Sept. 30
I was absolutely stunned when I saw the news of Bobby Huggins' heart attack on the TV screen as I was watching the Penn State-Iowa football game Saturday. Huggins, the Cincinnati men's basketball coach, is so young (49). Any time you hear news like that it's shocking. They say that people with explosive personalities -- and Huggins lets it all out -- can have problems with blood pressure and heart ailments.

	Bob Huggins had tests on his heart four years ago as a precaution, but there's a history of heart trouble in his family.

I remember vividly talking to him in the locker room one time, about how much the body can endure. He spoke about a complete physical he went through because his dad, Charlie, had a heart attack before the age of 40.

He said that all the tests came back satisfactory, but Huggins' weight has fluctuated over the years. Huggins' emotion on the sideline is one of his greatest assets as a coach. He has a way of getting to his players, but they realize it's done with affection. Huggins does it because he cares, and he goes after all his players, from superstars like Kenyon Martin to the last guy on the team. You'd better come to play and do your best!

Huggins has a way of getting his kids to work as a team, play tough defense and fight to win, giving their all. That's what coaching is all about, and he does it as well as anyone.

Huggins believes in an old-school approach to coaching, much like the legendary Vince Lombardi. He loves a strong work ethic, something he learned from his dad, Charlie, a successful high school coach in Ohio. Huggins also learned from growing up in a competitive family. He played at West Virginia, while one of his brothers, Larry, went to Ohio State. His brother, Harry, played at Rice.

The bottom line is, Huggins is a competitive person and it shows. He wears his emotions on his sleeves, baby! There's another side of him that people don't always see: He's a caring guy. He makes himself available for people who need help in all types of situations. He's a compassionate person, and that's why he's a success.

Several programs in America stand out because of their coaches. I remember the late Al McGuire talking about this, that for schools like St. John's with former coach Lou Carnesecca, Temple with John Chaney and more, coach-and-school are identified together. That can be said for McGuire and Marquette, too, as his personality became synonymous with the program.

Cincinnati and Huggins are the same way. Not to take away from other schools, but certain big-time programs have a heritage and a following -- and they succeed even when they change coaches. But city schools especially need a guy with contagious excitement that everyone in the community can feed off of. Remember, city schools also have to battle for the entertainment dollar with professional franchises.

Huggins has achieved so much at Cincinnati, compiling a 332-100 record, including 31-4 last season. He's led the Bearcats to 11 straight seasons of 20-plus wins, 11 consecutive NCAA appearances, the 1992 Final Four and a pair of Elite Eights.

Huggins has cultivated impressive talent at Cincinnati: Kenyon Martin, Nick Van Exel, Danny Fortson, Kenny Satterfield, Corie Blount, DerMarr Johnson, Steve Logan, Ruben Patterson, Pete Mickael, Melvin Levett.

I know how proud Huggins was to see his program achieve the best GPA in C-USA last season.

Huggins has taken lots of heat over the years -- critics have been all over him about his graduation rate and the off-court problems of his players. He's a staunch fighter for what he believes in. I can remember coming in to broadcast Cincinnati games, and he'd be in my face big-time. He'd talk about how I would bring up graduation rates at schools like Duke and North Carolina, for example, and how those schools get certain student-athletes.

He said Cincinnati also gets kids who have the potential to get the job done academically, but they just haven't achieved yet. Huggins felt that with guidance his kids could climb to the top of the mountain. He loved to give kids the opportunity to blend in and compete with others.

Huggins also pointed out that juco players are not counted in graduation rates, while players who leave early for the NBA hurt a school's rate. I know how proud he was to see his program achieve the best GPA of any basketball team in Conference USA last season.

Let's all hope and pray he can make a full recovery, a la Bo Schembechler. Both men showed intensity on the sidelines, and Bo returned from his heart problem. With the advances in technology in the field of cardiology today, miracles are happening all over.

Our prayers go out to the Huggins family. One great thing going for him is the tremendous love from his family: his wife June, his two daughters, his brothers, his mom and dad. Bobby Huggins is definitely in my prayers. He's needed in the sport of college basketball. His way of getting players to perform as a team is something special.