It was during the 2012-13 prep basketball season and I was sitting in the Morgantown High School cheering section at the boys’ state basketball tournament. With a small turnout of fans I opted to lounge close to the action as opposed to taking a seat on press row where my colleagues needed a place to do actual work.

 

I sat with friends to watch the Mohigans. The reason was simple.

 

I wanted a chance to watch West Virginia University basketball signee Nathan Adrian. This was going to be the first recruit for the WVU men’s hoops team – a true scholarship player from Morgantown – since 1956. He was 6’9, could shoot the rock from all reports and was averaging over 20 points per game. 

 

So I plopped down, more than likely with a Zul’s refreshing frozen lemonade in hand, and watched with several of the regulars from Harrison County who make the annual pilgrimage to Charleston for the boys’ tournament. Needless to say, after a quick Morgantown elimination from the eight-team field the “fan” in me wasn’t impressed.

 

I quoted “fan” because when it comes to WVU and particularly its basketball program, I’m not rational. I watch games often by myself because my wife can’t tolerate my outbursts. I pound my fists. I occasionally use profanity (understand occasionally can be debated here), and I have had an ongoing man crush on Bob Huggins since he first arrived that really negates any type of logical thinking.

 

It’s okay for me to be a fan here. I don’t cover WVU basketball at all. In fact, our coverage is provided through photography from Ben Queen and a finely tuned sports communication team in Morgantown.

 

I digress.

 

This time with Adrian, though, I was pretty sure Bob Huggins had it wrong. I felt that way even though a similar set of circumstances made me eat crow one other time.

 

Years earlier, when a lanky 6’10 kid from Martinsburg named Kevin Pittsnogle seemed to be thoroughly outplayed in the state tournament by another big in Mark Patton who ended up going to Marshall I just shook my head. This, I believed, was a wasted scholarship.

 

I was wrong on Pittsnogle. Grossly wrong. Historically wrong.

 

While Patton was certainly a nice player during his run with the Thundering Herd, he was no Kevin Pittsnogle. Pittsnogle became a Big East icon, a verb, beloved by the state and national media alike and a player that provided more highlight reel moments than anyone probably ever expected.

 

Silly me. I didn’t learn my lesson.

 

You see, the fan in me wanted to see Nathan Adrian explode for 40 points in that state tournament game. The fan in me expected the 6’9 kid who played as a freshman at WVU to not just contribute occasionally, but to do things that were easily noticeable. I wanted numbers. I needed stats. I couldn’t see then what Bob Huggins and other coaches, who do occasionally get it wrong, that have a Hall of Fame pedigree see easily.

 

I should have paid attention those early years to what Nathan Adrian was doing beyond what the stat line showed. I didn’t. I would just mumble when he didn’t live up to my fan-like expectations, which were unrealistic no matter where he came from.

 

I’m coming clean right now. I want to make it clear that for every time I thought or said to a friend that Nathan Adrian was either a bad scholarship choice or a pity scholarship because he was from Morgantown, I got it wrong. 

 

I was dead wrong. Grossly wrong. Historically wrong.

 

For that, the fan in me who has the luxury of having a blog on a media venue – no matter how small or insignificant some may believe it to be – wants to offer Nathan Adrian an open apology. The same apology goes forward to Bob Huggins.

 

I’m sorry. Historically sorry.

They probably won’t read this. That’s okay. Perhaps I’m doing this because I just need to come clean for my own good and to mentally put myself back in the good graces of Huggs. Perhaps this is a chance for others to do the same if you believe in that good vibe thing.

 

Granted, I never took to any social media platforms and bashed Adrian or booed him at any game I attended during the last four years; it’s not my mode of operation. My only criticisms of any student-athlete of that nature are confined to those who find their way into my own still trying to grow man cave or if out and about and in my immediate social circle.

 

Even before I began wising up a year or so ago, and even back in the earliest of Pittsnogle days, I always prefaced criticism of either player with “I’m sure he’s a good kid.” That said, Nathan Adrian is more than a good kid. He is a good basketball player. When you get right down to the nuts and bolts of the game – the intangibles that make teams win – Nathan Adrian is a great player.

 

Early on at WVU, Adrian didn’t do too badly. He got playing time and netted more than 5 points a game as he was a respectable threat from 3-point range. As a sophomore, the shooting touch was gone. He shot 17.7 percent from distance and that’s not good for anyone – particularly a player who specialized in it the year before. Yet he got minutes, and plenty of them even though his shooting was partially impacted by a wrist injury that was never really disclosed.

 

I was too stupid to figure out why and the fan in me didn’t care. I questioned Huggins’ decision to play someone mired in such a horrid slump. Where, I thought, were the double-doubles I expected?

 

It shouldn’t have been too hard for me to figure out why he continued to get minutes. I saw bits of it previously and eventually could easily see it by the time he found his way into the starting lineup in his junior year and it stood out like a sore thumb this year.

 

I recently watched a game on my DVR from his sophomore year. He didn’t shoot well, had a few rebounds, but played a respectable amount of minutes. What he did do, was what he did last year and this year.

 

Adrian was almost always in the right place. On offense, even when not scoring, he was where he was supposed to be and doing what he was supposed to do whether it was setting a high pick or making sure the inbounds pass was correct and things I’m sure I wouldn’t comprehend if Huggins broke down film in my basement (which includes an autographed Huggins basketball by the way). The problem was I needed to see the stat line filling up before I could appreciate the finite details Adrian delivered better than anyone.

 

This year, the numbers he’s posting are the best he’s ever produced in his hometown colors. Heading into tournament play Thursday he was at 10.3 points 6.1 rebounds and 3 assists a game. That’s great, but the key reason he’s on the floor is that he’s doing exactly what he was doing those first three years that earned him playing time – being where he’s supposed to be, being efficient on offense and playing defense with a sustained yet quiet rage.

 

You want to get minutes from Bob Huggins, you give him effort and show intelligence along with a desire and will to play defense. You don’t need me to tell you what gets you a seat beside him.

 

When you get right down to it, Nathan Adrian’s value to the team is more than those statistical numbers mentioned above. It’s defense. He’s the head of Huggins’ “Press Virginia” brand that has had the Mountaineers near or in the Top 10 for most of the season and has resulted in three straight 25-win seasons. The offense runs through him as well.

 

The beauty of it is that even though he’s 6’9, Nathan Adrian isn’t a great athlete. He’s not gifted with a 7’6 wingspan. He’s not the fastest of foot. Yet, he creates intensity at the front of the press. He finds ways to eliminate passing lanes. He recovers to help others. He guards the opposition’s bigs and guards with equal ferocity. He … well, he creates havoc from tip to final horn.

 

He’s not perfect on the court. He’s just persistent.

 

Nathan Adrian isn’t great at any one thing. He’s just good at everything. Because of that, he’s everything a player needs to be.

 

I should have known better four years ago. Bob Huggins’ doesn’t offer pity scholarships to kids from Morgantown or anyone for that matter. He doesn’t have to. He saw what most fans – including those who were openly critical at games or on social media that likely found its way to Adrian on many occasions – couldn’t see.

 

The real beauty of it is that he saw it in the Coliseum’s backyard. The fan in me didn’t see it. Nathan Adrian was and remains a complete basketball player.

 

For that, once again, I again offer Nathan Adrian an open apology – Coach Huggins too. They’re welcome to stop by my basement for an evening of hoops on the big screen anytime. I’ll even pick up the tab.

 

Editor's Note: Photos of Nathan Adrian and Bob Huggins by Ben Queen of www.benqueenphotography.com.