The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

College Sports

March 5, 2010

Mountaineers’ Carey deserves coach of the year awards

By Mickey Furfari For The Register-Herald

BECKLEY — MORGANTOWN — This commentary hardly needs to be written.

But I’ve decided to pen it, anyway. I feel so strongly about the topic.

It is simply this: West Virginia University women’s basketball coach Mike Carey should be a shoo-in for Big East Coach of the Year.

What’s more to be, I believe he richly deserves to be West Virginia Coach of the Year. That will be decided soon by the state’s sports writers.

Let’s go one step further and suggest that the Harrison County native merits serious consideration for National College Coach of the Year.

Carey has guided the magnificent Mountaineers to an incredible 26-4 record in regular-season play — the school’s best ever. In the process, they ranked an all-time high No. 7 in The Associated Press poll.

WVU also finished second in the Big East standings for the first time with a 13-3 conference mark.

All of the team records are the best in the program’s history.

Going into the Big East women’s tournament, Carey sported a nine year WVU record of 176-105. His 22-year coaching career record is 464-207 (69.2 percent).

Making this year’s record all the more remarkable is the fact there isn’t a single senior on the squad. And Carey has said all of the players have worked extremely hard and get along very well together.

He could not be more proud of his pupils for what they have achieved.

WVU has won all 17 home games this season, the longest consecutive streak ever, and finished the year 17-0 in the Coliseum. That’s also its “first.”

Last year’s team, hampered by numerous injuries, posted a record of 18-15. But this is the fifth  time in seven seasons that WVU has won 21 or more games in a season.

That’s still another school record in the history of WVU women’s basketball. And so will be a fourth consecutive post-season appearance.  The 26 wins tie the all-time record, though it is one more than the previous regular-season high.

Carey’s record against non-conference teams is 83-22 (79 percent) as the Mountaineer mentor. His teams have beaten 12 ranked opponents.

He was voted by league coaches as Big East Coach of the Year in 2003-04. That year’s team finished 21-11 overall in sixth place with a 10-6 league log.

Carey also was a four-time winner of the WVIAC Coach of the Year award while coaching the men’s basketball team at Salem International.

Connecticut is ranked as the No. 1 team, as usual, in the national women’s basketball polls. The Huskies have a 69-0 game winning streak, including a perfect 30-0 this year.

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