Punishments for Huggins

Wednesday brought news that Bob Huggins will remain the coach at West Virginia. Seems like a good place to start.

1. Bob Huggins keeps his job

After West Virginia coach Bob Huggins used an anti-gay slur during a radio interview on Monday, one wondered if that would be it for the Hall of Fame coach.

Turns out he gets at least one more year.

West Virginia announced Wednesday that Huggins would remain the coach, but he agreed to a million-dollar salary reduction, a three-game suspension and he’ll go through sensitivity training.

Furthermore, the university said in a statement that “any incidents of similar derogatory and offensive language will result in immediate termination.”

His salary decreases from $4.2 million to $3.2 million annually, and his contract end date is now April 30, 2024. He’ll miss the Mountaineers’ first three games of the 2023-24 season, meaning he’ll return in time for the Fort Meyers Tip-Off.

The university’s LGBTQ+ Center will “develop annual training sessions that will address all aspects of inequality including homophobia, transphobia, sexism, ableism and more. This training and programming will be required of Coach Huggins and all current and future athletics coaching staff.”

Huggins also issued a longer apology on Wednesday.

Some see the punishment as a slap on the wrist considering the nature of the remarks coming from such a public figure. But it’s a fine line for the university to walk. If they can truly use this as an educational moment that reaches beyond the school’s normal scope, then it may be beneficial.

2. Julian Phillips, Arthur Kaluma enter the portal

Today’s the last day players can enter the transfer portal, meaning we’ll likely see lots of activity over the next 48 hours as names trickle in.

The two recent biggest names to test the ever-growing portal waters? Gifted wing Julian Phillips (Tennessee) and athletic forward Arthur Kaluma (Creighton.)

According to most metrics, Phillips was underutilized by Rick Barnes at Tennessee. EvanMiya.com has the 6-7 freshman not only listed as the top freshman in the portal but as the most sport’s valuable defender, ahead of names such as Moussa Cisse, Donovan Clingan and Charles Bediako. If Phillips withdraws from the NBA Draft and returns to college, whoever lands him is getting an absolute prize. (Early leaders appear to be Auburn and Texas.)

On the other hand, Kaluma was a common breakout pick heading into his sophomore season at Creighton. His scoring increased from 10.4 to 11.8 points per game, but his shooting numbers dropped and he remained an inefficient scorer. He’s also someone going through the NBA Draft process, and if he withdraws, we’ll likely see the Glendale, Ariz., native get courted by Arizona and Arizona State.

Other notable portal moves:

• Penn State landed UMKC transfer RayQuwandis Mitchell. Fourth school at the D1 level for Mitchell.

• Phillip Russell, an All-OVC first-team selection transferred from Southeast Missouri State to UT-Arlington.

• Mississippi State grabbed Jimmy Bell Jr, a 6-10, 284-pound forward from West Virginia.

• Memphis forward Malcolm Dandridge has entered the transfer portal.

3. K couldn’t stay away

Only one year after the legendary Mike Krzyzewski left the house that he spent over 40 years building in Cameron Indoor Stadium, he’s reemerged in the basketball world — as an NBA advisor.

NBA president of league operations Byron Sprunell told ESPN: "We are honored to have Coach K join the NBA family and share his vast experience and expertise with the league and our teams. As a preeminent coach and renowned leader who cares deeply about the game of basketball, he is uniquely suited to drive discussions and offer insights about the present and future of the NBA."

This isn’t Coach K’s first time operating in the NBA space — he coached the U.S. Men’s Olympic team from 2006-2016.

Did anyone really expect Coach K to sit back, play golf and watch basketball from afar for the next decade? He’s spent the last 50 years living and breathing basketball. He’s not going to coach, but this may be the next best thing.

Tough times

Which schools have been hit hardest in the transfer portal and have yet to address those issues? The roundtable episode featuring Jeff Goodman, Rob Dauster, Gary Parrish, Matt Norlander and Jeff Borzello banters a bit about which coaches might not be feeling great.

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Links as you wonder if Jalen Brunson will ever come off the court during the playoffs.

• Wazzu coach Kyle Smith isn’t happy about the NIL costs for a competitive Pac-12 team.

• LeMoyne will make the jump to D-I and join the NEC.

• George Turkson, a 2024 4-star recruit, landed at Texas A&M

• Top-50 2024 recruit Jase Richardson is down to eight schools.

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