Huggins’ Naismith introduction to be done by West and Thorn

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has brought into its large roster of inductees a list of players, coaches, referees, team owner and contributors, including WVU Coach Bob Huggins this month. Courtesy photo
SHEPHERDSTOWN — The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has brought into its large roster of inductees a list of players, coaches, referees, team owner and contributors.
On the roster of nominees for possible 2022 induction was current West Virginia University coach Bob Huggins.
Huggins, who has been coaching the Mountaineers since 2007, was given the necessary votes to gain entry into Naismith Hall and will be enshrined during Sept. 9-10 ceremonies at the expansive Springfield, Massachusetts facility.
Introducing Huggins to the large gatherings of current inductees, media, and other basketball luminaries will be two of WVU’s most recognizable players of all-time — Jerry West and Rod Thorn.
Both West (in 1980) and Thorn (in 2018) were previously made members of the Naismith Hall themselves.
Huggins has recorded an overall record of 324-182 at WVU. And his record includes qualifying for 10 NCAA tournaments. One of his teams reached the Final Four and five of them made the Sweet 16.
Since beginning his head coaching career at Walsh in Ohio (a non-Division I school), Huggins has been an NCAA Division I coach at Akron, Cincinnati, Kansas State and WVU.
In his collegiate playing days, Huggins was a guard at WVU in his last two years of eligibility (1975-1976 and 1976-1977) and also gained widely recognized academic attention in the classroom.
West has been hailed for his world-class playing ability, as a coach in the NBA and as general manager and consultant for several NBA teams, including the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors.
Thorn played in the NBA for Baltimore and Chicago yet is better known for his long-term administrative duties in that professional league.
Now 84 years old, West still holds many WVU single-season and career records even though he played in an era (1957-1960) when athletes only had three years of varsity eligibility. In his first year in Morgantown in 1956-1957, West played on an undefeated WVU freshmen team. West was honored by the school when a large bronze statue of him was placed just outside one of the entrances to the WVU Coliseum.
Thorn, who wore the trademark number 44 jersey the same as West, also played in the same collegiate era when athletes had only three years of varsity eligibility. Thorn, from Princeton, was given the accolade of being “a natural resource” by the West Virginia state legislature when playing his senior year at Princeton High School.
This past season (2021-2022), Huggins’ Mountaineers had a 16-17 overall record. His contract runs on until the close of the 2027 season.
During Huggins’ tenure at the WVU coach, the university’s Coliseum playing facility has undergone several upgrades since opening for the 1970-1971 season.
Huggins’ coaching record at NCAA Division I schools is an overall 844-374.