MORGANTOWN —
Bob Huggins’ late signing of 6-foot, 10-inch Kevin Noreen out of Minnesota to complete his recruiting class for the next season has opened a floodgate of thoughts, most of which are best tackled here and now, for after all this is summertime and the living is easy.
It begins, perhaps, with the belief that the future of West Virginia basketball probably has never been better, although to ask the team to reach the Final Four again is a lot.
Indeed, having lost a senior like Da’Sean Butler and a talent like Devin Ebanks leaves a gaping hole, to start with, although rest assured that coach Bob Huggins will turn Kevin Jones into every bit the player Butler was this year.
In fact, if I were filling out a pre-season All-America ballot today, Kevin Jones’ name would be on such a document.
But even with that and so much else back, reaching the Final Four in consecutive seasons is something far easier to think about than to accomplish. Going back 30 years, to 1980, the only schools in college basketball to go to consecutive Final Fours are North Carolina (twice), Louisville, Arkansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Kansas, Florida, UCLA, Michigan State, Houston, Georgetown and Duke, which went for five consecutive season from 1988 to 1992.
That is the virtually a roll call of champions, possessing 20 of the 31 championships during that time.
You might notice, too, that the only Big East school that has gone to the Final Four in consecutive years is Georgetown, and it took Patrick Ewing to get them there that second season. Louisville made consecutive Final Fours but it was a long before the Cardinals joined the Big East.
So West Virginia’s work this winter is certainly cut out for it, even though it does seem to have the pieces to complete the puzzle. How hard it is to return to the Final Four can best be seen in Huggins own career, having not gone to Final Four since his first season at Cincinnati until leading the Mountaineers there last year.
If one searing question is whether or not WVU is capable of returning to the Final Four, the recruitment of Noreen leads to another question, one that only he is going to be able to answer. That question, of course, is whether or not a giant in Class A ball in Minnesota can grow into a giant in major college basketball, especially in a conference as tough as the Big East.
Obviously, since Boston College brought him in to play in the ACC and Huggins gobbled him up to play in the Big East, there are those who believe he can make the transition. But rest assured, there remains questions.
Comments from fans on the Minneapolis Star-Tribune’s website certainly raised some doubts.
“I would be surprised if Noreen sees the court @ West
Virginia, not athletic enough to compete in the Big East or Big 10. Good luck to him & hope he proves me wrong. Right now, Tubby (Smith, Minnesota basketball coach) did not make a mistake in not signing him,” wrote one person.
“Although I don’t disagree with you, Tubby did decline to offer Noreen a scholarship. Tubby didn’t feel he could play in the Big Ten and he is not alone on that either. Huggins obviously sees something in the kid but Noreen might also never see the floor. To be honest the odds are against him in WV,” wrote another.
“His stats are inflated because he played some really weak teams. Our high school team, which isn’t very good, played some of the same teams. We’d start the game on a 20-0 run. He may have some talent, but I have a problem with him winning Mr. Basketball last year,” said a third.
However, perhaps the comment that makes the most sense was this one:
“Are there things Noreen can’t do? Yes! But, he also has skills you can’t teach. Build on his strengths and he has a greater upside than (Ralph) Sampson III. He got good grades and tested well. That seems to be a red flag for Tubby. Huggins is not an idiot. Check his won-lost record.”
Indeed, if nothing else, Bob Huggins will stand on his ability to judge talent and, until proven that he’s lost that, the obvious thought is that Noreen can be an important player over the years for WVU.
And isn’t it refreshing to see Huggins bringing in quality people, rather than those of questionable character that he was known to recruit in the past.
E-mail Bob Hertzel at bhertzel@hotmail.com.
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