REPORTING FROM … MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

Courtesy 6thmansportswear.com

Gooooooo Virgina!

West Virginia's Darris Nichols came to the Big East Tournament knowing most everyone had the 22-9 team in the NCAA Tournament. A couple wins would only solidify a spot and silence any remaining doubters. Nichols wasn't motivated by the doubters, however, but by the spellers—or, rather, the misspellers.

After winning the NIT Championship at The Garden last year, the championship T-shirts the Mountaineers donned during the celebration at mid-court read, "West Virgina" [sic] across the front. There was no way Nichols was going to chance letting MSG "mess that up again."
         "I still have that shirt somewhere. I don't ever wear it out," says Nichols. "I might put it up on eBay, it might be worth something."
         So when head coach Bob Huggins told his team to pack for the week, Nichols wasn't about to turn over his dresser drawers in search of the displaced shirt.
         "We've been good for four years and it just shows you we still can't get any respect."
         The senior has no advice for Syracuse, which is all but NIT bound, even though 'Cuse coach Jim Boeheim said there's a lot to learn from the secondary tournament.
         "It's a good place to learn how not to spell things [correctly]," Nichols says, turning to freshman teammate John Flowers, putting on his Big East Tournament T-shirt and getting his gear ready to return to the team hotel. "Let me see that shirt. Make sure it's got the name right."
         Mountaineer forward Joe Alexander just hopes the NCAA Selection Committee doesn't botch the team's name come Selection Sunday.
         "We are 'West Vir-gin-ia," Alexander says slowly, as if a committee member is taking notes. "I hope they use spell check."
         As for the NIT?
         "The NIT can go … " Alexander pauses, then laughs and shakes his head. "Um … no comment."

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