As the world turns...

Thursday has dawned, and still no official word on the coach Huggins situation. I still haven't been able to find official confirmation that West Virginia has even talked to Huggins, although I'm certain they have. No news on when we can expect a decision, either, although I'm sure we'll know by the weekend.

The one thing that scares me in this is Huggins' silence. It's not unexpected, but silence from a coach is a scary thing, considering what we just saw up at Creighton (more on that later). Everyone knew Dana Altman was getting interest from Iowa and Arkansas, and he did not come out and say there was no reason to worry, that he wasn't going anywhere. Certainly that approach is to be commended over telling a bald-faced lie, right Nick Saban?

Also, having lived (relatively) far from home now, I know how enticing the call of home can be. I'm sure Huggins would love to go back home, he's even said so. There's something about being back where you came from (assuming you like the place, which Huggins apparently does) and being able to see old friends and nearby family when you want to. As I understand it, Huggins' dad still lives in eastern Ohio, and one of his daughters goes to school in Ohio. He'd be a lot closer to them back in Morgantown.

Some are speculating this is about money, because at $800,000 per year, he's far underpaid. That's not it. He was born in Morgantown, played basketball there, was a graduate assistant there. This is about going home. Certainly if WVU offers him a lot more money, he's even more likely to go, but this isn't about money. Tim Weiser does need to step up and offer a lot more, to the tune of about a half-million more, though. Surely all that money we made from all the sellouts and merchandise sold gives us the ability to pony up that much, right?

The killer thing about this whole situation is we just have to sit around and wait, and sometimes deal with digs from other schools while we do so. None of us knows what Huggins is going to decide. On the one hand, he's only been with us a year, and has a lot of really good players that he's put a lot of time into coming into the mix next year. On the other hand, there's the chance to go home to his "dream job." Let's all remember this...even if he does leave, K-State basketball will go on. We have some good momentum from last year, and we've shown coaches they will be supported if they win.

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I swear, everytime I blog about something, it turns right around. I said it looked like Gillispie was gone...he wasn't. I wrote that Altman was gone...well, he was, but now he's back. He says he's going to finish out his career at Creighton now. Well I damn sure hope he's planning on that, because he's not going to get very many offers in the future.

Altman claims it was his ego and the money that caused him to temporarily go insane and move to Arkansas. I can understand the money part, he was apparently offered $1.5 million per year at Arkansas. But the ego? Talk about a sideways comeback. Creighton apparently isn't sufficiently prominent for his ego. I can understand that in some sense, it's a non-BCS program that has never made a Sweet 16. Hardly one of college basketball's elite. But when you're coming back to a fanbase you've recently jilted, I wouldn't say it was my ego that caused me to leave. It's whatever, though, I'm still happy he's back.

It also sounds like there might have been some other reasons for Altman's departure, although he won't admit they were a factor. I do believe Altman realized he actually wanted to stay in Omaha, and I'm hardly going to get worked up about two college kids smoking weed. That stuff happens everywhere, it's hardly unique to Arkansas.

I know this, I sure wouldn't want to coach anywhere the fans yell "whoo pig sooie" as their leading chant.

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The greatest golf week of the year starts today, with The Masters tournament kicking off. I won't bore you by giving my uninformed thoughts on who is going to play well. Obviously Woods is the prohibitive favorite, and I'm sure the long-hitters will top the leader board. Whether you're a golf fan or not, though, turn the TV over to the tournament for a little while this weekend, and just enjoy the music CBS plays and the beauty of the course. There are few places more beautiful in the world than Augusta National Golf Club.