By Bill Koch
Enquirer staff writer

Bob Huggins walked into his office at about 8:15 Friday morning, ready for his first day back at work since he was suspended June 12.

There were no signs in the office welcoming him back.

"There was no band playing," Huggins said.

He wouldn't have wanted it any other way. The University of Cincinnati basketball coach hopes to put his June 8 drunken driving charge behind him as quickly as possible and figures the less that is made of his return, the better.

"I just want to coach," he said. "I just want to spend time with my guys and get back in the swing of things."

The first thing Huggins did when he settled behind his desk was sift through his mail. But he really began his workday some eight hours earlier, when he made a few recruiting calls shortly after midnight of the day his suspension ended.

At 10 a.m., he walked into the men's locker room sporting a crew cut and dressed casually in a blue shirt and grey slacks to meet the media to answer questions about his suspension for the first time and, he hopes, the last.

He sat on a sofa, and after he was hooked up with an array of TV microphones, patiently answered questions for about 40 minutes. He joked with reporters and talked about his new, five-week-old haircut.

"It's not a symbol," Huggins said. "It was hot and my hair was really long, so I cut if off."

During the interview session, Huggins was contrite and thoughtful as he talked about the mistake he made and the way it was handled by the university, which suspended him with pay for 76 days.

"I made a mistake and I readily admitted I made a mistake," Huggins said. "I did my best to handle it the best I could.

"The people here have been really good. I think they've been fair. What bothers me the most is that I hurt other people."

Huggins, 50, is about to begin his 16th year at UC. He has led the Bearcats to 13 straight NCAA Tournament appearances.

He said he was grateful for the support he received during his suspension.

"The community has been wonderful," Huggins said. "That's the reason I'm still here. Every time I've needed them, they've rallied to my support."

Huggins spent most of his time away at a family-owned condo in Florida, where he did a lot of fishing.

"The fish are pretty happy (that I'm gone)," he said. "I've been killing them."

The UC coach said he often would get up at 5:30 in the morning and go out on the lake to fish until 9:30 or 10:30. He said he was walking 5 to 7 miles a day and thought about jogging, but quickly discarded that idea.

Huggins said he hadn't had a vacation in nine to 10 years because of his desire to outwork everyone, but he has realized it's OK to take time off if you have good people working for you.

He credited his staff and his players for keeping the program running during his absence.

Huggins said he sought several evaluations about his alcohol consumption and was assured he is not an alcoholic.

The UC coach, who said he still hopes to finish his career at UC, said he valued his time away from work, even though he missed being with his players and assistant coaches.

"From the time I was little, I haven't had a lot of time to reflect," he said. "I've never been a very reflective person. When you get away from the regimen you've been in, you have time to sit back and reflect about where I'm going in my life and how I can make the quality of life better for my family and myself."

Huggins said he will never drive again after drinking alcohol and that he has no plans to go out drinking in public anymore.

"I want to do everything I can possibly do to set an example and to be for those people out there the best I can," he said. "I've had a lot of time to think about those things."

Asked what he would say to those who believe he got off relatively easy with a 76-day suspension during the offseason, Huggins talked about the effect his arrest had on his family.

"They didn't live in my shoes," Huggins said. "People who say that ... I have two daughters. My family has been great, absolutely wonderful through this whole thing. I couldn't ask for more support.

"But those people haven't had a 19-year-old and a 21-year-old daughter sitting in your lap crying. I feel terrible that I hurt other people, that I got other people involved in something that wasn't right. All I can do is work to be a better person and a better coach."

---

E-mail bkoch@enquirer.com