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Ok. Time for a positive thread on one of our players for a change. How about Justin Jenifer this year? Incredible how well he is playing overall. Not necessarily flashy or eye opening but he's just a steadying force that has "quietly" been an all-around boost to the team. Consider these improving numbers since his frosh year:

Field Goal Attempts
2015 2.1
2016 2.6
2017 3.8
2018 6.4

Field Goal %
2015 36
2016 41
2017 37
2018 46

Three Point Attempts
2015 1.1
2016 1.3
2017 2.3
2018 3.9

Three Point %
2015 33
2016 38
2017 36
2018 46

Free Throw %
2015 70
2016 50
2017 77
2018 76

Assists Per Game
2015 1.3
2016 1.9
2017 2.5
2018 3.4

Points Per Game
2015 2.4
2016 2.8
2017 4.8
2018 9.1

Yep, he looks better all the time.

JJ has played in 20 games thus far (missed Wisconsin-Milwaukee due to illness). Here are his points per game split out in 10 game increments:

First 10
5/10/0/4/7/13/7/10/7/2
Total Points: 65
PPG: 6.5

Last 10
11/11/18/7/2/13/10/17/18/9
Total Points: 116
PPG: 11.6

He's nearly doubled his points output for the last 10 games compared to the first 10. Not too shabby. I realize the schedule has been easier overall for the last 10 games but you want him (and the team) playing their best basketball heading into March.

His niche on offense is making the extra pass for the open 3 or spotting up on the wing and hitting the open 3. Plays good defense, doesn’t turn the ball over. A nice role player for this team.

JJ is a textbook case about determination, commitment and player development. I give this staff credit for patiently guiding and enabling his development. The challenge in such cases is discerning skill potential during recruitment. But the tougher task I suppose is separating those who have the will to win (most) from those who have the will to practice and improve (some).

Justin is a great example for others to follow. His presence on the floor will be missed next year. A big ovation is a must on Senior Day.

(01-30-2019 08:46 AM)OKIcat Wrote:  JJ is a textbook case about determination, commitment and player development. I give this staff credit for patiently guiding and enabling his development. The challenge in such cases is discerning skill potential during recruitment. But the tougher task I suppose is separating those who have the will to win (most) from those who have the will to practice and improve (some).

Justin is a great example for others to follow. His presence on the floor will be missed next year. A big ovation is a must on Senior Day.

JJ also demonstrates why we (fans) should love 3rd, 4th, and 5th year players. With decent coaching, these kids should keep getting better.

For all that some on this board love to complain about Mick, his guys tend to say for their full 4 years, graduate, and produce.

It's called player development. We've been doing it for years.

Bobby Brannen, Leornard Stokes, Kenyon Martin, Sean Kilpatrick. I could go on.

Think about this thread if you ever consider starting one of those "what are we going to do next year without player X" threads.

Credit to both JJ for the hard work and the coaching staff for finding a way to utilize his skills- turnover avoidance and jump shooting. Hes a completely different player when you don't try to use him like a traditional point guard to generate offense.

(01-30-2019 09:17 AM)RealDeal Wrote:  Credit to both JJ for the hard work and the coaching staff for finding a way to utilize his skills- turnover avoidance and jump shooting. Hes a completely different player when you don't try to use him like a traditional point guard to generate offense.

Also with Cumberland in the fold you really don't have to use him that way. JJ gets assists because he makes the right pass and finds guys, but he doesn't have to be the creator because we already have that in Jarron. JJ can take ball handling duties against pressure, make the right pass, hit open jumpers and occasionally get his own (the layup at the rim late was huge). Without Jarron you might need more, but he fits in great because Jarron needs the ball anyways and isn't selfish when he has it.

for all of mick's limitations, hampered by not being in the not so ole big east, his height, his philosophy, demeanor, etcetera. bulldog did say the kids love his on the court behavior which all of you scoff at. i'll listen to the bull before mosta yall. despite all that. the man wins. if he pulls a sweet sixteen out of this club, recruits have got to take notice, don't they?

(01-30-2019 01:58 PM)Lush Wrote:  for all of mick's limitations, hampered by not being in the not so ole big east, his height, his philosophy, demeanor, etcetera. bulldog did say the kids love his on the court behavior which all of you scoff at. i'll listen to the bull before mosta yall. despite all that. the man wins. if he pulls a sweet sixteen out of this club, recruits have got to take notice, don't they?

Good point. Maybe I'm just drinking from our communal Kool-Aid pitcher here, but I think this team is well equipped for a run to the Sweet Sixteen. It has demonstrated amazing poise in games that came down to a single possession (ECU was the exception) and putting the outcome in the hands of Cumberland in the final minutes may just be that difference. These scores are much more representative of NCAA Tournament games, so this bodes well for March.

(01-30-2019 02:36 PM)OKIcat Wrote:  

(01-30-2019 01:58 PM)Lush Wrote:  for all of mick's limitations, hampered by not being in the not so ole big east, his height, his philosophy, demeanor, etcetera. bulldog did say the kids love his on the court behavior which all of you scoff at. i'll listen to the bull before mosta yall. despite all that. the man wins. if he pulls a sweet sixteen out of this club, recruits have got to take notice, don't they?

Good point. Maybe I'm just drinking from our communal Kool-Aid pitcher here, but I think this team is well equipped for a run to the Sweet Sixteen. It has demonstrated amazing poise in games that came down to a single possession (ECU was the exception) and putting the outcome in the hands of Cumberland in the final minutes may just be that difference. These scores are much more representative of NCAA Tournament games, so this bodes well for March.

I don't know. Sweet 16 literally gives you 2-3 days of added exposure. I think we make a far bigger deal about it than recruits do. Go to the Final 4 then I'd agree.

What should move the needle is getting 2 guys guaranteed NBA contracts in one year including an early entry first round pick. Plus new facilities playing in front of large crowds. This year's recruiting class is tough to judge due to only having 2 seniors but the 2020 class will I think show if our improvements are helping recruiting.

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(01-30-2019 02:51 PM)RealDeal Wrote:  

(01-30-2019 02:36 PM)OKIcat Wrote:  

(01-30-2019 01:58 PM)Lush Wrote:  for all of mick's limitations, hampered by not being in the not so ole big east, his height, his philosophy, demeanor, etcetera. bulldog did say the kids love his on the court behavior which all of you scoff at. i'll listen to the bull before mosta yall. despite all that. the man wins. if he pulls a sweet sixteen out of this club, recruits have got to take notice, don't they?

Good point. Maybe I'm just drinking from our communal Kool-Aid pitcher here, but I think this team is well equipped for a run to the Sweet Sixteen. It has demonstrated amazing poise in games that came down to a single possession (ECU was the exception) and putting the outcome in the hands of Cumberland in the final minutes may just be that difference. These scores are much more representative of NCAA Tournament games, so this bodes well for March.

I don't know. Sweet 16 literally gives you 2-3 days of added exposure. I think we make a far bigger deal about it than recruits do. Go to the Final 4 then I'd agree.

What should move the needle is getting 2 guys guaranteed NBA contracts in one year including an early entry first round pick. Plus new facilities playing in front of large crowds. This year's recruiting class is tough to judge due to only having 2 seniors but the 2020 class will I think show if our improvements are helping recruiting.

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True. The 2019 class is basically done barring a grad transfer, and we managed to pull a pretty good recruit in Samari Curtis. In 2020 we will have about 4 scholarships and a lot of holes to fill (would be losing 3 starters if the way things project) so with the new arena, I think we should be able to put together a top 25-40ish class.

hey yall, i got a theory. for lack of a better thread, he goes. mick's offense can only be slow because of how intense the d is. those boys need to recuperate. virginia's the same way

(01-30-2019 02:51 PM)RealDeal Wrote:  

(01-30-2019 02:36 PM)OKIcat Wrote:  

(01-30-2019 01:58 PM)Lush Wrote:  for all of mick's limitations, hampered by not being in the not so ole big east, his height, his philosophy, demeanor, etcetera. bulldog did say the kids love his on the court behavior which all of you scoff at. i'll listen to the bull before mosta yall. despite all that. the man wins. if he pulls a sweet sixteen out of this club, recruits have got to take notice, don't they?

Good point. Maybe I'm just drinking from our communal Kool-Aid pitcher here, but I think this team is well equipped for a run to the Sweet Sixteen. It has demonstrated amazing poise in games that came down to a single possession (ECU was the exception) and putting the outcome in the hands of Cumberland in the final minutes may just be that difference. These scores are much more representative of NCAA Tournament games, so this bodes well for March.

I don't know. Sweet 16 literally gives you 2-3 days of added exposure. I think we make a far bigger deal about it than recruits do. Go to the Final 4 then I'd agree.

What should move the needle is getting 2 guys guaranteed NBA contracts in one year including an early entry first round pick. Plus new facilities playing in front of large crowds. This year's recruiting class is tough to judge due to only having 2 seniors but the 2020 class will I think show if our improvements are helping recruiting.

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Bolded, I say "all of the above" as you've stated and advancing past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament some years. Until UC wins those first two games again, the talking heads on Selection Sunday will continue to be dismissive and won't move the Bearcats forward in their bracket projections. And they've been right about their forecast for several years now. Being selected annually for the tournament and not advancing will be written off as simply the fruits of competing in a weak AAC. As sad as that is following great regular season performances, the reality is people will measure success based upon advancing in college basketball's winner takes all sweepstakes. Archie Miller made the tournament four times at Dayton but his run to the Elite Eight is what raised his visibility to cash in @ Indiana. Advancing matters.

I have to admit, this dude has grown on me as well. I love how his ball handling just settles the team down. Came up big tonight in points scored [14] - second most behind Jarron. Here's a great stat - Assist Turnover Ratio in the entire NCAA going into tonight's game (Justin had 71 assists to 14 turnovers):

1 Jalen Avery Kent St. Sr. 6-0 G 22 85 15 5.67
2 Justin Jenifer Cincinnati Sr. 5-10 G 21 71 14 5.07
3 Tre Jones Duke Fr. 6-2 G 20 110 23 4.78
4 Tyrese Haliburton Iowa St. Fr. 6-5 G 23 95 20 4.75
5 Jalen Harris Arkansas So. 6-2 G 22 127 35 3.63
6 Jamal Bieniemy Oklahoma Fr. 6-4 G 23 71 20 3.55
7 Josh Perkins Gonzaga Sr. 6-3 G 23 154 44 3.50
- Jimmy Whitt Jr. SMU Jr. 6-3 G 21 91 26 3.50
9 Jordan Bone Tennessee Jr. 6-3 G 22 146 42 3.48
10 Davon Bell Presbyterian Sr. 5-10 G 24 149 45 3.31
11 Zavier Simpson Michigan Jr. 6-0 G 23 138 42 3.29
12 Darius Brown II CSUN Fr. 6-1 G 23 128 39 3.28
13 Isaiah Tisdale ETSU Jr. 6-1 G 23 75 23 3.26
14 T.J. Gibbs Notre Dame Jr. 6-3 G 21 78 24 3.25
15 Terrell Allen UCF Jr. 6-3 G 20 84 26 3.23
16 Harald Frey Montana St. Jr. 6-1 G 21 106 33 3.21
17 Josh Webster Missouri St. Sr. 6-3 G 23 122 38 3.21
18 Frankie Ferrari San Francisco Sr. 5-11 G 22 125 39 3.21
19 Alex Hunter Furman So. 5-11 G 23 82 26 3.15
20 Tyree Griffin Southern Miss. Sr. 5-10 G 21 145 46 3.15

Bulldog was right about this kid all along....who woulda thunk

The crazy thing about last night is we still had 10 turnovers in the first half last night with him on the floor. Just about everyone else was turning it over. He's come a long way. I'd give him votes for All AAC this year, but he'll likely end up on an honorable mention list to someone who scores more even if they're not a pg.

(02-07-2019 10:10 PM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  Bulldog was right about this kid all along....who woulda thunk

I don't know about that. His schtick was that the other guys played better with JJ facilitating. He's playing his best ball with someone else facilitating and him just concentrating on knocking down jumpers.

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