Huggins praises legendary former Farrell coach

By Mike White | Monday, March 29, 2010, 11:45 p.m.

Bob Huggins was on the Vinnie and Cook show today on "The Fan" 93.7. Yes, the West Virginia University talked about his Final Four team, but what caught my attention was what he said about a legendary basketball coach from the WPIAL.

My Post-Gazette colleague, Ron Cook,one of the hosts of the show along with Vinnie Richichi, asked Huggins (pictured to the left) about his relationship with former Farrell coach Ed McCluskey. Huggins had spoken to Cook before about McCluskey and Cook brought up the subject on the radio.

Huggins went on to tell the story of how his father and McCluskey were good friends. When Bob Huggins was a kid, he said his father used to take him to McCluskey's home in Farrell on Sundays. They would go into McCluskey's basement, where McCluskey had a miniature basketball court on a table. They would discuss basketball for a long time.

Here is a comment from Huggins that I found very interesting: "A lot of what we do today [offensively], with our cuts and slips [of screens], has its roots with Coach Mac," Huggins said.

Interesting stuff. Great of Ron Cook to get Huggins to talk about it. McCluskey, by the way, won more WPIAL and state championships than any coach. He won 11 WPIALs and seven state titles. His record was 698-185.