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Just got back from a trip to Huggstown. First stop, Midnight Madness. 5,500 other fans and I were there to see Coach Huggins debut at the Coliseum. After his rousing speech at the Coach’s Corner event last week,

I was pumped and the festivities didn’t disappoint. After a laser show, introduction to the players and congratulations messages from Michael Jordan, Nick Lashey (WTF??) and Dick Vitale, Coach Huggins walked out onto center court to face the fans for the first time.People lined up 20 deep on the court to get players’ autographs. Of course being the dork I am, I was only concerned with one superstar…the Mountaineer. He was there on the Coliseum floor, musket in hand, just waiting for me to ask him for an autograph. Well, not really. I gave him the card I made up with the site information on it and he signed it and handed it back to me with a smile. I did get a picture with him though. My wife humored me and took the picture, but reminded me that he was just a regular guy playing the Mountaineer. Can you tell she isn’t a die-hard fan?

Despite an official-looking reporter’s notebook (Target $2) and business cards for the site (my printer $0), we were kicked out of the official press section (being humiliated by a security guard wearing a sweater vest and fisherman’s hat…priceless). We ended up getting seats directly behind the press area that were just as good. The “Let’s Go Mountaineers” chanting started right away, but it was significantly less enthusiastic than at football games. I guess that’s what games would be like without tailgating.

A dribbling contest kicked things off, the only highlight of which was the hissing and booing from the crowd as a young kid from New Jersey won and then flipped us off. (Sometimes I don’t understand Mountaineer fans. The kid goes to WVU, it’s not like he was from Rutgers or something.) A girl from West Virginia also managed to drive the ball down the floor and make a shot within 5 seconds where she was greeted with thunderous applause. What I can I say? We protect our own. The kids won a year’s supply of Papa John’s pizza instead of the usual cash prize. Hmmmm, a year’s worth of constipation and acid reflux or cash? I guess that’s what sponsored events are all about.

The lights flickered and then went dark and the laser show began on the Coliseum floor. The old dude next to my wife (she nicknamed him ‘Uncle Jessie’ to give you an idea of what he looked like) was in awe (ah, the merits of technology) and asked “Do they do this every year?”. Is it every year that Bob Huggins comes back home old man?!

The players ran onto the blue carpet that was rolled out for them and tossed t-shirts into the crowd. Joe Alexander brought down the house when he threw the shorts and shirt he was wearing to some female fans. He was the fan favorite judging by all of the applause. Da’Sean Butler and Wellington Smith got a great reception too. And then…the video monitors flickered and we could see the silhouette of Huggs as he waited to walk onto the floor. Michael Jordan’s video greeting was short and sweet, “Congrats Bobby. I’m your friend for life”. Nick Lachey, known to be a devoted Cincinnati fan said “I just became a West Virginia fan. I’ll see you guys at a game”. In his usual maniac style, Dick Vitale listed the merits of playing for Coach Huggins because of his belief that “life is about giving kids a chance”. Clark Kellogg of CBS played who played under Huggs at one of his first coaching gigs in Ohio reminded fans, “Games are fun when you’re team is winning and this guy wins. Welcome to Huggstown!”

Huggs walked slowly and deliberately onto the carpet after his players had assembled at the end of it. He waved with both hands and smiled and looked humbled by it all. Unlike his talk at the Coach’s Corner luncheon, this one was brief and more about his new team than himself. He talked of the games and practices ahead and said “The great thing about basketball is when you’re walking sweaty and blood into the locker room thinking you can’t play another step and somehow you come back out here”. He joked that he expected to see all of us at each and every game and asked us to bring 10 of our friends along because “he hates playing to an empty house”.

I got some footage of the dunk contest, which Joe Alexander clearly dominated. The MC yelled out “Clearance has been given at the airport” before his first attempt, which he executed perfectly. 6’7 freshman John Flowers had one of his teammates on the second tier of the Coliseum feeding him the ball to set up his dunks, which didn’t pan out. Women’s players Lateefah Joye and Olayinka Sanni joined the men for a second round of dunking. I guess they had been able to dunk at some point or they wouldn’t have been included, but they didn’t hit their targets this time. My wife clapped for them as a guy behind us said disgustedly “Just get them a chair or something”. Uncle Jessie shook his head and was more sympathetic when he told us, “They just don’t have the elevation”. Hopefully, that won’t be a problem for either of the Mountaineer basketball teams this season.