Mounties roll Dukes 92-68

Huggy bear's letter to the students seemed to have struck a nerve. The student section was more crowded and more alive than any other game to date since the start of the Huggins' era. Total attendance was 10,071- it was pretty crowded in the Coliseum, but there were enough empty seats to give me a jacket holder. Everyone in attendance got to watch the Joe Alexander show. -picture seen here not from Saturday-

Joe set a career high with 26 points. The turn around off the glass was his bread and butter, with a big two hand jam and a couple deep jumpers in the mix as well. One of four Mountaineers in double figures, Joe joined Da'Sean Butler (18 pts) Alex Ruoff (15 pts) and John Flowers (13) in an offensive display slowed more by the referee's fondness for the whistle than the full court man to man press employed by Duquesne.

All hail Lord Smalligan, ejected less than three minutes into the game, earning him a second straight game with fewer than 3 minutes played. I personally missed the blow that got him ejected. I only saw the flop and slide from the Duquesne lady. Like Chief Smalligan would knock anyone that hard. Sheesh. Before making his exit he did record a steal, an assist, and a turnover. Nice job.

Wellington Smith led the effort on the glass with 9 boards, followed by Butlers 8, then Alexander with 6. It is so refreshing to see the Mountaineers hit the boards. Maybe the 1-3-1 defense employed the past few seasons won't be back for a long time. Michigan can keep it. WVU outrebounded Duquesne 35 to 21. Sweet.

I am becoming more and more a fan of John Flowers. He cuts smoothly to the rack. He rebounds, and he came up with an impressive little dunk as well. Should we be so lucky to have him put on weight like Joe did this past off season, he could be even more of a force to reckon with.

2007 StubHub! Legends Classic Update

The Bob Huggins era officially kicked of last Friday, November the 16th in the Mountaineers home opener, as part of the 2007 StubHub! Legends Classic. WVU rolled the Arkansas-Monticello Boll Weevils (honestly, that is their mascot of choice) 81-53. Scoring was led by Alex Ruoff, who put up 17, and Da'Sean Butler added 14 more.

The game was never close, with the Mountaineers up as much as 30 points toward the end of the game. Highlights (to me) included Smalligan crashing the boards early (a complaint I had after the exhibition) and some miserable three point shooting. WVU was 8 for 31 from three (.258) and 31 of 67 from the floor overall (.463). The overall shooting percentage wasn’t terrible- but believe me- it wasn’t pretty to watch.

Huggybear, on the other hand, was something to see. A pimpish three piece royal blue job with some pretty fancy shoes certainly made him stand out on the sideline. With a school record 6,600 season tickets sold for this season, I am anxious to see how the Huggy era plays out.

Huggy had them more ready to play on Sunday, as WVU faced the Prairie View A&M Panthers in their second StubHub! Legends Classic game. Again, Ruoff led all scorers with 22 as we crushed PV A&M 106-41. Ruoff had a hard time missing shots, and the rest of the team was not far behind. He was 8 of 9 overall and 5 for 5 from downtown. It was impressive. WVU shot 57.7 percent from beyond the arc (15 of 26) and shot 54.7 percent from the floor (35 of 64). It was fun to watch.

Bastard favorite Jamie Smalligan had 13 points with two threes and a rim shaking, well, vibrating two handed jam. Darris Nichols chipped in 13 more with a set of threes and two steals. Other notables- the ovation Jonnie West received when he checked at the end of the game (3.5 minutes so far this year), Ted Talkington played well, and I like what I have seen from Mazzulla, Flowers, Green and Sowards. IF you haven’t familiarized yourself with those names- do so. Wellington Smith is a beast.

The true test of Huggins first WVU team is scheduled for Friday when we face Tennessee, currently ranked 7th in the nation at 9:00 pm in Newark, NJ. Tickets are $12 to $53 for the Semifinal doubleheader. UT has defeated Temple, Arkansas Monticello (101 to 44) and Prairie View (89 to 75). They crushed UAM and let PV play them close. We sort of crushed UAM and beat the dogshit out of PV. A victory over a top ten would do much to launch the Mountaineers into the spotlight. Huggy has the suits for it. Lets hope he gets to show them off.

Check out the guy in the white jersey. Pud puller alert. Really gay man. Not that there is anything wrong with that... Homo. It does appear that he has chosen to take a death grip on Ruvell Martins cock. Thats what she said. Green Gay Packers.