OT: Bearcats

[kramer1]

Not hardly.

Not a huge fan of some of his in game coaching, but when you consider all things, the guy gets it done. I just wish UC cared enough to give him the proper tools to recruit better players.

Again, they walk into 5/3rd and see a dollar value meal, and then walk into Louisville, UConn and others that are offering prime rib.

It's always been that way. It always will be. Cronin hasn't done dick in 10 years. We'll be fine. We'll get a highly regarded coach or a rising star. We always do. We'll be perfectly fine. Lets just hope we don't lose Cumberland.

Lets get a goddamned coach who isn't a fucking choker for once, please. The AAC gets 3,4,5 entries every season. Like we won't be one of those without Cronin....? C'mon.

 

[kramer1]

I have a feeling there's more to this story. I'm gonna text bearcatdave today. His father sits next to Oscar during the games. He'll know the real story.

 

[Cincyfan78]

It's always been that way. It always will be. Cronin hasn't done dick in 10 years. We'll be fine. We'll get a highly regarded coach or a rising star. We always do. We'll be perfectly fine. Lets just hope we don't lose Cumberland.

Lets get a goddamned coach who isn't a fucking choker for once, please. The AAC gets 3,4,5 entries every season. Like we won't be one of those without Cronin....? C'mon.

He's done a lot.

To win more, you need better players. Cronin is a good recruiter. However, it's hard to get them to Cincinnati as a part of a crappy conference and playing in a run-down middle school gym.

Took this roster 10 years ago from a bunch of crap to 6 straight NCAA's, and did the bulk of the rebuilding at a time the Big East was one of the best conferences ever in terms of RPI and NCAA teams.

IF UC is a top 15 team, then why do they not get treated as such by their own administration? You can't say that UC is a top tier program when they are getting bottom tier resources from the school.

 

[cincygrad]

Kramer doesn't like gingers.

 

[kramer1]

He's done a lot.

To win more, you need better players. Cronin is a good recruiter. However, it's hard to get them to Cincinnati as a part of a crappy conference and playing in a run-down middle school gym.

Took this roster 10 years ago from a bunch of crap to 6 straight NCAA's, and did the bulk of the rebuilding at a time the Big East was one of the best conferences ever in terms of RPI and NCAA teams.

IF UC is a top 15 team, then why do they not get treated as such by their own administration? You can't say that UC is a top tier program when they are getting bottom tier resources from the school.

Cronin hasn't recruited for shit. 1 semi NBA talent. Whoopie freakin do.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Cronin hasn't recruited for shit. 1 semi NBA talent. Whoopie freakin do.

Considering 6 straight NCAA's going back to time in the Big East, isn't shabby.

Again, if you are an 18 year old kid and you see the 30 year old dump of 5/3rd arena, why would you come here? You see they play in the American, and struggle for big time TV opportunity, why would you come here? Cronin can recruit, but when you are recruiting and trying to sell an arena that is nearly 30 years old and a crappy conference to play in...makes it rather difficult.

Mick will never get the 1-dones and top NBA guys to come to UC without a serious conference and a serious commitment for an Arena that supports a top level program. He may not get them anyway, but he will get better guys, and will have more to sell a kid and his parents when he walks through the door. The difference between any coach coming in pitching you and your kid from the American and some crappy facility with little support from the University compared to a big time power 5 school with shiny facilities, and a true commitment to the program is night and day. People seem to just want to forget this portion of the equation.

When you look at every major team that has been successful over the past 20+ years, you find one thing in common: Commitment to the program. Something UC has not had since Huggins left. No matter who you bring in, they are going to face the same struggle Cronin has, and let's be honest, if you're a major coach why the hell would you come to UC? No arena, no practice facilities, crappy administration support, crappy league......

This isn't like the NFL and Marvin Lewis where everyone plays with the same set of rules, money, salary caps, etc...not even close.

 

[cincygrad]

Considering 6 straight NCAA's going back to time in the Big East, isn't shabby.

Again, if you are an 18 year old kid and you see the 30 year old dump of 5/3rd arena, why would you come here? You see they play in the American, and struggle for big time TV opportunity, why would you come here? Cronin can recruit, but when you are recruiting and trying to sell an arena that is nearly 30 years old and a crappy conference to play in...makes it rather difficult.

Mick will never get the 1-dones and top NBA guys to come to UC without having boosters pay them some serious change. He may not get them anyway, but he will get better guys, and will have more to sell a kid and his parents when he walks through the door. The difference between any coach coming in pitching you and your kid from the American and some crappy facility with little support from the University compared to a big time power 5 school with shiny facilities, and a true commitment to the program is night and day. People seem to just want to forget this portion of the equation.

When you look at every major team that has been successful over the past 20+ years, you find one thing in common: Commitment to the program. Something UC has not had since Huggins left. No matter who you bring in, they are going to face the same struggle Cronin has, and let's be honest, if you're a major coach why the hell would you come to UC? No arena, no practice facilities, crappy administration support, crappy league......

This isn't like the NFL and Marvin Lewis where everyone plays with the same set of rules, money, salary caps, etc...not even close.

FIFY

 

[cincygrad]

Not to mention the fact that while Rick Pitino is on his private jet with his mistress on the recruiting trail, Mick is hanging out waiting for a Delta flight in CVG.

 

[Cincyfan78]

FIFY

My bad.

Thanks.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Not to mention the fact that while Rick Pitino is on his private jet with his mistress on the recruiting trail, Mick is hanging out waiting for a Delta flight in CVG.

Exactly.

I'm as big of a critic for some of Mick's in game decisions and such, but when you look at what he's done, it's nothing short of amazing.

He had zero talent on the roster, was asked to re-build at a time when the Big East was sending 6,7,8,9 teams to the NCAA's, asked to do it with crappy recruiting budget, asked to do it with a gym that is worse than 80% of any major High School building, crappy facilities (locker-room), was forced to fund raise ON HIS OWN for renovations and flights for recruiting, then dealt the blow of being moved from the Big East to the American and watching the football team get 150MM renovations and practice bubble while Mick's flying Spirit and Frontier Air for games and recruiting.

He's taken this team to 6 consecutive NCAA's. Only a few other BBall schools can say that. He's got some decent talent, but will always struggle to land bigger recruits without the facilities, the budget, and the backing of the administration to treat this team like a top 25 team year in and year out. Landing in the Big 12 would certainly help all of those situations, of course, but it is what it is right now.

 

[cincygrad]

Cronin is staying.

No word on what he got in return for his flirtation with Vegas.

 

[kramer1]

He kept referring to himself as "Mick Cronin" during his interview today with Willie.

What a douche.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Cronin is staying.

No word on what he got in return for his flirtation with Vegas.

Most likely, when they add a few years to his contract, he'll see a bump in pay. Bigger than that though, the administration is sure to give him a bump in budget for recruiting, maybe access at times to a private plane. The arena and locker-room are already scheduled to be started after the 2016/2017 season in time for 2017-2018 season, I think. So, getting a new arena and locker-room probably were never really part of the issues. They were/are coming down the pipeline. I'm sure Mick wasn't happy the original timeline got pushed back, however.

Interestingly enough, Cronin has a history with UNLV, which I didn't know about. I'd wager that most people didn't know about that, either. He also owns a house in Vegas and is there quite a bit during his off-season and down-time. It was interesting to listen to him talk about some of the reasons why he looked at UNLV, and not just any school for this particular search, but specifically why it was UNLV.

Of course, I think we can all agree, if UC had put forth a bit more effort and attention to the program, this wouldn't even be nearly a question. It's never a good sign when you see a coach walk into a meeting, and the first question he asked the administration is "Do you still want me here". If you are truly happy with that coach and want him to stay around for a long time, you shouldn't let the relationship get to a point where the coach is asking that question dead first in a meeting after just taking his team to its 6th straight NCAA appearance.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Dear God, make the Tommy Tubberville era end at UC. This team is embarrassing itself against a team from the OVC. A high school team could drive on this defense.

 

[cincygrad]

Super glad we upgraded Nippert. While our traditional power in basketball continues to waste away, the Bearcats football team will continue to eat every athletic dollar the school can spend. All with the feeble hope that we'll be invited to the Big 12 dance..... I have news for all of you - We aint invited. Not now, not tomorrow, not next year.

Houston will get invited - Their football team and market size have grown. BYU is getting the second invite - For football reasons.

We'll play Memphis, UCONN and the rest of the misfit toys in our pretty new/old stadium.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Damn, been awhile since I've been on the board. New position at work has me traveling tons.

Anyway...

1st off, Bearcat football got a shot in the arm with the TT resignation. They need to target Fleck and push hard for him. UC needs to embrace being a school that is likely to be a stepping stone for the foreseeable future with no real plans on getting into a power 5. Get a great coach, build them up and when they move on, already have a plan in place to research another young, energetic, up and coming coach to replace them. The reality is, even for most other schools, if you are not in the top 10-15 schools in the nation, you are always going to be at risk of losing your coach when those schools come calling. Having said that, I think Brohm is majorly deluded by taking Purdue. That place is a wreck.

BBall has been very good outside of the loss to RI. Washington is a beast. The starting 5 is pretty solid, and once Cuapain starts making some shots, the offense is going to be pretty decent with Evans and Washington getting some help. The key has been getting guys on the bench experience. Jennifer was big for the BG game, and the offense immediately speeds up when he's in there. I liked having him and Troy in there together with Troy moving into the SG position at times. Tre Scott reminds me of Justin Jackson. Just a ball of energy that will do anything. Let's hope he doesn't take 4 years to realize he's a post guy that doesn't need to shoot 3's. Brooks is going to be a stud Center. A guy who actually embraces being a true Center. Defense, rebounding, and scoring from 5 feet an in. He doesn't drift out from the paint like Quadri still does in year 3. UC has the makings of a pretty solid team.

On a side note...how bad is UConn...Yes, they beat 'Cuse last night (Cuse is awful as well), but this team is going to lose a lot of games. I for one, and going to enjoy every minute of it.

Carry on.

 

[cincygrad]

Super glad we upgraded Nippert. While our traditional power in basketball continues to waste away, the Bearcats football team will continue to eat every athletic dollar the school can spend. All with the feeble hope that we'll be invited to the Big 12 dance..... I have news for all of you - We aint invited. Not now, not tomorrow, not next year.

Houston will get invited - Their football team and market size have grown. BYU is getting the second invite - For football reasons.

We'll play Memphis, UCONN and the rest of the misfit toys in our pretty new/old stadium.

Still relevant. Football is going to be a mess. I agree that we need to latch on to young/hotshot coaches.... But not all of them will be Dantonio or Kelly. Every other mid-range school will try to catch lightning in a bottle as well. Sometimes you need to get lucky. Unfortunately the truth is that Cincinnati cannot be a football school without a major conference affiliation. And that's off the books.

On the other hand..... They certainly CAN be a power in basketball. But they're so slow to make needed change to the program. Mick can still get players even without advantages. Imagine what he would do if he had some money.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Still relevant. Football is going to be a mess. I agree that we need to latch on to young/hotshot coaches.... But not all of them will be Dantonio or Kelly. Every other mid-range school will try to catch lightning in a bottle as well. Sometimes you need to get lucky. Unfortunately the truth is that Cincinnati cannot be a football school without a major conference affiliation. And that's off the books.

On the other hand..... They certainly CAN be a power in basketball. But they're so slow to make needed change to the program. Mick can still get players even without advantages. Imagine what he would do if he had some money.

Agreed. Football is always going to bring in the money and that is why they will continue to get the focus because of that potential revenue. With that in mind, they need to continue to look at up-coming coaches, and realize that every 2-3 years they will need to keep tabs on more up-coming coaches for when their coach leaves. Sucks to be in a cycle, but if you accept it and embrace it, I think you can make it work.

As for basketball, hopefully the upgrades coming next year will put 5/3 back on the radar for recruits. Personally, I think they missed a huge opportunity to move down to U.S. Bank and really enhance the total experience for the fans, but that ship has sailed. Cronin, for all his faults, has been a dynamic recruiter, and has finally started to locate guys that are not just athletes, but can actually score the ball a little. Evans, Cumberland, and Washington are going to anchor this team moving forward. I'm high on Brooks and Scott as well, but not from an offensive standpoint, but from a defense rebound. It's a nice mix Cronin has finally put together. Got to have some guys who just know how to score, and then surround them with defense and rebounding types.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Updating this because:

1. Basketball season is officially here with practices.
2. Bengals suck donkey balls.
3. Rick Pitino is about to get fired, and I for one am absolutely loving it. The teflon Don finally got burnt. What a bunch of F'n morons at Louisville. Pulling this all the while knowing they were on probation. My Lord.

Oh, yeah, and the basketball team is supposed to be pretty decent this year. The football team has looked better, but until they can get anyone with some talent/consistency at QB, it's going to be a struggle. Fickel sure can recruit, though. Highest ranking class ever coming in 2018.

 

[kramer1]

Updating this because:

1. Basketball season is officially here with practices.
2. Bengals suck donkey balls.
3. Rick Pitino is about to get fired, and I for one am absolutely loving it. The teflon Don finally got burnt. What a bunch of F'n morons at Louisville. Pulling this all the while knowing they were on probation. My Lord.

Oh, yeah, and the basketball team is supposed to be pretty decent this year. The football team has looked better, but until they can get anyone with some talent/consistency at QB, it's going to be a struggle. Fickel sure can recruit, though. Highest ranking class ever coming in 2018.

My first thought when I read Pitino was out....Cronin would be a great hire for them. Stay tuned, I guess.