Ray Mernagh, Seton Hall News, West Virginia News

HUGGS SMARTER THAN AVERAGE BEAR

by RAY MERNAGH

So many coaches wouldn’t even consider it.

Many would definitely abandon it after getting away with it despite high turnovers from one of the key players in its first attempt (a win over Mississippi).

Instead, Bob Huggins almost certainly spent the days between the Ole Miss game and Saturday’s Big East opener with Seton Hall impressing upon Devin Ebanks the importance of taking care of the ball. The result of all that persuasion was a stat line from his sophomore that’s just flat-out stupid/terrifying: 22 points, 17 rebounds and 7 assists and 0 turnovers in 45 minutes of the West Virginia 90-84 overtime win at Seton Hall.

And it’s not as if Huggs didn’t give the tandem of ‘Truck’ Bryant and Joe Mazzulla a chance — they combined for 20-plus minutes — it’s just that they both kept reinforcing the correct instinct that had him start a lineup of Wellington Smith, Kevin Jones, John Flowers, Ebanks and Da’Sean Butler. That’s 6′7″, 6′8″, and 6′7″ on the front line and 6′9″ and 6′8″ in the back court.

I wrote in one of those preseason things about Butler and Ebanks being possibly the best forward combination in the country (certainly adding in the excellent Jones makes it a wrap). Turns out maybe I should have replaced forward combination with guard. Butler’s line could only be described as pedestrian when compared his running mate. Any point in the country would sign off on 21, 6 and 6 with 1 turnover right now. Add it up and the 13′7″ back court gave Huggs 43 points, 23 rebounds and 13 assists with 1 turnover. His normal point guards Bryant and Mazzulla gave him 3 assists and 5 turnovers.

Two huge keys with this whole situation are rebounding and defense. The board situation improves with the added size on the floor while the defense might as well (especially when they go zone with all that length). And that’s where Huggins veers off the modern path of 95% of his brethren. You can almost hear any other coach worry about “how’s a 6′9″ guy going to guard the ball?” when thinking about going with such a big back court. Huggins looks at Ebanks, a physical freak, or Butler, an intelligent guy and says, “sit your asses down and guard.”

That’s coaching.

Ebanks and Butler were both deliberate and careful with the ball Saturday. Both took advantage of defenders mistakes — Ebanks when the Hall’s Jeff Robinson was foolishly pressuring him 45 feet from the basket and fell down, and Butler by splitting a weak double team with the dribble and finding Jones for a wide-open back-breaking three in OT — and made them pay. The fact that WVU stayed calm and beat the Pirates down in OT speaks even more to how good they’re capable of being, because the only reason the game went to overtime to begin with was because of a phantom travel call on Wellington Smith.

Smith received the ball at half court and went to put his dribble down when his arm was clutched by the Hall defender. The ball was out of his hands before he made any move at all with his feet. I re-wound the tape seven times and couldn’t see a walk. Bad call. Either a foul or a play on that results in an Ebanks dunk and a 77-71 lead. Instead, Hazell hits a three to make it 75-74, they foul Butler — who makes both — and then Hazell hits another three — when Flowers mistakenly goes behind the screen — to tie it.

The Hall has a chance to be top-5 in the league, but right now they’re 0-2 when given the chance to get resume-building wins (lost at home to Temple just before Christmas). Those wins are much-needed because their pre-conference schedule was the worst in the league by any team with a chance to play in the postseason. They’ll get another shot at a big W when Syracuse comes into Newark next. But back to WVU…

The thing I haven’t yet mentioned is how their sizable lineup allows them to do so many things offensively. Isolation’s in both the mid and deep post for Ebanks, Butler or Jones (take your pick). High-lows with Butler up top passing down to Ebanks or Jones who has their man pinned in a post-up (they ran it to Jones perfectly out of a timeout late in the game). Kicking out of the post to Smith, Jones, Butler or Ebanks for in-rhythm three’s. Ebanks shooting the little step-back from the wing he seems to have perfected for the next level — pretty much un-guardable at this one.

My point?

I’m not sure anybody fully understands the “Mind Screw” Huggins just threw at the rest of the Big East, and country, on national TV Saturday. You know every coach out there was watching it.

And they all probably had the same response.

“Aw Sh*t Huggs, what are you doing?”

And that’s why he’s one of the best.

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