'18 MD F LaQuill Hardnett (Commit)

[Patrick Bateman]

We have changed our approach and adapted to our situation. The PGs we have turned to tell you all you need to know about that. We apply pressure and use a lot of people. Our 10, who can stay fresh, are going to swarm the hell out of most teams. And pretty much all teams in the AAC. We play 22 teams each year that we know for sure about. We are built to completely dismantle most of those teams. And a few we may be underdogs or they may be coin tosses. I'll take that. But it sounds like I put more stock in the past 2 years than you. I'm looking at our current situation completely detached from whatever was happening however many years before we got into the AAC and started bringing in and developing guys like Clark and Evans. That's just me though. So that's where we may differ.

So how many conference championships has UC won in the AAC since they are built to dismantle the AAC

 

[jacobkdoyle]

So how many conference championships has UC won in the AAC since they are built to dismantle the AAC

Well we are 27-2 in league play the last 2 years. So let's see how this year plays out.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Well we are 27-2 in league play the last 2 years. So let's see how this year plays out.

You are correct, 1. Dismantling the league year in and out

 

[cincyguy13]

Way to not answer.

get him to apologize

 

[jacobkdoyle]

Way to not answer.

You know the answer.

Again, I personally put stock into the past 2 years and see us trying to continue building that way. Do you want to bet on whether we win it this year or not? Bc you have the technicality on your side, but you can clearly see how things are shaping up. I don't get why I have to defend that among fellow fans.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

get him to apologize

Over my rotting corpse

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

The reason this thread got to where it did was a poster indicated that because we were recruiting a 3 star prospect that it was pathetic.

There is nothing pathetic about this program and hasn't been for quite awhile. Our team and coach represent this fan base very well especially considering the obstacles they have had to overcome to get us to where we are now. Coach has a 654 winning percentage since arriving. We have been to the dance 7 years running and soon to be 8. We have won one conference league title with a 2nd on the way in 5 years. . I am not advocating we shouldn't have high expectations or want the very best players but I also know that operating in today's college athletics is quite a bit different then it was 15 years ago. The creation of P-5 conferences has put us at a tremendous disadvantage.

Programs like Gonzaga, St. Mary"s,WSU and us have managed to get good results under very difficult circumstances. It is not a even playing field and it has been stated on here many times by people that know that Not being P-5 hurts recruiting.

Our coach and staff have found players through the years who represent the university and city very well on and off the court. We are on a 15 game winning streak, have won all home games dating back to the start of last season and our ranked 6 in the country. What I want this program to be and what I think its capabilities are in today's college athletics are very different. Unfortunately that is a reality. It is not pathetic in anyway. It is a program that is making the very best out of a very tough situation. That is why I am proud to be a fan of our University. It is not a crime to want more but I do find it offensive when people criticize our results without considering the reasons we are in this position or recognizing how successful we are considering the circumstances.

 

[cincyguy13]

The reason this thread got to where it did was a poster indicated that because we were recruiting a 3 star prospect that it was pathetic.

There is nothing pathetic about this program and hasn't been for quite awhile. Our team and coach represent this fan base very well especially considering the obstacles they have had to overcome to get us to where we are now. Coach has a 654 winning percentage since arriving. We have been to the dance 7 years running and soon to be 8. We have won one conference league title with a 2nd on the way in 5 years. . I am not advocating we shouldn't have high expectations or want the very best players but I also know that operating in today's college athletics is quite a bit different then it was 15 years ago. The creation of P-5 conferences has put us at a tremendous disadvantage.

Programs like Gonzaga, St. Mary"s,WSU and us have managed to get good results under very difficult circumstances. It is not a even playing field and it has been stated on here many times by people that know that Not being P-5 hurts recruiting.

Our coach and staff have found players through the years who represent the university and city very well on and off the court. We are on a 15 game winning streak, have won all home games dating back to the start of last season and our ranked 6 in the country. What I want this program to be and what I think its capabilities are in today's college athletics are very different. Unfortunately that is a reality. It is not pathetic in anyway. It is a program that is making the very best out of a very tough situation. That is why I am proud to be a fan of our University. It is not a crime to want more but I do find it offensive when people criticize our results without considering the reasons we are in this position or recognizing how successful we are considering the circumstances.

I think everyone that follows any amount of college basketball would agree with everything you said. Pathetic was probably a bad word choice for that guy but like you said wanting a little more isn’t a bad thing. I don’t think anyone on here expects to be final 4 contenders every year but like I said, maybe more than 1 sweet 16 in 15 years. We are on a roll and hopefully it keeps rolling. And all this talk doesn’t mean I’m not enjoying this season. Just something to talk about

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

I think everyone that follows any amount of college basketball would agree with everything you said. Pathetic was probably a bad word choice for that guy but like you said wanting a little more isn’t a bad thing. I don’t think anyone on here expects to be final 4 contenders every year but like I said, maybe more than 1 sweet 16 in 15 years. We are on a roll and hopefully it keeps rolling. And all this talk doesn’t mean I’m not enjoying this season. Just something to talk about

you know I think lots of what we do and say on here is predicated by those who continually try to compare Micks 12 years with Huggins years. In my mind it really is apples and oranges. When I grade Mick it is based on results and the circumstances he has navigated through to get those results. When I weigh those two things I really come up with a job well done grade. Huggins resurrected this program and ultimately torn it down. Mick inherited a very different situation and very different circumstances to navigate through. I look at other schools who were successful years ago that would kill to have our results. Memphis.Depaul, Marquette just to name a few. Those schools have really never made it back to anywhere near what they once were.

 

[Jon Rycek]

I think everyone that follows any amount of college basketball would agree with everything you said. Pathetic was probably a bad word choice for that guy but like you said wanting a little more isn’t a bad thing. I don’t think anyone on here expects to be final 4 contenders every year but like I said, maybe more than 1 sweet 16 in 15 years. We are on a roll and hopefully it keeps rolling. And all this talk doesn’t mean I’m not enjoying this season. Just something to talk about

If you wanna get technical, yeah it's been one in 15 years. It's also been 1 in 6. Give mick a little credit for having to rebuild this program from the ground up. He started his career here with football players on the team, it's not like he walked into a tournament ready team and has only done anything once. Chances are really high we make the sweet 16 this year, and that lll be 2 in 7. No reason to think with the guys we have no we wouldn't be able to compete for another bid in the next few years. We are already rolling, things are going the way they need to. The coach knows what he is doing. It's crazy how you can praise the guy for finding a "diamond in the rough," Trevor Moore and then when we offer a guy the following year who doesn't live up to your standards is because we could do better. I'm gonna trust our expert recruiters over some guys that have maybe, big emphasis on the maybe, have seen at most a five minute mixtape of the kid.

 

[ZCat]

I too expect to see a slight bump in recruiting. NOt sure how that's lazy and thoughtless...or who pissed in your cornflakes. I think we've seen it year on year for the most part...and perhaps this years class keeps that moving.

I'm not evaluating these kids, so if the coach likes a kid a picks him...great. Where I will hold that coach accountable is when that kid has to play. And the reality is after a slow start and some big swings and misses, cronin's recruiting has been pretty solid.

I'm the one who said deep run and let the recruits roll in - not sure which thread. I definitely trust Coach to keep us at the current level, and slowly improve. I'm hoping on a modest recruiting bump ( with hard working, team players), so we can more easily take the next step. I respect other people's opinion, but this is my opinion.

 

[ZCat]

Yeah. I'm saying fill out 12/13 scholarships, be open to landing transfers, try to get a HS headliner in each class who you can develop as "the man" as they get older, but are good enough to at least help early on.

You do that and you see the depth we can build in this league. Filling in with the 3/4/5 year guys like Brooks, Scott, Nsoseme, Moore, Jenifer, Hardnett types has its value. Especially bc like I've mentioned, we used to have those as empty spots. Playing the pressing style we do forces you to play a lot of players. It's nice to not just play a lot of guys, but actually choose who those guys are. And realistically, you don't get those guys on the back end of your roster from the Top 100 group. But they have value for our philosophy. We mold guys into high floor players bc we teach defense and rebounding. So you find a guy with length or athleticism, we can at minimum churn out Top 15 defenses year in and year out. So that's where these guys come into play. And as it turns out, our depth and conference allow these guys to develop at a faster rate. It kind of feeds into itself.

The transfer thing is obvious. Washington and Broome had a clear path to playing time. We've been going out of our way to keep our options open in the spring. That should continue as well. And I think Washington and Broome were listed as Top 10 transfers.

The HS headliner. I guess it depends what you think of Williams and Logan Johnson. Williams still has a high ceiling and luckily we don't need him to be what Cumberland, Evans, and Clark were as FR bc we've been so good the past few years at hitting on these guys. It also looks like at least 1 or 2 of the diamonds in the rough from his class are looking pretty shiny. Another built in safety net with the full roster approach.

This has led to what we are now. Which I wholeheartedly believe is a Top 10 team at worst. I think building things this way is more sustainable than putting chips in on higher rated guys that we have less of a chance to get. Chad just said the other day that 80% of those guys rule us out before we even get in the door. Take that fwiw, but it speaks to how much more difficult it would be to pull off that kind of approach in practice. We've been creative with how we've built this thing. And I'd like to continue down that path. It has led to some pretty damn good basketball.

FYI I doubt this guy would take the scholarship that used to be "unused". I heard Mick on the radio recently mention how they don't use all their scholarships. Sounded more like they were continuing their current philosophy.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

I'm the one who said deep run and let the recruits roll in - not sure which thread. I definitely trust Coach to keep us at the current level, and slowly improve. I'm hoping on a modest recruiting bump ( with hard working, team players), so we can more easily take the next step. I respect other people's opinion, but this is my opinion.

I think it may be over simplifying it a bit thinking a deep run will change our recruiting. The exposure will certainly help but until we're part of a P-5 conference we will always struggle to some of extent. I hate that but I'm afraid it is reality.

 

[NKY Bearcat]

Saw an 8 page thread about a new recruit and got excited...

half a page on the recruit, and 7 pages of us bitching about a 3 star ranking. Truly disappointed gents...

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Saw an 8 page thread about a new recruit and got excited...

half a page on the recruit, and 7 pages of us bitching about a 3 star ranking. Truly disappointed gents...

That's what generally happens when you have this much time between games.

 

[Fullam33]

LaQuills HS teammate Anthony Higgs was offered by UC back in September but decided to take his talents to Andy Kennedys Rebels

https://247sports.com/player/anthony-higgs-46041812

 

[jacobkdoyle]

FYI I doubt this guy would take the scholarship that used to be "unused". I heard Mick on the radio recently mention how they don't use all their scholarships. Sounded more like they were continuing their current philosophy.

?

 

[jacobkdoyle]

FYI I doubt this guy would take the scholarship that used to be "unused". I heard Mick on the radio recently mention how they don't use all their scholarships. Sounded more like they were continuing their current philosophy.

On the radio he said he'd be surprised if we didn't add 1 or 2 more. If Evans stays, Hardnett would be scholarship #12 being used.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Some of the issues surrounding our recruiting probably have a lot to do with recruits not knowing what will happen with Evans. A JUCO with only two years of eligibility may not want to sit behind a guy and burn a year.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

Some of the issues surrounding our recruiting probably have a lot to do with recruits not knowing what will happen with Evans. A JUCO with only two years of eligibility may not want to sit behind a guy and burn a year.

What 2 year JUCO are we even looking at?