Welcome to the Friday Feedback, which will attempt to take the toboggan down the mountain and to the nation’s capital this afternoon. And does no one want to stay on this toboggan with me? The way people are bailing has me developing a complex. I’ll survive.

One wonders about your basketball team, though. Saturday offers another difficult road test against a Georgetown team that’s had a similar slip. The Hoyas were ranked No. 9 and 11-1 in non-conference play. They then had three games in a Wednesday-Saturday-Monday span and lost on the road against Notre Dame and St. John’s to begin and end that stretch.

If the Mountaineers are going to make a move, they must do it with some road wins. And that won’t be easy because, thus far, it hasn’t been easy.

The Mountaineers are 2-2 on the road with large leads and close final scores involved in each. They led at Miami by 13 points with 12 minutes to play, but lost 79-76. They trailed by 12 in the first half against Duquesne in Pittsburgh’s new Consol Center and won 64-61 after the Dukes missed two free throws that would have tied the score with nine seconds to go.

WVU trailed 9-0 early against Marquette and was down 11 in the first half. A rally produced a lead in the second half before a botched series of possessions on offense and defense in the final 90 seconds led to a 79-74 loss. DePaul trailed by 14 points in the second half Tuesday, but tied the score late and had a chance to win the game on its final possession.

After every occasion, the Mountaineers have made mention of poor play and doing things they don’t normally do, which is characteristic of the road experience.

“It’s got a lot to do with familiarity, it’s got a lot to do with confidence,” Huggins said. “I think people play with a lot more confidence at home. I think a lot of times on the road, when a couple things don’t go your way, you lose your confidence and don’t play as freely as you would at home.”

I might be alone — again! — on this, or there may be just a few people along for the ride, but I do think WVU is developing something. Yes, it was a loss, but the Marquette game was more encouraging than discouraging. The game at DePaul has been tough for the Mountaineers even when they’ve been good. What happened — big lead, big slip — wasn’t all that surprising.

If the majority of the minutes find their way to the same five or six players and the rotations settle and guys embrace the do-what-you-do mentality, it can work. They do miss the personalities of Da’Sean and Devin, though. That’s a very big reason the road has been so tough and things like that are not easily replaced.

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, carry a big stick. (Not a proud moment for the city.) 

 The Artist Formerly Known as EER96 said:

I hope I am wrong, but I don’t see this team winning 20 games. They are in real trouble of not making the tournament this year.

Well, they’ve got nine now with 17 games to go. One is against Marshall, one is against Purdue and 15 are against Big East teams. Purdue is ranked and so, too, are 10 other opponents this week. Only five of those 11 games are at home. Then again, if the Mountaineers can get to 18 or 19 wins and do something in the Big East Tournament, the RPI and SOS could be what pushes them over the top and into the field. The worst thing about the Big East is also the best — you have all the opportunities you could ever want to make your case.

hershy112 said:

So far this season, I’ve felt that 9-9 in the conference would probably get us in with our non-conference schedule and RPI.  Starting 0-2 in the conference and should having beaten at least one of the teams we have already played, 9-9 is looking pretty tough.  We are definitely going to have to win our home games against the top half of the conference.

Put it this way: 9-9 and they’re in. They really can’t afford to  lose at home in the conference any more. Maybe  once, but they’ll have to more than make up for that on the road.

ccteam said:

The effort guys are not good enough (Cam, West, Flowers, Mazz, Jones), and the guys that are good enough don’t provide enough smart effort (Bryant, Mitchell, Kilicli). If Huggs gets this team in the dance he will have pulled off a miracle.

Miracle might be a little strong, but it would be a good job. If the latter three get going, I think the team does, too. It’s not simple … but it’s that simple. Truck fascinates me. He can play so well for stretches and then has bad moments at the worst times. That just seems like an easy problem to fix, though it’s almost entirely upon him. I also wonder, if we trend in this direction, who pulls the trigger on the “This is Bob Huggins’ best coaching job yet” story. Bets?

jtmountaineer said:

They’re all good enough, the effort guys and the talent guys, just never all on the same night. Last year we could count on a bare minimum each night, either in effort or talent, from Butler, Ebanks, and Smith, and it didn’t matter where the rest came from. I’m not sure we’ll ever get to the point where we can count on what we need to count on from anyone other than KJ, but the bench is deep enough to give us what we need to win some games. Will some games be enough games?

Bingo. And this could be a case of who WVU beats meaning more than how many teams WVU beats.

roopoo said:

I am curious ccteam why you feel Kilicli is good enough? What I see is a guy with extremely slow feet, who can’t defend, and is completely inconsistent on the offensive end…I hope I am wrong about him, but I don’t see the ceiling being very high for him.

I see that, but I see a guy who the opposition really struggles to defend and I don’t see many Okafors or Hibberts waiting. I also see a guy who really cares and tries and has,  in the past two games, gotten better. You can’t give up on his talent and his “want to.” If he can figure out how to rebound, WVU will have something there. It frees up KJ and takes eyes off Mitchell.

ccteam said:

Maybe Huggs should just go with KJ, and Flowers down low, Mitchell and Bryant on the wings, and Mazz at the point. They could go up tempo and make it a transition game. Of course, Flowers, Bryant and Mazz would foul out every game!

You’re onto something there. They did it against DePaul, they’ll do it against Georgetown — and they’ll flip Deniz with KJ or Flowers. It might be their best offensive and defensive lineup right now.

hershy112 said:

Can I ask who the player was that didn’t pay attention to the scouting report?

You just did … but seriously, it’s a lot of players.

Homer said:

Flowers was working his a$$ off in the post and getting mugged on that final possession before Truck took it in the lane. Gotta give him a pass.

That was unreal. Flowers was bent sideways, parallel with the floor, because the defender had Flowers hooked and was leaning on him. And the ref looked at then and motioned to stop. I was stunned. Still am. Can’t explain that one at all …

phartknocker40 said:

Yea, didn’t you see them zone blitzing every play?

Oh.

Eric said:

I have to say I love the DePaul fans. Can’t people like Cassie Werner and the Mountaineer Maniacs take note of stuff like this and stop focusing on moving around student seating? The Coliseum is a joke these days when it should be/could be great IRregardless of our Big East Champion/Final Four team’s performance of late.

Who? And to be fair, the crowd, as a whole, stunk. The students have the rep. They deserve it, too.

The Artist Formerly Known as EER96 said:

That is good, clean fun. As a side note, DH could have probably recruited some o-lineman last night at the game. DePaul had some BIG girls in the crowd. No wonder they are so smart, no one would be interested in dating them, so all they do is study…

Stop it.

Foul Shot said:

“You’d hate to be working at a place where people come in and they’re not enthusiastic and they’re watching the clock to see when they can get out and they’re just not doing it with any enthusiasm.

Hate to say it, but Huggs described my job too!

No one talks to me at my office. Then again, if the dog started to talk to me, it’s probably time for a vacation.

KMS said:

I think Huggs described most offices/worksites across America. Those actually doing what they love have no idea what the rest of us put ourselves through on the daily grind. Is it 5:00 yet? I am very enthusiastic about getting home!

Bob Huggins, advocate of domestic bliss since 2007.

Parks said:

Let’s see. I get to work at 9. Think about a beer at 11. Think about dinner at noon. Check the sports lineup by 1. Start the 5:00 countdown before all of that. Yeah, I would say he summed up my job.

Show of hands?

Eric said:

Mike is on an airplane and Michigan’s coach gets fired. Go figure.

I enjoy when I turn my phone on as we de-plane and it starts smoking and convlusing and people get very worried.

glibglub said:

I wonder if Dave Brandon confiscated all the shredders in the Big House.

I shredder at the thought.

Bill said:

I don’t understand why Billy would give a flying hoot about what goes on at Pitt. Especially at Pitt, right?

He might not. But he might identify precedent. Wannstedt was forced out. He wasn’t on board with the change. Pitt looked iffy after its hire and then horrendous after the hire started choking people. Wannstedt pounced and said “Screw you” to an A.D. that’s probably out of a job soon. If Bill is vindictive, or just bent out of shape, I think it’s fair to wonder if he watched this unfold and scratched his chin.

WVU83 said:

I believe Stew will do whatever Luck asks him to do. This plan to be a lame duck coach for a year wasn’t his idea to start with. He’s mentioned getting his “marching orders” more than once the past couple weeks. Besides just being a very awkward (to say the least) situation for the next year, Stew has to know that everything that goes wrong next year will be laid at his feet, while everything that goes right will see the credit go to Holgerson or Casteel. Why should he do that? To be the good soldier? Stew is loyal to the point of his own detriment, and will do whatever he thinks is best for the program, but I have to think he would probably be relieved to walk away at this point, and just be free of the whole mess.

Great points in there and I don’t know where we’re headed. I’m with you in thinking Stewart is in as definitive a no-win situation as I can imagine. Orlando wasn’t a very good start. I’d have apprehensions about how Stewart, Holgorsen and Casteel co-exist next year — and how the players adjust — and how Casteel and his staff are assured of their futures beyond next year. I believe now that Bill will soldier on and back up his word, but I also think the guy can still coach and recruit and generally develop young men into better men. The more I think about this, the more I think he serves this season and makes his money and then parts company with the university to continue his career elsewhere.

Dave said:

I’ve lived in several places the past 30 years or so, some college towns, some are more pro-oriented cities. I have always been somewhat surprised to hear fans who expect coaches to just walk away from a job.

I mean, quite often coaches are former athletes who didn’t walk from competition in their playing days and now preach endurance, overcoming obstacles and getting through difficult times to their players.

Even before we get to the business side, it’s not in their makeup to give up and quit, especially when they worked their entire lives to get to where they are in their current employment.

Precisely. You become a different person. And if that change is forced on you? If someone else says you’re done? I can’t fathom that being the way anyone would want it to end, especially if he can control the end.

Karl said:

My gut says the whole “pending disaster” view of Stew sticking around next year is overblown. If nothing else, Bill Stewart is a pleasant guy. Given a little time, there’s no reason he won’t become friendly with DH and do what he can to help make him a success. Stew’s management style was always that of a delegator. If he sticks to that pattern, he will let DH and Casteel do what they do best, and we will be well-coached on both sides of the ball. Realistically, Stew’s contributions as head coach next year will be the following:

* figurehead and main media contact
* contribute ideas to his coordinators’ game plans
* fundraising/outreach/relations with alumni, boosters
* liason to university administrative figures
* disciplinary action
* coaching a position?

These are real responsibilities, but none that should necessarily place him in conflict often with Casteel or DH. Stew will not be calling plays, and I imagine if there’s some disagreement during a timeout, the respective coordinator will probably get the final say. Unorthodox, yes, but there’s no reason why everyone can’t make this work. DH and Casteel may even enjoy this — who among us hasn’t had a day at work when they wished they could get out from under the direction of a meddling boss and do things their way?

Spatial Angel said:

Joe Paterno has publicly recommended Tom Bradley to Pitt. Why?
Given his long standing grudge agains Pitt, Paterno must have considered that any endorsement from him might kill Bradley’s chance.
If Bradley goes, it strengthens Pitt and weakens PSU. The Nits will have difficulty attracting a top DC to what will surely be a short term gig.
Maybe it’s just that the control of just one university is not enough for the old man.

But didn’t Pitt’s fiasco need an infusion of Paterno’s grounded thinking?

glibglub said:

Morgantown, Pittsburgh and College Park: the three corners of some kind of Bermuda Triangle of bizarro coaching change processes?

Perhaps.

Parks said:

I don’t know that it’s the Bermuda triangle just because of the changes. I will admit (and I hate that someone got abused) I shot beer out of my nose when I saw what happened at Pitt over the weekend. Maryland’s hire confused me–no other way around it, just not the type of change I expected and I think their fans will be disappointed in a few years. As for us, I keep expecting to wake up to some massive announcement and so far everything has pretty much gone as expected since the whole DH thing came out.

Maryland’s search was the most unusual. Yes, Pitt’s is a disaster, but if Haywood doesn’t go rogue, it’s not an issue. Yes, WVU’s is a touch unusual, but there’s a lot of rationale involved. Maryland, though, let its coach-in-waiting go so it could save the money it would owe him and put it toward the $2 million it spent to fire a guy. And that guy was 25 games above .500. His replacement is four games above .500 (plus 22-26 in the Big East!) and has one fewer win in 20 more games in his career. And if you’re going to fire Ralph Friedgen — which is fine, by the way — can you cite the environment around the program and replace him with Randy Edsall? Very unusual.

Jeff in Akron said:

I was talking to my brother on the phone earlier and he has me talked into the idea that Stewart will probably resign next week, or before the 9th.

After reading the above posts it occured to me, P-Rod could become the next coach at Pitt and Stewart could move into the UConn job. That would allow Holgorsen to face off against all the recent ghosts at WVU in one year.

Starting with Marshall, then UConn, and finally Pitt Holgorsen could exorcize all of WVU’s demons in one season. Proving him to be “THE” guy at WVU, or not.

Now that would be very interesting. Neat to see!

Dave said:

Mike – only indirectly related to WVU, but I’m curious … do you know anyone associated with the WVU compliance office or with the NCAA who can give an answer to why Ohio State will not be further investigated?

Since I cannot imagine a program trying to defend allegations of not providing an atmosphere of compliance with “the students didn’t know because we did not teach them,” then how is that an accepted answer? Especially considering the players themselves have said they knew what they did was wrong, other players have tweeted that that kind of stuff has been going on since ‘01 and former players have said that those types of rules were repeatedly told to the players.

I have no answer for you. I’ve talked to people who do compliance at places other than WVU and they’re following closely in case they ever need to apply such a thing. They’re also as curious as you and others. It’s very … strange.

Karl said:

Mike — So even if Mullen gets a job somewhere else, we still have to pay him? If so, as a contractor under agreement with WVU, can the university compell him to continue doing work for us? If I were Luck, I’d like to make him earn his keep scrubbing toilets at the Puskar Center.

WVU has to pay him … and I got an email this morning saying Mullen was on a three-year contract, which frankly blows my mind since that means he was given that deal after the 2009 season and after I had all those ontracts I smugly referenced. I suppose WVU could force him into labor, but that’s bad business. I think everyone involved here is better than that.

roopoo said:

What is unusual in this instance I believe is the 2 year contract for all of the assistants. I think it is far more common place to have 1 year rolling contracts.

The rolling one-year deals were the norm here and it was a big deal when WVU changed to multi-year deals. Around the country now, multi-year deals are fairly common.

Birch said:

Pretty sure Colin is thinking about a little thing called the Per Diem. It pays to travel. Twins ain’t cheap dude. Plus he can probably just use a template to write each night’s story. “Pirates_Lose.doc”

Ask Colin about naming his son Bo.

rekterx said:

Yep, Dunlap will be missed and we all know that your football road trips won’t be the same. But let’s go ahead and stir the pot. Who, exactly, is relieved by this news?

Reporters. Coaches. Septuagenarians. I could go on.

The 25314 said:

How will this affect your symbiotic relationship?

It won’t be  easy, but we’ve survived the long-distance thing, so I’m sure we can weather this.

Jerk.

hershy112 said:

Ok, unfortunately I’ve been living in the dark, so I have to ask.

1. Where did “talk about” come from?

2. Where did “you think about that” come from?

I’m disappointed in myself that I don’t know.

I’ll yield the floor to Mr. Zip Code …

The 25314 said:

1. “Talk about” is an oft used interview technique employed by lazy reporters who does not actually have a question, but rather instruct the interviewee to speak to a preconceived point that the interviewer has made in order to gain a quote that fits more properly into their preconstructed story. It is frequently employed by sideline reporters and is the 2000’s equivalent of “how do you feel?”

“Talk about how Noel Devine’s foot injury has really hampered his ability to make cuts….”

2. “You think about that” is how Bill Stewart tagged his famous Foch Talk with the media as he walked off stage right. It has been popularized by Mike and Colin’s blogs along with StuffStewSays on Twitter. It is similar to his “Good evening” tag his famous lubrication speech.

Moving on …

AnxiousEER97 said:

This leaves one decent reporter to cover WVU football.

Given recent adjectives used, I’ll take decent. Thanks.

Drew said:

First Jeff Mullen_ and now Colin.

My condolences, Mike. Do we need to put you on suicide watch?

… and Sands. Don’t forget that. He was my favorite to watch and to talk to. Tough couple of weeks.

Jeff said: 

Do we not get a fellow writers that have moved on from Mike similar to what you did with Stew and the coaches he coached against that were fired?

Well, there’s only one that I can think of. Maybe I need to dig deeper. I’m on it.

Oliver Luck said:

Call me when Blaine Stewart lights up the Hokies in a BCS game…

Enjoy the weekend!