Bearcats basketball continues to disappoint when it counts

[kramer1]

Time for Mick to go. It’s long past time, actually.

 

[cincygrad]

Time for Mick to go. It’s long past time, actually.

It's all about the talent. There isn't any reason for a talented kid to play at UC. They play in a crappy conference..... They're basically bound to go the way of UCONN. Another former powerhouse that will never be relevant again. Only, UCONN has a much greater history of success than we do.

I think Mick is a good coach. I think he's getting all he can out of the situation he is in.... It might be time for him to go, but I can't see us getting much better with a new guy.

 

[cincygrad]

Cincinnati and Louisville are similar schools. They played in the same conferences forever. UL (and the city of Louisville) invested in facilities (Papa John Stadium and Yum Center) and coaches years before conference realignment. UL got the ACC bid and now has one of the best recruiting classes in the country.

 

[kramer1]

Cronin is the new Marvy Lewis.

 

[BKBroiler9000]

Mick Cronin’s struggles in the postseason have been beyond frustrating.

However, I tend to agree with the position of the grass isn’t always greener. Cincy isn’t a desirable school for recruits/coaches. If they did fire Mick, or he decides to move on, I could easily see the Bearcats going from a a perennial tourney team and AAC contender to an aboslute doormat.

 

[cincygrad]

Mick Cronin’s struggles in the postseason have been beyond frustrating.

However, I tend to agree with the position of the grass isn’t always greener. Cincy isn’t a desirable school for recruits/coaches. If they did fire Mick, or he decides to move on, I could easily see the Bearcats going from a a perennial tourney team and AAC contender to an aboslute doormat.

They'll be just like the Tony Yates 80s Bearcats..... Though I did love me some Roger McClendon.

 

[jgreene95]

B-ball lol sick

 

[gob]

Mick Cronin’s struggles in the postseason have been beyond frustrating.

However, I tend to agree with the position of the grass isn’t always greener. Cincy isn’t a desirable school for recruits/coaches. If they did fire Mick, or he decides to move on, I could easily see the Bearcats going from a a perennial tourney team and AAC contender to an aboslute doormat.

Barring a shit hire, you guys shouldn't ever be absolute doormats. You have enough talent in the tristate/Dayton area for that, but it probably will be difficult to compete for the top recruits until you get into a major conference.

 

[cincygrad]

Barring a shit hire, you guys shouldn't ever be absolute doormats. You have enough talent in the tristate/Dayton area for that, but it probably will be difficult to compete for the top recruits until you get into a major conference.

Basketball recruiting is much more of a national game than football recruiting..... And even though the area is often rich in basketball talent, there way too many good programs in close proximity. UC, XU, Kentucky, Louisville, Dayton, OSU, IU, all the other Big 10 programs.....

As you said, not being in a power conference hurts.

BTW - The American looked pretty good through the weekend. Houston is a legit team and UCF had Duke on the ropes all day yesterday.

 

[Cincyfan78]

It's all about the talent. There isn't any reason for a talented kid to play at UC. They play in a crappy conference..... They're basically bound to go the way of UCONN. Another former powerhouse that will never be relevant again. Only, UCONN has a much greater history of success than we do.

I think Mick is a good coach. I think he's getting all he can out of the situation he is in.... It might be time for him to go, but I can't see us getting much better with a new guy.

I can't agree with this. UConn has sunk since the Big East - UC has maintained (or improved - at least during the regular season) since the Big East.

Kevin Ollie was a huge flop at UConn - they actually recruited well - he just couldn't coach.

 

[Cincyfan78]

Mick Cronin’s struggles in the postseason have been beyond frustrating.

However, I tend to agree with the position of the grass isn’t always greener. Cincy isn’t a desirable school for recruits/coaches. If they did fire Mick, or he decides to move on, I could easily see the Bearcats going from a a perennial tourney team and AAC contender to an aboslute doormat.

Agreed. You just can't get top 75 recruits on a consistent basis in the AAC OR without compromising something. Mick has run a pretty clean program, and has never had issues with players or the education side of things. When you refuse to get caught up in that, it limits your choices even more.

As for this year - They overachieved all year long. While it sucks they lost, it wasn't a shocker. Last year was more of a disappointment, clearly, than this year. Anyone who follows regularly knew that any kind of shooting team was going to be a major issue for UC this year and the way they've been playing defense. The matchup zone works great against teams in the AAC because they usually only have 1+ decent shooter. The zone can move faster than the ball can find the 1 guy who can shoot. But when faced with multiple higher level shooters, the zone can't operate at it's best. Just look at the past few years in March and compare those teams rank on offense - all of them top 20/30 offenses - the zone (even with Clark, Washington, and Evans last year) simply is not designed to operate against that many shooters.

With how slow ISU was, I find it hard to believe Cronin couldn't move to man. While Jennifer and Broome were not fleet of foot defensively, neither were the guards they were facing.

And the thing is...when looking at who would want to come to UC, too many fans are still thinking of UC from the C-USA days before major changes in how the NCAA operates in BBall - the P5 have a clear, clear advantage in every way. Things are not like they were when Huggins was here, and even he struggled down the stretch of his tenure here as those changes started to come. UC is in the AAC, and simply is not that attractive for any other higher level coach. UC loses Cronin and they risk becoming what the football team is: A stepping stone every 2-3 years if that coach can win.

 

[cincygrad]

I can't agree with this. UConn has sunk since the Big East - UC has maintained (or improved - at least during the regular season) since the Big East.

Kevin Ollie was a huge flop at UConn - they actually recruited well - he just couldn't coach.

I wasn't clear... I was basically saying that what Mick has done has been very good. They haven't fallen off the way UCONN has. I think they will if they start getting on the new coach every couple of years carousel.

 

[Cincyfan78]

I wasn't clear... I was basically saying that what Mick has done has been very good. They haven't fallen off the way UCONN has. I think they will if they start getting on the new coach every couple of years carousel.

Agreed!

UC simply is not a destination job - just like the football program - if you lose a guy who wants to be here long-term, you risk becoming a stepping stone for guys looking to make their name and move on to bigger jobs, or a coach looking to rehabilitate his resume/perception and then move on to a bigger job. Just a fact of the matter as long as UC is in the AAC and not a P5 league.

 

[cincygrad]

Cincinnati could be coaching carousel loser if it doesn't lock up Mick Cronin

Pretty sound argument for why Cronin should be valued.... And pretty good argument for why Cronin will bolt sooner or later.