900, THEN KNIGHT: Bob Huggins closing in on two major coaching milestones

MORGANTOWN — It is on the cusp of history where the top college basketball coaches have their career accomplishments and personalities dissected and immortalized.

That is where West Virginia men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins stands today, a man who will become just the sixth Division I men’s hoops coach to reach 900 victories for his career with one more win.

Just inches beyond that is another immortal coaching figure. Bob Knight’s 902 career wins is also within reach for Huggins, who will lead the sixth-ranked Mountaineers against No. 17 Oklahoma State at 2 p.m. Saturday in the regular-season finale at the Coliseum.

“Coach, he’s going to get 900 wins, that’s just something you can’t brush off,” WVU forward Derek Culver said. “Nine hundred of anything is a lot, especially when you’re talking about basketball games.

“I feel like it will be pretty special that I get to be there with coach when he gets 900 wins. Our journey began together before I even got to West Virginia, so it will be a pretty good experience.”

Huggins is the first guy to say that milestones are rarely on his mind. His focus is on the task of getting his players to reach their full potential.

“Honestly, I don’t think about it or pay any attention,” Huggins said. “I have the utmost respect for coach Knight. Coach Knight grew up (Massillon, Ohio) right up the road from where I was in Ohio. Coach Knight was a legend. I admire those guys and appreciate what those guys did for guys like me, who came after them. I would hope that people not look at guys like me in the same light, because those guys, to me, are icons. They’re the Jerry Wests of coaches is what they are. I’m not all caught up in that other stuff, never have been.”

That will be true at 900, just as it was for his previous milestone wins.

“I remember when he won his 600th game, we were in Buffalo playing Canisius,” former WVU forward John Flowers said. “He never mentioned it. We didn’t even know about it until after the game. We all told him congratulations, but he never made a big deal out of it.”

The other side of Huggs

Bob Huggins will spend a portion of his time against Oklahoma State on Saturday either yelling at the referees or his own players, most likely both.

He’ll kill you with his wit every time before he would ever get really angry with you.

Former WVU forward John Flowers on Bob Huggins

“There is very much an intense side to him, one who has a deep passion for wanting to win,” WVU assistant coach Ron Everhart said. “Unfortunately, that’s the only side to him the majority of people get to see. They see him fired up on TV, but then they don’t get to see who he really is.

“They don’t get to see the guy who loves his players and the people of West Virginia unconditionally. They don’t see the guy who would gladly give you the shirt off his back to help someone.”

Huggins’ intensity on the sidelines rivals that of Knight during his prime coaching years at Indiana, so maybe it’s fitting the two will be soon be joined together at the hip on the wins list.

“How could anyone be compared to Coach Knight?” Huggins said.

Yet, there is a part of Huggins’ persona that is night-and-day from that of Knight.

Approaching 40 years as a head coach, Huggins has never had a YouTube moment, if you will, one where he is tossing a chair onto the court or blowing up on reporters who had written something he disagreed with.

Knight had so many of those moments that they were once ranked on ESPN’s SportsCenter.

“That’s the part of (Huggins) very few people understand,” Everhart said. “What I will say is he’s one of the smartest guys I know and he knows when to turn it on and when to turn it off. He’s such a great communicator and he knows it’s not the best way to communicate to have those types of moments.

“It’s like when you read about the people who are at the top of any profession, they’re always under control. That’s who Bob is. He understands what being a great communicator means and he’s one of the most professional guys you’ll ever meet.”

Even as a former player who has been on the other end of Huggins’ wrath during a game, Flowers isn’t surprised Huggins hasn’t had any sort of post-game blowup.

“After you get to know him, you realize that he’s really a laid-back kind of guy,” Flowers said. “I mean, if you push his buttons, he can get on you pretty good. But, the only time you see him lose control is on the court. He’s not going to go into a press conference and start throwing papers and microphones. He’s just not that guy.”

So, is Huggins’ on-court intensity simply a show to motivate players, or are his humble tones off the court truly who Huggins is?

Quite possibly it’s both and maybe that goes to the theory that Huggins is the smartest man in the room, but is also clever enough to let you feel otherwise.

“The thing about coach is you always hear about all of the bad stuff,” Flowers said. “You hear about him being stubborn and demanding and hard to play for.

“What he doesn’t get enough credit for is just how smart he really is. He’ll kill you with his wit every time before he would ever get really angry with you.”

The path to 900

Everhart said being a part of Huggins’ 900th win will be a special moment for him, too.

It should. As a former head coach at McNeese State and Duquesne, Everhart contributed seven wins to Huggins’ career total.

“He killed us every time,” Everhart said. “It’s definitely more fun coaching with him now than it was coaching against him.”

The two go back to Huggins’ playing days at WVU, when Everhart was in middle school in Fairmont. Everhart would catch a ride with friends to Morgantown and go watch WVU practice, often times hanging out with Huggins afterwards.

“One time my friends left me and I was stuck in a snowstorm, so I spent the night with Huggs,” Everhart said. “Back then, he was our guy. He was this hard-charging point guard. Everyone loved him.

“He’s absolutely that same guy today. He’s very humble, but also still very motivated, even though he’s had so much success.”

Huggins’ journey to 900 has spanned stops at four schools and covered generations of players from the disco days to the iPhone.

“The one thing that really surprised me is once you play for Huggs, you’re in a pretty special club,” Flowers said. “I’ve gotten to know some of his players from his Cincinnati days and they’re always telling me to look them up when I’m in town. We’ve shared a bunch of stories and things like that.

“I mean, I didn’t play at their school, but they treat me as one of their own, all because we all played for Huggs.”

The path to 900 has been lined with consistency, but also by Huggins’ ability to be willing to adapt.

Maybe this season that’s shown more than ever.

The Mountaineers began the 2020-21 season as a team built on size and brawn, but has since become known more for offensive outbursts and precise 3-point shooting.

“When it comes to Huggs’ coaching style, he’s always going to have a zero tolerance for a lack of effort and making dumb mistakes,” Flowers said. “That’s why some players can’t play for him, because they would rather be allowed to make mistakes.

“It’s hard, but what you eventually realize is that his way of coaching helps you in the long run. It helps you become a pro. You can take the lessons he teaches you on the court and apply it to life, that’s probably the best thing you can say about coach.”

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