JasonS
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Seth Davis said on twitter a source with direct knowledge says Stevens to UCLA is highly unlikely and they are not in negotiations.
UCLA
- Thread starter Hicks' Guns
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TheLongHaul
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JJ = Justin Jackson, correct? He has a decent midrange? I can count on my hand the number of midrange shots he's made in his entire career...
Improved a lot on his turnovers? He actually averaged more turnovers this year than he did last year and he played in less minutes this year. Not sure how that is an improvement.
Jackson just isn't a big man. He can't play the 5 on defense. He'll get destroyed. Strickland better be ready to play because UC will need him (which is probably asking too much).
I hope JD3 improved and I liked what I've seen from him but I still haven't seen anything out of Sanders that tells me he'll contribute anything and Guyn just doesn't seem like a natural PG to me.
WAITE HOYT 2
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agree with everything you said. JJ is not a starter on a good team. I hope JDIII can contribute but I have my doubts especially at PG.
JumpinJack5
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I saw him play in Deveroes this summer, and I know not a lot of defense is played, but he had 28 points and hit multiple contested midrange jumpers and he really worked on his handles. I think he lost some of that when he got hurt so much this year and it caused him to get further and further behind. I'm not saying he would've scored 15 ppg and had 8 reb., but I think he could've scored 7-8 ppg and grab 4-5 boards as a 4. Yes, he should never be the 5, unless we are pressing. I think Mick has played Sanders out of position, as Jeff has said, but he has shown flashes of providing scoring relief. It will be interesting where they play JD3-I heard they were trying to transition him to pg, but after the injury, I wonder if they will just leave him as a SG.
TheLongHaul
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DSL doesn't mean squat, sorry. I saw Alvin Mitchel light it up in DSL and he was terrible. Mbodj looked really good offensively in DSL. And just because you press doesn't mean you can just play anyone at center. Teams break presses more than they turn it over on presses. Even so once conference begins Cronin has shown that he doesn't like to press.
JumpinJack5
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Yes, but I also saw it early this season, once he shook off the rust. Then he got hurt, came back, and got hurt again. This really hindered his progress. Also, Im not saying they should or shouldn't press, but if they do, he is a nice option for a few minutes at the 5. I say this because if the other team has a big slow guy in, he can wreak havoc on him with his defensive intensity as a change of pace for a few minutes.
UCBearcats
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Are you talking about the same JJ who can't be on the court for more than 3 minutes without collecting 3 fouls? He's already got problems with staying out of foul trouble, how much worse do you think that would be if he was trying guard a center.
It's not like every team has some big, slow, dumb oaf playing their center position. Your theory might be acceptable when we play cupcakes in the beginning of the year but JJ would get eaten up by any real team.
I like JJ's hustle and intensity as much as the next guy but he's a pretty bad basketball player. Let's call and spade a spade here and just accept the fact that JJ is never going to be the player many hoped or expected him to be. For every good play JJ makes it takes him 3 or 4 stupid plays to get there. He typically does more harm than good when he's on the court.
JumpinJack5
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Pressing against good teams for just a few minutes, giving all they have, would've been good for this team. This weak press they used most of the year failed. Throw a healthy JJ in there for a few minutes, he would succeed. He can finish in transition and plays with intensity and determination that can't be matched. Lets face it, he sucks in the half court offense. In pressing situations, even against good teams, he would've helped. It's like a curveball in baseball, it is good for a change of pace, but shouldn't be used every pitch for the whole game. Same can be said about JJ......
Hicks' Guns
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OK. So Smart and Stevens both declined. Here is the original list (which may or may not be accurate)
Coaches Potentially on UCLA's list
• Brad Stevens, Butler
• Shaka Smart, VCU
• Rick Pitino, Louisville
• Billy Donovan, Florida
• Randy Bennett, Saint Mary's
• Lorenzo Romar, Washington
• Josh Pastner, Memphis
• Tad Boyle, Colorado
• Jay Wright, Villanova
• Mick Cronin, Cincinnati
Pitino and Donovan are likely pipe dreams. Hmmmm....it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility for UCLA to try and interview Mick. I wonder if he'd even entertain it.
Coaches Potentially on UCLA's list
• Brad Stevens, Butler
• Shaka Smart, VCU
• Rick Pitino, Louisville
• Billy Donovan, Florida
• Randy Bennett, Saint Mary's
• Lorenzo Romar, Washington
• Josh Pastner, Memphis
• Tad Boyle, Colorado
• Jay Wright, Villanova
• Mick Cronin, Cincinnati
Pitino and Donovan are likely pipe dreams. Hmmmm....it wouldn't be outside the realm of possibility for UCLA to try and interview Mick. I wonder if he'd even entertain it.
It must have come down to the winner of the New Mexico/UC game, who knew?
CPAW29
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Andy Katz tweeted Mick Cronin turned down Minnesota
Robert
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Only way I think Mick Cronin is leaving Cincy is if he's forced out. I'm sure he would at least have to listen though if Indiana or Kentucky ever showed interest, given their close proximity to the tri-state and "blue blood" status.
UCalum08
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After reading the article on cincinnati.com it was nice to hear Cronin's comments. He is here to stay and wants to build something. Something we haven't hear at coach at UC say in a long while. Kudos to Mick for wanting to continue what he has just started. We as fans need to support the program the only way we can, go to the games!!
Next year's ooc so far has @ N Mex. who has all 5 starters back (albeit a new coach), XU (N), NCState & San Diego St. Conference games x2 vs. Lou.,UCONN,Memphis & Temple. That's 12 solid games against 8 teams who will all likely make the NCAA Tournament next year.
We also have the Jimmy V Classic on our schedule.
New Mexico may lose Tony Snell and Alex Kirk if they don't give the head coaching job to one of their previous assistants. Snell already threw his name in for the draft.
NC State will lose Lorenzo Brown, CJ Leslie, and Rodney Purvis. They lose 5 of their top 6 players but bring in some solid freshmen. Will still be a solid team but not what it could have been.
Looking forward to future opponents to be announced even though it probably won't be for a while.
bearcat jeff
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Like to see a couple more "name teams" and what room is left teams in the 100-125 rpi range.
CPAW29
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i think he is now starting to get the recruiting classes he wants beginning with the '13 class. so he finally got the program to where he wants it and now the fans have to do our part
Hicks' Guns
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Do we know who else is in the Jimmy V classic?
Let's be real. Before he signed Lawrence, the recruiting class looked pretty ugly. Three 3-star guys and one with zero stars. Lawrence definitely sweetened the pot to make it look considerably better, but based on posters on here who have seen him play, they haven't painted a real rosey picture of him. It is amazing to land a 5-star player. Don't get me wrong. But when I look at Memphis and see two 5-stars and three 4-stars, ours pales in comparison. It sounds like Strickland may be considerably better than his rating, but maybe Lawrence is worse as well. We won't know till they get here. I've seen hundreds of freshmen step foot on our court over the years, and the vast majority had very little impact in year one, no matter how highly they were rated.
I'm with you as far as the fans doing their part. It's far enough past the ground zero days that you would think bygones would have been forgotten. I thought the Sweet 16 would have carried over to increased fans this year, but we didn't sell out a single game. The amount of fans increased, but the way we finished down the stretch will leave a very bad taste in people's mouths. I suspect it will take a deeper run in the NCAA than a Sweet 16, or a top 5 recruiting class, before the level of fanaticism will reach what it used to be. Outside of these forums, the level of zeal toward our basketball program is much lower. Nobody in here wants to here that, but that's the truth.