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Former UC Bearcats star Kenyon Martin explains why Bob Huggins was his best coach ever

Dave Clark
Cincinnati Enquirer
Kenyon Martin of Cincinnati, who was picked first in the NBA Draft in Minneapolis, Wednesday, June 28, 2000 by the New Jersey Nets, hugs Bob Huggins, his coach.

Former Cincinnati Bearcats standout Kenyon Martin, who played for five teams over 15 NBA seasons, said during an appearance on FOX Sports' "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed" that current West Virginia Mountaineers and former UC head coach Bob Huggins was the best coach for whom Martin ever played.

Huggins, who completed his 15th season as WVU's head coach, is among Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2022 inductees, the Hall of Fame announced in April. 

Huggins' record at UC from 1989 to 2005 was 399-127.

"How he is with his guys. How he cares about his guys," Martin said on the show as he explained why Huggins was his best coach. "How he gets his guys to buy in. The things that he says to us behind the scenes to get you to believe that you can accomplish greatness. What he got out of me. How he pushed me to be who I am. You know, so I think that makes a great coach. He made me be a better me. I came to Cincinnati - I had certain attributes. But he made me fine-tune those things and work on things that he saw I needed to work on. And he told me what those things were. He didn't hold back, and he pushed me. ... One thing you're gonna do - you're gonna play hard (when) you play for Bob Huggins. And good coaches get you to buy into what you see. It was a good fear. But I was a kid then, I was young."

Video from a tweet from former UC player Erik Martin, an assistant on Huggins' coaching staff at WVU since 2007:

Martin's No. 4 is one of just three jerseys the Bearcats have retired, along with Oscar Robertson's No. 12 and Jack Twyman's No. 27.

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