Re: For those of you who missed this article...

[Bob Fancher]

This is brilliant.....a free agent....surprised this hasn't happened in the
past. What a wonderful way to mess with the NCAA

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Brad Holdheide" <address@hidden>
To: <address@hidden>
Sent: Monday, November 14, 2005 11:04 AM
Subject: Re: [UC Basketball] For those of you who missed this article...


I just puked in my trash can!


> > > address@hidden 11/14/2005 10:08:56 AM >>>
This was posted on NCAABBS.... if it doesn't make you sick, I don't
know what does... what could have been.

http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/9042400

By Gregg Doyle:

 A college basketball program will hire Bob Huggins this spring. That
school is out there somewhere, and whoever it is, that school will be
getting a lot more than Bob Huggins.

It will be getting a ready-to-go recruiting class, too. Maybe even two
recruiting classes. Maybe, dare we say it, even future NBA All-Star
O.J. Mayo.

Huggins is a free agent, and recruits know it. A handful of elite
prospects, including 7-foot-2 Jason Bennett of Jacksonville, Fla., are
letting this week's early signing period pass without making a
decision. They are waiting, in many cases, for Huggins.

Huggins could end up almost anywhere next season, but his ties are
strongest to Ohio. He was raised there, attended Ohio University
before graduating from West Virginia, and has spent all 24 years as a
head coach in Ohio.

It doesn't take much imagination to picture Huggins next season at,
say, Kent State or Ohio University. The current coaches there, Jim
Christian and Tim O'Shea, could jump to bigger schools if their teams
win another 20 games in 2005-06.

It might not be Kent State or Ohio, but it will be somewhere. Whether
you like Huggins or not is irrelevant. He wins. Wherever he goes next
season, Huggins will bring baggage, yes -- but he'll also bring a
567-199 record, 14 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and a
20-for-24 success rate of 20-win seasons.

And he'll bring players.

Here (potentially) are some of them, with CBS SportsLine.com
projecting their odds of following Huggins:

Jason Bennett: Bennett is a consensus top-100 recruit who says he
would've committed to Cincinnati in August had Huggins received a
contract extension instead of a pink slip. Bennett could have signed
this week with Georgia, Clemson or Miami -- among others -- but a
source close to Bennett says he is waiting to see where Huggins lands.
Odds of following Huggins: 80 percent.

Ramar Smith: Smith, a 6-2 shooting guard generally ranked among the
top 40 seniors, had been committed to Connecticut until he jeopardized
his freshman eligibility by withdrawing from prep school this fall.
The Huskies rescinded the scholarship offer, and Smith is back in
Detroit, unsigned and uncommitted. At this time last year, Cincinnati
was his top choice. Odds of following Huggins: 50 percent.

Ryan Pettinella: Pettinella, a 6-9 forward, transferred from Penn to
Cincinnati this summer but was released from his scholarship after
Huggins was let go. Pettinella, who averaged 4.8 points and three
rebounds as a Penn sophomore, is attending Monroe (N.Y.) Community
College but not playing. Like Bennett and Smith, he is letting the
early signing period slip past. He'll have two years of Division I
eligibility beginning in 2006-07, and his father says he wants to play
for Huggins. Odds of following Huggins: 90 percent.

Herb Pope: Pope, a 6-9 forward from the class of 2007, is a top-10
recruit and a likely McDonald's All-American. When Huggins was at
Cincinnati, Pope had the Bearcats among his favorite schools before
committing in March to Pittsburgh. Five months later Pope backed off
that commitment, and a source close to Pope says he is monitoring
Huggins' future. The connection is Pope's AAU coach, J.O. Stright,
founder of the Pittsburgh J.O.T.S. and one of Huggins' closest
friends. How close? When Huggins suffered a massive heart attack in
September 2002, he called Stright. Stright called the paramedics. Odds
of following Huggins: 75 percent.

O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker: These are two more top-10 recruits from the
Class of 2007, maybe even the two best recruits from that class. Mayo,
6-5, is one of the top backcourt prospects since Kobe Bryant. Walker,
6-6, is less refined but a Vince Carter-like athlete. Both play for
North College Hill (Ohio) High near Cincinnati, and both became close
to Huggins after regular unofficial visits to campus. Until Huggins
was fired, Cincinnati was considered the front-runner to land Mayo,
Walker and 6-11 teammate Keenan Ellis. Odds of following Huggins: 60
percent.

Huggins -- unemployed, yet on the prowl for recruits. It's a
fascinating concept. Until a school hires him, Huggins is beyond NCAA
jurisdiction limiting coaches to a set number of phone calls or visits
with recruiting targets. He can't give recruits extra benefits, but he
can operate outside NCAA boundaries in other, non-punishable ways.
Literally, if he moved in with O.J. Mayo tomorrow, what could the NCAA
do about it?

For now, Huggins won't talk about it. He told CBS SportsLine.com that,
until his contract with Cincinnati expires at November's end, he's not
comfortable discussing his future.

In that vacuum of volume, hear this: A team featuring O.J. Mayo and
Ramar Smith at guard ... Bill Walker and Herb Pope at forward ... and
Jason Bennett at center ... and coached by Bob Huggins ... might just
win the 2007 national championship.

Recruits are clamoring for Huggins. Pretty soon, it'll be athletics
directors.


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