USF fans generally have no love lost for Bob Huggins. It's mostly because we can't beat the guy - USF is 1-18 against Huggins-coached teams all time - but I think it's also because of the bad image that his old Cincinnati teams had and made them really easy to hate. You know the drill, cantankerous coach, hard-nosed team with swagger and attitude and all-black uniforms, low graduation rates, repeated off-the-court incidents, etc. (My favorite was the time Art Long was charged with punching a police horse... four times. He was later acquitted.)
Since he went to West Virginia, though, it seems like it's harder to dislike him. His teams still play tough basketball, but they're a lot better behaved and Huggins himself has mellowed some. Then there was tonight's game, when Da'Sean Butler's knee buckled and he went down in a heap (and somehow got called for a foul, but that's beside the point). He was screaming in pain and his future had to be flashing in front of his eyes. All the work Butler had done to make himself into an All-BIG EAST player, and now this. Who would ever draft him coming off a major knee injury?
I don't care how manly you think you are. When something horrible and traumatic happens to you, it's good for someone to have your back. Well, Huggins definitely had Butler's back in that moment. I don't remember him doing anything like this when Kenyon Martin broke his leg. It was the most human and caring thing I've ever seen Huggins do. I'm not sure I can hate him anymore after seeing it.