01-14-2023, 11:24 AM
West Virginia head men’s basketball coach answered many questions by saying very few words on Friday.
On Thursday, the West Virginia men’s basketball parted ways with longtime associate head coach Larry Harrison. Harrison had served under Huggins for the past 16 years at WVU, and also eight years prior at Cincinnati.
Huggins first read a statement thanking Harrison for his contributions, but added he would not be taking any questions on the matter.
“The decision to make the change within the basketball staff was a difficult one. Larry and I had worked together for 24 years and shared many great moments. The decision was made in the best interest of Mountaineer basketball. I’m not going to take any questions on the matter and will now move on to your questions about the upcoming Oklahoma game,” Huggins said.
With the departure of Harrison yesterday, the school announced the search to find his replacement would begin immediately. Huggins said West Virginia is going to do an extended search to try and find the person who aligns with WVU’s interests the most.
“At the end of the day, we’ll do what we always do. We’ll make an extended search and try to find the best fit and the best person for the job,” Huggins said.
As for the meantime, West Virginia is set to play Oklahoma at noon on Saturday. The Mountaineers are 0-4 in Big 12 play and Huggins said he is going to turn to assistants already on his staff to help fill the void in the interim.
“I think we’re blessed that [Ron Everhart has] been through it. [Everhart’s] been a head coach at three different schools. We have a guy with experience, we also have some other guys that are good basketball guys. Hopefully we can put it all together,” Huggins said.
Everhart has been on West Virginia’s coaching staff since 2012. Everhart was a head coach at three schools from 1994 through 2012, including McNeese State, Northeastern, and Duquesne.
Last night, Huggins on his weekly radio show said the decision to move on from Harrison came more from people in the athletic department that are higher ranking than him.
“I don’t have a lot to say about it because I wasn’t as involved as it’s being portrayed that I was,” Huggins said Thursday night.
Just hours later on Friday morning, Huggins implied the problem was not with the coaching of Harrison, but rather due to a fact of where the team is right now.
“Honestly that hasn’t been the problem,” Huggins said after referring to who will step in as Harrison’s short-term replacement. “You can’t throw it around like we did early on. We were throwing it around 20 times a game. You can’t miss free throws, you got to stand at the line and make free throws. We did not do that. And you go back and you re-run that and have us make free throws and not throw the ball around, we’re not sitting where we’re sitting.”
Huggins would then close the book on Harrison saying, “there’s not anything else to say.”
On Thursday, the West Virginia men’s basketball parted ways with longtime associate head coach Larry Harrison. Harrison had served under Huggins for the past 16 years at WVU, and also eight years prior at Cincinnati.
Huggins first read a statement thanking Harrison for his contributions, but added he would not be taking any questions on the matter.
“The decision to make the change within the basketball staff was a difficult one. Larry and I had worked together for 24 years and shared many great moments. The decision was made in the best interest of Mountaineer basketball. I’m not going to take any questions on the matter and will now move on to your questions about the upcoming Oklahoma game,” Huggins said.
With the departure of Harrison yesterday, the school announced the search to find his replacement would begin immediately. Huggins said West Virginia is going to do an extended search to try and find the person who aligns with WVU’s interests the most.
“At the end of the day, we’ll do what we always do. We’ll make an extended search and try to find the best fit and the best person for the job,” Huggins said.
As for the meantime, West Virginia is set to play Oklahoma at noon on Saturday. The Mountaineers are 0-4 in Big 12 play and Huggins said he is going to turn to assistants already on his staff to help fill the void in the interim.
“I think we’re blessed that [Ron Everhart has] been through it. [Everhart’s] been a head coach at three different schools. We have a guy with experience, we also have some other guys that are good basketball guys. Hopefully we can put it all together,” Huggins said.
Everhart has been on West Virginia’s coaching staff since 2012. Everhart was a head coach at three schools from 1994 through 2012, including McNeese State, Northeastern, and Duquesne.
Last night, Huggins on his weekly radio show said the decision to move on from Harrison came more from people in the athletic department that are higher ranking than him.
“I don’t have a lot to say about it because I wasn’t as involved as it’s being portrayed that I was,” Huggins said Thursday night.
Just hours later on Friday morning, Huggins implied the problem was not with the coaching of Harrison, but rather due to a fact of where the team is right now.
“Honestly that hasn’t been the problem,” Huggins said after referring to who will step in as Harrison’s short-term replacement. “You can’t throw it around like we did early on. We were throwing it around 20 times a game. You can’t miss free throws, you got to stand at the line and make free throws. We did not do that. And you go back and you re-run that and have us make free throws and not throw the ball around, we’re not sitting where we’re sitting.”
Huggins would then close the book on Harrison saying, “there’s not anything else to say.”