Nebraska

[TrillCosby]

This team is just not that talented. There's some young talent like Gary Clark that is promising, but there isn't the overall talent you need for a deep tourney run. There aren't enough players on the team who can create their own shot or create shots for others. I love that "toughness" is the Bearcat idenity, but that's resulted in just 1 final four since 1963. I think the program needs a new approach. I think it's the sad reality of things. I really hope Cronin can find the talent required to win at the highest level, and I think Evans is good start. Being tough doesn't mean you have to turn every game in to a rock fight. I really like Cronin, but sometimes I think he's too stubborn to adapt.

Anyway, Go Bearcats!

 

[LeftyRose]

This team is just not that talented. There's some young talent like Gary Clark that is promising, but there isn't the overall talent you need for a deep tourney run. There aren't enough players on the team who can create their own shot or create shots for others. I love that "toughness" is the Bearcat idenity, but that's resulted in just 1 final four since 1963. I think the program needs a new approach. I think it's the sad reality of things. I really hope Cronin can find the talent required to win at the highest level, and I think Evans is good start. Being tough doesn't mean you have to turn every game in to a rock fight. I really like Cronin, but sometimes I think he's too stubborn to adapt.

Anyway, Go Bearcats!

Great post, my sentiments exactly. Everyone wants to dog the fans and make excuses for attendance. But, the truth is, you are not going to generate a buzz in this town, unless your product is capable of competing with the major programs.

If you draw a two-hour circle around Cincinnati, I feel like we went from the 2nd-best program to the 7th-best program in the past decade. We were always behind Kentucky, but Louisville, OSU, Butler, Xavier, and perhaps even Dayton surpassed us.

And, it's hard because Mick runs a clean program. But this style of play is not attractive to fans or recruits. The arena proposal is particularly troubling, because it's seemingly an admission that the University is content with the status quo.

 

[BearcatSpaniard513]

I had a graduation party for one of my younger friends and recorded the game with 30 extra minutes added to the end (in case of OT)... Go figure they go into 2 overtimes. Everyone had an off night shooting and our offense sucked because of it (55 points in 50 minutes?). The one way you bust a zone defense wide open is by knocking down a couple threes- forcing them to spread out. Our shots were not even close though. That completely changes the offensive strategy of getting the ball into the post and starting the offense from there.

Bright notes moving forward: Defense looked fantastic and the effort was there. Our pressure caused some key turnovers that put us in position to win the game multiple times. This was pretty much the first real away game for a couple players and Nebraska did exactly what we wanted them to do: challenge us and prepare us for our conference games. Almost 15,000 people provided a tougher atmosphere than we'll see all year and the double overtimes tested our young team. I'm happy with what they'll come away with and think a tough road loss this early could be a good thing. Should of could of pulled it out, oh well. On to San Diego St and our first top 25 win of the season

 

[Bearcatmatt]

We had the game won with seconds left until sanders missed his free throws and committed that stupid foul.

Sanders should not have put himself in that position, but come on...that's such a cheap foul. They could call that on every play.

Cronin's interview was correct that we had a few dumb fouls and missed free throws, but this really misses the heart of the issue that we've all been talking about - we can't score. When you force 22 turnovers and allow 3 assists total, you should win. Period. Defense is not enough, and even though UC made some of the worst mistakes at the end of a game that I can remember, a few more baskets and we win the game. I suspect that this team was rattled being so young and that was a factor for both shooting and execution, but we need guys who can score.

We also need a bonafide go-to option at the end of the game - someone who wants the big shot. This will open it up for other people to score off a pass. It seems like out guys are lost with the ball and no one wants to shoot until they have to.

I'm optimistic. I think we are suffering from being young and a lack of execution. The Sweet 16 team lost to Presbyterian. Maybe I'm blind, but I do see talent on this team. Clark has so much potential.

Also, Ellis needs to learn another move besides a jump stop to the middle of the lane. Add a drop step or something, because teams will figure that out. He's got some skill, but adding something very simple would make it much easier on him. I like his fire, but I hate some of his dumb fouls. He's a hot head at times. He needs to take each challenge and respond with defense and offense and not his mouth.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

We have 2 players that can play with the ball (Caupain and Clark). We spend all game trying to beat our opponents and overcome our complete lack of basketball ability. I'm getting pretty tired of it. It makes the game very difficult. Instead of watching anything that resembles a high level of play, we just watch borderline unwatchable games filled with mistakes that are absolutely inexcusable at this level (or any level for that matter). Couple that with the worst shooting you'll ever see from a D-1 team and you have a hell of a combo. I'm too young to get gray hair from the stress of watching athletes disguised as basketball players. I'm not excited for a single game left on the schedule. Looking forward to HUGE 52-47 home conference wins against the Central Florida types doesn't sound very fun. I'm not sold on this team. How could anyone be? They don't understand the most fundamental elements of basketball.

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Thought I would look at Jered Terrell's stats since we could have him in the fold:

10 PPG
2 To/G
1 Ast/G
57% FT
33% 3 pt.%
37% Fg%

Morman
4 ppg
1 TO/G
1 Ast/G
83%Ft
0-5 3pt
25% FG%

Also, at this point last year KJ was 0-11 from 3. This year he has shot 28 3's making 28% and just 13 shots inside arc.

 

[ccmbearcat]

Great post, my sentiments exactly. Everyone wants to dog the fans and make excuses for attendance. But, the truth is, you are not going to generate a buzz in this town, unless your product is capable of competing with the major programs.

If you draw a two-hour circle around Cincinnati, I feel like we went from the 2nd-best program to the 7th-best program in the past decade. We were always behind Kentucky, but Louisville, OSU, Butler, Xavier, and perhaps even Dayton surpassed us.

And, it's hard because Mick runs a clean program. But this style of play is not attractive to fans or recruits. The arena proposal is particularly troubling, because it's seemingly an admission that the University is content with the status quo.

Go ahead and drive two hours and see any game you want. I'll be at 5/3.

 

[waterhead]

Sounds like another perfect storm where everything went wrong and we still almost won.

In the 8 games we have played we have turned the ball over 11 times or less or 17 times or more (nothing in between). We have shot three pointers at 17.5% or less or 36.8% or higher (nothing in between).

We have had 3 games where we had 17 or more turnovers and shot less than 17.5% from 3. We have averaged 53.66 pts in those games. We have had 4 games where we had 11 TO's or less and shot 36.8% or higher and we have averaged 68.75 pts in those games.

I think we will start to get more consistent as we go. We know from last year Caupain, KJ, and Sanders are capable of making around 1 of 3 three pointers and I am positive that Cobb can. We just need them to slow down and let the jitters wear off. The turnovers are INEXCUSABLE!!

(added...by the way I am not worried about FT's)

 

[jacobkdoyle]

Sounds like another perfect storm where everything went wrong and we still almost won.

In the 8 games we have played we have turned the ball over 11 times or less or 17 times or more (nothing in between). We have shot three pointers at 17.5% or less or 36.8% or higher (nothing in between).

We have had 3 games where we had 17 or more turnovers and shot less than 17.5% from 3. We have averaged 53.66 pts in those games. We have had 4 games where we had 11 TO's or less and shot 36.8% or higher and we have averaged 68.75 pts in those games.

I think we will start to get more consistent as we go. We know from last year Caupain, KJ, and Sanders are capable of making around 1 of 3 three pointers and I am positive that Cobb can. We just need them to slow down and let the jitters wear off. The turnovers are INEXCUSABLE!!

(added...by the way I am not worried about FT's)

Not worried about FT? Ellis started 16-19 and is 10 for his last 25. Shaq and Sanders are in their 4th year and shooting 55% and 33%. KJ is at 50%. We are barely above 65% as a team. That is horrible. We are worse in our 8th game than the first. People keep talking about "when we improve" and "wait til February"...hate to say it, but these guys are flat out bad players. Shots that hit nothing but backboard aren't suddenly going to be hitting nothing but net. That's the truth. And we have to watch most of these guy struggle for years and years to come. Caupain, Clark, Evans, and maybe Moore are our only ones with any hope.

 

[BearcatSpaniard513]

Not worried about FT? Ellis started 16-19 and is 10 for his last 25. Shaq and Sanders are in their 4th year and shooting 55% and 33%. KJ is at 50%. We are barely above 65% as a team. That is horrible. We are worse in our 8th game than the first. People keep talking about "when we improve" and "wait til February"...hate to say it, but these guys are flat out bad players. Shots that hit nothing but backboard aren't suddenly going to be hitting nothing but net. That's the truth. And we have to watch most of these guy struggle for years and years to come. Caupain, Clark, Evans, and maybe Moore are our only ones with any hope.

They've had 11 days off since their last game. There's going to be rust in their shots and it showed. That does not make them bad players

 

[Patrick Bateman]

They've had 11 days off since their last game. There's going to be rust in their shots and it showed. That does not make them bad players

You beat me to it. Didn't see anyone mention the layoff.

Anyone know when Ge Lawn will be back?

 

[waterhead]

Not worried about FT? Ellis started 16-19 and is 10 for his last 25. Shaq and Sanders are in their 4th year and shooting 55% and 33%. KJ is at 50%. We are barely above 65% as a team. That is horrible. We are worse in our 8th game than the first. People keep talking about "when we improve" and "wait til February"...hate to say it, but these guys are flat out bad players. Shots that hit nothing but backboard aren't suddenly going to be hitting nothing but net. That's the truth. And we have to watch most of these guy struggle for years and years to come. Caupain, Clark, Evans, and maybe Moore are our only ones with any hope.

You don't just forget how to shoot. We may not have a lights out shooter but we have capable shooters.

We have historical numbers for many of these guys on FT's...KJ shot 86% last year. Thomas and Sanders shot 66 and 68%. Based on the overall form of Ellis and Clark I would expect around 70% or so from them. As for 3 pointers? Yes...we have historical numbers from most of our outside shooters too. We know that Sanders, KJ, and Caupain can make about 1/3 of their 3 pt tries and I expect Cobb will be their best shooter.

We aren't going to shoot 50% from FT and 17.5% from three all year

 

[L-T]

You beat me to it. Didn't see anyone mention the layoff.

Anyone know when Ge Lawn will be back?

I mentioned the layoff, but only to point out the fact that our coach had almost two weeks to prepare for a horrible team, and that is the performance that we produced. Shots don't get rusty because a game doesn't happen for 11 days. These guys play basketball 7 days a week and shoot endlessly whether there's a game or not. The problem is that they can't shoot in the first place.

It comes back to recruiting and this coach has basically never signed anyone that could shoot when they got here, and has had very little success developing recruits into serviceable offensive players over the four years that they're learning from him. Thus, he has no NBA players outside of Lance who was a recruit that fell to us when all the big schools dropped off of him because of his baggage.

Next year's recruits will be no different. They're no higher rated than the one's he usually recruits. And, none of them are considered 3-pt. threats. We're destined for ugly boring defensive slugfests into the foreseeable future. It's wonderful to have a defensive identity, but a one dimensional style of play will rarely get us past the opening round or two of the NCAA. Champions play offense and defense, not offense or defense.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

You beat me to it. Didn't see anyone mention the layoff.

Anyone know when Ge Lawn will be back?

11 days off means you should have 4th year guards almost airballing free throws? Come on guys, stop with the excuses. I haven't shot free throws in years and I could drive over to Lincoln right now and make 7 out of 10 in my work clothes. If Sanders made 1 for 3 bc of the layoff, then what's his excuse for being exactly 33% in all the other games? I'm done making excuses for that kind of crap. These guys have played their whole lives anf are on scholarship at the University of Cincinnati, they should be able to make twice as many FT as they miss blindfolded.

Mick has it so ingrained in them that "you have to win without making shots", that none of the new guys feel like they are being counted on to actually make any shots. That's why half the team doesn't even look at the basket when they have the ball. And that's why we could barely even get a shot off with 20 seconds left down 1 in double OT with no timeouts. I was fine with the philosophy at first so not one player would have too much of the burden, but I think it has really backfired. Mick should've been livid after that game on Saturday but he wasn't. Imo it is time to stop babying these guys and demand better results. None of them have any confidence and acting line everything is just fibe and dandy isn't going to change that.

 

[BearcatSpaniard513]

I mentioned the layoff, but only to point out the fact that our coach had almost two weeks to prepare for a horrible team, and that is the performance that we produced. Shots don't get rusty because a game doesn't happen for 11 days. These guys play basketball 7 days a week and shoot endlessly whether there's a game or not. The problem is that they can't shoot in the first place.

It comes back to recruiting and this coach has basically never signed anyone that could shoot when they got here, and has had very little success developing recruits into serviceable offensive players over the four years that they're learning from him. Thus, he has no NBA players outside of Lance who was a recruit that fell to us when all the big schools dropped off of him because of his baggage.

Next year's recruits will be no different. They're no higher rated than the one's he usually recruits. And, none of them are considered 3-pt. threats. We're destined for ugly boring defensive slugfests into the foreseeable future. It's wonderful to have a defensive identity, but a one dimensional style of play will rarely get us past the opening round or two of the NCAA. Champions play offense and defense, not offense or defense.

UK failed to reach 60 points against Providence and Columbia. Does that mean Calipari can't recruit? Games like this happen all the time and it has nothing to do with recruiting and the coach. It was a defensive battle that we could have and should have one. Even the most talented teams in the country have off nights

 

[jacobkdoyle]

You don't just forget how to shoot. We may not have a lights out shooter but we have capable shooters.

We have historical numbers for many of these guys on FT's...KJ shot 86% last year. Thomas and Sanders shot 66 and 68%. Based on the overall form of Ellis and Clark I would expect around 70% or so from them. As for 3 pointers? Yes...we have historical numbers from most of our outside shooters too. We know that Sanders, KJ, and Caupain can make about 1/3 of their 3 pt tries and I expect Cobb will be their best shooter.

We aren't going to shoot 50% from FT and 17.5% from three all year

Sanders is 56% in his career and Shaq is 60%. And I'll bet you anything you want that Ellis and Clark don't hit over 70% when combining their attempts. I think they'll both be in the high 50s range.

 

[BCM]

Everything that's currently wrong with the sport was fully on display with this game. From foul calling, to play style, to pace, it was a perfect microcosm.

 

[L-T]

UK failed to reach 60 points against Providence and Columbia. Does that mean Calipari can't recruit? Games like this happen all the time and it has nothing to do with recruiting and the coach. It was a defensive battle that we could have and should have one. Even the most talented teams in the country have off nights

Mick has a nine year track record of offensive futility. Don't try to equate a couple of UK games to nine years of crap offense. It's not that difficult to average 70 points per game in a season. Mick has loaded a lot of his seasons with some of the worst OOC schedules ever played in college basketball history. In spite of being able to throttle these horrible teams, he has never produced a single team that averaged 70 points per game. It absolutely is about recruiting and the coach. If Xavier can have a top 10 recruiting class with a crap coach like Mack, why can't Mick occasionally land some of those classes? It's because we have this "all defense / no offense" identity and Mick can't even get in the conversation with good offensive players who can shoot. Our recruits are always an offensive "work in process" when they get here and we wait 3-4 years before we see them eventually develop into something. Some never do. The problem is we typically need them to be good when they get here because there's no offense around them either. SK finally learned how to dribble and attack the basket in his senior year and he finally became a great player. Would have been nice to see that caliber player for more than one season.

 

[TheLongHaul]

UK failed to reach 60 points against Providence and Columbia. Does that mean Calipari can't recruit? Games like this happen all the time and it has nothing to do with recruiting and the coach. It was a defensive battle that we could have and should have one. Even the most talented teams in the country have off nights

With all due respect, UC ranks 295th in scoring offense out of approximately 350 teams. The Nebraska game wasn't an anomaly, it was the trend. And it should be obvious to everyone by now that this isn't a current season trend, it's a trend under Mick.

The fact of the matter is this team just isn't very good. I pointed it out when they were barely squeaking by cupcakes. Now they've played two average teams and lost to them both. Maybe they'll get better, maybe they won't, but right now they aren't that good.

 

[JumpinJack5]

We are still 6-2 and this is a really young team. I am frustrated with the lack of offense, but the sky isn't falling just yet.