I remember an old NBA fight a few years back when Jerry Stackhouse grabbed Jeff Hornacek by the throat and hit him in the face with numerous unanswered punches. Maybe it’s just me, but WVU is the Stackhouse to Duke’s Hornacek. The Mountaineers used the closed fist quite a few times after Saturday’s win. Not sure what was so bad about that or about Alexander answering a question. Seriously, check this out, digest it and tell me what was so wrong.

Q. Playing in the Big East you guys have obviously played a lot of quality opponents. Where does this Duke team rank in the quality of opponents you played this year?
JOE ALEXANDER: Duke’s a great team, but I think they fit in well in the Big East, but they definitely wouldn’t dominate the Big East. We had a lot of great teams, I think the top six or seven teams are definitely right on par with Duke in the Big East. And the rest of them are right up there, too. 

This drew the ire of a lot of people with a platform — it was all on the Worldwide Leader’s radio, too — though as best as I can tell none of the commentators, if any, were actually in the locker room. You know, being there matters and it was pretty easy to tell WVU had grown tired of the insistence Duke being Duke was better than WVU. I, for one, thought it was a very subtle and understated “I told you so” and, if nothing else, the comments were refreshingly honest in a world where we demand honesty from athletes and criticize lies and deception. We can’t be two-faced.

Well, the Mountaineers were at the Coliseum for a sending-off kind of thing Tuesday and they were asked about their comments. Joe Alexander handled it pretty well … and was forced to address it a short while later on Jim Rome’s radio show.

“I wasn’t dissing Duke. I was asked where Duke would fit in the Big East and all I did was state the facts. Look at the results. They lost to Pitt, who finished seventh in our league, and they lost to us and we finished fifth. They’re not finishing above fifth in the Big East.”

Still not seeing the problem there. It’s bold, sure, that’s the way this team has evolved. You need a little of that to get here and to keep moving or else you’re at a disadvantage before you even get on the court. I could understand the complaints if the players had suddenly grown an ego and were giddily showing it off at the most opportune moment, but that’s not the case. They’ve felt pretty good about themselves for a while now. The Mountaineers need only be careful about developing a reputation and, like Stackhouse, being penalized for their behavior.