MORGANTOWN —
West Virginia University has lost another men’s basketball player, sophomore Pat Forsythe leaving the program, apparently to transfer to Akron.
Losing players in one way or another has been the biggest obstacle coach Bob Huggins has faced since taking over for John Beilein, although it did not deter him from taking the team to the brink of a national championship game before losing the national semifinal to Duke.
Still, it’s been a battle to keep people around, be they members of the team or recruits. Six players have transferred in Huggins’ five years.
Transferring out were Will Thomas, Dee Proby, Dan Jennings (leaving the court mid-game), Dalton Pepper and Tommie McCune. While you could hardly challenge the Dream Team with that group, it includes some usable players.
Making putting together a championship team even tougher is the fact that the entire 2010 recruiting class of guard Noah Cottrill, center David Nyarsuk and forward Darrious Curry never played a minute for the Mountaineers.
Forsythe is not even the first loss since last season as WVU’s most highly touted recruit, 6-8, 250-pound forward Elijah Macon, did not qualify after playing at Huntington Prep last season and has returned to prep school, intent on enrolling at WVU next season.
Forsythe’s departure probably didn’t hit Huggins out of the blue as there were indications last year that he was unhappy. He took a medical redshirt this past season for a stress fracture in his right ankle, which limited him to just seven games while averaging 2.1 points and 3.4 rebounds in 11.4 minutes.
That was the same ankle Forsythe broke late in his senior year of high school in Brunswick, Ohio.
Forsythe will be returning to his home area, a move probably triggered from homesickness as it brings him back closer to his father, with whom he had a unique relationship.
His father was blind and had custody of him, but their existence was nomadic.
“Growing up, I never really had a stable environment and never really had a lot of material things; we were always in financial trouble,” Pat Forsythe explained.
But it didn’t matter.
“My dad has always been there for me and cared for me throughout my life,” Forsythe stressed.
They made do with what they had.
“He made sure that there was always food on the table and clothing on our backs, but that was about it,” Forsythe said. “As a result, I always wanted to go to my friends’ houses because they had things to do … like video games, basketball hoops and ping pong tables.”
Now they will be reunited.
Email Bob Hertzel at bhertzel@hotmail.com. Follow on Twitter @bhertzel.
WVU Sports
Forsythe apparently headed to Akron
- WVU Sports
-
-
HERTZEL COLUMN: Flying WV logo draws attention outside country
Sometimes you hit a nerve, as we did a while back when we wrote about the wide reach of West Virginia University’s flying WV logo.
It has meant a lot to a lot of people. -
Seahawks’ Bruce Irvin suspended four games
Bruce Irvin, one of only two West Virginia University defensive linemen ever to be selected in the first round of the NFL draft, will miss the first four games of the 2014 National Football League season because of a failed test for performance-enhancing drugs.
-
WVU falls to Oklahoma State, 5-0
The West Virginia University baseball dropped its fifth consecutive game with a 5-0 loss to No. 16 Oklahoma State on Friday evening at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.
-
Reaves rejoins Carey as an assistant coach
Mike Carey has run through a lot of assistant basketball coaches during his time at West Virginia University, so it comes as no surprise that he has started repeating assistants.
Carey announced on Friday that Sharrona Reaves has returned as an assistant on his West Virginia staff. -
HERTZEL COLUMN: Opportunity to see birth of greatness
Sometimes things happen and the significance of them isn’t fully grasped immediately. So it is with the approval of the TIFF financing for a baseball stadium just off I-79 here in Morgantown.
Obviously, this a boon for the West Virginia University baseball program of Randy Mazey, which gains instant creditability. -
Musgrave ranks among top pitchers in college baseball
West Virginia University’s redshirt sophomore left-hander Harrison Musgrave’s spectacular season has reached the pinnacle of the heights a collegiate pitcher can attain as he has been named a finalist for the College Baseball Hall of Fame Pitcher of the Year Award.
-
FURFARI COLUMN: Crutchfield ‘miracle man’ at West Liberty
Jim Crutchfield, who learned the value of “aggressive defense” in basketball as a player at the old Roosevelt-Wilson High School in Clarksburg, continues to parlay that play phase with others to lead the nation in scoring as well as achieve smashing success as an NCAA Division II head coach.
-
WVU drops opener at Oklahoma State
The West Virginia University baseball team was unable to overcome an early deficit and fell 7-4 in game one against No. 16 Oklahoma State on Thursday evening at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.
-
Musgrave may be rested against OSU
It’s been a fun ride for West Virginia University baseball this season, coming out of nowhere to reach the final weekend with a chance to win the regular-season Big 12 championship.
But coach Randy Mazey is not allowing the Mountaineers to get carried away with that thought. -
HERTZEL COLUMN: WVU Tier 3 bidding goals are ambitious
They are re-opening the bidding at West Virginia University’s athletic department for Tier 3 media rights, but judging by the vision they have shown in putting it together, this is becoming something as ambitious, if not profitable, as the national television deals in which they have a stake.
- More WVU Sports Headlines
-
HERTZEL COLUMN: Flying WV logo draws attention outside country
