2017-2018 Season

[cincyguy13]

I think we got a steal in Mamadou Diarra- 6'9(7'2 wingspan) up to 220, went under the radar because of injuries MCL and broke a bone in both hands which is why there is very little video of him. He has only been in the U.S. like 3 years.

He looks a lot thicker than I thought he would be. if he can play, might turn out to be a great get

 

[waterhead]

I really think we have a solid core to work with at the 4 and 5 spots next year. I would still like to see one more addition of a guy who can score (if there are any out there) but we have a good start. If we don't get an offensive guy I would think we might see more small ball than we have recently.

I also hope our current bunch can make strides with their skills.

I expect Brooks to man the post and Nsoseme is looking like he could be a beast with his work ethic and motor. I don't mind that he can't score a lot but if he can provide everything else we should be good to go.

It will be interesting to see who steps up at the 4 between Scott and Diarra. I don't think Diarra will be ready this year but by next year I hope we can see him develop into a starter. I think Diarra is going to have a better outside shot than Scott will unless Scott can add some loft.

Obviously skill level will play a big part in who plays but outside of that Cronin is always interested in who can pick up the scheme, has a great attitude, and work ethic. You can get minutes if you just show you are dedicated.

Nsoseme just strikes me as a very hard worker and motivated. Obviously he lacks some skill but can probably be brought along fairly quickly if he's willing to put in the work. Some of Diarras tweets lead me to believe he has a similar outlook on work ethic. I think he said something to the effect "how hard do you work when nobody else is watching?"

I assume both are pretty smart guys but I don't know for sure. I could see both being big contributors by the time they are juniors...but not sure about this year or next.

We could use a guy with a skill set already developed IMO.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

I really think we have a solid core to work with at the 4 and 5 spots next year. I would still like to see one more addition of a guy who can score (if there are any out there) but we have a good start. If we don't get an offensive guy I would think we might see more small ball than we have recently.

I also hope our current bunch can make strides with their skills.

I expect Brooks to man the post and Nsoseme is looking like he could be a beast with his work ethic and motor. I don't mind that he can't score a lot but if he can provide everything else we should be good to go.

It will be interesting to see who steps up at the 4 between Scott and Diarra. I don't think Diarra will be ready this year but by next year I hope we can see him develop into a starter. I think Diarra is going to have a better outside shot than Scott will unless Scott can add some loft.

i don't get why you have so many doubts about Diarra. All reports concerning him are positive. Plus, he had some VERY good options for school. I feel like he may be more ready than you think.

 

[waterhead]

i don't get why you have so many doubts about Diarra. All reports concerning him are positive. Plus, he had some VERY good options for school. I feel like he may be more ready than you think.

I don't have that many doubts about him but we will have some big shoes to fill next year when Washington and Clark leave. My doubts are only in terms of how good the replacements will be compared to what we are losing really.

I think he will be our best 4 next year. But I think we are going to need offensive production out of the 4 or the 5 to remain an elite team unless we option for small ball.

It will be hard to put Brooks and Diarra out there as starters all year if neither is a decent threat offensively. We have seen those lineups before. Our perimeter will see all the defensive focus.

 

[rogerOH]

I think Diarra and definitely K.Williams will be every bit as good as freshmen as Clark or Cumberland.

 

[Queens_NYC]

I don't have that many doubts about him but we will have some big shoes to fill next year when Washington and Clark leave. My doubts are only in terms of how good the replacements will be compared to what we are losing really.

I think he will be our best 4 next year. But I think we are going to need offensive production out of the 4 or the 5 to remain an elite team unless we option for small ball.

It will be hard to put Brooks and Diarra out there as starters all year if neither is a decent threat offensively. We have seen those lineups before. Our perimeter will see all the defensive focus.

It's hard for me to see Brooks not being able to go for a minimum of 7-8 ppg in 18-19. The 4 spot is a much bigger question mark at the moment.

The AAC will see a big drop off in the quality of it's big men next season between UC and Wichita State graduating all that they do. If Tacko Fall enters the draft, that would be very significant too.

We could still very much be the team-to-beat in this league with big men who offensively average at best.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Hot Take - the new Kevin Johnson is going to be Quadri, he will start every game and play the first 4 minutes of each half

 

[waterhead]

It's hard for me to see Brooks not being able to go for a minimum of 7-8 ppg in 18-19. The 4 spot is a much bigger question mark at the moment.

The AAC will see a big drop off in the quality of it's big men next season between UC and Wichita State graduating all that they do. If Tacko Fall enters the draft, that would be very significant too.

We could still very much be the team-to-beat in this league with big men who offensively average at best.

It would be hard for me to imagine anyone manning the post for starter minutes to go for any less than that. Just based on rebound put backs and lobs etc and the occasional actual offensive move.

Titus Rubles couldn't hit the ocean from the beach but he averaged 7.8 ppg and he didn't have a post move...basically because he played starter minutes he got some points.

I realize we have seen less production from certain players in the past in the post but I hope we are past that now. I think 7-8 ppg should be a minimum for just about any player getting close to 25 minutes...especially with the shot clock down 5 seconds from previous years.

 

[Queens_NYC]

It would be hard for me to imagine anyone manning the post for starter minutes to go for any less than that. Just based on rebound put backs and lobs etc and the occasional actual offensive move.

Titus Rubles couldn't hit the ocean from the beach but he averaged 7.8 ppg and he didn't have a post move...basically because he played starter minutes he got some points.

I realize we have seen less production from certain players in the past in the post but I hope we are past that now. I think 7-8 ppg should be a minimum for just about any player getting close to 25 minutes...especially with the shot clock down 5 seconds from previous years.

With the exception of Tacko Fall, there wasn't a true center in the league last season that averaged above 8 ppg- and there were some pretty serviceable ones (Amida Brimah, Andre Washington, Ryan Smith- all seniors). I think 8 ppg is a reasonable benchmark for Brooks to hit in his first season of extended action.

The point I'm trying to make is that, we can get only 15 ppg from our starting 4 and 5 in 18-19 and still be able to average 75 ppg. South Carolina only got 16 ppg from their starting big men last season and they made the Final 4. Our 12-13 team had abysmal post players and still made the tournament out of the Big East.

 

[waterhead]

With the exception of Tacko Fall, there wasn't a true center in the league last season that averaged above 8 ppg- and there were some pretty serviceable ones (Amida Brimah, Andre Washington, Ryan Smith- all seniors). I think 8 ppg is a reasonable benchmark for Brooks to hit in his first season of extended action.

The point I'm trying to make is that, we can get only 15 ppg from our starting 4 and 5 in 18-19 and still be able to average 75 ppg. South Carolina only got 16 ppg from their starting big men last season and they made the Final 4. Our 12-13 team had abysmal post players and still made the tournament out of the Big East.

I am probably being a little too lofty in my expectations. You are probably right. I think Brooks was playing better and better as time went on and will be a serviceable starter by next year...perhaps even more than serviceable. If he can just work on 1 or 2 reliable offensive moves he could be very good.

We can run with 4 guards if we need to. As long as we have a great rebounder and defender down low we should be just fine...even at 8 ppg. It will put a little more pressure on our perimeter players but I think they can handle it.

 

[ZCat]

I think Diarra and definitely K.Williams will be every bit as good as freshmen as Clark or Cumberland.

You are KW biggest cheerleader. I am pumped to watch him play.
When is the open Practice to kick off the season?

 

[rogerOH]

I wish they would have Midnight Madness this year. Most of MC's teams have had an obvious weakness( depth- lack of height-scoring-experience-etc.) but not this year. On paper this is MC's best team by far IMO. Mick if you read this board ,how about a Midnight Madness opening to this season.

 

[ZCat]

I wish they would have Midnight Madness this year. Most of MC's teams have had an obvious weakness( depth- lack of height-scoring-experience-etc.) but not this year. On paper this is MC's best team by far IMO. Mick if you read this board ,how about a Midnight Madness opening to this season.

Maybe we can do a Twitter storm lol

 

[rogerOH]

While I am begging for a return to Midnight Madness - Might as well bring back Bearcat Nikki- she was memorable.

 

[Garybearcat]

While I am begging for a return to Midnight Madness - Might as well bring back Bearcat Nikki- she was memorable.

Yes she was I worked with her mom at the time.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

I like your optimism on Diarra! I am wondering how you see him scoring? He doesn't seem to be a back to the basket guy and his perimeter skills seem somewhat limited. He reminds me a little of Scott with a better outside shot. He has a nice outside stroke but I would almost rather play small in emergencies with a guy like Williams who can both shoot and break a guy down to get in the lane. How much do we lose on D if we play with Evans as our makeshift 4 over Scott or Diarra? I think we gain more on offense than we would lose on D.

I am just curious really. I am trying to figure out where Diarra fits in on the offensive side because I don't know enough about his game.

I don't really know about Diarra's back to the basket game. I just know that he has good touch from what I have seen. There's something there to work with, especially bc he is 6'9" with good length and athleticism. Chad has mentioned his ability to run the floor too. And if I recall, some of the recruiting sites even had him listed as a SF. Sounds like a potential matchup problem for AAC teams to me. After a couple years playing with our guys, I don't really have any reason to believe he won't hold his own at minimum. I won't predict how many PPG we'll get out of him bc I haven't seen anything other than random clips of him shooting and dunking...but I trust that we brought him in for a reason. I mean, we were linked to Carlton Bragg but took a commitment from Diarra instead. That tells me the staff believes in him. I guess we'll see how he develops, but it seems to me that he has the tools to be a starter and contributor here.

I don't disagree about going small with Cumberland, Evans, and Williams as the mix and match 2-4s in small lineups. But I don't think that can be a full-time thing. So say we were to get Harris, or a pretty good PG to replace Broome and Jenifer...We would have that player, Cumberland, Williams, T Moore, Scott, Diarra, Nsoseme, Brooks, plus whoever else we'd bring in over the next 2 years. If we maintain our 1 HR type guy per class, I don't really see Diarra needing to score more than 8-10 PPG anyway. That may be getting too ahead of ourselves. But if he is a matchup problem on offense with his size and range, and a guy who can switch everything and cover a ton of ground of defense, he'll be a net positive player just based on that alone. And that doesn't account for any development he could make in the post over his time here. And Lord knows we have enough big guys for him to battle against everyday in practice in the meantime.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

I don't really know about Diarra's back to the basket game. I just know that he has good touch from what I have seen. There's something there to work with, especially bc he is 6'9" with good length and athleticism. Chad has mentioned his ability to run the floor too. And if I recall, some of the recruiting sites even had him listed as a SF. Sounds like a potential matchup problem for AAC teams to me. After a couple years playing with our guys, I don't really have any reason to believe he won't hold his own at minimum. I won't predict how many PPG we'll get out of him bc I haven't seen anything other than random clips of him shooting and dunking...but I trust that we brought him in for a reason. I mean, we were linked to Carlton Bragg but took a commitment from Diarra instead. That tells me the staff believes in him. I guess we'll see how he develops, but it seems to me that he has the tools to be a starter and contributor here.

I don't disagree about going small with Cumberland, Evans, and Williams as the mix and match 2-4s in small lineups. But I don't think that can be a full-time thing. So say we were to get Harris, or a pretty good PG to replace Broome and Jenifer...We would have that player, Cumberland, Williams, T Moore, Scott, Diarra, Nsoseme, Brooks, plus whoever else we'd bring in over the next 2 years. If we maintain our 1 HR type guy per class, I don't really see Diarra needing to score more than 8-10 PPG anyway. That may be getting too ahead of ourselves. But if he is a matchup problem on offense with his size and range, and a guy who can switch everything and cover a ton of ground of defense, he'll be a net positive player just based on that alone. And that doesn't account for any development he could make in the post over his time here. And Lord knows we have enough big guys for him to battle against everyday in practice in the meantime.

And if we're just talking next year bc Clark and Washington will be gone...we will have enough scoring punch from Broome, Evans, and Cumberland alone. The rest of the guys are just house money if they can breakout. But at worst I trust that they'll be good supporting cast type players. That includes Diarra.

 

[waterhead]

I don't really know about Diarra's back to the basket game. I just know that he has good touch from what I have seen. There's something there to work with, especially bc he is 6'9" with good length and athleticism. Chad has mentioned his ability to run the floor too. And if I recall, some of the recruiting sites even had him listed as a SF. Sounds like a potential matchup problem for AAC teams to me. After a couple years playing with our guys, I don't really have any reason to believe he won't hold his own at minimum. I won't predict how many PPG we'll get out of him bc I haven't seen anything other than random clips of him shooting and dunking...but I trust that we brought him in for a reason. I mean, we were linked to Carlton Bragg but took a commitment from Diarra instead. That tells me the staff believes in him. I guess we'll see how he develops, but it seems to me that he has the tools to be a starter and contributor here.

I don't disagree about going small with Cumberland, Evans, and Williams as the mix and match 2-4s in small lineups. But I don't think that can be a full-time thing. So say we were to get Harris, or a pretty good PG to replace Broome and Jenifer...We would have that player, Cumberland, Williams, T Moore, Scott, Diarra, Nsoseme, Brooks, plus whoever else we'd bring in over the next 2 years. If we maintain our 1 HR type guy per class, I don't really see Diarra needing to score more than 8-10 PPG anyway. That may be getting too ahead of ourselves. But if he is a matchup problem on offense with his size and range, and a guy who can switch everything and cover a ton of ground of defense, he'll be a net positive player just based on that alone. And that doesn't account for any development he could make in the post over his time here. And Lord knows we have enough big guys for him to battle against everyday in practice in the meantime.

Okay thanks. That's about how I view him too. Nice touch on long range shots for a big. Athletic and mobile on D...can run the court. At worst a very nice role player and at best he will improve some skills and provide some punch on offense. I agree we brought him here for a reason.

I like what I hear from him on work ethic and his attitude. Along with a guy like Nsoseme we always want players who will work hard at getting better. I still like him and Brooks as "next guys in" when Washington and Clark leave. Although I could still see a scenario where we go with Brooks and 4 guards/wings since we have 3-4 guys in the 6'5" to 6'6" range.

If Diarra can develop a post move or a slashing move he may improve his chances. Heck even a nice face up mid range shot would probably work for him.

 

[rogerOH]

Just reading the new updated roster bios on the GoBearcats site and noticed how young Trevor Moore is compared to our other frosh- K. Williams is a year older and Nsoseme and Diarra are two years older.

 

[justinhub2003]

While I do think this team will be better than last year, there are going to be times when we are going to miss Troy Caupain.

I subscribed to Synergy and have been able to download and watch all the games from last year. I went back and watched the Kansas State game and man, Troy's performance in that first half was brilliant. I haven't gotten through the 2nd half yet but he was driving the ball and aggressive. I just wish he had played that way all season.

That said, I think UC will end up having 3 fearless scorers next year. teams like Xavier always have relentless scorers on their team who are alpha dogs on offense. UC for the first time in a long long time, will have Jarron, Kyle and Cane as Alpha dog scorers. When you watch film you can easily see that Jarron wants to be the alpha of the team but also didn't want to step on toes as a freshman. Meanwhile, Evans has the green light and yet sometimes tried to hide off the ball in big games. He didn't want to try and playmake for himself. Its going to be interesting to see how this shakes out. I mean, i could even see Evans scoring production go down if he doesn't demand the ball. HE has the most NBA size and talent but needs to be a dog on the court to be a breakout NBA guy