Andy Dalton became the Bengals leader his rookie season, something Carson Palmer did not do in his 8 Bengal seasons. Leadership is not something you can tell a person to do, you are either born with it or with out it.
And I was the leader of my 8th grade basketball team but that doesn't mean I could have been the leader of UC's basketball team when I was 14. But if I want some apples to oranges comparisons I'll remember to ask you next time.
of course it takes the right person to be a leader, but saying that a freshman or sophomore should overtake the veterans and become the leader just isn't reality. Martin, Hicks, Maxiell, Fletcher, Brannon, etc, those guys weren't leaders their freshman and sophomore years. Hicks left the team as a freshman.
Not an apple to oranges comparison. Leaders are born, they are not made. From what I have seen the team does not have a natural born leader or go to guy on it. Who takes the last shot on this team down 1 with 2 seconds to go, the guy that happens to have the ball, no Kobe's on this team.
I'm not saying that at all. I'm saying it is instilled in someone to be a leader and under certain circumstances, one will rise.....if he is on the team
Some lead by example and some lead vocally. This team has no vocal leader and that is not going to change until one is recruited.
Some may make fun of this, but I believe Gaines could be that man. He may not have the game YET, but when he is on the court, he carries himself with a demeaner that others attract to
SK looked pretty good taking that shot against UConn, didn't he?
Yep, I agree. Definition of instilled: to introduce gradually; implant or infuse. some people aren't cut out to be a leader and some are. But one can still learn to become a leader and be taught how to be a leader which IMO is why this team is so lacking in that area. Dixon, Gates, and Cash didn't have anyone to infuse that leadership. Don't bother saying Cronin would teach them b/c while that might be slightly true, they would learn it from their peers.
Not sure why you obsess over Gaines so much for someone that doesn't even look like a D1 player. I'd give the same response to the person that asked about JJ: it doesn't matter if they have leadership qualities if they can't lead by example. JJ makes more dumb mistakes than anyone on the court. Gaines can't lead, especially right now, because he doesn't even know enough about basketball.
Mick's coaching effort against Marquette was abysmal and if he keeps doing this nonsense, we are in trouble. The players have their own issues but I'm sick of hearing Mick put it on them when he is completely at fault.
In the Marquette game alone, I find the following difficult to explain:
-They were up 16-4 less than 4 minutes into the game. Then Mick (1) calls off the press, and (2) takes Cashmere Wright out of the game. The lead was largely gone within a matter of minutes. Why would you change ANYTHING if you start the game with a 16-4 run?
-Jae Crowder having 3 fouls at the start of the 2nd half and still played most of the rest of the game. You've gotta at least try to go at that guy and get him his fourth foul quickly. He was making their whole team go for most of the game yesterday.
-Continually putting Jeremiah Davis and G-Lawn Gwyn in the game at the same time. You might as well fast forward the game 3 minutes and give the other team 5-6 points if you do that. I'm not saying these guys are hopeless. I'm just saying when you have Dixon, Wright, Sean and Parker, there is no reason to have more than one freshman guard in the game at a time.
-Having Sean Kilpatrick on the bench most of the 2nd half. If you're down 10 or more, him getting hot is one of the only chances you have getting back into it. Mick did this with 3 minutes to go in the Syracuse game too. He had Cashmere AND Sean out of the game. No chance of coming back if you do that.
-Staying in that "zone" or whatever you call it too long. How easy is it to get in the middle of that thing? Either work on it or scrap it.
-Having his team look confused against a press. While we were careless with the ball....It's not like they had a plan to break it. Cashmere was the only guy back there against two people and the other players weren't helping him. They were just running up court.
I fear this team is not making the NCAA and at least from what's in the press, Mick loves to push the blame on his players but he is getting out-coached as well. I can't believe we've somewhat squandered this talent.
How dare you come on this board and make good points. Better be careful. The Mick apologists are going to rip you a new one.
Mick's coaching effort against Marquette was abysmal and if he keeps doing this nonsense, we are in trouble. The players have their own issues but I'm sick of hearing Mick put it on them when he is completely at fault.
In the Marquette game alone, I find the following difficult to explain:
-They were up 16-4 less than 4 minutes into the game. Then Mick (1) calls off the press, and (2) takes Cashmere Wright out of the game. The lead was largely gone within a matter of minutes. Why would you change ANYTHING if you start the game with a 16-4 run?
How dare you come on this board and make good points. Better be careful. The Mick apologists are going to rip you a new one.
I will say Mick coached well last night, and not specifically because they won although the two do have a lot to do with one another...
-He scrapped the zone, which hasn't ever worked except against Depaul when their shooter fouled out with 5 minutes left. The man D was for the most part good and intense last night (except for the lull, which wouldn't really be the coach's fault).
-That's the best I've seen us get inside against the zone. Usually Yancy and Justin have trouble just standing around. Side Note: it was great to see Yancy come to play last night. I don't have much confidence it keeps up but it would be nice if he just realized they are in deep trouble if he doesn't get his sh* together.
-G-Lawn and Jeremiah were seldom in the game at the same time and they actually contributed a little bit. I don't think we should expect any more from them or depend on them but that was good bench play last night.
I'm not a Mick hater or a Mick apologist. You gotta call it objectively. He coached well last night and crappy the two weeks before that. Let's hope his game plan and coaching are sound on Saturday against the Hall. Then let's hope the players deliver as well.
I think Yancy has been a key for us since he came back from the suspension. He's played hard and really put his focus on playing D and rebounding. I don't question his effort at all. I'd like to see him finish more often around the rim and hit a better FT% but at this point he is what he is.