WVU will practice from 2-3:30 p.m. CST today, and that’s the forecast for 2 p.m. The heavy stuff will stay south, but if this happens, man, WVU can’t catch a break with bowl weather. Remember the Pinstripe Bowl? Not just the game, but the sleet and snow and the practices in a hotel ballroom?
And that’s a shame because among the many things Tony Gibson said during his press conference yesterday was how impressed he was with WVU’s practices so far here.
Clint Trickett retired yesterday, meaning no bowl game and no CFL career (Aside: Remember, he was watching the CFL when he sent that regrettable tweet in July.) and instead an expedited path into coaching. We now figure out his spot in WVU lore and among the schools top five or top 10 quarterbacks, and let’s not forget his first half of the season was played at an all-time level.
For now, it’s fair to say he was a good sport, a good leader and a good figure for the offense. He never ran from things, MTEP excluded, and even at the end Friday had fun standing in front of the media one last time between his past and his future.
Trickett missed the regular-season finale a week later against the Cyclones and wasn’t cleared before traveling to his family’s home in Tallahassee, Fla., last week and then meeting the Mountaineers here Thursday.
Trickett said the doctor told him it would have been dangerous to play while still showing symptoms and that he should expect to be less effective if he did play.
“It was tough to hear it,” Trickett said. “The more and more I think about it I’m like, ‘Well, what I’m getting into, I probably need to have a couple brain cells left,’ so it is for the best.”
I have a hunch he’ll also leave a legacy that will shape some of the concussion protocols and evaluations at WVU — this is a good time to ask an AD such things — and I’m equally certain there will be something of a “What if …?” element to future discussions about Trickett.
I mean, what if this never happened.
Continue reading…
Time to put a bow on the Tony Gibson epoch, so let me grab this from the cutting room floor.
Remember, this story was supposed to be something different, and the idea was to press Gibby about his coaching influences and wonder either why it took so long to get a chance or why people thought he didn’t deserve this one … or both as it turned out.
We covered some of that, but the interesting part I never got to was who he valued from his past and what he thought about the many coaches who helped shape his career.
“The defensive side early in my career, working and playing for a guy like Dean Hood, that’s really when it all started to come full circle,” Gibson said. “He was one of the best coaches I’ve been around in my life in any aspect of the game. He was an unbelievable motivator, and that all started way back in 1991 when I was playing for Dean and it kind of evolved from there.”
Not unusual for a college coach to become and remain an integral part of a young coach or player’s life. That made sense.
Then we went into some more detail about who he’s been around and what he’s learned — and it’s a pretty impressive roster that I think people fail to recognize. Coaches are products of their environments, and if you’re around good coaches, you look and learn and give yourself a chance to be pretty good, too.
Rich Rodriguez had a really good staff early on at WVU with people who went on to become head coaches and coordinators. Gibson, who’s just 42 now, was able to link up early in his career with Todd Graham and Jeff Casteel, and we’re not about to quibble about their bona fides, are we?
“Jeff and Todd, being around those guys, though I wasn’t around Todd too long, was a great help just being young and watching them and how they came up with what they wanted to do,” Gibson said. “Jeff is probably more the overall teacher, one of the best I’ve seen. He’s really good at the ‘Here’s what we’re doing and here’s how I want it done,’ and we never jumped all over the place and never were in bad positions. He kept the boat steady and I really liked that about the way he coached.”
Gibson followed Rodriguez to Michigan, and Rodriguez had a hard time getting a defensive coordinator before picking Scott Shafer, who was an even-front coach and thus not completely congruous with the odd front coaches Rodriguez brought with him. Shafer lasted one season before he was hired as an assistant at Syracuse. Enter Greg Robinson, who excelled at simplifying things and harping on a player’s or a team’s strengths — and that’s something Gibby’s players, and assistants, really like about him and what he’s so far done at WVU.
“Greg Robinson was a very good coach, a very good defensive coach, who knew all aspects of the game and how to relate with his players,” Gibson said. “Scott Shafer, the head coach at Syracuse now, is a really smart, really sharp defensive guy who had great leadership. Bruce Tall is as good a football coach as I’ve been around.”
Also on that first Michigan staff? Jay Hopson, who had been the defensive coordinator for Jeff Bower at Southern Miss and was hired as the first white head coach in SWAC history in 2012 — and who just won Alcorn State’s first league title in 20 years.
“There have just been a ton of guys I’ve gotten to work with and I’ve been pretty lucky to be in a position to watch and learn from,” Gibson said.
You might never guess who he singled out, though.
Continue reading…
Your big news from the first day of the Liberty Bowl Experience is quarterback Clint Trickett announcing his retirement from football, meaning no bowl game and no CFL. He said he’s had five concussions in the past two seasons and wasn’t cleared for what could have been his final game.
Trickett also said he withheld the truth from trainers about two concussions, and he nobly took the blame for that. But given that acknowledgment, as well as the confusion about who knew what and when they knew it during the Kansas State game, it might be time for WVU to evaluate its protocol.
I’m not calling it a problem. I’m certain the professionals there are good at their jobs and follow all the rules. That said, with what we know about brain injuries today, you can’t get juked by a player who admits he thought he had to be tough and play through it. Twice. You can’t have that become an attainable goal of others. They’ll try. They can’t succeed, though.
Other news? Nose guard Brandon Jackson and safety Cullen Christian are academically ineligible. That’s rich of Christian, a postgraduate transfer from Pitt and an illustration of why some schools are uncomfortable with that arrangement. Jackson was a redshirt junior who walked on senior night, so he, too, has played his last game for WVU.
Finally, big scare for Jacky Marcellus and two others on Christmas Eve. Dana Holgorsen said Marcellus, who was out for the season with a knee injury, is OK and that WVU is excited for him to rejoin the team when he can.
Wofford made 11 baskets last night, the absolute worst performance by a WVU opponent since Penn State made 10 shots in 1949. So, no, the Terriers were not who we thought they were, but credit the 18th-ranked Mountaineers for not letting them off the hook. If you want to crown them at 11-1, which is the best start and the most non-conference wins since the 2009-10 Final Four season, then crown them.
WVU seemed to benefit from a soft schedule up to the LSU loss, which served to underscore that concern. But things are changing. Juwan Staten finally looks right. Jon Holton has found a lane. The bench is balanced and potent. Elijah Macon is happening. These are good signs.
The Mountaineers had one RPI top-50 win in the first 10 games, but just nabbed two in 48 hours. (The RPI is fluid, of course, and we’re talking about the rank when the games were played … UConn is no longer in the top 50, and neither is N.C. State, but Lafayette, it turns out, is kind of good and Wofford will do well in the SoCon.) That strength of schedule is about to zoom, too, once the Mountaineers enter Big 12 play, where there are a record seven ranked teams.
But right now, the Mountaineers will pause and take a few days off for Christmas before playing host to villain Buzz Williams and Virginia Tech.
You remember Buzz Williams.
That’ll wait and the scene at the gated Huggins mansion this week ought to be better than it has been in the past.
“We’ve lost before Christmas the last three years and I was absolutely miserable. Just miserable,” Huggins said. “I had all my brothers and sisters over and I had to go to the bedroom and stare at the wall for three hours before I could even look at anybody.”
And that’s it for me fore a few days. I’ll see you on the ground in Memphis Friday. Merry Christmas to you all and thanks for decorating this place like you do.
We really didn’t give this enough attention during or after Saturday night’s game, so why not start right here right now? Juwan Staten “decided he was going to take over,” according to North Carolina State coach Mark Gottfried, and if by “take over” the Alabama grad meant “break fools,” then he is completely accurate.
I hope someone sent Desmond Lee an Edible Arrangement. Kid played three minutes and Staten did that? Bob Huggins-burning-Donnie Eppley thought that was soul-crushing.
The task tonight will be markedly harder than the above. Karl Cochran is a very good defensive guard, to say nothing of a very good all-around player. He led the Southern Conference with 2.0 steals per game last season, has 24 (2.2 per game) already this season and has 187 in his career.
Wofford’s opponents have 87 assists and 164 turnovers this season, too, so the Terriers are pretty good on the ball.
Staten v. Cochran will be a fun and important battle on both ends because Cochran happens to be a pretty good shooter, too. The team’s leader in scoring (13.6), rebounding (6.8) and assists (3.3) is also 29 for 78 from 3-point range this season and 243 for 724 (33.6 percent) in his career. He’s fifth on the school’s all-time 3s made list and second on 3s attempted. (Fourth and fifth? Shane Nichols. You know his brother.)
Wofford beat N.C. State Dec. 14 and had a time of it against Charleston Southern, but won 64-58 three days later. This is the first game since then and Wofford’s 20th chance to beat a top 25 team. The Terriers are so far 0-19, including last season’s NCAA Tournament loss to Michigan.
Many sweaters in the house, but that’s not your thing. Let’s proceed.
Continue reading…
Hard to say WVU needed to reverse the course of its season after 10 games an one loss, but the Mountaineers seemed to get into the left lane in Game 11 Saturday night with a double-digit victory against a 9-2 team from the ACC. Lose that game and the non-conference schedule, which isn’t as hard as it was last season, might end up looking about the same as it did last season, and whatever doubt is created or underlined by losing to North Carolina State generates a distinct level of dubiousness about success in the Big 12.
“I’d say it was one of our better sessions of offense throughout the game,” said guard Jaysean Paige, who led the bench with 11 points.
WVU improved to 3-1 in non-conference play against teams from major conferences this season after going 0-4 last season (plus a loss to Gonzaga) and 1-2 the year before (plus another loss to Gonzaga).
In non-conference play against major conference opponents, WVU hadn’t scored as many points since beating Kansas State, 85-80, in December 2011 and hadn’t won by as large a margin since beating Iowa, 87-68, in the 2008 Las Vegas Invitational.
The way the Mountaineers handled their business was especially promising. They had that one Helter Skelter run that created a 13-point lead. The game got close, but they never fell behind and used some expected and unexpected offense to pull away and have some fun toward the end.
That wonderful picture above is from Jonathan Holton’s first 3-pointer late. He’d make another later. He was 3 for 23 coming into the game. Guys wanted it for him, and the thousand words you can say about this group based on that picture would only reinforce all the things Bob Huggins has said about the togetherness and camaraderie, the great energy and desire to get it right this season.
I mean, that’s from the final moments of a 14-point win in December. It looks like the end of a second-round game in March.
On the other side of the line: North Carolina State, its fans and its employees and even an official (two officials?) looked deeply bothered by WVU. The pressure mattered and the Mountaineers didn’t and wouldn’t flinch, even as whistles and fouls accumulated and you thought maybe it wouldn’t hurt to scale it back a little. That maintains the accuracy of something we projected a month ago: You’re going to know you played the Mountaineers.
And now: The encore. WVU plays host to a team that won at N.C. State. We’ll be there with ugly sweaters.
You are looking live at The Mecca where tonight West Virginia and North Carolina State do battle in the storied Gotham Classic. We’ve gotten this far and haven’t mentioned a certain somebody who now resides in Raleigh, N.C. We’ll keep eyes peeled for him and for his dad. Junior isn’t allowed to travel with the team because of NCAA rules, but perhaps he’s here on his own dime to cheer on his new teammates and rendezvous with his old friends.
Or not.
(If you’re wondering about the other transfer, Michigan State leads the nation in 3-point shooting without him. And N.C. State’s bringing back two very good guards [Barber and Lacey] next season. Good luck, gentlemen!)
This is the first leg of a tricky Saturday-Monday for West Virginia. The afflicted shooters take aim in the fifth different gym in 10 games, and the Wolfpack have big guards and big bigs (BeeJay Anya’s roster note is “ACC leader in blocked shots; lost 60 pounds during this offseason” and of course lists him at 6-9, 295). The Mountaineers travel home tonight and will begin watching film on the plane for Monday’s opponent: Wofford.
The Terriers no longer have Darris Nichols, but the Mountaineers have the Terriers, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Wofford won the Big South last season and danced, and just about every player is back this season. The Terriers are No. 37 in the RPI (N.C. State is 46), so they’ll help WVU’s SOS and possibly the RPI, but only if the Mountaineers win.
And don’t take that for granted. Wofford won at N.C. State. Like so:
I’m open.
Continue reading…
I’m out the door here soon to trek to Manhattan for tomorrow night’s Gotham Classic doubleheader. WVU v. North Carolina State follows Richmond v. Pepperdine, so figure we’ll tip a bit after 9:30 p.m. on ESPN2. This is WVU’s first game at Madison Square Garden since a bad loss to UConn in the 2012 Big East Tournament, but this is the first of a few maneuvers for the Mountaineers to firm up their footing in the metropolitan New York City area.
The team traveled yesterday and will have all of today and tomorrow to see the sights, but they won’t have one prominent member of their traveling party.
“I’ll drop them off and say, ‘Be back by this time,’ ” he said. “I’m not going to walk around with them. You try and tell them, ‘Don’t buy any watches,’ and the first thing they do is run and buy watches. That’s part of the experience and guys talk about it when they’re 50 years old. They say, ‘I thought I was buying Gucci, but when I looked at it, it said “ucci” and there was no “G,” but it was only $30.’
“Yeah, but if you walked around the corner, it was only $15.”
Continue reading…
