Why has Casey Mitchell seen his minutes get cut?

Casey Mitchell was one of the bigger surprises early in the college basketball season.

The 2009 JuCo player of the year, Mitchell struggled to find minutes during West Virginia's 2009-2010 run to the Final Four. The reason? He had issues with doing what Bob Huggins says, and if you have issues with doing what Bob Huggins says, you aren't going to play.

That's a fact.

Well, it seemed as if Mitchell had turned a corner during the Mountaineers trip to the Puerto Rico Tip-Off tournament. He went for 31 points in a win over Vanderbilt and followed that up with 27 in a close loss to Minnesota in the title game. He would drop 25 and 27, respectively, in the Eer's next two games, before his hot streak finally snapped with a 5-15 performance in a loss to Miami.


All told, we were seven games into the season and Mitchell had, only twice, played fewer that 29 minutes. He only twice had scored less that 18 points. They were the same two games, and they also happened to be the first two games of the season.

Which makes it interesting that in West Virginia's last two games -- the only two games they have played since losing to Miami -- Mitchell has played just 35 minutes total and scored all of eight points.

That's right.

A guys that was averaging 21.8 ppg in his first seven games for West Virginia averaged 17.5 mpg and just 4.0 ppg over his last two. And no, he wasn't in foul trouble.

What happened? Why hasn't Mitchell been seeing the same number of minutes?

My guess? He's had more issues doing what Bob Huggins says. Take the second half against Duquesne on Sunday night as an example. Mitchell played one second. Literally. One second. How does one go about getting pulled after just one second?

He fouled on what was a three-point play on an inbound play, and not just an inbound play, but "one we worked on for three days," Huggins said.

"At this point in the season, I'm looking for guys that won't screw the game up," Huggins said. "We've got a bunch of them that screw it up bad."

Mitchell wasn't the only one to feel Huggins' wrath. Deniz Kilicli played just one possession in the second half. He forced, and missed, a shot on a play that was drawn up for him and was yanked.

The line was drawn in the sand last Tuesday. After an ugly first half in which the Mountaineers only led Robert Morris 32-31, Huggins called a timeout and made a line change -- the five starters out, the second team in -- just 24 seconds into the half. Why? Truck Bryant took the ball out under his own basket, and the other four players took off down the court.

"I get tired of watching guys not play the right way," Huggins said after the Robert Morris game. "I've got great respect for the game and the way it's supposed to be played."

There it is, clear as day.

You want to play, you better do what Bob Huggins says.
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Huggy Bear isn't as bad as you think

Seeing posts like this bothers me.

Last night, with eight minutes to go and down 15 to a Duke team that was playing as well as they had all season long, Da'Sean Butler's left knee bent awkwardly as he planted his foot.

Season, and career, over.

So while Butler -- who is an emotional guy to begin with -- was writhing in pain on the ground, Huggs came over, gave him a hug, and calmed him down. Its a shame, but does anyone else feel like this is going to be the lasting image we have of this Final Four?

Here's the video:



I've never really been an anti-Huggins guy. From what I've seen of him, especially at West Virginia, he seems like a guy that genuinely cares about his players. At his press conferences, he comes off as a fatherly figure, Papa Bear watching over his cubs.

As for Da'Sean Butler, its a shame his career ended like this. He wasn't just good, he was a great player for the Mountaineers. I've always considered myself a fan first, and Butler will be a guy I certainly miss watching.

UPDATE: The severity of Butler's knee injury is now known. He tore his acl, sprained his mcl, and suffered two bone bruises. In a word -- catastrophic. It happened the same day he won the Lowe's Senior CLASS award.

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Bob Huggins may not take the credit, but I'll give it to him

Bobby Huggins had every right to celebrate this win.

His tenth conference tournament title. The first Big East tournament title for both Huggins and West Virginia. Madison Square Garden. ESPN.

Short of hanging a banner from Indy in three weeks, this is as good as the college hoops season gets.

But after Da'Sean Butler hit his second game-winner in three nights (and sixth of the season) and after Chris Wright's desperation lay-up couldn't quite get to rim level, Bob Huggins stood to the side as the Mountaineers celebrated.

"I've never gotten involved in that," Huggins told reporters after the game, "because I don't think its about me. I think its about them."

"They're the one who come in and go through what they go through on a day-to-day basis. They're the guys who have to go out and produce on the floor."

He's right. Bob Huggins doesn't have to go through a season's worth of Bob Huggins' practices. The Mountaineers deserve praise for simply surviving.

"We practice three hours a day," Da'Sean Butler told reporters after the game.

Huggins has a unique coaching style. He has developed reputation as a yeller and a screamer, a younger Bobby Knight if you will. While that isn't necessarily false -- I don't know if there are five people in this profession better at berating an official or a player -- Huggins is actually very calm on the sideline 90% of the time.

"I just stand over there," Huggins said. "I can't sit, so I stand. If I could sit I would probably sit."

That said, there may not be a more demanding coach in the country than Huggins. Simply put, he expects the best from each and every one of his players.

And whether it is great coaching, an ability to motivate, or intimidation -- is it possible he scares his players into playing their best to avoid a screaming session? -- Huggins always seems to get the most out of the guys that come through his program.

I mean, this isn't exactly a team chock full of all-americans and lottery picks. West Virginia just won the toughest conference tournament in the country, and they did it with just one five-star (Devin Ebanks) and one four-star (Kevin Jones) recruit. Da'Sean Butler and Wellington Smith were three-star recruits, as was Truck Bryant. Joe Mazzulla and Cam Thoroughman were two-star recruits.

Hell, he turned Joe Alexander, an after thought as a recruit in high school and as a draft prospect heading into his junior season, into the eighth pick in the draft. After leaving West Virginia and Bob Huggins, Alexander subsequently became the highest draft pick to have his rookie contract option declined.

And you still don't believe he is able to squeeze every ounce of talent out of his players?

There is nothing that is particularly great about this West Virginia team. They have one point guard that is ineffective and another that has one arm. They don't have a true center, or a true shooting guard for that matter. It seems like every player on there roster is stuck somewhere between being a small forward and a power forward.

And yet, he has this team on the brink of becoming a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. He has a Big East Tournament banner to hang in WVU Coliseum. He has a team capable of reaching the Final Four, in not further.

"I just want them to enjoy it and receive the accolades they deserve," Huggins said.

Anyone that caught a glimpse of this team after the game knows they were.

As the team was celebrating after the game, there were hugs all around. They participated in a rousing chorus of "Take me home, country roads" as it played through the Garden's sound system. Da'Sean Butler, once again the hero, came to the press conference with a net around his neck and a smile permanently stretched from ear to ear.

As happy as each of the Mountaineer players were, I think that they would agree, to a man, that they would not be here without Coach Huggins.

He may not take the credit, but he cannot do anything if it is given to him.

As Wellington Smith said, "Coach did a great job just coaching me."

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