The city of Cincinnati appears to have an interesting winter of sports ahead of it.
No, not because of the Bengal's recent success
(I'll remove the quotations when they beat a team with a winning record) but because of the hopeless future for the Cincinnati Bearcats basketball team.
First off, I've had some things I'd like to get off my chest since the inappropriate and untimely forced resignation of former coach Bob Huggins this summer. It just so happens that Kenyon Martin's recent statements have dropped the green flag of relevance for me to do so.
At a roast-tribute in Huggins' honor on Sept. 29, Martin made it clear that if the University of Cincinnati wanted nothing to do with Huggins, then it would have nothing to do with him either. He stated that he wanted his jersey - one of only three at UC - to be taken down and that he didn't want to be associated with his school again.
Now, while many have criticized K-Mart's decision to ditch his former school, I show him much respect. After UC's President, Nancy Zimpher, forced Huggs out - one of her many steps in transforming UC into another Miami - and was condescending to basically everyone involved with the school, I was more than happy to hear someone send a shot back at her.
By telling Huggins he wasn't good enough to lead his team into the Big East and represent the university, Zimpher indirectly was calling out everyone who was ever involved with him. I would have liked to see at least one player hand her his jersey and say, If I'm not good enough get someone else.
Put aside Huggins' .759 winning percentage at Cincinnati, his 14 straight trips to the NCAA Tournament, including one Final Four and two Elite Eight appearances, his team's 10 Conference USA titles and eight conference tournament titles - look at some other things he has done.
Huggins gave each one of his players a chance to get an education and play basketball at a school with a solid program, an option many of which would not have had. He also provided a positive role model as a coach and doubled as a father-figure for his players as well. While he may not have been able to recruit the best players, he always got the most out of his recruits.
Now ask yourself, what part of this isn't good enough for UC's new image?
Sure, Huggins made a couple of mistakes and so did his players, but he cared for his players more so than any other coach, and his players cared about him. Why else would 32 of his former players show up at his roast? I shall part by saying to the Huggins-less Bearcats, Welcome to the bottom of the Big East.
- Nick Miller is a junior journalism major who'd love to go on about Huggins. Send him an e-mail at nm202803@ohiou.edu
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Nick Miller
Without coach, UC destined for mediocrity
