Photo by: All Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
WVU’s Huggins Thriving With Buckeye State Hoop Prospects
November 23, 2020 02:01 PM | Men's Basketball, Blog
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia recently got a pair of signatures from Ohio guards Seth Wilson and Kobe Johnson during the November signing period.
Wilson, from Lorain, is rated the Buckeye State's fifth-best prospect by 247 Sports while Johnson, from Canton, is considered one of the top under-the-radar performers in the state.
A quick check of the online recruiting rankings shows WVU's latest haul ranked 76th by Rivals and 95th by 247 Sports, but don't be deceived because Bob Huggins knows how to fish in Ohio.
And the veteran coach, who is closing in on 900 career victories, was pleased as punch to be able to reel in these two guys.
"These are the two best guards in Ohio, and we are going to need guards," he said last week.
Of the four players in the state rated above Wilson by 247 Sports, two are going to Ohio State, one is headed to Indiana and the other signed with Georgetown.
But none of that really matters to Huggins because he trusts his eyes and the opinions of those he values in a state where he grew up and his father, Charlie, became a prep coaching legend.
Yes, Huggins' Ohio roots are deep, spanning Youngstown to Cincinnati from east to west and Toledo to Ironton from north to south.
If there is a promising high school prospect in the state, Bob Huggins knows about about him.
"My dad had his camp for probably 30 years, so the majority of the coaches in the state went through there in some form or fashion either bringing their teams in there, coming in and speaking or just hanging out with my dad so I know all of those guys," he said.
"The younger guys – the guys that are coaching now – the vast majority of them went to camp there at least once and a lot of those guys multiple times," Huggins explained. "The coach at Canton McKinley went to camp there. Jeff Boals, who is (head coach) Ohio University, started coming to camp when he was about nine years old and came every year so I know everybody, and they keep me informed of what's going on."
That's how a major Buckeye State talent like Deuce McBride ends up at West Virginia. Huggins knew about McBride, knew about the foot injury that ended his football career in high school and the coaches he knows and trusts told him to not to worry about it because he was well worth the risk!
They were right!
Huggins also got good reports on Youngstown's Derek Culver and after two full seasons in the Mountaineer program, Culver is blossoming into one of the better bigs in college basketball right now.
Think about some of the Ohio players that have contributed to West Virginia's recent success.
Cleveland's Esa Ahmad played on a couple of Sweet 16 teams, as did Cincinnati's Devin Williams and Lamont West, Columbus' Elijah Macon and Dayton's Juwan Staten.
"Ohio high school basketball is terrific," Huggins explained. "I guess it's a matter of familiarity and Ohio basketball coaches are way more familiar with my family than they are any other coach in America. Why would you not take advantage of that?"
Speaking of Ohio players, West Virginia's basketball history is littered with Buckeye State players, going all the way back to Newark's Fred Schaus and Martins Ferry's Eddie Sterling after World War II.
Schaus' WVU teammate Bobby Carroll nearly delivered Bridgeport's John Havlicek to the Mountaineers before Ohio State swooped in at the last second, and Carroll also tipped Schaus off about Bellaire guard Lee Patrone, who was an important contributor on West Virginia's NCAA runner-up team in 1959 and the Mountaineers' postseason success in 1960.
Madison's Tom Lowry was a solid big man for the Mountaineers in the early 1960s.
In the late 1960s, it was Toronto's Dick Symons leading into the 1970s when Port Washington's Bob Huggins and Toledo's Russell Chapman were productive contributors for the Mountaineers.
Gale Catlett turned around West Virginia's basketball fortunes in the early 1980s with Northeastern Ohio guards Greg Jones and Dale Blaney, and Cleveland's Ray Foster was the missing piece to WVU's breakout season in 1989 when the Mountaineers finished ranked 17th in the country.
Lima's Greg Simpson and Toledo's Lionel Armstead were solid performers in the 1990s, and who can forget what Olmsted Falls' Mike Gansey did for West Virginia basketball in the mid-2000s playing for John Beilein?
"The Ohio guys we've had here have done really well," Huggins pointed out.
Yes they have.
So don't get too caught up in those late-November recruiting rankings.
Want more proof?
Go research McBride's recruiting profile from 2019.
He wasn't considered a national-level prospect that year, yet earlier this month CBS Sports' college basketball expert panel of Kyle Boone, Matt Norlander, Gary Parrish and David Cobb put McBride No. 76 on their list of the game's top 100 players for 2021.
"The unheralded prospect figures to be a starter now after making the Big 12 all-freshman team while averaging 9.5 points and 1.1 steals in just 22.3 minutes per game last season," Cobb wrote of McBride.
Also on their list at No. 92 is Culver.
"The Mountaineers have a deep cast of proven talent, so don't expect Culver to produce eye-popping offensive numbers, but the 6-10 forward is a great rebounder who does a lot for the Mountaineers," Cobb noted.
And just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati is Union, Kentucky's Sean McNeil, considered the team's best outside shooter this year. You can basically lump him in with the Ohio guys as well.
Good recruiting isn't just about signing the top 100 players – it's about identifying who can be top 100 players in your program, and then developing them.
That formula that has served Bob Huggins well for many years now.
Wilson, from Lorain, is rated the Buckeye State's fifth-best prospect by 247 Sports while Johnson, from Canton, is considered one of the top under-the-radar performers in the state.
A quick check of the online recruiting rankings shows WVU's latest haul ranked 76th by Rivals and 95th by 247 Sports, but don't be deceived because Bob Huggins knows how to fish in Ohio.
And the veteran coach, who is closing in on 900 career victories, was pleased as punch to be able to reel in these two guys.
"These are the two best guards in Ohio, and we are going to need guards," he said last week.
Of the four players in the state rated above Wilson by 247 Sports, two are going to Ohio State, one is headed to Indiana and the other signed with Georgetown.
But none of that really matters to Huggins because he trusts his eyes and the opinions of those he values in a state where he grew up and his father, Charlie, became a prep coaching legend.
Yes, Huggins' Ohio roots are deep, spanning Youngstown to Cincinnati from east to west and Toledo to Ironton from north to south.
If there is a promising high school prospect in the state, Bob Huggins knows about about him.
"My dad had his camp for probably 30 years, so the majority of the coaches in the state went through there in some form or fashion either bringing their teams in there, coming in and speaking or just hanging out with my dad so I know all of those guys," he said.
"The younger guys – the guys that are coaching now – the vast majority of them went to camp there at least once and a lot of those guys multiple times," Huggins explained. "The coach at Canton McKinley went to camp there. Jeff Boals, who is (head coach) Ohio University, started coming to camp when he was about nine years old and came every year so I know everybody, and they keep me informed of what's going on."
That's how a major Buckeye State talent like Deuce McBride ends up at West Virginia. Huggins knew about McBride, knew about the foot injury that ended his football career in high school and the coaches he knows and trusts told him to not to worry about it because he was well worth the risk!
They were right!
Huggins also got good reports on Youngstown's Derek Culver and after two full seasons in the Mountaineer program, Culver is blossoming into one of the better bigs in college basketball right now.
Think about some of the Ohio players that have contributed to West Virginia's recent success.
Cleveland's Esa Ahmad played on a couple of Sweet 16 teams, as did Cincinnati's Devin Williams and Lamont West, Columbus' Elijah Macon and Dayton's Juwan Staten.
"Ohio high school basketball is terrific," Huggins explained. "I guess it's a matter of familiarity and Ohio basketball coaches are way more familiar with my family than they are any other coach in America. Why would you not take advantage of that?"
Speaking of Ohio players, West Virginia's basketball history is littered with Buckeye State players, going all the way back to Newark's Fred Schaus and Martins Ferry's Eddie Sterling after World War II.
Schaus' WVU teammate Bobby Carroll nearly delivered Bridgeport's John Havlicek to the Mountaineers before Ohio State swooped in at the last second, and Carroll also tipped Schaus off about Bellaire guard Lee Patrone, who was an important contributor on West Virginia's NCAA runner-up team in 1959 and the Mountaineers' postseason success in 1960.
Madison's Tom Lowry was a solid big man for the Mountaineers in the early 1960s.
In the late 1960s, it was Toronto's Dick Symons leading into the 1970s when Port Washington's Bob Huggins and Toledo's Russell Chapman were productive contributors for the Mountaineers.
Gale Catlett turned around West Virginia's basketball fortunes in the early 1980s with Northeastern Ohio guards Greg Jones and Dale Blaney, and Cleveland's Ray Foster was the missing piece to WVU's breakout season in 1989 when the Mountaineers finished ranked 17th in the country.
Lima's Greg Simpson and Toledo's Lionel Armstead were solid performers in the 1990s, and who can forget what Olmsted Falls' Mike Gansey did for West Virginia basketball in the mid-2000s playing for John Beilein?
"The Ohio guys we've had here have done really well," Huggins pointed out.
Yes they have.
So don't get too caught up in those late-November recruiting rankings.
Want more proof?
Go research McBride's recruiting profile from 2019.
He wasn't considered a national-level prospect that year, yet earlier this month CBS Sports' college basketball expert panel of Kyle Boone, Matt Norlander, Gary Parrish and David Cobb put McBride No. 76 on their list of the game's top 100 players for 2021.
"The unheralded prospect figures to be a starter now after making the Big 12 all-freshman team while averaging 9.5 points and 1.1 steals in just 22.3 minutes per game last season," Cobb wrote of McBride.
Also on their list at No. 92 is Culver.
"The Mountaineers have a deep cast of proven talent, so don't expect Culver to produce eye-popping offensive numbers, but the 6-10 forward is a great rebounder who does a lot for the Mountaineers," Cobb noted.
And just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati is Union, Kentucky's Sean McNeil, considered the team's best outside shooter this year. You can basically lump him in with the Ohio guys as well.
Good recruiting isn't just about signing the top 100 players – it's about identifying who can be top 100 players in your program, and then developing them.
That formula that has served Bob Huggins well for many years now.
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