Right now UC is using only 10 scholarships and only 8 of those players are legit D1 players(Lucas and Souley aren't at least Souley isn't now). There are 3 "dead" scholarships on UC, one was for Banks, one was for Whaley and one was for Pilgrim. Luckily Huggs has multiple players that can play various positions. One major injury however, to one of UC's 8 regular player, will end all hope of success in the NCAA Tourney.

Thoughts??

You make some good points, it's never good to have to rely on only 8 players (although I think Lucas makes it 9, as his defense can really pay dividends at times). However, I don't think depth is a major factor in the NCAA Tournament. It's only a 40 minute game (as opposed to 48 in the NBA), and these are college kids. They can play 40 minutes if they have to, it's not like they're old men. They are great, young athletes. Plus, lots of teams have made deep runs in the Tourney with a thin bench. If your top players are really good, you can get by as long as you don't get into serious foul trouble. I can recall Duke having short benches in recent years because of defections to the NBA, and they're not the only team. Having said all that, if UC has one major injury, they are in serious trouble. They depend very heavily on their "top 8" guys, with the possible exception of Bright (although he gives Max and Hicks a much needed blow in the frontcourt). Oh well, we'll go with what we've got, and hope it's good enough :)

In the history of the men's tournament, very few teams have gone deep into the madness using mroe than 7 or 8 players. The lack of highly skilled players is more of a practice issue than a game issue. HOWEVER, the lack of a deep bench makes it MUCH more difficult for a coach to get ready for games since the coach can't play the starters against the 2nd team in practice.

IMO most teams outside of the Top 4 or 5 in the country would be in serious trouble if one of their starting 5 went down with an injury come tourney time. UC is not alone there.

As for Lucas not being a true D1 player, I have to disagree. He won't be winning any scoring contests or causing NBA scouts to jump up and take notice, but he knows his role and executes it beautifully most nights allowing the other players to do the flashy things. Lucas fills a role this team has sorely lacked since IMac graduated - the defensive specialist who doesn't need to be and doesn't mind not being an offensive star or on SportsCenter for his blocked shots. It would be nice if he was a bit more offensively adept ala IMac but as stated earlier he fills his role well - even for a D1 player.

We could have used more than seven players (didn't count Barker, Crawford and Grove who each played 4 minutes or less) vs. UCLA in double OT.

Steve has the best point of all. The Duke, Kansas, UNC, etc teams are typically stacked with 10 guys who can start for most. That certainly makes for productive practices.

I wish Huggs would try to use zsouly, Lucas, and Murray more to deepen our bench. Especially when it is a blow out what to do you have to lose.

It also looks like it is becoming a 7 man rotation with chadds back flaring up again.

Every team is one injury away from being severely hurt. Some have more depth then others but still. That being said, I agree with UC needing to build depth from within. Murray and Lucas could help this team a lot if Huggs expanded their roles, and I really believe that giving Souleymane 10 to 15 minutes a game would help this team a ton as far as depth while giving him valuable experience and room to grow.

Lemmiwinks Wrote:We could have used more than seven players (didn't count Barker, Crawford and Grove who each played 4 minutes or less) vs. UCLA in double OT.

Steve has the best point of all. The Duke, Kansas, UNC, etc teams are typically stacked with 10 guys who can start for most. That certainly makes for productive practices.

Duke, Kansas and North Carolina and schools like that have conferences like the ACC and Big 12 to help them recruit. UC will be stacked with that type of team next year, thanks in part to the Big East, so we're going to have to grin and bare it. Heck, everyone assumed UC would have a down year this year, anything we do is a bonus. I really like this team's chances in March though.

1) Passing
2) Outside Shooting

Claw: The spirit of getting Souley 10-15 minutes a game is great... but when you hear Huggs (or was it Kennedy) saying that last year he couldn't even understand what was being said to him and this year one of his big successes is that he doesn't have to take a recorder to class because now he understands the language well enough to take notes, IMO, Souley is about where he should be.

Even Kennedy said that the plan was for Souls to redshirt last year, learn a wee bit this year and begin to get on the floor a little bit by the end of his redshirt sophomore season. Appears he's right on schedule and honestly, IMO putting him in game situations that matter this year is a bad option. Nothing against Souley, but altho his skills seem to have developed alot, he still doesn't look ready.

Cal1362 Wrote:Claw: The spirit of getting Souley 10-15 minutes a game is great... but when you hear Huggs (or was it Kennedy) saying that last year he couldn't even understand what was being said to him and this year one of his big successes is that he doesn't have to take a recorder to class because now he understands the language well enough to take notes, IMO, Souley is about where he should be.

Even Kennedy said that the plan was for Souls to redshirt last year, learn a wee bit this year and begin to get on the floor a little bit by the end of his redshirt sophomore season. Appears he's right on schedule and honestly, IMO putting him in game situations that matter this year is a bad option. Nothing against Souley, but altho his skills seem to have developed alot, he still doesn't look ready.

Well said.

Cat's_Claw Wrote:Duke, Kansas and North Carolina and schools like that have conferences like the ACC and Big 12 to help them recruit. UC will be stacked with that type of team next year, thanks in part to the Big East, so we're going to have to grin and bare it. Heck, everyone assumed UC would have a down year this year, anything we do is a bonus. I really like this team's chances in March though.

The BE announcement has been out for over a year. If BE was the main reason, then we would have had 4 or 5 top 100 recruits in each of our last two classes. I think there are plenty of other factors in play (UC doesn't have the huge, tree-lined campus like the ACC schools, etc).

I think Frank Martin has had a better impact on recruiting than the BE.

Cat's_Claw Wrote:UC will be stacked with that type of team next year, thanks in part to the Big East, so we're going to have to grin and bare it.

Don't get mad at me for asking this - but how does the eligibility for next year's incoming players look?

We have seen our share of players not getting to play due to test scores, grades, etc.

I hope starting with next years players this trend is reversed.

bearcatfan Wrote:

Cat's_Claw Wrote:UC will be stacked with that type of team next year, thanks in part to the Big East, so we're going to have to grin and bare it.

Don't get mad at me for asking this - but how does the eligibility for next year's incoming players look?

We have seen our share of players not getting to play due to test scores, grades, etc.

I hope starting with next years players this trend is reversed.

All the currently committed recruits are qualified and will be eligible for next season. Now as long as the Clearinghouse has done it's job or will do it in a timely manner (before the school year starts) then there shouldnt' be any surprises.

jarr Wrote:It also looks like it is becoming a 7 man rotation with chadds back flaring up again.

<a href='http://www.cincypost.com/2005/01/12/uchoop01-12-2005.html' target='_blank'>You said it, Jarr</a> :frown:

Chadd's a very important cog. If this persists, he will be missed.