Mountaineers ‘take out’ Trent Johnson
Before TCU’s Thursday tilt with West Virginia, Horned Frogs head coach Trent Johnson had some words for the Mountaineers’ mentor, Bob Huggins.
Actually, it was more of a request for members of the media. Some may have took it as an attack on Huggins. Others may have thought Johnson was crazy.
TCU coach Trent Johnson certainly has a sense of humor. #WVU to meet the Horned Frogs in the Big 12 quarterfinals. pic.twitter.com/U7HscrBLY0
— Matt Hauswirth (@matthaus_CNY) March 10, 2016
But, in reality, he was just trying to make a joke.
“Anybody want to help me out by going to take Huggs out?” Johnson asked reporters in his postgame interview following the Horned Frogs’ win over Texas Tech in the first round. “Take Huggs and his players out.”
The motive is up for debate. Clearly, Johnson was just handling the next day’s impending 20-point defeat in stride.
Johnson’s words were not a message to a mob or hitman to actually go out at night in downtown Kansas City, find Huggins and injure him. Rather, it was an open invitation for someone to take Huggins and his players out for some adult beverages, maybe in Kansas City’s famous Power and Light District.
By doing that, the Mountaineers would have been hungover and slowed down for Thursday night’s contest.
That wasn’t the case.
The WVU basketball team had one of its best offensive performances of the season, while cranking up the pressure on defense to force 14 steals and garner six blocks.
But, back to Johnson’s comment, it was still a bit off-color. That’s because of who it was directed at.
Huggins has had a history of drunken issues, some of which cost him his head coaching job at Cincinnati.
Those days are behind him. Still, Huggins is one of a few coaches at the Division I level who can take a joke, especially one about himself.
If anything, Huggins probably found the humor in Johnson’s comment before anyone else. He’d be the guy to dish out a similar remark to another person, as well.