Cronin looking for better guard play

02/06/12 at 5:55pm
Written by bkoch

As the Bearcats head down the stretch, still with a lot of work to do to nail down an NCAA Tournament berth, Mick Cronin is looking for more production from his guards, especially senior Dion Dixon.

“We have certain guys that have got to improve in certain areas, ”Cronin said today, “like Dion Dixon. He has 30 less defensive rebounds than Cashmere Wright on the season. He’s three inches taller and 20 pounds stronger. Dion Dixon has got to be a better defensive rebounder. He’s got to shoot a higher percentage form the field. He’s shooting 35 percent from the field in Big East play.

“Those are the things I’m concerned with, how do I help him be a better defensive rebounder and how do I help him shoot a higher percentage? The answer is to go get on the glass and shoot shots you can make and do what you did the other night, get yourself eight free throws and go eight-for-eight from the foul line. Our guards are more than capable of playing better for 40 minutes. We have enough guard play and enough talent at that position to where those guys have got to play well for us.”

Cronin also said because the Bearcats do not have overwhelming talent in their starting five, they must be at least 10 players deep to win consistently in the Big East. To that end, he says he plans to get freshman forward Jermaine Sanders into the game in the first half against St. John’s on Wednesday.

Sanders did not play against DePaul on Saturday and has played a total of 19 minutes in UC’s last five games. He hasn’t scored since the Notre Dame game on Jan. 4 when he had one point.

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/uc/2012/02/0...uard-play/

I agree. Dixon has had a strange season so far. Some games he's been fantastic and then sort of stands back and watches in others. If UC is to move on, he'll have to step up his game. He's had a lot of incinsistencies in his game during his 4 years here but this is it for him. Now's the time to STEP UP.

Biggest thing to improve with the guards -- PASSING! I can't believe how many soft passes I see.

Dixon drives me crazy but this team is badly in need of a go to guy and he at least tries to be that.

I like the way Mick explains what he feels the issues are and what needs to be done to fix them.
It provides insight for the fan without throwing the player under the bus.

Dixon's foul shooting performance is another good reason for him to keep driving and quit chucking contested three balls.

(02-07-2012 08:43 AM)ctipton Wrote:  Cronin looking for better guard play

02/06/12 at 5:55pm
Written by bkoch

“We have certain guys that have got to improve in certain areas, ”Cronin said today, “like Dion Dixon. He has 30 less defensive rebounds than Cashmere Wright on the season. He’s three inches taller and 20 pounds stronger. Dion Dixon has got to be a better defensive rebounder. He’s got to shoot a higher percentage form the field. He’s shooting 35 percent from the field in Big East play.

http://cincinnati.com/blogs/uc/2012/02/0...uard-play/

Awesome game last night...Dixon still ended up with 0 rebounds to 10 for Wright. Tough to nitpick anything on a blowout road win but I hope Dixon can improve his rebounding...the 2 steals and 4 assists were a major plus though.

Since Cash was pounding the boards, Dixon had to stay back to avoid quick outlet passes for fast breaks.

Both guards rebounding is a recipe for fast breaks.

One of the things that stood out about Dixon as a freshman was how good a rebounder he was for a 2. He has the ability.

(02-09-2012 11:13 AM)BearcatOtto Wrote:  Since Cash was pounding the boards, Dixon had to stay back to avoid quick outlet passes for fast breaks.

Both guards rebounding is a recipe for fast breaks.

7 of Cash's rebounds were defensive. You are right about offensive.

I've always maintained that pg is one of the easiest spots on the floor to defensively rebound from because you almost never have a man to box out while everyone else has to worry about their man.

Deonta Vaughn seemed to consistently get 4 to 6 defensive rebounds a game simply because he was cleaning up after everyone else on the team blocked out.

I would still expect Dion's rebounding to be better, but Cash has a significant positional advantage on him.