Bob Huggins Reiterates Desire to Coach Again: ‘I’m Pretty Good at What I Do’
It’s been two years since Bob Huggins coached his last game. At that time, he didn’t know that NCAA Tournament loss to Maryland would be the last time he would lead the Mountaineers, but that’s exactly what happened. Multiple sandals followed and Huggins’ tenure as WVU’s head coach came to an unceremonious end.
But now that West Virginia has fully moved on, Huggins hasn’t lost his desire to coach. And recently, Huggins reiterated his interest in getting back into coaching while talking to the Cincinnati Enquirer after attending an event at an Ohio high school.
Huggins even made a pitch to athletic directors everywhere about why they should consider him for any coaching vacancy.
“I’m pretty good at what I do. I’ve been pretty good in every place that I’ve been. Every place that I’ve been people call me all the time, to this day. They call and talk, ‘When you coming back? When are we going to see you?’. I think I’ve done the right things. I’ve been good to people. I’ve been good to where I’ve been and I’ve been really good to our guys. Look at what our guys are doing. Look at the guys we put in the NBA. Look at our guys that are extremely successful in the workplace,” the Basketball Hall of Famer told the Enquirer’s Scott Springer.
Huggins, 71, also believes he can handle the constantly changing landscape of college sports.
“You do understand I graduated Magna Cum Laude, like the first in my class? I’m not dumb. I’ve been successful because I know what I’m doing. I’ve been very successful in doing what I’m doing. I don’t have at this point in time of my life, a lot of fears.”
WVSN photo by Kelsie LeRose
Even though Huggins is vocal about wanting a job, he won’t beg for a job either. However, he also won’t deny that coaching is still his passion and he’s confident he would be successful if provided another chance to lead a group of young men again.
“I’m not begging anybody for a job. What I’m saying is I’d like to help young people. That’s been what I’ve been my whole life. My dad (Charlie) had a camp, I worked the camp night and day with young people. I go from there to Walsh College, to University of Akron to Cincinnati. I’ve been successful everywhere I’ve ever been. How can anyone (not) take a shot at that? I’ve been successful every single place I’ve ever been. And, my guys love me and they come back. They consistently, constantly come back.”
Huggins was WVU’s head coach from 2007-23 and guided the Mountaineers to the 2010 Final Four and three Sweet 16 appearances after that. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022 and is one of only six Division I men’s basketball coaches to surpass 900 wins.
Huggins owns 935 career wins, which is third on the all-time wins list. He led both Cincinnati (1992) and WVU (2010) to an appearance in the Final Four. Huggins was named Big 12 Coach of the Year in 2015 and was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2022.
Find more coverage of Bob Huggins at WV Sports Now.
