Early BEast Predictions

[bearcat jeff]

Dave Steele’s Pre-Fall Power Rankings

1. Villanova – Should’ve been at least an Elite Eight team last year.
2. West Virginia – A handful of players have the ability to be this year’s Da’Sean Butler.
3. Syracuse – Talented and deeper than last year — but no one can replace Johnson.
4. Georgetown – Dynamic backcourt, needs youngsters to fill gap Monroe left.
5. Connecticut – Have to put puzzling ‘09-10 behind them.
6. Pittsburgh – Jamie Dixon worked wonders with last year’s team; most of it returns.
7. Louisville – Doesn’t even get a calm before the storm.
8. Marquette – Always in the mix.
9. St. John’s – Got better late last season, setting a nice table for Lavin.
10. Seton Hall – Talented enough, might benefit from sanity on the sidelines.
11. Rutgers – At some point, they have to go up.
12. Notre Dame – Difference between Harangody short-term and long-term.
13. Cincinnati – Still searching for consistency.
14. DePaul – A program that should be better, a coach that should make it better.
15. South Florida – Stepped up last season, but Jones leaving hurts.
16. Providence – Next candidate to go 0-for-the-conference-season.

 

[Lobot]

I like this guy's analysis. Most of his comments are spot on with the possible exception of Providence. I think we are probably a couple spots low but the commentary is very accurate.

 

[swg]

Hard to argue Cincy being ranked so low. Definitely have something to prove this year, in terms of quality of program, and MC remaining on.

 

[Bcat]

Hard to argue Cincy being ranked so low. Definitely have something to prove this year, in terms of quality of program, and MC remaining on.

I don't think it is hard to argue the analysis about UC. Finishing 13 out of 16 when they are probably close to the most experienced team in the league and have as much talent as they have had over the last 5 years. I would think that they will finish better than 13 just based on that if I were giving pre-season predictions. Especially given the fact that last year they finished better than that. They have not gotten worse on paper or to anyone paying attention. I understand they could finish 13 or worse and that anything is possible but that analysis is easy to argue and isn't very good, just like most of these predictions.

 

[bearcat jeff]

From Jay Bilas/ESPN

11. Cincinnati: After losing Lance Stephenson and Deonta Vaughn, many wonder from where the Bearcats will be able to generate offense. This team came close to the Big Dance last season and should be motivated to take the next step. Mick Cronin inherited a major rebuilding job, and he has done a good job getting Cincinnati back and competitive. For now, though, he may lack the guard strength to take the next step. Cincy has to cut its high turnover rate and get better shots. Yancy Gates and Ibrahima Thomas return up front, and there are some capable guards in Cashmere Wright, Dion Dixon and Jaquon Parker. Freshman Justin Jackson is a high-energy rebounder and defender who can step away and hit jump shots, and he should be able to step in right away and play when he gets stronger. A key could be redshirt freshman Sean Kilpatrick, who can step in and knock down shots. Another key will be the status of Rashad Bishop, who was suspended just before the Big East tournament last year and remained suspended before UC's trip to Canada. If he plays, Cincinnati can be pretty competitive.

 

[bearcat jeff]

Mick Cronin excited about Cincy's potential
September, 10, 2010Sep 101:40PM ETEmail Print Comments2 So let's get this straight: Cincinnati loses supposedly its two most talented players in Lance Stephenson and Deonta Vaughn and the Bearcats will be better this season?



That's exactly how fifth-year coach Mick Cronin feels about the Bearcats after returning earlier this week from a three-game trip to Canada.



Stephenson led the Bearcats in scoring at 12.3 points a game with Vaughn second at 11.7. But they took a ton of shots, 693 between them, making just 285 (41 percent). The rest of the team shot a combined 1,388 times, making 605 (44 percent).



If Cronin can deliver on his optimism and get the Bearcats to the NCAA tournament in his fifth season after losing two of his most talented players then it will be quite a feat.



"We've got a good team," said Cronin, who indicated this might be his best Bearcat squad in his tenure. "We have a lot of guys who will be able to show off how good they are. We might have five guys who average double figures. We're more cohesive. We're better offensively. We averaged 85 points on the tour. Our guys are taking everything serious. I was so happy with the Canada trip because we dominated all three games. We never let anybody in the game. The guys played great."



Cronin says the Bearcats got positive play out of point guard Cashmere Wright. The sophomore underwent scope surgery on his left knee, the same knee that he injured two years ago, forcing him to miss his first season. Wright played in 34 games last season, averaging 5.4 points a game. He led the Bearcats with 17 points in their final win over the University of Ottawa.



Cronin also got stellar play out of freshman Sean Kilpatrick, a 6-4 sophomore guard who redshirted last season. Kilpatrick scored 17 points against Ottawa while Yancy Gates (15 points, five rebounds) provided Cronin the assurance that he will have a dominating presence inside.



It was an early snapshot of his team over a three-day period but Cronin is convinced he's got a squad that can separate itself from the middle of the Big East, a collection of teams that might include Louisville, Connecticut, Seton Hall, Marquette, St. John's and Notre Dame. To truly believe the Bearcats can be behind Georgetown, West Virginia and the league's likely favorites -- Pitt, Villanova and Syracuse -- might be wishful thinking.



But Cronin is convinced he has the squad to surprise the Big East's upper echelon.



"We're not devoid of a star," said Cronin, who added that 6-8 freshman forward Justin Jackson should soon be cleared to play this season after not being certified in time to make the trip to Canada. "We've got one in Yancy Gates. He may not average 20 [points] a game. But he's a good passer. He's grown up a lot and he's had a great summer, kept his weight down and he'll command a lot of attention."



Cronin can spin the nonconference slate as challenging but if the Bearcats are as improved as he says, the schedule offers opportunities to pick up plenty of wins. The Bearcats play a rebuilding Oklahoma in Oklahoma City, host rival Xavier (their toughest nonconference game, by far), play Dayton in a neutral-site game at U.S. Bank Arena (as part of an exempted tournament where both Dayton and Cincinnati get three guaranteed home games prior to playing each other) and a "sneak" road game at Miami of Ohio. That's it. The repeat games in the Bearcats' 18-game Big East schedule are against predicted cellar-dweller DePaul, fellow middling team St. John's and top-four team Georgetown (the schedule still hasn't been released yet due to scheduling issues among teams who share their arenas with professional teams).



Cronin's win totals have improved every season at Cincinnati -- from 11 to 13 to 18 to 19. Cronin faced a no-win situation after taking over a Cincinnati program only one year after Bob Huggins' departure. But now it's year five and there will be less patience.



Cronin loves that the Bearcats are still not considered a contender, even though the players and staff think otherwise.



"We've got to win the games we're supposed to win," Cronin said. "We gave away some games. We've got to win those games. We've also got to have a great pre-conference. We've been on the cusp but we didn't get over the hump because of the immaturity and losing games in the last 30 seconds. We've got a hungry team, a team of veterans, too. We weren't always mature enough in our league. Teams always go up and down and you've got to fight through it. Talent isn't always the answer. I do think the best teams in the Big East are Pitt, Villanova and Syracuse."



It's still up for debate whether Cincinnati can be in a second or third tier in the Big East -- below the aforementioned teams but high enough to be in contention for an NCAA bid. After a successful offseason trip to Canada, Cronin doesn't wonder whether that's possible. He's convinced the Bearcats are ready to make that leap in the Big East.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bas...d/5554483/mick-cronin-excited-cincy-potential

 

[juicy]

Based on the experience of the bearcats I would say they are ranked a little low. Based on past performance, I tend to agree with the ranking.

I guess it depends on which team shows up

 

[bearcat jeff]

As I stated before I believe this team is going to surprise many people. I think it has a chance to be top 7 in conference. If the thin front line holds up.

 

[bearcat jeff]

If you look at the Big Monday schedule it is easy to see why Mick is pushing so hard to upgrade the talent base here. It is essentially a rotation of the same teams. What a great recruiting tool to be seen weekly, nationally on The Mother Ship.