MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Bob Huggins may never be confused with the greatest motivational speaker of all-time - the slicked-back-haired, thick-black spectacled, trouser-hiking Matt Foley - but he does have a way of encouraging his guys to play basketball the way he wants them to play.
 
His talks don't usually involve warnings of "living in a van down by the river" or "eating a steady diet of government cheese," but they sometimes do involve some choice wording and a little positive/negative reinforcing.
 
Esa Ahmad had one such session with Dr. Huggins before the Mountaineers' 71-60 road victory at Baylor back on Feb. 20.
 
The gist of Huggins message: Esa, we need you so let's pick it up and play the way you are capable of playing!
 
The clock is certainly ticking on Ahmad's college career. Now 82 games into it, Ahmad's three WVU seasons have consisted of some great moments (remember those 27 points he scored last year as a sophomore against Kansas?) and some not-so-great moments.
 
We know he can score from the perimeter; we know he can score off the bounce; we know he's athletic; we know he's got hands the size of a first baseman's mitt, and we know he's big enough and strong enough to grab every 50-50 ball that's within reach.
 
But what we still don't know is if he capable of doing it on a more consistent basis.
 
For whatever reason, he hasn't always come up with rebounds or those 50-50 balls that West Virginia must get in order to be successful (remember the Oklahoma State game a couple of weeks ago when he couldn't secure a rebound and the basketball ended up in the hands of Lindy Waters for a game-winning shot?).
 
After the Oklahoma State loss, he scored just three points and grabbed two rebounds against TCU and followed that up with a basket, three rebounds and two turnovers in the 77-69 loss at Kansas.
 
That can't happen if West Virginia wants to make a postseason run, something Huggins explained to his junior forward.
 
"Huggs has been preaching that to me - stay on the glass - and that's what I've been trying to do," Ahmad said earlier this week.
 
Esa didn't grab many rebounds against Baylor, just four, but he did score 15 points and was instrumental in helping the Mountaineers build an insurmountable first-half lead.
 
Against Iowa State last Saturday, Ahmad probably played his best all-around game of the year by scoring 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds - just the second double-double game of his career. Then, he followed that up two nights later with another, 11 points and 11 rebounds, in helping WVU to an important 84-74 victory over Texas Tech.
 
He didn't make many shots against the Red Raiders - hitting just 3 of 12 - but he was active, and an active Esa Ahmad is a very valuable Esa Ahmad.
 
"He's played so much harder these last few games," Huggins admitted. "He hasn't shot the ball well, but he has played significantly harder than he once did."
 
Ahmad has also been much better in the press, moving his feet and working harder to stay in front of his man.
 
The basketball is not moving down the floor as quickly as it was a few weeks ago.
 
"He was before, at times, an automatic outlet, and he's really closed that down," Huggins explained.
 
But it's Ahmad's rebounding that has Huggins smiling the most. He has been seeking another guy who can go get the ball off the glass to go with sophomore Sagaba Konate.
 
West Virginia's work on the defensive glass has been spotty all year, especially weakside rebounding, because the Mountaineers have lacked another athletic, physical big with the willingness to go get the ball.
 
Ahmad, at 6-feet-8 inches and 230 pounds, has to be that guy.
 
"I thought he should rebound the ball better than what he's rebounded the ball, and he started to do that," Huggins said.
 
"I just want it more," Ahmad shrugged. "I'm just crashing and trying to get the ball out of my area, and it's been working."
 
Now, Huggins has got to figure out a way to get a few more of Ahmad's shots to fall through the net.
 
"Then we will have the Esa Ahmad we thought we'd have," Huggins said.
 
Any preference where they come from, coach?
 
"I just want to see it go through the basket, I don't care where it's from," Huggins laughed.
 
Perhaps another motivational speech may be in order?
 
Huggins still has an airplane ride out to Austin, Texas, and a morning shootaround before Saturday's early-bird Texas game, set to tip off at noon. The Longhorns, 17-13 overall and 7-10 in Big 12 play, are in desperate need of a victory.
 
A West Virginia win would clinch second place outright in the Big 12 and the No. 2 seed in next week's Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in Kansas City.
 
Saturday's game will be televised nationally on ESPN (Bob Wischusen and Jimmy Dykes) while the Mountaineer Sports Network from IMG will have radio coverage on affiliates throughout West Virginia and online via WVUsports.com and the popular mobile app TuneIn beginning at 11 a.m.