West Virginia men's basketball coach Bob Huggins resigned last week after he was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence. It was the second bad incident for the longtime college basketball head coach in recent weeks after he used an anti-gay slur in a radio interview that also disparaged Catholics.
Kevin Sheehan spoke with Chris Anderson, who coves WVU athletics for 247Sports, about Huggins' departure. One question is whether the university made any attempt to keep the coach. "No, I don't think so, not with both of them together," Anderson said. "My understanding is the moment that the administration found out about the DUI and some of the details surrounding it, that was kind of it. There was never really any doubt in their mind."
According to a Pittsburgh police report, the coach's car was blocking traffic, had a "flat and shredded tire," and the driver's door was open. Officers observed Huggins having trouble driving the car when they asked him to pull it over and he had trouble answering their questions. A breath test determined his blood alcohol content was 0.21%, more than double the legal limit.
Anderson did add that there "were obviously some people in, let's say positions of power or donating power, donation power, that will just love Huggins unconditionally and kinda wanted [the university] to think twice about it and a little longer on it, but I think for the people who ultimately make those decisions the athletic director Wren Baker and [WVU] President Gordon Gee, they were out on it right away after that event."
Huggins' resignation letter read: "My recent actions do not represent the values of the University or the leadership expected in this role. While I have always tried to represent our University with honor, I have let all of you – and myself – down. I am solely responsible for my conduct and sincerely apologize to the University community – particularly to the student-athletes, coaches and staff in our program. I must do better, and I plan to spend the next few months focused on my health and my family so that I can be the person they deserve."
One nugget of information about what West Virginia does now after losing their basketball coach in June: Anderson said the school reached out to former Villanova head coach Jay Wright about taking over for one year and were turned down.
Click the player above to hear the full conversation on Huggins and waht his legacy means after his uncermonial exit.
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