The news out of Cincinnati is that Bob Huggins will be back on the job come August 27^th. Coach Huggins has always been upfront with media types and I for one appreciate it. In this day of cookie-cutter type coaches who seem to be masters of spin and avoiding answering any questions, Huggs is a breath of fresh air.

His detractors point to some unsavory conduct off the court (by both he and his players) and his supposedly abysmal graduation rate, but it’s hypocrisy! There are plenty, and I mean PLENTY, of programs across the country that come in far behind the Bearcats when it comes to graduating players that we never hear about. As Mike DeCourcy recently pointed out on Sportingnews.com, the Cincinnati media guide has at least 20 players on the inside cover that have attained degrees in the last few years under Huggins’ watch. So why do I still hear the uneducated media report the grad rate at Cincy as 0%? As for the off the court problems, if the administration at Cincinnati had a problem with the recruits Huggs is bringing in, I think they’d let him know about it. The drunk driving charge that led to his suspension? Inexcusable. Hopefully he’s taken steps to control his demons and will do his best with the second chance. He knows if something similar happens again he’s gone.

Huggins was being interviewed at the college slam dunk contest last fall. The announcer asked him being from a big major school, did he have a rooting interest in one of the smaller school guys in the contest because they don’t get the publicity the major kids do. His answer: A steely look, followed by a deadpan “No, not really”….Classic Huggins! We need more of that, not less in college basketball today.

Sean Miller was sure that his first act as the Xavier coach would be to hire his little bro Archie, currently an assistant at Western Kentucky. But Xavier put the kibosh on the hire before it happened, citing a University policy against nepotism. Too bad, because the brothers have coached together with the Pittsburgh JOTS AAU team since they were college players. They share a philosophy of coaching. Archie says, “I’m disappointed, working with Sean is something I wanted to do ever since I entered coaching, but I guess that’s just the nature of the business I’m in. I just have to keep working hard.”

Miller was in Pittsburgh Sunday to meet with Pitt assistant Orlando Antigua in an attempt to get his former Pitt teammate to join him at Xavier. Pitt coach Jamie Dixon, Miller and Antigua all refused to comment on whether Antigua was a candidate for one of the three Xavier spots still open. Sources also said that Miller is also eyeing former Duquesne player and current N.C. State assistant Kenya Hunter as an assistant. Hunter also has ties to the JOTS program from when he played at Duquesne. Both Hunter and Antigua would be big time hires for Miller, and both would be wise to consider any offers strongly. Xavier doesn’t look ready to slow its recent roll of success, and the head spot could very well come open again in a few years if Miller is offered by a major money school. Either following Miller to that major as a top assistant, or taking over at Xavier, would be terrific opportunities in the future.

Kobe Bean (can’t we all just call him Bean from now on) Bryant signed a 7year, 136.4 (but who’s counting) million-dollar contract with the Lakers. This ends a long, drawn out process where Kobe supposedly considered everyone from the Denver Nuggets to the LA Clippers. Pardon my skepticism, but if anyone thinks Kobe was going anywhere besides Laker-Land, I’ve got a 1992 Dodge Caravan for sale and I want $67,000 for it. Kobe had $36 million reasons why he wasn’t signing with anyone but his own team.

That and the fact that they followed his orders and got rid of Phil and Shaq before he signed. I don’t know if any of this stuff really matters until we find out if Kobe is going to PRISON OR NOT! It’s amazing how everyone just assumes that he’s getting off. I’m not saying he’s guilty. I’m just saying a jury and judge will have the final say on whether he’s playing in the NBA or the Colorado Penal League next year, not Stephen A. Smith! Smith actually said his sources tell him if Kobe is convicted, the worst he’ll get is 20 years probation. The only source that matters is the judge and jury, and if the judge happened to be watching SportsCenter that night, he’s probably pretty upset. Memo to Stephen A: Your not helping Kobe by saying that. Stick to basketball dude!