Dick Vitale Gala to honor West Virginia men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins

He is often viewed as a hard-nosed men’s basketball coach.

But Dick Vitale sees something different when it comes to West Virginia University head coach Bob Huggins.

“He’s a big teddy bear,” Vitale said. “He has a heart of gold. Soft as can be as a person. He’d give his shirt off his back.”

Huggins is one of the honorees at Friday’s 12th Annual Dick Vitale Gala to raise money for pediatric cancer research.

Like most people in the world, Huggins has his own personal dealings with cancer. His mother, Norma, passed away from colon cancer in 2003 when he was still coaching at Cincinnati. An endowment was started in Huggins’ mother’s name shortly thereafter.

“It was absolutely horrible,” Huggins said this week in a phone interview. “My mother and I were extremely close. I’m the oldest of seven. Just seeing her suffer the way she suffered and she was unconscious about a week and a half, maybe. They kept saying, ‘She wasn’t going to make it until the morning. She lived until the morning of her 51st wedding anniversary.”

Added Vitale: “He’s done wonders for cancer in relation to his mom, raising lots of money. That’s one of the reasons we thought of Bob.”

Huggins began coaching at Akron, before rebuilding Cincinnati’s program from 1989-2005.

After leaving the Bearcats, Huggins went to Kansas State for a brief stint before arriving at his alma mater, West Virginia, in 2007.

His coaching style emanates from his father, Charlie, who coached Bob in high school. At the time, playing for his father wasn’t a grateful experience.

But it is now.

“He was pretty rough, but I’m very happy I did it now,” Huggins said. “I learned a lot. I think a lot of what we still do today comes from what I learned from him.”

Part of that comes from his tough-love demeanor, which Vitale said his players enjoy.

Thinking outside the box, Huggins took his Mountaineers into the coal mines several years ago to give them a taste of what their fans go through on a daily basis just to watch them play basketball.

It was an eye-opening experience for them.

“When I talk to them, they talk about it as one of the great experiences they’ve ever had,” Huggins said.

Huggins was tapped as an honoree following a game with Kansas last season. His work toward cancer research garnered Huggins a spot as an honoree this year along with Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly and ESPN sportscaster Chris Berman, although Berman is not expected to attend following the death of his wife, Kathy, on Tuesday in an auto accident.

Huggins’ basketball resume speaks for itself.

“When you look at his track record and his resume, he belongs in the hall of fame,” Vitale said. “There’s guys in the hall of fame with a lot less than what he has: 800 wins, Final Fours with two different schools.”

Friday’s visit to the annual Vitale Gala isn’t his first. His first time saw him sit at a Pittsburgh table. But there was no rivalry on that evening.

“Actually, talked more about the Steelers than anything else,” Huggins said.

Vitale and Huggins said there’s an expected seven or eight tables full of West Virginia people coming in support of Friday’s gala.

“The outpouring of West Virginia people and what it means is pretty neat,” Huggins said.

This story was originally published May 11, 2017 at 4:37 PM with the headline "Dick Vitale Gala to honor West Virginia men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins."