Our Coach's Philosophy

[UCBearcats]

It's no secret that watching UC play is anything but pretty. Even the majority of the games we win against good competition leave some of us shaking our heads thinking something is still missing.

Mick has stated time and time again that he believes defense is something his team can control. Listening to him it is pretty clear that the majority of his game planning and pre-game practice are centered around defensive schemes and rebounding fundamentals. Mick wants to win games by playing defense and rebounding the basketball, he doesn't care if it looks pretty or makes you feel good, he believes that his team can control defense and rebounding and if they do they will win games. I don't disagree with his philosophy and you can tell that his coaching style has a large influence from Huggins style of play.

The problem is that we are not winning the big games (with the exception of Xavier) and haven't been winning the big games since Mick has arrived. If you are going to put all your eggs in one defensive basket you'd better have your players ready to execute. Simple fact is that in all of our losses this season the defense has been horrible and the rebounding has been even worse. At some point when things aren't working during a game you have to be able to adjust.

Mick said on his radio show before the St. John's game that he was worried about his game plan because St. John's basically starts 5 small forwards. He was concerned about our bigs being able to match up with their smaller, quicker players on the defensive end. That might be a legit concern but on the flip side you could look at the game plan and notice the huge advantage our bigs had over their players on the offensive end. Now in that game things worked out and we got the win even if it was a little ugly.

I guess the point that I'm making is that you have to be able to adjust. You aren't always going to get what you want on defense, at some point you have to be able to put the ball in the basket. You can't sit back and rely on your defense to beat these Big East teams that can fill up the scoreboard. No matter how good your defense is the BEAST teams are going to get open looks on you and the majority of them are going to hit their shots. If we can't score we aren't going to win games. To me this team is the same as it's been since Mick got here. The talent level is clearly better but the ability to score is the same as it's always been.

I hope Mick can get it turned around and finish strong so we can hit the tourney this season. There is no way we're going to beat the Pitt's, UConn's, LVille's, and GTown's of this league if we cannot put the ball in the basket.

 

[rallie25]

Mick doesn't have the horses to when the big games! The players we have especially the big men don't have basketball IQ and are lazy! You have to want the ball in the post and they don't do that! We really don't have player who can take over the game like a Corey Fisher or whoever! I think what really hurts this team is they try to run their offense through a lazy BIG MAN! I fill sorry for the guards sometimes! He is recruiting guys who hustle like Jackson! In the future will get better!

 

[TheLivingLegend]

I have serious concerns about the overall offensive gameplans that have been displayed. I dont get why the high screens by our only low post player. I dont get why we run a basic weave outside the arc. We never get to the line.

 

[BoKnows]

We all know the team has struggled offensively, but I'm not ready to blame all of their struggles on Mick, especially after the West Virginia game.

In the West Virginia game, after Yancy had some early success Bob decided to pack it in. You could see they were daring the Bearcats to take jump shots the rest of the game.

When the result of UC running its offense is a wide open three for Larry Davis in the corner, that is a good play and good execution. Larry is our best shooter and missed two of those wide open threes at crucial points in the game. That's not on Mick, thats your best shooter missing a wide open shot.

Kilpatrick, Bishop and Dixon also missed wide open threes. You can run good offense and miss shots, that happens to everyone.

Where I think you can lay blame on Mick is allowing guys who can't shoot (Dixon, Bishop) to continue to take and miss threes. Sure either of them can get hot on a given night, but if Dixon or Bishop takes a three early in the shot clock, no matter how open they are, that kills your offense.

The shooters on this team are Killa, Cash and Larry. That's it, no one else should be taking threes.


As a side note, does anyone know what happened to Wilks this year? I thought he was our most consistent 3-point shooter last year and he can't hit anything this season. That would really help the offense out if he could hit those wide-open 3-pointers from the top of the key teams give him.

 

[TheLivingLegend]

As a side note, does anyone know what happened to Wilks this year? I thought he was our most consistent 3-point shooter last year and he can't hit anything this season. That would really help the offense out if he could hit those wide-open 3-pointers from the top of the key teams give him.

I kno he had/has a wrist issue. But I dont think thats been all year. I simply think hes not a good shooter.

 

[UCBearcats]

We all know the team has struggled offensively, but I'm not ready to blame all of their struggles on Mick

Agreed, it's obviously not all Mick's fault. He can't go out there and make shots for the guys.

At the end of the day he is the leader of the team so he's the guy who reaps the rewards or takes the fall. If the players aren't developing the way they should or we would have hoped (Gates, Thomas, Biggie) that responsibility is going to fall on Mick's shoulders. They're his players, he recruited them and he wouldn't have spent the time and effort to recruit them if he didn't think they could play.

On a side note did anyone else who was at the game on Satty see the exchange between Mick and Yancy early in the game?

I'm not sure if I remember the exact details but after Yancy let that Russian score on him twice in a row Mick got Biggie up and put him at the scorers table to check into the game. Yancy got the ball down low on the next possession and scored on a pretty aggressive move. When he came back down the court he looked at Mick and yelled something at him, Mick yelled back, and then Yancy responded. It was pretty clear Yancy was fired up about something. The clock stopped right after that and the team huddled up, when they came back on the court Yancy was still in and Biggie was on the bench.

Did anyone else notice the exchange, anyone sitting close enough to hear what was being said???

 

[ready2go]

Mick doesn't have the horses to when the big games! The players we have especially the big men don't have basketball IQ and are lazy! You have to want the ball in the post and they don't do that! We really don't have player who can take over the game like a Corey Fisher or whoever! I think what really hurts this team is they try to run their offense through a lazy BIG MAN! I fill sorry for the guards sometimes! He is recruiting guys who hustle like Jackson! In the future will get better!

There lies the problem.

BearcatJeff and I discussed this after the WVU game. Stop making players who they arent and focus on what they are good at. I dont consider Wilks, Jackson and Thomas to be lazy one bit. Gates is another story. However the other 3 just arent post players.

Mick has to focus on what they are good at. They are long, quicker than most post players and athletic for their size. The half court offense being run now is not effective beacuse you dont have the post player who has legit post moves. Its not their fault.

Transition game! Really what was the point of that soft OOCS if they arent going to do the things they did then. Like press and get easy transition points

 

[Bearcat_NTS]

Mick tries too hard to matchup with the other team. They have yet to impose their will on someone else. He thinks to highly of the guys 1-10.

 

[ralph1950]

Mick has won plenty of big games. Most probably the 2 biggest games of Mick's 5 years at UC were the first 2 vs Huggins WVU teams. UC smoked WVU by 23 in meeting 1 and in the big Huggs homecoming game UC won by 6.

 

[ralph1950]

Mick is going to be UC's coach for a very, very, long time. Jim Boeheim at Syracuse long time.

 

[Juliepitzer]

Mick has won plenty of big games. Most probably the 2 biggest games of Mick's 5 years at UC were the first 2 vs Huggins WVU teams. UC smoked WVU by 23 in meeting 1 and in the big Huggs homecoming game UC won by 6.

Here is where the question "what have you done for me lately" applies. And yes, it is true. Cronin has won some games but against mostly below average teams. I said this early on that playing such a weak OOC this season would give this team an over inflated view of themselves and not allow problems to be exposed and corrected. We are now paying the price for that I am afraid. IMO of course. I still think we will make the dance however.

 

[Bearcat_NTS]

Mick has won plenty of big games. Most probably the 2 biggest games of Mick's 5 years at UC were the first 2 vs Huggins WVU teams. UC smoked WVU by 23 in meeting 1 and in the big Huggs homecoming game UC won by 6.

They won by 4 not 6. As usual providing useless information.

 

[ralph1950]

Here is where the question "what have you done for me lately" applies. And yes, it is true. Cronin has won some games but against mostly below average teams. I said this early on that playing such a weak OOC this season would give this team an over inflated view of themselves and not allow problems to be exposed and corrected. We are now paying the price for that I am afraid. IMO of course. I still think we will make the dance however.

Who you play OCC has no bearing on how you play in conference. UC is 18-4, 5-4 in the Big East. UC stole one at St. John where Notre Dame, Georgetown, and Duke lost. UC lost one at home, it evened out.

 

[Juliepitzer]

I have to respectfully disagree.

 

[ralph1950]

They won by 4 not 6. As usual providing useless information.

The 23 point whooping that Mick put on Huggins in the first game when all the Huggins supporters were waiting to hit the message boards in glee when the game was over was one of the most awesome things ever. It shut them up for the rest of the season, they crawled into a hole and never came out.

 

[bearcat jeff]

There lies the problem.

BearcatJeff and I discussed this after the WVU game. Stop making players who they arent and focus on what they are good at. I dont consider Wilks, Jackson and Thomas to be lazy one bit. Gates is another story. However the other 3 just arent post players.

Mick has to focus on what they are good at. They are long, quicker than most post players and athletic for their size. The half court offense being run now is not effective beacuse you dont have the post player who has legit post moves. Its not their fault.

Transition game! Really what was the point of that soft OOCS if they arent going to do the things they did then. Like press and get easy transition points

If you are going to play 10-11 guys you better use that to your advantage or you lose continuity. If you are going to play halfcourt offense and defense your rotation shouldn't be more than 8 deep.

This team needs to run and attack. Pressure and wear down. They don't have dead eye shooters and guys that have great post moves. It drives me crazy to watch the pg walk the ball up the floor. When you can't score in the halfcourt you have to manufacture points via defense and hustle. Stretch the floor and drive. Draw the defense and dish to a cutter. This team is inept in the halfcourt. The bigs can't hold position and the shooting is inconsistent. When you have guys trying to do things they can't the result is ugly.

There are 2 losses I put squarely at the feet of the head coach. Notre Dame should have been pressed and pressured for 40 minutes relentlessly. By not doing so you gave them the advantage in their building by allowing them to dictate to you how you'd play. WVU played 7 guys. Again, UC stayed in a halfcourt game on both ends of the floor and never attempted to wear the razor thin Mountaineers down.

UC has to be what it is, win or lose. The coaching staff cannot allow other teams to dictate the personnel and style of play to the degree they have. I still find it troubling that in spite of getting outrebounded 21-8 in the first half of the WVU game Mick said he never considered playing Gates and Biggie together because Flowers shoots 3 pointers. Even if Gates had been drawn out, you'd still have Biggie underneath to rebound. It's just a classic example of Mick allowing the other team to dictate how UC plays.

Like Mick or not, and for the most part I do, this program has a history of dropping off at the end of the season under his leadership. In spite of what most people thought this team would be, it is in a position to go to the NT and have their best finish ever in the BEast. Good teams have identities the players recognize and are comfortable in. It's the coaches job to put them in that position. I am behind this program all the way. I'll save my deepest thoughts on the future till I see how this turns out when all the games are played.

 

[UCPT99]

If you are going to play 10-11 guys you better use that to your advantage or you lose continuity. If you are going to play halfcourt offense and defense your rotation shouldn't be more than 8 deep.

This team needs to run and attack. Pressure and wear down. They don't have dead eye shooters and guys that have great post moves. It drives me crazy to watch the pg walk the ball up the floor. When you can't score in the halfcourt you have to manufacture points via defense and hustle. Stretch the floor and drive. Draw the defense and dish to a cutter. This team is inept in the halfcourt. The bigs can't hold position and the shooting is inconsistent. When you have guys trying to do things they can't the result is ugly.

There are 2 losses I put squarely at the feet of the head coach. Notre Dame should have been pressed and pressured for 40 minutes relentlessly. By not doing so you gave them the advantage in their building by allowing them to dictate to you how you'd play. WVU played 7 guys. Again, UC stayed in a halfcourt game on both ends of the floor and never attempted to wear the razor thin Mountaineers down.

UC has to be what it is, win or lose. The coaching staff cannot allow other teams to dictate the personnel and style of play to the degree they have. I still find it troubling that in spite of getting outrebounded 21-8 in the first half of the WVU game Mick said he never considered playing Gates and Biggie together because Flowers shoots 3 pointers. Even if Gates had been drawn out, you'd still have Biggie underneath to rebound. It's just a classic example of Mick allowing the other team to dictate how UC plays.

Like Mick or not, and for the most part I do, this program has a history of dropping off at the end of the season under his leadership. In spite of what most people thought this team would be, it is in a position to go to the NT and have their best finish ever in the BEast. Good teams have identities the players recognize and are comfortable in. It's the coaches job to put them in that position. I am behind this program all the way. I'll save my deepest thoughts on the future till I see how this turns out when all the games are played.

I have been saying this for quite some time. I 100% agreee. If Mick thinks that another team has smaller bigs, throw the ball down low with Biggie and Gates in the game. Make the other team adjust to your bigs. I think this goes back to the whole mind set of the team. Priority is not placed on imposing their will or game plan on a team, it is placed on playing based on the other team.
Also, I think the Gates/Mick exchange says alot. Yancy determined that he was not coming out of the game and didn't. He also took a TERRIBLE 3 at the end of the game and was pulled out of the game for an entire 30 seconds. He should have sat the rest of the game and played Biggie and Thomas. Just another example of Yancy "peeing on" Mick and telling him he is charge.

 

[adrock]

I have been saying this for quite some time. I 100% agreee. If Mick thinks that another team has smaller bigs, throw the ball down low with Biggie and Gates in the game. Make the other team adjust to your bigs. I think this goes back to the whole mind set of the team. Priority is not placed on imposing their will or game plan on a team, it is placed on playing based on the other team.

I agree with this sentiment and think Mick should sometimes make the opponent defend his best lineup, but I think your point is worded just a little erratically.

We often see Mick as weak because he doesn't "impose his will" on the other team, but that is not true. Imposing your will, when talking about basketball, is an offensive mindset. You run your offense the way you want and make the opponent defend you. A coach that does this likely thinks of defense as an afterthought. Mick on the other hand is a defensive minded coach, and we have known that for a long time. He thinks soundly defending the opponent is the most important aspect of the game, and likely thinks of offense as an afterthought. It is frustrating at times for us fans, but it's a perfectly acceptable mindset. Works for Huggs.

Also, I think the Gates/Mick exchange says alot. Yancy determined that he was not coming out of the game and didn't. He also took a TERRIBLE 3 at the end of the game and was pulled out of the game for an entire 30 seconds. He should have sat the rest of the game and played Biggie and Thomas. Just another example of Yancy "peeing on" Mick and telling him he is charge.

I'm not saying that you're one of these folks, but if Huggins were the coach still and Yancy did that to him, many would applaud Yancy for showing fire and applaud Huggs for knowing how to motivate a player. Instead, we get implications that Yancy is a punk and Mick is weak.

Besides, if Mick had pulled Yancy at that point and kept him out, and we lost by 11, we would all be fired up at the thought that Mick would allow this crucial game to slip away simply to make a point.

 

[bearcat jeff]

I'm not saying that you're one of these folks, but if Huggins were the coach still and Yancy did that to him, many would applaud Yancy for showing fire and applaud Huggs for knowing how to motivate a player. Instead, we get implications that Yancy is a punk and Mick is weak.

Besides, if Mick had pulled Yancy at that point and kept him out, and we lost by 11, we would all be fired up at the thought that Mick would allow this crucial game to slip away simply to make a point.

I have no problem with Yancy "wanting" to stay in the game. Showed a little fire.

 

[david aka the TYZ]

There are 2 losses I put squarely at the feet of the head coach. Notre Dame should have been pressed and pressured for 40 minutes relentlessly. By not doing so you gave them the advantage in their building by allowing them to dictate to you how you'd play. WVU played 7 guys. Again, UC stayed in a halfcourt game on both ends of the floor and never attempted to wear the razor thin Mountaineers down.

I completely agree about the Notre Dame game. WV I don't think is that easy to blame on Mick's gameplan. This team scored often the first ten minutes, probably better than in any other Big East game and the defense was forcing turnovers. Then Cash got in foul trouble and picked up fouls 3 and 4 almost immediately after getting back on the floor each time. When Cash is not in there, this team is going to fall into the half-court offense, especially against a good defensive team. We simply don't have another guy that can run the point effectively. Dixon has decent enough handles to bring the ball up a little quicker than walking it up, but honestly I think a lot our effective offense is run with him being off the ball because he actually moves without the ball. I don't think anyone else really knows how to move without the ball too well. Thus the offense is stagnant. And with no breath of an inside game it's so easy for a defense to force us into jump shots.