It is well-known the coaches’ pre-season poll picked West Virginia to finish tenth in the Big East Conference standings.
It is also well-known what the Mountaineers often do when they are overlooked, underrated and not given deserving credit— they play with a chip on their shoulder.
Former West Virginia head coach John Beilein left the Mountaineers to fill the same position at Michigan a year ago. Beilein led the Wolverines to a 10-22 overall losing record and posted a 5-13 mark in the Big Ten Conference, landing UM in tenth place in the league’s final standings.
Beilein, along with other basketball coaches that make names for themselves by looking to the horizon, while breaking promises to head for what are perceived “greener pastures” with alternative coaching positions, are commonly referred to as “suitcase coaches.” He may have thought twice about packing his own suitcase, when college basketball’s coaching carousel didn’t take him to a place most coaches would like to be.
Instead of watching WVU execute his intricate backdoor plays while “making it rain” from three from the sidelines, Beilein watched WVU advance to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16— on television. He had time to do so because he failed to guide his Wolverines to any form of postseason play.
Current WVU head coach Bob Huggins could not have had a more night-and-day comparison to his predecessor.
Huggins led the Mountaineers to a 26-11 overall record in his first year back at his alma mater. WVU finished 11-7, good for fifth out of 16 teams in the Big East Conference. WVU made it to the semi-finals of the Big East Tournament and finished the season ranked No. 17 in the final ESPN/USA Today Poll.
WVU defeated Arizona and No. 9 Duke in the NCAA Tournament, before falling to Xavier, 79-75 in overtime.
Duke defeated Michigan by 28 points earlier in the season.
“I’m pleased overall, but you always want to do better,” was the statement Huggins told USA TODAY about reaching the Sweet 16 in his first year back at WVU.
After a successful first year with the Mountaineers, Huggins is now the fifth winningest active coach in all of college basketball, owning 616 career victories.
Huggins did a remarkable job utilizing the current players’ strengths and tendencies instilled from Beilein, while also bringing in a new focus on man-to-man defense and rebounding.
Joe Alexander made the most dramatic transformation as a basketball player when he bought into Huggins’ way of doing things. Alexander increased his season average in points (16.9), rebounds (6.4), assists (2.4), steals (0.7) and blocks (1.5) compared to a year ago. The 6-foot-8-inch forward from Mt. Airy, Md. broke on to the national scene for his outburst in March and now will test the waters for this year’s NBA Draft. Alexander scored 215 points during the stretch run of just nine games, good for an average of 23.8 points per game. Alexander wasn’t even remotely on the radar of becoming a NBA Draft prospect under the guidance of Beilein.
Alexander said this in a press release, “Right now, my plan is to test the NBA waters, but my inclination is to be back for my senior year at West Virginia University. I’m really looking forward to the experience of being able to work out for some NBA teams.”
“If he decides there is an opportunity out there for him, he will have 100 percent support of the Mountaineer basketball program,” Huggins said in a press release. “We are supportive of Joe and whatever Joe thinks he needs to do for himself and his family.”
“As of now, I cannot see myself leaving, because it would be very tough for me to miss a year playing with my teammates,” said Alexander in the press release. “I love playing for WVU and for the fans. Coach Huggins and I have talked extensively, and we are working on this together.”
If Alexander returns to WVU for his senior season, the Mountaineers are projected to be a pre-season top 10 team by members of the media. The common thinking is Alexander would be an early candidate for the Big
East Player of the Year Award and WVU will seriously contend for its first ever Big East Championship. He could try to improve his game and potentially become a lottery pick in the 2009 NBA Draft.
On the other hand, if Alexander is evaluated and projected as a first-round selection, which means a guaranteed contract, Mountaineer fans could not be upset with his decision to turn pro. This would be a valuable recruiting tool for Huggins, being able to claim he turned Alexander into a NBA player in just one season.
West Virginia has not had a player selected in the NBA Draft since 1997, when Gordon Malone was picked in the second round, 44th overall, by the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The 2007-2008 Mountaineer basketball team won games against powerful programs such as Marquette, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Connecticut, Arizona and Duke. WVU fell just short in several heart-breaking losses to other quality teams, but nonetheless established themselves as a team to be reckoned with not only in the Big East, but in the NCAA Tournament.
With a solid recruiting class on the way, front lined by Parade All-American forward Kevin Jones, the Mountaineers will enter the 2008-09 campaign with high expectation.
Beilein left the cupboard full and Huggins is hungry for championships.
