ... so as much as he can glow.)
"[The trip] is going to help us a lot," he said. "We've got 10 practices. I think it will bond the guys, although they've been terrific. They stick together. Anytime you see any of the freshmen, you see three or four of them. It's a little bit like the Cam Thoroughman, Joe Mazzulla, Jonnie West guys.
"We're excited. We think we've got a great group put together."
Huggins said he might practice some this month, recruit and finish at the beginning of August. (The trip is in mid-August.)
But back to the upcoming team. The coach said Jones and Bryant give WVU two returning 1,000-point scorers for the first time in school history, and said center Noreen "has made huge strides."
"I mean," Huggins said, "from a 210-pound kid who got knocked around all over the place to a 250-pound guy who is knocking people all over the place."
As you may remember, when Mountaineer football coach Dana Holgorsen went skydiving, he was on a trip with Huggins. The two apparently clicked.
"Dana is one of us," Huggins said. "I think that's the best thing I can say. Dana truly wants what's best for this university and what's best for this football program.
"He's a very, very intelligent guy. I don't know a lot about football, but I know a little about coaching and we talked about that and the people in this state.
"I said, 'West Virginians are very hard-working people. They're a very proud people, and they are people that have a lot of loyalty. When you can get your guys to do that, reflect that, understand that's what they represent, people are going to appreciate that.'
"He understands, believe me."
The Greenbrier owner Jim Justice is a busy man these days. Aside from his duties as a businessman, he's helping run the upcoming Greenbrier Classic golf tournament and coaching not one but two high school basketball teams during this period of off-season training.
Justice said the Greenbrier East girls team won a tournament in Richmond, Va., and the boys team finished as runner-up in its category. This past week, the Spartans were in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and experienced more success. According to Justice, the boys defeated past Class AAAA champ Carolina Forest. They closed out play by defeating national power Socastee 72-57. Spartan senior Hunter Roberts had 33 points. In the first round, East lost to another former state champ, Summerville, 62-45.
YE OLDE (lengthy) notebook:
I had a chance to interview WVU basketball coach Bob Huggins the other day, and some of his comments, I believe, proved pretty intriguing.The man has only Kevin Jones, Truck Bryant, Deniz Kilicli and Kevin Noreen returning for next season. His team plays in the toughest conference in the country. He has nine newcomers.
On the hoof, it doesn't seem to add up to success, right? Yet Huggins is, well, optimistic.
"We have a very, very talented bunch," said the coach. "If they stay together, I'm telling you now, we could have something special."
He may not mean this coming season, but keep in mind the Mountaineers will be taking a trip to Italy this summer. When asked about that, Huggins glowed. (OK, OK ... so as much as he can glow.)
"[The trip] is going to help us a lot," he said. "We've got 10 practices. I think it will bond the guys, although they've been terrific. They stick together. Anytime you see any of the freshmen, you see three or four of them. It's a little bit like the Cam Thoroughman, Joe Mazzulla, Jonnie West guys.
"We're excited. We think we've got a great group put together."
Huggins said he might practice some this month, recruit and finish at the beginning of August. (The trip is in mid-August.)
But back to the upcoming team. The coach said Jones and Bryant give WVU two returning 1,000-point scorers for the first time in school history, and said center Noreen "has made huge strides."
"I mean," Huggins said, "from a 210-pound kid who got knocked around all over the place to a 250-pound guy who is knocking people all over the place."
As you may remember, when Mountaineer football coach Dana Holgorsen went skydiving, he was on a trip with Huggins. The two apparently clicked."Dana is one of us," Huggins said. "I think that's the best thing I can say. Dana truly wants what's best for this university and what's best for this football program.
"He's a very, very intelligent guy. I don't know a lot about football, but I know a little about coaching and we talked about that and the people in this state.
"I said, 'West Virginians are very hard-working people. They're a very proud people, and they are people that have a lot of loyalty. When you can get your guys to do that, reflect that, understand that's what they represent, people are going to appreciate that.'
"He understands, believe me."
The Greenbrier owner Jim Justice is a busy man these days. Aside from his duties as a businessman, he's helping run the upcoming Greenbrier Classic golf tournament and coaching not one but two high school basketball teams during this period of off-season training.Justice said the Greenbrier East girls team won a tournament in Richmond, Va., and the boys team finished as runner-up in its category. This past week, the Spartans were in Myrtle Beach, S.C., and experienced more success. According to Justice, the boys defeated past Class AAAA champ Carolina Forest. They closed out play by defeating national power Socastee 72-57. Spartan senior Hunter Roberts had 33 points. In the first round, East lost to another former state champ, Summerville, 62-45.
The call was placed to Justice to check on a rumor that 6-foot-9 Brandon Watkins would be playing for Greenbrier East this coming season. It didn't seem far-fetched because Watkins is the nephew of former WVU hoops standout Warren Baker, a man Justice calls "an icon" in Greenbrier County. "Bake" hails from White Sulphur Springs. Anyway, both Justice and Baker said the rumor is not true. Watkins, a fine player at Grady High School in Atlanta, simply visited a Spartans practice while in the area.
The player, though, is one to follow. According to Baker, Watkins "bleeds blue and gold."
"West Virginia has been ingrained in him since he was little," Baker said. "My sister [Janet] and I both went to WVU." Watkins, Baker said, was contacted last week by coaches from WVU, Florida, Florida State, Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Memphis and George Mason.
"He's a junior," Baker said. "The next couple weeks are huge for him. He goes from Myrtle Beach to the Peach Tree Classic to the national tournament in Orlando."
Watkins has been staying with Baker and training in Pittsburgh with, among others, former Mountaineer quarterback Rasheed Marshall.
"Bob [Huggins] told me one time [Watkins] has a chance," Baker said. "If he says it, you know it's true."
And finally . . .Back to Justice. As I mentioned in passing, the guy has this little deal called the Greenbrier Classic coming up. A few acts with famous names like the Black Eyed Peas, Phil Mickelson and Tom Watson are involved.
So I figured I probably should ask him about that.
"We're in the home stretch now," Justice said. "Getting all the tents and structures up. Checking boxes."
Ticket sales?
"Ticket sales have been fabulous," he said. "We're probably in excess of 40,000. They're moving fast. We expect a sellout. If your readers want tickets, I'd suggest they get them now."
Suggestion conveyed.
Reach Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827, mitchvin...@wvgazette.com or follow him at twitter.com/MitchVingle.
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