We’re in the early part of the spring/summer fundraising season which puts WVU’s coaches in various spots throughout the state to rub elbows with people who show up at dinners and golf outings and the like.

It’s a well-intended circuit called the Coaches’ Caravan, in that the coaches show up and answer questions and tell stories and show who they are outside the lines that define the games they play. In turn, WVU makes some money that’s put to good use in the Mountaineer Athletic Club.

It’s usually a fun night and sometimes it’s funny, like it was two weeks ago in Wheeling.

There was some talk about the WVU baseball team’s surprising run to the top of the Big 12 standings, fitting on a night when men’s soccer coach Marlon LeBlanc cracked the first joke, aimed at Holgerson and Huggins, effectively putting himself on a tee for the rest of the evening.

”Given the seasons you guys had,” LeBlanc said, ”This might be the first time this crowd is more interested in soccer.”

He later added, ”I get the mic so few times, I have to take a couple of swings.”

It was probably a bad idea.

LeBlanc, who isn’t the tallest fellow in the world, first took a rebuttal from Holgorsen.

”Marlon, in case you didn’t know, is the men’s soccer coach,” Holgorsen said. ”And he’s also the guy that came up here and disappeared behind this podium.”

Later, it was Huggins’ turn.

”He’s good isn’t he?” Huggins asked of LeBlanc. ”Tony (Caridi, the event’s emcee) came over and said, ‘I could listen to Marlon talk all night.’ For a while, I thought I might have to.”

Then he poked a bit of fun at the sport LeBlanc coaches.

”We’ve talked about this, too,” Huggins said. ”Marlon wonders why he can’t get people to games? The score is 1-0. Just think, Dana, if we had to play 1-0.”

”I keep telling him to take the goalie out and fast break. If the score was 63-59, somebody would go. How about if we stood a 7-2 guy in front of the rim and just swatted everything that came through? It’s goaltending, Marlon, that’s what they call it. It’s a good basket – except in Syracuse.’

Yes!