bearcat jeff
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By Jeff Goodman
CINCINNATI - Yancy Gates couldn't take it anymore.
He cracked.
Everywhere he'd go around town, the homegrown Cincinnati product would hear it.
"Do this," they'd say.
"No, you should do this," another would chime in.
Finally, shortly after the Bearcats NCAA tournament hopes appeared in serious jeopardy early last February, he couldn't deal with it any longer.
Gates exploded.
Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin tossed his talented big man out of practice and then kept him home for the team's road game at Pittsburgh.
"It just all got to him," Cronin said. "He was having a meltdown. He was just so stressed."
"I watched the game in my room by myself," Gates said. "It wasn't on TV, so I just watched the score."
Gates returned and played sparingly in a road win at DePaul and a home loss to St. John's.
Then he and the coaching staff had a heart-to-heart when the emotions came pouring out.
"We didn't know how bad it was," Cronin said. "It was just too much for him."
Staying home to play at Cincinnati has been a blessing, Gates said. But it's also been a curse at times.
He was that kid who chose to commit to the home school back when the Bearcats were rebuilding as the doormat of the Big East. Just about everyone questioned his decision - why he'd pick Cincinnati over more stable programs such as Georgetown and Ohio State.
Gates was slated as a one-and-done kid by some, but it didn't take him long - a couple games going up against guys his own size like DeJuan Blair and Luke Harangody - to realize he'd be in college for a while.
But the expectations were always there for the kid who dominated ever since his name burst onto the scene in the area.
"It was different," Gates said. "In high school, I'd go up against guys 70 pounds lighter and four inches shorter every game," Gates admitted. "I was criticized for the first time - and that never really happened to me before, so it was tough for me to deal with."
Now Yates appears stress-free. Maybe it's because Cincinnati is coming off a second-round appearance in the NCAA tournament and returns the core of its team from a year ago. Maybe it's because he feels as though he's done his job - to stabilize a program in flux following the departure of Bob Huggins.
"I never thought I would be here all four years," Gates admitted. "But it's been worth it."
The knock on Gates, and he knows it, is that he doesn't play hard all the time. That he should dominate more often, that with his NBA-ready body, he should be a force on the glass and in the paint. He's lighter in his midsection these days and that'll lead to increased mobility.
He's hoping to build on his numbers (11.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg) from a year ago - and much of that may come from a clear head.
"I feel so much better now," the 22-year-old Gates said. "I'm stress-free."
http://eye-on-college-basketball.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/26283066/32829066
CINCINNATI - Yancy Gates couldn't take it anymore.
He cracked.
Everywhere he'd go around town, the homegrown Cincinnati product would hear it.
"Do this," they'd say.
"No, you should do this," another would chime in.
Finally, shortly after the Bearcats NCAA tournament hopes appeared in serious jeopardy early last February, he couldn't deal with it any longer.
Gates exploded.
Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin tossed his talented big man out of practice and then kept him home for the team's road game at Pittsburgh.
"It just all got to him," Cronin said. "He was having a meltdown. He was just so stressed."
"I watched the game in my room by myself," Gates said. "It wasn't on TV, so I just watched the score."
Gates returned and played sparingly in a road win at DePaul and a home loss to St. John's.
Then he and the coaching staff had a heart-to-heart when the emotions came pouring out.
"We didn't know how bad it was," Cronin said. "It was just too much for him."
Staying home to play at Cincinnati has been a blessing, Gates said. But it's also been a curse at times.
He was that kid who chose to commit to the home school back when the Bearcats were rebuilding as the doormat of the Big East. Just about everyone questioned his decision - why he'd pick Cincinnati over more stable programs such as Georgetown and Ohio State.
Gates was slated as a one-and-done kid by some, but it didn't take him long - a couple games going up against guys his own size like DeJuan Blair and Luke Harangody - to realize he'd be in college for a while.
But the expectations were always there for the kid who dominated ever since his name burst onto the scene in the area.
"It was different," Gates said. "In high school, I'd go up against guys 70 pounds lighter and four inches shorter every game," Gates admitted. "I was criticized for the first time - and that never really happened to me before, so it was tough for me to deal with."
Now Yates appears stress-free. Maybe it's because Cincinnati is coming off a second-round appearance in the NCAA tournament and returns the core of its team from a year ago. Maybe it's because he feels as though he's done his job - to stabilize a program in flux following the departure of Bob Huggins.
"I never thought I would be here all four years," Gates admitted. "But it's been worth it."
The knock on Gates, and he knows it, is that he doesn't play hard all the time. That he should dominate more often, that with his NBA-ready body, he should be a force on the glass and in the paint. He's lighter in his midsection these days and that'll lead to increased mobility.
He's hoping to build on his numbers (11.9 ppg, 6.9 rpg) from a year ago - and much of that may come from a clear head.
"I feel so much better now," the 22-year-old Gates said. "I'm stress-free."
http://eye-on-college-basketball.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/26283066/32829066
