What A Man, Bob Huggins.

Chances are you probably didn't stay up and watch the ridiculous NBA game last night. Memphis Grizzlies-Oklahoma City Thunder, three overtimes and a combined 256 total points made for once exciting game. OKC won the game very anti-climatic fashion by the score 133-123 but it still was once heck of a game, an 'Instant Classic' for sure. NBA, where amazing happens.

How about them Cincinnati Reds? Winners of 5 out of the last 6. Our pitching rotation is finally completely healthy. The stellar defense and offense of Brandon Phillips is tremendous. This team has a certain swagger right now that makes them really enjoyable to watch. Winning is fun, let's keep it up.

Today I came across a Q and A with Bob Huggins in the Cincinnati Enquirer. As many of you know, I love Bob Huggins. I will always be a Huggins supporter. In my mind and in the minds of many others, Bob Huggins will always be the face of UC basketball. What was in the questions and answers that I found interesting was the fact Huggins turned down an NBA coaching opportunity while he was here at UC. Not an assistant job, but a head coaching opportunity in the National Basketball Association. Oh, not just one opportunity..on THREE separate occasions, Bob Huggins turned down the chance to become a head coach in the NBA. I personally did not know this. I knew he had turned down other colleges so he could remain at the University of Cincinnati but it was news to me and others that he turned down the NBA, three times. If he went to the NBA he could have been making at least five times the amount of money and he wouldn't have had to recruit.

What bothers me most about the whole Huggins situation was how it was handled by then UC President Mrs. Nancy Zimpher aka well....I'll keep this PG rated. Honestly, UC's graduation rates for basketball were down right, pathetic. And when Bob Huggins received a DUI in 2004, things were not looking very bright. He needed a slap on the wrist, or the back, or whatever body part you wanted to slap him on. But firing him? Really? You're going to fire the man that is the schools all time winningest coach, conference coach of the decade, national coach of the year, lead his teams to 14 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, and 10 league conference titles. Okay if you're going to fire that man, the face of your basketball program; you're at least going to tell him face to face, right? Nope. The way Bob Huggins found out was by a phone call from a reporter while he was out recruiting. That's what gets me, the way the whole situation was handled.

This brings me to my last point about Bob Huggins, I can't really provide any facts here, just my opinion; I firmly believe Bob Huggins would have won a national championship here at the University of Cincinnati. We will never know the true answer to this statement because he will never coach here again, we can only speculate. Here's my reasoning...the Big East. Bob Huggins is the reason the entire University of Cincinnati's athletic department is in the Big East. No one can argue that. Bob Goin, the Athletic Director at UC when the switch was made from the C-USA to the BIG EAST was quoted as saying "without Bob Huggins, the Big East never would have wanted UC." The man responsible for enabling UC to gain more of a national presence, was never able to coach in that conference, he wasn't given the chance. UC would have won the national championship in 2oo0 IF Kenyon Martin didn't break his leg. Number 1 team all year, the national player of the year goes out and breaks his leg in a conference tournament. Bob Huggins was never able to tell recruits that he coached in the Big East while he was at UC. If he would have been given the chance to coach here, he would have brought in the prospects faster than gasoline prices have gone up. O.J. Mayo, Bill Walker, Michael Beasley and I've heard as far fetched as Kevin Durant all would have come to UC to play for Huggins. Trust me, it's a lot easier to recruit a 17 year old athlete if you can tell him he'll be playing in the Big East compared to the Conference USA. He was the definition of a players coach. It really hurts me and other Bearcat fans to think about this whole situation, just knowing what could have been really kills me.

Here are some pretty cool/inspiring quotes either about Huggins or from Huggins himself:

Then President Nancy Zimpher asked former Athletic Director Bob Goin to fire Bob Huggins, his response: He refused. "I wouldn't do that to a janitor, I'll give any guy a second chance." Goin later "stepped down."

While choking up about his run at UC, "I've said it I don't know how many times, this is a great town with great people. It was a great run."

"I don't think I'm a bad guy. If you talk to people who know me, you don't hear bad things. Have I made mistakes? Sure, but I'd venture to say most people have. I'm sincerely sorry about them, and I try to fix them, that's life."

and my personal favorite...this was a couple days after XU opened their new arena called the Cintas Center..

"You can't spell CINTAS without NIT."

I will remember Bob Huggins for shedding tears on senior day when Kenyon Martin graduated. I am going to remember Bob Huggins as a great coach, but more importantly as a great person. I will always remember the handwritten letter he wrote my dad after being forced to leave UC. I will remember Bob Huggins as my favorite coach, in any sport, and in any era. What a man he is.

This picture gets me. every. single. time.

Bob Huggins, what a coach, and what a better person.

That is the Truth.