Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which anticipates not one but two reunions Saturday. No. 11 WVU plays host to No. 21 Ohio State at 2 p.m. and the Buckeyes bring one of the country’s best players, Evan Turner, who happens to be tight with Da’Sean Butler.

“I think he’s a winner. Being around him this summer and seeing he does what it takes to win and how it’s fun playing with him and how much people like him, I definitely couldn’t wait for this. And I’ve heard his birthday is coming up (Jan. 25). I’ll have a present for him.”

That’s a well-intended jab. They were teammates and roommates for Team USA in the World University Games and both wanted Turner to be healthy after Turner broke two bones in his back Dec. 5. And Turner will be there Saturday, probably aiming at his third triple-double of the season.

And then there’s Hot Rod Hundley, whose number is to be retired at the game. Hundley wore 33 … which is what Casey Mitchell wears right now and will wear next year as well. He’ll be the 16th and final WVU player to wear it.

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, eh, nevermind.

goherd4 said:

If WVU had a clue they would recruit from American Samoa. From an island of just 65,000 people, there are more than 30 players of Samoan descent in the NFL and more than 200 playing Division I college ball.

Seriously, Casazza, I’ve never understood this nonsense you and your readers tout when it comes to WVU loyalty. You guys hate Rich’s guts and call him a traitor. Aren’t we all looking out for number 1? I reckon the Daily Mail will be your only employer and you will never leave it for a better opportunity, right?

Straightouttanorthcentral – “no longer fit to call himself a Mountaineer????” Really? Doing WV dirty???

Casazza you and your followers are naive.

Um, we’re naive?

Eric said:

Hello, Herd fans! You can enjoy all the Marshall coverage McGill can bring here:

http://blogs.charlestondailymail.com/marshall/

Please don’t bring your nonsense over here. This isn’t a message board.

Hello to you, too.

Foul Shot said:

Recruiting is dirty business.
Kiffin is trying to get his recruits out to USC if you believe what you hear on sports radio.
Why is Kiffin getting called out but it is OK for Doc?
Just dirty business in my opinion.

What’s happening — coaches moving and trying to move recruits — bothers a lot of people. I see why. There’s a perceived loyalty in play and I suppose people believe it should pull stronger on the side that gave you the job that got you the new job. Personally, I think it belongs to whoever signs the paycheck. You’ve got a job to do and as long as rules aren’t broken — and that’s the rub on Kiffin and his staff — there really is no issue with flipping kids. Whether we like it or not, the majority of these recruits want to play for a coach and not at a school.

oklahoma mountaineer said:

There’s a huge difference between what Doc and Kiffin are doing…..Kiffin’s crew is calling kids who are on campus preparing to go to school for the first day of classes and trying to flip them. The JC defensive lineman we signed is a perfect example — Stew’s crew flipped him and he signed.

Calling kids and talking to them about the virtues of your school is open season until the kid signs or moves onto the campus. I may be splitting hairs, but it’s understandable why you continue to work kids who are committed……..

It really brings another point that needs to be instituted in football — an early signing period as there is in basketball. They could implement with a stipulation that you can be released if you have not attended school and there is a coaching change. That way, the kid knows where he is going, and the coaching staff has a baseline to build on for the spring recruiting period. But like a playoff, it probably will never happen.

All good points and I think we’re getting closer to an early signing date. It just makes so much sense now given the way the coaching carousel spins every winter now. If the kids were already signed, they’d be untouchable and you wouldn’t have some of the ugliness you see now. The argument against that, though, is if a kid signs in November and the coach leaves in December, then shouldn’t the kid have an option to leave, too? I say, “Sure…don’t sign early. If you want to, though, then that’s your decision.”

5th Year Senior said:

Mike, when Doc came here I thought he made the decision to not recruit kids he had targeted while at Florida?

If I am right, WVU should never have any contact with Holliday again. Unless that contact is one of our players running out bounds and plowing over him on Marshall’s sideline.

That’s true. Look, I get the disgust, but I think it’s (slightly) different when a head coach hires an assistant and that assistant brings his kids to the new job. It’s not a package deal. However, if a head coach is moving, he’s being hired, in part, because of an ability to recruit. And he’s got to look out for his best interests. It’s an ugly, slippery situation, but I don’t have a big problem with it. Sooner or later, WVU has to stop the bleeding.

glibglub said:

“Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made. ” That quote (or something along those lines) is attributed to Otto von Bismarck. For me, the same can be said of recruiting classes. I don’t begrudge a kid his choice of schools, or any fan his or her interest in recruiting. I just have too few brain cells to burn any of them thinking about kids who may never scamper onto Mountaineer Field wearing the Old Gold and Blue. (Or maybe it’s because I subconsciously wish to spare myself any further disillusionment about college football. lol)

For you, sir, I’ll move on.

Mack said:

Why do I get the feeling that an early loss at LSU is going to crush this team’s spirits?

…because it could happen?

oklahoma mountaineer said:

We should be pretty good next year; biggest problem will be a first year starting QB…and maybe an OC, but that is open to debate. That can be managed — exhibit A, the Sugar Bowl trophy for Pat White.

Our defense, if we get Irvin or Bigfoot on the field, should be very solid next year; possibly as good as the Fiesta Bowl season with the experience we have.

BCS bowl is not a stretch — BCS title game may be, but a win over LSU would really be a big step in that direction.

You know, the more I read Stewart’s explanation and the more I think of who he is, I think he was channeling his inner Herm Edwards — you play to win the game(s). National title or bust. Is that not why they’re here? If not, then why bother? And then I think about how good the defense could be and how, if they get some consistent quarterback play, how the offense could be good enough to win for the defense. Add coaching changes at USF and Cincinnati — and Louisville! — and maybe WVU has a real shot at the BCS. 

Jeff said:

One of the truest football quotes ever uttered was, “it ain’t about the X’s and O’s its about the Jimmies and Joes.” In other words, we weren’t out-schemed in our losses. We were outplayed. Ints, fumbles, poor blocking, poor coverage, etc. were all evident at different times in our losses.

Yes, Coach Stew and staff need to continually look at themselves and seek to improve. But its the players that will be the difference between good and great. I’m optimistic because I like our Jimmies and Joes next year. I’m guessing that’s why Noel and Jock are back too.

Just a theory I have: No one knows the team better than the team. Every year you can look around and see a player leaving a good team or a player returning to a good team — in some cases, multiple players staying or going — and you wonder why. Well, they know what’s coming back and they want to be with it or away from it.

jtmountaineer said:

Why is it, anyway, that Florida is regarded as the state with the best native athletes? Does the heat make kids stronger and taller? Do kids learn their sports at a faster rate because the weather permits them being outdoors all year long?

The population helps and when the weather is ideal and that many kids can play football year round for a number of years, they develop faster and are more advanced when they hit the recruiting circuit. That said, the same happens in California and Texas. And the weather isn’t ideal in Ohio and Pennsylvania and don’t tell anyone those states don’t produce talent. Kids are everywhere today, but WVU has had a footing in Florida for years. The exit of Doc makes Beatty’s ties in Tidewater (So. Fla. Lite) critical.

wvconman said:

It’s because they chase rabbits all day long!

That’s not a joke.

Gordo said:

And yet it’s still a pretty good recruiting class with a few WRs still on the board and a few more weeks to make it better. I don’t think this is a big deal. We lost Boyd last year but went out and got Geno. I have a feeling that we’ll be fine.

I just wonder — and I’m not saying this is true at all — if WVU is spending more time than it wants/needs retaining rather than recruiting. But you’re right. If they add an Ivan McCartney and some other depth/impact pieces, this could all be wasted breath.

roopoo said:

Facebook is an issue, especially when many of these kids have public profiles. After seeing and hearing how some recruits have been treated on facebook, I really wish parents would urge their kids to not add anyone that they don’t know and to keep their pages private. A stressful ordeal for many of these kids is becoming even more so because people are constantly saying…Come to X school, and bickering back and forth between fans of other schools.

And I highly doubt the comments about the strip club were a joke, it’s too random to be a joke and there have been stories like that for many years involving recruiting trips, particularly in SEC country (maybe our poster overthesec could shed more light).

The best part? I’m sure the NCAA looks at all this and flat out hates it and is huddling to figure out a way to tell kids not to be on a social network.

JP said:

Good luck getting independent corroboration on this story. What happens at the Pony stays at the Pony.

Which brings up a valid question: Are they welcome to Starkvegas now?

The 25314 said:

WVU still needs a recruiting coordinator….how about Lyon Brown?

Or Pac-Man.

Ben said:

C’mon Stew, Make it Rain!

See!

OB1 said:

I don’t doubt that it happened one bit. What the hell else are you going to do in Starkville?

Here’s what I did in Starkville: Went to Columbus.

Mack said:

I never understand the concept that the recruits want to hang out in strip clubs yet they are considering going to Mississippi State, given that you’re not even allowed to sell cold beer in Starkville.

But there is a surplus of cowbells.

hailstate said:

You can buy cold beer in Starkville. The law change 3 or 4 years ago.

Viva!

Erinn said:

Has anyone else ever heard fo the Ruby Foundation? I don’t think I have before. How long has it been around?

They prefer to stay behind the scenes. No one’s been as generous through the years, though.

SheikYbuti said:

Truck Bryant can shoot and he can also defend, but he has trouble remembering to do both at the same time.

Eh, there’s some truth to that, which is probably why I find this Truck/Mazzulla combo to be so compelling. Truck, to his credit, is playing fairly well on both sides and has maybe his best combination of confidence and control.

EersNC said:

Huggins has had a couple of years to recruit guards that can play the way he wants. The blame for not having them now falls squarely at his feet…which isn’t to say I don’t think he’s done a good job developing the team. The list of things WVU needed to become a great team has shrunk dramatically since Huggins took over.

Our problems on offense are a direct result of being unable to get out in transition and get easy buckets just as much as they arise from the inability to dribble-penetrate. I think a nice healthy dose of 1-3-1 is in order for this team. Bring that out, see if we can create some misses and quick transition points. The 1-3-1 also somewhat mitigates the problem of our better shooters being poorer defenders. “D” up in the 1-3-1 and don’t put Pepper or West on an island where their relative weaknesses can be exposed (ahem, Syracuse)…their shooting is simply too valuable–especially to a team that can’t dribble-penetrate–to leave them sitting on the bench.

Hey! Right on cue, WVU dusted off the 1-3-1 against Marshall and did some pretty good things together as a result. I don’t think anyone anticipated — or could have anticipated — this team would be as ineffective defensively. That’s caused some lineup and philosophy changes that need time to settle.

Sam said:

Terrible performance again. I’ll take the win, of course, but seriously? Marshall? Is there any reason to have any confidence in this team?

1. Why are people on here defending Casey Mitchell? It takes time to learn how to make jumpshots? Does it take time to learn how to hit the rim? Maybe the rim is different at the JUCO level and I’m just unaware of it.

2. Ebanks doesn’t do anything. He plays one minute for every ten that he’s on the floor. I don’t get it.

3. Jones and Butler are fantastic players.

4. I think it’s great that we can get fantastic players, but at some point, they need to be coached up. We should have beat Marshall by 30 – instead we’re nervous to the very end.

5. Will the team show up for Ohio State?

Another list! I’m on it:

1. It’s hard to defend Mitchell. His knee issues are apparently recovered, but I’ll allow it might still have an effect. He warms up and sits down when the game starts and he reluctantly admitted it gets stiff again and takes some time to loosen up when he’s in the game. I also think when he gets in the game, he starts a clock in his head and realizes he’s only in there so long and has to do something to stay on the floor … or in the plans. And this isn’t an excuse, but it’s really hard for juco guards to transition. Granted, Mitchell was supposed to be elite and come around faster, but Huggins warned of this in the preseason. The game is so much faster and the defense is so much better on the perimeter at this level.

2. I’m stumped. I admit it. He so talented and I know he wants to make it click, but he’s in a rough stretch now. A guy like that can’t stay down very long. Right?

3. Both fantastic, both having their issues. I thought Butler was really good Wednesday despite the foul trouble. As for Jones, well, very quietly, he’s struggling with his shot — 12-for-31, 33 points the past three games, including his first single-digit game of the season. Yet just when I thought he was affected and saw him hesitate on a 3 he’d normally take/make late against Marshall, they draw up a play for him and he makes the biggest shot of the game.

4. Hmm, Marshall’s pretty good, but I don’t think that game was going to be very close without Lutz making those 3s after WVU went up 44-34.

5. They better.

Mack said:

It seems to me that Pepper can shoot and defend. I’m sure that over time his weaknesses will become more pronounced but, for now, I think it makes a lot of sense to have him in there.

Fourth-best scorer? Maybe. Defensively, he’s a freshman and Andy Rautins had some luck shaking him in the second half. That said, the way Pepper’s progressing is promising the rest of the way.

The Artist Formerly Known as EER96:

Anyone else planning on seeing Ebanks next year at WVU? Doesn’t look like NBA material so far…

You know what’s odd? The season doesn’t matter all that much. Ebanks has had a reputation for a while and NBA people have known him for a while. I talk to scouts all the time — they’re at the games, by the way — who want to see him. And he is who he is: He’s not a prolific scorer, but he’s a long, athletic double-double guy who’s going to grow physically. He’ll light up workouts and his rep will swell … if he chooses to do that. I wouldn’t underestimate his pride and his desire to make the most of playing for Huggins.

roopoo said:

Has Ebanks looked like WVU material? That’s the important question.

Well, that’s a factor, too.

Dave said:

Let’s hope that this weekend the guys read and follow the scouting reports, and play 40 minutes. If I read another “we just didn’t follow the scouting reports” excuse one more time and we give another game away, I’m going to be sick.

It’s becoming the 2010 version of 2007 football’s, “We just need to make plays.”

Karl said:

I found it very amusing the other night that they played the Britney Spears song “3″ during at break at the Notre Dame game. Has anyone ever read the lyrics to that (you can’t understand them by listening)? It’s clearly about having an orgy. Great choice by an esteemed Catholic school!

Doug Gottleib thinks this is a fraud!

overtheSEC said:

Just curious, what’s the current song of choice for when someone from the opposing team fouls out? Back in the Catlett days it was Roy Rogers’ “Happy Trails to You” (which both got the crowd’s participation and humiliated the opponent) then they really used Ray Charles “Hit the Road, Jack” and “Na Na Hey Hey..Goodbye”

Still “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.”

ffejboc said:

Well done, Mike. I’m ready to hand the Colesium music guy’s job over to you now. I think Mike Fragale has the keys to the catwalk.

Well, let’s just say the devil is not buying mittens.

Hunterdon said:

There should just be a rule that if a song was popular before the players/students were born, then they shouldn’t play it. Of course the one exception would have to be YMCA, but only as long as RBJ is around.

Done!

The Artist Formerly Known as EER96:

Mike:

There is little doubt after reading this entry that you have the BEST job in the world. How you have been able to take something that we would have sat around and discussed in our apartment after a good night of drinking at WVU and parlay it into a career is absolutely amazing! I am jealous in a BIG way! As you would say, “Well played, sir!”

Thanks, I’m glad someone apprec–

Erinn said:

Hey, Artist Formerly Known … I think you just described Mike’s office.

Enjoy the weekend!