Steve Merril’s Starting Five, a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of NBA and college basketball. Steve uncovers the juicy quotes that relate to the pointspread wars – who cares who wins the game? We only care about who covers!

1. West Virginia: ‘We can't shoot,’ Mountaineers head coach Bob Huggins said. West Virginia’s offense has been terrible for most of the season, and they just went through a stretch of 6 games in which they scored 66 points or less. The Mountaineers shot an abysmal 27.3% (35-128) from three-point land over that stretch which enticed Huggins to offer up this gem of a quote: ‘What did you want me to do? I get tired of watching them miss. I have to watch them every day in practice. You just watch them in games. After a while, you're like, 'Damn, somebody bank one in.’

2. Fab Melo: What a great name! It sounds like it should be on a soda can or some kind of drink. Fab Melo is actually Syracuse’s starting center (or at least he was) before being held out of the Orange’s 73-69 loss at Louisville on Saturday. Melo missed practice on Thursday and Friday: ‘I had some personal problems with my family,’ Melo said. ‘My head wasn’t for practice. So that’s why I didn’t practice. I didn’t tell them.’ Head coach Jim Boeheim responded with this beauty, ‘He’s done playing, for now.’ Orange Melo – It’s FABulous! Send me the royalty checks in advance!

3. No Love on V-Day?: Minnesota’s Kevin Love has none of it on the court, especially when it comes to the Indiana Pacers. ‘I just don't like Indiana,’ Love said. ‘I don't like anybody on their team. I only like [his former UCLA teammate] Darren Collison. They're just a team that bugs me.’ Don’t expect any chocolates Mr. Love! What an ironic name for a guy who has so much hate in his bones.

4. Hawks or Braves?: Atlanta plays at Detroit tonight; the Hawks have lost their last two home games by a combined 36 points. In their most recent game, Atlanta held a 13-point halftime lead when head coach Larry Drew told his team to knock out the Bobcats by avoiding ‘home runs’ (quick 3-pointers) and sticking with ‘singles’ (high-percentage shots produced by running the offense). The Hawks swung for the fences, and lost 88-86. Sounds a lot like the Braves.

5. Kobe Bryant: He had to skip this morning’s shootaround and hit the mall because he forgot to get his wife a Valentine’s Day gift. No, that’s not the real reason he missed practice. Kobe had the chills and body aches according to a Lakers’ spokesman. The whole Lakers’ team went ice cold yesterday in their 89-75 blowout loss at Orlando yesterday. Tonight will be Los Angeles’ sixth game of a seven-game East Coast road trip. Get them back to the LA sun before they freeze!

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