Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which is feeling nostalgic today. Remember a while back when we discussed the University of Michigan alumni meeting in one of WVU’s alumni strongholds? Well, it happened Tuesday and it was a beautiful thing. Take it away, Rich Rodriguez.

He needed all of 20 seconds to go Disney on those people, who, of course, loved it. I miss it, I do. And I will say this — that guy’s still great at that stuff, though the rhyming at the end is a little … well, it’s silly, kind of like saying, “The folks is West Virginia are still pissed at me. I’ve said many times I’d have been better off killing a family of five with an ax.”

The Lion King and mass murder. Things sure will be fine in ’09.

Onto the Feedback. Comments appear as posted. In other words, accept your fate.

rekterx said:

And this man had the audacity to call Stew a “painter”! Somebody needs to contact the AZ press and direct them to all of those derogatory comments that Kendrick about Bill Stewart.

I’m assuming someone somewhere has shone the light on Ken Kendrick. Right? Anyone?

Birch said:

They hired the poolboy.  

Nice! 

Sam said:

I’ll never understand why Zimpher was the bad guy – driving drunk and running a program that was woeful academically are great reasons to be shown the door, and Huggins is frankly lucky that he hadn’t been booted earlier. His behavior here has been, thus far, exemplary, and should it remain so we should never end up seeing the same kind of disastrous working relationship. But if WVU allowed Huggins to stay if he was wracking up DUIs and never graduating his players, it would be a black mark against the institution, and a sign of horrendously misplaced priorities.

All good points. I’ll be honest, I never remember one good argument for why Zimpher was so bad at her job. Unpopular? There were many. But it was never clear to me why she was so bad. And if it wasn’t obvious, I never cared to learn. That’s not very responsible, I know, but that’s how I roll.

Dave said:

Sam – I agree with you on the DUIs. I disagree on the graduation rate. There were years that he didn’t have anyone to graduate, others when guys were turning pro and some when transfers did not count even when they got their degree. Guys like Corey Blount graduated 10 years after they left UC because they were given the chance to come back later, but he counted against the graduation rate. Guys like Joe Alexander and probably Ebanks will count against him here.

Yes, there were incidents that some of his players were involved with that were not good, but the graduation rate was skewed.

Not only were there other big name programs with even worse rates at times were not given the same publicity, but you probably were also not aware that Huggins brought his team up to hold the top GPA in their conference toward the end of his tenure.  

Also good points. The graduation rates and even the problem-fixing APR are subjective and really open to interpretation and explanation. By the way, Dave continues to elaborate here. It answers some questions.

Mack said:

I think, from Huggins’ perspective, Zimpher’s actions weren’t correct and here’s why… I guarantee you over the course of Huggins’ tenure at UC, he not only retained employment but his paycheck was probably exponentially increased. That, to me, is a sign that the employer is happy with the job that you are doing. If circumstances change, i.e. a renewed emphasis on academics, then that should be relayed to the coach before firing him. At the end of the day, Zimpher is rich. Huggins is rich. So who cares?

Huggins deserves the criticism for poor graduation rates as much as anyone on that list does… but the reason Huggins gets the brunt of it is because he just doesn’t care. He isn’t going to spend half of his day trying to salvage his reputation. I’m fine with that. With virtually zero exceptions, all of the coaches in Division 1 football and basketball cheat.   

And therein lay the conflict. When Zimpher entered the picture, it sure seemed that in a matter of speaking she couldn’t justify Huggins’ salary and increases when put up against her goals and ideals. The arrest was the final blow in the battle.

rekterx said:

It was a mess. Huggins ran a program that appeared to be out of control and then his own actions made it appear that he was a man out of control.

There ain’t no mystery here, folks. Huggs would have been let go by most schools, including WVU.

Zimpher doesn’t need to apologize for anything. Her basic explanation of the situation is that Huggs simply refused to engage in meaningful discussions and went directly to the court of public opinion. This backfired on him.

Let’s hope that when he says he has become a little smarter that it is indeed true.

My favorite UC story during the Huggs reign was the one about the UC player who punched out a police horse. Has anyone ever topped that?    

That there is a pretty concise explanation of said battle. And, no, nothing will ever top Art Long punching a police horse. Nothing. Ever.  

mountiefan3 said:

Say what you want to about Huggins and some of the negative things that have surrounded him. The letter he wrote says alot about the type of person he is and how much he cares for his players. This is why is players respect him and willing to help him when needed. As a parent of any recruit isn’t this the type of relationship you would want your son to have with his coach. This also makes me think Huggs won’t give up on Mazzula.  

Can’t argue that, which makes this seem like a good place to mention Huggins and now-former player Bird Sowards are planning a fishing trip.  

oklahoma mountaineer said:

Glad to hear he was part of the positive to come out of a scary and potentially fatal incident.

Wonder if he is second guessing the decision to come out as he went undrafted……along with a lot of other guys.  

Obviously, Greg Isdaner told me he has no regret. He was hoping to be drafted, but was also kind of hoping he’d head to Dallas … or, of course, the Eagles. Again, the funny thing about going undrafted instead of going in the sixth or seventh round is you get to pick among a handful of offers. There’s a positive there, though the money isn’t the same. And Isdaner certainly understands the odds he faces: “If you look at the cut rates for seventh-round picks and undrafted free agents, undrafted free agents are still a much longer shot to make the team. If you just look at the overall numbers — and bear in mind, a lot of people are just signed to be there for training camp, so it’s hard to get an accurate depiction of how teams view you — but I think 14 percent of the undrafted free agents made teams where almost 60 percent of the seventh-round draft picks made teams.”

Arlen said:

Mike – Enjoy reading your blog daily. I recently read that the ACC is having their annual meetings in Florida. They are talking about renegotiating their tv contracts with ABC & ESPN in spring of 2010.

I am curious to get your thoughts on what if anything the recent results of ACC performance on the field will have on the tv deals. Also, would be interested to hear your thoughts on any conference (SEC or ACC) ever going to 14 teams. Not sure its likely, but it always makes good message board fodder.

Thanks,

Arlen aka Mtneer001

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/accnow/qa-with-john-swofford-0

Whoa, surely you didn’t insinuate this was a message board! I do like fodder, though, and this is something to really keep an eye. It’s conference meeting/bowl negotiation time and it’s always eventful.  The Big East is one to watch, but so, too, is the ACC. Simply said, it hasn’t been very good, intriguing or attractive in football the past few years. The strong schools are down and the weak schools are up. Someone always disappoints on a grand scale. I’m not sure how this or the empty stadiums and ho-hum middle-of-November games excites TV. Money isn’t there like it was four years ago and you’d have to just assume sponsors won’t be as willing. Something has to change, I’d think. And yet the ACC has ACC basketball, which is a pretty significant chip to toss on the table. I’m guessing the ACC, like the Big East, ties football to basketball for television. Why not? 

BamaCLT said:

You can have him. He’s transferring due to the fact that Cade Foster, an incoming Freshman for the class of 2010, is a better, more accurate, and consistent kicker. Nick Saban wins championships. Alabama is not for the weak minded and faint of heart.

ROLL TIDE  

Well, thanks for the heads up on Corey Smith. 

Mack said:

Trust me, BamaCLT, based on this guy’s stats in that game, we all have a pretty good idea why he’s decided to transfer here.

If I’m not mistaken, Saban wins championship… singular. And by singular, I mean he wins the BCS national championship, but not the AP national championship.  

Double zing! 

CRich said:

My prediction is that this becomes J.R. House Part II. The announcement that he’ll come back to play football gets some publicity, then after that not much else happens.

The kid was a phenomenal high school quarterback, and every coach in America wanted him…four years ago. It’s just too hard to sit out that long and expect to come back and adapt to the speed of the game, the playbook, etc. quick enough to make an impact in less than a year.

Cuse named a RFr. (Ryan Nassib) as the starting QB during spring drills. I’ve got to think he still holds that spot when fall camp opens.

So then once the season starts, let’s say SU starts off crappy. Maybe, if Paulus is showing a decent grasp on things by week 4, 5, etc., you give him a shot to see if he can turn things around. But once your out of bowl contention (probably a when, not if, scenario at Syracuse next year), don’t you go back to the youngster and let him get as much experience as possible? And on the contrary, if for some reason they start off relatively well with Nassib at QB, nobody this side of Greg Robinson would pull the winner.

He’ll be playing basketball in Europe this time next year.  

Hold the phone! The big benefit is how Greg Paulus has us talking about Syracuse football, an activity that’s usually over by the first weekend of September. There’s a buzz about the Orange, which is rare, and if nothing else recruits can’t help but notice, though their levels of attention and need to give a darn certainly vary. I think you nailed it, though. He’s not a savior or a guy who’s going to go 13-0. He might not even unseat Nassib, though the Orange open at home against Minnesota and at Penn State. That’s not easy for anyone.  

Karl said:

I don’t like this move. Marrone has exactly one year where he’ll have zero in the way of expectations. If he wins one game, it’s understandable, and full blame can be layed at the feet of his predecessor for leaving “the cupboard bare.”

He would be a lot better off starting that freshman now. If the kid falters, at least he’ll have gained starting experience and put the team in a better position to win in the next few years. If you start Paulus for one year, you take away all that development, and Syracuse is still going to suck.

Besides, I have questions about Duke boy’s toughness. Joe Mazzulla elbows him once in the face, and the kid didn’t have the guts to guard him tight the rest of the game.  

I wouldn’t overlook the possibility Syracuse could win six games this year or that Paulus … sorry, I can’t continue that sentence. I’m with you on the toughness thing. I just wonder, that’s all. I watched the Villanova-Duke game. As Paulus, who just gave his starting job away the past two seasons, entered the game, Jay Wright and His Cufflinks called a timeout and ordered the Wildcats to jump Paulus. He promptly turned it over a few times and was out before you could say Giorgio Armani. Surely Jeff Casteel will note this.

Homer said:

Mom must have told him how to run 20 miles worth of 5:00 miles at altitude per day.

Enjoy the weekend!