WVU PressBox

One morning in the summer of 2008, Andy Kettler looked at his watch and noticed that it was five minutes before 10 and Kevin Jones had still not turned up for his appointed workout in the West Virginia weight room.

“[Shoot], Kevin’s normally here by now,” Kettler, West Virginia’s strength and conditioning coach, thought to himself.

“All of a sudden I see Kevin running in in a warmup suit sweating his [butt] off. He ran maybe 20 minutes with a backpack and everything on and apologized to me three or four times,” Kettler recalled.

Full Article at: sny.tv

There is nothing better for an athlete in basketball – or any sport, for that matter – than playing the next game, especially for one trying to flush away the sour feeling of a defeat.

No. 2 Villanova, coming off a loss for only the second time this season, will welcome that situation tonight even though the opponent is West Virginia, which is ranked sixth in the nation and plays very well in front of its zealous – some would say overzealous – home fans.

The Wildcats (20-2 overall, 9-1 Big East) saw their 11-game winning streak snapped Saturday at Georgetown, 103-90. They will play at the WVU Coliseum, where fans have been criticized nationally for vulgar language and poor sportsmanship.

Full Article at: philly.com

Depending on what the polls say, West Virginia’s game against Villanova tonight might be a first in WVU Coliseum history.

The No. 6 Mountaineers (19-3, 8-2 Big East) stand to rise at least a spot in the polls, what with them completing a 2-0 week and No. 5 Michigan State and the No. 2 Wildcats losing over the weekend.

Villanova likely will not fall out of the top five after losing to Georgetown 103-90 Saturday in Washington, D.C.

Full Article at: The Register-Herald

She was born Elizabeth Ann Repella in Steubenville, Ohio, but everyone calls her Liz.

“Yes, I like that name,” said the 5-foot-11 junior guard on the nationally ranked West Virginia University woman’s basketball team.

Coach Mike Carey thinks she is special not only on the court but in the classroom. Repella is a complete player and most certainly a leader on what could be the best woman’s basketball team in school history.

Full Article at: The Register-Herald

Hours after West Virginia University celebrated an ugly basketball win over Pitt in Morgantown, a group promoting harm to the Mountaineer basketball coach appeared on a popular social networking Web site.The group titled “We want Bob Huggins dead on Feb. 12th” was small in comparison to other Huggins-bashing groups, but it picked up a few more members on Facebook Thursday afternoon before being shut down by site administrators late that evening.

The short-lived group caused enough concern that WVU police were checking into it and even contacted the FBI. Officials do not believe the threat was credible. 

The Mountaineers take on Pitt once again at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh at 9 p.m. Friday. The information blurb on the group’s main page called Huggins a derogatory name and said the coach and team would “get their medicine on feb. 12th.”

Full Article at: Charleston Daily Mail

Big Monday comes to little Morgantown tonight.

It’s a classic showdown, if there is such a thing in regular-season basketball, a Villanova team that is trying to bounce back from an ugly defeat, its second of the year and one that is sure to do away with its No. 2 national ranking, against a West Virginia University team that is starting to look like Destiny’s Darlings, if any team coached by rough, tough Bob Huggins can be the darling of anything.

These were the two top preseason picks in the Big East, Villanova selected to win the conference, and neither team has disappointed, although in this what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world, Villanova’s 103-90 loss at Georgetown is not the prettiest girl at the dance.

“My concern is that defensively, we were terrible to start the game,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said after the game. “Offensively, we turned the ball over 16 times in the first half, and you can’t start a game like that.”

Full Article at: TimesWV

On Saturday, Bob Huggins had some bad news for his West Virginia basketball team after it survived a scare at St. John’s.  Morgantown was snowed in and therefore his basketball team was snowed out of Morgantown.

Oh, heck.  Darn.  No, better make that double darn.  This team made up of five starters from the New York City area would have to spend a Saturday night in the city.

Geez, they began thinking, hope we can find something to do here.  Tee, hee.  Huggins also had offered a word of caution.

It came in the form of the West Virginia schedule. See, the Mountaineers have been looking to be big time for a while and, as Huggins has pointed out, sometimes you have to sacrifice a little bit to do that.

Full Article at: TimesWV

Most of the fans who turn out for West Virginia University football and basketball games would never do anything to undercut the student-athletes who give them such a thrill. That includes most student fans.  But a small minority of fans in the student section seem to think conduct that would be unacceptable in any other public place is acceptable at WVU games and will result in no consequences for them.

Their behavior has repeatedly had negative consequences for WVU teams and for the state that supports them.  It’s time the consequences cut the other way.  At least three times now, in basketball games against Ohio State, Louisville and Pittsburgh, some student fans have screamed profanities and disrespectful chants.

During the second half of Wednesday’s nationally televised contest with Pitt, some fans twice interrupted the game by throwing T-shirts and trash onto the court. Cameras captured Pittsburgh assistant coach Tom Herrion reacting to being hit in the face with a coin thrown from the stands.

Full Article at: Charleston Daily Mail

There will be new cheers, minus the profanity and crudeness.   There will be video cameras.  And, it is hoped, there will be good behavior on the part of West Virginia University basketball fans.After gaining unflattering national attention, WVU student leaders are working with school administrators to clean up the student section at the Coliseum.  The planned makeover will unfold before a national television audience tonight, as the WVU-Villanova game is televised by ESPN.   

In recent weeks, the school’s student body has been featured prominently on Internet sites and television networks for inappropriate chants against teams such as Ohio State, Louisville and Pitt.  The students’ antics, in return, have overshadowed the recent success of the university’s men’s basketball team, who are ranked No. 6 going into today’s game against No. 2-ranked Villanova.

Full Article at: Charleston Daily Mail

West Virginia is starting to look like a contender in NCAA Basketball. They’ve only lost two games all season, and both opponents were ranked in the top five when those games were played. They host Villanova in a big game tonight. Villanova is coming off a lost in a wild game Saturday at Georgetown and will be looking to bounce back. Pitt will get another chance at West Virginia as WVU travels to Pittsburgh on Friday Night. WVU might be missing a true center, but they start essentially one guard and 4 forwards. They pose more match-up problems for their opponents. If they win tonight then, you’ll have to start considering WVU as having a legitimate chance for a title.

The Kittanning Paper

As far as regular season college basketball games go, it simply doesn’t get much bigger than the one that will take place at 7 p.m. today at the Coliseum.   The home team, No. 6 West Virginia, will be going for its 20th win as the No. 6 Mountaineers enter the game with a 19-3 overall mark and an 8-2 record in the Big East Conference.The visiting team, No. 2 Villanova, already has 20 wins -the Wildcats are 20-2 and along with Syracuse are the only Big East teams with one conference loss.  That loss came on Saturday when the Wildcats were drubbed at Georgetown, 103-90.

While Washington, D.C. -the site of the game -was getting buried, so was Villanova. The Wildcats not only saw their 11-game winning streak and undefeated Big East mark come to an end, but what looked like the best team in the Big East showed some vulnerability, falling behind 50-31 at halftime and never getting any closer than 10 points in the second half.

Full Article at: NewsandSentinel

If there’s something to say about West Virginia basketball – other than the fact that the Mountaineers appear headed for one of their best seasons in history – it’s that Coach Bob Huggins’ team has been consistently inconsistent.Huggins has repeatedly called his team “resilient,” an excellent word that the Mountaineers stretched as much as possible Saturday at Madison Square Garden in going in less than a half from a 16-point deficit to a 19-point win over St. John’s.

If there’s one thing Huggins’ team can’t afford tonight at the WVU Coliseum, it’s resiliency – or too much of it. It’s a Big Monday for more reasons than ESPN saying it is.

Villanova (20-2, 9-1) is visiting for the first of two dates this season between the teams picked to finish 1-2 in the Big East. It will be the 13th matchup of top 10-ranked (AP) teams this season.

Full Article at: Charleston Daily Mail

Every year teams getting ready to play West Virginia’s football team comment or even complain about the complexity of the defense the Mountaineers use and the scarcity across the country of that 3-3-5 stack.It was rare years ago. Even today, as teams have copied ideas to use on their own, it is difficult for an opponent to use a week of practice to prepare for that defense. It might be the only time that team sees the 3-3-5, but even if it isn’t, the Mountaineers do it better than virtually everyone else because they’ve been at it so long and added a personal touch.

Villanova basketball is much the same. Years ago Coach Jay Wright decided to adapt to injuries and personnel and adopt a style of play featuring small lineups, quick guards and expert shooters. It worked so well he decided to stick with it and over time it’s become the signature trait of the team that reached the Final Four last season and was No. 2 nationally before losing at then-No. 7 Georgetown Saturday.

Full Article at: Charleston Daily Mail

West Virginia University will, in tonight’s nationally televised men’s basketball game, initiate measures designed to prevent bad behavior from the crowd and encourage a more positive environment inside the WVU Coliseum.WVU President Jim Clements said Sunday he and a vast ensemble produced a list of changes he hopes will “help everyone get it right.”

“This is not an easy one to solve,” Clements said. “I’m pleased we’ve done a lot to try to make it better and I feel good that so many people are taking this very seriously. People have worked pretty hard to put these things in place. I’ll be relieved after the game is over if all goes well.”

Most notable is the elimination of the way the crowd treats the introduction of the visiting team’s starting lineup. For many years now, fans have stood before the student section and held placards instructing the crowd to respond to a player’s introduction with cheers of “So what?” “Who cares?” “Big deal!” “Go home!” and “Sucks eggs!”

Full Article at: Charleston Daily Mail

Villanova has been known for its explosive and versatile offense.

Its flaws on defense, however, proved costly for the Wildcats in its latest loss Saturday against Georgetown.

Despite scoring 90 points, the No. 2 Wildcats fell to the Hoyas 103-90. The loss cost Villanova  its 11-game winning streak and its undefeated Big East Conference record.
Villanova has allowed 70 or more points in 11 games this season, including nine of its 10 Big East games.

When the Wildcats (20-2, 9-1) take on West Virginia at 7 p.m. inside the WVU Coliseum, they will likely need their offense to bail them out once again. The Mountaineers have won 30 of their last 31 games when they score at least 70 points.

Full Article at: The Daily Athenaeum

A snowstorm started Villanova’s 11-game winning streak and another major snow event ended it on Saturday at Georgetown. So what will Monday bring for the Wildcats when they take on West Virginia in Morgantown?

Villanova (20-2, 9-1) lost its grasp of first place in the Big East standings with a 103-90 loss at Georgetown on Saturday. On Sunday, Syracuse knocked off Cincinnati 71-54 to take over the top spot with a 10-1 record.

Sitting in third place 1 ½ games back is West Virginia with an 8-2 record. For a good part of Saturday’s game at St. John’s, it didn’t look like the Mountaineers (19-3 overall for the first time since 1998) were going to get win No. 8 in league play.

Full Article at: MSN

By the time West Virginia had polished off a 79-60 win at St. John’s Saturday afternoon, the Mountaineers knew they had dodged a bullet.

Trailing by 16 points in the second half, they were in danger of not only suffering a rather embarrassing defeat to a mediocre opponent, but in the process throwing a bit of a wet blanket over the game they might well have been looking forward to while struggling against the Red Storm.

That, of course, would be tonight’s Big Monday matchup with Villanova.

Full Article at: The Charleston Gazette

The Dominion Post has an excellent article about Joe Mazzulla in today’s paper. The article details Joe’s shoulder injury, the surgery & dealing with life on & off the court while going through rehab.

We all know that Maz is one tough customer, but you’ll have a new respect for him after reading this article.

Full Article at: Dominion Post

(Note: you will need to click on the ‘continuation’ link in the upper right hand corner of the page to read the entire article)

St. John’s guards Malik Stith and Dwight Hard craned their necks to clearly see the Garden scoreboard.

The numbers were clear: West Virginia 79, St. John’s 60.

How could that be the final score, considering the Red Storm led 38-22 in the second half?

“I can’t pinpoint it,” forward Justin Burrell said. “I have no idea what it is.”

Full Article at: New York Post

Pitt’s basketball team went to Morgantown the other night, and had problems with more than just West Virginia’s nationally-ranked team.

A few people threw objects onto the court, which caused an interruption in play, and led to a scolding from WVU coach Bob Huggins over the public-address microphone.

Later, Pitt assistant coach Tom Herrion was struck below the eye by a coin that was thrown.

Full Article at: Beaver County Times

Found it extremely interesting that on Saturday, when the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported upon West Virginia University’s beginning steps at reining in boorish fan behavior at basketball games, they choose not a sportswriter to do the honors.

In a fitting gesture, instead, they opted to have Ann Rodgers, a former colleague of mine in the days of the long-departed, still sadly missed Pittsburgh Press, handle the honors.

Fitting?

Full Article at: TimesWV

Recently, ESPN basketball analyst Pat Forde penned a column on the 10 teams most likely to win the NCAA basketball championship.

One of Forde’s teams was West Virginia.

While that may surprise even some die-hard Mountaineer fans, I couldn’t agree more with Forde.

Consider that WVU started out the season ranked No. 9 in the national polls. Following Saturday’s win at St. John’s, West Virginia is 19-3 and could crack the top five this week.

Full Article at: newsandsentinel.com

The St. John’s players could hear West Virginia coach Bob Huggins yelling at his team from down the hall during halftime.

”It was the usual stuff,” Mountaineers star guard Da’Sean Butler said with a laugh. ”He was telling us what we needed to do – and what would happen if we didn’t do it.”

What they needed to do: switch to a 1-3-1 zone to pick up the defensive intensity, insert veteran Joe Mazzulla for his hardworking influence, and get the ball to Butler.

Full Article at: newsandsentinel.com