Pittsnogle Baby Details

Pittsnogle's wife, Heather, went into labor Thursday night, and they both spent the night in the hospital. At 5:31 p.m. Friday afternoon, she delivered a 22-inch, 9-pound, 5-ounce boy named Kwynsie James via Caesarean section. ("I thought of the name, she thought of the spelling," Kevin said.)
At noon Saturday, exhausted-but-elated dad was walking out to the center jump circle.
"It's probably the best feeling I've ever had in my life," Pittsnogle said.
Pittsnogle had been text-messaging updates on the baby's progress to Beilein on Thursday night and during the day Friday. The Mountaineers practiced Friday afternoon without Pittsnogle, and didn't know for sure until that night that he would play. When the baby and his wife came through healthy, he called in and said he'd be ready when they rolled out the blue-and-gold carpet Saturday to introduce the starters.
What did Heather say about his decision to play?
"She didn't say nothing," Pittsnogle said with a smile. "She's sleeping."
Pittsnogle said he left the hospital around midnight and went home to sleep for "five or six hours," while his mom, Tammy, stayed with his wife. He walked in for West Virginia's 8:30 walk-through with a picture of his newborn son and, as Beilein said, "a big smile on his face."
Pittsnogle got a 15-minute crash course on Cincinnati's sets and plays, information he missed from practice Friday. Then, a few hours later, it was time to locate enough energy to play 37 minutes against Bearcats strongman Eric Hicks.
"My teammates kept me up," he said, "and the adrenaline from the crowd got me going."
Down three coming out of halftime, Pittsnogle swished a pair of 3s in the first 100 seconds for a 36-33 lead and a huge momentum swing. Cincinnati immediately called timeout after the second 3-pointer, and West Virginia was largely in control from that point forward.
"He made a couple huge shots that changed the game," Cincy coach Andy Kennedy said.
It was not a virtuoso Pittsnogle performance. He shot 4 for 17 and finished with 12 points, more than seven below his season's average, and seven rebounds. But you try playing Big East basketball within hours of becoming a father.
"The man just had a great game, and he just assisted in childbirth," Beilein said. "I wanted people to give him a big round of applause. It was complete theater, that's all it was. I know everyone was probably clapping for Heather at the same time."
Pittsnogle said his family has already decided Kwynsie looks like Kevin did at birth. There's no telling whether he'll grow to be 6 feet 11, but dad is optimistic about the little man's potential shooting range.
"Hopefully 30 feet," he said.
And Pittsnogle has promised this: He'll find some spare room on his heavily inked body for a new tattoo honoring the arrival of Kwynsie James.
"There'll be one soon," he said. "Everyone will see."