01-21-2008, 03:04 PM
Seeds of upsets planted
Cronin instilled philosophy at UC
BY BILL KOCH | BKOCH@ENQUIRER.COM
![[Image: bilde?Site=AB&Date=20080121&...p;border=1]](http://cmsimg.enquirer.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=AB&Date=20080121&Category=SPT0101&ArtNo=801210331&Ref=AR&MaxW=315&border=1)
As the losses accumulated last year, University of Cincinnati basketball fans probably got sick of hearing coach Mick Cronin talk about laying the foundation for the future.
All they saw was a string of losses followed by another string of losses with no end in sight.
"Coaches say a lot of things that fans kind of don't believe," Cronin said.
But in this case, Cronin was speaking the truth. He had a plan all along and now that plan is beginning to bear fruit, with the Bearcats having pulled even at 9-9 overall, 4-2 in the Big East Conference, and with two victories over Top 25 opponents in an eight-day span.
The latest ranked victim was No. 15 Pitt, which fell to the Bearcats on Saturday, 62-59, at Fifth Third Arena.
"We wouldn't even have been in that game last year," Cronin said.
It was the first time UC has won back-to-back games against Top 25 opponents since 2003-04, when the Bearcats beat No. 10 Louisville, 66-61, in overtime on Feb. 21 and No. 20 Memphis, 83-79, on March 6. Both games were at Fifth Third Arena.
The fact that UC led for most of the second half against Pitt and was able to withstand the Panthers' late-game charge speaks volumes about how far this program has come in less than two years under Cronin.
In the last two years, Pitt had beaten UC, 89-69, at Pitt and 67-51, at Fifth Third.
"We have more talent, obviously," Cronin said. "I don't have the talent base to where I want it yet, but my main focus coming back (to UC) was first of all I had to get players just to have a team, then I had to build the mindset of our program.
"I talk about the fiber in Pitt's program and how we were when I was here as an assistant. I had to build that back. Here's what we're going to stand for. We're not going to back down. We're going to play defense. We're not going to get pushed around. We're going to rebound. We're going to play together. We're going to play unselfish. That never changes. Players change but those things, you've got to set the tone."
Because he was intent on instilling that philosophy in the UC program above everything else, he set out last year to recruit a class of freshmen who would be around for a few years.
He doesn't have a Michael Beasley or an O.J. Mayo, who likely will leave for the NBA after one year. And even if he could have landed a player of that caliber, Cronin said, it wouldn't have made sense given the state of the program he inherited.
He wanted players who would grow together with the program, who would set the tone he wanted and pass it down to the next class and the class after that.
Next year, UC's six freshmen all are expected to return along with sophomore guard Deonta Vaughn, injured forward Mike Williams and Western Carolina transfer Nick Aldridge.
He'll add Withrow High School's Yancy Gates and point guard Cashmere Wright to that mix.
"We've got nine guys back," Cronin said. "They're going to have a sense of what this is all about. Yancy Gates is a great player. When he walks in here, he's going to be told by the guys in the locker room, 'Hey, we defend and rebound here. We listen to the coach. We play hard. We have a great attitude and that's the way it goes.'
"So guys like him and Cashmere coming in, they'll see how it's done here. That's the thing I focused on last year. That kept me going. Laying the foundation was more important than anything because we weren't going to win."
Cronin said his approach is the result of being tutored by winning coaches as an assistant, first by Bob Huggins at UC and then by Rick Pitino at Louisville.
"I've been fortunate that I was around it," Cronin said. "I saw the difference between our program and other programs when I was here and I watched Coach Pitino. That's what he focused on. Talent is going to come, but you've got to build on how we're doing this."
Cronin instilled philosophy at UC
BY BILL KOCH | BKOCH@ENQUIRER.COM
As the losses accumulated last year, University of Cincinnati basketball fans probably got sick of hearing coach Mick Cronin talk about laying the foundation for the future.
All they saw was a string of losses followed by another string of losses with no end in sight.
"Coaches say a lot of things that fans kind of don't believe," Cronin said.
But in this case, Cronin was speaking the truth. He had a plan all along and now that plan is beginning to bear fruit, with the Bearcats having pulled even at 9-9 overall, 4-2 in the Big East Conference, and with two victories over Top 25 opponents in an eight-day span.
The latest ranked victim was No. 15 Pitt, which fell to the Bearcats on Saturday, 62-59, at Fifth Third Arena.
"We wouldn't even have been in that game last year," Cronin said.
It was the first time UC has won back-to-back games against Top 25 opponents since 2003-04, when the Bearcats beat No. 10 Louisville, 66-61, in overtime on Feb. 21 and No. 20 Memphis, 83-79, on March 6. Both games were at Fifth Third Arena.
The fact that UC led for most of the second half against Pitt and was able to withstand the Panthers' late-game charge speaks volumes about how far this program has come in less than two years under Cronin.
In the last two years, Pitt had beaten UC, 89-69, at Pitt and 67-51, at Fifth Third.
"We have more talent, obviously," Cronin said. "I don't have the talent base to where I want it yet, but my main focus coming back (to UC) was first of all I had to get players just to have a team, then I had to build the mindset of our program.
"I talk about the fiber in Pitt's program and how we were when I was here as an assistant. I had to build that back. Here's what we're going to stand for. We're not going to back down. We're going to play defense. We're not going to get pushed around. We're going to rebound. We're going to play together. We're going to play unselfish. That never changes. Players change but those things, you've got to set the tone."
Because he was intent on instilling that philosophy in the UC program above everything else, he set out last year to recruit a class of freshmen who would be around for a few years.
He doesn't have a Michael Beasley or an O.J. Mayo, who likely will leave for the NBA after one year. And even if he could have landed a player of that caliber, Cronin said, it wouldn't have made sense given the state of the program he inherited.
He wanted players who would grow together with the program, who would set the tone he wanted and pass it down to the next class and the class after that.
Next year, UC's six freshmen all are expected to return along with sophomore guard Deonta Vaughn, injured forward Mike Williams and Western Carolina transfer Nick Aldridge.
He'll add Withrow High School's Yancy Gates and point guard Cashmere Wright to that mix.
"We've got nine guys back," Cronin said. "They're going to have a sense of what this is all about. Yancy Gates is a great player. When he walks in here, he's going to be told by the guys in the locker room, 'Hey, we defend and rebound here. We listen to the coach. We play hard. We have a great attitude and that's the way it goes.'
"So guys like him and Cashmere coming in, they'll see how it's done here. That's the thing I focused on last year. That kept me going. Laying the foundation was more important than anything because we weren't going to win."
Cronin said his approach is the result of being tutored by winning coaches as an assistant, first by Bob Huggins at UC and then by Rick Pitino at Louisville.
"I've been fortunate that I was around it," Cronin said. "I saw the difference between our program and other programs when I was here and I watched Coach Pitino. That's what he focused on. Talent is going to come, but you've got to build on how we're doing this."
Quote:Next
UC vs. UConn,
7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Fifth Third Arena
TV: Ch. 25
Radio: WLW-AM (700)
Quote:Big East blastoff
UC is off to a 4-2 start in league play. Here is a look at its first six Big East games last season and this season:
2006-07
Date Opponent Result
Jan. 1 at Louisville L, 69-53
Jan. 7 Rutgers L, 54-42
Jan. 14 at USF L, 74-59
Jan. 17 at Syracuse L, 78-77
Jan. 20 West Virginia W, 96-83
Jan. 24 Pittsburgh L, 67-51
2007-08
Date Opponent Result
Jan. 1 At Louisville W, 58-57
Jan. 5 At St. John's L, 70-58
Jan. 9 Syracuse W, 74-66
Jan. 12 Villanova W, 69-66
Jan. 15 At Notre Dame L, 91-74
Jan. 19 Pittsburgh W, 62-59