Can I have some of what Mick is smoking?!?!

[JasonS]

I don't look at what Mick says as excuses. Just reasons why the team didn't get the job done. When you lose there's nothing you can say to change that. The bottome line is the Bearcats lost some games they shouldn't have last year and Mick has to hold a press conference about it. He's as frustrated as anyone is about it. Probably more so because he's the one that has to answer for it. If any of us were the coach we would say the same exact thing. He was trying to keep his team motivated and positive. If he comes out and says what really happens then his players would hate him even worse.

"Coach what happened?"

"Well Deonta Vaughn can't hold onto the ball under pressure or shoot with any kind of consistency, Cash makes too many mistakes, Lance can't quit shooting, Gates is the laziest person I've seen since BJ Grove, Bishop doesn't have his head in the game most of the time, Davis and Dixon have no clue what's going on, Wilks only waits around for a chance at a highlight, Toyloy has no idea what to do with a ball in his hands, Parker gets absolutely lost at times, Biggie gets hurt walking out of the locker room, Thomas can't hold onto the ball down low. Bottom line with me on the sidelines I jinx the ball from going into the basket, I keep them from moving without the ball, I keep them from running any kind of offense whatsoever."

"Oh, OK, what are you going to do about it"

"Well first I'm going to apologize to the fans of Cincinnati because it's entirely my fault these players haven't lived up to their potential. A player is only as good as his coach and I clearly have no idea what I'm doing. If only Huggins were here this team would easily win a national championship. The last thing I'm going to do is work on it in practice and try to improve"

"So what about these recruits that didn't come in?"

"Well Cincinnati is the elite program in the country, there shouldn't be any other factors in these kids decisions? We are losing our top two scorers that both did such a great job of making us an unstoppable force last year, I have nothing to replace them with other than three new players coming in that the fans don't think are sexy enough. I might just release them from their scholarships and disban the program."

"So what do you say to your fans looking forward to next year."

"We're in serious trouble guys. Seriously get Mike to fire me. We lost 25 points off last years team and I don't think anybody this year will be able to get shots off. We probably will just hand the ball over or just run three guys out there. How could we possibly take as many shots in a 40 minute game as we did last year? How will we get the same number of possessions? How can we replace two bad shooters who shoot too much?"

"Thanks coach"

I for one firmly believe we will much better next year. I don't think we have the talent to win the conference, but I think we have the right players to make a tourney run. Hopefully sweet 16. That will be a huge improvement. Last year didn't work out. I blame the players more than I blame Mick. I think Mick learned what this team doesn't need to do next year and will make sure this team doesn't make the same mistakes. I think anyone not on board with him will be shown either the door or the end of the bench.

Well said. I am glad I am not the only one that sees this. I'd rep you if the site would let me.

 

[ready2go]

I don't recall hearing Mick talk about a package deal. I think it was all of us who were hoping it might be a package deal. Can you show me where he said that? Maybe I just missed it.

He could not comment on recruiting, NCAA violation. However it was well documented who he was after. He didnt get those guys, but Oh thank the Lord we have a 3 star recruit filling that void. We knew that Mick, stop with the damage control and start showing results!

Give me a name of 1 guy, a 3 star recruit by rivals, who had an immediate impact their first year of eligibility...

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/uc/2010/04/28/cronin-might-not-use-stephenson-scholarship-next-year/

He has a paragraph in there that talks about not finding a recruit that can be of importance this late in recruiting. That is because he lost out on the best ones.

 

[ready2go]

Again my main point was lost.

The program lost its two top scorers. A big time scoring recruit was expected to fill that void. It didnt happen. Mick falls back on Sean that things will be ok.

Really?? A team who finished 11th, struggled mightily at the offensive end and lost its two focal points on offense is going to be ok now that we have a 3 star recruit who sat a year.

This chemistry stuff is nonsense too. Every team in the Big East gained a year of experience. That includes the 10 in front of UC.

 

[JasonS]

Exactly. Yes, Mick should go after every top recruit. But don't build up your program by saying we are going to get this player and Oh by the way his best friend is a top recurit too and we could get a package deal. Then when you dont get any of them, you fall back on a player who was not a top recruit and a guy fans already knew they would have just to keep unhappy fans off your back.

He could not comment on recruiting, NCAA violation. However it was well documented who he was after. He didnt get those guys, but Oh thank the Lord we have a 3 star recruit filling that void. We knew that Mick, stop with the damage control and start showing results!

Give me a name of 1 guy, a 3 star recruit by rivals, who had an immediate impact their first year of eligibility...

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/uc/2010/04/28/cronin-might-not-use-stephenson-scholarship-next-year/

He has a paragraph in there that talks about not finding a recruit that can be of importance this late in recruiting. That is because he lost out on the best ones.

You just proved my point in your two statements which I bolded. Mick did NOT say or even infer that there was a package deal. Other people made that connection and are now holding Mick accountable for it. Total BS. Everyone is ripping Mick enough for things he said (whether taken out of context or not), there is no need to rip him for things he didn't say.

 

[ready2go]

You just proved my point in your two statements which I bolded. Mick did NOT say or even infer that there was a package deal. Other people made that connection and are now holding Mick accountable for it. Total BS. Everyone is ripping Mick enough for things he said (whether taken out of context or not), there is no need to rip him for things he didn't say.

What point did I prove exactly...

Tell it how it is Mick. The program got no one in the class of 2010 that can score. I want to hear, "We will work tirelessly on the offensive end to fix this problem." By pointing out players we already know we have, does not fix the problem.

 

[JasonS]

Here are a few guys that had immediate impacts as Rivals 3 star recruits. There are more than this too.

Let's see, I would say Jeremy Hazell made an immediate impact. He was a 3 star recruit and nearly averaged 13 ppg (in 27 minutes) as a Freshman. He was # 136 in 2007.

Talor Battle was a 3 star recruit (#131 in 2007) and averaged 10.2 ppg and 3.5 rpg and 3.2 apg for Penn State as a freshman.

Chris Lofton was a 3 star recruit in 2004 and averaged 13.2 ppg and 3.6 rpg as a freshman for Tennessee.

Jeff Green was a 3 star recruit in 2004 and averaged 13.1 ppg and 6.6 rpg and 2.9 apg as a freshman for Georgetown.

Tyrus Thomas was a 3 star recruit in 2004 (red shirted or went prep) and averaged 12.3 ppg and 9.2 rpg in the only year he played for LSU in 2005.

Luke Harangody was a 3 star recruit in 2006 and averaged 11.2 ppg and 6.2 rpg as a freshman.

DeSean Butler was a 3 star recruit in 2006 and averaged 10.1 ppg and 3.5 rpg as a freshman.

And maybe the crown jewel of them all. Steph Curry was a 3 star recruit in 2006 and averaged 21.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg, and 2.8 apg. Needless to say, I think your comment about 3 star guys and immediate impacts was a bit wrong.

Oh yeah, and how could I forget Deonta Vaughn. 3 star recruit in 2006 and 14.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, and 3.5 apg.

I can find more but I don't feel like wasting my time right now.

 

[JasonS]

What point did I prove exactly...

Tell it how it is Mick. The program got no one in the class of 2010 that can score. I want to hear, "We will work tirelessly on the offensive end to fix this problem." By pointing out players we already know we have, does not fix the problem.

You proved the point that I was inferring which was that Mick never said those things. I should have said you just contradicted yourself.

 

[Bearcat_NTS]

I don't look at what Mick says as excuses. Just reasons why the team didn't get the job done. When you lose there's nothing you can say to change that. The bottome line is the Bearcats lost some games they shouldn't have last year and Mick has to hold a press conference about it. He's as frustrated as anyone is about it. Probably more so because he's the one that has to answer for it. If any of us were the coach we would say the same exact thing. He was trying to keep his team motivated and positive. If he comes out and says what really happens then his players would hate him even worse.

"Coach what happened?"

"Well Deonta Vaughn can't hold onto the ball under pressure or shoot with any kind of consistency, Cash makes too many mistakes, Lance can't quit shooting, Gates is the laziest person I've seen since BJ Grove, Bishop doesn't have his head in the game most of the time, Davis and Dixon have no clue what's going on, Wilks only waits around for a chance at a highlight, Toyloy has no idea what to do with a ball in his hands, Parker gets absolutely lost at times, Biggie gets hurt walking out of the locker room, Thomas can't hold onto the ball down low. Bottom line with me on the sidelines I jinx the ball from going into the basket, I keep them from moving without the ball, I keep them from running any kind of offense whatsoever."

"Oh, OK, what are you going to do about it"

"Well first I'm going to apologize to the fans of Cincinnati because it's entirely my fault these players haven't lived up to their potential. A player is only as good as his coach and I clearly have no idea what I'm doing. If only Huggins were here this team would easily win a national championship. The last thing I'm going to do is work on it in practice and try to improve"

"So what about these recruits that didn't come in?"

"Well Cincinnati is the elite program in the country, there shouldn't be any other factors in these kids decisions? We are losing our top two scorers that both did such a great job of making us an unstoppable force last year, I have nothing to replace them with other than three new players coming in that the fans don't think are sexy enough. I might just release them from their scholarships and disban the program."

"So what do you say to your fans looking forward to next year."

"We're in serious trouble guys. Seriously get Mike to fire me. We lost 25 points off last years team and I don't think anybody this year will be able to get shots off. We probably will just hand the ball over or just run three guys out there. How could we possibly take as many shots in a 40 minute game as we did last year? How will we get the same number of possessions? How can we replace two bad shooters who shoot too much?"

"Thanks coach"

I for one firmly believe we will much better next year. I don't think we have the talent to win the conference, but I think we have the right players to make a tourney run. Hopefully sweet 16. That will be a huge improvement. Last year didn't work out. I blame the players more than I blame Mick. I think Mick learned what this team doesn't need to do next year and will make sure this team doesn't make the same mistakes. I think anyone not on board with him will be shown either the door or the end of the bench.

Mick could have said, "You know what, I've got a great talent in Yancy Gates and I should coach him up to where he is the player that people expected coming out of high school" Instead Mick claims that he wasn't as good as everyone claimed he was (even Mick said he was the best big man from this area in 30-40 years) and that "Yancy is what he is" and that we cannot expect him to change.

When they lost to St. Johns Mick could have said, "We simply just lost our composure and blew a game we needed to win. We are not good enough to give games away and that late game stuff is all on me (even if it wasn't) Instead Mick claims that St. Johns lost at UCONN by just 6 or w/e, they were very competitive @ Syracuse, they have a legitimate shot at making the NCAA's. Well what about us Mick??

I could go on for days, but I think these two examples are enough for now.

 

[ready2go]

Here are a few guys that had immediate impacts as Rivals 3 star recruits. There are more than this too.

Let's see, I would say Jeremy Hazell made an immediate impact. He was a 3 star recruit and nearly averaged 13 ppg (in 27 minutes) as a Freshman. He was # 136 in 2007.

Talor Battle was a 3 star recruit (#131 in 2007) and averaged 10.2 ppg and 3.5 rpg and 3.2 apg for Penn State as a freshman.

Chris Lofton was a 3 star recruit in 2004 and averaged 13.2 ppg and 3.6 rpg as a freshman for Tennessee.

Jeff Green was a 3 star recruit in 2004 and averaged 13.1 ppg and 6.6 rpg and 2.9 apg as a freshman for Georgetown.

Tyrus Thomas was a 3 star recruit in 2004 (red shirted or went prep) and averaged 12.3 ppg and 9.2 rpg in the only year he played for LSU in 2005.

Luke Harangody was a 3 star recruit in 2006 and averaged 11.2 ppg and 6.2 rpg as a freshman.

DeSean Butler was a 3 star recruit in 2006 and averaged 10.1 ppg and 3.5 rpg as a freshman.

And maybe the crown jewel of them all. Steph Curry was a 3 star recruit in 2006 and averaged 21.5 ppg, 4.6 rpg, and 2.8 apg. Needless to say, I think your comment about 3 star guys and immediate impacts was a bit wrong.

Oh yeah, and how could I forget Deonta Vaughn. 3 star recruit in 2006 and 14.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, and 3.5 apg.

I can find more but I don't feel like wasting my time right now.

I'd say you wasted your time. Still a small percentage of all 3 star recruits in the country. Not sure avg 10 a game is exactly taking a game over. Its good for a team that has other scorers, but not for a team who is soley relying on a player

UC is wasting its time with Mick. Take note like other teams in the Big East. Just like great players make plays and not excuses, same for the HC.

 

[swg]

Lumberjack says the same thing with only one or two words.

 

[bearcat jeff]

Don't think I've ever seen RTG post anything positive concerning Mick Cronin or UC basketball.

 

[JasonS]

I'd say you wasted your time. Still a small percentage of all 3 star recruits in the country. Not sure avg 10 a game is exactly taking a game over. Its good for a team that has other scorers, but not for a team who is soley relying on a player

UC is wasting its time with Mick. Take note like other teams in the Big East. Just like great players make plays and not excuses, same for the HC.

Small % or not, you asked for one, I gave you several. There are more too.

 

[JasonS]

Don't think I've ever seen RTG post anything positive concerning Mick Cronin or UC basketball.

Nope. Not a thing.

 

[Bearcat_NTS]

Don't think I've ever seen RTG post anything positive concerning Mick Cronin or UC basketball.

Mick hasn't really given anyone a reason to post too many positive things.

 

[swg]

Mick hasn't really given anyone a reason to post too many positive things.

There's been positives. He was able to bring Lance to UC, creating some buzz for the program. Next year could see marked improvement with some of the players. I intend on staying positive towards the hoops program, as there is certainly enough new blood coming (as well as guys maturing) to make a difference.

 

[ready2go]

Small % or not, you asked for one, I gave you several. There are more too.

Let's hope SK avg more than 10 a game, or the program is in trouble.

Iv been digging deep for several months to find something positive to say about Mick.

 

[ME80]

After reading this thread I had to go back to the header and check which website I was on.

 

[ready2go]

There's been positives. He was able to bring Lance to UC, creating some buzz for the program. Next year could see marked improvement with some of the players. I intend on staying positive towards the hoops program, as there is certainly enough new blood coming (as well as guys maturing) to make a difference.[/QUO

The 10 teams in front of UC in the Big East matured too. For a team who was offensively challenged, lost its top 2 scorers and filled that void with a 3 star recruit, is being offley optimistic to show improvement.

As fans we should hope for the best, but reality isnt looking good.

 

[bearcat jeff]

Mick hasn't really given anyone a reason to post too many positive things.

I would disagree with this. I believe there have been reasons to be disappointed as well. There has been a steady improvement by the team. He has laid a foundation for the future. The reputation of the school has been restored. It's my contention that most have no clue of the huge hole Mick Cronin was in and the horrible situation he inherited. There wasn't a more respected basketball guy than Mick that applied for the UC job back then. Everyone knew what they were facing and nobody wanted to deal with it.

Personally, I've been disappointed at times, especially this past season. However, I do feel optimistic bout this coming season. I'm not telling everyone that Mick Cronin is a basketball God. But those that paint him as a complete failure are wrong too. I'd give him a C+ to B- for his overall body of work. Not good enough, largely because he hasn't brought the team together and established an identity. That has been my consistent criticism.

Perhaps we should move or close this thread.

 

[ready2go]

I would disagree with this. I believe there have been reasons to be disappointed as well. There has been a steady improvement by the team. He has laid a foundation for the future. The reputation of the school has been restored. It's my contention that most have no clue of the huge hole Mick Cronin was in and the horrible situation he inherited. There wasn't a more respected basketball guy than Mick that applied for the UC job back then. Everyone knew what they were facing and nobody wanted to deal with it.

Personally, I've been disappointed at times, especially this past season. However, I do feel optimistic bout this coming season. I'm not telling everyone that Mick Cronin is a basketball God. But those that paint him as a complete failure are wrong too. I'd give him a C+ to B- for his overall body of work. Not good enough, largely because he hasn't brought the team together and established an identity. That has been my consistent criticism.

Wrong: Mike Anderson, he has done fairly well at Mizzou. Although yes hines sight is 20/20