Buddy system: Old friends Spoonhour, Huggins square off in Cincinnati

Steve Addy

Friday, Nov. 23, 2001 | 10:53 a.m.

UNLV (2-0) at Cincinnati (1-1)

WHEN: Saturday, 12:35 p.m.

WHERE: Shoemaker Center

TV: ESPN2

RADIO: KBAD 920-AM

Scanning the impressive coaching records of UNLV's Charlie Spoonhour and Cincinnati's Bob Huggins, it's obvious they found their true calling in life.

They've won 70 percent of their Division I games -- 720 victories combined -- and guided 19 teams to the NCAA Tournament in 33 seasons.

But put them in a room together for five minutes and it's easy to envision a second career for these two pals. They are a comedy act waiting to be discovered.

Hug 'n' Spoon. Of, if you please, Spoon 'n' Hug.

Spoonhour: "Cincinnati, as you know, is coached by an evil individual."

Huggins: "Charlie is America's Guest. He's never picked up a check. I'm sure the people in Vegas have found that out by now."

Spoonhour: "Cincinnati's idea of defense is a simultaneous hack by five guys."

Huggins: "No team has ever fouled more than Spoon's. He's made it an art form. Besides, 'simultaneous hack' is my line. When you move 3,000 miles away, you can steal everybody's lines and use them as your own."

When the Rebels visit Cincinnati on Saturday, hoping to end their string of losses to the Bearcats, it is quite possible a Who's On First sketch will break out.

The age difference has comic possibilities -- Spoonhour is 62, Huggins 46 -- and there's also the physical contrast in the tradition of Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello and even Penn & Teller.

Huggins stands well over six feet, with blow-dried hair topping off a stylish emsemble -- pricey suit, silk tie, shiny shoes. His demeanor is intense, somewhat imposing and occasionally sarcastic. He's not universally loved in his profession.

Spoonhour is short and bulbous, with a gray crewcut and a penchant for turtlenecks on game nights. He isn't a sideline screamer so much as a foot-stomper, and he's known as one of the nicest guys in the business.

Spoonhour: "(Huggins) looks like Fabian with that haircut. Whenever I see him, I feel like I'm in Philadelphia in the '50s."

Huggins: "That's coming from a guy who's struggling to have any hair."

Spoonhour: "I try not to make fun of Bob. Too easy."

Huggins: "One time Charlie wore an orange turtleneck. He looked like the Great Pumpkin."

They're an unlikely pair, to be sure, but for nearly 10 years Spoonhour and Huggins have been each other's best friend in coaching. They talk by phone at least once a week, often more frequently, this week included.

"We talk about stuff that don't have anything to do with basketball," Spoonhour said.

It's a friendship that blossomed in the mid-90s when Spoonhour coached at Saint Louis, annually battling Huggins' teams for supremacy in the Great Midwest Conference and then Conference USA. Spoonhour had a 122-90 record in seven seasons, but went only 3-14 against Huggins.

Spoonhour got the last win, at least. In 1999, with Saint Louis headed for a 15-16 season that led him to retire, Spoonhour guided the Billikens to a 69-57 win over the Bearcats, who wound up 27-6.

The games were sometimes close, with Spoonhour winning by three and seven, and losing by two, three twice and five twice. But Cincy's superior talent was usually too much, with the Bearcats winning by 32, 28, 27, 25, 15 and double-figures four other times.

Incidentally, they have also beaten UNLV the last three years by 13, 40 and 18.

"If Huggins can beat you bad, he will," Spoonhour said. "He would do it to me, and he has.

"We're friends, but that doesn't mean we're not going to be grumpy during the game. We've had our moments during games, but never anything malicious."

Everywhere except the sidelines, their friendship is harmonious. They sometimes go for a walk the night before the game. Spoonhour even ate at Cincinnati's pregame meal one year.

"When I got there, our meal was already cleaned up, so I sat down with his guys," Spoonhour said. "There's no reason you can't do things like that and still compete."

"I felt sorry for him," Huggins said. "He was hungry, and you can't keep a body in that kind of shape without eating."

Alas, after all of the feigned insults and figurative smacks with a rubber chicken, the friends speak of one another with geniune affection. Sort of like when Don Rickles gives you the shiv, then makes nice with the room.

Both agree the friendship grew especially close in 1997 when Huggins' program was under NCAA investigation for recruiting violations. It resulted in two years' probation, which ended in August 2000.

"When I was going through that, Charlie called every day if I hadn't called him first," Huggins said. "In all sincerity, I could not have a better friend. He's one of those guys who always cares. A lot of people act like they care, but he really does."

Of Huggins, Spoonhour said, "He genuinely cares about the guys who play for him. If all you do is see him at games, you might get a wrong impression. But I don't think he's misunderstood by the people who know him. He's a good guy."

And a great coach. Huggins has a 399-143 Division I record and has led the Bearcats to 10 straight NCAA Tournaments, including the Final Four in 1992. How good has he been at Cincy? How's this: When the Bearcats lost to Oklahoma State in last Friday's opener, it was the first time they had been under .500 since Huggins arrived in 1989.

Spoonhour's numbers aren't shabby, either. He's 321-171 in 16 Division I seasons, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament eight times (five at Southwest Missouri State, three at Saint Louis). When he pondered jumping back into coaching last March, Huggins told him to go for it.

Spoonhour: "He felt UNLV would be a great place for me, and he was right."

Huggins: "His wife wanted him out of the house. She asked me to talk him into it. I was just trying to help Vicki out."

Hug 'n' Spoon. Spoon 'n' Hug. Coming to a nightclub near you.

In today's routine, we'll give Hug the last word.

"We used to talk all the time, but it was a one-hour time difference. Now it's three. Spoon doesn't wake up until noon, so we're usually in practice by then."

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