2016-2017 Season

[jacobkdoyle]

Guys we have people who come on here daily that our true fans of the program. They believe we should be capable of the same level of success we had years ago now. Times and circumstances have changed. Power 5 conferences were formed for a reason. Anyone care to take a guess why? We are a good program that operates very well under the circumstances. The coach delivers a winning program that makes the dance annually. Under the conditions he forced to operate under it is a very nice accomplishment. Am I happy that we have been left out of the big boy table. Heck no!! But we have. Fact is this may be as good as it gets until we land in a better conference. You can argue if Mick played uptempo or was a bit more free with how he allows the kids to operate or developed his talent better but in the end we are still at a disadvantage.

Let's win the conference we're in now. No reason why we can't.

 

[GarradJ21]

Someone mentioned getting breaks and I think that is huge when it comes to the NCAA tourney. Look, you can win more in the regular season and get a better seed which will help you get more breaks, but ultimately, you have no control over the matchups in the tourney. I look back to that team that lost to UCONN who ultimately won the National Title. That team was playing damn good basketball and I think had an outside shot to make a final four or at least an elite 8. You want to talk about a bad break? UC and UCONN were the first teams from the same conference in history to meet in the NCAA tourney BEFORE the sweet 16. I think UC had a run in them until they had to play another Big East team so early. UC also always seems to play the highest possible seed in every round. It is what it is. At some point you have to beat those teams, but not all tourney runs are created equal. UC could use a season where they get a top 4 seed and get some favorable matchups to make a run. Hoping it is this year.

Yes, with that said, don't position yourself to be an 8 or 9 seed so of course season matters, but lets just keep getting in the tourney and see what happens from there.

 

[JasonS]

Let's win the conference we're in now. No reason why we can't.

This team should be competing for the conference title this year. UCONN will be good but I expect UC to win. This is the year to win the conference, win the conference tourney and catapult into the NCAA tourney with a ton of momentum.

 

[kskenyon4]

No worries. Just something I deal with on a regular basis when following this stuff. I'd love for it to be different, but UC is at a point where the question "can we even get in" has to be asked on a lot of the more talented kids out there. Recruiting has changed a ton in just the 7 or so years I have been heavily involved with coverage. A whole lot of money is thrown around both above and below the surface and having the AAC flag flying high hurts in a lot of ways.

That said, it is on the staff to figure out how to make it work and for the most part they have. The door has opened for more transfer options and Mick and company seem to be finding a better understanding of the level of player that is available to them when building the roster. That part is on them even if the disadvantage exists...

Chad, how much is there to make of geographic hot spots? I know before the AAU circuit exploded, that used to be a bigger deal I'd assume. How much is it to make of 'pipelines'? And if thats still a thing, where do we have them?

 

[GarradJ21]

Let's win the conference we're in now. No reason why we can't.

Agreed. and if we are going to lose it better because we left it all on the court in the championship game against UCONN.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

Exactly, and I like how we have a good coach that actually is happy here. No one is considering UC a dream job, besides UC fans. No one! We get someone else in here, enjoy the stepping-stone and the success the football program is having now.

I think there are less schools that a coach would leave UC for in basketball vs football. Not sure I ever see our basketball as "stepping stone" job. It pays Top 20 money.

 

[JasonS]

I think there are less schools that a coach would leave UC for in basketball vs football. Not sure I ever see our basketball as "stepping stone" job. It pays Top 20 money.

I agree, TODAY. As we have seen, especially in football, the gap is widening between the haves and have nots. In 5 or 10 years, I don't know that we will be looking at the same landscape we are today in college basketball. It's already vastly different than it was in our CUSA days.

 

[Chad Brendel]

Obviously I can't really speak to any of this as an insider so I respect your opinion. I do still have questions though...lol!

Questions are how info gets shared and people gain knowledge. I'm typically good for answering anything that isn't directly related to a recruit being covered on BCJ. More available today because I'm home sick, hopped up on cold meds and bored out of my mind...

 

[jacobkdoyle]

Someone mentioned getting breaks and I think that is huge when it comes to the NCAA tourney. Look, you can win more in the regular season and get a better seed which will help you get more breaks, but ultimately, you have no control over the matchups in the tourney. I look back to that team that lost to UCONN who ultimately won the National Title. That team was playing damn good basketball and I think had an outside shot to make a final four or at least an elite 8. You want to talk about a bad break? UC and UCONN were the first teams from the same conference in history to meet in the NCAA tourney BEFORE the sweet 16. I think UC had a run in them until they had to play another Big East team so early. UC also always seems to play the highest possible seed in every round. It is what it is. At some point you have to beat those teams, but not all tourney runs are created equal. UC could use a season where they get a top 4 seed and get some favorable matchups to make a run. Hoping it is this year.

Some Bracketology thing I looked at had us as a 6 seed. If we get a huge win (Duke), or overachieve by a little bit, getting a seed like that isn't completely out of the question.

 

[GarradJ21]

I think there are less schools that a coach would leave UC for in basketball vs football. Not sure I ever see our basketball as "stepping stone" job. It pays Top 20 money.

Yeah, I don't know I could be wrong but I really don't want to find out unless these next few years we don't see improvement with the talent we have. Just worries me not being in a P5 conference, anyways not worth the discussion now. Just awesome to know the coach here is a Cincinnati guy, with his dream job. Not many people can say they are in their dream job, and I trust he will do whatever it takes to win.

 

[Chad Brendel]

Chad, how much is there to make of geographic hot spots? I know before the AAU circuit exploded, that used to be a bigger deal I'd assume. How much is it to make of 'pipelines'? And if thats still a thing, where do we have them?

There are some places that are very tough to get kids out of. Near impossible to go into Seattle and beat out Washington. Memphis has some of that as well, but you do see kids get out a little more often.

Pipelines now are all about following the sneaker trail. If something seems strange, look to the bench and you will likely find an assistant that is tied to the AAU team the kid played for. IU got hot in the DC area when they hired Kenny Johnson from Team Takeover. He's at UL now and they are seeing similar results. That isn't really how Mick builds a staff, so things are different at UC...

 

[kskenyon4]

Some Bracketology thing I looked at had us as a 6 seed. If we get a huge win (Duke), or overachieve by a little bit, getting a seed like that isn't completely out of the question.

Lunardi has UC as a 5 seed, and not surprisingly in his 5 "underrated teams" list.

We have great OOC opportunities (especially if we beat Rhode Island). We'll have played several real quality OOC opponents, away from 5/3. Then we just have to hope that SMU or Houston performs well this year and we're a 3 bid league.

 

[kskenyon4]

There are some places that are very tough to get kids out of. Near impossible to go into Seattle and beat out Washington. Memphis has some of that as well, but you do see kids get out a little more often.

Pipelines now are all about following the sneaker trail. If something seems strange, look to the bench and you will likely find an assistant that is tied to the AAU team the kid played for. IU got hot in the DC area when they hired Kenny Johnson from Team Takeover. He's at UL now and they are seeing similar results. That isn't really how Mick builds a staff, so things are different at UC...

Hmm, interesting, thank you.

I assume our relative success in the NY area for a long time is due to the fact they have an overage of recruits to bid on?

 

[JasonS]

Some Bracketology thing I looked at had us as a 6 seed. If we get a huge win (Duke), or overachieve by a little bit, getting a seed like that isn't completely out of the question.

I agree. My hope is to see a 3 or 4 seed this year but at worst, a 6 seed. I feel like they need to avoid the 1 and 2 seeds in round 2 if they really want to make a run.

 

[JasonS]

There are some places that are very tough to get kids out of. Near impossible to go into Seattle and beat out Washington. Memphis has some of that as well, but you do see kids get out a little more often.

Pipelines now are all about following the sneaker trail. If something seems strange, look to the bench and you will likely find an assistant that is tied to the AAU team the kid played for. IU got hot in the DC area when they hired Kenny Johnson from Team Takeover. He's at UL now and they are seeing similar results. That isn't really how Mick builds a staff, so things are different at UC...

Honest question, not trying to start stuff here, but, in your opinion Chad, does Mick have to build a staff that way if he wants an opportunity to win big? Or, is there an opportunity to bring former players on staff like Kenyon, Van Exel, or Logan to add some NBA credibility with the kids?

 

[JasonS]

Hmm, interesting, thank you.

I assume our relative success in the NY area for a long time is due to the fact they have an overage of recruits to bid on?

Playing in the Big East was the opening to the pipeline in NYC. Now, it's harder, but SK and Lance in the NBA helps keep it alive. That's my perspective on it, anyway. Chad may feel differently.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Ok thank you. I can admit to being wrong when I am. My apologies to Waite as well.

We are all fans with different opinions brother no need to apologize to me. Heck I haven't been right regularly since the flood. Lol!

 

[kskenyon4]

Playing in the Big East was the opening to the pipeline in NYC. Now, it's harder, but SK and Lance in the NBA helps keep it alive. That's my perspective on it, anyway. Chad may feel differently.

Just for shared knowledge sake, these are the NY area players:

Keith Williams (2017)
Jermaine Sanders
Sean Kilpatrick
Lance Stephenson


Others in the general area:
Quadri
Shaq Thomas
Jermaine Lawrence
Rashad Bishop

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

I think there are less schools that a coach would leave UC for in basketball vs football. Not sure I ever see our basketball as "stepping stone" job. It pays Top 20 money.

i agree somewhat Jake but if they offer equal pay with access to better recruits I could see them bolting for a P5 school. I guess it's big fish small pond or small fish big pond.

 

[Chad Brendel]

Honest question, not trying to start stuff here, but, in your opinion Chad, does Mick have to build a staff that way if he wants an opportunity to win big? Or, is there an opportunity to bring former players on staff like Kenyon, Van Exel, or Logan to add some NBA credibility with the kids?

It's a tough way to operate IMO. A lot of times those AAU guys end up being good for 1 or 2 players and you end up having a bench assistant that can't coach his way out of a wet paper bag. End result is a revolving door on staff and it can create a bad dynamic in the program as the kids aren't stupid and know you went out of your way to placate them. It is a method that fails far more often than it works from my experience.

A guy like Kenyon would be great, but very few 15 year NBA guys are wanting to work 70 hour weeks with a boat load of time on the road. NBA jobs are much more up their alley...