bearcat jeff
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He has a newly signed 6 year contract extension and a core of experienced and talented returning players that are ready to go from steady improvement to becoming a regular factor in the Big East title chase.
The key for Cronin is that his veteran guys now know what it takes to win at a high level, and he is looking to them to develop what he calls a “Standard of Excellence” within the program.
He and his staff will no longer have to tell the team what it takes to win big and hope they grasp the magnitude of the task. Now they can look to a season ago and know they have what it takes to get there.
“The main thing is in our locker room, that the level of expectations are different now for our returning players,” Cronin said. “First of all they understand what it takes to have a successful season, to get a chance to win a game in the NCAA Tournament, to have success in the Big East Conference. The motivation to get back is there.”
With four new players already on campus and two more joining them over the next few weeks it is an important summer for the program as the veterans instill that winning mentality in their new teammates.
The heavy burden will fall on seniors Yancy Gates and Dion Dixon along with 4th year junior Cashmere Wright. They will not only need to show the incoming class what it takes to win, but also build the type of chemistry that helped the team withstand a few rough patches a season ago.
“We're very high on the new guys from a talent standpoint, but they're very young and they have no idea what it takes to compete at the highest level of college basketball day in and day out,” said Cronin. “Fortunately we have some veteran guys to show them the way.”
Gates Leadership will be key
The main cog in the machine this year will be Gates. The 6-foot-9 270 pound Cincinnati native has been through a lot of ups and downs in his career, but he will be looking to build off an impressive stretch to close out his junior year.
For Cronin, he knows this team will look to Gates for not only production, but also leadership on and off the court. It wasn't something he was totally ready to handle early in his career, but as he enters his final season in Clifton it is his time to shine.
“It's always been a matter of slow growth and maturity,” said Cronin. “Most big guys take time to develop, and unfortunately we needed Yancy to develop overnight in front of our eyes and that wasn't realistic to him. Obviously everybody knows he made great progress late in the season last year and gave us great effort on the court our last 10 or 12 games. It showed statistically, it showed in the won loss column.”
What he finally showed at the end of the 2010-2011 season was a night in and night out consistency that gave confidence to everyone around him. He anchored the defense in the paint both physically and verbally, and on the offensive end he put his massive size to work around the rim. Now it will be up to Gates to show that consistency for 30 plus games.
“I thought he did that late in the year last year, but to do that as a captain of a top 20 team for his senior year and try to make a run in March,” Cronin said. “It's what he's here to do. He didn't even think about trying the NBA Draft which shows that his mind is in the right place and he knows that he's got more work to do as a Bearcat.”
Gates showed his loyalty to the program by not flirting with the NBA Draft, and Cronin did the same by turning down overtures from other programs and signing a contract that keeps him in Cincinnati through 2017. The new contract will pay him a 1.26 million dollar base salary with a chance to earn another raise built in after the 2014 season.
Cronin wants to build legacy
For the Cincinnati native and life long Bearcat fan, it is the chance to build on his legacy as the coach of his alma mater. Cronin has always shared the same passion and energy for the program as the fan base, and he knows the job is far from done now that the rebuilding process is complete.
“For me, you have to have the same energy and passion,” said Cronin. “I think I share the sentiment of most of our fans in the excitement of becoming a consistent upper echelon Big East team. That means you are a consistent Top 25 team, and you have a chance to contend.”
Cronin could have made more money by leaving for perceived greener pastures, but he wanted to stay home as long as there was a long-term commitment to competing for Big East Championships from the top of the athletic department down. Making sure he had that level of support was the key to the negotiations, and he is pleased with the direction things are heading.
“There's a lot of things that go in to that and we have to build upon our success. That was the things I talked about with the University in the contract stuff,” Cronin said. “The commitment to men's basketball, the improvement of facilities and marketing.”
The next step on that side of things is fully healing the wounds of a fractured fan base. Cronin saw the potential on senior night last spring. 5/3rd Arena was packed and rocking like it was back in the 90's as the Bearcats defeated Georgetown to bolster their NCAA Tournament resume.
There is now a momentum surrounding Bearcat Basketball once again, and taking advantage of that while the iron is hot is critical. The Bearcats are in a highly competitive market with not only the Reds and Bengals, but also several other high major basketball programs dotting the region. The best way to keep their attention is to keep winning and Cronin knows that is the next task at hand.
“It's important, more so than ever, that we keep pushing and even push harder,” said Cronin. “We've got to make sure that we get everybody that was at our last game against Georgetown in March, 2011 to come back in November, 2011 for our first home game. That was a tremendous atmosphere and we've got to make sure we create that every night in 5/3 Arena.”
No one wants to play the Bearcats
Along with winning it is also important to play as many high profile opponents as possible, and improving the schedule from a season ago has been a focus. The Bearcats will host Big 12 foe Oklahoma and a rising CUSA program in Marshall to go along with Big East mates Louisville, Syracuse, Marquette, Villanova, Notre Dame and St John's visiting 5/3rd Arena.
The schedule is almost complete, but Cronin is still out looking for one more marquee game to round out the home schedule. Unfortunately he hasn't been able to turn the open date into a big money regional rivalry game like he was looking for yet.
“We have one game we're trying to finish, and the only message I would try to send to our fans is I think it's important for people to understand, we make every effort with CBS and ESPN to get nationally televised non league games,” Cronin said. “For different reasons Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio State are not playing the Bearcats right now. It's not that the Bearcats aren't interested, but that's not going on. It's just not happening.”
Cronin wants Bearcat fans to know getting those type of teams on the schedule has been a priority, and that it isn't his program looking to hide behind an inflated non-conference slate.
“I think it's important that our fans know that we want those games,” said Cronin. “We're not the team that is not interested in those games. We'd love to have more regional big name rivalry games home and home for our fans. That's not available to us right now, but it doesn't mean that we're going to stop trying to pursue those games.”
With those options apparently out of reach Cronin is still searching for that perfect fit to round out the 2011-2012 schedule. While there is nothing set in stone yet, he is still working hard to make sure that last piece of the puzzle is worth the wait.
“We're trying to get a big name home and home opponent into 5/3 Arena,” Cronin said. “Somebody that will attract recruits, and will be impressive to recruits and obviously will be a very impressive game to our season ticket holders.”
http://cincinnati.247sports.com/Article/Cronin-wants-to-build-legacy-30279
The key for Cronin is that his veteran guys now know what it takes to win at a high level, and he is looking to them to develop what he calls a “Standard of Excellence” within the program.
He and his staff will no longer have to tell the team what it takes to win big and hope they grasp the magnitude of the task. Now they can look to a season ago and know they have what it takes to get there.
“The main thing is in our locker room, that the level of expectations are different now for our returning players,” Cronin said. “First of all they understand what it takes to have a successful season, to get a chance to win a game in the NCAA Tournament, to have success in the Big East Conference. The motivation to get back is there.”
With four new players already on campus and two more joining them over the next few weeks it is an important summer for the program as the veterans instill that winning mentality in their new teammates.
The heavy burden will fall on seniors Yancy Gates and Dion Dixon along with 4th year junior Cashmere Wright. They will not only need to show the incoming class what it takes to win, but also build the type of chemistry that helped the team withstand a few rough patches a season ago.
“We're very high on the new guys from a talent standpoint, but they're very young and they have no idea what it takes to compete at the highest level of college basketball day in and day out,” said Cronin. “Fortunately we have some veteran guys to show them the way.”
Gates Leadership will be key
The main cog in the machine this year will be Gates. The 6-foot-9 270 pound Cincinnati native has been through a lot of ups and downs in his career, but he will be looking to build off an impressive stretch to close out his junior year.
For Cronin, he knows this team will look to Gates for not only production, but also leadership on and off the court. It wasn't something he was totally ready to handle early in his career, but as he enters his final season in Clifton it is his time to shine.
“It's always been a matter of slow growth and maturity,” said Cronin. “Most big guys take time to develop, and unfortunately we needed Yancy to develop overnight in front of our eyes and that wasn't realistic to him. Obviously everybody knows he made great progress late in the season last year and gave us great effort on the court our last 10 or 12 games. It showed statistically, it showed in the won loss column.”
What he finally showed at the end of the 2010-2011 season was a night in and night out consistency that gave confidence to everyone around him. He anchored the defense in the paint both physically and verbally, and on the offensive end he put his massive size to work around the rim. Now it will be up to Gates to show that consistency for 30 plus games.
“I thought he did that late in the year last year, but to do that as a captain of a top 20 team for his senior year and try to make a run in March,” Cronin said. “It's what he's here to do. He didn't even think about trying the NBA Draft which shows that his mind is in the right place and he knows that he's got more work to do as a Bearcat.”
Gates showed his loyalty to the program by not flirting with the NBA Draft, and Cronin did the same by turning down overtures from other programs and signing a contract that keeps him in Cincinnati through 2017. The new contract will pay him a 1.26 million dollar base salary with a chance to earn another raise built in after the 2014 season.
Cronin wants to build legacy
For the Cincinnati native and life long Bearcat fan, it is the chance to build on his legacy as the coach of his alma mater. Cronin has always shared the same passion and energy for the program as the fan base, and he knows the job is far from done now that the rebuilding process is complete.
“For me, you have to have the same energy and passion,” said Cronin. “I think I share the sentiment of most of our fans in the excitement of becoming a consistent upper echelon Big East team. That means you are a consistent Top 25 team, and you have a chance to contend.”
Cronin could have made more money by leaving for perceived greener pastures, but he wanted to stay home as long as there was a long-term commitment to competing for Big East Championships from the top of the athletic department down. Making sure he had that level of support was the key to the negotiations, and he is pleased with the direction things are heading.
“There's a lot of things that go in to that and we have to build upon our success. That was the things I talked about with the University in the contract stuff,” Cronin said. “The commitment to men's basketball, the improvement of facilities and marketing.”
The next step on that side of things is fully healing the wounds of a fractured fan base. Cronin saw the potential on senior night last spring. 5/3rd Arena was packed and rocking like it was back in the 90's as the Bearcats defeated Georgetown to bolster their NCAA Tournament resume.
There is now a momentum surrounding Bearcat Basketball once again, and taking advantage of that while the iron is hot is critical. The Bearcats are in a highly competitive market with not only the Reds and Bengals, but also several other high major basketball programs dotting the region. The best way to keep their attention is to keep winning and Cronin knows that is the next task at hand.
“It's important, more so than ever, that we keep pushing and even push harder,” said Cronin. “We've got to make sure that we get everybody that was at our last game against Georgetown in March, 2011 to come back in November, 2011 for our first home game. That was a tremendous atmosphere and we've got to make sure we create that every night in 5/3 Arena.”
No one wants to play the Bearcats
Along with winning it is also important to play as many high profile opponents as possible, and improving the schedule from a season ago has been a focus. The Bearcats will host Big 12 foe Oklahoma and a rising CUSA program in Marshall to go along with Big East mates Louisville, Syracuse, Marquette, Villanova, Notre Dame and St John's visiting 5/3rd Arena.
The schedule is almost complete, but Cronin is still out looking for one more marquee game to round out the home schedule. Unfortunately he hasn't been able to turn the open date into a big money regional rivalry game like he was looking for yet.
“We have one game we're trying to finish, and the only message I would try to send to our fans is I think it's important for people to understand, we make every effort with CBS and ESPN to get nationally televised non league games,” Cronin said. “For different reasons Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio State are not playing the Bearcats right now. It's not that the Bearcats aren't interested, but that's not going on. It's just not happening.”
Cronin wants Bearcat fans to know getting those type of teams on the schedule has been a priority, and that it isn't his program looking to hide behind an inflated non-conference slate.
“I think it's important that our fans know that we want those games,” said Cronin. “We're not the team that is not interested in those games. We'd love to have more regional big name rivalry games home and home for our fans. That's not available to us right now, but it doesn't mean that we're going to stop trying to pursue those games.”
With those options apparently out of reach Cronin is still searching for that perfect fit to round out the 2011-2012 schedule. While there is nothing set in stone yet, he is still working hard to make sure that last piece of the puzzle is worth the wait.
“We're trying to get a big name home and home opponent into 5/3 Arena,” Cronin said. “Somebody that will attract recruits, and will be impressive to recruits and obviously will be a very impressive game to our season ticket holders.”
http://cincinnati.247sports.com/Article/Cronin-wants-to-build-legacy-30279