RE: State of affairs at WVU
I'm not concerned about the financial aspects. WVU paid $20 million to get out of The BEast before it crumbled, and now have a debt of $13 million. That means that WVU had a few million dollars to play with prior to leaving. The athletic department is doing something right. Otherwise the debt would be far greater, considering all the income we left behind in the form of NCAA tourney credits, and all our football income from the 2010 season. WVU is only making 50% of B12 income this season, which is still more than we would have made in The BEast, and goes up quite a bit next year...
As for the way this season has gone, these things happen. Look at Syracuse. They're just getting back on their feet in football for the first time since the 1990s. But the Orange had over a decade of futility. Pittsburgh hasn't done anything significant in football since their last national title in the 1970s...
WVU has one bad season due to a young coach figuring out that defense is just as important as offense, even though offense is what puts butts in the seats. I think WVU will be improved a bit overall next season, even though we did lose all our offensive stars. One thing Holgerson does know is offense. So WVU's offense will be fine, and I think the defense will be much improved now that DeForest has gone back to coaching special teams, where he belongs...
As for Huggins team, he's had a couple recruiting classes that didn't pan out (2009 & 2010), with the exception of 2010 recruit Kevin Noreen and 2009 recruit Kilicli. Noah Cottrill got derailed by drugs. David Nyarsuk didn't qualify academically, and is now playing for UC, where he averages about 2.8 ppg and 2.5 rpg. Darrious Curry had a heart problem that prevented him from playing. Dalton Pepper transferred to Temple and is averaging 3 ppg. Dan Jennings walked off the court and disappeared during the middle of a game, before transferring to Long Beach State, where he's averaging a bit over 9 ppg and 6 rpg. Jennings and Pepper would have been seniors, along with Kilicli. Cottrill, Curry, and Nyarsuk would have been juniors. Those guys would have provided the leadership this team needs, and doesn't have. Kilicli isn't suited for the on court leadership role, and the rest of WVU's upperclassmen are transfers. However, the future will be better. WVU will have a lot of experience returning, along with a very good incoming class, all of whom have already qualified - as long as they graduate...
The B12 also plans to address WVU's travel issues. I just hope the NCAA revokes the rule that prevents teams from staying on the road, rather than requiring them to return to campus after each basketball game. That rule has hit WVU a couple of times already this season, requiring unnecessary long trips...
By the time WVU is making their full B12 share, all this will be water under the bridge...
As for the ACC, they've been making excuses to avoid WVU since the conference first formed. First it was the roads, then it was the fact that WVU isn't near the Atlantic coast, and the latest was academics. Frankly, if WVU does come back to a conference closer to Morgantown, I'd much prefer the SEC. The fact that most of WVU's old rivals are now in the ACC is of no consequence. The ACC can stick it. They're small potatoes compared to the other major conferences...
We have a writer trying to sensationalize this news to gain readers, which worked, since everyone here has read it. Now all of WVU's detractors are saying it's the end of the world for the Mountaineers. It isn't. It's just a hiccup on the road of life...
(This post was last modified: 02-25-2013 10:22 AM by bitcruncher.)
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