PHOENIX – There are different ways of motivating people. Indiana coach Bob Knight once infamously displayed a leather whip at an NCAA Tournament press conference that he jokingly said he used to get his Hoosier players’ attention.

	Coach Huggs spends a minute with former Mountaineer greats Hot Rod Hundley and Joedy Gardner at US Airways Center Wednesday afternoon. All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks

It appears the CIA has become fond of using a water board. West Virginia coach Bob Huggins prefers the treadmill because of its two-fold benefits.

“You run lines and it is so much better on your legs. It’s a healthier way to stay in shape and it is a healthier way to make a point,” Huggins said.

Huggins would have used the treadmill on the floor at Cincinnati except for the fact that a cardio room was already located nearby.

“We couldn’t afford it at Cincinnati,” Huggins joked. “We had a cardio room that we just kind of kept track and they went in on the treadmill afterwards.”

At West Virginia, Huggins said the treadmill only came into play once the players figured out he wasn’t as mean as some have portrayed him to be.

“They were scared to death to start with,” Huggins said. “I think once they found out that it wasn’t as bad as what they maybe thought it was going to be they were fine. Then that’s probably when we started using the treadmill.”

Senior center Jamie Smalligan admits he’s used it the most of any player this year.

“Sometimes I probably run, like, four miles on it during practice,” Smalligan said to laughter. “But in the end it’s helped me.”

Smalligan explains.

“It’s been the hardest adjustment for me more so than anybody – getting used to Coach Huggins – and I think it’s helped me and I think it will continue to help the guys – just force habits.

“Before you know it, you are on there so much when it comes to stuff like rebounding and defense – it’s … the stuff is kind of like second nature. You don’t even worry about punishment. You just do it without thinking about it.”

Lately the team hasn’t had to even look at the treadmill because it has been performing so well and working so hard during practice.

“He kind of threatened us a week and a half ago about bringing it out because the practice was kind of going slow,” said Da’Sean Butler. “And practice kind of picked back up. I have been on it a couple of times. It’s not fun.”

Smalligan says Huggins is far from being cruel and unusual. His tough practices actually serve as a bonding agent for his teams.

“I think the reason that his former players and his teams are so close is just because it’s like – when you are through something that is the hardest thing you have ever done in your life you really got to come together through it,” Smalligan said.

“At times maybe when you are getting yelled at at practice you don’t see why he is really doing it. But I feel like as much as he yelled at me … while I may not have had my best individual season I feel like the things that he has taught me are going to help me the rest of my life as well,” Smalligan said.

“I feel like he’s looking out for me more than just as a basketball coach,” Smalligan added. “He’s more like a life coach or something.”

Briefly:

West Virginia practiced from Noon to 12:50 pm, attended a news conference following practice and then had a closed workout session afterward at Phoenix College. The Mountaineers were the first team to workout at US Airways Center.

Among those courtside observing West Virginia on Wednesday afternoon were former Mountaineer greats Hot Rod Hundley and Joedy Gardner, who also coached Huggins at WVU.

Wrote Greenberg about West Virginia: “You might be surprised to see the Mountaineers ranked so high, but this has been the best school for both sports in the 2000s in a state without a major professional team. In Wisconsin and Texas, the NFL will always be king. In West Virginia, a state that is underappreciated for producing both football and basketball talent, Morgantown is a lifeblood of good times.”