Bobby Huggins, Sensitive Man

by DreadedOne on Apr 4, 2010 8:30 AM CDT

Last night, during the national semifinal, Da'Sean Butler went down with an obvious knee injury. He lay on the floor despondent and unconsolable. I don't know that I ever expected what happened next. Bob Huggins can out on the floor and tried to console him. He was down on the floor calming the wounded star. He embraced him and spent about a minute or so having the most public of private moments. When he rose, Bob Huggins was clearly teary-eyed. Later in the game "Huggy Bear" gave his seniors their moment and took them out. He hugged them obviously proud of their hard work.

I don't know Bobby Huggins. I consider myself a casual fan. I never really had much opinion about Huggins but now I don't know how you couldn't. I've always maintained that college coaches don't go out on the field or floor enough when there's a seriously injured player. This was heartwarming.

As parents, we allow our child to play for this person and implicit in that contract is the idea that they will act as a surrogate parent. I often measure my like or dislike of a college coach based on whether I would want my kid to play for that coach. Shifty-eyed guys like Jim Calhoun who only care about winning and their own legacy? No. Bob Huggins impressed me with his caring and the tears he showed when he got up. My kid can play for him any time. Color me extremely impressed.

There's guys who "get it" and guys who don't. I think Huggy Bear gets it. He's a credit to his school. Mark me down as officially "a fan".

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He Has Had His Demons

Huggins has always been a “prickly” character, and has had his share of issues as a coach. Most the issues centered around the themes of alcohol abuse and graduation rates. I think that poignant moment showed the secret to his success, a real caring for his players. He seems to creat an us against the world mentality that brings his teams incredibly close. While an unfortunate moment, it was good to see the class of Huggins arise above the negativity and show some of his hidden character.

by realmccoy on Apr 4, 2010 9:29 AM CDT reply actions

It was a classy scene . . .

. . . but what I thought was particularly intriguing was Nantz picking up that Huggins said “they don’t foul,” presumably speaking about Duke, as he was comforting his player. I would assume that Huggins didn’t know that the mike would pick that up, so it was interesting hearing an opposing coach saying so matter-of-factly, in a moment believed to be private, what many fans (including me) seem to believe. Did anyone ask him about that in his post-game press conference? A quick google search revealed nothing for me.

by Hopkins Horn on Apr 4, 2010 12:55 PM CDT reply actions

From what I read on Twitter, he said it before he went over the console Butler, presumably before he realized it was such a serious injury.

by junglerules on Apr 4, 2010 1:04 PM CDT up reply actions

Graduation rates

Rick Reilly contends he graduated zero players at Cinci Blutarski-like zero-point-zero

by hunghorn on Apr 4, 2010 1:06 PM CDT reply actions

As a coach

It is moments like that that make our job special. I consider it a blessing to get to be around a great group of young men everyday. During the immense amount of time you spend together you hope to impress things upon them that will aid in their development not just as players but more importantly as men. As much time as you spend together they become like family so when they hurt you hurt too. Its such an interesting dynamic but one that I definitely feel blessed that I get to be a part of.

Watching that moment with Coach Huggins just reminded me of that and I think its great for the public to see.

"I want to be remembered as the guy who gave his all whenever he was on the field."
-Walter Payton

by CoachEtch on Apr 4, 2010 1:09 PM CDT reply actions

it was a class act. i always liked coach huggins but he never seemed to get the breaks in cincy.

i’m glad his team made it to the final four.

I'm all about covering the spread and moneylines. I was building a house, I don't deserve this, deserves have nothing to do with it. Bang. "Unforgiven" I drink your milkshake. I drink it up! "There Will BE Blood"

by wolfmanshowlforever on Apr 7, 2010 5:45 PM CDT up reply actions

His nose was literally an inch from Butler's

And while it might make some guys uncomfortable, it was an intimate moment at which we could all see that Huggins had a deep, paternal caring for his player. I thought it was touching, and found myself wishing my coach had ever cared that much for me or any of his athletes other than his son.

Boycott Facebook. It's lame. Inform your real friends that you're going to communicate with them like a normal human being, and then delete your account. Seriously.

by burntorangehorn on Apr 4, 2010 1:17 PM CDT reply actions