2016-2017 Season

[Bearcat513]

https://twitter.com/EvanDaniels/status/783452080665157632

Wow, busy day here for Bearcats basketball and I LOVE it.

The two responses to this tweet might be better than the tweet itself.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

With the way the Football season is going and the fact that my Reds finished in last place I am incredibly excited for the start of the season.

Really like how this team is shaping up.

PG, TC with JJ backing him up

Wing, we have a rotation of 3 all with some skill.

KJ is our best on the ball defender
Cumberland a top recruit with a very nice offensive game. (inside and Outside)
Evans has got the best all round game on the team.

In the post we have

Washington a skilled offensive player with range. if he can play defense as well we will be set in the middle.
Backing him up is Moore and Brooks.

PF we have Clark. If healthy his game will again take a step forward. Sometimes we lose site of the fact he was the conference defensive player of the year. Backing him up is Scott. A redshirt freshman who may be the surprise of the team. I have heard he has looked good in open gym and his face up jumper is improving. He will prove to be much more then a spot filler for Clark.

Not only has Mick collected some very nice talent but it is timed with us possibly being added to Big 12. If we make a nice run this year, gain admission into the P5, have the facilities upgrade we will e in a very good position. 2018 could be a very nice year for us in the recruiting field. Should have big minutes to offer at PG and on the baseline. We would also have some nice carry over pieces to help sell recruits. Moore, Brooks Cumberland, Nsoseme, Scott and Williams.

 

[BearcatSpaniard513]

With the way the Football season is going and the fact that my Reds finished in last place I am incredibly excited for the start of the season.

Really like how this team is shaping up.

PG, TC with JJ backing him up

Wing, we have a rotation of 3 all with some skill.

KJ is our best on the ball defender
Cumberland a top recruit with a very nice offensive game. (inside and Outside)
Evans has got the best all round game on the team.

In the post we have

Washington a skilled offensive player with range. if he can play defense as well we will be set in the middle.
Backing him up is Moore and Brooks.

PF we have Clark. If healthy his game will again take a step forward. Sometimes we lose site of the fact he was the conference defensive player of the year. Backing him up is Scott. A redshirt freshman who may be the surprise of the team. I have heard he has looked good in open gym and his face up jumper is improving. He will prove to be much more then a spot filler for Clark.

Not only has Mick collected some very nice talent but it is timed with us possibly being added to Big 12. If we make a nice run this year, gain admission into the P5, have the facilities upgrade we will e in a very good position. 2018 could be a very nice year for us in the recruiting field. Should have big minutes to offer at PG and on the baseline. We would also have some nice carry over pieces to help sell recruits. Moore, Brooks Cumberland, Nsoseme, Scott and Williams.

Good post! Super excited for what the future brings and I share the same optimism. Especially with none coming out of Nippert right now. So excited to see our newcomers and what their games bring to the table. Time to make a run Mick!

 

[GarradJ21]

Of course I cant wait for November 11, opening night, but really all I keep thinking about is the game against Rohde Island. We have to win that game. Get us an early top 25 win under our belt. With such a heart breaking season starting the season off right, with a top 25 win would be huge. I get it, The Rams are supposed to be good this year but come on Bearcats we have been there before this is nothing new to us. We need to show them who the tougher school is. Then of course we get to play Duke. If we lose to Duke split the ISU and Butler game, we are looking at a 2 loss non conference schedule. That sets the tone for the whole year. Xavier is not until later. I think home court will win that game for us knowing both our squads are top 20 teams.

I have been watching games from last year on YouTube getting excited for the games. Of course a lot of the big games I keep wishing would end differently. I just need the season to get here.

 

[UCalum08]

Of course I cant wait for November 11, opening night, but really all I keep thinking about is the game against Rohde Island. We have to win that game. Get us an early top 25 win under our belt. With such a heart breaking season starting the season off right, with a top 25 win would be huge. I get it, The Rams are supposed to be good this year but come on Bearcats we have been there before this is nothing new to us. We need to show them who the tougher school is. Then of course we get to play Duke. If we lose to Duke split the ISU and Butler game, we are looking at a 2 loss non conference schedule. That sets the tone for the whole year. Xavier is not until later. I think home court will win that game for us knowing both our squads are top 20 teams.

I have been watching games from last year on YouTube getting excited for the games. Of course a lot of the big games I keep wishing would end differently. I just need the season to get here.

I've watched a lot of games from last year too. Isn't it painful/funny to see how many chances we had to take control of so many games but wasted too many possessions?!! There were a lot of ill-timed shots, turnovers, and poor defensive rotations, over and over and over. I hope these guys have learned.

 

[waterhead]

I've watched a lot of games from last year too. Isn't it painful/funny to see how many chances we had to take control of so many games but wasted too many possessions?!! There were a lot of ill-timed shots, turnovers, and poor defensive rotations, over and over and over. I hope these guys have learned.

I expect the close games to swing our way this year for several reasons. Last year we really only had one play to close games. We had to force things which can lead to turnovers. At the end of the year Evans gave us another and Clark is also an option. I don't think we will avoid Washington like we had to with Ellis.

It's Troy's last year and Washington will add leadership and toughness. We have to want it bad... and I think that chemistry will be there this year. Hopefully Cumberland can offer similar things that Evans did to have 5 reasonable options to close games.

Just crossing my fingers for no significant injury. We need to get to the second weekend in the dance or beyond.

 

[waterhead]

I expect the close games to swing our way this year for several reasons. Last year we really only had one play to close games. We had to force things which can lead to turnovers. At the end of the year Evans gave us another and Clark is also an option. I don't think we will avoid Washington like we had to with Ellis.

It's Troy's last year and Washington will add leadership and toughness. We have to want it bad... and I think that chemistry will be there this year. Hopefully Cumberland can offer similar things that Evans did to have 5 reasonable options to close games.

Just crossing my fingers for no significant injury. We need to get to the second weekend in the dance or beyond.

Last year Ellis was somewhat of a liability in close games at the end. Soft hands, traveling, and mental toughness were issues. Shaq struggled to create and wasn't the most mentally tough. Evans confidence went through the roof at the end. Cobb was decent and KJ was iffy. For most of the year we used Troy to try and close games. Later on Gary became an option in a few occasions.

Mostly we hoped Troy could get to the rack and make a bucket or create a foul whether it was there or not. This year we can draw up lots of plays... even if we still lean on Troy.

 

[justinhub2003]

I downloaded Lindy's Sports Magazine 2016-17 Basketball Preview and they had UC ranked at #17

Also of Note:

They have Troy Caupain listed as the 16th best point guard in the nation (even higher than Sumner who is 25)

And Gary Clark as 12th Best power forward in all of basketball.

Have us picked second in the conference (every year uconn is picked to finish above us and every we finish above them).

Troy and Gary on conference 1st team and Jacob on the 3rd team

 

[jacobkdoyle]

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but Harry Giles for Duke (#1 or #2 player in the 2016 class) had arthroscopic knee surgery a couple days ago. I'd be surprised if they rush him back, and the article I read said he will be out around 6 weeks...which means he probably won't play against us if we make it to that game. That's huge for our chances to win.

 

[Bearcat513]

http://espn1530.iheart.com/onair/mo-egger-9170/listen-my-interview-with-mick-cronin-15175740/

Mo Egger's interview with Cronin

 

[waterhead]

http://espn1530.iheart.com/onair/mo-egger-9170/listen-my-interview-with-mick-cronin-15175740/

Mo Egger's interview with Cronin

Thanks for posting! A couple of things. Coach talked about Washington and compared him to SK being a guy who can really score the basketball...wake up 10 pts out of bed. That is an option I can't wait to see for us. He also mentioned we will probably see some SMH shots from him...but he's a hard guy to guard Especially inside of 10 feet.

Talked about senior leadership and again mentioned SK and also JJ. Thinks Troy and KJ are in the right state of mind.

Said Cumberland needs to work on D but expects something similar to Evans. Extremely smart and coachable guy.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Thanks for posting! A couple of things. Coach talked about Washington and compared him to SK being a guy who can really score the basketball...wake up 10 pts out of bed. That is an option I can't wait to see for us. He also mentioned we will probably see some SMH shots from him...but he's a hard guy to guard Especially inside of 10 feet.

Talked about senior leadership and again mentioned SK and also JJ. Thinks Troy and KJ are in the right state of mind.

Said Cumberland needs to work on D but expects something similar to Evans. Extremely smart and coachable guy.

If Cumberland gives us Evans freshman year production I would be very happy.

Really like all our options this year. Hopefully we will quickly develop the roles each player can fill and also find out who is truly our go to players.

 

[Bearcat513]

If Cumberland gives us Evans freshman year production I would be very happy.

Really like all our options this year. Hopefully we will quickly develop the roles each player can fill and also find out who is truly our go to players.

If Cumberland can do that I'd be more than very happy. Evans' freshman year, I think, is a lot more impressive when you remember how well he took care of the ball. Didn't make too many mistakes and when he did, he hustled and tried to make up for it. I am pretty sure I saw a stat saying he had more blocks than he did turnovers.

 

[waterhead]

If Cumberland can do that I'd be more than very happy. Evans' freshman year, I think, is a lot more impressive when you remember how well he took care of the ball. Didn't make too many mistakes and when he did, he hustled and tried to make up for it. I am pretty sure I saw a stat saying he had more blocks than he did turnovers.

Another interesting note from the interview with Cronin was how well Cumberland takes care of the ball. However, I don't think 8-10 points is out of the question if he plays D well enough to be on the court for 20 minutes. He could very easily see 5-10 minutes at the 3 and maybe 15 or so at the 2. I would imagine he will get around 20 minutes by default. I don't see much more than 25 though since KJ is a senior and Cronin loves his D.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Another interesting note from the interview with Cronin was how well Cumberland takes care of the ball. However, I don't think 8-10 points is out of the question if he plays D well enough to be on the court for 20 minutes. He could very easily see 5-10 minutes at the 3 and maybe 15 or so at the 2. I would imagine he will get around 20 minutes by default. I don't see much more than 25 though since KJ is a senior and Cronin loves his D.

a freshman coming in and getting 25 minutes a game is a very nice situation to walk in to. If he guards he can maybe see a bit more then that possibly. With how we guarded on the perimeter last year KJ's D is a must. if he locks down defensively and cuts his TO's again with a bit better shooting % I will be more then happy with KJ's performance.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

http://espn1530.iheart.com/onair/mo-egger-9170/listen-my-interview-with-mick-cronin-15175740/

Mo Egger's interview with Cronin

Doesnt feel like Coach has learned anything from last yeat. Still has the attitude that everything last year was bad luck and there's nothing anyone could do. I know I've mentioned it a ton, but we were so inefficient with the clock in that UConn game that it costed us several possessions. I'd like to hope that behind closed doors, Cronin takes a serious look at that kind of stuff and implements the 2 for 1 strategy late in games this year. With a Senior all league PG leading the way, if you can't do it with him, when can you do it? Maybe things would've turned out the same, who knows. But our strategy was far from perfect, especially in that game. It's disappointing if we don't learn anything from it, bc history will just repeat itself and we'll throw our hands up and act like we're cursed.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

Doesnt feel like Coach has learned anything from last yeat. Still has the attitude that everything last year was bad luck and there's nothing anyone could do. I know I've mentioned it a ton, but we were so inefficient with the clock in that UConn game that it costed us several possessions. I'd like to hope that behind closed doors, Cronin takes a serious look at that kind of stuff and implements the 2 for 1 strategy late in games this year. With a Senior all league PG leading the way, if you can't do it with him, when can you do it? Maybe things would've turned out the same, who knows. But our strategy was far from perfect, especially in that game. It's disappointing if we don't learn anything from it, bc history will just repeat itself and we'll throw our hands up and act like we're cursed.

I hope Coach Cronin can maintain the more laid back attitude throughout the season. I know it's easy now when he's doing interviews and games haven't started, but last year he seemed very defensive and prickly. I can't begin to know the pressure that comes with his job, so I guess I hope he truly has cultivated the leadership in Caupain and Johnson, like he was talking about in the interview. Trusting the players can go a long way in alleviating stress.

 

[JasonS]

Doesnt feel like Coach has learned anything from last yeat. Still has the attitude that everything last year was bad luck and there's nothing anyone could do. I know I've mentioned it a ton, but we were so inefficient with the clock in that UConn game that it costed us several possessions. I'd like to hope that behind closed doors, Cronin takes a serious look at that kind of stuff and implements the 2 for 1 strategy late in games this year. With a Senior all league PG leading the way, if you can't do it with him, when can you do it? Maybe things would've turned out the same, who knows. But our strategy was far from perfect, especially in that game. It's disappointing if we don't learn anything from it, bc history will just repeat itself and we'll throw our hands up and act like we're cursed.

To be fair, an 80 foot heave (with a travel not called and poor clock starting) plus all the injuries are bad luck. Losing by 2 by having a dunk waived off by 0.1 seconds is bad luck. Could things have been done differently to not have had those games come down to those situations, sure. But you can say that about nearly every game. Injuries are always about luck and we were on the wrong side of that last year. I don't fault him for feeling that way. That's exactly how I felt at the end of last year too. I think the team could have made a run if even Gary Clark was healthy last year so I think there is a lot of reason for optimism this year. Key is to stay healthy.

 

[#BearcatNation]

Doesnt feel like Coach has learned anything from last yeat. Still has the attitude that everything last year was bad luck and there's nothing anyone could do. I know I've mentioned it a ton, but we were so inefficient with the clock in that UConn game that it costed us several possessions. I'd like to hope that behind closed doors, Cronin takes a serious look at that kind of stuff and implements the 2 for 1 strategy late in games this year. With a Senior all league PG leading the way, if you can't do it with him, when can you do it? Maybe things would've turned out the same, who knows. But our strategy was far from perfect, especially in that game. It's disappointing if we don't learn anything from it, bc history will just repeat itself and we'll throw our hands up and act like we're cursed.

Dude, this was a radio interview with Mo Egger. Do you really think in practice after that game they were just thinking "hey, we gotta start getting more lucky, this is some BS". I'm sure film was dissected. I'm sure they have gone over everything they need to. This isn't a rec league. Everything is taken very seriously.

Also, Mick isn't going to go super in-depth over the radio. He's going to go over things fans saw last year and can relate to. Casual radio listeners would rather hear about the UConn 80-foot heave than whether or not he implements the "2 for 1" strategy late in games.

I think you're taking away too much from a radio interview. "He didn't learn anything from last year" is ridiculous.

 

[L-T]

Dude, this was a radio interview with Mo Egger. Do you really think in practice after that game they were just thinking "hey, we gotta start getting more lucky, this is some BS". I'm sure film was dissected. I'm sure they have gone over everything they need to. This isn't a rec league. Everything is taken very seriously.

Also, Mick isn't going to go super in-depth over the radio. He's going to go over things fans saw last year and can relate to. Casual radio listeners would rather hear about the UConn 80-foot heave than whether or not he implements the "2 for 1" strategy late in games.

I think you're taking away too much from a radio interview. "He didn't learn anything from last year" is ridiculous.

What about the last 5 seasons leads you to believe anything is getting learned? I know it is easy to "assume" that obviously he just had to learn from these events. Are you really sure film was dissected? Are you really sure they have gone over everything they need to? Are you even sure this isn't a rec league mentality? I mean....in many of the rec leagues I've seen, a coach will stand there and the point guard will look over until the coach calls a play. Sound familiar? Again, you would think that all this stuff that you are saying is going on, but are you seeing improvements on the floor and in the season results. Not really!