Cam Thoroughman (left) congratulates Da'Sean Butler after Butler was named the tournament's MVP.
Forget the palm trees and sights of Southern California. West Virginia coach Bob Huggins saw what he wanted from his team in the 76 Classic.
Forget the palm trees and sights of Southern California.
West Virginia coach Bob Huggins saw what he wanted from his team in the 76 Classic.
The Mountaineers defeated surprise Portland in the final Sunday night. Da'Sean Butler and Kevin Jones were named to the all-tournament team. The former was the tournament's MVP.
Huggins, though, saw more than that from his now 5-0 team. He saw adaptability.
"If I'm going to be 100 percent honest, we probably thought we were going to play Clemson and then either Butler or Minnesota,'' Huggins said. "It didn't work out that way. On paper, I think that's what everybody thought.
"So, the truth of the matter is, we probably were getting them more ready for those people than who we ended up playing. But that's a good thing.''
WVU dominated Portland by 18 points in the championship.
"Portland is a very good team; it is extremely well-coached,'' Huggins said. "They run their offense extremely well.
"[Assistant] Coach [Billy] Hahn was fond of saying, 'Hold them under six 3s and we win.' That's a terrific philosophy, but how do you do that? You have to know, conceptually, what they're trying to do and how they're getting those shots. I thought our guys really did a good job of concentrating, studying and figuring out where [Portland's] shots came from.''
Team leader Butler was also impressed with his team.
"Everybody is tougher than I thought - on and off the court,'' he said. "Everybody is way tougher. They showed it in the tournament.''
How?
"Through games, in film sessions - everybody paying attention, understanding the matchups we were going to get and not complaining,'' Butler said. "No one said anything about who they'd be guarding or ask why they were getting shots. I'd say we came together as a team.''
Forget the palm trees and sights of Southern California.
West Virginia coach Bob Huggins saw what he wanted from his team in the 76 Classic.
The Mountaineers defeated surprise Portland in the final Sunday night. Da'Sean Butler and Kevin Jones were named to the all-tournament team. The former was the tournament's MVP.
Huggins, though, saw more than that from his now 5-0 team. He saw adaptability.
"If I'm going to be 100 percent honest, we probably thought we were going to play Clemson and then either Butler or Minnesota,'' Huggins said. "It didn't work out that way. On paper, I think that's what everybody thought.
"So, the truth of the matter is, we probably were getting them more ready for those people than who we ended up playing. But that's a good thing.''
WVU dominated Portland by 18 points in the championship.
"Portland is a very good team; it is extremely well-coached,'' Huggins said. "They run their offense extremely well.
"[Assistant] Coach [Billy] Hahn was fond of saying, 'Hold them under six 3s and we win.' That's a terrific philosophy, but how do you do that? You have to know, conceptually, what they're trying to do and how they're getting those shots. I thought our guys really did a good job of concentrating, studying and figuring out where [Portland's] shots came from.''
Team leader Butler was also impressed with his team.
"Everybody is tougher than I thought - on and off the court,'' he said. "Everybody is way tougher. They showed it in the tournament.''
How?
"Through games, in film sessions - everybody paying attention, understanding the matchups we were going to get and not complaining,'' Butler said. "No one said anything about who they'd be guarding or ask why they were getting shots. I'd say we came together as a team.''
The forward was most impressed by Jones.
"Honestly, anybody who asks me, I tell them Kevin is the best player on our team,'' Butler said. "He plays inside and out. He rebounds. He does everything.
"And he doesn't just do everything OK. He does everything very well. So when I'm asked, I say he's the best player - hands down. He works the hardest. He's in the gym before and after practice, shooting and working out things.
"I wasn't really surprised he was all-tournament. I knew he had the talent and work ethic. It all came together. He played hard.''
West Virginia is now off until Saturday, when it plays host to the University of Charleston in an exhibition game. After, the Mountaineers play Duquesne (Dec. 9) and Coppin State (Dec. 12) at home, before traveling to Cleveland State (Dec. 19).
"We have to look toward the future,'' Jones said. "We want to do well in our conference games. This gave us a big confidence boost. We can take this and carry it with us. It shows we can hang with the good teams around the country.''
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While staying put at No. 8 in the ESPN/USA Today Poll, the Mountaineers did move up a spot to No. 7 in the Associated Press poll released on Monday.
The Big East is represented by seven teams in both polls, led by Villanova, which is ranked No. 3 in each. Cincinnati entered both lists this week, after advancing to the title game of the Maui Invitational before falling in overtime to Gonzaga.
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Butler was also named the Big East Player of the Week for his efforts in the 76 Classic.
Reach Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827 or mitchvin...@wvgazette.com.
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