Manhattan ? Former University of Cincinnati basketball coach Bob Huggins has accepted an offer to become Kansas State University’s coach, various news outlets reported Wednesday night.
The Wichita Eagle and Foxsports.com reported on their Web sites that a news conference introducing Huggins was expected to take place today.
“He accepted tonight,” a source told the Eagle. “It’s a great situation for Kansas State.”
Huggins’ agent, Richard Katz, did not return phone messages to the Eagle.
Huggins, 52, led Cincinnati to 14 straight NCAA Tournament appearances and a Final Four in 1992. He was forced out in August after 16 seasons with the Bearcats.
Huggins replaces Jim Wooldridge, who was 15-13 this past season at Kansas State.
Fox Sports indicated Huggins was expected to bring 7-foot-1 senior big man Jason Bennett of Arlington Country Day (Fla.) with him, and he likely will be in the mix for two of the nation’s top juniors – O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker from North College Hill (Ohio).
K-State athletic director Tim Weiser declined to discuss the Huggins hiring.
“There’s no comment,” Weiser said. “Our position has remained the same. We’re not going to comment on any candidates or conversations, and once we reach a point when we have something to share with you, we’ll have a press conference.
“Any candidate that we are going to seriously consider, we are going to do our homework on and make sure that we understand all the issues with a particular candidate,” Weiser said. “But in terms of a specific candidate, I can’t comment on that at this time.”
Huggins was forced out in August and accepted a $3 million buyout after a public struggle with new Cincinnati president Nancy Zimpher, who disagreed with the way Huggins ran the Bearcats program.
Weiser contends interest in men’s basketball at Kansas State is just waiting to be reignited to the level it was in the ’70s and ’80s, when the Wildcats regularly competed for the Big Eight championship.
“I think this place is poised to explode, like we’ve seen in football,” Weiser said. “I believe the atmosphere in Bramlage Coliseum can be pretty special, too.”
Weiser said he had been in frequent contact with former Wichita State, Vanderbilt and South Carolina coach Eddie Fogler, whom he has retained as a consultant, and with old friend and Texas Tech coach Bob Knight, who never is too shy to voice an opinion.
“Bob Knight and I have spoken several times,” Weiser said. “We share a lot of the same beliefs about our profession and about basketball in particular. I’ve had an opportunity to pick his brain and talk with him about different things. I respect his opinion, and I respect Eddie Fogler. They have similar beliefs about how you run a basketball program.”
When it comes to criteria, all Weiser has been willing to say is that he values practical experience.
However, Weiser hired Ron Prince as football coach last year even though Prince had never been a head coach.
“It’s like anything else, a combination of things,” he said.
