Huffman, Kent Making Name Together

March 12, 2001

CLEVELAND (AP) - Trevor Huffman heard all the excuses. Too small. Tooslow.Too this, too that.

As a high school senior, Huffman couldn't convince any Division Ibasketballprogram to give him a scholarship.

"So I kept trying," Huffman said. "I sent out film to everybody."

Central Michigan watched and said, no thanks. So did Eastern andWestern.The big boys in Ann Arbor and East Lansing never gave the scrawny kid fromPetoskey, Mich., much of a look.

"It's four hours out of civilization," Huffman said of his hometown."Whygo all the way up there when you can find the same player in inner-cityDetroit?"

Huffman finally got Kent State to believe. And this week, the 6-foot-1junior guard is leading the Golden Flashes into the NCAA tournament.

Kent (23-9), snubbed by the NCAA last year despite a 21-7 record,earned theMid-American Conference's automatic berth and will play Indiana on Thursdayinthe West Region at San Diego.

If the Hoosiers need extra game film to scout Huffman and the GoldenFlashes, they might want to dig through some boxes back in Bloomington.There'sa good chance Huffman sent them a video cassette or two.

Once unknown and unwanted, Huffman is finally getting some deservednationalattention.

"He's phenomenal," said Miami (Ohio) coach Charlie Coles said afterHuffman scored 27 against the RedHawks in the MAC tournament final. "He hasamove that I don't know if anybody in America can stop. I'm talking aboutthatcrossover dribble."

Huffman's crossover isn't quite on Allen Iverson's level, but it'sclose. Helulls an opponent into thinking he's not going anywhere, and in one sweepingmotion - boom - he's gone.

"He's deceiving," said Miami guard Juby Johnson. "If you get on him totake away the jumper, he goes right by you."

Huffman said he perfected his move this summer while working with anAustralian ballhandling coach.

"It just kind of happened," Huffman said.

So did his arrival at Kent State.

Before his freshman season, Huffman visited the school and got into apickupgame against some of the Golden Flashes. Realizing it was his chance to makeanimpression, Huffman showed every move he had.

"He was unbelievable," remembered guard Andrew Mitchell. "He washittingshots all over the place. I think the only one he missed was when he triedtodunk over a couple guys."

After the game, Mitchell told Kent State coach Gary Waters to signHuffmanimmediately.

"But we need a big man," Waters told Mitchell.

"He can be THE big man," Mitchell said.

Huffman didn't play much as a freshman when Kent made its first trip totheNCAAs and lost a first-round game to Temple. Last season, he was one of thenation's top reserves, leading Kent with a 13.1 average.

This season, he was arguably the league's best player while topping theGolden Flashes in scoring, free-throwing shooting and assists. And he didn'tstop in the MAC tourney, scoring 66 points in three games to earn MVPhonors.

"He's sweet to watch, ain't he?" Mitchell said.

"Sweet" is an appropriate word since Huffman is from an area known formaking fudge.

"We call the tourists 'Fudgies,"' he said.

Huffman, though, plans to do more than sightsee in California this weekagainst one of the Big Ten's premier programs.

"Any time you can play a big team from a big conference, it's a greatchance to put your name on the map," he said.