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We talked about how Huggins, starting his 15th season at West Virginia, still isn't in the Naismith Hall of Fame. He was nominated each of the past four years but wasn't a finalist. His exclusion is one of the most ridiculous oversights in sports. His teams made a postseason tournament 34 times in his first 39 seasons, 25 times to the NCAA tournament. He has had 30 seasons with at least 20 wins.
"I don't worry about what I can't control," Huggins said. "But I will say this about hall of fames. I got in the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame before my dad. Are you kidding me? He had the best winning percentage in the history of Ohio high school basketball. He won three state championships."
We talked about how the Naismith voters hold the fact Huggins hasn't won a national championship against him. His 1992 Cincinnati team made it to the Final Four as did his 2010 West Virginia team. Each came up short.
Huggins said he is convinced his 2000 Cincinnati team would have won the national title if star Kenyon Martin hadn't broken his right leg in the Conference USA tournament. He thinks the 2010 West Virginia team would have had a chance if star Da'Sean Butler hadn't had major injuries to his left knee in the national semifinal against Duke.
"Not winning doesn't eat at me," Huggins said. "The Kenyon thing eats at me because that was my best team. The Da'Sean thing eats at me. Kenyon's injury killed me. I wanted to throw up. I was so afraid he wouldn't play in the NBA. He ended up being the No. 1 overall pick.
"Da'Sean's injury, another bad deal. I was like, 'Oh, my god, not again.' He was a pro, but he didn't get to play in the NBA. That was so sad to me. Those teams never had a chance. It was like somebody put voodoo on us. I want to find that son of a [gun] who did it."
The pictures of Huggins cradling Butler's face on the floor in Indianapolis after Butler's injury is one of the most poignant at any NCAA tournament. It belied Huggins' image that he is a brutally tough coach who is...