Fairmont State

[jacobkdoyle]

I'm not going to lie. I surely don't feel too good about going into the season as I did before those two exhibition games. There will def be some low points before it gets better.

After the post game comments it sounds like a lot of new guys are worried on their individual stats. Family members already complaining about pt and points. That's not a winning formula. They better shape up!

Shaq said we came out flat so he had to be more aggressive. That's the best takeaway from this game for me. If he hit his free throws, he could have had a huge day (obviously he didnt but normally he'd make at least 4 of the 6). If he and Ellis score in double figures in our big non conference games, that will make up a lot for the inconsistent play of the new guys. I'd like to see Sanders finding a way to get a consistent 8-11. But I think we're fine. Our first 4 games are gimmies. This team could look totally different in 2 weeks when the rotation shortens some and everyone carves out their role.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

I said earlier in the offseason that if Shaq leads the team in scoring, we are in trouble. I think I was wrong about that. I don't want to go too overboard about an exhibition, but 8 boards, double digit field goal attempts, and 6 free throws is perfect from him. We need to see that all the time.
How do you guys rank our best players from what you have seen so far?

 

[UCalum08]

I said earlier in the offseason that if Shaq leads the team in scoring, we are in trouble. I think I was wrong about that. I don't want to go too overboard about an exhibition, but 8 boards, double digit field goal attempts, and 6 free throws is perfect from him. We need to see that all the time.
How do you guys rank our best players from what you have seen so far?

To be perfectly honest I can pin point our best players. I would have to say Ellis but until he faces real Div. I talent I'd say its a toss up. There are a lot guys that are at the same level.

I know Caupain is focusing on getting assists but I would really like to see him score as well. We need him to be agressive and attack. Once again, I would love to see our offense get up and down quickly. I didn't see any of that during the exhibition games.

 

[Bearcat_NTS]

I said earlier in the offseason that if Shaq leads the team in scoring, we are in trouble. I think I was wrong about that. I don't want to go too overboard about an exhibition, but 8 boards, double digit field goal attempts, and 6 free throws is perfect from him. We need to see that all the time.
How do you guys rank our best players from what you have seen so far?

Ellis has by far been the best player on the team in the exhibition games. I have been impressed with Morman (attitude issue notwithstanding) and especially with Cobb...don't see many minutes for Guyn as the season wears on and those two improve...

 

[ccmbearcat]

That's a little worrisome - not the first time for Morman - Hope he's not a punk head case.

If he is I have a feeling Mick won't put up with it much longer. Ask Alvin Mitchell.

 

[Bearcatboy]

I said earlier in the offseason that if Shaq leads the team in scoring, we are in trouble. I think I was wrong about that. I don't want to go too overboard about an exhibition, but 8 boards, double digit field goal attempts, and 6 free throws is perfect from him. We need to see that all the time.
How do you guys rank our best players from what you have seen so far?

This is from good to bad so far.
Ellis
Thomas
Caupain
Morman
Moore
Sanders
Cobb
Guyn
KJ
Deberry
Clark
Strickland

 

[IDC]

Ellis 28 Deberrey 10 Strickland 2
Clark 18 Moore 17 Sanders 5
Shaq 25 Sanders 15
Johnson 20 Morman 15 Guyn 5
Caupain 23 Cobb 10 Guyn 7

My best guess on minutes, at least early on. We all know the bench will shorten as the year progresses. If everyone plays well, it's going to be hard for Mick to manage the minutes and personalities. I have a feeling some guys (attitude or poor play) will make his decisions for him though

 

[#BearcatNation]

Ellis 28 Deberrey 10 Strickland 2
Clark 18 Moore 17 Sanders 5
Shaq 25 Sanders 15
Johnson 20 Morman 15 Guyn 5
Caupain 23 Cobb 10 Guyn 7

My best guess on minutes, at least early on. We all know the bench will shorten as the year progresses. If everyone plays well, it's going to be hard for Mick to manage the minutes and personalities. I have a feeling some guys (attitude or poor play) will make his decisions for him though

I agree with most of this, except I think it's pretty unlikely Morman gets more minutes than Guyn. Unless Guys totally tanks this year, Cronin will find a way to get him 15-20 minutes a game. Even if his offensive game is off, his defense will always be there.

 

[Bearcatboy]

Minute wise I'm going with this

Caupain-23/Cobb-11
Guyn-20/Johnson-14/Morman-16
Thomas-28/Sanders-16
Clark-17/Moore-12
Ellis-28/Deberry-12/Strickland-3

 

[cincrulz11]

I agree with most of this, except I think it's pretty unlikely Morman gets more minutes than Guyn. Unless Guys totally tanks this year, Cronin will find a way to get him 15-20 minutes a game. Even if his offensive game is off, his defense will always be there.

Guyn's defense isn't always there though and that is why he got the bench yesterday. Mick wasn't happy at all that he had only 1 deflection.



Pretty sad to me to get benched because of effort from a senior. SK and company would have ripped him apart last year.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

I'm thinking Moore will play more than Clark.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

IF Moore can show that he can rebound, I hope he starts. I like him and Ellis in together. Their games are so different.

 

[cincrulz11]

I think Moore is the biggest defensive liability on the team. That usually won't work for Cronin.


He has got to be able to defend a little bit to stay on the court.

 

[BearcatSpaniard513]

From the first 2 exhibition games I have been quite disappointed with Clark. I expected a lot more from him. He got the ball close to half court yesterday and just froze. After he did not know what to do with the ball he was called for a travel.
Not sure why Mick did not put Strickland in until the last couple minutes of the game. He only played a minute or so. Kind of wanted to see him and Clark more.
Shaq looked great and was super aggressive! Really hope he stays in attack mode. We now know he has it in him.
DeBerry and Moore look so slow. Not sure what to expect with either of them. I do think Moore is a defensive liability, but he can pass and has a decent looking shot.
Morman is very talented and could average 6-8 PPG or more this year if he gets his head in the game.
Sanders air balled a layup and did not look confident like he said in the Enquire article this week. Hopefully he gives us 2 or more threes a game. Wasn't there yesterday though.
Guyn looked like the typical Guyn.
Ellis is a stud and the type of big man we need to recruit every 3 or 4 years. I know eaier said than done, but boy does he fit in nicely

 

[bearcat jeff]

Heard too many times that Clark is consistently one of the hardest working players and at times the best player in practice so I wouldn't write him off just yet. He'll find his legs and Mick will scheme ways to help the players. He's adjusting to the stage and what it takes to play, on both ends of the floor, at this level. He'll be fine with time, I believe he'll eventually be a good rebounder this season.

Defensively this team may have to play some zone to protect the bigs and to stop penetration. UC lost 3 excellent defensive players and young/new players typically struggle defensively anyway. Mick will find a combination of who will play as a unit and because he has some numbers he can time is at a premium and whoever commits to defense, rebounding and sharing the ball, will get the time. Coaches will tolerate young players who turn the ball over or make mistakes trying to do the right thing. That' part of the learning curve. They will not tolerate young players making mistakes and who turn the ball over because they aren't buying in.

That said it's a young team and we all know this is going to be a learning and growth process throughout the season. They are going to at times be fun to watch and at times drive us crazy but Mick and the staff will figure it out, even if at some point it means narrowing playing time to those players who are willing to get dirty to win.

 

[L-T]

Mick can figure out a lot of things, but one thing he can't seem to figure out is how to recruit shooters. In watching schools across the country play, I'm always amazed at how many have a plethora of really good shooters while we don't have a single one. We just watched two Division II schools and each had a roster full of shooters. Eventually, our depth wore them down and their percentages dropped as the game went on, but it was plain to see how good these teams were at basic shooting skills. I can't understand why we can't seem to bring in a single great shooter. Having an inside game finally, is going to open up more possibilities on the perimeter, but as we saw Saturday, we shot a miserable 2-16 from three. Out shooters always seem to be a work-in-process. Rarely does he recruit a player who can shoot "light's out" when he arrives. We seem to have a lot of guys who are very inconsistent at shooting from the outside and we watch as they slowly improve over 4 years, gaining a little more consistency over time, but never seeming to become someone that other schools ever fear from the outside.

I think we have guys who are going to be streaky from the outside, but consistency will be a big issue with this team all year. We'll have a little better overall balance with the improvements on the inside, but I think how far we go will depend a lot on how quickly these guys improve defensively. Some of these guys are so weak defensively that Mick really has his work cut out with this group.

Again, it would sure be nice to see him recruit a few shooters that can shoot when they get here. I'm not sure if the three guys we got this year are any different.

 

[BearcatSpaniard513]

Mick can figure out a lot of things, but one thing he can't seem to figure out is how to recruit shooters. In watching schools across the country play, I'm always amazed at how many have a plethora of really good shooters while we don't have a single one. We just watched two Division II schools and each had a roster full of shooters. Eventually, our depth wore them down and their percentages dropped as the game went on, but it was plain to see how good these teams were at basic shooting skills. I can't understand why we can't seem to bring in a single great shooter. Having an inside game finally, is going to open up more possibilities on the perimeter, but as we saw Saturday, we shot a miserable 2-16 from three. Out shooters always seem to be a work-in-process. Rarely does he recruit a player who can shoot "light's out" when he arrives. We seem to have a lot of guys who are very inconsistent at shooting from the outside and we watch as they slowly improve over 4 years, gaining a little more consistency over time, but never seeming to become someone that other schools ever fear from the outside.

I think we have guys who are going to be streaky from the outside, but consistency will be a big issue with this team all year. We'll have a little better overall balance with the improvements on the inside, but I think how far we go will depend a lot on how quickly these guys improve defensively. Some of these guys are so weak defensively that Mick really has his work cut out with this group.

Again, it would sure be nice to see him recruit a few shooters that can shoot when they get here. I'm not sure if the three guys we got this year are any different.

I agree it would be nice and make life a little easier. I think last game was a fluke because of how many substitutions Mick kept making and trying to figure out his team. Since he is a defense first type of coach I don't see him recruiting a 3 point specialist because he would most likely be a defensive liability. I expect Cobb and Sanders to be our go to guys when it comes that time though

 

[bearcat jeff]

Mick can figure out a lot of things, but one thing he can't seem to figure out is how to recruit shooters. In watching schools across the country play, I'm always amazed at how many have a plethora of really good shooters while we don't have a single one. We just watched two Division II schools and each had a roster full of shooters. Eventually, our depth wore them down and their percentages dropped as the game went on, but it was plain to see how good these teams were at basic shooting skills. I can't understand why we can't seem to bring in a single great shooter. Having an inside game finally, is going to open up more possibilities on the perimeter, but as we saw Saturday, we shot a miserable 2-16 from three. Out shooters always seem to be a work-in-process. Rarely does he recruit a player who can shoot "light's out" when he arrives. We seem to have a lot of guys who are very inconsistent at shooting from the outside and we watch as they slowly improve over 4 years, gaining a little more consistency over time, but never seeming to become someone that other schools ever fear from the outside.

I think we have guys who are going to be streaky from the outside, but consistency will be a big issue with this team all year. We'll have a little better overall balance with the improvements on the inside, but I think how far we go will depend a lot on how quickly these guys improve defensively. Some of these guys are so weak defensively that Mick really has his work cut out with this group.

Again, it would sure be nice to see him recruit a few shooters that can shoot when they get here. I'm not sure if the three guys we got this year are any different.

I can't disagree. I've wondered the same thing. He recruits to a desired style of play but you'd think he'd be able to land some pure shooters. He's had some scorers, but shooters have been absent.

 

[L-T]

I can't disagree. I've wondered the same thing. He recruits to a desired style of play but you'd think he'd be able to land some pure shooters. He's had some scorers, but shooters have been absent.

I've wondered if his reputation of focusing primarily on defense all the time is driving the best offensive players away. There's obviously a mature way that a great player can view this. He can see the value of taking his great offensive skills to a program like Cincinnati and learning defense to become a complete player. But, until Mick starts putting some players in the NBA and validating his approach, I think we'll continue to struggle getting the top offensive players. Players like SK will help us. He became a complete player and made 1st team all-american. Hopefully, he can eventually get in the NBA and start demonstrating the value of playing for Cincinnati.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

Mick can figure out a lot of things, but one thing he can't seem to figure out is how to recruit shooters. In watching schools across the country play, I'm always amazed at how many have a plethora of really good shooters while we don't have a single one. We just watched two Division II schools and each had a roster full of shooters. Eventually, our depth wore them down and their percentages dropped as the game went on, but it was plain to see how good these teams were at basic shooting skills. I can't understand why we can't seem to bring in a single great shooter. Having an inside game finally, is going to open up more possibilities on the perimeter, but as we saw Saturday, we shot a miserable 2-16 from three. Out shooters always seem to be a work-in-process. Rarely does he recruit a player who can shoot "light's out" when he arrives. We seem to have a lot of guys who are very inconsistent at shooting from the outside and we watch as they slowly improve over 4 years, gaining a little more consistency over time, but never seeming to become someone that other schools ever fear from the outside.

I think we have guys who are going to be streaky from the outside, but consistency will be a big issue with this team all year. We'll have a little better overall balance with the improvements on the inside, but I think how far we go will depend a lot on how quickly these guys improve defensively. Some of these guys are so weak defensively that Mick really has his work cut out with this group.

Again, it would sure be nice to see him recruit a few shooters that can shoot when they get here. I'm not sure if the three guys we got this year are any different.

I'm personally more concerned about the poor FT shooting on Saturday. Shaq and Troy were 5-12 combined. That isn't going to work. I don't think this team will live and die by the 3. So only making 2 3's shouldn't be a backbreaker if you are making more than 56% of your 34 free throw attempts. Cobb, Sanders and KJ were all brought in to be shooters, so I guess between the 3 of them it'd be nice to count on 4-5 3's per game at a decent %. And maybe a couple more from the others. But with Shaq and Ellis hopefully looking like the most consistent scorers, the 3 won't be our identity. If we continue to improve our passing and ball movement, we will have a couple guys find their groove from deep.