THE SPORTZ ASSASSIN  SportzAssassin.COM

Bob Huggins, the winningest basketball coach in University of Cincinnati history, will be fired or forced to resign by 2pm on Wednesday. Huggins has been asked to resign, effective immediately, and take a $3M buyout.....or get canned for $2M.  Bearcats associate head coach Andy Kennedy will be asked to become interim head coach.

Since I now live in Cincinnati...I see this thing up close.  This isn't a popular move around town...but it may be the best one.  The people of Cincinnati love Huggins.  In a city where the Reds and Bengals routinely stink, Bearcat basketball has become golden.  It's the one thing they can root for.  And now it may all come crashing down.

But those fans cannot forget that it is Huggins who has put himself in this spot.  He's kinda lost his program.  Throughout his tenure, it was a running joke about the off-court actions of his players.  The arrests...the academic difficulties....the buzz on the streets.  But, the team won and that's all anyone cared about.  However, his DUI and the embarrasing news clip of the police stop on it damaged Huggins in the university's eyes.  Serveral months later....one of his assistants caught a DUI and the writing was on the wall.

Not only are the players wilin' out...but so is the coaching staff.

So Huggs, after getting his rollover clause in his contract terminated.....and getting no extention beyond 2007....was suddenly shocked when he was given a letter to hit the road. 

His assistant will take over...mainly so the current players won't bail on the program. 

My take on this?  I agree with what the university is trying to do....I just think they messed it up.  Most people wouldn't have had as big of a problem with this if it was done on May 16 when the two sides basically decided Huggins was a lame duck coach.  Break him off then....and get a good coach in place.  This announcement was made one day after the school released their non-conference schedule.

But Huggins' program...while a winner...did put a stain on the school.  The program was a laughingstock due to poor graduation rares and the constant troubles players like Dontonio Wingfield, Art Long and nameless others got into.  When entering into the Big East with such great universities as St. John's, Georgetown and Notre Dame....it's not a great feeling to be the "dumb kid" entering their mix. 

I think they should have given him one full year to clean up his program.  If in a year it looks the same...can him.  But if he does work to transfor the college into the school Zimpher envisions them to be...then keep him on. 

Anyways....see ya, Huggs!

P.S.  Duke v North Carolina....February 7!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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• #1 Comment from capecoddersbl 
  8/24/05 9:22 PM | Permalink

  I had to make the same decision in 30 seconds once when I was teaching.... though I had just kicked a gang member in the nuts, I deserved to be fired, and I wasn't going near Southie again anyhow.
  
  While I'll keep the details out of your blog, let's just say that you should never call one of my students a "N*****r" when I'm within earshot, and have sneakers on.