Back in 2002, Beilein gave WVU fans a ray of hope; can DeVries do that now?

I remember it well. As the sports editor and columnist of the Charleston Gazette, I was front and center at that city’s Civic Center on Dec. 3, 2002.
WVU’s men’s basketball team versus No. 8 Florida before 9,626.
There were low expectations for the Mountaineers and new head coach John Beilein – especially after a loss at Duquesne in Game 2.
Yet damned if West Virginia didn’t pull off the upset 68-66. Eighteen days later, it also beat Tennessee.
There was hope.
Unfortunately, WVU was in the rugged Big East at the time and settled for a 14-15 season record, but at least there was that spark, something to grasp after the disastrous 2001-02 season in which the Mountaineers imploded, finishing 8-20.
The situation was as bad – and probably worse – than the collapse of Bob Huggins’ Hall of Fame career in Morgantown. With Huggins, the story was mostly a personal tragedy in nature, albeit one that had far-reaching effects on the WVU program.
In 2002, there was layer upon layer of catastrophe.
The huge get that was Jonathan Hargett – perhaps the most decorated recruit since Jerry West – turned into a nightmare after then-coach Gale Catlett gave him free rein.
There was in-fighting among the team – literally.
WVU lost nine straight games and on Jan. 27, 2002, Catlett left citing health reasons. His nephew Drew Catlett was an interim coach for a stretch.
But the Mountaineers lost 18 of 19 en route to the 8-20 record.
And yet that wasn’t all.
After Catlett left for good, West Virginia AD Ed Pastilong hired Dan Dakich, a former Bobby Knight assistant.
Dakich came and, on an April morning, went. He just left after eight days in Morgantown.
Morgantown was college basketball’s version of ground zero, the surface above an exploded nuclear bomb.
Fortunately, Pastilong rebounded by hiring the respected Beilein from Richmond. Perhaps he had mercy because he went to college in Wheeling. But the hire certainly worked.
With 10 players left on the Mountaineer roster (none that really fit his system at the time), Beilein gave WVU fans hope.
With more of a fatherly, but disciplined, approach, Beilein fashioned respect from a lineup of Drew Schifino, Kevin Pittsnogle, Joe Herbert, etc.
Against Florida, Schifino dogged Brett Nelson, a St. Albans native returning home for what was to be a celebration. Against Tennessee, Pittsnogle banked in a buzzer beater. There was a win at Villanova.
Yes, WVU dropped after its 7-1 start that season. The Big East was incredibly brutal.
But Mountaineer fans saw Beilein’s motion, multiple-cut offense. They saw promise.
And that’s what West Virginia fans are looking for this season with new coach Darian DeVries, formerly of Drake.
Hope. Mountaineer fans need hope.
Are they expecting the Elite Eight, Sweet Sixteen kind of success from DeVries we saw from Beilein? Probably, because we’re fans.
But for now, the desire is to see a spark by building off wins against Robert Morris and UMass, showing disciplined teamwork and energy, and giving reason to believe.
Once again.
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Mitch Vingle covered sports in West Virginia for 38 years. Follow Mitch on Twitter at @MitchVingle and be sure to check out the rest of Wheelhouse Creative’s website for your marketing and advertising needs. If interested, call us at 304-905-6005.