OT: Bearcats

[cincygrad]

What the hell happened to our basketball thread? Was this deleted when Tubbs was still around?

Anyway..... Helluva a win by the Bearcats last night. Really took it to Bellarmine. Anytime you can beat a division 8 team by 7 points, you should feel fortunate.

Why do you guys think this team will be good?

 

[Cincyfan78]

What the hell happened to our basketball thread? Was this deleted when Tubbs was still around?

Anyway..... Helluva a win by the Bearcats last night. Really took it to Bellarmine. Anytime you can beat a division 8 team by 7 points, you should feel fortunate.

Why do you guys think this team will be good?

Cronin had some good insight.

First, he only played man-to-man. He wanted his bigs to get used to running around the floor and chasing guys. Concentration on back door screens and cuts. He said he could have easily gone into a zone, and helped to shut down the back door screens and 3-pt shots (especially with the length this team has) but that he wanted to really work his kids.

He also refused to call a timeout in the 2nd half during the run. UC was up 18 before Belleraine went on a nice run. His best defenders were on the bench. He wanted the guys on the court to learn how to work through it. Some of these guys will never be in these situations during an actual game. Guys like Sanders won't be guarding the other teams' best player. Strickland assuredly won't be in there as well.

Offensively, I thought they moved the ball pretty well. They have some real size underneath, and Ellis has a chance to be a serious game changer under the basket. He's quick like Jackson was, but he's 6'10. Solid effort on the glass and on defense. Also, for once, this team will make FT's. There's not a player on the team that can't make 70%, including the bigs. Big departure from 40% from Justin, and 60% from Rubles.

The bad: Guyn still can't make a pass. He's been moved to 2-guard to allow Caupain to run PG, but whenver the ball is in Guyn's hands, I tense up. It's either an ill-advised 3, or a terrible pass. Shaq continues to flash, but never takes over. It's a shame they can't get that talent out of him for 20 minutes a game. This team needs him to take games over. Clark, highly touted freshman was in the starting lineup which tells you something, because Mick never does that. However, his nerves got the best of him. 2 pts on 1 shot. I think he'll come around, but you'd like to see his practice translate to the game.

Overall, I think had Mick actually cared about the W and the margin of score, it could have been worse. he rarely called time out, didn't change his defense, or offense much. He wanted his guys to get used to doing this to get them to focus more. Also, Bellermaine has lead every level of basketball in 3-pt shooting over the past 3 years...NCAA (any division) and even if you compare it to the NBA. They can flat out shoot the ball from 3. It's really impressive.

I'm more interested to see how game #2 goes since I think Mick will play that one more like an actual game with timouts, subs, and changes through the game based on the flow. We'll see.

 

[bengaldoug]

Mick's teams almost always have early struggles, then get better as the year goes on. I'm sure they'll be alright.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Mick's teams almost always have early struggles, then get better as the year goes on. I'm sure they'll be alright.

It's going to be a work in process, that is for sure.

You're talking about 7 new players, and 2 starters in the post that didn't play here last year. Jackson and Titus were so good defensively, that any lapse on the outside defensively they could erase. That's just not going to be the case this year.

Ellis could be that guy, but he's got to get back up to speed at this level. He's quick, big, and guards well.

I'm interested to see more this Saturday when they play a more traditional offense where the post players actually play in the post. It's hard to guard guys as a big when most of your life you've been in the paint, and then for one game you're chasing a bunch of Dirk Nowitzki's around the outside.

Bright side: 4 guys did score in double digits, showing they have options on offense. The key will be consistency.

 

[kramer1]

Cobb is the real deal.

Shaq Thomas is fucking horrible.

 

[cincygrad]

I'm unimpressed.

Fortunately they no longer play in the Big East.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Cobb is the real deal.

Shaq Thomas is fucking horrible.

Couldn't agree more. The guy looks almost exactly the same from his Freshman year, making me wonder if he really works out hard enough to have the stamina and endurance to maintain 1 full solid game. This year, he's off to a terrible start. His usual M.O. is to show up for 1 half a game and then fade. This year he's just fading from the start.

I would start:

PG - Guyn
SG - Cobb
SF - Johnson
PF - Clark
C - Ellis

I think you could even use Clark at SF, and put Moore on the floor, too.

Sanders, Guyn, and Thomas are basicaly practice fodder.

 

[Cincyfan78]

I'm unimpressed.

Fortunately they no longer play in the Big East.

7 new players. It's going to be a work in progress, that's no surprise.

Ellis is good.

I really like Clark and Moore.

Caupain and Cobb make up a decent back-court.

Johnson coming off the bench.

The problem is, most of these guys are freshman or sophomores. The other (Ellis) is a Juco transfer and is going to take some time getting back to D-I level of competition. I think the talent is there. They need experience. It's going to be an up/down kind of year, where Cronin is going to let them play through a lot of bad stretches because...he really doesn't have much option. Guyn, Sanders, and Thomas, your most experienced returning players...wouldn't crack some AAU teams.

 

[cincygrad]

I like Mick and I like the type of program he runs. I just wish he would find some guys that can shoot the ball. Maybe Cobb is the guy?

Huggins played the same type of style -- Bunch of athletes, defensive intensity, etc.... But his good teams always had a few shooters. We need to get offense from somewhere.

 

[Cincyfan78]

I like Mick and I like the type of program he runs. I just wish he would find some guys that can shoot the ball. Maybe Cobb is the guy?

Huggins played the same type of style -- Bunch of athletes, defensive intensity, etc.... But his good teams always had a few shooters. We need to get offense from somewhere.

I agree. But, he's never going to land those 5* guys that can come in and score right away. It's always going to be a 3*/4* that has to work his way up. Even Huggins struggled at time to land top recruits will all the NCAA trips.

This class was very good. Moore and Clark have immense talent.

Two of the kids coming next year are 4* guys, and everyone is very, very high on the PG from Maryland.

It's going to take time, but these recent classes are setting UC up well.

Cobb is the long-range shooter UC hasn't really had since...Field Williams? I know you can say Logan and/or Vaughn, but those guys ran PG mostly, and weren't true 2-guards that were dead-eye style shooters.

 

[cincygrad]

I agree. But, he's never going to land those 5* guys that can come in and score right away. It's always going to be a 3*/4* that has to work his way up. Even Huggins struggled at time to land top recruits will all the NCAA trips.

This class was very good. Moore and Clark have immense talent.

Two of the kids coming next year are 4* guys, and everyone is very, very high on the PG from Maryland.

It's going to take time, but these recent classes are setting UC up well.

Cobb is the long-range shooter UC hasn't really had since...Field Williams? I know you can say Logan and/or Vaughn, but those guys ran PG mostly, and weren't true 2-guards that were dead-eye style shooters.

Logan wasn't highly regarded and he could shoot from the time he entered the program. I think it might have taken Durden a few years (mostly because he was a defensive liability)..... It definitely took Field a few years. Burton wasn't highly regarded but he could shoot and he played immediately. Huggins was able to get a few of them..... I'm not expecting a 5 star guy to walk through that door -- Just some folks to balance all of our standard long, thin, athletic defensive guys that can't shoot.

 

[kramer1]

Logan wasn't highly regarded and he could shoot from the time he entered the program. I think it might have taken Durden a few years (mostly because he was a defensive liability)..... It definitely took Field a few years. Burton wasn't highly regarded but he could shoot and he played immediately. Huggins was able to get a few of them..... I'm not expecting a 5 star guy to walk through that door -- Just some folks to balance all of our standard long, thin, athletic defensive guys that can't shoot.

Don't hold your breath.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Don't hold your breath.

Right.

The guys that will come here will have some talent, but they will have to work their way into being offensively adept. Just the MO of Mick he got from Huggins...

A long lanky guy that can defend and rebound is always going to take the spot over a kid who can score, but isn't much of a willing 'dirty' work kind of player.

To a degree, I agree with the approach, but the bottom line is, you still have to recruit guys that can just flat out put the ball in the bucket. That's why Huggins always struggled in the NCAA's. Eventually, you face a team and you have to outscore them.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Pretty complete game last night, though against another cupcake team.

Ellis is solid.

Clark is the real deal. He's going to be special.

Caupain continues to grow

It's too bad that Shaq thomas can't just be more aggressive. The offense has a decent inside and shooters...they lack a guy getting into the paint to draw the defense in and open up the inside/outside kick-out. Shaq should be that player.

Facing Andy Kennedy tonight at 9:00

 

[bengaldoug]

Pretty complete game last night, though against another cupcake team.

Ellis is solid.

Clark is the real deal. He's going to be special.

Caupain continues to grow

It's too bad that Shaq thomas can't just be more aggressive. The offense has a decent inside and shooters...they lack a guy getting into the paint to draw the defense in and open up the inside/outside kick-out. Shaq should be that player.

Facing Andy Kennedy tonight at 9:00

Not that Mississippi is any great shakes, but they're far and away the closest thing to a true test yet. UC favored by 1.5 right now, I think they should be the underdog. I was surprised to see them win by 18 yesterday on a neutral court after not being able to get away from any of the creampuffs they had played so far.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Not that Mississippi is any great shakes, but they're far and away the closest thing to a true test yet. UC favored by 1.5 right now, I think they should be the underdog. I was surprised to see them win by 18 yesterday on a neutral court after not being able to get away from any of the creampuffs they had played so far.

Yep, and the lack of offense really showed. Outside of Clark and Ellis, the team shot something like 8 for 44. You can talk about defense all you want, but eventually you have to outscore the other team.

 

[bphillips4gg]

That game last night was unwatchable. The first 4-6 minutes UC was playing hard and out working Ole Miss in a huge way. They had 5-6 offensive boards by the under 16 timeout. After that they got flat and quit.

On a side note, we're going on ten years now and they still haven't updated the UC logo on this site?

 

[Cincyfan78]

They made a late run, but the game was clearly over.

They just don't have a guy on the wing that consistently attackes the paint and opens things up. They resort way too much on 55 passes outside the arc and then launching a poor shot as the clock winds down.

 

[DanBengalfan]

bernard needs to run in space so he can elude tacklers, not run right at them.

idiots.

 

[DanBengalfan]

what?