Heard it From Hoard: Column 41
It's a game that's begging for a clever nickname. Unfortunately, it appears that I'm not that clever.
The "Bob Bowl" sounds too football-ish.
"Mick vs. Mentor" could also apply to Louisville games because of Rick Pitino.
"Huggy's Revenge" sounds too much like the film classic "Porky's Revenge."
If you can think of anything better, I'd love to hear it.
With or without a nickname, Wednesday's game against West Virginia is certainly going to be emotional.
Covering the Bearcats during the Bob Huggins years was a blast. There are a million stats that demonstrate how dominant UC was during his tenure, but here's a personal favorite - beginning in 1992, UC made it into the AP Top 10 in 8 of the next 10 seasons. That's Top 10…not Top 25! Furthermore, the Bearcats cracked the national polls and qualified for the NCAA tournament in each of his last 14 seasons.
As much as I enjoyed covering great teams and players during his tenure, I probably cherish the laughs even more. Hanging out with Bob and Chuck as they smoked cigars (a no-no for both of them now) and swapped stories frequently had me doubled-over in pain from laughing so hard. I'll never forget the night in Memphis after a big win over the Tigers when Huggs convinced the famed "Rendezvous" restaurant to stay open late for a post-game feast that eventually included Memphis coach John Calipari. Listening to those two swap good-natured insults until the crack of dawn was funnier than any standup comedian.
And of course, who could forget the time Coach Huggins popped out of a coffin for us on Fox 19.
No matter where you stand on how Bob's tenure at Cincinnati ended, it seems to me that everything is going to turn out fine.
Huggs got a sizable settlement to take a year off and ultimately wound up at his alma mater where, by all accounts, he's as happy as he's been in years.
Additionally, I don't hear the national media bring up graduation rates or off-court trouble when mentioning Cincinnati or Coach Huggins anymore. Fairly or unfairly, the reputation of both parties improved after they split.
After one tough season, UC is already competitive in the Big East and rapidly on the way back to being an NCAA tourney contender. Sophomore Deonta Vaughn is on a pace to finish as the 3rd leading scorer in UC history, the 6-man freshman class has demonstrated remarkable growth, and with studs like Mike Williams, Yancy Gates, Cashmere Wright, and Nick Aldridge joining the team next year, the near future is extremely bright.
Clearly, the program is in great hands. Mick Cronin is young, smart, and energetic and has no desire to ever leave. Like his former boss, he's a great storyteller too.
Perhaps the nickname for Wednesday's game should be "Moving on in Morgantown." It should be an interesting night.
As I mentioned in last week's column, Sam Hoard made his Bearcat basketball debut at last week's game against UConn. Special thanks to all the Bearcat fans and Fifth Third Arena staff members who were so hospitable and friendly to Sam and my wife Peg. They had a great time and look forward to a return visit. Enjoy this week's obligatory photos of the handsome lad.
I'd love to hear from you. The address is dhoard@pawsox.com.
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