It probably won't happen.
But based on West Virginia University's 20-10 finish and, more importantly, its 11-7 mark in the Big East, my pick for the league's Coach of the Year would be Bobby Huggins.
Why, you ask? Simple.
Pick one coach who has done more with less talent this basketball season than WVU's fourth-year coach.
Not only did the Mountaineers lose DaSean Butler and Wellington Smith to graduation, but Devin Ebanks' decision to forego his senior season and test the NBA's waters left the Mountaineers with a talent void.
As if those weren't big enough losses, incoming freshman Noah Cottrill was suspended for violating team rules and later withdrew from school while 'Mr. Basketball' in the state of Minnesota, Kevin Noreen, was lost to the team after suffering a leg injury that required season-ending surgery.
It didn't stop there for Huggins, who captured his 100th victory as head coach at his alma mater when the Mountaineers scored five points in the final 8.3 seconds to beat No. 11 Louisville (72-70) on Saturday. There was sophomore Dan Jennings walking off the court during a contest and being placed on indefinite suspension while leading scorer Casey Mitchell has been in Huggins' doghouse so much his nickname could be easily be Spot.
Even with all of that, the Mountaineers were able to post 20 wins-six against teams ranked in the Top 25-and 11 victories in a conference that could easily send 11 teams into the NCAA tournament when the field of 68 is announced on Sunday.
Sure, arguments could be made for Pittsburgh's Jamie Dixon since the Panthers captured the Big East regular season title and there will be those who believe that Notre Dame's Mike Brey, St. Johns' Steve Lavin and even Louisville's Rick Pitino are deserving of the award.
Each of them probably had adversities that they had to overcome at some point. None, however, had to deal with the constant turmoil that embroiled WVU.
Having watched each, none had more assistant coaches sitting on the bench rather than eligible players while Huggins had to spend the lion's share of his time orchestrating how to best utilize reserves Deniz Kilicli, Dalton Pepper, Jonnie West and the often-times moody Mitchell.
And, doing all of that, while competing in the toughest conference-top to bottom-in the country, as well as playing a 30-game schedule rated one of the three hardest in NCAA Division I.
Huggins easily could have looked at the hand he was dealt and elected to "wait until next year" when a top-rated recruiting class comes to Morgantown.
That isn't how Huggins does things, however.
And, the results are evident.
A 20-win season, a number No. 6 seed in the Big East tournament that kicks off today, and a possible five, six or seven seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament did not happen through use of mirrors.
They are solid reasons why Huggins should be the league's Coach of the Year.
Contact Jim Butta at jbutta@newsandsentinel.com
