Golly wolly ding dong.
I started watching the WVU/KSU story after Beilein got fired, all the while with the hope that Huggins would pass up on the job like he did a few years ago while at Cincy. Lots of K-State fans are quick to rip apart Huggins now that he’s gone, but after making fun of KU fans for doing that when Roy-boy left, it would be pretty hypocritical for me to react that way.
It’s sad. Huggins was a good coach and a good recruiter, and there’s no doubt about that. There always was doubt about his character…and because of that…this really shouldn’t be as surprising as it is. It is indeed sad that the issue of returning to his alma mater wasn’t brought up during the hiring process, because Weiser said they would’ve just moved on to someone else if it had been. They were obviously under the impression that Huggins was going to be in this for a while. And somewhat rightly so…as Huggins did say he intended to end his career at KSU.
The real question now is, what’s going to happen to the class of ’07? If Dalonte Hill and Frank Martin can be retained, it’s possible it could stay mostly together. Beasley has said that he doesn’t know what’s in store for him, but at the moment he knows he’s still signed with KSU. Wesier has said that he’s not going to grant releases…but it’s possible that if Beasley or others refuse to play, then they won’t have much of a choice. If KSU really won’t back out…it’s possible that Beasley and Walker might end up going to Europe for a year (so they don’t have to sit out at all) and then go to the NBA.
It will be very interesting to see if it works out. If the class can stay together and KSU can maintain an upward climb in the program, then certainly not all is lost. Otherwise, it’ll be like starting from ground zero again…losing most of the momentum…not only players and coaches, but also possibly having to scrap renovation plans and a practice facility that were being planned.