MORGANTOWN, W.Va.— On April 5, 2007, West Virginia University received a gift. It was probably the biggest to date—and it didn’t come in the form of a check.

It was delivered all the way from Kansas State. In fact, it was originally from West Virginia, and Mountaineers near and far had dreamed of getting it back where it belonged for years.

After 29 years, Bob Huggins was coming home. The West Virginia hills were alive with the sound of joy.

“I’m so proud to represent this team and this wonderful University,” Huggins said of his decision to return to Morgantown.

It was just what Mountaineer fans needed to shake off the disappointment that ensued when John Beilein headed to Wolverine Country. Beilein had found great success in Morgantown, bringing the Mountaineers back to national prominence with Elite Eight and Sweet Sixteen runs in the NCAA tournament and an NIT championship in his five seasons.

As much as West Virginia loved John Beilein, he was no Bob Huggins. Nobody was.

As one of only four active Division I coaches with 600 career victories, Bob Huggins is a collegiate basketball legacy in his own right. Known for his colorful personality and aggressive, no-excuses style of coaching, he demands hard work and dedication from his players. He’s a mastermind of game management, a recruiter you can’t turn down, and a force to be reckoned with when it comes to refs and questionable play calls.

This mix makes for a great temperament for players and fans alike. Under the Beilein era, fans became accustomed to new banners donning the Coliseum ceiling—and fortunately, they brought the right man on board to hang them.

“At the end of the day you don't win championships and you don't hang banners by losing,” said Huggins earlier this season. “That's the bottom line.”

The days of NCAA tournament runs, national polls and hanging banners quickly returned under Huggins’ direction. The seasoned coaching guru had the Mountaineers back in the polls only nine games into his first season. And that was only the beginning. The team went on to the BIG EAST tournament semi-finals, entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 7 seed, and shot their way right into the Sweet Sixteen. They finished their season with a 26-11 record, good enough to check in at No. 17 in the polls—and more importantly, set the bar high for the Huggins era of Mountaineer basketball.

The next year, they were projected to finish an abysmal ninth in the BIG EAST. Huggins would have none of it. They went on to finish 23-10 and secured a first-round bid in the NCAA tournament.
 

And unless you’ve been living in a cave, you know what the Huggins era has held for the Mountaineers this season. Top 10 rankings, record-setting attendance and big name match-ups with the nation’s elite are just a few of the highlights of the 2009-2010 Mountaineer basketball team. Tack on Da’Sean Butler’s record-breaking stats, entering the New Year undefeated and several buzzer-beater games, and you might need to catch your breath.

And the good news is, this West Virginia born-and-raised legacy isn’t going anywhere. After his remarkable debut season, he signed an 11-year contract, binding him to WVU until his 65th birthday.

If this is only the beginning of the Huggins era, I can’t wait to see what the future holds.

One thing is for sure: Mountaineer fans are extremely lucky that for Bob Huggins, there was no place like home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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