As Bob Huggins departs for the mountains and coal mines of West Virginia, the trail of tears he left in Manhattan is obviously emotional. K-State fans, alumni (and to the greatest degree, school officials) are devastated and angry about the spurning by the once beloved Huggy Bear.
That, of course, is what defines us as one of the best sports cities and regions in the country. There is an intense (sometimes blind) devotion to schools and teams. But, let us not live in denial: West Virginia is a better job and Huggy gets to go home. Hard to blame him.
When Wildcats higher-ups Tim Weiser and Jon Wefald suggested in Thursdays press conference that Huggy will never be more adored than he is on the plains of Kansas, they were wrong. Very wrong. He is a returning hero to West Virginians, a native son that was always supposed to restore greatness to his alma mater. In Morgantown they have been buzzing about this all week.
The assets of West Virginia are numbered. The Big East is a superior basketball conference, which plays its games on national TV and its postseason tourney at Madison Square Garden. Huggins will have zero in-state rivals to recruit against. Forget the days of battling Kansas for in-state respect. The hoops history at Marshall consists of Randy Moss and Chad Pennington playing H-O-R-S-E after football practice.
Plus, West Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic region has far more high school talent than Kansas and the surrounding area. Just this year O.J. Mayo grew out of the Mountaineers backyard. We cannot just rewrite reality to fit our story and justify our emotions. If this was four years down the line, following a string of NCAA tournament appearances, no one would hold it against Huggy.
As for the recruits that want to follow Huggins, how can they be criticized? With all due respect to the good people of Manhattan, Bill Walker, Luis Cologne, Jason Bennett and Michael Beasley did not sign with Kansas State with visions of Mitch Richmond and Rolando Blackman. They came for Bob Huggins.
Flip it around. Imagine you were recruited to a new company by a boss you really trusted. You were excited to work under this boss, he understood your background, your goals and the two of you connected. Then, before you barely set foot into the office, your boss bolted and asked you to come along with him. You have no idea who your new manager will even be yet, let alone how he/she will use you or if they will value your talents. Would you move companies and follow your old boss or stay loyal to who signs your paycheck?
Here is the end game: In this already nauseating college coaching carousel, the only thing differentiating it from professional sports is the athletes are free labor. Everyone else is getting paid. Really well. For the highest paycheck, coaches are jumping ship like wet rats and it is merely chalked up as an unfortunate reality. Getting sick or jaded of college sports? Join the club.
The true misfortune of Huggins departure is the timing. We all wish we could see what Huggy would have done at K-State with three of four recruiting classes. Even non-Wildcats fans wanted to see what he could have built. The excitement, the optimism, the anticipation for a once-stagnant program energized us all. But other than Huggins leaving just as the momentum started, what is so impossible to understand?
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As Bob Huggins departs for the mountains and coal mines of West Virginia, the trail of tears he left in Manhattan is obviously emotional. K-State fans, alumni (and to the greatest degree, school officials) are devastated and angry about the spurning by the once beloved Huggy Bear. 
