CINCINNATI (AP) – Bob Huggins’ face is all over town, just like the old days.
Two large electronic billboards along Interstates 71 and 75 featured a photo of him and Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin on Tuesday, trying to entice basketball fans back to the arena that Huggins made famous.
He’ll bring his West Virginia team to the Shoemaker Center on Thursday night, returning to the court where he turned the Bearcats into a nationally respected program before getting ousted more than three years ago.
A lot has happened since that ugly divorce between school and coach. Finally, there might be a chance for some closure.
“I think so,” said freshman forward Yancy Gates, who grew up in Cincinnati and followed Huggins’ ouster. “It was kind of like an up-and-gone thing. I think a lot of people felt he deserved to be here.
“I think after the game is over, it will all just fade away.”
Cincinnati sure hopes so.
f wills with president Nancy Zimpher a few weeks before the start of the 2005-06 season, fans were in an uproar. Zimpher didn’t like the basketball program’s image under Huggins, who sealed his fate with a drunken-driving arrest.
Instead of going quietly, Huggins stuck around town, allowing the wound to fester. He did commercials. He attended a Cincinnati game at Xavier. He accepted an invitation from senior players to attend the final home game of the season at the Shoemaker Center, sitting across from West Virginia’s bench while the Bearcats beat the Mountaineers 78-75 that emotional day.
Eventually, he took the head coaching job at Kansas State and returned to play Xavier, an event that drew thousands of purple-clad fans there for one reason alone: to welcome him back.
This time, his former school is the one with arms open.
The university will honor him by passing out signs that say “Thanks Huggs” on one side and “Go Bearcats” on the other – a perfect symbol of the conflicted emotions. Also, there will be a tribute to his 16 seasons at Cincinnati on the videoboard.
Huggins hasn’t given much thought to his homecoming. He expects his emotions will get to him when he reaches campus with his Mountaineers (19-8, 8-6 Big East).
ds in the world. I had terrific experiences there.”
Not so terrific in August 2005, when Zimpher forced him out before the start of Cincinnati’s first season in the Big East. Now, Zimpher is on her way out as well, preparing to take over at the State University of New York on June 1.
Asked how he feels about the university these days, Huggins didn’t provide much insight.
“I don’t live in the past,” he said. “I’ve moved on.”
His feel-good return could be more than a little awkward for his former team.
The Bearcats (17-10, 7-7) are tied with Syracuse for eighth place in the conference. They need to beat the Mountaineers to maintain hope of reaching the NCAA tournament. They’re coming off a loss to Louisville that prompted Cronin to move them to a less-plush locker room.
All signs of desperation.
“We’re going to have to win this one,” sophomore guard Larry Davis said.
That might be difficult under the circumstances. Many in the crowd will be cheering Huggins. As those billboards attest, the game isn’t sold out, a reminder of how far the program has fallen.
“If my guys ever worried about the crowds, we’d have packed it in a long time ago,” Cronin said Tuesday. “It’s not like we’ve been selling out every night.”
iting coordinator at rival Louisville. He coached at Murray State for three seasons before returning to his hometown to try to dig Cincinnati out of its mess.
Asked about their relationship, Huggins said, “It’s fine. We don’t talk on the phone every day, but I don’t talk to a lot of people every day.”
Cronin didn’t care to talk about how his move to Louisville has affected their relationship.
“It’s a long time ago,” he said. “I’m sure we both pull for each other. I know I pull for him when we’re not playing. He knows how grateful I am to him for everything he did for me.”
Cronin has the program back on solid footing in his third season, but understands that Huggins is still more beloved around town.
“I can’t ever get caught up in trying to be loved as much as Bob Huggins by our fan base,” Cronin said. “I can’t worry about that.
“When you’re following somebody that’s a legend or a wildy popular, highly successful coach, you’ve got to have enough toughness to go into the situation and worry about being yourself, doing your job. Eventually, people will accept you for the job you do and what you’ve done.”
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