Creighton Predictions

[UCBearcats]

Frustrating game, I thought the team played hard and I loved the way we started the game. We got the turnovers we wanted and we were playing fast and confusing Creighton. For some reason about midway through the first half we got back into our slow down offense and points were tough to come by. Free throws were obviously the first thing you could point to that killed us, then maybe the fact that we didn't set a screen the entire game. Our guys were quicker but we didn't take advantage of that when we had breakouts or in driving to the rim.

Sad to see Cash go, one of my favorite Bearcats of all time. Overall a huge disappointment of a season for the program. Next season is going to be a critical one for Mick, I'm already on Bruce Pearl watch....8/23/2014.

PS - Andy Katz is mentioning Mick Cronin as a possible candidate for the UCLA job!!! How would most of you Mick supporters feel about the team if Mick left? Personally, I'd take a Mick Cronin for Ben Howland coaching swap any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

No it's probably about 10% who love him, 10% who hate him, and 80% in the middle who recognize his shortcomings and the things he's done well. Problem is the 80% can't post without one of the 10% groups either lying in wait to tear him down or set him on a pedestal. Then the 80% get defensive because their take is taken out of whack. He is neither great nor terrible. He is a good coach who has won 74 games the past 3 seasons and gone to 3 NCAA's. It's ok to say he's a good coach, that doesn't mean you think he's faultless or a diety. It's also ok to say this season was a let down and as coach he owns it. That doesn't mean people think we need another coach. As I said, good debate gets drowned out by statements like your earlier "but you think Mick is God" or the other people's "Mick is better than John Wooden" stuff.

Well said Jeff. Mick is a good young coach that is a local product who wants to be here that will get better as time goes by. He is not perfect but few are. Check out the seasons John Thompson,Calipari or Bob Huggins endured. Great coaches but bad seasons. I like the direction of the program and hope Mick stays longterm. Think he will grow with the program and in the end it will be good for the fans and University

 

[bearcat jeff]

Frustrating game, I thought the team played hard and I loved the way we started the game. We got the turnovers we wanted and we were playing fast and confusing Creighton. For some reason about midway through the first half we got back into our slow down offense and points were tough to come by. Free throws were obviously the first thing you could point to that killed us, then maybe the fact that we didn't set a screen the entire game. Our guys were quicker but we didn't take advantage of that when we had breakouts or in driving to the rim.

Sad to see Cash go, one of my favorite Bearcats of all time. Overall a huge disappointment of a season for the program. Next season is going to be a critical one for Mick, I'm already on Bruce Pearl watch....8/23/2014.

PS - Andy Katz is mentioning Mick Cronin as a possible candidate for the UCLA job!!! How would most of you Mick supporters feel about the team if Mick left? Personally, I'd take a Mick Cronin for Ben Howland coaching swap any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

If Mick took that opportunity it wouldn't bother me. I'm a Bearcat fan. Who the coach is doesn't change my passion for the team. I would hope Savino gets a look, or a good recruiter with personality who can keep the recruiting class together. I'd like a young hotshot assistant from a winning program. But I'd be shocked if Mick goes anywhere. He doesn't fit the UCLA job imo for the same reasons Howland doesn't. It's not who he is.

 

[Scheids21]

If Mick took that opportunity it wouldn't bother me. I'm a Bearcat fan. Who the coach is doesn't change my passion for the team. I would hope Savino gets a look, or a good recruiter with personality who can keep the recruiting class together. I'd like a young hotshot assistant from a winning program. But I'd be shocked if Mick goes anywhere. He doesn't fit the UCLA job imo for the same reasons Howland doesn't. It's not who he is.

Well said. A big factor to consider for people wanting Cronin to leave is our recruiting class. Not saying this class is top 5 or anything, but it is certainly solid. If he left, I would assume so would these players and if anyone knows how devastating a blank year of recruiting can be, it is the Cincinnati Bearcats.

 

[JasonS]

Well said. A big factor to consider for people wanting Cronin to leave is our recruiting class. Not saying this class is top 5 or anything, but it is certainly solid. If he left, I would assume so would these players and if anyone knows how devastating a blank year of recruiting can be, it is the Cincinnati Bearcats.

The other factor that people choose to ignore is that there isn't a big time coach looking to take over this job. That doesn't mean we are "settling" for Mick Cronin. I would rather have a stable program with a good coach who has good, competitive teams, and occasionally makes a deep run (past sweet 16) than a coach that has big success for a couple years and then leaves. There is never a guarantee that you will be able to make another good hire. For the record, I think Mick is a much better coach than he is ever given credit for in Cincinnati. People can blame Mick all they want for this season but I will not. I believe that this season is much different if Cash doesn't hurt his knee. I believe that UC would have been a 3 seed in the tourney and would still be playing in the Tourney.

 

[Amberlycolonel]

The other factor that people choose to ignore is that there isn't a big time coach looking to take over this job. That doesn't mean we are "settling" for Mick Cronin. I would rather have a stable program with a good coach who has good, competitive teams, and occasionally makes a deep run (past sweet 16) than a coach that has big success for a couple years and then leaves. There is never a guarantee that you will be able to make another good hire. For the record, I think Mick is a much better coach than he is ever given credit for in Cincinnati. People can blame Mick all they want for this season but I will not. I believe that this season is much different if Cash doesn't hurt his knee. I believe that UC would have been a 3 seed in the tourney and would still be playing in the Tourney.

Going to have your Easter basket out for the bunny?

 

[Scheids21]

The other factor that people choose to ignore is that there isn't a big time coach looking to take over this job. That doesn't mean we are "settling" for Mick Cronin. I would rather have a stable program with a good coach who has good, competitive teams, and occasionally makes a deep run (past sweet 16) than a coach that has big success for a couple years and then leaves. There is never a guarantee that you will be able to make another good hire. For the record, I think Mick is a much better coach than he is ever given credit for in Cincinnati. People can blame Mick all they want for this season but I will not. I believe that this season is much different if Cash doesn't hurt his knee. I believe that UC would have been a 3 seed in the tourney and would still be playing in the Tourney.

I agree with everything you said until the final couple sentences. We would have been better, but we would not have done too much better. The decline began far before the DePaul game. I think this season's failures falls on the coach and players alike.

 

[Scheids21]

Going to have your Easter basket out for the bunny?

Try contributing for once rather than trying to be funny with sarcasm.

 

[JasonS]

I agree with everything you said until the final couple sentences. We would have been better, but we would not have done too much better. The decline began far before the DePaul game. I think this season's failures falls on the coach and players alike.

DePaul was only the fifth Big East game and the Bearcats were 14-3 going into it. I think it is a bit premature to say the decline began before DePaul.

 

[Scheids21]

DePaul was only the fifth Big East game and the Bearcats were 14-3 going into it. I think it is a bit premature to say the decline began before DePaul.

They had lost 3 of 5, all at home after starting 12-0.

 

[BearcatMick]

They had lost 3 of 5, all at home after starting 12-0.

2 of those losses were because of the refs

 

[Scheids21]

Oh God those weren't lifetime bans...

 

[david aka the TYZ]

These two statements just killed your credibility. McDermott may not be quick, but he has all the moves, can shoot with both hands, and all the sportswriters must be idiots because they voted for him to be an All-American - and we know YOU are way smarter than they are. Plus he is as smart a bballer as you'll run across. He knows where to be and when to be there. Yea, he just got that double-double because he was lucky and the ball fell into his hands accidentally. Right! And the fact that you think Mick is God..........I rest my case.

First off, where in my statement do I think Mick is God? I said Mick is smart and will adjust accordingly to what isn't working. I could conversely assume you hate Mick and therefore say your argument holds no merit, but it would be stupid of me to do so. And McDermott has the ability to score. Nothing he does looks pretty or looks polished. Maybe no skill wasn't the right word. What I meant was he doesn't possess your prototypical shot or form. My point in the argument was we possessed all the "skill" and "athleticism" in that game and they were the ones that scored. Scoring is more important than looking good. I never discredited his ability, I just meant there was nothing pretty about his game.

 

[david aka the TYZ]

I don't know if you're exaggerating or what but saying McDermott has no skill is nonsense. You're right in regards to athleticism. But skill wise - dead wrong. Guy was the most basketball-skilled player we saw this year. Putting the ball in the basket doesn't just happen - you have to have skill.

Why would you not want a 6"8' kid who can shoot from anywhere and score on the block? Plus shoot 86% at the line.

Skill was probably the wrong word. The point I was trying to make was he didn't look like your prototypical basketball star. Shot was a little weird, he wasn't quick, barely got off the floor when he shot. But his shots went in and he knew how to score. We need more of that on this team.

 

[ready2go]

I had to take some time away but here goes...

I am sooo sick of watching this offense. 7 years of the same thing. First it was Vaughns fault there was no movement, then it was Lance's fault we had no flow. Then we heard Mick say that with Killa coming in the offense would finally come together.

We still see scoring droughts, we still see too much dribbling and no ball movement or screening. We still havent seen a transition game. We still have no consistent shooting. We still have no development of players offensively. We still have no big man who can score or present a post move.

Your job as a coach is to put your players in the best position to succeed. For a team who has no transition game, they had better have a DAMN good half court set. Well nope, we have the worst set in America at any level.

Our guys have zero bball IQ yet we put them in an offense where they are the primary decision makers. Dribble drive..with no one who can drive....dish out to shooters....with no consistent shooters....lob city...to no one who can dunk

Each time we win it is because we are hitting CONTESTED 3's. That is not good enough. When we truly need a basket....its no where to be found

Just imagine with the effort and defense that Micks teams play with...if we had a REASONABLE offense to lean on??

 

[JasonS]

They had lost 3 of 5, all at home after starting 12-0.

And then they were 18-4 until their slide. I still think you are premature on when the slide happened.

 

[TheLongHaul]

And then they were 18-4 until their slide. I still think you are premature on when the slide happened.

So you don't think losing 3 of 5 (three straight home losses), including a home loss to SJU, is a slide?

Cash's MRI showed no damage and Mick and Cash said he was healthy. He looked fine to me at the end of the season but it was the same issues that they were having since competition started to heat up. I don't think it's coincidence that they played worse once they started playing better teams.

 

[JasonS]

So you don't think losing 3 of 5 (three straight home losses), including a home loss to SJU, is a slide?

Cash's MRI showed no damage and Mick and Cash said he was healthy. He looked fine to me at the end of the season but it was the same issues that they were having since competition started to heat up. I don't think it's coincidence that they played worse once they started playing better teams.

No because they were all essentially one possession games. Micks comments about Cash's injury was posturing. If you listened to the Mick Cronin show tonight or read anything from Paul Dehner you know that it was more serious than they let on. Cash at the end of the year still didn't look like the Cash from the beginning half of the year.

 

[CaptDale]

First off, where in my statement do I think Mick is God? I said Mick is smart and will adjust accordingly to what isn't working. I could conversely assume you hate Mick and therefore say your argument holds no merit, but it would be stupid of me to do so. And McDermott has the ability to score. Nothing he does looks pretty or looks polished. Maybe no skill wasn't the right word. What I meant was he doesn't possess your prototypical shot or form. My point in the argument was we possessed all the "skill" and "athleticism" in that game and they were the ones that scored. Scoring is more important than looking good. I never discredited his ability, I just meant there was nothing pretty about his game.

That was supposed to be metaphorical, not literal. Sorry. But, while we might have possessed "skill and athleticism", they had (and McDermott has) finesse, which the dictionary defines as eloquence of execution. The ball rolls off his fingers with lots of backspin, just like Kobe or LeBron would put it up. That's why his shots hit nothing but net. Did he ever hit the rim on 12 of 12 from the FT line? We, too often, just throw the ball in the vicinty of the rim and hope. Thus our low % shooting. McD struggled vs Duke because they sagged on him, but still scored 21 (although only 25%).
We need some finesse players. The epitome of finesse was Oscar. I was fortunate enough to watch him play. Smooth as silk. And that was in the day when they called fouls, traveling, palming, etc., and he still averaged a triple double his senior year (3's weren't invented yet). McD is no Oscar, but he does have finesse.Unfortunately, you can't teach it. Either you have it or you don't.

 

[bearcat jeff]

No because they were all essentially one possession games. Micks comments about Cash's injury was posturing. If you listened to the Mick Cronin show tonight or read anything from Paul Dehner you know that it was more serious than they let on. Cash at the end of the year still didn't look like the Cash from the beginning half of the year.

Cash's injuries were more than the knee. Because of his ongoing shoulder issue, which requires surgery to fix, he couldn't extend his arm away from his body to full extension. SK was quoted at one point saying, he didn't know how Cash does it with all he was dealing with from a physical standpoint. Shoulder popping out and a bum knee. That recipe typically doesn't cook up a great season. Props to him for playing thru it.