Bob Huggins Named Finalist for Naismith Hall of Fame
West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins was named a finalist for the Class of 2022 for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday.
The finalists were announced during a press conference in Cleveland during NBA All-Star Weekend. The entire Class of 2022 will be announced during the men’s Final Four, with induction set for Sept. 9-10.
Huggins is one of the most decorated coaches in college basketball history. Just this season, Huggins has passed Bob Knight and Roy Williams on the all-time list and has 913 career victories as the Mountaineers (14-11, 3-9 in Big 12) prepare to host Kansas on Saturday.
He is one of six Division I coaches to win at least 900 games, along with Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim, Jim Calhoun, Bob Knight and Roy Williams. Krzyzewski and Boeheim are the only active coaches, with Krzyzewski set to retire at season’s end. Calhoun retired three games into this season at St. Joseph’s College. Huggins needs seven wins to tie Calhoun at 920 career victories.
Huggins is the only of the of six coaches that is not already in the Hall of Fame. He is signed through after the 2026-27 season and has shown no hints of retiring from coaching his alma mater.
Huggins took Cincinnati (1992) and West Virginia (2010) to the Final Four in his long coaching career, which started his career at Division III Walsh, where he won 71 games in three seasons from 1980-83. Akron hired him, and in five seasons Huggins won 97 games and took the Zips to the NCAA Tournament.
At Cincinnati, Huggins helmed the program for 17 seasons, won 399 games, and reached the NCAA Tournament 14 games. After a season out of basketball, Huggins took the job at Kansas State in 2006 and led the Wildcats to a 23-win season before the West Virginia job opened up and he took it before the 2007-08 season.
Huggins has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from WVU. Huggins and Williams are the only two coaches to win at least 300 games at two different schools.
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