Welcome, By-Godders, to the Shotgun/Throwdown, WVU's nationally recognized best place for sports links, information, sophomoric humor and daily distractions. We're being brought to you today by Kaiser beer, in honor of today's Miss Throwdown (it may sound German, but it's Brazilian).
Today we have AD Oliver Luck talking more about the move to the Big 12 along with more postmortems on the men's basketball season with reasons to believe the future is, indeed, actually positive. Back to the positive, the WVU women took care of Texas over the weekend and will face #1 seed and #2 ranked Stanford this evening in a second round match-up in their NCAA's.
Football enters its second week of spring drills after completing practice #4 yesterday. We have some practice notes and Holgorsen's presser in that regard. Also, WVU held its Pro Day for outgoing seniors this past Friday and we have several reports from that as well.
Let's GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What You May Have Missed:
Luck leading WVU through transition - Times West Virginian
"There’s still a lot of things we have to do. Our athletic department has always been healthy and solid, but times they are a-changing. As we go into the Big 12 we have to figure things out. I’m still enjoying every little challenge," he said.
HERTZEL COLUMN: Luck says WVU fits in Big 12 - Times West Virginian
Indeed, those who believe West Virginia is not a fit would be surprised to see that culturally it fits extremely well with many of the states in the Big 12.
Money talks with WVU's move to Big 12 - Charleston Daily Mail
And whether or not the Big 12 expands again, don't expect a Texas or Oklahoma to go any place else. Just as the schools have signed over their TV rights to the conference for six years, the word is that WVU and its fellow nine members would now extend that grant of rights through the 13-year length of those contracts.
Wanted: Shot Makers - MSNsportsNET.Com
But equally important to finding shooters and skilled offensive players is getting more guys in the program who understand how to play the game. Huggins touched on that very subject when asked what impressed him most about Gonzaga.
All things considered, WVU season a success - Charleston Gazette
a success considering the circumstances coach Bob Huggins could not control. The circumstances are not excuses. They are facts.
Too Much Inexperience for WVU to Overcome - Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register
''We just had too many of them,'' Huggins said, speaking of the eight freshmen and/or first-year players the Mountaineers started the season with.
Jones won’t forget the ‘memories’ - Times West Virginian
"You want to finish without embarrassing yourself and your university," he said. "We just didn’t make the right decisions, and we got out-toughed, which is something that very rarely happens here."
Upward Trajectory - BGN
The players are there, the coaching is there. The best practice facility in the nation is there. There’s work to be done, sure. And it will be. But the table’s being set, and set well. This program will have a different look next season. And it will continue to grow.
Future is bright for WVU men - Daily Athenaeum
Once again, the Mountaineers will have a young group of players in the 2012-13 season, but the thing that I think really gives it a lot of potential is that it’s slowly continuing to become more like the successful teams Huggins had during his time at Cincinnati.
Women's Dance:
Mountaineers to Play Stanford - MSNsportsNET.Com
When the West Virginia University women’s basketball team takes to the court at the Ted Constant Convocation Center on Monday night at 7 p.m. for its second round game against Stanford, it will be facing the No. 2 team in the country for the third time this season.
WVU women looking to get physical - Charleston Gazette
"All year we've been playing really aggressive and I feel like if we do that tomorrow, we can get them out of their sets and just kind of mess up their flow, and that's just something that we're focusing on,'' Mountaineers 6-foot-4 center Asya Bussie said
WVU Women's Basketball Press Conference - WVillustrated
Watch WVU Women's Coach Mike Carey and players speak to the media prior to their game in the NCAA Tournament against Stanford.
Pro Day:
Pro Day a Chance to Dream for Former Mountaineers - WVillustrated
This past season's seniors and other former WVU football players gathered in Morgantown Friday to impress NFL teams and work toward a professional career.
HERTZEL COLUMN: Irvin thrilled to get his shot at NFL - Times West Virginian
"It’s a dream just to be in this situation. If I go first round, that would be a big accomplishment. I could tell my kids about that the rest of my life, but just being drafted is an accomplishment, just getting a shot at your dreams is the best."
First Impressions From WVU's Pro-Day 2012 - WVU Pros
We spoke with two former Mountaineers in attendance at WVU's Pro-Day about who stood out.
WVU Football Pro Day Interviews - WVillustrated
The Tandy, Devon Brown, Najee, Barclay, Julian and Willie Milhouse
Video: WVU's Pro Day - BGN
Najee, Tandy, Barclay, Julian and Bruce
News of Note:
Dana Holgorsen Spring Practice Day 4 News Conference - WVillustrated
Watch and hear what Dana Holgorsen had to say following Day 4 of spring practice
Football: Coach Holgorsen News Conference - MSNsportsNET.Com
Transcript
Holgorsen encouraged by morale - Charleston Gazette
"Then you add some defensive coaches [four of the five are new] and I sense that these guys are pretty fired up about being here and pretty fired up about playing the game and being eager to learn. I sensed it, but after watching four practices, I've verified it.''
Spring Football: Practice No. 4 Recap - WVMETRONEWS.COM
"I don’t care what kind of offense you run, what kind of defense you run or any of that, if you’re not physical you’re not going to be very good," he said. "I was really pleased with how they responded to that and got out there and did a lot more things from a physical nature, so that was good to see."
WVU ends fourth day of spring practice - Daily Athenaeum
Physicality was the West Virginia football team’s main goal on day four of spring practice, and the Mountaineers did not disappoint.
Jenkins Completes First Week of Practice Since Injury - WVillustrated
The senior offensive lineman is back on the field after missing last season with a knee injury
Jordan Thompson Enjoying Early WVU Career - WVillustrated
Freshman Wide Receiver Jordan Thompson is getting very comfortable at WVU - Article and video
HERTZEL COLUMN: Cornerbacks live life on an island - Times West Virginian
If you could put a finger on the No. 1 asset, it would be cockiness.
VIDEO: WVU Football Coaches Interviews - WVMETRONEWS.COM
DeForest, Dawson, Patterson, Gillespie, Bedenbaugh and a practice highlight video
Photos: Spring Practice No. 4 - WVMETRONEWS.COM
Around the League (and Beyond):
E-mails reveal Big 12 efforts to block Mizzou - Big 12 Blog - ESPN
OU "Running" The Ball Well In Spring Practice - Crimson And Cream Machine
Spring break report: Quarterbacks (Texas Tech) - Dallas Morning News
What's On Tap:
2012 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament
(8) West Virginia Mountaineers vs. (1) Stanford Cardinal - ESPN
7:15 pm tonight from Norfolk on ESPN2/3
Video of Interest:
WVU completed its fourth practice of spring ball, the women's basketball team takes on top-seeded Stanford in the NCAA Tournament and we look back and ahead at the players who are leaving and coming to the Mountaineer basketball team.
Video of (Dis)Interest:
Miss Throwdown:
Today's Miss Throwdown is Brazilian model Elisandra Tomacheski. Click on the picture for today's gallery.
via brosome.com
Kaiser image via soccertalk.us
