Huggins lines up Memphis and Ole Miss
By Mitch Vingle
Sports Editor

YE OLDE NOTEBOOK:

Word has been leaking of late that West Virginia and Mississippi will play a home-and-home men’s basketball series in the two seasons following this one.
“We’re going to do it,” WVU coach Bob Huggins said Thursday.

Huggins the schedule maker, however, is not done.

“We’re looking at a bunch of schools,” he said. “We’ll play Memphis in the future.”

Huggins said he’s been close to Memphis coach John Calipari “for a long time’’ and that a series will be in place soon.

Which will lead to a blockbuster home game for the Mountaineers. Calipari’s team has long been the king of Conference USA and enters this season ranked No. 3 in the coaches’ poll.

Huggins, by the way, said he and Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy put that series together over the phone. The first game will be played in Oxford, Miss., in the 2008-09 season and the second in Morgantown the following season.

Kennedy, you may remember, replaced Huggins at Cincinnati on an interim basis and did such a fine job he was pushed to get the job on a permanent basis. When that didn’t happen (see UC president Nancy Zimpher), Kennedy landed at Ole Miss

Best of wishes with Huggy......if we still had him we wouldn't have dropped off the national stage. But I am happy with Mick and look for UC to re-enter that stage in the next two years or so.

Can't wait for UC/WVA on the hardwood....it's going to be interesting. There is some tension between Huggs and Cronin since Cronin left Huggs and went to work for UoL/Pitino a few years back....Cronin admits he didn't handle the situation correctly, i.e, it was how he did it more than anything....

It's important for the Tigers to continue to play Big East teams. We recruit Philly, New York, and New Jersey so much, these games are really important. Plus I think Huggins is great. He's good friends with Cal and comes on his weekly show when he was in town for a game.

HollywoodTig Wrote:It's important for the Tigers to continue to play Big East teams. We recruit Philly, New York, and New Jersey so much, these games are really important. Plus I think Huggins is great. He's good friends with Cal and comes on his weekly show when he was in town for a game.

Cal did the same thing when he used to come to Cincy. Those two are pure comedy together. Huggs loved to remind Cal that he owned him.

I don't think that Huggins will own Cal this go around. No offense to West VA fans but Memphis has top 10 talent every year. Huggins is going to have to upgrade his programs talent level in a hurry to compete against Memphis.

Also, Cal was hired near the end of Huggy's time at UC.

Finch dropped 4 games in one year if I remember right,(I've tried to
block it from my memory.) so that may qualify for being owned.

Glad to see something official though. Huggins is the only coach that
can ever make me nervous.



You WVU fans are going to love us.