Cronin: ‘New league won’t change recruiting’
05/09/13 at 11:39am by Bill Koch

Mick Cronin says UC will not change its recruiting strategy now that it’s no longer a member of the Big East Conference.

Playing in the Big East gave the Bearcats a recruiting presence in the New York area that they capitalized on by signing Lance Stephenson and Sean Kilpatrick, among others. As a member of the Big East, Cronin could tell a recruit that if he went to UC, his friends and family could see him play every year in the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden, with regular trips to play Rutgers, Seton Hall and St. John’s.

UC will no longer have that presence in the American Athletic Conference. The closest the Bearcats will get in the new league is Connecticut.

“We will not change our recruiting philosophy at all,” Cronin said. “We appeal to a certain type of kid, maybe from bigger cities where they don’t want to be on a rural campus. We’re perfect for them. It’s smaller than where they are from, but it’s not rural. Our campus is a lot better than the campuses that are close to their homes and the city is maybe not quite as distracting maybe as where they are from.”

Because of his long history with the UC program, Cronin said, he has developed a profile of the type of players that UC has had success recruiting in the past.

“I kind of know the type of guys we can get,” Cronin said. “It’s been the same no matter what league we’re in. The model has not changed. That doesn’t mean we don’t go after some others because we do.”

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/uc/2013/05/0...ecruiting/

well, Mick, I hope you ' do ' change some recruiting philsophies. Cut back on the NYC recruits and reach out to some of the midwest recruits that can shoot pretty good and hit free throws. You know Bobby Brannen and the Keith Gregor kid from Lakota didnt hurt us a bit. We need shooters and free throw shooters and ' FUNDAMENTALLY SOUND' recruits too.

(05-12-2013 03:52 PM)bearcat54 Wrote:  well, Mick, I hope you ' do ' change some recruiting philsophies. Cut back on the NYC recruits and reach out to some of the midwest recruits that can shoot pretty good and hit free throws. You know Bobby Brannen and the Keith Gregor kid from Lakota didnt hurt us a bit. We need shooters and free throw shooters and ' FUNDAMENTALLY SOUND' recruits too.

Gregor wasn't a good shooter and did not hit his free throws. He was white though.

(05-13-2013 09:16 AM)levydl Wrote:  

(05-12-2013 03:52 PM)bearcat54 Wrote:  well, Mick, I hope you ' do ' change some recruiting philsophies. Cut back on the NYC recruits and reach out to some of the midwest recruits that can shoot pretty good and hit free throws. You know Bobby Brannen and the Keith Gregor kid from Lakota didnt hurt us a bit. We need shooters and free throw shooters and ' FUNDAMENTALLY SOUND' recruits too.

Gregor wasn't a good shooter and did not hit his free throws. He was white though.

Oh boy. That opened a can of worms.

(05-13-2013 10:57 AM)BearChatter v2.0 Wrote:  

(05-13-2013 09:16 AM)levydl Wrote:  

(05-12-2013 03:52 PM)bearcat54 Wrote:  well, Mick, I hope you ' do ' change some recruiting philsophies. Cut back on the NYC recruits and reach out to some of the midwest recruits that can shoot pretty good and hit free throws. You know Bobby Brannen and the Keith Gregor kid from Lakota didnt hurt us a bit. We need shooters and free throw shooters and ' FUNDAMENTALLY SOUND' recruits too.

Gregor wasn't a good shooter and did not hit his free throws. He was white though.

Oh boy. That opened a can of worms.

I place Keith Gregor in the ' FUNDAMENTALLY SOUND' category. Not that many of them in NYC today. SK has been great from NYC but many of mick's recruits, especially his big men, lack fundamentals and basketball skills. We don't just need long and strong, we need smart and improving as they play. I'm trying to remember when any of our big men have become a lot better since they enrolled and played at UC under Micks' assistants. Yancy Gates was skilled and improved in attitude and work ethics his senior year but who else? Time for Mick to find a coach for the Big Men. The buddy system is fine in some ways but when nobody seems to improve at a certain position, I question who is teaching them and what they are teaching them. Practices should be a lot of drills with the attempt to improve basketball skills. At least, as a Hoosier, I feel that should be happening in basketball.

(05-13-2013 12:42 PM)bearcat54 Wrote:  

(05-13-2013 10:57 AM)BearChatter v2.0 Wrote:  

(05-13-2013 09:16 AM)levydl Wrote:  

(05-12-2013 03:52 PM)bearcat54 Wrote:  well, Mick, I hope you ' do ' change some recruiting philsophies. Cut back on the NYC recruits and reach out to some of the midwest recruits that can shoot pretty good and hit free throws. You know Bobby Brannen and the Keith Gregor kid from Lakota didnt hurt us a bit. We need shooters and free throw shooters and ' FUNDAMENTALLY SOUND' recruits too.

Gregor wasn't a good shooter and did not hit his free throws. He was white though.

Oh boy. That opened a can of worms.

I place Keith Gregor in the ' FUNDAMENTALLY SOUND' category. Not that many of them in NYC today. SK has been great from NYC but many of mick's recruits, especially his big men, lack fundamentals and basketball skills. We don't just need long and strong, we need smart and improving as they play. I'm trying to remember when any of our big men have become a lot better since they enrolled and played at UC under Micks' assistants. Yancy Gates was skilled and improved in attitude and work ethics his senior year but who else? Time for Mick to find a coach for the Big Men. The buddy system is fine in some ways but when nobody seems to improve at a certain position, I question who is teaching them and what they are teaching them. Practices should be a lot of drills with the attempt to improve basketball skills. At least, as a Hoosier, I feel that should be happening in basketball.

Agree, no need to make it racial like the earlier poster.

There's never a need to make things "racial." However, as an institution that shapes its own culture and priorities, UC is absolutely saturated with the Diversity issue. It permeates everything that the university says or does.

The men's basketball team is the most visible representative and ambassador of the university, and President Ono has been enthusiastic and determined in describing athletics as the university's front door and opportunity to make an impression on all sorts of audiences, near and far.

And apart from the one white walk-on that usually (but not always) sits at the end of the bench, the squad is not integrated. Coach Cronin has not recruited a single scholarship white American since he came back to UC, and from all the prospect names and profiles that we see for the next few years, that trend is continuing. Not only is this entirely contrary to what the university claims is important in its very fabric, it can also be argued that it does a disservice to the culture of the basketball team, as well as its ultimate play on the court. We are not unique among the teams in the upper tier of college basketball in this way, but we do stand out for not being integrated. And as the last several years have proved, there are quite a lot of contributions toward the ultimate prize that UC cannot have that schools like Louisville, Syracuse, Michigan, Butler, Duke, Ohio State, Kentucky, Florida, Kansas, etc., do have, even as they are putting forth a "face of the university" that is at least somewhat diverse.

We supposedly aren't supposed to talk about this stuff, but it seems pretty inconsistent, hypocritical, and self-defeating to continue this strategy, and I'm surprised it's being allowed to continue.

Mick Cronin's job is to recruit the best team possible... Not create a quota system for racial diversity.

(05-15-2013 02:40 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  Mick Cronin's job is to recruit the best team possible... Not create a quota system for racial diversity.

Exactly, that's what walk-ons are for!

(05-15-2013 02:31 PM)George Kaplan Wrote:  Coach Cronin has not recruited a single scholarship white American since he came back to UC,

Mitch McGeary disagrees with you.

Quote:Can you run down your list of offers? IU, Purdue, Marquette, Ole Miss, Oregon State, Miami (FL), Cincinnati, Xavier, Dayton and Ball State. I think that’s about it.

http://www.umhoops.com/2010/12/06/201120...ch-mcgary/

(05-15-2013 02:40 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  Mick Cronin's job is to recruit the best team possible... Not create a quota system for racial diversity.

LOL

Thank you.

Mick only offers white guys that will turn him down. Word.

Mick also recruited Kevin Pangos who ultimately signed with Gonzaga. At one point, UC was in his final 3.

(05-15-2013 05:20 PM)colsbearcat Wrote:  Mick also recruited Kevin Pangos who ultimately signed with Gonzaga. At one point, UC was in his final 3.

The poster specifically said "American" and Pangos is from Canada. Slight technicality.

He also recruited that really pale white kid with the moppy hair who played for Butler and actually turned out to be a pretty good player. Matt something or other cant remember his last name. So I think it's unfair to say Mick doesnt recruit crackers. It's just that he doesnt land them. Plus I second what Mark mentioned- Mick's job is to win games, not create a racial profile on the team that reflects the University. Hell let's get some Indians, Chinese, and Latinos on the team as well because Mick loves all the children of the world.

Threads like this and bounce trolling realignment nonsense make me pine for a Munchie vs Kay thread or a Huggins thread.

Oh yeah and what about Adam H! Those were heady days...

Gordon Hayward?

(05-15-2013 09:07 PM)Bearcatbdub Wrote:  Oh yeah and what about Adam H! Those were heady days...

Three missed layups just flashed before my eyes.

(05-15-2013 09:18 PM)vabearcat Wrote:  Gordon Hayward?

I think he was referring to Matt Howard. I believe that was their big man who played with Hayward and was the year after Hayward left early.