Bob Huggins and Miles McBride, a Match Made in Almost Heaven
Brad Smith
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Bob Huggins was the perfect coach for Jevon Carter and Jevon Carter was the perfect player for Bob Huggins. During the four years they were together at West Virginia University, their record was 105-39 and they went to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments. They not only share the same dedication to hard work and effort, they also are the ultimate winners.
In Jevon Carter’s exquisite “Treadmill Mentality”, Carter remembers, “See, it was like this at West Virginia: The only thing that mattered to Coach was that we played harder, every single play, than the other team.”
When Huggins first saw Carter playing in Orlando during one of his high school games, Huggins knew immediately that he wanted Carter on his team. Carter was the only player on his team pressing all over the court and Huggins called his assistants and said they needed to get this guy. They asked what he does well and Huggins replied, “I don’t know, but he tries to guard.”
“He was on the furthest court that you could be on. I went over there and was trying to drink my coffee and wake up, and this guy is pressing at 8 a.m. No one else on his team is pressing, just him.”
? Coach Huggins on recruiting Jevon Carter ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/8PBk4hKLMM
— WVU Men's Basketball (@WVUhoops) March 15, 2018
It’s a shame that they could only be together for four years. Bob Huggins would be thrilled to have Jevon Carter on his team for the remainder of his career, but unfortunately that cannot happen. Enter Miles McBride. McBride, the 6’1 combo guard out of Cincinnati, is undersized and underrated as a player coming out of high school. Like Carter, he understands the value of working hard and can’t wait to get on campus in Morgantown to get started. When asked what he’s most looking for at WVU, McBride replied, “Definitely the Bob Huggins’ practices, for sure. I heard the treadmill is a great place to be. Coach Huggins is a Hall of Fame coach, he knows his stuff and I just can’t wait to listen and learn from him.”
It would be unfair to compare McBride to one of the greatest players in West Virginia basketball history, but he’s certainly the type of player that Bob Huggins loves and perhaps Huggins will have as much fun and success coaching him as he did Jevon Carter.