West Virginia's Bob Huggins named to 2021 Naismith Hall of Fame ballot

West Virginia men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins is on the 2021 Naismith Hall of Fame Ballot.

Huggins is a reccurring member on the ballot and is an eligible candidate alongside popular nominees like Chauncey Billups, Chris Bosh, Richard Hamilton, Ben Wallace, Chris Webber, Jay Wright, Swin Cash and Becky Hammon, along with others.

Doug Collins, Michael Cooper, Howard Garfinkel, Lou Henson, Paul Pierce, Val Ackerman, Yolanda Griffith and Lauren Jackson are all first-time nominees on the ballot this year.

In 38 years of coaching, Huggins has built up quite the coaching resume. Entering this season, Huggins had a coaching record of 881-372 with a .703 winning percentage. Since taking over the West Virginia program in 2007, Huggins has led his alma mater to 291 wins and 161 losses. The Mountaineers are 7-1 this season and play No. 3 Kansas at 9 p.m. Tuesday.

The Mountaineers made their lone Final Four appearance with Huggins at the helm in 2009-10 and finished the season with a record of 31-7 and a Big East tournament title.

Huggins also coached at Walsh, Akron, Cincinnati and Kansas State. Heading into this season, Huggins ranked fourth in total victories among active Division I head coaches and is the sixth-winningest in college basketball history among Division I coaches.

Huggins found a lot of success during his time at Cincinnati as well, as his team won less than 20 games just twice in 16 seasons. He also never recorded a losing season during his time in Cincinnati and has only recorded four in his entire career.

One of those four came in his first season as a head coach at Walsh in 1980-81. Two years later, Huggins led Walsh to a record of 34-1 and an appearance in the NAIA Finals.

The Class of 2021 enshrinement ceremony is scheduled for next September in Springfield, Mass. The Class of 2020 ceremony was rescheduled and relocated for May 13-15, 2021 at Mohegan Sun, because of covid-19.