Big East Coaches pick UC to finish 5th

BearcatTalk

Help Support BearcatTalk:

Thegreatone

Thegreatone

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 2, 2010
Messages
3,187
We all know pre-season polls are lame but it does say something about the perception of the cats.

This team is going to be really good. I feel it is our best team in 10 years since the 2002 #1 team.

I will bet anyone who wants to that this team is in the top 10 at some point this year. There is no one in the country that can match Yancy. It is the perfect storm.

This may be high expectations but this team is Elite 8 good if not more. All the peices are in place.
 
Thegreatone said:
We all know pre-season polls are lame but it does say something about the perception of the cats.

This team is going to be really good. I feel it is our best team in 10 years since the 2002 #1 team.

I will bet anyone who wants to that this team is in the top 10 at some point this year. There is no one in the country that can match Yancy. It is the perfect storm.

This may be high expectations but this team is Elite 8 good if not more. All the peices are in place.
Click to expand...

If they stay healthy they can be very good. Low post health is epecially important. I still say they'll finish 4th.

Here's the story:

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Cincinnati's men's basketball team was picked fifth in the Big East preseason coaches' poll, ascending to its highest preseason ranking since joining the conference in 2005-06.

The Bearcats, led by preseason All-Big East second team selection Yancy Gates, had not finished higher than seventh under coach Mick Cronin.

Last season the team was picked 12th in the preseason prognostication before finishing 26-9 overall, tying for sixth in the Big East with an 11-7 mark, and clinching the program's first NCAA Tournament bid since 2005.

Coaches, select players and media gathered today at the New York Athletic Club, where defending national champion Connecticut and Syracuse were revealed as the co-favorites to win the regular-season title, followed by third-place Louisville and fourth-place Pittsburgh.

After UC, Marquette was picked to finish sixth. The rest of the order included West Virginia, Villanova, Notre Dame, Georgetown, Rutgers, St. John's, Seton Hall, USF, Providence and DePaul.

Pittsburgh guard Ashton Gibbs was named the conference's preseason
player of the year, while UConn freshman Andre Drummond was tabbed as
the preseason rookie of the year.

Other preseason awards
Big East Preseason First Team: Ashton Gibbs, Pittsburgh; Jeremy Lamb, Connecticut; Darius Johnson-Odom, Marquette; Tim Abromaitis, Notre Dame; Kris Joseph, Syracuse; Kevin Jones, West Virginia.

Big East Preseason Second Team: Yancy Gates, Cincinnati; Alex Oriahki, Connecticut; Peyton Siva, Louisville; Scoop Jardine, Syracuse; Maalik Wayns, Villanova.

Big East Preseason Honorable Mention: Andre Drummond, Connecticut; Shabazz Napier, Connecticut; Cleveland Melvin, DePaul; Jae Crowder, Marquette; Augustus Gilchrist, USF.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/...ig-East?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p
 
Last edited:
Very guard heavy team.

If a big goes down it could get a little sketchy. Big minutes are needed out of Yancy this season.
 
Thegreatone said:
We all know pre-season polls are lame but it does say something about the perception of the cats.

This team is going to be really good. I feel it is our best team in 10 years since the 2002 #1 team.

I will bet anyone who wants to that this team is in the top 10 at some point this year. There is no one in the country that can match Yancy. It is the perfect storm.

This may be high expectations but this team is Elite 8 good if not more. All the peices are in place.
Click to expand...

I won't go that far. This is the best team since Field and Tony Bobbits senior year when we got a 5 seed (and got blown out by Illinois who had Luther Head, Deron Williams and Dee Brown). I'd temper the excitement because of the youth that we have, couple that with the impossible first 8 games of the Big East and making the NCAA tournament as a 6 or lower would be considered a success.
 
Bearcat_NTS said:
I won't go that far. This is the best team since Field and Tony Bobbits senior year when we got a 5 seed (and got blown out by Illinois who had Luther Head, Deron Williams and Dee Brown). I'd temper the excitement because of the youth that we have, couple that with the impossible first 8 games of the Big East and making the NCAA tournament as a 6 or lower would be considered a success.
Click to expand...

No, the bar is set higher. Tony Bobbit and Feild were completely streaky players. This team is better setup for consistent success. Yancy is the best big man we have seen since Kmart. I know people will say Hicks and Maxiell and I understand that because they were more fun to watch but those guys would struggle with Yancy.

This year we have a lot of scoring options from all over. We have a very balenced team which is a common theme for Mick.

To the LL posts I agree posts is probably where we are most thin but we have more than most people.

We have 3 6'10 players that can run, rebound and defend which is all you can ask for. 1 of those three can score.

Side not. Has anyone seen Kelvin Gaines? He is a guy who looks the part. 6'11 and jacked. He is going to be a defensive monster in a couple of years. When he walked by me I couldnt believe how big and strong he looked.
 
Everything I've seen on Gaines, including my own eyes, has him at about 6'8". Has he grown within the last year?
 
Last year UC was predicted to finish 12th, that worked out rather well. Mock's teams have always exceeded poll expectations.
 
Thegreatone said:
No, the bar is set higher. Tony Bobbit and Feild were completely streaky players. This team is better setup for consistent success. Yancy is the best big man we have seen since Kmart. I know people will say Hicks and Maxiell and I understand that because they were more fun to watch but those guys would struggle with Yancy.

This year we have a lot of scoring options from all over. We have a very balenced team which is a common theme for Mick.

To the LL posts I agree posts is probably where we are most thin but we have more than most people.

We have 3 6'10 players that can run, rebound and defend which is all you can ask for. 1 of those three can score.

Side not. Has anyone seen Kelvin Gaines? He is a guy who looks the part. 6'11 and jacked. He is going to be a defensive monster in a couple of years. When he walked by me I couldnt believe how big and strong he looked.
Click to expand...

You completely missed the point (but who's surprised?) that team was a 4 seed and was really good offensively. I mentioned those two because they were two I remembered of the top of my head. I see a similar season for this team, a 4 seed would be great considering the schedule.

Kelvin Gaines is closer to 6' 8 than 6'11 and won't contribute anything significant this year. You are setting yourself up for disappointment when you set those sorts of expectations. Making the NCAA tournament as a 6 or higher would be better than last year. Once you get into the tournament anything can happen, so I wouldn't set a specific round they need to get to for it to be a success. Too many young guys that need to be incorporated to the team.
 
Gaines is raw. I am not expecting him to do much scoring. He is Donald Little....

Btw, he is listed at 6'10. He is definately taller than Gates (as indicated on the roster).

If this team is a 6 seed I will be extremely disappointed.
 
Thegreatone said:
Gaines is raw. I am not expecting him to do much scoring. He is Donald Little....

Btw, he is listed at 6'10. He is definately taller than Gates (as indicated on the roster).

If this team is a 6 seed I will be extremely disappointed.
Click to expand...

6 seed is essentially a top 24 team. With rigors of the Big East getting into the tourney with a favorable seed would be good, because this team can do damage in March. It is about surviving to get to that point.
 

Similar threads

Q
Baylor
Replies
7
Views
27K
Queens_NYC
Q
Q
Stetson
Replies
13
Views
40K
sirthought
S
J
Full Season Grades/Review
2
Replies
25
Views
12K
ervins84
E
Q
Iowa
8 9 10
Replies
196
Views
37K
TheRealMick
T
M
AAC vs Big East
Replies
5
Views
3K
MylesFoxMorrisey
M

Latest posts

Back
Top