Mountaineers' Magic - The madness' lingers forever


Typically, the loss of a team in the NCAA tournament would mean the end of a long and tough season; end of a dream-run for a Cinderella and the end of a hallmark career for the seniors who’ve slogged day-in and day-out in pursuit of a more hoops.

However, the loss meant much more than these mundane points to the West Virginia Mountaineers and particularly to those five seniors. The game was truly characteristic of the way they have played and fought tough battles on-court with a display of grit, spirit and class over the past years. Each minute of the game was typified with the heart, character and passion of these seniors.

I do not feel all that bad about the loss to Texas at the buzzer for several reasons. It was not a humiliating loss by a big margin. The over-rated longhorns were forced by the much talked about 1-3-1 defense to use their shot clock on each possession and make a hurried drives and lay-ups into the paint to score. These were answered by a style of play that is now almost patented by this team – intelligent screens and perfect 3’s from the outside. They showed true nerves of steel when they had their backs to the wall at the half and came back from being down by 12 to regain the lead and dominate the proceedings – courtesy some coach Beilein motivational stuff.

But as a mountaineer fan, what pines me the most is that next time when WVU takes the court there will be no JD to bring the ball in and no Gansey; no Pittsnogle; no Herber and Beilein to shoot that terrific 3. Players may come and go, some are immortalized and hailed as legends – all said and done the exploits of the famous five will not be easily eclipsed for they have left their imprints in Morgantown and the program forever.

I will continue to hear the footsteps of their spirits on the Coliseum floor hovering around the perimeter as they perennially and tirelessly look for another 3.