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Published Aug 3, 2019
Huggins: 'This group is as close as we've had a group be for a while'
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Keenan Cummings  •  WVSports
Managing Editor
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@rivalskeenan

Bob Huggins isn’t worried about the team-building aspect when it comes to the trip to Spain.

For one, they aren’t going to have a choice but to talk to each other in a foreign country.

But in all seriousness, this edition of the Mountaineers already has that aspect down pat.

“This group is as close as we’ve had a group be for a while. They hang out together, they spend a lot of time together and they’re in the gym together,” he said.

That has played itself out in late night practice sessions with guys rebounding for one another or even outside the game of basketball with the team always spending time off the floor.

Players liking each other isn’t necessarily a requirement for teams to have success, although Huggins admits that it is more fun when they do. But as long as they are on the same page when they are on the floor it helps cut past any problems that could crop off away from it.

“I think everybody plays with somebody they don’t like at some point in their career but that has nothing to do with the time you’re on the floor,” he said. “It’s something off the floor.”

Teams are typically close this time of the year though and there are no issues with players getting along for the most part until outside influences are thrown in the mix which can complicate matters.

“You get people in everybody’s ears saying ‘hey man you’ve got to get yours.’ That’s what changes everything, it’s the people on the outside,” Huggins said. “It’s the people who are looking to get something for themselves rather than what’s best for the team or the player.”

Part of that is buying into the team concept and understanding individual roles. Huggins points to players such as DaSean Butler or Joe Alexander, who both could have taken a lot more shots but understood what they needed to do within the team to win games.

“That’s what we have to understand,” he said.

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