Photo by: David Miller
Butler's '09 Villanova Performance Recalled
March 21, 2018 01:31 PM | Men's Basketball
BOSTON - Bob Huggins was asked Tuesday if he had any favorite Jay Wright/Villanova memories.
Before he answered, there are some we can quickly eliminate.
You can strike the 16-point loss to the Wildcats at the Wells Fargo Center in 2011, and the seven-point defeat at the Coliseum during West Virginia's Final Four season in 2010, and the 22-point rout at The Pavilion in 2008.
We can also exclude the Eastern College Basketball League tournament loss to the Wildcats at the Spectrum in Philadelphia that effectively ended Huggins' college basketball career.
That happened on Friday, March 4, 1977, during his senior season at WVU.
Huggins put the Mountaineers in the lead with a jump shot with 1:38 remaining, and a Tony Robertson free throw gave West Virginia a 69-67 advantage with 54 seconds to go. Robertson missed the second attempt, but teammate Junius Lewis rebounded it and the Mountaineers called timeout with 39 seconds to go.
With no shot clock or 3-point shot, this one should have been in the bag, but coach Joedy Garder opted to put an extra free throw shooter into the game, and that extra free throw shooter was an inexperienced freshman guard named Dana Perno.
Some of the people watching the game live on TCS back in Morgantown were horrified when they saw Gardner trying to win it from the sideline.
Of course, when play resumed the basketball immediately wound up in Perno's hands at midcourt where he was trapped by two Wildcat defenders. The ball was knocked away, Whitey Rigsby retrieved it and got it to freshman guard Rory Sparrow for a 15-footer to tie the game.
Huggins' desperation shot to win it in regulation was no good, and Villanova outlasted the Mountaineers in overtime to advance to the championship game where it lost to Duquesne.
Huggins got to play one more college game against Massachusetts in the NIT, but his last best opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament was quashed by Villanova.
Incidentally, the other one came during his sophomore year in 1975 when Georgetown beat West Virginia on a last-second shot in the ECAC championship game in Morgantown.
At any rate, the Villanova loss in the ECBL finals did not make his favorite list either.
The game that did occurred in 2009 in Morgantown and involved one of his best players - guard Da'Sean Butler.
Butler had sprained his ankle the day before so severely during practice that he couldn't even walk on it to get back to the training room.
"It was bad," WVU athletic trainer Randy Meador recalled. "That thing was the size of a grapefruit."
Butler spent the entire evening in the training room with Meador getting treatment on it in order to be ready for West Virginia's big Friday night game against the 13th-ranked Wildcats.
"He basically stayed in the training room all night," Huggins recalled.
Still, there was little improvement the next morning when the team went through its pregame walkthrough.
"He couldn't walk," Huggins said. "He really couldn't put any pressure on it, and he went back in the training room."
"But he was just totally focused (to get ready)," Meador added. "We spent all Thursday night and Friday together.
"We've had other people sprain their ankles but not want to be in there until 10 or 11 at night to be ready the next day. The more time someone gives me, the more I can do for them," Meador said.
Meanwhile, Huggins was going through his plans B, C and D in his mind during his walk down the steps to the Coliseum floor when he ran into Wright as his Wildcat team was about to take the floor for pregame warm-ups.
"When Billy (Hahn) and I were walking down the stairs, Jay was standing near the stairs and Jay said, 'He's going to play, isn't he?' I said, 'Jay, there is no way he's going to play. He couldn't go through our walkthrough,; he can't put any weight on it so there is no way he's going to play.'
"Jay said, 'Are you sure?' I said, 'Yeah, I'm sure he's not going to play.'"
No sooner had Huggins told him that when he noticed Butler jogging out onto the floor with his teammates to begin pregame warm-ups.
It wasn't quite a Willis Reed moment, but it did allow Huggins to forget the other things that were going through his mind.
Butler ended up playing 38 minutes and scored a career-high 43 points, banging six 3s and hitting 12 of 15 from the free throw line. He had 24 by halftime as the Mountaineers built a 52-34 lead.
It was the first time in 31 years a West Virginia player scored more than 40 points in a game, and it came from a guy basically playing on one foot.
"After the game I go down to shake hands and Jay said, 'Yeah right, he isn't going to play,'" Huggins chuckled.
"Not only did he play, but he played great," Meador added.
Indeed, he did.
Briefly:
* West Virginia arrived in Boston Tuesday evening, one day after returning from the late game in San Diego on Sunday night. The Mountaineers were encouraged to leave early to beat the storm expected to hammer the East Coast Wednesday and Thursday ahead of Friday's game against Villanova.
"It's been tough not getting back until 7 on Monday," Huggins said. "Then I get a call saying we have to leave (Tuesday). It would have been nice to be able to stay in town for another day. Early-morning practices are tough, too, after what they've gone through travel wise."
West Virginia will practice at Northeastern later today before assuming its regular on-site tournament practice schedule on Thursday.
"You can look at it one of two ways," Huggins said. "Either we're prepared because we travel more than any other team in the country (playing in the Big 12 Conference) or we're going to be worn out. Hopefully it's we're not worn out."
* From what Huggins has seen so far from Villanova, he's really impressed with the Wildcats.
"They really shoot the ball," Huggins said. "That's the biggest thing that stands out when you look at them. They make open shots. (Jalen) Brunson is great at creating shots and (Mikal) Bridges has been terrific. His play in the Big East Tournament was outstanding.
"Everybody that they put on the floor can score with the ball," Huggins added.
Villanova basically plays eight guys, but six of them are averaging double digits with Brunson leading the way at 19.1 points per game.
Three are shooting better than 50 percent from the floor, and the team is shooting 50.3 percent overall, which is why the Wildcats have lost just just four times in 36 games.
"Everybody they put on the floor can make 3s," Huggins said.
* When West Virginia faced Murray State and Marshall, the Mountaineers could focus on their leading scorers and take them out of the game. If West Virginia tries to do that with Brunson, it has five other scorers to deal with.
"You can't over help," Huggins said. "You have to stay attached to your guy. It's kind of like playing Oklahoma State or playing Kansas to a degree. If you don't stay attached to all of them, they are going to make shots. And sometimes even when you do stay attached they make shots.
"I think we probably have as good a frame of reference as anybody would playing them just playing the people that we've played," Huggins added.
* Senior guard Jevon Carter was named to the National Basketball Coaches Association (NABC) All-America third team, announced earlier today. Devonte' Graham, Trae Young and Friday opponent Jalen Brunson were named to the first team, while Trevon Bluiett and Carsen Edwards were named to the second team.
* Huggins said Tuesday he fully expects sophomore forward Wesley Harris to be ready to go for Friday's game, although he was held out of today's practice. Harris bumped heads with Marshall's Jannson Williams while scrambling for a loose ball in the first half of Sunday's game and did not return.
* Huggins said the reason Jay Wright has been so successful through the years at Villanova with great guard play is because he recruits great guards.
"I think they've been kind of tagged as 'Guard U','which helps," Huggins said. "Jay is a great coach and he puts them in positions where they can be successful. Their spacing is terrific. He's got guys who can make shots, but they can also bounce it.
There are a lot of people with guys who can make shots but can't bounce it, or guys who can bounce it but can't make shots, and he's got a heck of a combination of guys."
* The veteran coach was asked if he sees any comparisons between point guards Brunson and Carter, who will be matched up on Friday.
"One is right handed (Carter) and the other is left handed (Brunson). They've got different body types; Brunson plays a lot in the post and JC doesn't," Huggins said. "So, no I don't see any similarities at all."
* And finally, Huggins was asked if he was going to offer a pullover for the immaculately-dressed Wright to wear on Friday night. Huggins declined, saying he doesn't have any smalls to give out.
Even if he did have a small, Huggins admitted that Wright probably wouldn't put it on anyway.
"He'd wear it, but he wouldn't wear it when I was around," Huggins joked.
Before he answered, there are some we can quickly eliminate.
You can strike the 16-point loss to the Wildcats at the Wells Fargo Center in 2011, and the seven-point defeat at the Coliseum during West Virginia's Final Four season in 2010, and the 22-point rout at The Pavilion in 2008.
We can also exclude the Eastern College Basketball League tournament loss to the Wildcats at the Spectrum in Philadelphia that effectively ended Huggins' college basketball career.
That happened on Friday, March 4, 1977, during his senior season at WVU.
Huggins put the Mountaineers in the lead with a jump shot with 1:38 remaining, and a Tony Robertson free throw gave West Virginia a 69-67 advantage with 54 seconds to go. Robertson missed the second attempt, but teammate Junius Lewis rebounded it and the Mountaineers called timeout with 39 seconds to go.
With no shot clock or 3-point shot, this one should have been in the bag, but coach Joedy Garder opted to put an extra free throw shooter into the game, and that extra free throw shooter was an inexperienced freshman guard named Dana Perno.
Some of the people watching the game live on TCS back in Morgantown were horrified when they saw Gardner trying to win it from the sideline.
Of course, when play resumed the basketball immediately wound up in Perno's hands at midcourt where he was trapped by two Wildcat defenders. The ball was knocked away, Whitey Rigsby retrieved it and got it to freshman guard Rory Sparrow for a 15-footer to tie the game.
Huggins' desperation shot to win it in regulation was no good, and Villanova outlasted the Mountaineers in overtime to advance to the championship game where it lost to Duquesne.
Huggins got to play one more college game against Massachusetts in the NIT, but his last best opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament was quashed by Villanova.
Incidentally, the other one came during his sophomore year in 1975 when Georgetown beat West Virginia on a last-second shot in the ECAC championship game in Morgantown.
At any rate, the Villanova loss in the ECBL finals did not make his favorite list either.
The game that did occurred in 2009 in Morgantown and involved one of his best players - guard Da'Sean Butler.Butler had sprained his ankle the day before so severely during practice that he couldn't even walk on it to get back to the training room.
"It was bad," WVU athletic trainer Randy Meador recalled. "That thing was the size of a grapefruit."
Butler spent the entire evening in the training room with Meador getting treatment on it in order to be ready for West Virginia's big Friday night game against the 13th-ranked Wildcats.
"He basically stayed in the training room all night," Huggins recalled.
Still, there was little improvement the next morning when the team went through its pregame walkthrough.
"He couldn't walk," Huggins said. "He really couldn't put any pressure on it, and he went back in the training room."
"But he was just totally focused (to get ready)," Meador added. "We spent all Thursday night and Friday together.
"We've had other people sprain their ankles but not want to be in there until 10 or 11 at night to be ready the next day. The more time someone gives me, the more I can do for them," Meador said.
Meanwhile, Huggins was going through his plans B, C and D in his mind during his walk down the steps to the Coliseum floor when he ran into Wright as his Wildcat team was about to take the floor for pregame warm-ups.
"When Billy (Hahn) and I were walking down the stairs, Jay was standing near the stairs and Jay said, 'He's going to play, isn't he?' I said, 'Jay, there is no way he's going to play. He couldn't go through our walkthrough,; he can't put any weight on it so there is no way he's going to play.'
"Jay said, 'Are you sure?' I said, 'Yeah, I'm sure he's not going to play.'"
No sooner had Huggins told him that when he noticed Butler jogging out onto the floor with his teammates to begin pregame warm-ups.
It wasn't quite a Willis Reed moment, but it did allow Huggins to forget the other things that were going through his mind.
Butler ended up playing 38 minutes and scored a career-high 43 points, banging six 3s and hitting 12 of 15 from the free throw line. He had 24 by halftime as the Mountaineers built a 52-34 lead.
It was the first time in 31 years a West Virginia player scored more than 40 points in a game, and it came from a guy basically playing on one foot.
"After the game I go down to shake hands and Jay said, 'Yeah right, he isn't going to play,'" Huggins chuckled.
"Not only did he play, but he played great," Meador added.
Indeed, he did.
Briefly:
* West Virginia arrived in Boston Tuesday evening, one day after returning from the late game in San Diego on Sunday night. The Mountaineers were encouraged to leave early to beat the storm expected to hammer the East Coast Wednesday and Thursday ahead of Friday's game against Villanova."It's been tough not getting back until 7 on Monday," Huggins said. "Then I get a call saying we have to leave (Tuesday). It would have been nice to be able to stay in town for another day. Early-morning practices are tough, too, after what they've gone through travel wise."
West Virginia will practice at Northeastern later today before assuming its regular on-site tournament practice schedule on Thursday.
"You can look at it one of two ways," Huggins said. "Either we're prepared because we travel more than any other team in the country (playing in the Big 12 Conference) or we're going to be worn out. Hopefully it's we're not worn out."
* From what Huggins has seen so far from Villanova, he's really impressed with the Wildcats.
"They really shoot the ball," Huggins said. "That's the biggest thing that stands out when you look at them. They make open shots. (Jalen) Brunson is great at creating shots and (Mikal) Bridges has been terrific. His play in the Big East Tournament was outstanding.
"Everybody that they put on the floor can score with the ball," Huggins added.
Villanova basically plays eight guys, but six of them are averaging double digits with Brunson leading the way at 19.1 points per game.
Three are shooting better than 50 percent from the floor, and the team is shooting 50.3 percent overall, which is why the Wildcats have lost just just four times in 36 games.
"Everybody they put on the floor can make 3s," Huggins said.
* When West Virginia faced Murray State and Marshall, the Mountaineers could focus on their leading scorers and take them out of the game. If West Virginia tries to do that with Brunson, it has five other scorers to deal with.
"You can't over help," Huggins said. "You have to stay attached to your guy. It's kind of like playing Oklahoma State or playing Kansas to a degree. If you don't stay attached to all of them, they are going to make shots. And sometimes even when you do stay attached they make shots.
"I think we probably have as good a frame of reference as anybody would playing them just playing the people that we've played," Huggins added.
* Senior guard Jevon Carter was named to the National Basketball Coaches Association (NABC) All-America third team, announced earlier today. Devonte' Graham, Trae Young and Friday opponent Jalen Brunson were named to the first team, while Trevon Bluiett and Carsen Edwards were named to the second team.
* Huggins said Tuesday he fully expects sophomore forward Wesley Harris to be ready to go for Friday's game, although he was held out of today's practice. Harris bumped heads with Marshall's Jannson Williams while scrambling for a loose ball in the first half of Sunday's game and did not return.
* Huggins said the reason Jay Wright has been so successful through the years at Villanova with great guard play is because he recruits great guards.
"I think they've been kind of tagged as 'Guard U','which helps," Huggins said. "Jay is a great coach and he puts them in positions where they can be successful. Their spacing is terrific. He's got guys who can make shots, but they can also bounce it.
There are a lot of people with guys who can make shots but can't bounce it, or guys who can bounce it but can't make shots, and he's got a heck of a combination of guys."
* The veteran coach was asked if he sees any comparisons between point guards Brunson and Carter, who will be matched up on Friday.
"One is right handed (Carter) and the other is left handed (Brunson). They've got different body types; Brunson plays a lot in the post and JC doesn't," Huggins said. "So, no I don't see any similarities at all."
* And finally, Huggins was asked if he was going to offer a pullover for the immaculately-dressed Wright to wear on Friday night. Huggins declined, saying he doesn't have any smalls to give out.
Even if he did have a small, Huggins admitted that Wright probably wouldn't put it on anyway.
"He'd wear it, but he wouldn't wear it when I was around," Huggins joked.
Players Mentioned
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