Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 28, 1993 TAG: 9303280077
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Bill Brill
DATELINE: EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. LENGTH: Medium
But there's no way the Bearcats will match their effort of 24 offensive rebounds Friday against the Cavaliers. They are burdened by far too many chips on their shoulders.
"How many games do we have to win?" said forward Terry Nelson, one of the five seniors in the Cincinnati starting unit. "Nobody gives us credit."
It is difficult to understand Nelson's reasoning, considering Cincinnati is ranked seventh in the nation and was seeded second in the East - pretty good recognition for a team whose best wins were over Temple, Massachusetts and Xavier.
Cincinnati played two of the big boys - Indiana and Arizona - and lost. In fairness to the Bearcats, those games were on the road.
Cincinnati was a legitimate dark horse team when it won the Midwest Region last year and advanced to the Final Four for the first time in 30 years. But this time it entered the NCAA Tournament highly regarded.
Nelson's viewpoint - "You pick up a paper and you read that North Carolina and Michigan won, and there's almost no mention of Cincinnati" - clearly has been created by his coach, Bob Huggins.
The first time I saw Huggins in action, two years ago at the Metro Conference Tournament in Roanoke, he was wearing a double-breasted silk suit. All I could think then was that if he opened his jacket, he would have numerous watches pinned to the lining.
I see no reason to change my viewpoint.
There are certain things we can say with conviction about Huggins, a 39-year-old West Virginia graduate.
He could not coach at California, where Lou Campanelli was fired for screaming at his players. Huggins jerked Erik Martin, his second best player, from a recent game and sent him to the locker room in the first half.
During practice and games, he and his players constantly jaw at each other.
"He's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Huggins," insists Nelson, whose goal in life is to become a standup comic.
Says Martin: "Coach wants to make men of boys. When I came to college, I definitely was a boy."
Huggins says: "I don't know what happened at Cal. I've only read about it in the paper, and I believe about one-third of what I read."
He defends his style by saying that everything is forgotten when it's not time for basketball.
"He's Bob then," Nelson agrees.
"Coaching is all about communication," said Huggins, a man who practices what he preaches. In the Virginia game, he screamed at the officials constantly, often making reference to "three ACC referees." (None was.)
"You probably don't agree with your boss every day," Huggins said, leaving no doubt about his philosophy. "On the floor, there's not a whole lot of humor."
Not in news conferences, either. Huggins' next smile there will be his first. He has gritted his teeth and gone forward, responding testily to every question he perceived as negative.
By all accounts, the discipline so evident in Cincinnati's play (other than Nick Van Exel's shot selection) does not exist afterward.
Huggins, who has built this program with blue-collar players who were either overlooked or underqualified or both elsewhere, has few rules.
"I'm not big into telling guys how to live," he said. "I explain the pitfalls, but they're going to do what they want to do anyway."
Huggins is sensitive to comments he's heard from television analysts, although I can't recall a time when he's been ripped by any of those talking heads.
"Why would I listen to those guys in the studio," he said. "A lot of them were guys who couldn't coach."
There is at least one reason to wish Cincinnati would upset the Tar Heels. If the Bearcats win, Huggins has agreed to shave his head.
"Yeah, I will," he said. "Sure I will."
He didn't sound convincing.
For those of you planning a trip to New Orleans later this week, expect to see a full head of hair on Huggins, who will not be wearing a Miss Manners lapel button.
by CNB