We have never been TRUE contenders under Mick. That is what I am talking about. We need a team that all fans can look at and say..."These guys are legit and have a chance to make some noise". We haven't had THAT type of excitement here. I have never felt going into the end of the season that we had a legit chance for a Final Four appearance. I might also mention there has to be excitement building for the following year. Some coaches can recruit blue chippers consistently without these things...but our coach is obviously not one of them.
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We have never been TRUE contenders under Mick. That is what I am talking about. We need a team that all fans can look at and say..."These guys are legit and have a chance to make some noise". We haven't had THAT type of excitement here. I have never felt going into the end of the season that we had a legit chance for a Final Four appearance. I might also mention there has to be excitement building for the following year. Some coaches can recruit blue chippers consistently without these things...but our coach is obviously not one of them.
As much as i would like to disagree with you i really can't. I've never been to Cincinnati but after watching top recruit after top recruit come to this shit hole known as Hartford, to play in a terrible venue to watch basketball, the only thing that's obvious is that these guys WANT to play for coaches like Calhoun and Ollie. I've hated Calhoun since as long as i can remember, however i recently played in a golf tournament and got a chance to meet him....i had to fight with every ounce of my being to not change my mind about him. Whatever the reason, Mick seems to have a much smaller field of top level guys that want to play for him. I can't argue that.
JasonS
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West Virginia is campaigning for UC, UCONN and Houston. Not sure who those "sources" are that you referenced above but they contradict everything I have heard and read from multiple sources.
It wasn't supposed to be that way. His reputation as a great recruiter had been fed to us for years. Which is why the day he was hired, I couldn't contain my excitement. I thought the guy would just be a recruiting juggernaut. It might seem like I've been against him for all 10 years, but I really didn't start changing my attitude until after seeing him operate for about 3 years. That is when I started recognizing that he wasn't going to be one of those "elite-type" coaching hires that would just get us rolling quickly and never look back.
He could certainly recruit very well for the elite coaches who employed him. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to be able to recruit for himself. To his credit, with a process and system that most of our fans hate, he is able to produce decent winning teams with lesser recruits.
Bearcat_NTS
Well-known member
For some guys sure. I know a lot of Uconn fans that like Cronin's style...granted they are fans and not recruits
You can probably throw Ben Howland into that group too. He is already killing it recruiting to Mississippi St. If blue chip recruits will go to Auburn and Mississippi State to play basketball, the right coach should be able to get them here as well.
Bearcat_NTS
Well-known member
Mick's personality attracts guys who feel the same way. Typically underrated guys that work hard but lack elite skill. They're good kids, don't get me wrong, but you don't want a roster full of them....
jacobkdoyle
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I definitely get a "we don't want you anyway" kind of vibe from Cronin these days. A reject them before they reject you kind of thing. I think his lost recruiting battles in the past have made him lose his willingness to compete with the top programs. And now we're so far down that hole that there's no coming out of it. Our bed is made. Maybe a Big 12 invite will give us a jolt. That's all I can somewhat realistically hope for at this point.
At this point i would murder someone for an elite big man. Surround him with the "Cronin disease" players and thats a team that will make some noise
Part of me thinks it would almost be an easier task for a new coach to have a chance at blue chippers than a coach who's been in a system for 10 years with mediocre(ish) results. Existing coaches have to show you can get players to the NBA, Top 10, Final Four, etc...once in a while to give them a reason to come. For a new coach he can just pitch the dream if he's got any charisma.
....or one of those "special" seasons that Waterhead talked about. There have been plenty of teams thru the years that had a great starting 5 and a couple decent bench players and parlayed it into a great season. Everyone maxed out in minutes played, but it worked. We could certainly get that with this group. I think we all believe that this starting five could potentially be very good. Attendance last year was the highest in the Cronin era, so follow that interest up with a great season and who knows....maybe it finally takes off.
However, I believe you need to recruit first, then take off....not take off, and then recruit. Case in point, Mick hasn't recruited very good for ten years, thus, we really haven't taken off. We're stuck in this "above average" mindset and performance and can't seem to crack into the elite group. We've seen glimpses, but don't have the athletes, and/or the coaching, to stay there.
Agree 100%. I'll never forget Huggs' introduction press conference when he said he wanted to hang another championship banner. We all laughed and thought he was crazy. 3 years later, we're in the Final 4, and this program took off like a rocket. We went from an obscure losing program to our games dominating the national tv airwaves, and with Dick Vitale and ESPN televising our midnight madness....which by the way, was almost a capacity crowd in itself when things got rolling.
Recall the Devan Downey fiasco in Mick's first year. When Mick was hired, Downey immediately announced he was transferring. A week or two later, he changed his mind and Mick wouldn't accept him back. I remember him saying that sometimes you just have to live with the decisions you make. The whole "we don't want you anyway" mentality seemed to be in play already in Mick's first year.
WAITE HOYT 2
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Hoping we get in to the conference. Will see better competition in all sports and it should increase revenue. Really need this to happen especially after all the money we spent to that end.
Red_N_Black_Attack
Well-known member
If we don't get in we are going to be in debt for a very long time.
I love football. I understand that football money drives conference alliances. However, I really love what the Big 12 could be for basketball. Rock squawk Jayhawk in the house! We know how we stack up against the Loservilles and UConns when given a chance. The Big 12 is much more than Kansas, but this will be top-to-bottom easily on par with the ACC and the B!G as a basketball conference.
Let the horse trading come to an end soon!
Red_N_Black_Attack
Well-known member
Love that number! Is she being coy?