Gates Suspended-Not Playing Tonite

[bearcat jeff]

Umm, the squeaky tire is probably the one that needs the oil. It is a waste of resources to oil the ones not in need. Bad analogy IMO.

I think you understand what he means. You're another that looks for those opportunities to pouch on Mick Cronin for the most minimal of things.

Mick is meeting with the media this afternoon. Perhaps we'll get some clarification on things at that time.

 

[bearcat jeff]

I am sorry but your statement about Huggins is so far from the truth it makes me wonder who you are. I am by no means a huge supporter of Huggs but I dont like fabrications either and the above is a blatant lie. There was always a player on suspension for violations of team rules. Patterson, Wingfield, Hicks, Little, Grove, etc. It got to the point where I expected someone absent from the bench nearly every game. The difference was, he kept it in house and out of the press.

Herein lies the problem with our fanbase. Five years later you still have people looking backwards, holding onto it, defending it. There is an old saying, "If you are always looking backwards, you'll never move forward." This city basks in the past and clings to it!! This drives me nuts!!!!!!! I mean who do you think he is? A secret NCAA spy, perhaps an agent of the anti-Huggs society? Maybe he's some Manchurian type that is only activated by certain words, at which point he'll intentionally spew falsehoods about Bob Huggins and days gone by. Thank God we have the Guardians of The Gate to make sure things are defended and protected. Sheeeeeshhh, move on people!

 

[cincinnati insanity]

To give my honest opinion about Gates is that i dont think he is good enough to make an impact now that he is gone. Lets all face it that Biggie is not a impact player, but he does get position and atleast try to play hard. I really like Gates and think he has lottery potential. Remember when he came in they said he was a coach killa, i believe it now. to have some one with nothing but high potential and them have no fire and intensity is terrible. I think this is a great thing for Mick and for Yancey. Alot of people dont realize that Mick hates losing just as much as we do.. He has to be a nervous wreck and lets face it, we dont have the 5 star talent to be contenders, we will have to play harder than our opponent.. Now way we can do that with Yancey.....

 

[bearcat jeff]

I think it's really becoming a questions of standards. I think you have some that may be happy with being somewhat BE competitive and perhaps think that a 8/9 seed would be quite a feat. They can find improvement even if not met, and have hope moving forward.

Then I think another group demands an 8/9 seed at minimum, and anything is less is total failure. If this is not met, they have very little hope for the future.

Interesting, I find it funny that some of the people who are realistic about where the team is currently are said to have lower standards. Speaking only for myself, if a 16 seed is the best they can do, and it lands them in the tournament, I will be happy but not satisfied.

Making the NCAA is a step this program has to make to continue to move forward. Some want to go straight from the basement to the penthouse. That all sounds great, but it isn't going to happen in this league. Progress will be incremental like it has been. You aren't simply going to leap frog perrenial top 10 teams. There's a reason Syracuse, Pitt, and Villanova and UConn have been where they are for so many years. Making the NT gives Cincinnati another recruiting tool to attempt to close the talent gap between them and the top teams.

Satisfied? Absolutely not! Will I be happy if they get in The Dance even if they back pedal all the way in? Yes!! I'm looking at the bigger picture and not just how they look playing in a particular game. There's more at stake than being aesthetically pleasing.

To get to where most of us want to be we have to take that step. The program needs the positive exposure and the added recruiting clout to compete with the top of the BEast. No matter what the seeding or where they stand in the league.

 

[bearcat jeff]

To give my honest opinion about Gates is that i dont think he is good enough to make an impact now that he is gone. Lets all face it that Biggie is not a impact player, but he does get position and atleast try to play hard. I really like Gates and think he has lottery potential. Remember when he came in they said he was a coach killa, i believe it now. to have some one with nothing but high potential and them have no fire and intensity is terrible. I think this is a great thing for Mick and for Yancey. Alot of people dont realize that Mick hates losing just as much as we do.. He has to be a nervous wreck and lets face it, we dont have the 5 star talent to be contenders, we will have to play harder than our opponent.. Now way we can do that with Yancey.....

Some good observations!

 

[Bearcat_NTS]

To give my honest opinion about Gates is that i dont think he is good enough to make an impact now that he is gone. Lets all face it that Biggie is not a impact player, but he does get position and atleast try to play hard. I really like Gates and think he has lottery potential. Remember when he came in they said he was a coach killa, i believe it now. to have some one with nothing but high potential and them have no fire and intensity is terrible. I think this is a great thing for Mick and for Yancey. Alot of people dont realize that Mick hates losing just as much as we do.. He has to be a nervous wreck and lets face it, we dont have the 5 star talent to be contenders, we will have to play harder than our opponent.. Now way we can do that with Yancey.....

Don't tell Pittsburgh and West Virginia they cannot win without 5 star players. It comes down to the coaching and the jury is still out on Mick.

 

[bearcat jeff]

Don't tell Pittsburgh and West Virginia they cannot win without 5 star players. It comes down to the coaching and the jury is still out on Mick.

It comes down to players and coaching. I keep telling you guys not to look so hard at Stars. just because a guy doesn't have a star by his name doesn't mean he wasn't a good player. It also doesn't mean it was all about the coach. ANY college coach will tell you a player will only be as good as the time and commitment he puts in himself.

 

[Juliepitzer]

I think you understand what he means. You're another that looks for those opportunities to pouch on Mick Cronin for the most minimal of things.

Mick is meeting with the media this afternoon. Perhaps we'll get some clarification on things at that time.

I have done my fair share of defending Cronin in the past when I think it is warranted. However, I am not one who is a fan of the coach but of the program. I knew what he meant but the analogy was bad. Just making a statement.

 

[Juliepitzer]

Herein lies the problem with our fanbase. Five years later you still have people looking backwards, holding onto it, defending it. There is an old saying, "If you are always looking backwards, you'll never move forward." This city basks in the past and clings to it!! This drives me nuts!!!!!!! I mean who do you think he is? A secret NCAA spy, perhaps an agent of the anti-Huggs society? Maybe he's some Manchurian type that is only activated by certain words, at which point he'll intentionally spew falsehoods about Bob Huggins and days gone by. Thank God we have the Guardians of The Gate to make sure things are defended and protected. Sheeeeeshhh, move on people!

I really need to work on my clarification skills.The gentleman who initiated my response concocted a fabrication and I called him on it. My statement in reference as to who he may be was merely questioning his loyalty to Cronin, and not the program. And FYI, he was the one who took us back to the day of Huggs, not me. Yet nothing was said to him.

 

[swg]

Let's eat....

--- Yancy Gates. Yeah, he's the story everyone wants to talk about, except for Mick Cronin. For the record, I don't know what Gates did other than what is being reported. Bill Koch had the latest today. But what I do know is, whatever happened Cronin did what was right.

For him to take these measures at this point in such a critical season, Gates must have crossed over the line. Likely far over it.

Here's what Cronin said on the postgame show on 700WLW: "I'm not concerned with that. I'm concerned with our basketball team right now and he's not part of it."

At the end of the day you need people whose heads and hearts are in the right place to win in this league. This team won't out-talent many teams in the BE. They won't be out-talented all that often, either. Point being, they will win games through effort, scratching and clawing.

If somebody isn't willing to do those three, you probably are better off without them, even if it is Gates.

--- Dan Hoard had much more from Cronin about Gates. He says the squeaky wheel shouldn't get the oil.

--- If you look at the game, I don't know how much the absence of Gates really affected the outcome. What are the areas he would have had the most affect over? Rebounding and an inside offensive presence. UC owned the offensive glass in this one. They grabbed 23 of 47 possible offensive boards against one of the best rebounding teams in the conference.

With inside scoring, Biggie McClain contributed 10 points and even made some nice post moves playing 23 minutes. Ibrahima Thomas had 7 points and 6 rebounds soaking up a few of Yancy's minutes as well.

The game wasn't lost on the inside. The game was lost by UC's perimeter players missing so many open looks driving to the bucket. Plus, turning the ball over to lead to easy fast break points at the conclusion of the first half.

As I mentioned here on Friday, Pitt doesn't create a ton of turnovers. They are content to sit back and let the ball funnel to their big guys. In fact, more than half of their BE opponents didn't turn the ball over double-digit times. UC had 11 at the half. They finished with the most turnovers against Pitt by a Big East team (16) this season. That was a stat they couldn't afford.

http://www.gobearcats.com/blog/2011/02/bearcats-breakfast-2711.html

 

[JasonS]

From BCL on Twitter:

BearcatLair Yancy Gates will practice today. But will he play against Depaul? #cincinnati #bearcats http://bit.ly/gJ1sFa


When we look back on this season, I have a feeling this suspension will be the turning point. Either Yancy Gates will come back to the team with a changed attitude and a new found motivation or he will remain suspended and this team will falter. I don't see anything in between and I don't see Mick allowing Yancy back without an attitude change. If Yancy is back and motivated, this team can finish strong. If he is not back or continues to play uninspired ball, I don't see how this team wins 5 more games this year, let alone 4.

 

[Kingsley Court]

I really think you have to respect Mick for taking a stand here. It's a tough thing to do, especially when UC is right there with a few weeks left, but he made the call.

 

[swg]

Seems strange after his comments that Yancy is back practicing. MC sounded like Gates had done something serious, now he's 'back' so soon?
Not sure how that is taking a stand.
Bottom line is the same for coaches, politicians, or those with high-paying jobs.

The most important thing to do is to keep your job.

 

[Kingsley Court]

Seems strange after his comments that Yancy is back practicing. MC sounded like Gates had done something serious, now he's 'back' so soon?
Not sure how that is taking a stand.
Bottom line is the same for coaches, politicians, or those with high-paying jobs.

The most important thing to do is to keep your job.

I didn't see that before I had posted what I did. Now, I agree with you on the fact that if he is playing already then either A) it wasn't all that serious or B) Mick is trying to keep his job, and knows Gates could play a big role in that.

 

[swg]

I'm simply speculating, not knowing exactly what transpired..but the comments from MC don't seem to match what is transpiring....is my point.

 

[JasonS]

I didn't see that before I had posted what I did. Now, I agree with you on the fact that if he is playing already then either A) it wasn't all that serious or B) Mick is trying to keep his job, and knows Gates could play a big role in that.

C) Maybe by missing the game at Pitt, Yancy got the message and changed his attitude.

Benching your best low post option and most talented player before a huge road conference game against the #4 team in the country is a pretty big stand by Mick. There is no reason to question Mick's integrity here especially with the way he handled Bishop last year in the BEAST Tourney. While there wasn't a lot coming out of the UC camp on exactly why Yancy was suspended, it sounded like an attitude and effort thing. The only way for Mick to know if Yancy is ready to play in games is to let him practice. Otherwise, how do you know if his effort and attitude has changed?

 

[JasonS]

From Paul Dehner Jr on Twitter:

pauldehnerjr Mick Cronin said he spoke w Yancy Gates today and he will practice. As for if he'll play vs DePaul he said "we'll see."


pauldehnerjr Cronin said he thought Yancy's effort has dropped since the start of BE play. Pointed out Gates has 13 off boards in 9 BE games.

 

[psax889906]

C) Maybe by missing the game at Pitt, Yancy got the message and changed his attitude.

Benching your best low post option and most talented player before a huge road conference game against the #4 team in the country is a pretty big stand by Mick. There is no reason to question Mick's integrity here especially with the way he handled Bishop last year in the BEAST Tourney. While there wasn't a lot coming out of the UC camp on exactly why Yancy was suspended, it sounded like an attitude and effort thing. The only way for Mick to know if Yancy is ready to play in games is to let him practice. Otherwise, how do you know if his effort and attitude has changed?

Exactly. Just because he's practicing doesn't mean he will play. It is encouraging though and for me, as a fan, I'm hoping he plays. Of course with that it's assumed he has done the things necessary to get back in Cronin's good graces and be a solid contributor to the team. The game tomorrow is the biggest of the season thus far for the Bearcats. I'm quite serious about that statement. It's a dangerous game. Lose it and the 'Cats are more likely than not NIT bound. Win it and they are still right on track and looking good for a bid.

 

[JasonS]

Yancy Gates, who was suspended for the Pitt game for an incident that occurred in practice last week, might be available to play tomorrow night at DePaul. As I left UC a few minutes ago, he was practicing with his teammates. Mick Cronin said he will base his decision on how Gates practices before the Bearcats leave this afternoon for Chicago.

“It’s how much I think he deserves to and when I think he deserves to,” Cronin said.

Cronin said he talked to Gates in person this morning, but that Gates had been seeking him out.

“This isn’t rocket science,” Cronin said. “People make coaching too complicated. Play hard. Be coachable. Be committed to your team.”

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/uc/2011/02/07/gates-might-play-tomorrow-at-depaul/

 

[bearcat jeff]

C) Maybe by missing the game at Pitt, Yancy got the message and changed his attitude.

Benching your best low post option and most talented player before a huge road conference game against the #4 team in the country is a pretty big stand by Mick. There is no reason to question Mick's integrity here especially with the way he handled Bishop last year in the BEAST Tourney. While there wasn't a lot coming out of the UC camp on exactly why Yancy was suspended, it sounded like an attitude and effort thing. The only way for Mick to know if Yancy is ready to play in games is to let him practice. Otherwise, how do you know if his effort and attitude has changed?

It was a message sent. They could have used Gates the other night. If I remember right he had 16 and 14 last season against Pitt.