SMU

[TNBearcat3]

I don't think Cronin is seen in a much brighter light nationally. I've lived in 2 non-Cincinnati cities in the Midwest during his tenure...and most of the college bball fans I know had no idea who he was before they met me. And the ones who did know made fun of him for acting like a nut on the sideline.

Casual fans in other cities don't really matter. Amongst coaches and analysts he's highly thought of. Every single thread on here anymore is a I hate Mick/I Love Mick debate. We won a big game, needed to win and got the job done. Enjoy the win, and hope it carries forward to the AAC Tourney. Happy for the seniors, the team as a whole needed a win like this.

 

[BoomBoomRoom]

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Iowa State want to interview him before Hoiberg and also believe Oklahoma showed previous interest as well. Don't forget NC State also showed a high level of interest as well. Coach Cronin is seen in a much brighter light nationally than he is locally. No doubt this year's team has underachieved but maybe we expected too much out of them. Taking a look at our current roster I think 22-9 is pretty much an accurate assessment. Hell just think if his players could finish off games they'd be maybe 26-5 and top 15 in the country and #1 seed in conference tourney.

His recruiting is starting to show off in players like Evans, Capuain, Jenifer, Cumberland, Washington and Clark. Some of those players haven't played yet but the talent is far and away better than it was this time 4-5 seasons ago.

Really ? 4-5 seasons ago ? Are you seriously saying the players you named are superior to the teams that consisted of Cashmere Wright, Dion Dixon, Justin Jackson, Sean Kilpatrick, Yancy Gates, JaQuon Parker........C'mon man !

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Casual fans in other cities don't really matter. Amongst coaches and analysts he's highly thought of. Every single thread on here anymore is a I hate Mick/I Love Mick debate. We won a big game, needed to win and got the job done. Enjoy the win, and hope it carries forward to the AAC Tourney. Happy for the seniors, the team as a whole needed a win like this.

Absolutely!!!!

 

[cincycpaw]

Great win.

I hope the shooting doesn't carry over, but no reason to think it won't. UCONN will be a tough tough game

 

[the_one_32]

Really ? 4-5 seasons ago ? Are you seriously saying the players you named are superior to the teams that consisted of Cashmere Wright, Dion Dixon, Justin Jackson, Sean Kilpatrick, Yancy Gates, JaQuon Parker........C'mon man !

Yes that team was very good but the potential on this team is much better IMO. Especially if you add in Cumberland and Washington next season. Only player on that list that I don't think anyone can live up to is SK.

 

[TheRealUC]

Good god this is painful to read. Last time i checked the final score was the most important stat of the game. Indeed it was ugly, but they won when they had to. I don't know when this turned into such a perfection demanding fan base but it's getting old quick. As far as the conference tourney goes, it seems just like UC's luck to have to meet up with UConn in the first round. We all know how they play with their backs against the wall in the post season, plus its always hard to beat a team like that 3x in a season. Either way I'm hoping that ass clown, Seth Davis, is right that yesterday's win punched their ticket.

 

[GarradJ21]

Good god this is painful to read. Last time i checked the final score was the most important stat of the game. Indeed it was ugly, but they won when they had to. I don't know when this turned into such a perfection demanding fan base but it's getting old quick. As far as the conference tourney goes, it seems just like UC's luck to have to meet up with UConn in the first round. We all know how they play with their backs against the wall in the post season, plus its always hard to beat a team like that 3x in a season. Either way I'm hoping that ass clown, Seth Davis, is right that yesterday's win punched their ticket.

Haha. Everything you said I agree with.

 

[Cin City]

Haha. Everything you said I agree with.

I agree.

My two cents worth is that with a win over UCONN we are looking at a secure 9-10 seed. Should we lose to them I am thinking we may be an 11 playing in Dayton on Tuesday night.

Then again, I don't know squat when it comes to this so ridicule away.

 

[cincycpaw]

Good god this is painful to read. Last time i checked the final score was the most important stat of the game. Indeed it was ugly, but they won when they had to. I don't know when this turned into such a perfection demanding fan base but it's getting old quick. As far as the conference tourney goes, it seems just like UC's luck to have to meet up with UConn in the first round. We all know how they play with their backs against the wall in the post season, plus its always hard to beat a team like that 3x in a season. Either way I'm hoping that ass clown, Seth Davis, is right that yesterday's win punched their ticket.

1) how they win matters because you can win on effort but only when you give maximum effort and thei team doesn't always do that. So it's a great win, but should be cause for concern still moving forward. Really liked Evans yesterday taking the ball to the basket on fast breaks.

2) luck has nothing to do with it. This team had plenty of opportunities to avoid a tough 1st round game and they dropped the ball. They have gotten what they deserve, now let's hope they play with energy for 40 minutes and move on!

3) The rest of the bubble has sucked, so Cincy could make the tourney even with a loss to UCONN... But I'd hate to hang my hat on that.

 

[Doogle]

I'm not in the camp of people calling for Mick's job. He's done a fine job returning the program to relevance. He's maintained the program's reputation of playing hard and defensive toughness. Larry Brown spoke glowing of our program and that carries some heft.

Huggs used to say "you shouldn't have to lose to learn". Just because I see ways the program could improve a bit going forward doesn't mean I'm not happy with the win yesterday. And frankly, Mick and those kids could care less if I'm happy or not. It's their program and they should be pleased with themselves. They worked hard this season and represent Cincinnati well.

The point is that the "rock fight" strategy will generally earn the kind of result we've seen this year - on the bubble. I've stated before that Mick has never quite shaken those first few tough years and the feeling that he was out-gunned in the Big East and had to play a rough and tumble style to survive. It's the same principle as people who've been fat or have lost their jobs. I've never gotten over the feeling of having my network dissolved in the early 2000s, and to this day I still take freelance jobs that I don't "need" to do because I know there may come a day when that money will come in handy.

From this layperson's perspective, it would be nice to see Mick start tweaking some subtle things in his style and recruiting. Maybe he's already done so and just hasn't reaped any fruits yet. As someone else said, we've certainly been able to get guys like Caupain, Clark, Evans, Jenifer and Cumberland, along with transfers like Washington, that lend credence to that on the recruiting side. On the game planning side, it just seems like Mick is afraid to loosen the strings because those first few years still resonate with him. Understandable, but unnecessary.

What the hell do I know, though. Just opinions. I support Mick and the program no matter what...as I've done since my first year as a student which was 1988.

 

[waterhead]

Good god this is painful to read. Last time i checked the final score was the most important stat of the game. Indeed it was ugly, but they won when they had to. I don't know when this turned into such a perfection demanding fan base but it's getting old quick. As far as the conference tourney goes, it seems just like UC's luck to have to meet up with UConn in the first round. We all know how they play with their backs against the wall in the post season, plus its always hard to beat a team like that 3x in a season. Either way I'm hoping that ass clown, Seth Davis, is right that yesterday's win punched their ticket.

It's really crazy. I hear complaints about the D all the time. We give up too many easy dunks or 3 balls. Our Kenpom adjusted D is 6th in the nation. 6th!! But we still have people that just want to complain that there is SOMETHING that we aren't doing well...even though we do things collectively better than almost every other team in the country.

When a player has an off night they become "inconsistent" as if every player in the country doesn't have off nights (save for All American types).

Sometimes we complain just to complain but it's definitely annoying

 

[jacobkdoyle]

It's really crazy. I hear complaints about the D all the time. We give up too many easy dunks or 3 balls. Our Kenpom adjusted D is 6th in the nation. 6th!! But we still have people that just want to complain that there is SOMETHING that we aren't doing well...even though we do things collectively better than almost every other team in the country.

When a player has an off night they become "inconsistent" as if every player in the country doesn't have off nights (save for All American types).

Sometimes we complain just to complain but it's definitely annoying

What about the offense? What about clanking the sh*t out of wide open shots? What about bottom of the barrel style of play? Those things are important and we have sucked big time there lately. That's a real concern. It's frustrating bc we've all seen how it ends. Caupain was talking postgame about controlling transition...wtf? Maybe defensively, but offensively Evans was the only one on the entire team making things happen there. There were 135 games this weekend, and only 11 had fewer points scored than in our game. And we were at home on Senior Day. Many of the other low scoring games were teams playing their 3rd/4th day in a row on a neutral floor and were in the lowest ranks of D1.

 

[waterhead]

What about the offense? What about clanking the sh*t out of wide open shots? What about bottom of the barrel style of play? Those things are important and we have sucked big time there lately. That's a real concern. It's frustrating bc we've all seen how it ends. Caupain was talking postgame about controlling transition...wtf? Maybe defensively, but offensively Evans was the only one on the entire team making things happen there. There were 135 games this weekend, and only 11 had fewer points scored than in our game. And we were at home on Senior Day. Many of the other low scoring games were teams playing their 3rd/4th day in a row on a neutral floor and were in the lowest ranks of D1.

I am not talking about rational complaints such as these. I could go back a few pages and see someone talking about how horrible our defense is. But it's not...it's really freaking good...it's 6th in the country. The fact that we give up open 3's has something to do with why we are so freaking good at defending 2's. Our rotations are not simple and everyone has to be on the same page otherwise you will get an open shooter or a back door dunk. It's the nature of the beast..but the defense in general is EXCELLENT!!

 

[waterhead]

I am not talking about rational complaints such as these. I could go back a few pages and see someone talking about how horrible our defense is. But it's not...it's really freaking good...it's 6th in the country. The fact that we give up open 3's has something to do with why we are so freaking good at defending 2's. Our rotations are not simple and everyone has to be on the same page otherwise you will get an open shooter or a back door dunk. It's the nature of the beast..but the defense in general is EXCELLENT!!

We could be the #1 defense in the country and certain fans would still find our weakest aspect on D and make it seem like we are completely incompetent because of it. LMAO!

 

[Doogle]

We could be the #1 defense in the country and certain fans would still find our weakest aspect on D and make it seem like we are completely incompetent because of it. LMAO!

The defense has had a couple really rough games. Doesn't detract from the overall effectiveness but certain teams have carved it up. It seems to suffer mostly when the team can't hit shots and eventually gets frustrated. More of a mental thing because when they're engaged (like yesterday) there's no doubt they are on the high end.

 

[mdchick]

People would rather score 100 and lose rather than 50 and win ... Smh who cares, we beat SMU, come on

 

[Ryno99]

Here is my complaint from yesterday and really most of the season, they get up on a team and then shut the offense down with 10 minutes or so left in the 2nd half, yesterday it was more like 12 minutes left. They started having 4 guys on the baseline basically standing there and Troy dribbling in place until about 10 seconds on the shot clock, then they scramble for a shot and get a bad one. I get trying to limit possessions but you have momentum and a foot on their throat, why take it off? It's a losing strategy when you shoot as badly as this team. Yesterday they had 10 or 15 more shots than SMU at that point and I'd imagine the rest of the game was much closer to even or worse. I just don't get it. Any insight into this?

 

[BoomBoomRoom]

Defense and effort are not issues with this team. Those are strengths. Shooting and offensive execution are habitual negative issues. Me and four forum posters can probably hit a tad better than 1-19 ?

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

Here is my complaint from yesterday and really most of the season, they get up on a team and then shut the offense down with 10 minutes or so left in the 2nd half, yesterday it was more like 12 minutes left. They started having 4 guys on the baseline basically standing there and Troy dribbling in place until about 10 seconds on the shot clock, then they scramble for a shot and get a bad one. I get trying to limit possessions but you have momentum and a foot on their throat, why take it off? It's a losing strategy when you shoot as badly as this team. Yesterday they had 10 or 15 more shots than SMU at that point and I'd imagine the rest of the game was much closer to even or worse. I just don't get it. Any insight into this?

as a fan I can see how its frustrating. We had DeBerry in foul trouble, No Shaq. a limited Cobb and we needed a win. We are much better defensively then offensively so Playing to our strengths as the game unfolds is not a issue with me. Is it pleasing to my eyes, no. How about Brown leaving his best post player in to pick up his third foul with seconds left in first half and eventually fouling out midway through the second half.

 

[westsidecat]

Defense and effort are not issues with this team.

Just go back to the Houston game and watch how many times UC got beat up the court.

Yesterday win also had times where UC didn't get back on D and gave up dunks.

For the most part D hasn't been a problem, but i question effort at times.

The real issue that is getting lost in this win is the 12 minute scoring drought.

It doesn't really matter though, no way UC beats UConn 3 in a row, will be another quick exit in the AAC tourney for mick, and UC will prepare to host a first round NIT game.

If anyone thinks UC is in because of the SMU win is mistaken.