TheLongHaul
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This is said every year. Some were even talking about this years team being a national title contender. Now next all of a sudden next years team will be better.
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This is said every year. Some were even talking about this years team being a national title contender. Now next all of a sudden next years team will be better.
JumpinJack5
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I don't think this team is a National Title Contender, I think it is more sweet 16 type team. Next year, the recruits we are bringing in aren't "projects" like Kelvin Gaines, Guyn, etc., we have some under the radar guys and a 5 star guy. While this doesn't mean national title, it does mean we will have a balanced attack on offense, especially if SK stays. Mick Cronin's teams improve, so why are you being such a Debbie Downer? The lack of inside presence has killed this team, so next year, we could have multiple solutions and still have solid guard play. I was just reminding the people on this board that act like the sky is falling that we have plenty of talented young guys currently and coming in next year that will only get better.
I hope some of the coaches and players watched the ND vs Lou game last night...ND had a player score 12 points in 29 seconds...how was this possible?...his team was down and were running out of time...ND was in a worse condition than UC was yesterday...how did the ND player do it?...he ran down the floor and shot the ball...UC showed no urgency or awareness yesterday...they went to their routine plays...the ND maybe dribbled 6-7 running down the court before he shot...UC dribbled that many times before crossing half court...I found that to be the most troubling moment of the game yesterday by far...fans were pouring out of the their seats heading for the door and most were moving faster than the players on the floor...mick made the comment that if he is going to get zero offensive rebounds by his bigs, he might just play 4 guards...yes please!...UC does not/has not had true bigs...what the team has is athleticism...lets try utilizing our skill sets...in the begging the year, playing against lesser competive talent, UC was exhausting the opponents with their pace...one BEast play started, the pace came to a stop...it has worked for Jay Wright in the past...play 4 guards and sub regularly...if Rubles must be on the floor (and that seems to be the case), then have him be the big in the offense and let a guy like Shaq play the 3/4 position...he can out jump most centers in the league anyways...it might allow Guyn to bring pressure defense for more than one play after a timeout...something has to change now because a lot of schools are getting better with every game they play (like...I don't know...Pitt!)...
earlier in the season I saw Cash and a couple of guys laughing on the bench when they were blowing our their opponent and Cronin was yelling and pissed off...Cash said they were laughing at Cronin's intensity even in the midst of a blowout...mick is still not laughing and is still more intense/passionate than any of the players not named Jackson...the team is not laughing now...neither are their fans/supporters
Go Bearcats!
earlier in the season I saw Cash and a couple of guys laughing on the bench when they were blowing our their opponent and Cronin was yelling and pissed off...Cash said they were laughing at Cronin's intensity even in the midst of a blowout...mick is still not laughing and is still more intense/passionate than any of the players not named Jackson...the team is not laughing now...neither are their fans/supporters
Go Bearcats!
arn't you the same guy that was saying Jermaine lawrence is raw on another thread?
believe me I'm very excited about the years to come, but I'm still excited about this year, it only matters who is hot at mid march and if that happens to be us, who knows what can happen...... THIS YEAR!
JumpinJack5
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No, I never once stated Lawrence was raw. I think he is ready to step in and play. I was arguing AGAINST the person who said he was raw. I think Johnson is raw, but he's a 3-star, so most of them are. I am also excited about this year, like you said, we need to get hot at the right time to do well.
CaptDale
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What makes you think the NBA wants SK at this point in time? His best asset is he has as quick a release as anyone. So what if he scores a lot? His % keeps decreasing. He's not the greatest ball handler, rarely penetrates and gets most of his rebounds away from the glass. What he does bring is basketball "smarts". That's his best asset. He can jump, but do you ever see him dunk, even on fast breakaways? He utilizes the glass as good as anybody. But there are too many others out there to preclude him from going early (unless he desires to play overseas).
JumpinJack5
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Meh, I don't really think he will, but then again, I didn't think Lance would leave either.
Amberlycolonel
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SK is not Stephenson. Not by a long stretch. SK needs another year and maybe he will get a NBA look.
JumpinJack5
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Wasn't comparing style of play, but rather, how kids have their own agendas. SK has a kid, maybe he will feel pressure to provide $$$. I doubt it, but you are dealing with a 20-something year old kid, you never know. A smart decision for him would be to come back a year, I agree, he needs to refine his game.
TheLongHaul
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Here are some more stats that are a tale tell sign. These are conf. only stats:
Scoring offense: 12/15 - 62/game
FT %: 10/15
FG%: 14/15
3 Pt %: 12/15 - 29%
3 Pt Attempts: 1/15
Assists: 14/15
Steals: tied for last
Turnover Margin: 11/15
The defense, rebounding, and blocks are the good areas. But I can just look at these stats and tell you why they are losing. Most notably, most in 3 point attempts but 12th in the league in %. That's a recipe for disaster. Especially when you don't create any easy points (last in the league in steals).
Scoring offense: 12/15 - 62/game
FT %: 10/15
FG%: 14/15
3 Pt %: 12/15 - 29%
3 Pt Attempts: 1/15
Assists: 14/15
Steals: tied for last
Turnover Margin: 11/15
The defense, rebounding, and blocks are the good areas. But I can just look at these stats and tell you why they are losing. Most notably, most in 3 point attempts but 12th in the league in %. That's a recipe for disaster. Especially when you don't create any easy points (last in the league in steals).
One of the things you can't get away from is that our offense relies so much on 2nd chance points. When the offensive rebounds dried up, our PPG pays the price. Losing Jackson and Mbodj's foul trouble is part of it, but we need to recommit to being an elite offensive rebounding team IMO. If Mick really wants to fix this offense through toughness, start there.
And of course the fact that we entirely bailed on the idea of playing quickly... but that is a rant I'll spare you in this thread.
And of course the fact that we entirely bailed on the idea of playing quickly... but that is a rant I'll spare you in this thread.
Cin City
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These stats do explain quite a bit...however, where do we rank in rebounding and offensive rebounding?
TheLongHaul
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Not sure, I'd have to look back at it. But generally they perform well in the rebounding categories. Problem is, even when ranking high in offensive rebounding, doesn't do you any good if that doesn't translate into points.
TheLongHaul
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That's why Mick talks so much about offensive rebounding. It's easy to teach offensive rebounding than it is to teach a solid offense. He always talks about offensive rebounding but rarely ever talks about offensive execution.
The problem is that offensive rebounding has a lot to do with over powering and being more athletic than your opponent. That's why UC always gets so many points in the OOC games against sub par opponents. It's not b/c their offense is great, it's because their opponent can't come close to them in terms of athletic ability. However that isn't the case when you get into Big East play where teams are just as athletic and actually know how to box out. You cannot rely on offensive rebounding to get your points and that is exactly what UC/Mick does.
In the first Pitt game we grabbed 12 offensive rebounds (40% of our misses). Saturday we had just 8 (a very weak 22% of our misses). Playing at home in a big game that's a pathetic job of attacking the glass. Mick was pissed and rightfully so.
How about actually just making a shot or 2?
Sure with how poorly this team shoots, offensive rebounding is a necessity.
Seems to me Mick is trying to get everyone focused on other things...offensive rebounding, toughness...when it all comes down to the offensive scheme (if you can call it that) is ineffective with these players.
You can't be successful with a 3 guard lineup if those 3 guards can't shoot, dribble, penetrate and either get easy baskets or create easy opportunities for others. While I love what those 3 guys bring, they aren't enough to be a top team in college basketball.
TheLongHaul
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Offensive rebounding is mostly a crap shoot. Yea, some teams such as UC focus more on it and attack the offensive glass more than others. But the problem is that it's relatively easy to game plan against a team that is so reliant on offensive rebound. You simply focus on defensive rebounding. The defenders always have the advantage, so even if you do everything you are supposed to, all the defender has to do is box out. Not only that it also greatly depends on how the ball bounces off the rim. Having your offense rely on that is a recipe for disaster. An offense that is primarily focused on getting your own missed shots is not a good philosophy. They need to be focused more on creating and making open shots. Based on Mick's comments from many games it seems he is more focused on rebounding than the offense itself.
Offensive rebounding is all about effort. It's not a crap shoot. The ball doesn't just bounce your way into being one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country. It's a mentality. Unless you are a great shooting team the goal should always be to retrieve as many of your misses as possible to gain extra possessions and to get easier looks off an offensive rebound. We usually give great effort in this area. Saturday we did not. Had we given our usual effort on the glass we would have had 6-7 more possessions. It was a one possession game with under 2 minutes left. Mick was absolutely right to focus on the effort after the game.
bearcat jeff
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The offense is getting progressively worse. They can't make open shots, close shots, and don't move very well. At this point I say just run run run. You're only scoring 50 a game anyway.
TheLongHaul
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It's not all about effort. There are numerous teams that give great effort but aren't great offensive rebounding teams....It's not a good thing to rely on. Mick needs to focus more on offensive efficiency. Pitt is second in the conference in defensive rebounding. Relying on offensive rebounding against them is a bad, bad strategy.
It was a one possession game with under 2 minutes left because they didn't score a single field goal for almost the last 10 minutes of the game. Rebounding is not the issue.