Bellarmine Exhibition

[Bearcats Sports]

Just watched the game and it went pretty much like I excepted it. I think, or at least hope, Troy and Gary's lack of offensive aggression was to allow the younger role players to have an opportunity to really show what they have. I think Quadri was picking his shots better than he had in the past. Saw him a few times pump fake the three pointer to allow him to take an extra step to take an easier mid range shot. I was not pleased by the overall score, but I think it was a good thing to see players like Quadri, Jennifer, and Cumberland step up at times and lead the team in scoring. Defense was a lot worse than I expected, allowed a lot of wide open runs to the hoop. That comes with a group of guys that haven't played much together, it will get better.

 

[GoCats88]

The overreactions are out in full force. There was really only one important take away that I saw from the game. That was our reserves looked like they belonged. Loved Scott's energy, Quadri looked vastly improved, and Justin looked like he could be the 6th man. The improvement for JJ and Quad can not be overstated. The game looks like it has slowed down so much for them. My big concern was depth. This was a very positive development. The ragging on Troy, Gary, Jacob, Kyle, Kevin, and the coaching is just pointless. Mick said in his post game he specifically ran a defense so we would have to chase them around and get work in and Nysier didnt play because they didnt have a guy over 6'6 and everyone from Bellarmine was playing on the perimeter. It was a practice. I know what im getting out of our vets but I am really excited about the way our three questionable backups looked. JJ looked like a kid who could start which does wonders for our depth because we can move Troy over to the wing. Encouraging first game in my opinion.

Good post

 

[rogerOH]

I for one did not think J.J. had a good game-didn't break anybody down- didn't get anybody an easy shot. Washington's shooting form makes T. Rubles form look like Lazelle Durden's. K.J. reminds me of Shaq(no improvement in 4 years).

 

[Bearcats Sports]

I for one did not think J.J. had a good game-didn't break anybody down- didn't get anybody an easy shot. Washington's shooting form makes T. Rubles form look like Lazelle Durden's. K.J. reminds me of Shaq(no improvement in 4 years).

I think KJ's problem isn't that he hasn't improved, I just think that he is not meant to be a big time player. He is average size, has average athleticism, average IQ, and he is a decent shooter but it's not like he was recruited for his extreme knock down shooting. He plays the game hard with a lot of compassion. Intense defensive player. He's the type of guy that would do really well if the team had a known dead eye three point shooter. Would give him more room, and allow him to find his open shots. With no real 3 point threats it allows teams to treat him like the deadeye shooter he is not. I'm not sure what all this hate on him came from, but ever since he's been here I have not expected him to turn into this dynamic scorer. He has improved in taking the ball to the rim, and trying to reduce turnovers. Some players such as SK are the type of guys that you are always just waiting and knowing they are capable of being stars. Guys like KJ are more of role players that you just hope can contribute when they are called on, but know they aren't going to be the one to take over a game.

 

[Nayers]

A few things:

1) When UC played in the pre-season Bahamas thing a few years ago, they really had me worried with what product was put on the court. Turned out to be a successful season considering all the new pieces and unknowns. Obviously things will be different come next Friday.

2) That being said, I cannot understand how our program doesn't know how to execute a solid high ball screen. Its either the man setting the pick isn't set yet before the guard takes off, or the guard leaves way too much space and the defender moves with the ball handler over the screen. No offense will be successful without solid screens.

3) Our passing is so terrible and always is. No post passing abilities, and moving the ball away from that side before the big man even gets a chance to post up. These are all coaching things. I was on the Cronin side but I cant keep seeing this stuff year after year and have confidence our coach can coach anything other than defense.

Only time a saw improvement in these areas was when larry davis had the reigns.

Double edged sword I suppose, our great d keeps us in almost every game year in and year out, but also the lack of offense keeps us from pulling out close games consistently. Hopefully evans is a good catalyst in all this.

 

[L-T]

Your logic is always the correct logic and your assumptions are always the correct assumptions it seems. Except you mainly back up all your statements with your own pure judgement. You've been and support for so many years. Well I'm pretty sure most of us have been. Thinking that jj is gonna be better than Troy is absurd. Believing tha Troy is gonna get shut down easily by a d2 team instead of him just being a little disinterested is crazy. Mick wasn't running a normal game plan, I think that was obvious. And all these people saying our season is gonna be terrible because of one exhibition game just makes me laugh. Haven't even seen our whole team on the court yet and some of you are already writing the season off. You say you support the kids despite the trash you talk about the ad and coaches, but then I continually here the same trash about the players. How about just some good old fashion true support for our team. Fans are as much to blame for the universities problems athletically anyway. When fan support waivers by the tens of thousands just because of a bad season or two, how do you expect a turn around.

Our star player is disinterested in the very first game in front of the home crowd. It's not true, but if it were, that would be about as sad as it gets.....for both the player, and the coach who left him out there 39 minutes. Great post!

 

[justinhub2003]

I for one did not think J.J. had a good game-didn't break anybody down- didn't get anybody an easy shot. Washington's shooting form makes T. Rubles form look like Lazelle Durden's. K.J. reminds me of Shaq(no improvement in 4 years).

Yea man. Terrible stat line for KJ... wait. Did you even watch the same game as me?


https://www.dropbox.com/s/40ddaty3ow8yrrb/Bearcats.mov?dl=0

 

[waterhead]

New guys and role player grades compared to my expectations...

Jenifer. He slowed his game down, did a better job on D, and chose better shots. I would like to see him get in the creases. B+

Quadri. Rebounded well, didn't go too fast, and chose good shots. Still needs to work on defense...get low and not so flat footed. B+

Scott. I was expecting about what we saw. Hustled but not much of a scoring option. C+

KJ. More than a role player at this point. Defended very well. Knocked down a couple three's, and actually created a couple shots for himself. B+

Cumberland. Expected not great D and some freshman jitters. He had those but looked cool and calm. He's confident and had great instincts. C+

Washington. Got burnt a couple times and took a couple bad shots. Looked hurried. 1 rebound I think. I was expecting more. Picked up early fouls. Didn't get to show his leadership qualities. D

Our stars get a D... Clark and Troy. Two players get DNC... Brooks and evans.

 

[Bearcat_NTS]

I am honestly curious about what those areas are. Please elaborate.

edit: Haven't watched yet, plan on doing so sometime over the weekend so I want to see if I notice what you mean.

Very poor effort on the defensive glass, there were a ton of missed block outs by the front court guys.

Lethargic effort offensively. There were no attempts at a flow for most of the game. There was one stretch midway through the first where we got a flash of good passing.

Troy and Gary looked like they would have rather been anywhere else in the world then 5th 3rd.

Kyle Washington did exactly what I expected. He got two bad fouls in the first half and barely even played. Very concerned about him because he looked absolutely awful. We're going to miss Ellis defensively.


Only bright spot was Baby Sheed. He made two great 18 footers off of pump fakes and actually stayed in front of guys on the perimeter reasonably well.

Justin Jenifer's stats were good but I didn't see much that got me excited. He didn't look any different than he did early last season.

 

[Bearcat_NTS]

Now that i've had a little time to think about last nights game.



1. I know some people are pretty glum on us only winning by 9 and scoring in the 60's but if you would ask me before the game if UC would win a game where evans sat out and Clark, Caupain and Washington combined for just 14 points and 12 rebounds, I would have thought you were nuts.

2. the least expected guys carried out scoring load. KJ played well, shot 4-9 and had just 2 TO in 35 minutes of action. Add in that he scored our last 7 points in the final 2 minutes, including a 3 and a layout that sealed the game

3. Justin Jenifer played with Passion and really wants to earn his role. He got a few ticky tack fouls called on him but he had just 1 TO in 26 minutes and shot the ball well. He plays that well all year and he ends up averaging 15mpg if not more

4. QUADRI MOORE: He is the kinda of player you root for to do well but also despise when he doesn't. He got lost on defense a few times but he also managed to still play really sound defense and was making plays on both ends. When I looked at our bench, i wondered who could legit score on it and Quadri now looks like the player he was supposed to be out of high school. Lets hope he stays this way.

5. I also really liked Tre Scott. IMO he isn't a huge factor this season but I do feel he wont take as long to blossom as some people think. He will block shots and play intensely BUT i also can see him being a bit of a gambler and getting beat a lot too.

6. Gary and Troy seemed a bit tired and disinterested (seriously though, i worry if TC has to play 39 minutes every game). Our two best players at protecting the ball combined for 6 TO's and Clark seemed to take over where Ellis left off with the travelling calls. Am I worried about either of them? No way. Both will come alive when we play Rhode Island

7. Kyle Washington: Man, I wanted him to do so well but he was a mess. On defense, he got caught sleeping and his man took him straight to the basket for an easy layup. Everyone says that the ball stops moving with KJ, but my guess is that Washington held the ball the longest when he was passed it. He is trying to do too much and part of me worries that he will be one of those players who has all the talent in the world in practice but when the lights come on, he forgets everything he was trying to do and just makes mistakes. Thats my initial impression but I expect him to work hard to change any bad impressions he had on UC fans.

8. Cumberland played like a freshman and yet played like an upper classman all at the same time. He gets beat on defense yet has a knack for swiping the ball and forcing TO's. IMO, by mid season, he will be the leading scorer off the bench.

Jenifer didn't look any better than he did in the preseason last year. Baby Sheed was the only bright spot. Cumberland played okay but chucked up too many out of rhythm threes.

 

[TheLongHaul]

Our star player is disinterested in the very first game in front of the home crowd. It's not true, but if it were, that would be about as sad as it gets.....for both the player, and the coach who left him out there 39 minutes. Great post!

you crack me up. You've literally been arguing the same point over and over since JJ arrived on campus. I hope and want JJ to be a stud but he was pretty awful last year. Hell in one game he airballed a FT by about two feet.

I have been a critic (and supporter) of Caupain over the years but to get on these guys because they aren't pumped for a exhibition game in a half empty arena shows you've never really played at a high level before. These are college kids. I played a D1 sport here, there are plenty of games, almost always against lower competition, where it is a struggle to get pumped excited about. Fans tend not to understand how that works.

 

[L-T]

you crack me up. You've literally been arguing the same point over and over since JJ arrived on campus. I hope and want JJ to be a stud but he was pretty awful last year. Hell in one game he airballed a FT by about two feet.

I have been a critic (and supporter) of Caupain over the years but to get on these guys because they aren't pumped for a exhibition game in a half empty arena shows you've never really played at a high level before. These are college kids. I played a D1 sport here, there are plenty of games, almost always against lower competition, where it is a struggle to get pumped excited about. Fans tend not to understand how that works.

Thanks for contributing.

 

[waterhead]

Jenifer didn't look any better than he did in the preseason last year. Baby Sheed was the only bright spot. Cumberland played okay but chucked up too many out of rhythm threes.

Cumberland reminds me so much of Darnell Burton. His quick shot...a lot of wrist with little leg motion. He's more of a shoot from tip toes than needing to set and jump. The time it takes KJ and Troy to get off a shot by getting set and jump and get the whole body into it takes an eternity in comparison. At 6'5" that will be almost unguardable. If he has the same accuracy as Burton he will be scoring 18 per game before he leaves.

The other thing that is similar is his knack to get his hands on the ball on D... Burton was great at that.

They are very very similar so I am hoping for similar results.

 

[rogerOH]

My thing about K.J. is as a freshman he was a spot up shooter/defense guy which is what he is still. He cannot enter a pass or put pressure on a defense that would open someone else up. I like K.J. just thought he might develop more. If he can hit open shots more consistently I will be happy.

 

[GoCats88]

Thanks for contributing.

See his logic is correct lol. But really do you expect a guy who we already all know what he can do just come out and be pumped to demolish a d-2 school in an exhibition game. Now game 1 of the season he's not ready, that's a problem. But really, relax, I think Troy will be just fine

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Guys there is no comparison between JJ and TC. First off I hope JJ continues to grow as a player and TC is able to add quality minutes to the rotation as a off guard. To not take into consideration that TC was playing in a new role while JJ ran Pg is wrong.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

The most impressive thing in the scrimmage in my eyes was the complete physical make over of Quadri Moore. As a guy who has competed power lifting and body building I really can appreciate what he has accomplished. The effort to see the results he has made to his physical condition is amazing.

Guys what he did requires much hard work and dedication. He had to weigh each item he ate at specific times while eating only certain things, he weight trained,incorporated cardio specifically designed to match his calorie intake. The discipline is admirable. All done in the off season when most college kids are enjoying life. Rooting hard for Quadri this year. Like what I saw from him in the scrimmage.

 

[L-T]

Guys there is no comparison between JJ and TC. First off I hope JJ continues to grow as a player and TC is able to add quality minutes to the rotation as a off guard. To not take into consideration that TC was playing in a new role while JJ ran Pg is wrong.

Waite, thank you for at least advancing a somewhat "plausible" excuse for Troy's poor performance.

To even suggest that our star players, who have been practicing for a month against Jackson Bart and Zack Tobler, would be "disinterested" in the very first real game of the season in front of the home crowd, is as big of a put-down to those student athletes as anything you could possibly say. As a lifelong athlete and coach, I've never went into a single competition, no matter how small and insignificant it was, with anything other than a desire to literally beat the snot out of my opponent. That is the way I was brought up and the way I operate on the athletic field, and the way I operate in the business world. If I thought for a minute that either Troy or Gary were truly dogging it and were disinterested, My opinion of them would be lower than dogsh*t.

First of all, I've seen Gary play like that a lot. There are times that he disappears and just lets others do their thing and he just keeps plugging along quietly. But, not once have I ever felt he was disinterested. I don't see that in his personality at all. Troy's interview the other day about this being his last hoorah, his last chance to make some noise, etc. tells me there is no way in hell he went into that game disinterested. Every coach (and player) in the world that has been interviewed about games like this have said the same exact thing...we're just excited to finally be playing someone other than each other. But, I guess Troy and Gary prefer Tobler and Bart...lol! True leaders, especially these two, who have endured recent disappointments, if they are worth their salt as athletes, are going to set the tone from day one with their attitude and effort. Troy has been receiving accolades and I'm sure has a desire to play at the next level. He'll only get there if he is great, and he makes this team great. There is no way in hell that he set foot on that floor the other night disinterested, none, nada!!! I don't care if the experts in here have played D-1 sports or T-Ball. You don't have a clue if you think Troy was disinterested.

Even if he was disinterested, at half when we had only scored 29 points, and a Div. 2 team was only a few points behind, a true competitor would have kicked it in and tried to blow them off the court and make a statement. Plus, I didn't see Troy raise his hand for a blow a single time. 39 minutes of disinterested playing. I'm not the biggest Troy fan, but I'm evidently a lot more of a fan than most in here, because to claim he played disinterested is about the worst thing to say about any athlete. I don't believe Troy Caupain deserves that level of disrespect.

 

[waterhead]

Waite, thank you for at least advancing a somewhat "plausible" excuse for Troy's poor performance.

To even suggest that our star players, who have been practicing for a month against Jackson Bart and Zack Tobler, would be "disinterested" in the very first real game of the season in front of the home crowd, is as big of a put-down to those student athletes as anything you could possibly say. As a lifelong athlete and coach, I've never went into a single competition, no matter how small and insignificant it was, with anything other than a desire to literally beat the snot out of my opponent. That is the way I was brought up and the way I operate on the athletic field, and the way I operate in the business world. If I thought for a minute that either Troy or Gary were truly dogging it and were disinterested, My opinion of them would be lower than dogsh*t.

First of all, I've seen Gary play like that a lot. There are times that he disappears and just lets others do their thing and he just keeps plugging along quietly. But, not once have I ever felt he was disinterested. I don't see that in his personality at all. Troy's interview the other day about this being his last hoorah, his last chance to make some noise, etc. tells me there is no way in hell he went into that game disinterested. Every coach (and player) in the world that has been interviewed about games like this have said the same exact thing...we're just excited to finally be playing someone other than each other. But, I guess Troy and Gary prefer Tobler and Bart...lol! True leaders, especially these two, who have endured recent disappointments, if they are worth their salt as athletes, are going to set the tone from day one with their attitude and effort. Troy has been receiving accolades and I'm sure has a desire to play at the next level. He'll only get there if he is great, and he makes this team great. There is no way in hell that he set foot on that floor the other night disinterested, none, nada!!! I don't care if the experts in here have played D-1 sports or T-Ball. You don't have a clue if you think Troy was disinterested.

Even if he was disinterested, at half when we had only scored 29 points, and a Div. 2 team was only a few points behind, a true competitor would have kicked it in and tried to blow them off the court and make a statement. Plus, I didn't see Troy raise his hand for a blow a single time. 39 minutes of disinterested playing. I'm not the biggest Troy fan, but I'm evidently a lot more of a fan than most in here, because to claim he played disinterested is about the worst thing to say about any athlete. I don't believe Troy Caupain deserves that level of disrespect.

Troy and Gary didn't play well. That will happen. End of story. Not worried at all about them.

 

[JackBauer151]

My goodness the amount of words spent on the interest or disinterest of our most veteran players is staggering. It was a friggin scrimmage. A practice. The coach himself was displeased with the effort level of our veterans except KJ. While it wasnt the dominating performance we would have all liked to see there is nothing to see here. Gary and Troy are gonna be Gary and Troy. They are gonna get big minutes and they are gonna be our anchors. The lights come on for real on Friday. Cant wait!