Bearcats to get first taste of live action
Bill Koch, bkoch@enquirer.com 5:27 p.m. EST November 2, 2014
Freshman Gary Clark is one of the newcomers worth watching when the Bearcats face Bellarmine on Monday. (Photo: The Enquirer/jeff swinger)
One of the biggest issues surrounding the 2014-15 University of Cincinnati basketball team is how well the Bearcats will play defensively.
They’ll get a preliminary answer when they take on Bellarmine at 7 p.m. Monday at Fifth Third Arena in the first of two exhibition games.
The Knights return three of their top six scorers from a team that went 23-8 last season and advanced to the NCAA Division II tournament for the sixth straight year. They were picked to win the East Division of the Great Lakes Valley Conference this year and have been ranked No. 13 nationally by Basketball Times.
“Sometimes your strength is also your weakness,” said UC coach Mick Cronin. “Our weakness as a defense is our size. When you play a team that has big guys that shoot the 3-point shot, which Bellarmine has, that’s going to be a chore for our bigger players, especially the beefeaters.
“For guys running around at 270 (pounds), it’s tough to guard 3-point shooters, so they’re going to spread you out. They’re going to make your big guys move their feet. You’re going to have to play against teams that do that.”
Bellarmine, located in Louisville, is coached by Scott Davenport, who worked with Cronin on the Louisville staff in 2001-02 and 2002-03. Davenport’s teams are known for their passing ability and their shooting accuracy.
UC has a different look after losing three senior starters from last year’s 27-7 American Athletic Conference co-championship team. The Bearcats begin the season with seven newcomers and perhaps the most physically imposing team they’ve had under Cronin, who is beginning his ninth year at UC. True freshman Gary Clark, a prolific scorer in high school, has been very impressive in practice and will be one of the players to keep an eye on.
There will be a new twist for this game, which will be played using a 30-second shot clock on an experimental basis instead of the usual 35-second clock under a mandate from the AAC, as college basketball looks for a way to inject more offense into the game.
Cronin said he does not believe a five-second reduction will make much difference against Bellarmine.
“It’ll be interesting,” Cronin said. “I’m a proponent of more possessions and more shots, but not bad ones. What I think will happen, talking to my friends internationally, is that initially there will be, if the clock shortens, a period of ugliness.”
Ultimately, Cronin said, if college basketball goes to a shortened shot clock, he would like to see the same thing happen in high school so that players will be accustomed to it by the time they reach college.
For now, though, the UC coach’s primary concern is getting his team ready for the regular season, which begins Nov. 14 at Fifth Third against St. Francis (Pa.) following a second exhibition game Saturday vs. Fairmont State.
He believes he has a talented group with lots of potential, but understands that until his players prove themselves on the court, that potential means nothing.
“You’ve got to do it in games,” Cronin said. “You can only practice so much. The guys need to be against an opponent who’s going to try to exploit our weaknesses. There’s a difference between having talent and winning. A big difference.” ■
Quote:UC vs. BELLARMINE
When: 7 p.m. Monday
Where: Fifth Third Arena
TV/radio: none
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/c.../18384405/