Moving On
April 19, 2007 05:11 PM | General
April 19, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Darris Nichols almost hung up on Bob Huggins the first time West Virginia’s new basketball coach tried to get a hold of him on his cell phone. Huggins was calling to tell Nichols that he was taking the WVU job.
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| In a span of two days Darris Nichols went from the jubilation of winning the NIT to wondering who would be coaching him his senior year at WVU.
All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
“It was around 10 o’clock and it was a restricted call,” Nichols said. “I didn’t know who it was. I thought someone was crank calling me.”
Huggins’ phone call turned out to be the perfect ending to one of the worst weeks of Nichols’ life. Just two days after leading West Virginia to the school’s second NIT championship, the guard was left to prepare for his senior year without a coach. Nichols was floored when he found out John Beilein was leaving to take the Michigan job.
“I had been hearing rumors but I heard more rumors the year before about N.C. State,” Nichols said. “I kind of took Michigan out of the picture. I didn’t really think about it.”
Nichols first got wind that Beilein was leaving on television.
“It’s weird how I found out because I was on my X-Box and I’ve got it hooked up to the Internet, and it runs ESPN live updates and I heard it on that in the background a little bit,” Nichols said. “I turned it off and I looked on ESPN and it said that he had accepted the job. We were thinking it was maybe rumors but we didn’t really believe it.”
Nichols immediately called all of his teammates over to his apartment for an impromptu meeting.
“We were all kind of upset. We thought it was just a rumor but we were thinking if it was just a rumor coach would call us and tell us. He didn’t do that so we pretty much expected that he was leaving,” Nichols said.
The meeting lasted well into the night and was filled with raw emotion.
“At first we were angry that he would leave us like that. Then it got emotional to the fact that we thought he left because of us,” Nichols said. “We still don’t know the reason why he left and we probably never will. It’s a business and you never know what went on behind the scenes.”
Beilein delivered the news to the team the following afternoon. Nichols recalls spending the next two days in a haze of confusion and doubt.
“It was hard seeing the assistant coaches still here. They didn’t know what to do,” Nichols said. “A lot of them had head coaching job offers and they really couldn’t say anything if Coach Beilein was going to take them with him. I had left for home when a lot of this stuff went on but I felt bad for them having to move all of their stuff out of the offices.
“That whole week was just stressful. It was hard for me to go to class. You’re answering questions from people you know but also random people on the streets.”
Nichols said the most difficult thing for him was trying to answer questions he simply had no answers for.
“The hardest part was two days before it happened people were congratulating you and then you turn around and the next day people are asking you ‘why did he leave?’ You really can’t answer because you don’t know why,” he said.
The entire team worked hard to make sure 2007 wasn’t the down year that so many had predicted after four-fifths of the starting lineup was lost to graduation. Nichols admits that’s what made Beilein’s departure so difficult to accept.
“Right after the ‘Sweet 16’ all I heard was that West Virginia was not going to do anything next year. We lost everybody,” he said. “The work that me personally and all of the other guys put in over the summer -- then go on and win the NIT and then being overshadowed by him leaving -- that was the most emotional part right there.”
Nichols’ spirits finally got a big boost when Jonnie West called and told him Bob Huggins was returning to his alma mater.
“I was calling teammates the whole way home and just talking to everybody. We kind of knew that Coach Huggins was going to come in and we were all leaning toward Coach Huggins anyway,” Nichols said.
“I have a lot of respect for him and what he’s done. To have a big-time coach coming in, it was just an emotional rollercoaster of we were happy with the NIT and then upset about Coach Beilein leaving and then excited again for getting Coach Huggins. It’s been a crazy month,” Nichols said.
Nichols had grown up watching Huggins on television, but he was unaware of all that Huggins has accomplished during his long and successful coaching career.
“I just know he wins wherever he is and he produces great players,” Nichols said. “For him to leave Kansas State after one year and to be from this area you know he’s really excited to coach here.”
Nichols believes his game is a perfect match for Huggins’ up-tempo style.
“I talked to my high school coach and he has a lot of respect for what Coach Beilein does and what he runs but he told me, ‘Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. This may show people that you can score as a point guard, too,’” Nichols said.
So far Huggins has predominantly worked on defense with his team during individual drills. Nichols says he has already learned a great deal.
“We’ve only worked out three days with him and I’ve learned so much all ready defensively. Things like just staying in front of your man,” Nichols said. “Some coaches just say stay in front of your man but he’s taught us the tricks to staying in front of your man.”
The irony of it is that the things Huggins is teaching his new team are the same tactics teams like Pitt, Connecticut and Syracuse have employed so successfully against West Virginia through the years. Offensive teams don’t like to be touched, bumped and knocked off their cuts.
“It’s totally different than Coach Beilein,” Nichols said. “It was up and down and I kind of like that kind of game personally. I think it compliments a lot of our players' games. Some of our guys can play better up and down.”
The other dramatic difference is Huggins’ preference for having physically strong players. Huggins had simple instructions for strength and conditioning coach Jeff Giosi the first time the two met.
Pointing to a picture on his office wall of 240-pound power forward Keynon Martin Huggins told Giosi, “I want you to make my guys look like that.”
A wide smile formed on Giosi’s face, “I can do that,” he replied.
Nichols says he is already feeling it.
“I’ve never been this sore in my life,” Nichols remarked. “(Huggins) is a firm believer in the weight room where Coach Beilein wanted his players long and lean. Every coach has a different philosophy and his philosophy is definitely being more physical than the other teams. He is emphasizing that we get into the weight room and we’re all going to be in there all summer. I think it is going to make a big difference in our game.”
So what is it that has surprised Nichols the most about Huggins?
“I didn’t know he was that tall,” Nichols said. “The first time I was shooting in here and I looked over and I was like, ‘Man he’s about 6-5.’ He’s a big guy. He has that personality where he’s soft-spoken and quiet off the court. On the court he’s probably a totally different person.”
Nichols is genuinely excited about playing his senior season for Bob Huggins.
“I’m just looking forward to it because he’s one of the greatest coaches in the game,” he said. “For me to get to play for him for one year … it’s funny because I wouldn’t mind playing two or three years for him.
“We talked about wanting a big-time coach who is used to winning who is going to be here to stay and is going to be here for us – who cares about us as people and not just as players,” Nichols said.
As for his hurt feelings, Nichols has moved on and is certain that time will eventually heal all wounds.
“It’s out the window. I have all the respect for Coach Beilein,” Nichols said. “Everybody has to make decisions and we all wish him the best.
“I’m pretty sure I’ll see him again. I talked to Coach (Jeff) Neubauer the other day and we’re still real close,” Nichols said. “He was telling me, ‘You know after this is all said and done you and Coach Beilein will probably be really close friends.’”
