Huggins Wanted Staff, Recruits With Him at West Virginia
By: Curtis Kitchen, Sports Radio 810 Staff
(April 10, 2007) – Bob Huggins, it turns out, thought what he had working at Kansas State was so good he wanted to take it with him to West Virginia.
On Monday, new Kansas State associate head coach Dalonte Hill told Sports Radio 810 WHB’s Kevin Kietzman that Huggins extended the offer to join him in Morgantown to “every one of us,” in reference to the coaching staff.
Huggins’ contact didn’t stop with the coaches according to one Kansas State signee’s mother.
“I don’t know the exact content,” said Fatima Smith, the mother of Michael Beasley. “I don’t know exactly when the contact happened, but yeah, we talked. We discussed (Huggins’) decision and things like that.
“I guess (making contact) was the right thing to do for Bob since he was a big part of the recruiting process. Michael sent him on with his well wishes.”
According to the Collegiate Commissioners Association, which administers the Letter of Intent program for the NCAA (but leaves daily administrative duties to the Southeastern Conference), if Huggins did simply make a courtesy call to Beasley’s family notifying them of his decision to leave, he technically did nothing illegal as long as there was no attempt to recruit Beasley.
"All colleges and universities that participate in the NLI (national letter of intent) program agree to not recruit a prospective student-athlete once he/she signs an NLI with another college or university,” the CCA’s Web site said. “Therefore, a prospective student-athlete who signs an NLI should no longer receive recruiting contacts and calls."
Fellow K-State signee Dominique Sutton told the Manhattan Mercury last week that calls made from multiple schools to Beasley began almost immediately after Huggins’ departure, and they weren’t just wishing the pair K-State success.
“(Beasley) said there are three schools we could fit in — he talked to them already, N.C. State, USC, and Florida State. And that's just the first day. I'm sure others will call."
During a television interview a few days after Sutton’s comments, Beasley said he remained committed to Kansas State, but seemingly left the door slightly open to the possibility that he would suit up for another school next season, only putting the commitment at “70 percent.”
His mother, who said she is looking forward to a summer move to Manhattan after her younger children finish the current school year, said not to worry.
“Michael’s really witty with his words,” Smith said on Monday. “Keep asking him something over and over again, and he’ll change his answer, just to keep things in an uproar.
“He’s a prankster. He entertains people. He keeps people talking. Why he does it, I don’t know, because it’s a headache to me, but he just entertains.”
Beasley’s unofficial continued recruitment, however, is not a source of entertainment for K-State Athletic Director Tim Weiser, who has stood fast in his stance of making players honor their signed letter of intent and said doing so is “protecting our investment.”
It is believed that Weiser is exploring filing a grievance with the NCAA against one or more schools for their actions.
Rivals.com Basketball Recruiting Analyst Jerry Meyer said what has transpired with Beasley and Sutton is merely a regular part of the dirty recruiting game.
“It’s an assumption, but yes, Huggins tried to take at least some of those guys with him,” said Meyer, who spent last weekend covering an AAU tournament in Arkansas. “There was talk there about other coaches who were contacting those kids trying to get them.
“I think, in this business, it’s just understood that’s what is going to happen,” Meyer said. “There is the letter of the law, the spirit of the law and then a whole lot of gray. Recruiting takes place in the gray.
“People who follow recruiting and have been involved with it just understand that things like that happen. It doesn’t surprise me, and I hardly bat an eyelash to it. That’s just sort of the way it works.”
Huggins’ and others’ attempts apparently didn’t work, however. Since K-State announced last Friday that Frank Martin would become the new head coach, all four members of the Rivals.com top-ranked recruiting class (Beasley, Sutton, point guard Jacob Pullen and shooting guard Fred Brown) have stated they will honor their commitment.
“Kansas State was going to do whatever it took to keep that No. 1 recruiting class intact,” Meyer said. “So, my money was on what happened. Frank Martin would get the job in order to retain Dalonte Hill. He’s the key piece to this whole puzzle.
“Wherever he went, that’s where Beasley was going to go, and more than likely Dominique Sutton.”
Perhaps a bit larger surprise came Monday as it was revealed that strength-and-conditioning coach Scott Greenawalt, a Huggins hire whose work paid immediate dividends for Wildcats such as David Hoskins and Cartier Martin, will remain at K-State.
That announcement means it appears the only ones to make the move to West Virginia will be assistant Erik Martin, a former Cincinnati Bearcat player under Huggins, and K-State intern Josh Eilert, who will take over as Director of Basketball Operations.
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