Cronin: Bearcats' learning process may be painful
Bill Koch, bkoch@enquirer.com 4 p.m. EST November 5, 2014


UC head coach Mick Cronin directs his team against Bellarmine on Nov. 3. (Photo: The Enquirer/Gary Landers)

Perhaps the best way to view the University of Cincinnati's 86-79 exhibition victory over Division II over Bellarmine on Monday night was as the first step in what will likely be a sometimes painful learning process.

With seven first-year players, especially on the front line, Cronin said that's to be expected.

The Bearcats struggled to a 46-46 tie at halftime against the Knights, forged an 18-point lead in the second half, then saw most of that lead melt away while allowing Bellarmine to shoot 56.6 percent from the field.

UC will play its second and final exhibition game Saturday against Fairmont State (WV) at 2 p.m. at Fifth Third Arena.

"You're trying to build habits in guys," UC coach Mick Cronin said, "but the reality for us is that we're going to be playing most of the time with two big guys that didn't play for us last year. We've got to be great defensively on the perimeter. It's an adjustment for our guys to not have Justin (Jackson) and Titus (Rubles) erasing all of their mistakes or covering up for them all the time. It's not going to happen overnight."

If the defensive lapses were hard to watch at times for the 4,234 fans at Fifth Third Arena, the game was exactly what Cronin was hoping for. After all, that's why they play two exhibition games every season before embarking on the games that count.

"It was worth 15 practices for us," Cronin said, "just that one game."

Cronin said he could have done some things strategically that would have helped the Bearcats' defensive showing, but he wanted his team to play against a team that moves the ball well, spreads the floor and has capable perimeter shooters.

The UC coach is confident the defense will improve as the newcomers gain more experience.

"You lose three guys (Jackson, Rubles and Sean Kilpatrick) that were at a level ten of defensive understanding, level ten being that you're great but you can also cover for your teammates" Cronin said. "You have to realize as a coach that they didn't get that way overnight. SK couldn't guard his lunch as a freshman. Justin fouled every guy he (guarded). It's part of coaching. It just takes time.

"You're either trained or you're untrained and part of your training is games. It's not all practice. In the meantime we have to find a way to win games, so strategically we're going to have to do some things along the way to give us a chance to win."

One positive that emerged from Monday's game was the fact that UC had 11 players who logged 10 minutes or more and four who scored in double figures, which could be a sign that the Bearcats have more depth than they had last year.

Freshman forward Gary Clark, who has dominated in practice, was in the starting lineup and played 22 minutes but managed only two points while taking just one shot.

"I told him to remember it," Cronin said. "This isn't easy. You've got to make sure you're mentally and physically prepared and it's going to be a lot harder in the game. It's just a lot harder than anything you've ever done."

The only scholarship player who didn't log at least 10 minutes was freshman center Jamaree Strickland, who played only two minutes. Strickland sat out last year because the NCAA did not accept all of his high school courses and was not allowed to practice with the team.

But Cronin said he expects to see more of him against Fairmont State.

"In a game like that, when Jamaree's foot speed is his biggest weakness, chasing Bellarmine's 3-point shooters around would have been a tough assignment for him," Cronin said. "It was just a bad matchup for Jamaree. I'm hoping to get him a lot more minutes on Saturday. He's in a battle for playing time. I need to get a better look at him. I need to be able to evaluate him so I can show him some areas where he needs to improve."

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/c.../18547663/

"Trained or untrained." Love it. He will get them trained by tourney time.

Cronin is a miracle worker on defense. The statement about SK was true- he was awful on defense as a freshman and very capable by his junior year. JJ improved leaps and bounds on his ability to stay on the floor his senior year.

We are blessed to have Mick as our coach and that he wants to stay here.