Bob Huggins Trips and Breaks Four Ribs
Posted by rtmsf on July 24th, 2010West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins tripped over a coffee table and broke four ribs last night in his hotel room in Las Vegas. As Gary Parrish first reported on Friday night, Huggins was taken to the hospital and treated with the expectation that he will be released today. [Update: reports are that he will spend Saturday night in the hospital for further observation.] The 56-year old coach had a heart attack some eight years ago, but the reports coming out on this story are that this accident had nothing to do with his ticker.
Who Was Huggs' Da'Sean Last Night?
Nevertheless, this incident is the second known situation in a span of just over two years where Huggins has lost his balance and fallen hard enough to be taken to the hospital. In May 2008, the curmudgeonly coach tripped in the Charlotte airport, hitting his head on the pavement and causing a brief scare although he was ultimately fine. We hesitate to fall back on the easy “What Happens in Vegas” joke, but considering how far Huggins has come since his DUI arrest in 2004, a little public scrutiny won’t hurt him. For the sake of his personal and financial health (there is a substance abuse clause in his WVU contract), we hope that these incidents are the result of general clumsiness and nothing more sinister. After all, given his redemption, we’re actually starting to like the guy.
I used to really not like this guy. But that thing with D. Butler in the Final Four game was, in my opinion, downright moving, and told me all I need to know about him. I don’t care about anything else. It wasn’t about wins, losses, the Final Four, whatever. It was about a coach who loved his player and a player — and it still amazes me as I type this — who was APOLOGIZING to his coach because he just tore his own ACL, and therefore couldn’t help his coach win a championship. Any coach who instills that kind of devotion in his players for the game and for the program is tops in my book.
How can you not root for that?
Get well soon, Coach.
John from RTC
(and I hope D. Butler goes on to make freakin’ stupid millions in the NBA)