Micks Philosophy needs to change.

[Scheids21]

In addition, I thought things would improve as the players did but they haven't. This is his team and they have no idea what to do in the half court. We've all advocated the run and gun style (which we still haven't seen) but it would only cover up the true problem. You can't run on every team in the country.

An elite defense can only take you so far, and thats about the sweet 16. If things continue like this and we don't improve, the fanbase will become even more frustrated than it is already. He is signed through 2018 so I don't think he's going anywhere so all we can do now is watch and hope for improvement that looks less and less likely to come.

Done venting.

 

[david aka the TYZ]

The biggest difference is that not as many people fall through the cracks in recruiting nowadays. When Hugs started at UC, he got some nice, under-the-radar JUCO players. Now, it is tough to find guys that have fallen through the cracks. You can get a few, like Parker, Caupain, Dixon, SK, etc., but you will have to live with having more duds (Biggie, Gaines, Ellis, etc.). This is especially true right now, as we have had terrible luck with this Junior class. If just one of those guys could be a productive player, I think it would help us out a lot. Problem is, Shaq, Sanders, and Guyn aren't consistently good. When you couple that with freshmen still trying to find their way and bad play by JJ and Rubles, you aren't going to win. JJ is a role player and he wouldn't start on a good team. Rubles keeps shooting those damn jumpers that he never makes and no one buys his pump fake as a result. We should've never used that scholly on Big Dave in desperation, should've saved it for a good recruit the next year. JD3 situation was unfortunate and Gaines was a low-skilled, high potential project that never panned out because Mick couldn't get the job done. We definitely have our problems, but I'm hoping that once we get rid of this Junior class, things will start to look better for us.

I agree with most of what you're saying. I don't blame Mick one bit for Gaines not developing. We could argue whether or not giving him a scholarship was a good idea and I'll agree that we gave too many scholarships to non-offensive projects at the 4 and 5 positions. Gaines couldn't catch the ball. I learned how to pitch and catch a ball at what, four years old. Going forward Mick needs to quit giving scholarships to such big projects because more often than not there's a reason they are a project. You don't learn simple motor skills at 18-20 years of age. You can be taught fundamentals and be taught a better way to play the game, but if you don't have the certain motor skills necessary to play the game i.e. catching and shooting a ball, then your chances of becoming a high-level basketball player are close to zero. As far as Jackson is concerned. His problem is he doesn't play along side a true big. He's not a back-to-the basket kind of player and just never will be. If we had a player down low that could throw his weight around and rebound and score when given the ball within five feet of the basket, Jackson would be an absolute superstar playing along side him. Same with Lawrence. If we're expecting him to come in here and be our big man we will be highly upset the next three and a half years and blame Mick for not being able to coach him. He will play well along side a true big not in place of one.

 

[Bearcat_NTS]

Justin Jackson should have been used as an undersized 5 man his whole career. Even Mick acknowledges this. With Yancy it was okay to play him at the 4, but starting last year he should have been at the 5.

 

[TheLivingLegend]

Fixing this offense simply isnt going to happen this year.. Our half court will not be good. We are wasting our time getting into it.

So what does Mick do? Heres the answer... Rebound, outlet and run as fast as you can to the offensive rim... I dont care if its 3 on 3. 3on 5. 1 on 15... Athletes are athletes. Let them be athletes.

Ill take my chances running as fast as possible all game... even if that means some very forced drive attempts in the fast break.

It will do a few things....
1. Create fouls
2. Create an exhausted opponent.
3. Keep us out of the half court.
4. Will make the game hectic... something this team can excel under.

 

[Robert]

Fixing this offense simply isnt going to happen this year.. Our half court will not be good. We are wasting our time getting into it.

So what does Mick do? Heres the answer... Rebound, outlet and run as fast as you can to the offensive rim... I dont care if its 3 on 3. 3on 5. 1 on 15... Athletes are athletes. Let them be athletes.

Ill take my chances running as fast as possible all game... even if that means some very forced drive attempts in the fast break.

It will do a few things....
1. Create fouls
2. Create an exhausted opponent.
3. Keep us out of the half court.
4. Will make the game hectic... something this team can excel under.

That's not a bad idea with this group. I will say this much... when we attack the rim, even when it's out of control and results in a miss, we tend to have a better success rate than passing the ball around on the perimeter running our "half-court offense."

There are so many problems with our half-court offense, and it's not just our players or the type of players we recruit. We are predictable. I see the same thing pretty much every possession. I see almost nothing but ball screens, which only work either A) Against inferior competition who don't have the athletes to get around screens or B) When you have elite play makers on offense who can break guys down off the dribble.

Well, we're no longer playing inferior competition and it's obvious that we don't have play makers on this team. Guyn and Sanders aren't good enough to play big minutes against good competition -- the amount we saw them in the 2nd half last night needs to become the norm. We need more action away from the ball -- back screens, backdoor cuts, screening for guys on the wing coming up to the top of the key. We need to play fast, and we need to be decisive. Rubles and Jackson are not decisive. We can't afford to have both of them on the floor together a lot unless we absolutely have to against a larger team. I mentioned in an earlier thread that the best teams in the AAC don't have a lot of size... now is the time to start playing 3 guards and a wing and prepare for league play. It's time for Caupain to take over the starting job and get ready to help us make a post-season run. It's time for Shaq to get the green light to be aggressive on offense without fear of being yanked every time he makes a mistake. It's time for change, period.

 

[bearcat jeff]

Fixing this offense simply isnt going to happen this year.. Our half court will not be good. We are wasting our time getting into it.

So what does Mick do? Heres the answer... Rebound, outlet and run as fast as you can to the offensive rim... I dont care if its 3 on 3. 3on 5. 1 on 15... Athletes are athletes. Let them be athletes.

Ill take my chances running as fast as possible all game... even if that means some very forced drive attempts in the fast break.

It will do a few things....
1. Create fouls
2. Create an exhausted opponent.
3. Keep us out of the half court.
4. Will make the game hectic... something this team can excel under.

I'd add start Caupain and play KJ at the 1/2.

 

[JumpinJack5]

I'd add start Caupain and play KJ at the 1/2.

Start Caupain, SK, Thomas, Rubles, and JJ. Thomas>KJ, IMO. Like NTS said, Thomas needs consistent playing time like he got last night.

 

[bearcat jeff]

I can counter that when recruits sign here they are quoted as saying they like our style of play and they like how Mick lets his bigs be agressive. Winning and losing is about the only thing that really matters. Lawrence was a high recruit and his visit last year was the Marshall game where we were losing at halftime and looked awful and the place was half empty. But he signed. I get the point, but I don't know that recruits really break down the offenses and watch every game that closely for every college that recruits them on top of playing and being in high school and having a social life and tweeting and facebooking and getting laid and whatever else 17 year-old phenoms like to do.

Bearcat Jeff, you're about the most positive poster we have on this site that actually is critical at the same time. You've been very negative after this loss. Try not to hang your head too low, I hate losing to X as much as anyone and last night was embarassing. We got a whole season to see how it plays out and I'm anxious to see what we can do once conference play starts.

I just get tired of hearing it's our defense when you gave up 63 and 64 respectively and lose by double digits. Granted you gave up a high percentage to X but if you capitalize on the 20 turnovers and make foul shots it's still a close game. Mick needs to cut this rotation down or at minimum extend some minutes for some and reduce them for others.

Thomas and Caupain give you the best 2 options for scoring apart from SK. Leave them in and let them play 25-28 min per game. How many games does Caupain need to outplay GG to get the starting nod? Use KJ at the 1-2 or 2-3 and extend his minutes as well. Live with their mistakes and get them primed for conference play.

 

[TheLivingLegend]

Id be very tempted to go...

Caupain, SK, KJ, Titus, Jackson.... and Run like crazy. Made baskets included.

I simply dont get the tempo?? Im sick of seeing rebounds covered up and walking the ball up the court.

 

[bearcat jeff]

Id be very tempted to go...

Caupain, SK, KJ, Titus, Jackson.... and Run like crazy. Made baskets included.

I simply dont get the tempo?? Im sick of seeing rebounds covered up and walking the ball up the court.

That's my line up if Thomas isn't starting. Caupain is averaging 19.8 mpg 7.2 ppg 2.6 rpg 1.8 apg 1.2 spg. Get him minutes!!! He's your future!! Add 8-10 more minutes to that and see what you got. He shoots 38.5% from the three and is a good foul shooter. Let the kid play!!!!!!

 

[waterhead]

Here is what I am and am NOT OK with.

JJ...swatting shots and put backs...not dribbling to create

TR...plowing to the bucket...not shooting outside 8 feet

JL...do what you do...just don't put the ball on the floor too much

ST...Do something...anything is fine with me

JS...I'm fine with him on the bench with spot minutes

SK...whatever you want to do is fne

KJ...Please continue to be agressive...stop fouling

GG...good defensive minutes...but do what a PG is suppposed to do on O

TC...Keep up whatever you are doing on O and become a great defender.

 

[JumpinJack5]

Id be very tempted to go...

Caupain, SK, KJ, Titus, Jackson.... and Run like crazy. Made baskets included.

I simply dont get the tempo?? Im sick of seeing rebounds covered up and walking the ball up the court.

Or insert Thomas for KJ. Thomas is further developed at this point and I think he would be better if he got almost all the minutes at the three. KJ hasn't impressed me recently, he isn't as ready as Caupain is to make big contributions.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

The way the game is being called has a lot to do with the rotation. For as long as JJ has been fouling 30 feet from the hoop it is impossible to expect him to change. He is much more effective coming off the bench the only issue is that means playing JL and he isn't physically ready and he fouls as much as JJ.

While they haven't set the world on fire with their offense KJ and TC have for the most part been able to get shots. They just haven't fallen. I would make sure they got major minutes. ST should see major minutes. JS and GG should be subs at best. Both after almost 3 years have really not improved all that much.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Or insert Thomas for KJ. Thomas is further developed at this point and I think he would be better if he got almost all the minutes at the three. KJ hasn't impressed me recently, he isn't as ready as Caupain is to make big contributions.

jack it's hard to run when your getting killed on the glass. It really didn't show up during the weaker part of the schedule but X killed us on the boards and so did NM. If JJ gets in foul trouble he has to sit that leaves Rubles to try and control the boards. JL and ST are not physical capable yet. We are really a small team. Narsuk is a waste and Strickland being ineligible has really left us thin in the post. Couple that with the fact we are a terrible shooting team right now and it is ugly. Last year we got a ton of second chance points this year we are 1 and done. This team is no where near as physical as last years squad.

 

[david aka the TYZ]

I just get tired of hearing it's our defense when you gave up 63 and 64 respectively and lose by double digits. Granted you gave up a high percentage to X but if you capitalize on the 20 turnovers and make foul shots it's still a close game. Mick needs to cut this rotation down or at minimum extend some minutes for some and reduce them for others.

Thomas and Caupain give you the best 2 options for scoring apart from SK. Leave them in and let them play 25-28 min per game. How many games does Caupain need to outplay GG to get the starting nod? Use KJ at the 1-2 or 2-3 and extend his minutes as well. Live with their mistakes and get them primed for conference play.

I agree. I didn't hear the post game presser, but I get frustrated with Cronin harping on defense as well after losses. The goal of basketball is to put the ball in the basket. The rules are geared to help the offense, especially the way they're emphasizing the hand check. Good teams will score points regardless of how good the defense is. When you press you're going to get beat at times and when you double team you're going to give up open looks. Xavier made their shots last night. I in no way saw a flaw in our defense as a whole for the game. We were inept on offense. We left points at the line. At the end of the day this is one of those games you forget and move on from. Don't watch the tape, don't harp on it. Make adjustments as to what our strengths are and devise a gameplan accordingly. What we have done well on offense is getting to the line and drawing fouls. When we move the ball, we get better looks. Play the guys that understand this and can do it. We know we are suspect at shooting and we have no inside presence and we are suspect at even hitting lay-ups. So be aggressive and get to the line. We shot poorly last night from the line, but I think that was an abberation more than the norm. On defense, press to wear the other team out and be smarter about double-teaming in the half-court and giving up open looks. I don't agree with the posters who say we should go uptempo. When you have trouble scoring the last thing you do is increase possessions in the game.

 

[UCBearcats]

Fixing this offense simply isnt going to happen this year.. Our half court will not be good. We are wasting our time getting into it.

So what does Mick do? Heres the answer... Rebound, outlet and run as fast as you can to the offensive rim... I dont care if its 3 on 3. 3on 5. 1 on 15... Athletes are athletes. Let them be athletes.

Ill take my chances running as fast as possible all game... even if that means some very forced drive attempts in the fast break.

It will do a few things....
1. Create fouls
2. Create an exhausted opponent.
3. Keep us out of the half court.
4. Will make the game hectic... something this team can excel under.

Here's the problem with your idea, while it makes sense, Mick won't do it. That's basically asking him to adopt two strategies that are in contradiction of one another. Why do you think Mick harps on defense in his pressers? He wants to play a slow it down game. He wants to rely on strong D and limit the amount of scoring opportunities for the other team. If he adopts a fast paced style of play he's crapping all over his defensive philosophies that he believes so strongly in.

I don't know about you but I've never seen a team win a game 2-0. You can't win if you can't score, Mick still hasn't seemed to figure that out. He's made it clear that he isn't changing, this is his roster, his gameplan and it fails or succeeds as a team because of him. This is UC basketball under Mick, it has been and will continue to be as long as he is our head coach. I don't see the pot of golf at the end of rainbow, I don't see the recruits and I don't see the talent in the pipeline to take this thing to the next level. Mick's players and philosophies will continue to give us what we've seen over the last 8 years. One or two decent years followed by 2 or 3 down years. A decent recruit here or there surrounded by a bunch of players who are underwhelming.

 

[waterhead]

Here's the problem with your idea, while it makes sense, Mick won't do it. That's basically asking him to adopt two strategies that are in contradiction of one another. Why do you think Mick harps on defense in his pressers? He wants to play a slow it down game. He wants to rely on strong D and limit the amount of scoring opportunities for the other team. If he adopts a fast paced style of play he's crapping all over his defensive philosophies that he believes so strongly in.

I don't know about you but I've never seen a team win a game 2-0. You can't win if you can't score, Mick still hasn't seemed to figure that out. He's made it clear that he isn't changing, this is his roster, his gameplan and it fails or succeeds as a team because of him. This is UC basketball under Mick, it has been and will continue to be as long as he is our head coach. I don't see the pot of golf at the end of rainbow, I don't see the recruits and I don't see the talent in the pipeline to take this thing to the next level. Mick's players and philosophies will continue to give us what we've seen over the last 8 years. One or two decent years followed by 2 or 3 down years. A decent recruit here or there surrounded by a bunch of players who are underwhelming.

I agree with some of your points but where I think you are wrong is this. Yes Mick does want to slow the opponent down and get them in half court offense...but he does NOT want us to be in a half court offense.

He wants to press and he won't/can't when we don't make the baskets. Simple. Make baskets and we press. He has said that in pressers. That's our problem...we can't score the ball.

How do you start a press off a defensive rebound (since it depends where it goes)? You may have a strategy but it will be inconsistent...the only consistent press strategy is when you know where the ball is going to be inbounded from...IE...after made buckets.

 

[bearcat jeff]

Here's the thing. Good coaches make adjustments. Two teams in a row have exposed you. They've exposed you on the boards. They've exposed you on the interior, They've exposed your offensive ineptness. Mick has to make adjustments and it needs to start with line up changes. Personally I wouldn't mind them pressing and then dropping back into a zone. They can't rebound anyway and this would help them protect the interior. With their length, athleticism and quickness they should be able to collapse and recover out. Then you can shorten your bench without fear of fatigue.

 

[newguy]

IM impressed wit what I'm seeing out of KJ and TC both of these kids can play yeasterday as soon as mick put KJ in the game something positive happen a three pointer a steal and a bucket he's ready he should get more of ST mins he's unselfish he plays team ball and got a heart of a lion Mick got to let these two off the leash and let them play mistakes gone happen they freshman.

 

[Bcatfollower]

IM impressed wit what I'm seeing out of KJ and TC both of these kids can play yeasterday as soon as mick put KJ in the game something positive happen a three pointer a steal and a bucket he's ready he should get more of ST mins he's unselfish he plays team ball and got a heart of a lion Mick got to let these two off the leash and let them play mistakes gone happen they freshman.

agreed, if they are the future let them get experience this year. kj, tc, jl and st need to play as much as possibl.