UC Bearcats pummel Tulane, 97-75
Tom Groeschen, tgroeschen@enquirer.com 10:18 p.m. EST January 24, 2016


It was the 200th University of Cincinnati basketball victory for coach Mick Cronin, and rarely have they come easier.

UC made its first 11 field goal attempts, raced to a 29-5 lead and easily beat Tulane 97-75 on Sunday afternoon at Fifth Third Arena, as senior forward Shaq Thomas and sophomore forward Gary Clark each scored 17 points.

An appreciative crowd of 9,224 was able to kick back and relax more than usual, with blowouts rare this time of year in conference play. UC led by as much as 40 points.

Cronin is now 200-124 in his 10th season as Bearcats head coach, with NCAA Tournament appearances in each of the last five seasons. Cronin trails only Bob Huggins (399-127) on the UC career coaches win list.

Cronin, caught up in both coaching and in parenting his 9-year-old daughter Sammi, said he thought he was still two wins away from 200. That said, what does the milestone mean?


“Survival, I guess,” the 44-year-old Cronin said. “I’m the son of a coach. I’ve been around this a long time. You realize it’s not about you, when there’s so many other things in coaching. I’ve got a great staff and I’ve had a lot of guys play here. I’ve had a tremendous amount of help.”

Bearcats head coach Mick Cronin discusses Sunday's win against Tulane, his 200th victory at UC.

The help included four players who scored at least 10 points Sunday, with senior guard Farad Cobb (16) and senior center Coreontae DeBerry (11) joining Thomas and Clark in double figures.

“I think our seniors are giving us more leadership and more production,” Cronin said. “That’s making us a better team.”

Cobb, on Cronin winning his 200th:

“It was big. He didn’t even say anything about it before the game, so when they announced it I was surprised. It’s a good feeling to know that you were with him on such a great accomplishment.”

UC has battled through tough, grinding games for most of the past month, but Tulane showed why it was the clear choice of American Athletic Conference coaches to finish last in the league.

UC (15-6, 5-3 AAC) won its second consecutive game.

Tulane (8-13, 1-7 AAC) has lost three straight games. Junior guard Malik Morgan led the Green Wave with 23 points.

UC blew it open early, making its first 11 shots from the field. The Bearcats naturally cooled off thereafter, but it was 49-27 by halftime.

“We tried to jump on Tulane early,” Cronin said. “That was our game plan to try to put the pressure on them right away, not get caught in a game in the 50s where anything can happen.”

UC was running, pressing and playing a fast pace similar to its 76-72 win over Memphis on Thursday, with little defensive resistance from Tulane.

“We’ve been focusing on, when we get up, kind of like putting the nail in and not letting them come back into the game,” Cobb said.

UC built its lead to 40 points, 80-40, with substitutes getting ample playing time. That included walk-on Zack Tobler (Covington Catholic High School), who scored two points.

“With nine minutes left, we had it 80-40,” Cronin said. “That was just a tremendous credit to our guys and how hard they played. It was reflective of our practice yesterday. It was our best practice of the year.”

UC forced 19 turnovers and had only nine itself. The Bearcats won most statistics including steals (10-3), points off of turnovers (27-7) and points in the paint (40-20).

“Credit to Cincinnati, coach Cronin had his team ready to go,” Tulane coach Ed Conroy said. “I love that they came out with great energy and they were very active on the defensive end. We just didn’t give ourselves a chance in that first half with the way we played.”

Cronin was as pleased as he has been all season.

“The kids did a great job,” Cronin said. “I’m just really happy for them right now, really proud of them.”

K-MART SPECIAL: UC great Kenyon Martin joined Bearcats athletic director Mike Bohn for a brief postgame ceremony on court, recognizing Cronin’s 200th win.

Martin’s jersey No. 4 is among three retired by the UC men’s basketball program, along with Oscar Robertson (12) and Jack Twyman (27). Martin has been in town for several days and attended the last two UC games, and he also has helped out at practice.

“It’s great to hear someone like Kenyon cheering for you or telling you to be more aggressive,” Clark said.

Cobb: “When I saw him in the locker room the other day I was like, ‘That’s Kenyon Martin.’ Even at halftime, he even told me that I had a shot, but I took a dribble and took the same shot. He told me just to shoot the first one. I was like, all right.”

ROAD TRIP: UC next plays at Connecticut on Thursday at 7 p.m. (ESPNU).


http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/c.../79263808/

I don't confess to know all the ins and outs of this but on the surface, as a fan, I would be excited to have Kmart on the staff. That doesn't add to a hill of beans because Cronin would have to interview him and who knows if he would make a good coach or not. But just seeing Cobb's reaction to a simple instruction got me excited. I would think he could really work with the big men. His name is big enough people know who he is and what he stood for here at UC. Would be pretty cool if it worked out.

Kenyon's locker is also "retired", the players see that everyday.

(01-25-2016 07:39 AM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  I don't confess to know all the ins and outs of this but on the surface, as a fan, I would be excited to have Kmart on the staff. That doesn't add to a hill of beans because Cronin would have to interview him and who knows if he would make a good coach or not. But just seeing Cobb's reaction to a simple instruction got me excited. I would think he could really work with the big men. His name is big enough people know who he is and what he stood for here at UC. Would be pretty cool if it worked out.

In addition to the coaching, I think he would be one hell of a recruiter right off the bat for the reasons you stated. Plus as a veteran of the NBA for 15-16 years a lot of these kids today watched him play.

(01-25-2016 10:16 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(01-25-2016 07:39 AM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  I don't confess to know all the ins and outs of this but on the surface, as a fan, I would be excited to have Kmart on the staff. That doesn't add to a hill of beans because Cronin would have to interview him and who knows if he would make a good coach or not. But just seeing Cobb's reaction to a simple instruction got me excited. I would think he could really work with the big men. His name is big enough people know who he is and what he stood for here at UC. Would be pretty cool if it worked out.

In addition to the coaching, I think he would be one hell of a recruiter right off the bat for the reasons you stated. Plus as a veteran of the NBA for 15-16 years a lot of these kids today watched him play.

No disrespect to what Cronin or Huggs have accomplished on the recruiting trail as both have done an amazing job, in different ways, but one thing IMO that UC has sorely missed is having/marketing recent NBA players to point to or on the coaching staff. It's been kicked around many times that UC could use a "big man" development coach and having one or two assistants around with an NBA pedigree -- who are recognized by today's kids coming up -- would be absolutely huge and would cement Mick's cred especially if we can get another player or two into The League. That type of access, knowledge and name recognition have supposedly helped several coaches in the AAC in recruiting, and having someone who's "been there" to help reiterate the toughness, dedication etc. needed is, IMO, one of the things that would help Mick elevate UC to the next level.