Huggins sees similarities between WVU Final Four club and TBT team
Bob Huggins sees a lot of similarities between his Final Four team and the Best Virginia club that will compete in The Basketball Tournament this summer.
As he should, that’s because Da’Sean Butler, Kevin Jones, John Flowers, Truck Bryant are part of both. But on the basketball court, the teams are similar outside of just some of the personnel.
“I really like it. They basically have a point guard and four guys that can play multiple positions. It’s very similar to the Final Four team,” he said.
That team featured big men like Wellington Smith, who was 6-foot-6, and Devin Ebanks at 6-foot-8, both displayed the ability to switch everything on the defensive end because they could guard multiple spots. That is the same thing with this team which also features former Mountaineers such as Devin Williams, Jaysean Paige, Nathan Adrian, Joe Alexander and Juwan Staten.
The players have been back in Morgantown working out at the practice facility and it’s something that Huggins believes has been not only fun but a great learning experience for the current team. The players have access to their own locker room, training room, the strength staff and all the other amenities.
“It’s great for our guys to see them working,” Huggins said.
It’s also a testament to the culture that Huggins has helped establish as the head coach welcoming players back and treating them as family.
“It says a lot about my effervescent personality,” Huggins joked. “It shows how much I’m loved.”
But the experience allows players to return to Morgantown in order to be around the city and people that they loved after playing in front of the fans in college.
“They love the people and the people love them,” Huggins said.
The single elimination 64-team tournament will run from July into August with the winning team receiving $2 million. West Virginia has been placed in the Richmond Regional.
The No. 4 seed Mountaineers open 3 p.m. July 26 against No. 5 seed Royalty, made up of Old Dominion alums, with the winner likely to meet four-time consecutive champion Overseas Elite which has compiled a 25-0 record during those four years.
The opening round game will be carried on ESPN3.
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