*****
AS FOR MICK. . . He’s back, seemingly enthused about the future. It beats the alternative, I guess, but here’s the thing to remember through all the weirdness of last week:
If UC fails at getting into a Power 5 league, who coaches the Bearcats doesn’t matter a lot.
The money won’t be there.
Money for facilities, money for recruiting. Money that would allow UC to keep up with the Joneses. And the Macks, Pitinos and Mattas, Caliparis and Creans.
Cronin is excited about the arena rewire, but that’s already been delayed a year, and while a spiffy gym might help woo a recruit or two, it’s not going to solve the money gap. Of this year’s Sweet 16, 14 came from P-5 conferences. The two outliers, Gonzaga and Villanova, came from basketball-only places, where the football monster doesn’t need feeding.
UC has the double whammy of being in the money-poor AAC, while also having to pay for football. And pay a lot, as part of its effort to win over the Big 12.
If I were to send an open letter to Mick, it might go like this.
Dear Mick:
Get in your vehicle and point it west.
Head into Midwestern cornfield nowhere. Seek out places where there’s a hoop at the end of the driveway, a little skewed from overuse, a board below the net, slanted so the ball bounces back toward the shooter. Think Blue Chips, Mick.
Knock on the door, grant-in-aid in hand.
Find one or two of these guys, players who win big stuffed bears on carnival midways, who spend their summers taking 500 shots a day after sneaking through the window at the junior high gym.
Have you seen who’s winning the Madness games? Oklahoma, North Carolina, Villanova. Big offenses. Teams that move the ball quickly, find open shots and make them. Not teams who are “tough.’’ Not necessarily teams who mention their great defense. Nope, teams that score.
I wrote this exact same rant three years ago, when Creighton beat UC in the first round because Doug McDermott made baskets that toughness couldn’t prevent. Is it a broad generalization? Of course, it is. But you gotta start somewhere.
Either that, or loosen the reins a little with the players you have.
*****
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/c.../82337522/