Huggins, Wright share a past, will square off again
Bob Huggins has a few stories, as he typically does, about Villanova head coach Jay Wright.
His favorite?
The two squared off six times as Big East Conference opponents but one of those stood out above the rest. Or perhaps what unfolded prior to and then after the game would be more fitting.
In February of 2009, the two teams were scheduled to meet in a basketball game in Morgantown fittingly placed on Friday the 13 considering what later unfolded.
West Virginia forward Da’Sean Butler had been battling a severely twisted ankle he sustained in practice the day before and all signs pointed toward him missing the game.
“He basically stayed in the training room all night and he was in there and tried to come out and do a walk through and he just couldn’t,” Huggins said. “He couldn’t walk or put any pressure on it.”
So Butler returned to the training room and while Huggins had resigned himself to the fact that his leading scorer would not be able to suit up against the No. 13 rated Wildcats.
So much so that when he ran into Wright at the bottom of the stairs in the Coliseum, the opposing head coach made the assertion that Butler was going to plat and Huggins shot it down.
“I said there is no way he is going to play,” Huggins recalled.
Wright asked if he was sure and Huggins again confirmed. No gamesmanship, the veteran coach believed that he would be without Butler in the Big East clash.
But during warm ups, Butler emerged through the tunnel and started preparing with his teammates.
He played, alright.
But not only was he able to just play during the game, Butler scored a career-high 43 points leading the Mountaineers to a blowout 93-72 win over the Wildcats. It was the best offensive performance of his career and left many including Huggins speechless.
So how did Wright respond in the post-game handshake line?
“Jay says yeah right, he isn’t going to play,” Huggins said.
The two will meet again for the right to advance to the Elite 8 and Huggins was asked if he had any plans to give Wright, known for his suits and game day attire, one of his pullovers as he did earlier this season with Kansas head coach Bill Self. The answer was classic Huggins.
“I haven’t,” he said. “Actually I don’t have any smalls.”
Tip-off is set for 7:27 p.m. from TD Garden in Boston.
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