Can You Really Go Home Again?

Could ex-West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez come back home and lead the Mountaineers back to the brink of national prominence? Maybe. It would be strange, controversial, and there would have to be a lot of ass kissing and tears shed (by Rich Rod) for that to happen. It could be what West Virginia needs after the Bill Stewart era and smear campaign.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying kiss and makeup and everything will be alright in Morgantown. If he were to come back they might need the national guard to clam down the angry mob that probably is still angry from the mention of his name. But just listen to why this could work.

First there is the Dana Holgorsen situation. The first sign of trouble he incurs off the field and he'll be gone. Granted, he was a hot name for coaching jobs and highly sought after as a coordinator. So yes West Virginia has the man that waas going to take over for Stewart after this year anyway. Now if Holgorsen is successful he's gone. He has no loyalty to the program or the state of West Virginia. I know loyalty is a dirty word in the business of sports because there isn't any, but do you really think he's going to want to stay there if he starts to win big. That answer is no. He'll be out the door pretty fast. You ask me why. Because in my opinion West Virginia is a stepping stone for Holgorsen. He won't say it personally, but to me he seems like the type that will bolt as soon as something better comes up. And probably will trash you guys on the way out the door.

Another thing is who wants to stay in West Virginia? I'm not trying to be funny or rip the state in general. It just doesn't seem like a destination except for a select few, like Don Nehlen or Rich Rodriguez. Rodriguez is a hometown guy and would love to go back. He admitted it was a mistake to leave and go to Michigan. Also remember he did come back after leaving for Alabama briefly. Yes he did have an eye on a bigger job, but deep down he probably wanted to stay and there were probably some problems that I or the public don't know about which may have led him to go to Michigan. When he was in Morgantown, Rodriguez was West Virginia. He loved the state and they loved him back. Until he left for Michigan.

Lastly, he was the most successful coach in Mountaineer history. The Mountaineers were always a team that won between 7 and 9 games with a surprise undefeated run mixed in. Rodriguez brought them to a brink of a national championship and smoked Georgia and Oklahoma in BCS games. True, Stewart coached them in the Fiesta Bowl against the Sooners, but that game plan had Rodriguez all over it. He won Big East titles and got them to BCS games. He had them in the national championship mix. Easily the most successful run in Mountaineer history. Also he loved West Virginia, no matter what the locals there think.

There was a messy divorce and a lot of drama after leaving Morgantown. But all parties need to get over it. More the natives of West Virginia than Rodriguez. You see Holgorsen will leave you high and dry and once again you'll be feeling like a scorned woman and once again be angry. Bring Rich Rod back and have him be the hero. Maybe he could bring you the national championship you guys covet so bad. It may not be ideal, but if you guys want to remain relevant after three years of mediocrity and another year of uncertainty, bring back your native son.

West Virginia's Stewart To Be Bought Out?

There has been some high drama at West Virginia in the past week. Starting with coach in waiting Dana Holgorsen's alleged alcohol related run-ins to coach Bill Stewart and his wife starting a smear campaign on Holgorsen.

The next twist in this story is a report on Sportingnews.com saying that Stewart may be getting a buyout and Holgorsen getting bumped to head coach. This story hasn't been confirmed or denied.

Athletic director Oliver Luck was asked if there was a buyout on the horizon and Luck replied “I can’t comment” in a text to Sporting News.

This is certainly one of the more bizarre stories of the college football offseason, next to Ohio State's problems. Luck is a rock in a hard place. He can't keep Stewart around, especially after pretty much showing him the door after this season has ended. And if the allegations of Holgorsen's activities are even half true, he really can't keep him around either.

How would the players respond to a coach trying to discipline them for off-field problems, wen he has some skeletons of his own?



 

St. John's Gets NCAA Tournament Bid Much To LSU's Chagrin

The chances for an NCAA Tournament bid didn't look good for the St. John's men's baseball team after losing to Seton Hall in the Big East championship game on Sunday, but the Red Storm were given one of the final at-large berths to make the field of 64 for the fourth time in five years.  National power LSU cried that the selection of St. John's is a farce and says the NCAA should take a look at how they select the 64 team field.

LSU (36-20) is claiming that they play in a tougher conference and should have been picked over the Johnnies.  St. John's (35-20) finished second in both the Big East regular season standings and championship series.  It is arguably the best team in the northeast.

For the record, LSU finished 9th in the SEC and didn't make their own conference tournament finals.

The Tigers are screaming that their #23 RPI and 12-3 finish entitles the team to be picked ahead of the Red Storm, who go into the NCAA's with a respectable #54 RPI.

"I would say that this year, as a committee, we didn't use RPI as the hammer that maybe it was in previous years," said Tim Weiser, the chairman of the 10-member NCAA Selection Committee.

If LSU wants to find a culprit, the school should look at some of the automatic-bids awarded to winners of conference championships.



New Mexico (20-39) and UALR (24-32) won their respective conference title games (Mountain West and Sun Belt) and will be coasting into this year's tournament field. 

St. John's is a second place team in the Big East conference.  It's hard to argue with all the the RPI's and the fact that seven SEC teams were selected to the tournament that LSU doesn't have a case, but don't blame St. John's.

Sure, Big East baseball will probably never be compared to the SEC, but other factors in St. John's success should be taken into consideration.

For one thing, LSU is a ninth place team. They should know only Big East basketball gets nine or more teams into a tournament. 

Secondly, the Red Storm play in colder weather.  They don't see a home field game until mid-March after they've played about a dozen games on the road.  By seasons end, St. John's has played nearly two-thirds of their games on the road.
 
"The debate is a consistent one: How do you measure a second-place team versus, for example, a ninth-place team?," said Weiser.  " We've got a divided group in that regard."

While LSU sulks, St. John's rejoices about it's # 3 seed in the regional hosted by top-seed Virginia.

"It felt pretty good," said St. John's head coach Ed Blankmeyer.  "It made it a lot easier to enjoy the rest of [the selection show]...It was exciting for me, and I felt very happy for the players."

The Red Storm is no NCAA interloper.  This will be the 33rd appearance in the NCAA Tournament for St. John's--the eighth most by any school.

Last year, St. John's was also in the same bracket as #1 Virginia and beat them in the first game before losing the rematch with the Super Regionals within their grasp.

This year the Red Storm will face # 2 seed East Carolina on Friday before tangling with #1 Virginia and #4 Navy over the weekend.

For now, put all the conspiracy theories to rest.

West Virginia Player Leaves Game

This is something you'd expect from the NBA not college basketball. West Virginia backup forward Dan Jennings left the game during the Mountaineers win over South Florida.

I find it strange that someone on scholarship would pull this kind of stunt, especially playing for Bob Huggins. Being a fan of Cincinnati when Huggins was there, he probably had a good reason to have Jennings sitting on the bench. Huggins called the absence "unexcused".

Jennings was dressed for the game but didn't play today. He appeared in 14 games and averaged 2 points and 2.5 rebounds. That included four starts. Like I said, knowing Huggins there was a reason he wasn't playing. I guess he felt he should be getting more time, but isn't that the case with everyone?

You know Huggins had his usual "candid" response ready when asked about Jennings. "Unexcused, inexcusable. Never to be seen again, I guess.”


You know Huggs, quick and to the point. I would guess that he probably won't be returning to the team anytime soon, but Huggins has been known to give players second chances.

Steve Lavin Must Toughen Up For Big East

St. John's University's new head coach Steve Lavin has had his ups and downs with his senior laden team in non-conference play so far.  Now comes a big test against West Virginia (8-2) and it won't get any easier.  His slicked back hair is about to get mussed.  Welcome to the Big East Conference coach Lavin.

The Red Storm (7-3) heads down to West Virginia tonight for Lavin's first Big East conference game against a physically big and tough team.  The Mountaineers have three New Yorkers who play rough and tumble Big East type basketball.  Kevin Jones (Mt. Vernon), Truck Bryant (Brooklyn) and Danny Jennings (Staten Island) should be a handful for the experienced St. John's squad.

St. John's won two tournament titles in the opening weeks of the young season in Alaska and New York and beat formidable opponents like Davidson and a good Big Ten team from Northwestern, but two deflating losses to St. Bonaventure and Fordham reminded fans of the underachieving Red Storm teams of the last head coach, Norm Roberts.  Maybe the jet-lagged team--they travelled over 12,000 miles before Dec.1--have their land legs back.

The Johnnies entered the season with high hopes and a lot of Big East experience.  Four seasoned seniors and highly-touted freshman, Dwayne Polle II make up the nucleus of a team which feels it could make the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2002.

The seniors--Justin Brownlee, Justin Burrell, Dwight Hardy and pre-season Big East second-team player, D.J. Kennedy--will lead the charge and have been through plenty of Big East scrums.  It is a capable crew but they will need to learn how to focus and finish a game.  Too many times the players watch half-time leads dwindle to losses.  Turnovers and foul shooting are still problems too.

Lavin has brought lots of optimism to St. John's.  Next year's recruiting class is being called one of the top five in the country and arguably the best in the prestigious St. John's basketball history.  That is all and well for next year.  Now comes the reality of playing one of best collection of Big East teams in the conference's thirty year history.  Currently, five Big East teams reside in top ten national polls.

The Red Storm's brutal schedule includes Villanova, Georgetown (twice), Notre Dame (twice), Syracuse, Louisville, Connecticut and Pitt.  All of those teams are in or hover around every top-25 poll in the country. Even the middle-of-the pack teams will be battling it out for an NCAA bubble spot in March.  It isn't going to be easy for any team.

We all know now that Lavin can recruit on the East coast---even after being out of coaching since 2003---now let's see how he handles the ruggedness of Big East basketball and dealing with the referees.

Lavin, who is unfamiliar with Big East refs, will have to get on-the-job training in dealing with them.  The coach, who was issued only three technicals in seven years as head coach at UCLA, already has two in his first ten games at St. John's.

The new head coach comes to St. John's bringing hope for the future and tournament dreams to a solid transitional team of experienced players.  It is time for the Red Storm to find out what kind of team it really is.

The Mountaineers--a Final Four team last year-- are a physical bunch.  It should provide a good barometer of what the Red Storm can achieve.   Let's see how tough Lavin and the Red Storm really are.  Let the real season begin!