The Sock 'Em, Bust 'Em Board Because that's our custom

Friday Feedback

January 28, 2011 by Mike Casazza

Welcome to the Friday Yum! Feedback. Enormous game Saturday night as Huggins returns to the scene of his prime and WVU plays a really good Cincinnati team.

A win does a whole lot to chase the bad vibes not only of late, but of past interactions with the Bearcats. Remember, this is the opponent that’s handed Huggins’ WVU teams its worst and most painful loss and the older guys here want few things more than to win at Cincinnati. Do that and there’s a little momentum for a team that won’t admit it, but could use such an infusion of good vibes.

Don’t do it and, sheesh, it’s getting late and WVU would be 13-7 and 4-4 in the Big East — which is suddenly a little more for-the-taking than we once thought. The team’s strongest advocates, the RPI and SOS, would be slipping day by day and play would go on in a league that does give you chances to get healthy, but does line up opponents to slap you in the head.

Onto the Feedback. As always, comments appear as posted. In other words, be creative.

overtheSEC said:

Geez Mike, why does our 2nd half slump not have a name yet? Even weather patterns that are less frequent have names (El Nino, the Santa Anna winds)

And that was before the 4-for-22 second half against Louisville. I’m accepting applications now.

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Debunked: Cottrill and Jennings to WLU

January 27, 2011 by Mike Casazza

West Liberty, aptly named the Hilltoppers at 16-0 overall, 12-0 in the WVIAC and No. 1 in all of Division II basketball, was the alleged sighting of erstwhile WVU players earlier this week.

That might be true — and it might not — but neither Noah Cottrill nor Dan Jennings is going to be a part of the WLU program.

“That rumor has been circulating pretty regularly,” said Crutchfield, who is 158-39 in his seventh year at the school. “I have no idea where it came from. I never talked to them, never seen them here and nobody said they saw them here.

“It’s one of those things, somebody said something and it progressed.”

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The game is hard, the explanations are simple

by Mike Casazza

Nothing terribly puzzling about last night’s game — except, perhaps, how the allegedly bewildered and sidetracked WVU team managed to play so well in the first half.

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Greetings from the understated KFC Yum! Center

January 26, 2011 by Mike Casazza

6:11 pm: Working on a notebook for tomorrow’s paper before the game begins because weather has handed me an early deadline. Also, I walked around this palace and was pretty well blown away by what I saw.

And now I’m behind.

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Chat transcript up now

by Mike Casazza

I’m on my way to the KFC Yum! Center to work on leads that play on “Eight is Enough” and “original recipe.” Just you watch. Meanwhile, here’s the transcript from today’s entertaining chat.

Reminder: We chat at 1 p.m.

by Mike Casazza

Here’s your link, 23% guaranteed to work without any issues. See you then.

‘It was way too much way too fast’

by Mike Casazza

Prepare to have your perceptions shattered by the wholly humbled and completely contrite Jason Gwaltney.

It would appear Dan Jennings is gone

January 25, 2011 by Mike Casazza

Casey Mitchell’s absence seems to be one that, if he approaches it responsibly, may be just a few games. Dan Jennings’ absence looks like a permanent one … and that may have been a long time coming.

“I don’t want to get into the history of things,” Huggins said, “but it’s time.”

Jennings, a 6-8, 260-pound sophomore from Staten Island, N.Y., had started the previous three games and played in 14 of the first 17 games, but didn’t start against the Bulls and didn’t play in the first half. Jennings left the bench after halftime and then left the Coliseum.

He was averaging 2.1 points and 2.5 rebounds in 8.6 minutes and Huggins said he was through enabling Jennings by allowing him to repeat bad habits.

“I think it’s my fault,” Huggins said. “I’ve told them for the last few years I don’t think there’s anything that could happen I haven’t seen in 29 years as a head coach – and they’ve proven me wrong several times this year. It’s unfathomable for me that someone would leave their team at halftime. I just can’t imagine anybody doing that.”

And now for matters more related to the team and the season:

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Talking point for TOMORROW’S 1 p.m. chat

by Mike Casazza

I’ve already left Morgantown as you read this so I can stay ahead of the weather that’s planning to run through the route I’ll take to Louisville. And since I’ll be in town earlier than normal and not back in time Thursday for the regularly scheduled chat, let’s do it tomorrow at 1 p.m.

Here’s your link for the chat and to put questions in the queue ahead of time. You can also ask in the comments here.

Lots and lots to talk about, including contracts, suspensions, walk-offs, incentives, ethics and Coaching Contracts 101, which I’ll be teaching in summer school to supplement my income. Why not? Everyone else is.

And if that wasn’t enough, chew on what I assume is a not-at-all-sufficient explanation, but the explanation nonetheless, for why WVU didn’t just go ahead and fire Bill Stewart.

Why bring him back and pay him nicely when he could be let go without owing him anything?

In short, the ending has been written. It just needs to be acted out by the characters involved.

The shortest, simplest answer is one that probably won’t satisfy most people: You just don’t do that to people. WVU didn’t want to do it to Stewart.

The explanation isn’t sufficient, but the question isn’t really relevant, either. People are too worried about the problem. Focus on the solution.

Coaching changes are often messy and WVU has a thick catalogue you can flip through for proof. What WVU has done is arrange things in fairly neat order. It has managed the variables.

There are definitive dates and dollar figures. There’s very little room for conjecture or disagreement. Signed documents seem to pack this up in a pretty little package. There will be no court battles, no ugliness, no pursuing money due or defending decisions to withhold money.

Holgorsen likes to put his feet up on the plane

by Mike Casazza

Mr. Holgorsen’s term sheet — which is not the finalized contract, but a functioning framework of one — was released by WVU Monday through Freedom of Information Act requests.

His six-year deal as the offensive coordinator in 2011 and the head coach the five years after that totals no less than $10.69 million just in total compensation (base and supplemental pay, plus six annual retention bonuses). He can earn $13.69 million if he maxes out the annual $600,000 cap on performance incentives as head coach.

There are also some neat provisions within the contract:

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