MORGANTOWN — While it may have played out like a courtroom drama at times, the WVU men’s basketball program should never have been viewed as a federal case.
It was never a question of right or wrong or good against evil.
Josh Eilert was thrown into a no-win situation last June, taking over as the interim coach for a team that would literally go through four months of obstacles we may never see again in our lifetimes.
He handled each obstacle with class. He claimed over and over that the Mountaineers would not play the role of a victim.
Eilert was not only personable with the media, but also understanding and professional.
“We should all be so lucky to be put into a position to do hard things, to be pushed to the brink and expose what we’re made of or where we have room for expansion,” Eilert tweeted on Wednesday, after WVU announced it would begin a search to find a full-time head coach. “There are so many opportunities for growth in adversity, and I hope these men take something from this season that helps them to grow to be well-rounded people and athletes in whatever their next step is in life and beyond. I know I will.”
It is a simple thing to call someone a good man, yet it may also be the biggest compliment you could pay to anyone.
Josh Eilert, in every way possible, is a good man.
That does not make Bob Huggins the villain.
It’s easy to cast Huggins in that light. The blame is thrown at him for the unraveling of the program, which may take a couple of seasons to get going back into the right direction.
You’ve likely heard or read about Ken Kendrick’s views of Huggins, when Kendrick — the owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks and co-founder of the Country Roads Trust, which helps raise NIL funds for WVU athletes — went on MetroNews with host Hoppy Kercheval.
“It’s the second time he lost his job because of drunkenness,” Kendrick said. “It may not be remembered by many, but it is by me. He was let go by Cincinnati for exactly the same reason. So I think he has no place in the lives of young men who deserve quality leadership. So I would be one who would wonder about the mental capacity of any leader of any university who would consider hiring him for a coaching position.
“Instead of being in the hall of fame, he should be in the hall of shame, to be blunt. Alcoholism is a disease, and he’s had that disease for a long time. But his future with WVU sports is totally at an end. And anyone who would think he should be considered, I’d really question whether they ought to seek some counseling.”
Huggins responded late Wednesday night with a post on Instagram. It did not include a fiery tone we’ve seen so many times from Huggins on the sidelines.
Instead, it was humble and human.
“The only thing I’ll say is I know my situation invites criticism, but I hope the strong opinions and judgements about me don’t make anybody else out there feel ashamed in their own struggles,” Huggins began.
He closed with this: “I continue to learn from my mistakes. We all have our critics. Like me, you may be your own worst critic. But as we all know in West Virginia, pressure makes diamonds.”
Huggins remains a popular figure in this state, but WVU officials have made it clear they are moving on and will try to breathe fresh air into the program with the hiring of the next coach.
It won’t be Huggins, nor should it be.
Isn’t it about time the rest of us move on, too?
Huggins is no villain, just a man who made some costly mistakes. He paid dearly for them, both financially and otherwise.
The WVU men’s hoops program will recover. One man can’t make it crumble and wither away, no more than one person can lift it to the promised land.
A healing process will be needed, but that process won’t begin until we all stop jabbing a finger into the wound.
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