RE: Huggs Off-The-Show Comments

[Brad Holdheide]

Huggins already commented earlier in the year that Kirklands raw skills are
so good and with his size "If Kirk wants it bad enough he'll have the next
sealed locker at UC".



-----Original Message-----
From: Dan Marshall [mailto:address@hidden
Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2003 11:50 AM
To: address@hidden
Subject: RE: [UC Basketball] Huggs Off-The-Show Comments


Jeffery...

I forgot about how highly he talked about Kirkland... he actually said,
except for the shooting ability Kirkland was a better Basketball player than
DeMarr, ball handling, penetration defense etc etc etc... he seems VERY high
on Kirkland(He was also asked how Demarr was doing, and Huggs said he talked
to him 2 weeks ago, and he was shooting a little)... Oh yeah, he also said
that Demur was brought in as a freshman knowing he would only be here a year
or two specifically to win the NC.  Not that this is news to anyone, BUT, it
was wild to hear it from him.  He also commented on Martin, that the NC is
exactly why he stayed, and how sad it was.  

-----Original Message-----
From: Jeffrey A. Bortz [mailto:address@hidden
Sent: Tuesday, February 18, 2003 11:33 AM
To: address@hidden
Subject: [UC Basketball] Huggs Off-The-Show Comments


Some of these comments may have been during the on-air show...
1.  Next year: the press returns.  To shut up the fans (big grin on Huggs
face), Huggs said he expects to have the manpower to bring back the press. 
The size and wingspan of next year's potential starting team makes this all
the more likely (Whaley, Maxiell, White, Kirkland, Williams).
2.  Next year: White and Kirkland on the wings.  Not, Bobbit..not
Field...but Kirkland.  Huggs compared Kirkland to Demar and said that
Kirkland's got a more complete game than Demarr at similar stages in their
careers.  His major problem however is listening and if that doesn't change,
Kirk may miss his opportunity.
3.  Hicks = Erik Martin.  Huggs sees Hicks in the same role as an Erik
Martin; a big, wide body who can keep an opposing player off the post and
can rebound.  Hicks currently lacks skills and was successful in HS
primarily due to his overwhelming physical advantage.  He sees Hicks gaining
another 20-30 pounds once he really starts hitting the weights, which he
apparently has never really done (how scary is that?!?!).
4.  Whaley will be a difference maker.  Jaw-dropping comment by Hugs: Max
will get a lot more open looks next year because the player other teams will
double on is Whaley.
5.  Huggs is happy with his freshman play.  He also expects them to all be
4-year players.
6.  5/8 rule.  To say Huggs despises the rule is an understatment.
7.  Referees.  The quality of officiating has noticeably deteriorated over
the last few years.  Huggs said he got a technical (can't remember whether
this year or last) for staring at a ref...that's the reason the ref told the
league office.  Officials get aobut $1,000 a game so they are not hurting. 
One ref in the leage refereed 103 games last year.
8.  The Big East.  Huggs would love to see Louisville and UC move to the Big
East, for the revenue generating opportunities. UC will never be in the Big
Ten.  Commented that if the Great Midwest was still together, it would be
one of the top conferences.
9.  Past games on tape.  Someone asked about getting tapes from the Big O
era.  Tom Hathaway said that they could probably put some tapes together. 
If anyone's interested, I would suggest emailing him to show that there's an
interest in old game tapes.

The repoire between Huggs, Chuck, and Dan Hoard is terrific as is evident on
most every broadcast.  We don't know how lucky we have it :)

Oops...outta breaktime...back to work :)