There have been times in the past when I have been underwhelmed with the man, but he's doing a smash up job this last month.

Got to give the kids some credit, they have to hit the shots, but wow.

What we did to Marquette and then Syracuse- strategically- was a thing of beauty.

Our zone crippled Cuse in the first half- and if Deion Waiters doesn't have a career night shooting the ball down the stretch (that kid was as unconscious as anyone I've ever seen)- we win by 10 points.

Add in his call for Cash to foul when we were up 3 with just seconds to go. Props to Cronin.

What has impressed me is that UC has shifted to primarily a 2-3 zone team and has gone from a team I thought was abysmal in zone to a team that has been really good in it. I thought we were so passive playing zone defense, gave up too many wide open looks, didn't play with the kind of energy we did in man to man, etc and now we are playing really active, fun to watch zone defense. The quick turnaround in that area to me has everything to do with coaching and the players willingness to work. It's been fun to watch.

Yeah, one of my beefs with Huggins is that he wouldn't change things up.

I give props to Cronin for surprising all of us with the zone.

It's a moot point if they don't make shots, but this team does nothing but surprise us all the time.

One of the biggest concerns with going to a zone defense is the difficulty in rebounding out of it. But the Bearcats have gotten a lot better at rebounding out of the zone.

Parker especially seems to have an uncanny ability to figure out where the ball is coming down and get to the spot to rebound. Our team speed and the kids' hustle has helped them improve their zone rebounding.

Apparently beating 7 ranked teams this year has been accomplished by only us.

Who'd ya beat and where'd ya beat em?

We beat more than anyone else.

(03-10-2012 09:18 AM)Ragpicker Wrote:  Add in his call for Cash to foul when we were up 3 with just seconds to go. Props to Cronin.

This. Without it I have no doubt Waiters would have tied it with a 3. That kid was making shots from the parking lot, ridiculous.

I'd like to think this season finally silences the Cronin critics. This guy can coach. UC is lucky to have him and the program is in good hands.

(03-10-2012 09:58 AM)Kenyon#4 Wrote:  

(03-10-2012 09:18 AM)Ragpicker Wrote:  Add in his call for Cash to foul when we were up 3 with just seconds to go. Props to Cronin.

This. Without it I have no doubt Waiters would have tied it with a 3. That kid was making shots from the parking lot, ridiculous.

He literally could not miss when he tried to miss. Great call by Mick.

I noticed early in the season that Mick has done much better with match-ups. As far as coaches go, he has definately amounted to an overall plus for this team.

He has been criticized for playing to stop other team's strengths instead of emphasizing his team's own strengths. Well, I got news for you- when your talent level is below nearly every team you have to play in the conference (we got exactly one player voted to the all big east teams)- you have to get creative to win. I think it's really difficult to argue with the decisions he has made after the brawl.

I'm really proud of this team right now. A Big East championship would be absolutely huge for this program.

His decision to go zone, was huge. You know this is how every team is going to guard Syracuse, from here on out. If Waiters didn't go unconscious, this game wouldn't have been close.

What I like most about the zone is what Jay Bilas noted last night. It has kept Yancy fresh for the entire game because he's no longer chasing guys around in the pick and roll. He is so much more active offensively as a result. I also really like the job the guards have done of anticipating passes in the zone. Kilpatrick was everywhere last night tipping and intercepting passes.

(03-10-2012 02:10 PM)Bearcat04 Wrote:  What I like most about the zone is what Jay Bilas noted last night. It has kept Yancy fresh for the entire game because he's no longer chasing guys around in the pick and roll. He is so much more active offensively as a result. I also really like the job the guards have done of anticipating passes in the zone. Kilpatrick was everywhere last night tipping and intercepting passes.

Somehow JJ still finds a way to get in foul trouble. Hope he can keep it under control tonight. If the refs continue to call games the way they have been, this will be one of the most physical games ever played.

What I like about the zone is something that they mentioned as why Boehiem loves the zone. When you play zone defense, you don't have to prepare for the myriad of man to man sets that opposing teams have.

I remember talking to Connor Barwin after Cronin's third year about the struggles with the program so far. He said he thought Mick wasn't always getting through to players, but make no mistake--the dude is really smart and knows basketball.

Looking back, a little bit of that was Mick being a young coach, but a lot was just talent and recruiting the right kinds of kids who have a chance to grow with each other over three to four years.

I'd like to think our recent success will start giving Mick an edge in recruiting these blue chip kids, but I'm really impressed with his ability to identify tough kids who fit his system, even if they weren't hot prospects. Illinois' roster this year is head and shoulders above ours if you go by recruiting rankings- numerous top 100 players, many top 10-15 for their position, a lottery pick at Center. And they sucked. Played terrible team basketball, soft defense, etc. Mick has done a great job staying confident in his vision for the team and sticking to it.

Mick has always been a really good basketball mind, I am glad that he finally has a group of guys that buy into what he is saying. That was the most frustrating part of the 2 years before last year when they were probably good enough to make the NCAA tournament. He has got them buying in now.

Yeah, this team is night and day compared to the team we watched at the beginning of the season. No matter how you cut it, this team came together and improved when they had their backs against the wall. Put that down to good coaching and solid personalities all around.

(03-10-2012 02:34 PM)Bearcat_Bounce Wrote:  Mick has always been a really good basketball mind, I am glad that he finally has a group of guys that buy into what he is saying. That was the most frustrating part of the 2 years before last year when they were probably good enough to make the NCAA tournament. He has got them buying in now.

Year 4 was probably the most frustrating for fans. On paper, we had a senior Deonta Vaughn and Lance Stephenson--should have been good, but in reality it was a team chemistry disaster and a prime example in talent not meaning much if everyone's not on the same page and playing their asses off.

Cronin is a gym rat who lives, eats, and sleeps basketball. In the few times I've met him or heard him speak casually about basketball, he seems to have a tremendous knowledge of and passion for the game. However, the dude is not a huckster, glad hander or snake oil salesman like some coaches and this in a way works against him in relating to the public and the casual fans of the program because he's just not PR savvy like for example, a Brian Kelly. He is however, a loyal Bearcat through and through, and I wouldn't trade him at this stage for any other coach in America.

NM