Interview with Kevin Noreen

Work hard. And have patience. Because no matter who you are, you’re going to get hurt in your career and you have to be patient to get through the injuries.” Randy Johnson, MLB pitcher

Injuries are part of the game that pretty much every one has deal with, some more than others, and I was one who was more than others” Kevin Noreen, WVU basketball player

Kevin Noreen signed to play basketball at West Virginia University in 2010, coming into a program that had just reached the Final Four. He joined three other players in 2010 class but he is the only one of the four to take the court.

Unfortunately, injuries plagued his career from the start as he suffered a season ending knee injury 7 games into his freshman season. He received a medical redshirt that season, meaning he still had 4 years of eligibility. He played 25 games in 2012-2013 before suffering a tibia fracture. He played 33 games in 2013-2014. He missed the entire 2014-2015 season due to shoulder injury. He was also team captain the two seasons he played.

When you play sports at any level you are constantly hurt, a bruise, a skinned knee or ankle, sore muscles. Athletes play hurt all the time. Injuries are different, they prevent you from playing. Kevin Noreen had more than his share of injuries but he was a valuable part of the WVU basketball program during his career.

I recently had an opportunity to interview him about the injuries and other things. Below is the basic transcript of our conversation with a few sentences edited out.

Q-Talk about the injuries, what goes through your mind when you suffer a serious injury?

A-Psychologically the first injury wasn’t too big a deal. I saw it as opportunity to get better, working in the weight room and getting stronger. I asked myself how I can I get better long term. Second injury was the same, I said this year is over what I can do to get better. My mindset changed from being a player to what can I do off the court. There definitely is frustration because, personally, I felt I was letting my teammates down even though it was out of my control. I felt a genuine sense of not being able to compete with my team and fully understand what they were going through in games and in practice.

Q-Does it get harder with each injury or do you treat them all the same?

A-The first injury was more of blessing as it gave me a chance to get my body to the level of Big East play. It also gave me a 5th year and that was another year of getting school paid for. It does get redundant, all the time you spend in the training room. That is not what you are here for, nothing against the training staff, we have a great training staff, you are here to play. Injuries are part of the game and you have to approach it as such, put the right amount of time into rehab. You look at how you can best help the team.

Q-Depending on how you count being on team either you or Gary Browne probably hold the WVU record for playing with most teammates. You came in with three other players and you are the only one who stepped on the court while Gary came in with a bigger class and is the only one who played four years. Is it difficult adjusting to so many players or they all just slide in and out easily?

A-There is a side note to that. Four years ago we went on preseason trip to Italy. Two years later I was the only player who made the trip still on the team. Gary Browne was on the team but he did not make that trip. This seems to be the nature of college basketball these days. If you are in a leadership position you constantly have to onboard new players. By onboard I mean implement them to the strategies we do as a team and adhere them to our culture and get them to essentially buy in to what the coaching staff has instilled in the players already on the team. If we do this as family then we are all on the same page. If you think of it as boat then we all have to row the same direction. Those players who leave are often rowing in the opposite direction because they did not buy in to the system. With some players is not talent but how they play the game or interact with other players. Take a player like me, I averaged a couple of points and rebounds but I started 40 games. How does that happen? I bought into the system and tried implement everything Huggs taught into the game. I listened, which is something many in today’s culture don’t like to do, listen to authority. Coaches know more than me and that is why they are here. I listened and that is why I played.

Comment from me-When I saw you on the court I thought of a Cam Thoroughman type player, someone who won’t wow you with great shooting and ball handling but gets in there and does what is needed.

Response-Cam was player who taught me my freshman year. I saw him as example of how to play the game the right way. Even if you aren’t the most skilled you can still play a lot and Cam is revered player for the things he did on the court.

Q-Let’s talk about the game itself, when I grew up you had two guards, two forwards, and a center. Now you have many specific skill players. I don’t even know what a small forward is. Has the specialization of players made the game better, worse, more complex, or had no effect on the game itself?

A-I don’t know what a small forward is either, we have gotten away from that. The game has become scheme by scheme, Boeheim at Syracause recruits tall players because he plays zone. He wants length to play the zone. Oklahoma likes to get out in transition so they might have 3 guards on the court who can run the floor. Now you have very athletic big players who can put the ball on the floor and pull up, stretch players. You match players to try to exploit weaknesses. The hybrid players (ones who can play multiple positions) are the future of basketball. I’m not saying it is good or bad, that is just what the game is now. Coaches have to adjust to it.

Q-What happened in the Kentucky game?

A-Just ran into a juggernaut. They start a 7 foot center who is insanely good then they replace him with another 7 foot center who is insanely good. I didn’t think they were going to lose. Just a better team. They had the right pieces and they played together. They have height you don’t see and can’t really emulate in practice.

Comment from me- Teams can’t emulate the WVU press Response-True, that is why we had such success with it. I heard some teams practiced with 7 on 5 but that is not the same as playing in the game. You can’t prepare for that in 2 or 3 days of practice.

Q-I read your letter to the fans and you end with “it takes a certain kind of person to live here”. Can you expand on that thought?

A-I took that from Joe Mazzula saying it took a certain type of person to play here. Coach Huggs is an old school coach and he not going to put up with certain things. New wave coaches may be a bit more lenient and let things go. Huggs isn’t like that, he is going to make people accountable and listen to what he says because he has over 700 wins and I hope we listen to someone with that kind of credibility but we have some guys who didn’t want to. You want to make sure they are in line and if they aren’t in line they aren’t going to be here. Huggs instills the value of the state and I don’t think there is a better man to lead West Virginia basketball. He is from here, he played here and he understands what the state embraces. The state embraces the blue collar nature and Huggs expects nothing less than that when you are on the floor. That what I meant, you have to accept that culture and work harder than anyone else. I have been able to learn and understand what West Virginia is about. We had chance to go into a coal mine last summer to see what kind of dedication these men have to their work and their families and, to use a cliché, keep the lights on.

Q-What’s next for Kevin Noreen, you graduated, right?

A-I graduated and am in graduate school. I will be getting my degree in Industrial Relations next year. I’m working this summer with Marathon Petroleum in Texas. I’m not on the athletic scene anymore and I’m embracing the next step in life for me. Basketball has laid a great platform for me to be able to do that. Huggs makes boys into men, he is teacher and a father figure. And I think he would tell you the life lessons and having his players succeed in life is as important as wins. He takes it to heart when someone is able to succeed outside basketball.

Comment from me-I think if you want to see what Huggs is look at what he did when Da’Sean Butler went down in the Duke game.

Response-That is a misconception, people don’t think he is compassionate. When he did that it was not for attention, that is who he is. He knew at the time Da’Sean was going to be a first round draft pick and this would derail his chance at that. He appreciates the fact that this is his guy, someone he coached for 3 years. He watched Da’Sean grow, develop, and mature.

Q-What do you think the team is going to be like next year?

A-You saw when Gary and Juwan were out and the freshmen held their own, almost beating Kansas at Kansas. I think the whole team will mature and improve. The players will understand the game better and will be bigger and stronger. What you saw this year will be expanded on. The job between now and when the season starts will getting the new guys on board. This year built a good foundation. The Big 12 is conference of attrition. Anyone can knock off anyone.

I hope Kevin enjoyed our talk as much as I did. He obviously did listen to the coaches because he showed a great understanding of the game and of WVU. He did not know what I was going to ask and he probably is getting tired of answering questions about his injuries but, hopefully, I went into more depth than others have. He came to the WVU Coliseum after a class to meet with me and was headed to a class after we talked.

I thank him for taking the time for the interview. I also want to thank Joe Swan, Director of Athletic Publications at WVU and Bryan Messerly, Assistant Athletic Director/Communications at WVU for setting up the interview.