Troy Caupain

[Nayers]

Please explain to me what your expectation of Caupain is because I think you are way off-base here. The kid was an all-conference player last year and is the preseason pick to be conference player of the year. What more do you want from him? If you are so pessimistic as a fan, I am so glad I'm not stuck watching games with you. It would suck all the fun out of it.

He kinda has a point. He wasn't condemning Troy at all. He was condemning the offense the players are coached in. Better screens, ball movement, moving without the ball=more and various open shooters. He was actually saying Troy is more talented than the offense he operates in. I thought it was a compliment to Troy as a basketball player

 

[UCBearcats]

Please explain to me what your expectation of Caupain is because I think you are way off-base here. The kid was an all-conference player last year and is the preseason pick to be conference player of the year. What more do you want from him? If you are so pessimistic as a fan, I am so glad I'm not stuck watching games with you. It would suck all the fun out of it.

Great post Jason!!! Perhaps if you read any of my other posts about Troy you'd see that I think he's a great player. I'm not the one complaining about him but many others don't seem to be satisfied with his play. For those who aren't I'd tell them to blame Mick and not Troy.

I'm not pessimistic, I'm realistic. I'm sure watching the games with you is a real treat, but I'm sure that's not possible because like most others on this board you probably don't go to any of them. Keep up the good work!!

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

One person says he's too passive... needs to get to the line more. The other one says...the only play we run in close games is to give him the ball and let him take it to the hoop (the place most likely to draw a foul).

Damned if you do damned if you don't.

The reason he has the ball in his hands is because he is our most reliable ball handler. On last years team who would people like to see having the ball. Ellis, KJ, A freshman Evans or Shaq. How about Clark. The offense runs through TC because he doesn't turn the ball over. As I see it the problem people have with TC is he is not SK. That does not make him a bad player. He is not a clear a side and let him score player. Every team in our league would love to have him. Our team performs much better when he is on the floor. It takes 5 guys doing there job to win.

 

[waterhead]

The reason he has the ball in his hands is because he is our most reliable ball handler. On last years team who would people like to see having the ball. Ellis, KJ, A freshman Evans or Shaq. How about Clark. The offense runs through TC because he doesn't turn the ball over. As I see it the problem people have with TC is he is not SK. That does not make him a bad player. He is not a clear a side and let him score player. Every team in our league would love to have him. Our team performs much better when he is on the floor. It takes 5 guys doing there job to win.

I would absolutely love to see more plays designed for Clark and Evans in close games this year. Evans has every tool a basketball player needs and Clark has a few options to score as well he's a good passer.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

I would absolutely love to see more plays designed for Clark and Evans in close games this year. Evans has every tool a basketball player needs and Clark has a few options to score as well he's a good passer.

TC still has to get them the ball in the right spot and the right circumstance. Also factor in that the other team understands who our offensive threats our. I remember last year when TC gave up the ball to Evans in the corner for a wide open 3 that could have won the game and he missed. The board went crazy because he gave up the ball. I think sometimes people forget that the game is 40 minutes long. The last minute represents a small fraction of the game. if we have a shot to win it may be because TC did his job to get us in that position. People need to look at performance in total.

 

[JasonS]

Great post Jason!!! Perhaps if you read any of my other posts about Troy you'd see that I think he's a great player. I'm not the one complaining about him but many others don't seem to be satisfied with his play. For those who aren't I'd tell them to blame Mick and not Troy.

I'm not pessimistic, I'm realistic. I'm sure watching the games with you is a real treat, but I'm sure that's not possible because like most others on this board you probably don't go to any of them. Keep up the good work!!

I go to as many games as I can get to. Sucks when you live 6 hours away. Makes it a little tough but I get to a handful in Cincy every year and usually 1-2 road games, but yeah, I don't make it to any games.

How about this, since you obviously (now) think Troy is so great and the reason for any late game struggles is because of the offense they are running, what would you do differently this year and what would you have done differently last year? There's room for improvement but all I hear from many on this board are complaints without suggestions to fix it. If you're not willing to put your money where your mouth is, your complaints sound more like whining. How about actually debating something instead of just complaining about Mick all the time? Maybe a discussion around who should be on the floor at the end of games? Or maybe, what defense we should be running to eliminate the wide open corner three that hampered us all year last year? How about we all get more specific and stop rehashing the same generic garbage all the freaking time?

 

[waterhead]

TC still has to get them the ball in the right spot and the right circumstance. Also factor in that the other team understands who our offensive threats our. I remember last year when TC gave up the ball to Evans in the corner for a wide open 3 that could have won the game and he missed. The board went crazy because he gave up the ball. I think sometimes people forget that the game is 40 minutes long. The last minute represents a small fraction of the game. if we have a shot to win it may be because TC did his job to get us in that position. People need to look at performance in total.

Troy can only have the ball when he has the ball. When other players have the ball... they need to do more with it. Coach relied on Troy at the end of games for a reason...not because he was a good ball handler. He could figure out a way to create a shot...in spite of not having a nasty cross over. It doesn't take a nasty crossover to get a shot off. It just takes body control and positioning. Most of our players have that ability but aren't confident enough to use it. It seems odd to me for fans to put more on Troy's shoulders instead of all the other players he's on the floor with.

From just one exhibition I think Cumberland has that type of game and attitude. I think Evans will be much more aggressive this year. I'm not sure Clark has it in him. Washington, Moore, Jenifer don't seem to have those reservations. We may need to have those type players in the game when we need a score.

I'm excited for this season because we have more options.

 

[UCBearcats]

I go to as many games as I can get to. Sucks when you live 6 hours away. Makes it a little tough but I get to a handful in Cincy every year and usually 1-2 road games, but yeah, I don't make it to any games.

How about this, since you obviously (now) think Troy is so great and the reason for any late game struggles is because of the offense they are running, what would you do differently this year and what would you have done differently last year? There's room for improvement but all I hear from many on this board are complaints without suggestions to fix it. If you're not willing to put your money where your mouth is, your complaints sound more like whining. How about actually debating something instead of just complaining about Mick all the time? Maybe a discussion around who should be on the floor at the end of games? Or maybe, what defense we should be running to eliminate the wide open corner three that hampered us all year last year? How about we all get more specific and stop rehashing the same generic garbage all the freaking time?

I've always supported Troy, but hey, what good are facts when guys like you have opinions. Again, had you read my initial post on this thread instead of getting so butt hurt because I don't love your hero Mick you would have seen that I proposed that Troy be a more aggressive player this season. If Mick were a good offensive coach, which he's not, he would find a way to get Troy to the FT line more often. Troy played in 33 games last season and only attempted 113 free throws. That's an average of 3.42/game, that's miserable! For a guy who shoots 80% from the line and has the ball in his hand more than anyone on offense to only attempt 3.42 FT's/game is a direct reflection of how absolutely terrible Mick's offensive coaching is. That's called reality, not pessimism.

That was the topic of this thread, and I responded in topic. As far as I can tell the only one who hasn't so far is you.

As for suggestions on how to fix our program I've got 2.

1. FIRE MICK CRONIN, not because I still love Huggins or because I'm a jerk or because I just don't like the guy. Fire him because he's not great and he never will be.
2. Rid ourselves of all the low expectation apologists who don't demand excellence from our sports teams. If you're so happy rooting for a team that never wins anything that matters then just spend all your energy and money on the Bengals, I'm sure they'd love to have you.

Do those (2) things and I promise you that we can #makeucsportsgreatagain

 

[jacobkdoyle]

I go to as many games as I can get to. Sucks when you live 6 hours away. Makes it a little tough but I get to a handful in Cincy every year and usually 1-2 road games, but yeah, I don't make it to any games.

How about this, since you obviously (now) think Troy is so great and the reason for any late game struggles is because of the offense they are running, what would you do differently this year and what would you have done differently last year? There's room for improvement but all I hear from many on this board are complaints without suggestions to fix it. If you're not willing to put your money where your mouth is, your complaints sound more like whining. How about actually debating something instead of just complaining about Mick all the time? Maybe a discussion around who should be on the floor at the end of games? Or maybe, what defense we should be running to eliminate the wide open corner three that hampered us all year last year? How about we all get more specific and stop rehashing the same generic garbage all the freaking time?

I'm pretty sure UCBearcats has always been a Caupain guy. I also think most of the game threads from last year had plenty of discussion on a lot of your questions. Hard to specifically answer them right now for a couple reasons...most fans don't watch film for one. Hard to go back to specific possessions last season to diagnose an issue if you aren't Rain Man. Also I feel like it's easy to take your frustrations out on fellow fans and grill them with issues that the coach who makes well over $2M per year has trouble addressing. Seems misguided. And I think you are creating an unrealistic expectation on what a fan should know just from a 1 time live viewing of the games.

 

[waterhead]

I go to as many games as I can get to. Sucks when you live 6 hours away. Makes it a little tough but I get to a handful in Cincy every year and usually 1-2 road games, but yeah, I don't make it to any games.

How about this, since you obviously (now) think Troy is so great and the reason for any late game struggles is because of the offense they are running, what would you do differently this year and what would you have done differently last year? There's room for improvement but all I hear from many on this board are complaints without suggestions to fix it. If you're not willing to put your money where your mouth is, your complaints sound more like whining. How about actually debating something instead of just complaining about Mick all the time? Maybe a discussion around who should be on the floor at the end of games? Or maybe, what defense we should be running to eliminate the wide open corner three that hampered us all year last year? How about we all get more specific and stop rehashing the same generic garbage all the freaking time?

Troy doess what Troy is good at. He's not going to play like Jenifer. He is good at the straight line driving but not nasty crossovers. He's good at dribbling to a spot on the shoulder where a switch has to occur and uses his height for passing to the pick and roll. Most fans don't even realize that the coach thinks he's the best on the team at getting in the right spots. They want him to play Jenifer's game which is never going to happen.

Jenifer doesn't have that option. He has to break down the defense by dribbling. If he can't he's handcuffed. He can't easily pass over or around a defender.

We have to use each player for what they are capable of. Evans is not limited by anything really. Cumberland can drive as well as shoot. kJ can only shoot. Moore has a good shot but no post game. Clark has several options but doesn't seem to want to be in the spotlight. Washington has never met a shot he doesn't like. That could be a problem unless he can be coached to select better ones. Jenifer seems to have taken some coaching to heart.

The coach needs to figure out how to use these guys where they can be most effective...not us fans... lol!

 

[GarradJ21]

I think TC is really good has his head on straight, knows what Bearcat basketball is all about. He does a great job not turning the ball over. He needs to improve in shooting this year and get to the line. I would love to see him hit a game winner this year too.

 

[jacobkdoyle]

Troy doess what Troy is good at. He's not going to play like Jenifer. He is good at the straight line driving but not nasty crossovers. He's good at dribbling to a spot on the shoulder where a switch has to occur and uses his height for passing to the pick and roll. Most fans don't even realize that the coach thinks he's the best on the team at getting in the right spots.

Jenifer doesn't have that option. He has to break down the defense by dribbling. If he can't he's handcuffed. He can't easily pass over or around a defender.

We have to use each player for what they are capable of. Evans is not limited by anything really. Cumberland can drive as well as shoot. kJ can only shoot. Moore has a good shot but no post game. Clark has several options but doesn't seem to want to be in the spotlight. Washington has never met a shot he doesn't like. That could be a problem unless he can be coached to select better ones. Jenifer seems to have taken some coaching to heart.

The coach needs to figure out how to use these guys where they can be most effective...not us fans... lol!

Yeah it's funny that the "gotcha" questions are aimed at fans instead of the guy in charge. Clearly the late-game situations didn't go well last year. Not sure why it'd make anyone feel better to jump all over the fans if they can't fix the problems as a non-paying 2nd job from the couch. Misdirected frustration.

One thing I will say in general is I'd like to see ball screens for Caupain set higher above the 3 pt line. That may help him stay behind the 3 pt line on pull ups and get more momentum going to the hoop so he can use his size better.

 

[waterhead]

Yeah it's funny that the "gotcha" questions are aimed at fans instead of the guy in charge. Clearly the late-game situations didn't go well last year. Not sure why it'd make anyone feel better to jump all over the fans if they can't fix the problems as a non-paying 2nd job from the couch. Misdirected frustration.

One thing I will say in general is I'd like to see ball screens for Caupain set higher above the 3 pt line. That may help him stay behind the 3 pt line on pull ups and get more momentum going to the hoop so he can use his size better.

When you only have one option in late game situations...it's not going to end well. Our coach needs to recognize that. Fans who think Troy needs to be more aggressive are misguided imo. We need to draw up more plays which accentuate our different players abilities.

We have the ability. Coach needs to trust in more players.

 

[WAITE HOYT 2]

When you only have one option in late game situations...it's not going to end well. Our coach needs to recognize that. Fans who think Troy needs to be more aggressive are misguided imo. We need to draw up more plays which accentuate our different players abilities.

We have the ability. Coach needs to trust in more prlayers.

look it's nice to have that guy who can break down the defense. That is not TC's strength. Last year I wouldn't have wanted any one other then him having the ball. This year we are much more balanced and experienced. My suspicion is TC will use Evans to help create mismatches. I look for TC to utilize his size this year to take advantage of posting up smaller PG's. I think you'll see a nice little 2 man game with him and Evans

 

[JasonS]

Yeah it's funny that the "gotcha" questions are aimed at fans instead of the guy in charge. Clearly the late-game situations didn't go well last year. Not sure why it'd make anyone feel better to jump all over the fans if they can't fix the problems as a non-paying 2nd job from the couch. Misdirected frustration.

One thing I will say in general is I'd like to see ball screens for Caupain set higher above the 3 pt line. That may help him stay behind the 3 pt line on pull ups and get more momentum going to the hoop so he can use his size better.

I disagree. I think there are plenty of these questions asked of Mick and he would be the first to tell you, as any good leader, that he doesn't have all the answers and doesn't always push all the right buttons. You make the best decision at the time and learn from the successes and failures.

Don't you think this message board would be a lot more fun if people were actually talking in specifics rather than generalities? Here, I'll start. I think Mick should look into using the high post offense much in the same way Huggins did in Kenyon's senior year. I think Gary is a good enough passer and shooter to be a double/triple threat from the high post. It would change the focal point of the defense and force them to adjust. As long as Gary is strong with the ball, you could use it against man or zone and open up shooters on the outside or cutters toward the basket. There would also be the potential for a drive to the hoop. Gary is really the first player in Mick's tenure that I think can perform well in that set and force the defense to play him honestly.

See, we can discuss that. Others may disagree and that's great. Hard to discuss, "Mick's offense sucks." What do you want to see different about it? Saying, "that's for the coach to figure out" is a cop out answer on a message board.

Same thing goes for the players. I'd like to see Gary get more aggressive on offense. I'd like to see Troy shoot a higher percentage now that he has more established weapons around him. I'd like to see Jacob get to the free throw line more like SK did. I want to see Quadri and Justin provide valuable minutes off the bench without throwing leads away as happened many times last year. I think we do better in discussing the players like this (and Jacob, you have been calling for Troy to shoot a higher percentage for months which is a perfect example) but I think there are other areas that we can be more factual or opinionated and less emotional.

 

[JasonS]

look it's nice to have that guy who can break down the defense. That is not TC's strength. Last year I wouldn't have wanted any one other then him having the ball. This year we are much more balanced and experienced. My suspicion is TC will use Evans to help create mismatches. I look for TC to utilize his size this year to take advantage of posting up smaller PG's. I think you'll see a nice little 2 man game with him and Evans

I expect, if healthy, Evans to have the ball at the end of late game situations. With his ball skills, size and athleticism, he can rise up and get a shot off much easier than Troy can. At the end of games, last possession, teams were switching smaller guards off Troy and putting longer wings on him which gave him trouble. That won't affect Evans the same way.

 

[waterhead]

I expect, if healthy, Evans to have the ball at the end of late game situations. With his ball skills, size and athleticism, he can rise up and get a shot off much easier than Troy can. At the end of games, last possession, teams were switching smaller guards off Troy and putting longer wings on him which gave him trouble. That won't affect Evans the same way.

Having both options will be nice. Troy and Evans. I think we kick the ball to several players this year. It's not like the year when Rubles was our 3rd best scoring option.

 

[JasonS]

Having both options will be nice. Troy and Evans. I think we kick the ball to several players this year. It's not like the year when Rubles was our 3rd best scoring option.

Agreed. KJ can sit out at the three point line for a drive and kick. He showed last year he could hit the big shot. I expect Gary to be involved depending on the match up too.

 

[waterhead]

It's amazing to me to think about SKs senior year. We had Rubles as our 3rd scoring option at like 8 ppg. Nyarcuk was our 3rd big at 7 Minutes per game. Holy shite.

How nice is it to have options? And how important is it to have an all American?

 

[JasonS]

It's amazing to me to think about SKs senior year. We had Rubles as our 3rd scoring option at like 8 ppg. Nyarcuk was our 3rd big at 7 Minutes per game. Holy shite.

How nice is it to have options? And how important is it to have an all American?

Imagine having options AND an All-American. Could happen next year. I think Evans has the talent to make that leap.