MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - In the roughly 18 months Bob Huggins has been back in Morgantown, he has yet to buy a house, instead holing up in a hotel during those times when he's not out on the road.

Truth be told, though, there's not much need for a Huggins household, given that it seems to take a general NCAA edict to keep him in town.

Gallery

[+] Enlarge

Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008 - WVU coach Bob Huggins looks to mix old and new players when practice starts this week.

"I'm anxious to get on the floor,'' Huggins said Monday. "I'm anxious, actually, to spend two consecutive days in Morgantown.''

And why not? Even in a Big East that top-to-bottom is as good as any league in the country, Huggins can't wait to see how West Virginia fits into the mix. And, thanks in part to the fruits of those recruiting days spent on the road, he seems to like his chances.

Not that the Mountaineers are going to be one of the heavyweights, mind you, but much like Huggins' first WVU team a year ago, it has the potential to surprise some people.

"I like our team. We're just small,'' Huggins said. "We've got sort of the same issues we had a year ago. For our league, we're just small. ... It's a size-oriented league and we just don't have a lot of size.''

It's also a league with powerhouse teams to spare. Depending upon whose completely arbitrary predictions one might choose to believe, the Big East has at least seven consensus Top 25 teams heading into the season. In one order or another, Connecticut, Louisville, Notre Dame and Pitt are all seen as early Top 10 teams and Georgetown, Villanova and Marquette are in everyone's Top 25. West Virginia sneaks onto a few lists, as does Syracuse.

"You look around and teams in our league are rated second, third, fifth and seventh in the country. And I think we're pretty good,'' Huggins said. "You look at a Villanova team that has everybody back from a Sweet 16 team and they're picked eighth in our league. That tells you the kind of basketball that's played in the Big East.''

What kind of basketball will be played at West Virginia,

though? Well, with Joe Alexander gone to the NBA after his meteoric rise late last season, the Mountaineers will certainly be a bit different. The absence of Darris Nichols at point guard will certainly change the face of this team, as well.

Truth be told, though, there's not much need for a Huggins household, given that it seems to take a general NCAA edict to keep him in town.

Like the upcoming one, which says that practice begins a week from Friday. This Friday's Midnight Madness celebration and the actual beginning of workouts a week later should finally begin to keep him close to home.

"I'm anxious to get on the floor,'' Huggins said Monday. "I'm anxious, actually, to spend two consecutive days in Morgantown.''

And why not? Even in a Big East that top-to-bottom is as good as any league in the country, Huggins can't wait to see how West Virginia fits into the mix. And, thanks in part to the fruits of those recruiting days spent on the road, he seems to like his chances.

Not that the Mountaineers are going to be one of the heavyweights, mind you, but much like Huggins' first WVU team a year ago, it has the potential to surprise some people.

"I like our team. We're just small,'' Huggins said. "We've got sort of the same issues we had a year ago. For our league, we're just small. ... It's a size-oriented league and we just don't have a lot of size.''

It's also a league with powerhouse teams to spare. Depending upon whose completely arbitrary predictions one might choose to believe, the Big East has at least seven consensus Top 25 teams heading into the season. In one order or another, Connecticut, Louisville, Notre Dame and Pitt are all seen as early Top 10 teams and Georgetown, Villanova and Marquette are in everyone's Top 25. West Virginia sneaks onto a few lists, as does Syracuse.

"You look around and teams in our league are rated second, third, fifth and seventh in the country. And I think we're pretty good,'' Huggins said. "You look at a Villanova team that has everybody back from a Sweet 16 team and they're picked eighth in our league. That tells you the kind of basketball that's played in the Big East.''

What kind of basketball will be played at West Virginia,

though? Well, with Joe Alexander gone to the NBA after his meteoric rise late last season, the Mountaineers will certainly be a bit different. The absence of Darris Nichols at point guard will certainly change the face of this team, as well.

Still, Alex Ruoff, Da'Sean Butler, Wellington Smith and Joe Mazzulla return from last year's top six players. John Flowers, according to Huggins, is perhaps the most improved player on the team.

The wild cards, of course, are the four newcomers - freshmen forwards Devin Ebanks and Kevin Jones, freshman point guard Darryl "Truck" Bryant and the only player with any real bulk, 6-foot-10, 240-pound junior college forward Dee Proby.

"I think the thing that stands out about Devin and Kevin is they're so long,'' Huggins said. "They're both about 7 feet long [but 6-9 and 6-8 tall, respectively], which means they've got the wingspan of a 7-footer. Their reach is really good. They get to balls. They make some plays defensively because of their length and they rebound the ball because of their length.

"They're like everybody else that comes into a program. They're running around trying to figure out what's going on and it's hard to play well when you're doing that. I think as you kind of settle in and you're comfortable, you start to shoot the ball better and play better. And I think that will come. Unfortunately, we're just going to have to live with some of the mistakes they make early on and we have to continue to give them playing time because they're both going to be very valuable players for us as the year goes on.''

Bryant will certainly be a factor, too.

"Truck's been good, but it's hard,'' Huggins said. "Truck comes in to play against Joe Mazzulla, who has played for two years and is playing with a lot of confidence and maybe worked as hard as anybody we have this summer to get better. But they're good. They're all three good players.''

Proby may be a bit of a project, too, because despite his size he's not a back-to-the-basket power player. Like West Virginia's other recent centers, Proby is more finesse than muscle, although he will serve a purpose even in that mold of pulling big men away from the basket to guard his mid-range jump shot.

The real question, though, is the same as last year. Aside from the size issues, there is the not-so-small matter of whether the four newcomers - and even some of the veterans - will develop into the tough guys Huggins so badly wants.

A few trips to the treadmill during the preseason will no doubt toughen them up somewhat.

"They're getting there. It takes time,'' said Huggins, who is allowed to work with the players in small groups prior to the official start of practice and with the entire team two hours a week [thus the week-early Midnight Madness, arranged so that the weekend football and homecoming crowd can attend]. "I think it's a learned trait and that's why we practice the way we practice and why they go through what they go through.''

Reach Dave Hickman at 348-1734 or dphickm...@aol.com.