Game 1 Breakdown

[TheLivingLegend]

Starters

Guyn - was pleased with his game today. Finished with 6.. should have been 10 but blew two bunnies. Zero turnovers with a couple of assists. Proved that he can hit a step in three.

Sk - Played a great game. Didnt shoot the three spectacular. Best player on the floor.

Shaq - yo... 3 turnovers in 11 minutes of play will lose you a starting spot real quick. Played a really poor game. Not sure if his starting spot will last. Hopefully just a bad game, but he needs to be better.

Titus - Solid. Does some questionable things.... But will be a big time player this year for this team. Will lead the team in rebounds. Could be second leading scorer on the team potentially. Free throws improved as the game went on.

Justin - Was a step back from what we saw in pre season.. Offensively he was very efficient. Defensively he struggled to play without fouling. Major concern going forward. He has to be on the floor for this team to win.

Bench

Sanders - Played the best game I have seen from him in a Bearcat uniform. He made shots that he needed to make. I hope it continues.

Lawrence - This is a tough one... Defensively he is not good, incredibly soft and wont challenge anything. For as athletic as he is, he doesnt move his feet well at all. You see the potential there, but really played to many minutes imo. On the plus seems to be a good ft shooter and obviously has a great upside.

Dave - Not much to say. Matchup problems didnt allow dave hardly any time.

Caupain - For those claiming hes a starter... well.. hes not, yet. Thought he played an ok game. Had a really bad turnover, missed a few shots, hit a couple of free throws. After tonights game I dont see him starting over G anytime soon.

K Johnson - This kid is going to be good. Tonight put up the old 0-5 shooting, but there is something different about him. Hes not afraid to make a move and shoot the ball. I really think his future is bright.

JD - FREE JD. FREE JD. PUT HIM IN THE GAME. Obviously Mick doesnt like something, but what it is is beyond me... The game flows much better with him on the court. Im not calling for huge minutes but for him to not see the floor in the second half is ridiculous.

Mick - Thought the substitution pattern at times was to frequent. Obviously early in the season, still trying to figure things out.. Eventually this rotation has to be cut down some. Basketball is a game of flow, you cant get flow subbing guys in and out constantly. O, and play JD more.

Overall I left this game not having a clue what to think about this team... Showed some good things, showed some bad things. Had opportunities to blow the game wide open and didnt accomplish that. Their going to have to get better.

O and the fouls this year in college basketball games are going to be brutal. Way way way to many.

 

[waterhead]

Starters

Guyn - was pleased with his game today. Finished with 6.. should have been 10 but blew two bunnies. Zero turnovers with a couple of assists. Proved that he can hit a step in three.

Sk - Played a great game. Didnt shoot the three spectacular. Best player on the floor.

Shaq - yo... 3 turnovers in 11 minutes of play will lose you a starting spot real quick. Played a really poor game. Not sure if his starting spot will last. Hopefully just a bad game, but he needs to be better.

Titus - Solid. Does some questionable things.... But will be a big time player this year for this team. Will lead the team in rebounds. Could be second leading scorer on the team potentially. Free throws improved as the game went on.

Justin - Was a step back from what we saw in pre season.. Offensively he was very efficient. Defensively he struggled to play without fouling. Major concern going forward. He has to be on the floor for this team to win.

Bench

Sanders - Played the best game I have seen from him in a Bearcat uniform. He made shots that he needed to make. I hope it continues.

Lawrence - This is a tough one... Defensively he is not good, incredibly soft and wont challenge anything. For as athletic as he is, he doesnt move his feet well at all. You see the potential there, but really played to many minutes imo. On the plus seems to be a good ft shooter and obviously has a great upside.

Dave - Not much to say. Matchup problems didnt allow dave hardly any time.

Caupain - For those claiming hes a starter... well.. hes not, yet. Thought he played an ok game. Had a really bad turnover, missed a few shots, hit a couple of free throws. After tonights game I dont see him starting over G anytime soon.

K Johnson - This kid is going to be good. Tonight put up the old 0-5 shooting, but there is something different about him. Hes not afraid to make a move and shoot the ball. I really think his future is bright.

JD - FREE JD. FREE JD. PUT HIM IN THE GAME. Obviously Mick doesnt like something, but what it is is beyond me... The game flows much better with him on the court. Im not calling for huge minutes but for him to not see the floor in the second half is ridiculous.

Mick - Thought the substitution pattern at times was to frequent. Obviously early in the season, still trying to figure things out.. Eventually this rotation has to be cut down some. Basketball is a game of flow, you cant get flow subbing guys in and out constantly. O, and play JD more.

Overall I left this game not having a clue what to think about this team... Showed some good things, showed some bad things. Had opportunities to blow the game wide open and didnt accomplish that. Their going to have to get better.

O and the fouls this year in college basketball games are going to be brutal. Way way way to many.

Hmmm...

I think we have 3 starters wrapped up through 3 games. SK, JJ, and TR. Those are our stat and minute studs.

Other than that we have lots of question marks. I am not seeing the Caupain revolution just yet. GG played a better game. Sanders outplayed Thomas.

I thought Davis, KJ, and Lawrence looked pretty good.

DN, DM and Strick were basically non existent. I think DM must have some lingering injury issues.

Overall an ugly game...I don't have high expectations after game 1.

 

[subflea]

I think DM must have some lingering injury issues.

Mick said in his post game that they are waiting for Mormon to decide if he wants to red shirt.

 

[Bcatfollower]

Starters

Guyn - was pleased with his game today. Finished with 6.. should have been 10 but blew two bunnies. Zero turnovers with a couple of assists. Proved that he can hit a step in three.

Sk - Played a great game. Didnt shoot the three spectacular. Best player on the floor.

Shaq - yo... 3 turnovers in 11 minutes of play will lose you a starting spot real quick. Played a really poor game. Not sure if his starting spot will last. Hopefully just a bad game, but he needs to be better.

Titus - Solid. Does some questionable things.... But will be a big time player this year for this team. Will lead the team in rebounds. Could be second leading scorer on the team potentially. Free throws improved as the game went on.

Justin - Was a step back from what we saw in pre season.. Offensively he was very efficient. Defensively he struggled to play without fouling. Major concern going forward. He has to be on the floor for this team to win.

Bench

Sanders - Played the best game I have seen from him in a Bearcat uniform. He made shots that he needed to make. I hope it continues.

Lawrence - This is a tough one... Defensively he is not good, incredibly soft and wont challenge anything. For as athletic as he is, he doesnt move his feet well at all. You see the potential there, but really played to many minutes imo. On the plus seems to be a good ft shooter and obviously has a great upside.

Dave - Not much to say. Matchup problems didnt allow dave hardly any time.

Caupain - For those claiming hes a starter... well.. hes not, yet. Thought he played an ok game. Had a really bad turnover, missed a few shots, hit a couple of free throws. After tonights game I dont see him starting over G anytime soon.

K Johnson - This kid is going to be good. Tonight put up the old 0-5 shooting, but there is something different about him. Hes not afraid to make a move and shoot the ball. I really think his future is bright.

JD - FREE JD. FREE JD. PUT HIM IN THE GAME. Obviously Mick doesnt like something, but what it is is beyond me... The game flows much better with him on the court. Im not calling for huge minutes but for him to not see the floor in the second half is ridiculous.

Mick - Thought the substitution pattern at times was to frequent. Obviously early in the season, still trying to figure things out.. Eventually this rotation has to be cut down some. Basketball is a game of flow, you cant get flow subbing guys in and out constantly. O, and play JD more.

Overall I left this game not having a clue what to think about this team... Showed some good things, showed some bad things. Had opportunities to blow the game wide open and didnt accomplish that. Their going to have to get better.

O and the fouls this year in college basketball games are going to be brutal. Way way way to many.

I think the new foul rules are great, or will be once the players adjust. I hated watching guys get mugged bringing the ball up the floor or smashed going up for a bunny with no call. I think in the long term youll see players that are more skilled at dribblin, passing, and shooting, instead of just being big and strong. I think we can agree that even the big east didnt fall apart the style of play would be drastically different under these rules.

 

[UCalum08]

Pretty good assessments from everyone. I think UC played really uptight. A lot of the mistakes we made last night are/should be corrected as the season goes on. That is def going to be expected since almost everyone has more of an important role. Even though KJ went 0-5 I really like what he brings. I think, especially in the first half he settled for the jumpers instead of driving to the hoop. That is probably a confidence thing but I know KJ has the ability of driving to the hoop and getting fouled. I look forward to seeing growth this year. Big game on Tuesday. I hope the fans show up big.

 

[bearcat jeff]

I thought this was just the kind of game this team needed to start the season. They were pushed and exposed in some areas. Defensively there was FAR too much standing and watching as a man dribbled by. Saw Lawrence allow this on at least three trips up the floor. Boxing out was poor and will hurt them later if not corrected.Offensively they hurried too much and made some ill advised passes. UC shot I believe 83% from the ft line in the 2nd half.

Players:

SK - He's a leader/He's a stud. Scores assists and rebounds. Second leading rebounder for the game.

Rubles - If Titus would go up strong he'd average 12-14 ppg. He misses far too many bunny shots and should never shoot beyond 12 feet. He can get to the rim at will against other 4s and he rebounds.

Btw, Florida only beat UNF by 8 and K. State lost to N. Colorado. What you saw is not what you will get. As I said, great wake up call to all involved on how hard they need to play and the competitiveness of major college basketball. It will help Mick tremendously in prep for NC State.

Jackson - The zone hindered him. Loved the play he went under the basket and layed the ball up on the reverse side. He has to be better rebounding but he had 2 assists and 3 blocks, but also 2 turnovers.

Thomas - Worse looking player on the floor last night to me. Played out of control and like Lawrence watched guys drive by him. Sanders will start next game and deserves too.

Sanders - Did it all. Scored, rebounded, played D, made shots and had a couple assists. He earned a start as stated above. He is not the most athletic player but he plays smart.

Guyn - 2-4 from the three and 3 assist and no turnovers. He looked like he wants the starting job and if this is what we get from him the pg spot will be adequately manned.

Caupain - Still thinking too much. My guess is all the frosh were nervous last night. He will be fine but is a back up at this point.

Johnson - His shot was terrible! Saw at least two that were WAY off and over the basket. Chaulk it up to nerves and adrenaline. Home town boy playing in front of the home crowd. He does have a fearlessness to him I like and a toughness. He'll be fine.

Lawrence - He's still getting his basketball legs and mind together after so much time away from competition. You can clearly see the potential and he is only going to get better. He must rebound and his defense has to improve.

JD3 - He has got to play. I don't get it, I don't get it! Let him see the court!! Did he play at all in the second half? If he did I missed it. Play him!!! this team needs JD3 and SK on the floor together some.

Overall the team looked out of sorts a bit which is to be expected with 3 new starters and several newcomers playing significant minutes. They were pushed and responded. For those saying the're worried after 1 game with all the new parts in place, please get a clue. Veteran teams look good early, teams putting new people in place don't. I saw a lot of potential from this squad. I like them. They have a long way to go defensively and offensively too but I like the make up of the team. I'd still like to see at this point:

Guyn/JD3/Caupain
Kilpatrick/JD3/Johnson
Sanders/Thomas/Lawrence
Rubles/Lawrence
Jackson/Nyarsuk

I still believe Stricklands eligibility is huge for this team. They need another big body. I hope it happens soon. I'd like to see Mormon play but if nagging injuries and waiting to know if he could play has set him back then by all means redshirt young man.

 

[UCalum08]

Good breakdown Jeff. Pretty much nailed it. We have absolutely zero instead scoring threats. I really wonder what we will do when we start facing teams with real size and centers. Its a major concern because once again, our offense is just really easy to defend.

 

[Bearcat_NTS]

My thoughts...

Pros:
1. Sean Kilpatrick was efficient on offense (6-13 from the field, 8-9 on FT's) and played a very good overall game. 22 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals.

2. Jermaine Sanders played his best game as a Bearcat. He had 13 points (4/8 from the field, 3-6 on three's), 4 rebounds and 3 assists in a career high 32 minutes played. He will take over the starting SF spot.

3. Ge'Lawn Guyn had a solid game. He scored 6 points (2-7 from the field), had 3 assists and 0 turnovers. Gave the team a solid 23 minutes, solidified his spot as the starting PG.

4. Titus Rubles played as I expected him to. 13 points (7-12 on FT's), 8 rebounds and 3 steals in 32 minutes. I see him as the second leading scorer on this team.

5. Free throw shooting. 23-31 is 74%, which is 8% better than last year. Rubles needs to get the ball over the rim and he will be a 70% shooter.

6. Other than 1 bad turnover by Caupain, the freshman were solid. I think they will all continue to get minutes in the OOC.

7. 13 assists on 22 field goals is pretty solid.

Cons:
1. Justin Jackson was good for the first few minutes, but he made the same mental mistakes that he made the past 3 years. He has to stay on the floor for this team to be good.

2. Shaq Thomas seems disinterested and didn't have good body language. He over dribbled twice on a fast breaks and never could get into a rhythm.

3. The offense didn't resemble the one in the preseason. Part of the issue was Jackson being on the bench. They took 21 three's and by count there were 6 "bad" attempts. Just zone this team and UC is pretty easy to beat.

4. Did a very bad job on Ingrim, to his credit he made some pretty good plays.

5. This isn't really a negative but more of a shocking stat. Since the start of 2013, Cincinnati has scored 70 or more points just 3 times in the last 21 games. Yesterday's game was the first time scoring 70 points in a regulation game since January 15th against DePaul (game Cash got hurt).


Overall, this team is a work in progress. I think they will continue to get better throughout the season, but I wouldn't be surprised if NC State beat UC on Tuesday. By the end of the year, this Cats team will be pretty good. It will take a while for everyone to find (and appreciate) their roles.

Starting 5 should be:
PG Guyn
SG Kilpatrick
SF Sanders
F Rubles
F Jackson

 

[Robert]

Overall, this team is a work in progress. I think they will continue to get better throughout the season, but I wouldn't be surprised if NC State beat UC on Tuesday. By the end of the year, this Cats team will be pretty good. It will take a while for everyone to find (and appreciate) their roles.

Don't forget, NC State lost their top 4 scorers and 5 of their 7 rotation players from last season. With their excellent recruiting class, I still expect a tough game, but I would say we are catching them at the right time. I predict a close Bearcats victory.

On last night's game, Shaquille Thomas is really starting to worry me. As others have mentioned, his body language has been poor and his defense is terrible. He looked lost on screens, and at times looked like he was just aimlessly running around. I hope he doesn't have an attitude problem, because he has the tools to be the 2nd-best player on this team.

Justin Jackson will be fine. The zone took away a lot of his advantage, and at least one of those foul calls was questionable. I really hope Strickland becomes eligible though, because we are going to be in bad shape any time JJ is in foul trouble.

I agree with others about JD3. He's not one of our better on-ball defenders, but he looked a hell of a lot better on defense than Shaq or Lawrence and he gave good effort. Cronin HAS to get him on the floor more often.

 

[waterhead]

My thoughts...



Starting 5 should be:
PG Guyn
SG Kilpatrick
SF Sanders
F Rubles
F Jackson

Good comments overall...just thought I would address your starting 5 which I agree with at this point in time. With this lineup we will have the same type of offense we had at the end of last year. We will get better on offense when the following players get more time, get more comfortable, and/or start doing what they are suppose to.

JDIII
ST
JL
KJ

and hopefully

DM...if he doesn't red shirt

and maybe

TC...not sure he offers much more than GG
JS...not sure he could come in and do what JJ is doing as a frosh


Those are the guys who I think can change our offensive problems and for different reasons. I think our biggest problem is ball movement and having too many players on the court who are just not geared to score. When our guys who ARE geared to score, do those things important to Cronin, we will begin to see more points. I think 2 or 3 of the 7 guys above will make that happen which will help us a lot.

JL looks like he has the inside track. ST if he fixes his attitude. JDIII I can only hope gets more time. KJ has all the tools to do what Cronin wants. DM has the same tools as KJ if he avoids redshirt. TC...too early to make a definitive call. JS if he can avoid redshirt should be a better option than DN.

 

[TheLivingLegend]

Good breakdown Jeff. Pretty much nailed it. We have absolutely zero instead scoring threats. I really wonder what we will do when we start facing teams with real size and centers. Its a major concern because once again, our offense is just really easy to defend.

I think our inside scoring is better this year then it was last year.... I think Justin and Rubles will be fine getting buckets around the paint. Also with them being smaller, they should be able to take most teams 4 and 5 off of quickness.

 

[waterhead]

I think our inside scoring is better this year then it was last year.... I think Justin and Rubles will be fine getting buckets around the paint. Also with them being smaller, they should be able to take most teams 4 and 5 off of quickness.

I would have to agree here. At first glance it seems like a problem that we can't get our bigs to establish position at the block rather than about 6-8 feet away...but that is where their quickness comes in handy.

I would rather we catch it on the block so we can play the inside out passing game that Cronin was talking about before the season, at the same time our bigs can take advantage of their quickness away from the bucket. The latter option doesn't help our overall offense much though.

 

[UCalum08]

I would have to agree here. At first glance it seems like a problem that we can't get our bigs to establish position at the block rather than about 6-8 feet away...but that is where their quickness comes in handy.

I would rather we catch it on the block so we can play the inside out passing game that Cronin was talking about before the season, at the same time our bigs can take advantage of their quickness away from the bucket. The latter option doesn't help our overall offense much though.

I guess we will see as the season goes on. I have a feeling not having an inside prescense will hurt our one dimension offense.

 

[waterhead]

I guess we will see as the season goes on. I have a feeling not having an inside prescense will hurt our one dimension offense.

I agree...if we can't catch the ball on the block it's going to disrupt our offense. We don't have a Martin, Fortson, Maxiell, Hicks, Brannen, Gates, etc who can back a guy down to the block and receive a pass...and then score or kick it back out.

We need the space between the low block and the perimeter to allow our guards and wings to operate. Without this type of presence the other team can guard the perimeter.

We need to somehow get the ball between the perimeter and the block. If our bigs are receiving passes 6 feet off the block there is a log jam.

I think KJ and DM (as well as SK and ST etc) can beat their man and get in there as long as our bigs aren't clogging that area because they can't establish position on the block.

 

[TheLivingLegend]

I guess we will see as the season goes on. I have a feeling not having an inside prescense will hurt our one dimension offense.

Did you watch the pre season games??? Justin posted up nearly every play and scored at will.... Even yesterday he scored in the post.

Yes against weaker competition.. But our inside presence is an upgrade from last season.

 

[waterhead]

The zone breaks down when you can infiltrate the space between the block and the perimeter because the defenders have to collapse towards the ball which leaves other areas of the zone open for a brief moment.

I don't see GG and JS as being the type of guys who are great at zone busting even if they are solid at other things. We need to keep JJ on the block...even if he doesn't have position...and then insert zone busters like KJ or DM (who can beat their man off the dribble) or ST, JL or TR who can slash.

JJ can clean up whatever is left.

 

[CaptDale]

The zone breaks down when you can infiltrate the space between the block and the perimeter because the defenders have to collapse towards the ball which leaves other areas of the zone open for a brief moment.

I don't see GG and JS as being the type of guys who are great at zone busting even if they are solid at other things. We need to keep JJ on the block...even if he doesn't have position...and then insert zone busters like KJ or DM (who can beat their man off the dribble) or ST, JL or TR who can slash.

JJ can clean up whatever is left.

The team is a work in progress. GG is just emerging. He had a coupe nice drives that failed to fall, but they will. I don't think he's turned it over. With the exception of SK, the rest of the team is "pie in the sky" until they prove themselves. What's with Titus and that flatfooted 2 pt shot? Leftover from last year - undoubtedly the ugliest delivery in college basketball. It seldom works. Give them a chance to gel. JJ is way better than last year, but hasn't faced any real competition. The zone befuddled him. But he gives 110%. I'm waiting for somebody to emerge. Shaquille looked like last years JJ when he put the ball on the floor. Only difference is we've seen that he can do it (last year) correctly and successfully. He may fail occasionally, but at least he tries to drive. I was hoping he would be our "secret weapon". I think Sanders starts in his place next game unless his D picks up. Shaquille needs to take a lesson from SK and slow down his impulses until he finds a good tempo. Poor JDIII is our lost soul. You want him in, but in place of whom? If he's only to be used to relieve SK, he's going get splinters. He seems to have the BB IQ always talked about on this board.

 

[waterhead]

Did you watch the pre season games??? Justin posted up nearly every play and scored at will.... Even yesterday he scored in the post.

Yes against weaker competition.. But our inside presence is an upgrade from last season.

Offensivley it's an upgrade and defensively I am hoping a wash. JJ can swat balls like Mooj but we will see what he can do against bigger players. Mooj was pretty good about establishing position.

Yes JJ had a nice up and under move in the last game but I thought he was working a lot of the time from too far off the block. As I mentioned he has an advantage off the block but it also clogs up where our guards and wings can go. I would prefer he is always on the block because I think he can score there too and it leaves that space open for our other players to create.

Then we just need someone other than SK attacking and I am not sure that is GG or JS. We need players on the perimeter who can get in the area between the low block and the perimeter to bust a zone. My top options at this point would be ST, JL, TR, and KJ (and DM if he plays). I also like JDIII in zone because he can shoot and create. We will stuggle in zone as long as GG and JS are our main minute providers at the 1 and 3 IMO...unless their agressiveness changes.

We just need these players to be the guys who are doing the most of what Mick wants them to do or not to do. Right now those players are GG and JS.

 

[waterhead]

The team is a work in progress. GG is just emerging. He had a coupe nice drives that failed to fall, but they will. I don't think he's turned it over. With the exception of SK, the rest of the team is "pie in the sky" until they prove themselves. What's with Titus and that flatfooted 2 pt shot? Leftover from last year - undoubtedly the ugliest delivery in college basketball. It seldom works. Give them a chance to gel. JJ is way better than last year, but hasn't faced any real competition. The zone befuddled him. But he gives 110%. I'm waiting for somebody to emerge. Shaquille looked like last years JJ when he put the ball on the floor. Only difference is we've seen that he can do it (last year) correctly and successfully. He may fail occasionally, but at least he tries to drive. I was hoping he would be our "secret weapon". I think Sanders starts in his place next game unless his D picks up. Shaquille needs to take a lesson from SK and slow down his impulses until he finds a good tempo. Poor JDIII is our lost soul. You want him in, but in place of whom? If he's only to be used to relieve SK, he's going get splinters. He seems to have the BB IQ always talked about on this board.

I agree with all of that. But if we want to see minutes from JDIII I can think of minutes to give him. From what I have seen from our PG's they aren't breaking down defenses...they are basically facilitating the first pass. JDIII can do that.

If we had a PG who was breaking down defenses and creating I would say leave JDIII on the bench. The way our offense works we don't need a true PG. If or when it becomes apparent that other players can't bring the ball up the court without turning it over...I am OK with scrapping the traditional PG idea for now. True PG has no meaning to me right now.