Former Cincinnati Bearcats players headed to West Virginia to support Bob Huggins

As a group, they are in mourning.

Come Monday, a contingent of former University of Cincinnati basketball players who Bob Huggins coached will travel to Morgantown, West Virginia to visit their former coach. While previous visits may have come on more joyous occasions, this visit intends to lift up the man who lifted them when no one was around.

Just as they made mistakes, he has made mistakes. Now, at 69 years old, Bob Huggins needs a group hug from the sons he never had, from the players who watched his own daughters turn into adults.

For a second time, Huggins has been arrested for driving under the influence. The news broke Saturday with some of his former UC players finding it difficult to celebrate Father's Day on Sunday.

'It's like someone died'

Upon hearing the news, Keith Starks, a Tony Yates recruit who played on UC's first two teams under Huggins, wouldn't answer the phone.

"I thought Huggs would go out on his own terms," Starks said. "Unfortunately, this incident and past incidents have caught up with him. It's someone I respect and truly love and hold dear to my heart. It's like someone died."

Starks, whose son Chandler will be attending West Virginia for football, called him a "life-changer" in terms of his personal development. Huggins helped him develop a game that allowed him to play professionally overseas and view different cultures.

Brought up by his grandparents, Starks never thought he'd get out of Addyston, let alone see the world. Starks didn't know his dad and Huggins assumed the father figure role to many of his players. When the two would meet, conversation wasn't necessarily about basketball.

"It was like sitting around talking with your dad that you hadn't seen in a while," Starks said. "It was just generally having a love conversation. I call him the 'Pied Piper'. Whenever he comes into town and plays his music, all of us gravitate to where he's at. Once he got into our sphere of trust, that trust is for life."

32 years later, Terry Nelson is still in Cincinnati

Now UC basketball's radio color commentator alongside Bearcat voice Dan Hoard, Terry Nelson first surfaced in Cincinnati from California after a long journey with Corie Blount and Erik Martin. Nelson nearly left the program, then began to understand the relationship Huggins had with players. Nelson has kept contact with Huggins since and even messaged him shortly after the news of the second DUI broke.

"The first thing you start thinking about is all the lives he's affected on the positive end," Nelson said. "I texted him and said all the countless Black males that you changed their family situation because you instilled discipline that pushed them past their comfort zone. You don't realize what the lessons are until you get out of the lessons."

Ironically, the discipline during those three-hour marathons practices wasn't always followed away from the hardwood.

"No matter if you're the teacher or the student, someone always has an issue or problem that they have to conquer or it will eat them alive," Nelson said. "For some it's regret, for some it's alcohol, for some it's drugs, some it's sex. Whatever it is, if you're not willing to confront the issues that can destroy your gift. Sometimes that thing that eats us up gets so far out of hand that you can't do it on your own. You need help, professional help."

That will likely be the tune of next week's visit/intervention/mission of love to Morgantown.

The second strike proves costly

The first DUI came just over 19 years ago in Cincinnati. Huggins eventually would coach at UC just one more season, then resign under pressure from then-President Nancy Zimpher's administration. He would sit a season out but returned at the request of former player Eric Hicks to watch as a fan on his 2005 Senior Day.

In 2006, as Mick Cronin was hired at UC and Bearcat interim Andy Kennedy at Mississippi, Huggins resurfaced at Kansas State. A year later, he was wooed home to his alma mater, West Virginia. As he did at UC in 1992, he took the Mountaineers to the Final Four in 2010. Among the Bearcats who traveled to the game sporting WVU blue and gold were former Bearcats Nelson and A.D. Jackson.

After supporting their coach courtside, many Bearcats are now heading to be by his side in a time of need. In May, Huggins used a homophobic slut on 700WLW's "Bill Cunningham Show". By day's end, he had issued an apology, been docked $1 million of salary, had his contract restructured and ordered to take LGBTQ+ training at WVU. In addition, he would make donations to Xavier's centers for faith and justice and diversity and inclusion.

Then Friday, June 16 the Naismith Hall of Fame coach sadly finished a chapter of his life story when he was charged with a second DUI, this time in Pittsburgh. By Saturday night, he had resigned and was the former West Virginia coach of a team that experts felt had a chance of being highly ranked.

The first recruit

Tarrice Gibson has been employed by JTM Provisions since finishing his last two seasons at UC in the Final Four and Elite Eight. For those that remember "The Rat" during his playing days, he was a key part of the Huggins full-court press, willing to dive for basketballs or over tables out-of-bounds while in relentless pursuit of the opposition.

He had such a team attitude that he even allowed his name to be mispronounced as "Terrance" throughout his career. Gibson will join Terry Nelson, Corie Blount, Nick Van Exel, Louis Banks and others in the trip to Morgantown.

Gibson chooses to save most of his thoughts for his former coach, keeping his words on the latest incident to a minimum.

"I hate that it ended like this," he said. "He's absolutely, unequivocally is too great of a man for his career to end in such a way. My emotions are everywhere because I love him like a father."

Right-hand man

Huggins developed more than players during his time at UC. Joe Roberts, currently the athletic director at Princeton High School was one of his student managers from 1993-1998. Among the players around Huggins at that time were Damon Flint, Darnell Burton, Dontonio Wingfield and Jackson Julson. Later came Danny Forston, whose daughter now plays at Princeton. Roberts says Fortson is heartbroken.

"He said, 'What do we do?'" Roberts said. "I said the same thing that we always do, wrap our arms around him and love him. All we can do is listen to the negative side of things and know that's just part of life today. Those of us that have been around him from an intimate standpoint know that it's completely different."

Support is on the way

Nelson and his teammates are part of the caravan of caring 'Cats coming to the aid of the man who dished out hard lessons in life. This time, he'll be on the receiving end.

Some will drive. Some are flying into Pittsburgh. All are concerned and ready to come to the aid of the man who would throw them out of practice, then talk them up afterward.

"There's no way in the world he should have been driving alone," Nelson said. "I thought after the Xavier thing, he should have taken some time away and then started afresh. How do you want to do this part of your life and start the next phase of fundraising? Now, he's going to have some time to think."

His players hope there's healing ahead and perhaps a chance to tweak an ill-advised ending to his story.

"He'll always have our support and our respect," Starks said. "Everybody goes through a time when they make mistakes and they have to figure out how to bring themselves back from it. I think there's a bright light at the end of the tunnel. There always will be for a guy like Huggs. He will create and make his opportunities."