2016-2017 Season

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What seed will UC get this year in the Tournament?

  • 1-4

    Votes: 24 38.7%
  • 5-8

    Votes: 35 56.5%
  • 9-16

    Votes: 3 4.8%

  • Total voters
    62
Actually the Clark example is what's faulty. It was him or Moore, who was also a FR. But we've had this conversation before. Maybe lacking depth on the roster (again) will actually help Cumberland though (like it did Clark) bc ready or not, he'll have to play at least some.
Jake in our program where one and doners are not commonplace making freshman earn their minutes is a good thing. I am not handing out starting assignments to kids that haven't played a minute of D-1 basketball. If his production is better then the guy he is playing behind then he will get the minutes. Lots of times there is more to the decision. Cumberland will also have to play the 3. He will get run. I just hope he is up for the challenge.

That doesn't mean I don't want to see KJ elevate his game but your assumption that Mick will never play freshman or it is a good thing that a player was hurt because it forced him to play someone else is silly. As an example if Shaq was available and healthy against St. Joe's I think we would have won. Having someone spell Gary Clark in that game would of been much better then having him run around on one foot. Cronin doesn't set his line up by what year they are in. There is rationale involved. You can argue he hasn't met your expectations and we could do better but in the end he has mentored under 2 HOF coaches. Hugg's and Pintino. He started out as a video coordinator and has worked his way up to a 2.3 mil coach. He knows something about the game. I not trying to insight a debate on his virtues, to each his own but he isn't a moron. There is reasoning behind his decisions and he has much more data to make those decisions then we do.
 
We've had defenders thru the years that were so good defensively, that we were fine with them starting because the positives from their defense and hustle far outweighed the negatives in their offensive game. There are very few people clamoring for KJ to be a starter. That should tell you that most fans aren't seeing enough from his defensive game, to offset all the other negatives in the rest of his game. A good example was Titus Rubles. He had zero offensive game, but the guy was a lock-down defender, left everything on the floor, was a fighter, had a great attitude, and was a leader who lead by example. SK was the star of that team, but Rubles was a lot of the heart and soul. I don't get that same feeling with KJ. We didn't even question Rubles starting. For me, KJ is missing something that would get me over the hump and on on his bandwagon. His show-boating and gestures at the opponents definitely rub me the wrong way, especially when he hasn't been good enough in his career (in my opinion) to even think about being cocky.
Maybe Mick should poll the fans. LOL!!! I think Coach K does that. Only thing KJ has to do too get me on his bandwagon is fill his role and help us win the AAC and advance in the tournament. In my mind that would consists of being a lock down defender and hit a ocassional 3 to help space the floor and cut down on the TO's. Like you I am a bit of the old school and prefer our players act like they have been there before but times have changed my friend. Self expression has replaced humility. My Dad would have whipped my behind had I acted out like kids do today.
 
Jake in our program where one and doners are not commonplace making freshman earn their minutes is a good thing. I am not handing out starting assignments to kids that haven't played a minute of D-1 basketball. If his production is better then the guy he is playing behind then he will get the minutes. Lots of times there is more to the decision. Cumberland will also have to play the 3. He will get run. I just hope he is up for the challenge.

That doesn't mean I don't want to see KJ elevate his game but your assumption that Mick will never play freshman or it is a good thing that a player was hurt because it forced him to play someone else is silly. As an example if Shaq was available and healthy against St. Joe's I think we would have won. Having someone spell Gary Clark in that game would of been much better then having him run around on one foot. Cronin doesn't set his line up by what year they are in. There is rationale involved. You can argue he hasn't met your expectations and we could do better but in the end he has mentored under 2 HOF coaches. Hugg's and Pintino. He started out as a video coordinator and has worked his way up to a 2.3 mil coach. He knows something about the game. I not trying to insight a debate on his virtues, to each his own but he isn't a moron. There is reasoning behind his decisions and he has much more data to make those decisions then we do.

Waite, my only point is that Cronin defers to the seniors if possible. Not saying it's right or wrong, it's just his style. I get that. And I'm not saying Cumberland won't get minutes. I just worry that Johnson will get the benefit of the doubt, even if Cumberland proves to be the superior player. We've seen it happen more than once. I've mentioned before that I feel like our best shot to win in March is to have Cumberland at the highest level possible. I can leave it at that.
 
Waite, my only point is that Cronin defers to the seniors if possible. Not saying it's right or wrong, it's just his style. I get that. And I'm not saying Cumberland won't get minutes. I just worry that Johnson will get the benefit of the doubt, even if Cumberland proves to be the superior player. We've seen it happen more than once. I've mentioned before that I feel like our best shot to win in March is to have Cumberland at the highest level possible. I can leave it at that.

Mick will do what in his mind is best for the team. I want all the guys playing well in march
 
Mick will do what in his mind is best for the team. I want all the guys playing well in march

Right. I think we all hope that. But some are more important than others. Jmo that Cumberland will be more important than Johnson. I could easily be wrong bc Cumberland hasn't played yet, but I'm just going on what we've seen Johnson do for 3 years.
 
Right. I think we all hope that. But some are more important than others. Jmo that Cumberland will be more important than Johnson. I could easily be wrong bc Cumberland hasn't played yet, but I'm just going on what we've seen Johnson do for 3 years.

I hope to God that Cumberland is better, but I'll be honest, I'm very pessimistic about what I think he will actually end up giving us. I think he will struggle this first year. It's just a gut feeling with me. I'm going in with very low expectations for him and I'll hope to be pleasantly surprised. On the other hand, I don't speak highly of KJ, but I think there is a lot more chance of him being really good than there is of Cumberland being really good. There is a history of some disappointing Cronin recruits that have actually turned it around to have pretty good senior seasons and I'm hoping KJ follows suit as well.
 
I hope to God that Cumberland is better, but I'll be honest, I'm very pessimistic about what I think he will actually end up giving us. I think he will struggle this first year. It's just a gut feeling with me. I'm going in with very low expectations for him and I'll hope to be pleasantly surprised. On the other hand, I don't speak highly of KJ, but I think there is a lot more chance of him being really good than there is of Cumberland being really good. There is a history of some disappointing Cronin recruits that have actually turned it around to have pretty good senior seasons and I'm hoping KJ follows suit as well.
Who other than Justin Jackson?
 
I hope to God that Cumberland is better, but I'll be honest, I'm very pessimistic about what I think he will actually end up giving us. I think he will struggle this first year. It's just a gut feeling with me. I'm going in with very low expectations for him and I'll hope to be pleasantly surprised. On the other hand, I don't speak highly of KJ, but I think there is a lot more chance of him being really good than there is of Cumberland being really good. There is a history of some disappointing Cronin recruits that have actually turned it around to have pretty good senior seasons and I'm hoping KJ follows suit as well.
I have my doubts as well. Like you I hope I'm wrong cause we need his minutes.
 
Who other than Justin Jackson?

Ok, you got me.....most have been disappointing right to the end!

I guess I was thinking mostly of Mick's first tournament team. His second recruiting class came pretty highly touted and laid a major egg for the most part, but they all had decent senior years and carried us to the tournament and a 26-9 record. That would have been Wilkes, Bishop, Davis, and Biggie. JJ obviously turned it around big time as a senior. SK turned a decent career into a monster season as a senior. Dixon was pretty good as a senior as well.
 
I have my doubts as well. Like you I hope I'm wrong cause we need his minutes.

I'm a little surprised at the skepticism being shown here regarding Jerron. I've never seen him play, but everything I've heard has been positive - decent shooter with range, strong and physical when driving to the basket, physically strong, athletic enough, passes well, decent handle... I have no idea how he'll do, but it sounds like he has all the physical tools, he just needs time to adjust to the size and speed of D1 college play.

He's more highly thought of coming out of HS than either Jacob or Gary were and they've both given us good production as freshman.

I'm hopeful he's playing significant minutes by the time February rolls around at either the 2 or 3 position.

I get tempering expectations that he's going to walk in and be Carmelo and take us to the promised land as a freshman, but I'm a little surprised at low expectations from some here. I'm excited to see what he can give us.
 
Waite, my only point is that Cronin defers to the seniors if possible. Not saying it's right or wrong, it's just his style. I get that. And I'm not saying Cumberland won't get minutes. I just worry that Johnson will get the benefit of the doubt, even if Cumberland proves to be the superior player. We've seen it happen more than once. I've mentioned before that I feel like our best shot to win in March is to have Cumberland at the highest level possible. I can leave it at that.

My hope is that KJ does start every game being that he is a senior. I don't think in Cumberland's first year he's going to be light years better than KJ so why not start your senior to give him the confidence to help lead this team along with his best friend and other senior guard - Caupain. At the end of the day it's not who starts the game, it's who finishes and I promise you if Cumberland is playing better than KJ or vice versa then that player will be on the floor at the end of the game. Evans was in a lot over Shaq during the last minutes of the games. Butler and others included.
 
I'm a little surprised at the skepticism being shown here regarding Jerron. I've never seen him play, but everything I've heard has been positive - decent shooter with range, strong and physical when driving to the basket, physically strong, athletic enough, passes well, decent handle... I have no idea how he'll do, but it sounds like he has all the physical tools, he just needs time to adjust to the size and speed of D1 college play.

He's more highly thought of coming out of HS than either Jacob or Gary were and they've both given us good production as freshman.

I'm hopeful he's playing significant minutes by the time February rolls around at either the 2 or 3 position.

I get tempering expectations that he's going to walk in and be Carmelo and take us to the promised land as a freshman, but I'm a little surprised at low expectations from some here. I'm excited to see what he can give us.

Eric Hicks and Gary Clark each had monster senior seasons in high school. Hicks was N. Carolina player of the year and I think Clark was runner up. Both averaged well up in the 30s. Both came in here and looked as if they had zero offensive game. Clark started looking a little more comfortable as the season wore on. Hicks averaged just 2 points per game. I look at Cumberland's size and bulk and I see the game evolving more into speed and athleticism and I see problems for him. He may have fit better into the Big East mold, but I hope you are right about him and I am wrong.
 
Eric Hicks and Gary Clark each had monster senior seasons in high school. Hicks was N. Carolina player of the year and I think Clark was runner up. Both averaged well up in the 30s. Both came in here and looked as if they had zero offensive game. Clark started looking a little more comfortable as the season wore on. Hicks averaged just 2 points per game. I look at Cumberland's size and bulk and I see the game evolving more into speed and athleticism and I see problems for him. He may have fit better into the Big East mold, but I hope you are right about him and I am wrong.

I hear you - we'll find out soon.

Go Cats!
 
My hope is that KJ does start every game being that he is a senior. I don't think in Cumberland's first year he's going to be light years better than KJ so why not start your senior to give him the confidence to help lead this team along with his best friend and other senior guard - Caupain. At the end of the day it's not who starts the game, it's who finishes and I promise you if Cumberland is playing better than KJ or vice versa then that player will be on the floor at the end of the game. Evans was in a lot over Shaq during the last minutes of the games. Butler and others included.

I definitely understand where you're coming from. I feel like Cumberland would benefit from getting as many minutes as possible with the first unit though. Plus, slow starts killed us last year. I'm in the camp that believes it does matter who starts the game.
 
I'm a little surprised at the skepticism being shown here regarding Jerron. I've never seen him play, but everything I've heard has been positive - decent shooter with range, strong and physical when driving to the basket, physically strong, athletic enough, passes well, decent handle... I have no idea how he'll do, but it sounds like he has all the physical tools, he just needs time to adjust to the size and speed of D1 college play.

He's more highly thought of coming out of HS than either Jacob or Gary were and they've both given us good production as freshman.

I'm hopeful he's playing significant minutes by the time February rolls around at either the 2 or 3 position.

I get tempering expectations that he's going to walk in and be Carmelo and take us to the promised land as a freshman, but I'm a little surprised at low expectations from some here. I'm excited to see what he can give us.
i think he'll have a very nice career here but I really think he'll have trouble guarding which will hinder him in year 1. Hope I'm wrong.
 
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