24 Years Ago the "Handshake" Game took Place

[xu koop scoop]

Meh, Bob should have been let go before based on performance. He wildly underachieved come March. His last 12 seasons at UC they went to one elite 8 and one sweet 16 while most of the time his team had a pretty solid seed. At this point, those results wouldn't be acceptable at Xavier. I think he is a good coach but clearly needed a new environment, he wasn't getting it done at UC at all.

I replied to this earlier and missed "his last 12 seasons part". My bad and I apologize for that. Had I noticed that I would have stated some of the truth about Huggins at UC was withheld in your comments. That truth is when Huggins took over UC was an under .500 forgettable bball program. He had immediate & sustained success. Think he won at least 10 conference titles in 16 seasons at UC. Louisville & Memphis were powers in CUSA at that time. What both UC & Xavier have done now is cut off rivalries with Miami & Dayton. Our 2 local schools now remind me of what I don't like about Ohio St, Kentucky & others. The sport is less enjoyable now than years ago because it's all about the money & the "Tourney" . Winning your Conference has become so secondary. Miss the days of 1 bid per league & no conference tourneys. Just me being older & struggling to still enjoy Bball when the purity of the sport is long gone. Would love to see us & UC play NKU, Miami & Dayton annually.

[GenerationX]

I replied to this earlier and missed "his last 12 seasons part". My bad and I apologize for that. Had I noticed that I would have stated some of the truth about Huggins at UC was withheld in your comments. That truth is when Huggins took over UC was an under .500 forgettable bball program. He had immediate & sustained success. Think he won at least 10 conference titles in 16 seasons at UC. Louisville & Memphis were powers in CUSA at that time. What both UC & Xavier have done now is cut off rivalries with Miami & Dayton. Our 2 local schools now remind me of what I don't like about Ohio St, Kentucky & others. The sport is less enjoyable now than years ago because it's all about the money & the "Tourney" . Winning your Conference has become so secondary. Miss the days of 1 bid per league & no conference tourneys. Just me being older & struggling to still enjoy Bball when the purity of the sport is long gone. Would love to see us & UC play NKU, Miami & Dayton annually.

Yeah, you’re probably alone in that sentiment. I have no desire to play Dayton or Miami, personally. Now if Charlie Coles were still there, it would be a different story. But I don’t consider Dayton or Miami a rival. The Xavier/UC rivalry is really the only important one, IMO, outside of conference rivals.

[Juice]

I replied to this earlier and missed "his last 12 seasons part". My bad and I apologize for that. Had I noticed that I would have stated some of the truth about Huggins at UC was withheld in your comments. That truth is when Huggins took over UC was an under .500 forgettable bball program. He had immediate & sustained success. Think he won at least 10 conference titles in 16 seasons at UC. Louisville & Memphis were powers in CUSA at that time. What both UC & Xavier have done now is cut off rivalries with Miami & Dayton. Our 2 local schools now remind me of what I don't like about Ohio St, Kentucky & others. The sport is less enjoyable now than years ago because it's all about the money & the "Tourney" . Winning your Conference has become so secondary. Miss the days of 1 bid per league & no conference tourneys. Just me being older & struggling to still enjoy Bball when the purity of the sport is long gone. Would love to see us & UC play NKU, Miami & Dayton annually.

The Dayton subject has been beaten into the ground but why reward Miami with what I assume you mean a home and home set up when they make no effort nor invest any money into their basketball program. The school only spends money on football and hockey. Football has yielded one bowl game in about 10 years and the hockey team kind of sucks, especially this year. Doing things simply because that's what was always done is a dumb way to go through life and to run a basketball program. There is no reason to play Miami anymore.

[American X]

I met Huggins at a Church & he sat & talked XU bball with me. He complimented our program. I really dislike the bashers on this site. And I don't care who you bash. All teams deserve respect. I do respect your right to bash, just not my style.

I am sure the Devil himself could charm you in conversation (see "The Screwtape Letters). Bob Huggins is Evil Incarnate.

[chico]

Bob Huggins had 393 career wins at UC. Hope Coach Mack stays long enough at XU to pass that many wins. I'm a huge XU fan (had season Tix for 20 yrs), but I met Huggins at a Church & he sat & talked XU bball with me. He complimented our program. I really dislike the bashers on this site. And I don't care who you bash. All teams deserve respect. I do respect your right to bash, just not my style. As a Salesman for 25 years never bashed my competition.

Well, most of us don't see UC as "competition" in that we rarely are going after the same recruits. And maybe you didn't follow X too closely back in the day when BeelzeBob was coach. Do we really need to rehash all the crap this man has left in his wake? He may have been pleasant in church, but from my personal experience (and stories I've heard from others) he's about as despicable as they come.

As for the game, I was sitting in the section right next to our locker room across from the benches. I can still see Gillen running toward the lower room pumping his fists in the air. Probably the most fun I ever had in the Gardens.

[Snipe]

It would be fun to watch that game again. We need an on demand video service for old Muskie games.

[GIMMFD]

Well, most of us don't see UC as "competition" in that we rarely are going after the same recruits. And maybe you didn't follow X too closely back in the day when BeelzeBob was coach. Do we really need to rehash all the crap this man has left in his wake? He may have been pleasant in church, but from my personal experience (and stories I've heard from others) he's about as despicable as they come.

As for the game, I was sitting in the section right next to our locker room across from the benches. I can still see Gillen running toward the lower room pumping his fists in the air. Probably the most fun I ever had in the Gardens.

Not to be a dick or anything, but Huggins has relaxed a bit since his UC days. He's revered as a saint in West Virginia, where he's taking a team with less talent and making them relevant again. He goes on coaching circuits, and does the Little General Golf Tournament in my home town, he rents out the country club bar but leaves it open to public, he will talk to anybody that comes up to him, and even left a $500 tip for the waitress who served his table of 6 people. I know he burned his bridges in Cincinnati, but I promise you guys, Huggins isn't all THAT bad.

[xukeith]

I was a freshman at that game. I was so excited. I paid no attention to the coaches and only cared about the players on the court.
Brian Grant caught Tyrique Walker's air ball 3 to win. Then Grant laid it in to tie with 1 second left. Game in oT was the Jeff Massey and Steve Gentry show for X. Gentry was not known as a3 point expert and he hit some big ones. Massey hit 2 huge 3's and X won. I went onto court and remember high fiving Mark Schmidt and Louis Orr.
joey Rey I think left the team earlier in the year. He was homesick.

[Tardy Turtle]

a giant pile of steaming word trash