West Virginia Businessman Fires Back at Ken Kendrick to Defend Bob Huggins

It turns out WVU donor Ken Kendrick doesn’t speak for every wealth businessman from West Virginia. Days after Kendrick made his feelings about Bob Huggins clear, Ike Morris is offering his own thoughts on what the owner of MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks had to say.

Morris, who also donates to WVU and made most of his money in the oil and gas industry, expressed a completely contrary opinion to Kendrick’s.

“Don’t get me wrong, (Mr. Kendricks) has probably done so much good for the University but he truly does not know Bob Huggins as well as I do,” Morris said to West Virginia News.

He continued, saying he believes Huggins deserves another chance despite his mistakes.

“There’s a lot of people out there who make mistakes, who have done things they wished they hadn’t done,” said Morris. “To say someone can’t redeem themselves. I know Bob Huggins, I’ve seen the charitable work he does, I see the love and care he has for his players.”

Morris also added “I don’t believe he’s touched a drop of alcohol since the incident” to argue he believes Huggins’ efforts to turn his life around have been successful to this point.

But after defending Huggins, Morris turned this attention back to Kendrick. “To have Mr. Kendricks come out and say he shouldn’t be around young men… I’ve never talked about anyone in my life like that,” he lamented.

And to finish off his completely opposite stance, Morris does wish Huggins could return to his role as head coach of the WVU basketball program.

“The quick fix is Bob Huggins,” Morris said. “I’m just saying it and it’s my opinion. Mr. Kendricks has his opinion and I’m sure with them naming the baseball field after him and all he’s done that may have killed the deal.”

Morris even took it as far as saying he wishes the people of West Virginia could vote Huggins into the job.

“I have no doubt in my mind (he should return),” Morris said. “I just wished there was time to put it to a state vote.”

For some background on Morris’ business career, his companies have included Waco Oil & Gas, which eventually merged with the I.L. Morris Well Service Inc. and Trio Petroleum Corp., as well as Little Kanawha Development Corp and Landaplenty LLC.

For a related story, Bob Huggins himself responded to Kendrick’s comments as well.