The unofficial online home for fans of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(03-10-2019 10:57 PM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  

(03-10-2019 10:27 PM)levydl Wrote:  

(03-10-2019 09:56 PM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  

(03-10-2019 02:04 PM)BearcatsUC Wrote:  Cronin has done a fine job. No other team in the AAc has been as consistently good.

this will be changing....Mick has ruled a crap AAC.

Memphis rising....Penny is signing big time players, leaving Mick in the dust.
UH...already there...swept us this year.
WSU...will be back...
UCF...rising (no idea if sustainable)

UCONN...Hurley already has signed talent (better than Mick's)
USF with Gregory...rising

And none of this takes in to consideration what McKie could do at Temple. Bet he starts signing top players. He is ex-NBA and that could go well for him similar to Penny.

Seems like all you have to do to get you guys to be positive is to talk about some other team that hasn't done anything yet. You look at all these other programs with rose-colored glasses.

Houston swept us and won the AAC. That is fact.
Memphis is bringing in a LOADED class in Penny's first year. Better class than Mick has dreamed of bringing in. Fact.
Marshall is the best coach in the AAC...he will have WSU up vs down sooner vs later.
UCF split with us and Dawkins has it going there. Fact.

UCONN and Temple: you are correct on these two. Hurley and McKie are TBD.

Gregory already has USF looking 20x better than they normally do.

Point is, the AAC is rising not falling. Mick has dominated an up until now crap 2 bid conference. Those days are over.

Pretty simple to grasp.

This just proves my point. Fact.

(03-10-2019 10:57 PM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  Mick has dominated an up until now crap 2 bid conference.

Has he? He's won a single outright conference championship and one tournament championship all in the same year when he had a top 5 team. He's made Cincinnati the most consistent team in the conference. He's always among the top teams, but hard to say we've dominated the conference.

(03-11-2019 08:58 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(03-11-2019 07:52 AM)Banter Wrote:  This place is pretty insufferable during basketball season... Cant wait for Spring practice to start...

It started this weekend.

Seemed pretty bad around here after the OSU and East Carolina losses. Given the fact we lost 3 NBAish players last season and were picked to finish 4th or so by the media...you would think this would be looked at as a pretty good, and maybe slightly frustrating season.

Instead, it feels like people think our program is doomed by this loss.

(03-11-2019 11:08 AM)Banter Wrote:  

(03-11-2019 08:58 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(03-11-2019 07:52 AM)Banter Wrote:  This place is pretty insufferable during basketball season... Cant wait for Spring practice to start...

It started this weekend.

Seemed pretty bad around here after the OSU and East Carolina losses. Given the fact we lost 3 NBAish players last season and were picked to finish 4th or so by the media...you would think this would be looked at as a pretty good, and maybe slightly frustrating season.

Instead, it feels like people think our program is doomed by this loss.

4th? I saw second most places....with first and third as options as well.

(03-11-2019 11:08 AM)Banter Wrote:  

(03-11-2019 08:58 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(03-11-2019 07:52 AM)Banter Wrote:  This place is pretty insufferable during basketball season... Cant wait for Spring practice to start...

It started this weekend.

Seemed pretty bad around here after the OSU and East Carolina losses. Given the fact we lost 3 NBAish players last season and were picked to finish 4th or so by the media...you would think this would be looked at as a pretty good, and maybe slightly frustrating season.

Instead, it feels like people think our program is doomed by this loss.

It would be a lot easier to be sanguine about this year if last year's squad hadn't spit out the bit two rounds ahead of schedule.

(03-10-2019 08:18 PM)bearcatmill Wrote:  

(03-10-2019 08:15 PM)rtaylor Wrote:  

(03-10-2019 07:08 PM)BearcatsUC Wrote:  

(03-10-2019 03:00 PM)converrl Wrote:  

(03-10-2019 02:04 PM)BearcatsUC Wrote:  Cronin has done a fine job. No other team in the AAc has been as consistently good.

Kind of like being the best in the MAC.

If that's all you want then you should be satisfied.

Most fans and alumni want more.

Where we are now is where we’ve been for the last 20 years, except in a lesser conference, and with players who aren’t a constant embarrassment.

We are fortunate to have Cronin.

I agree Mick recruits good kids. Maybe it's Mick that is fortunate UC pays him over 2 million a year. Just sayin

Micks fortunate UC will never can him. Other places would have had his seat warmed up. Cartel 5 schools want results.

I think there's always been an understanding in place between Mick and the Administration that his job is safe as long as he usually makes the tournament, there are no major NCAA infractions or embarrassing off-court incidents, and attendance holds up. He's continued to check all three boxes. Under our previous coach, this university was viewed as UNLV East. The Administration and major donors aren't going there again, and, as an alum, I can't say that they are wrong from a "good of the university" perspective, rather than just as a fan who craves a better on-court product.

(03-11-2019 11:28 AM)Former Lurker Wrote:  

(03-10-2019 08:18 PM)bearcatmill Wrote:  

(03-10-2019 08:15 PM)rtaylor Wrote:  

(03-10-2019 07:08 PM)BearcatsUC Wrote:  

(03-10-2019 03:00 PM)converrl Wrote:  Kind of like being the best in the MAC.

If that's all you want then you should be satisfied.

Most fans and alumni want more.

Where we are now is where we’ve been for the last 20 years, except in a lesser conference, and with players who aren’t a constant embarrassment.

We are fortunate to have Cronin.

I agree Mick recruits good kids. Maybe it's Mick that is fortunate UC pays him over 2 million a year. Just sayin

Micks fortunate UC will never can him. Other places would have had his seat warmed up. Cartel 5 schools want results.

I think there's always been an understanding in place between Mick and the Administration that his job is safe as long as he usually makes the tournament, there are no major NCAA infractions or embarrassing off-court incidents, and attendance holds up. He's continued to check all three boxes. Under our previous coach, this university was viewed as UNLV East. The Administration and major donors aren't going there again, and, as an alum, I can't say that they are wrong from a "good of the university" perspective, rather than just as a fan who craves a better on-court product.

You can have both though - better on-court product as well as no ncaa/off court incidents. Some act as if they are mutually exclusive.

(03-11-2019 08:08 AM)Recluse1 Wrote:  

(03-11-2019 12:24 AM)converrl Wrote:  I think you meant bad years and mediocre years....where's Skyblade? Aren't you his roomie?

Mediocre to bad years like the ones from '97 - 2005, where we consistently did just as "bad" as we have been with Mick? Tame your nostalgia boner. We were never on this upward trajectory you have going on in your delusional head. You can wax poetic about if KMart was never injured, but that's just a worthless hypothetical, and does nothing to excuse all the other misses. Squads with supposedly much more talented players than what we've been recruiting under Mick. At least, according to you.

When are you going to face the fact that this isn't going to be a blue blood program just because we snap our fingers and hire someone new?

Worked for UH....

Ow...that's gotta hurt!

To be fair, to compare Sampson to Cronin still objectively works out significantly in Mick's and UC's favor IMO.
** This is UH's first conf title, the same as UC
** UC has finished higher or as high as UH in the AAC standings every year
** UH has 2 NCAA trips under Sampson, UC has 5 over the same time
** UC has been ranked in the Top 25 at some point in each of the past 5 years, UH again has only 2
** UC has 3 players from the last 5 seasons on current NBA rosters, UH has 0
** UC has never finished lower than 3rd in the AAC, no other team can make that claim that has been in the league more than one year

That being said, time will tell if Sampson continues at this level but I for one look forward to future battles with UH and Memphis. My biggest concern this year is that the current Bearcats have never seemed to understand and embrace the role of being the hunted in the AAC like former teams did. But that and other concerns I have are a topics for a different thread. IMO, we have become spoiled as UC men's hoops fans. Please don't get me wrong, I'd love to have one of UConn's titles or last year's Nevada game back as a do-over but I don't think the level of quality hoops we see year in and year out is anywhere nearly as easy to attain as many on here seem to. Otherwise, you wouldn't see the coaching carousel you do, nor would you see the same teams/coaches at the top year in and year out.

(03-11-2019 03:47 PM)converrl Wrote:  

(03-11-2019 08:08 AM)Recluse1 Wrote:  

(03-11-2019 12:24 AM)converrl Wrote:  I think you meant bad years and mediocre years....where's Skyblade? Aren't you his roomie?

Mediocre to bad years like the ones from '97 - 2005, where we consistently did just as "bad" as we have been with Mick? Tame your nostalgia boner. We were never on this upward trajectory you have going on in your delusional head. You can wax poetic about if KMart was never injured, but that's just a worthless hypothetical, and does nothing to excuse all the other misses. Squads with supposedly much more talented players than what we've been recruiting under Mick. At least, according to you.

When are you going to face the fact that this isn't going to be a blue blood program just because we snap our fingers and hire someone new?

Worked for UH....

Ow...that's gotta hurt!

Um, no it didn't.
They haven't done anything in the Dance, they've managed one regular season AAC title, and he's been there since 2014. But then again, you're probably just a troll.

(03-11-2019 09:07 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(03-10-2019 10:57 PM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  Mick has dominated an up until now crap 2 bid conference.

Has he? He's won a single outright conference championship and one tournament championship all in the same year when he had a top 5 team. He's made Cincinnati the most consistent team in the conference. He's always among the top teams, but hard to say we've dominated the conference.

Was speaking to his conference record the past three years....its been domination in the regular season.

Simply this is a young team, with regard to floor experience, playing a college game ruled by guard play. They have clearly overachieved and both the players and Mick should be proud.

I would not be surprised to see this team win just one more game this season. If we make it to the second weekend, it will be one of the best coaching efforts in UC history.

(03-11-2019 11:20 AM)Former Lurker Wrote:  

(03-11-2019 11:08 AM)Banter Wrote:  

(03-11-2019 08:58 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(03-11-2019 07:52 AM)Banter Wrote:  This place is pretty insufferable during basketball season... Cant wait for Spring practice to start...

It started this weekend.

Seemed pretty bad around here after the OSU and East Carolina losses. Given the fact we lost 3 NBAish players last season and were picked to finish 4th or so by the media...you would think this would be looked at as a pretty good, and maybe slightly frustrating season.

Instead, it feels like people think our program is doomed by this loss.

It would be a lot easier to be sanguine about this year if last year's squad hadn't spit out the bit two rounds ahead of schedule.

The Nevada game just keep rearing it's head. Seems like this forum has been a disaster since that loss. I haven't posted or read this forum as much this year due to the constant negativity around any loss. Since that loss it feels like half the posters just lurk biding their time, waiting to once again scream fire Mick.

Doesn't matter that this year is a different team, doesn't matter that it is a rebuilding year and next years team will be much better, doesn't matter that many on here were predicting we'd be a NIT team this year. It's all about wanting Mick gone.

If you hate Mick that much maybe it's time to stop following UC basketball. Because he isn't going anywhere. He has national respect, he is one of few to go to 8 straight NCAA tournaments (and I can guarantee it will be 9 next year), I believe we just set the UC record for wins over a 3 year period. Everything is looking up. Yes, he hasn't done well in the NCAA tournament. But the NCAA tournament is a crap-shoot, for every lucky team there must be an unlucky one, so far we've been unlucky but keep going and eventually that will change.

As for recruiting, I think many are blinded by number of stars and not by the actual play of the players. A 3-star Junior will outperform most 4-star freshmen. Mick has made the program by developing players and is likely to continue that route. He has gradually gotten more and more athletic players and that will lead to improvement. They may not be 5-star players, but they are players he can develop into stars.

Last year our two least athletic bigs graduated, this year our two least athletic guards graduate. Next year we will have a team full of players with NBA level athleticism (with the arguable exceptions of Cumberland and Moore). I'd say the over/under is 3.5 on number of players on next years team that will eventually play in at least one NBA game.

Could we be better at recuiting? Yes. But we aren't going to compete with many of the top teams without being in a top conference and paying the recruits. And Mick puts a lot of stock into kids personalities. We've seen teams full of 5-stars fail to make the NCAA tournament. Part of what Mick does so well it gets guys who buy in and commit to the program and each other. Without that his level of consistency would not happen.

(03-11-2019 07:43 PM)skyblade Wrote:  

(03-11-2019 11:20 AM)Former Lurker Wrote:  

(03-11-2019 11:08 AM)Banter Wrote:  

(03-11-2019 08:58 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(03-11-2019 07:52 AM)Banter Wrote:  This place is pretty insufferable during basketball season... Cant wait for Spring practice to start...

It started this weekend.

Seemed pretty bad around here after the OSU and East Carolina losses. Given the fact we lost 3 NBAish players last season and were picked to finish 4th or so by the media...you would think this would be looked at as a pretty good, and maybe slightly frustrating season.

Instead, it feels like people think our program is doomed by this loss.

It would be a lot easier to be sanguine about this year if last year's squad hadn't spit out the bit two rounds ahead of schedule.

The Nevada game just keep rearing it's head. Seems like this forum has been a disaster since that loss. I haven't posted or read this forum as much this year due to the constant negativity around any loss. Since that loss it feels like half the posters just lurk biding their time, waiting to once again scream fire Mick.

Doesn't matter that this year is a different team, doesn't matter that it is a rebuilding year and next years team will be much better, doesn't matter that many on here were predicting we'd be a NIT team this year. It's all about wanting Mick gone.

If you hate Mick that much maybe it's time to stop following UC basketball. Because he isn't going anywhere. He has national respect, he is one of few to go to 8 straight NCAA tournaments (and I can guarantee it will be 9 next year), I believe we just set the UC record for wins over a 3 year period. Everything is looking up. Yes, he hasn't done well in the NCAA tournament. But the NCAA tournament is a crap-shoot, for every lucky team there must be an unlucky one, so far we've been unlucky but keep going and eventually that will change.

As for recruiting, I think many are blinded by number of stars and not by the actual play of the players. A 3-star Junior will outperform most 4-star freshmen. Mick has made the program by developing players and is likely to continue that route. He has gradually gotten more and more athletic players and that will lead to improvement. They may not be 5-star players, but they are players he can develop into stars.

Last year our two least athletic bigs graduated, this year our two least athletic guards graduate. Next year we will have a team full of players with NBA level athleticism (with the arguable exceptions of Cumberland and Moore). I'd say the over/under is 3.5 on number of players on next years team that will eventually play in at least one NBA game.

Could we be better at recuiting? Yes. But we aren't going to compete with many of the top teams without being in a top conference and paying the recruits. And Mick puts a lot of stock into kids personalities. We've seen teams full of 5-stars fail to make the NCAA tournament. Part of what Mick does so well it gets guys who buy in and commit to the program and each other. Without that his level of consistency would not happen.

I'm not sure what that means? NBA athleticism?
A team full of guys with NBA athleticism?
I don't agree that these guys have NBA athleticism but even if I did all of the athleticism in the world won't cure UC's issue...

UC needs shooters aka players who can make baskets and create their own shot.

Athleticism wasn't the problem yesterday or this season.
Putting the round orange ball through the net was.

“Next year we will have a team full of players with NBA level athleticism...” -Skyblade

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!

(03-11-2019 08:14 PM)mptnstr@44 Wrote:  

(03-11-2019 07:43 PM)skyblade Wrote:  

(03-11-2019 11:20 AM)Former Lurker Wrote:  

(03-11-2019 11:08 AM)Banter Wrote:  

(03-11-2019 08:58 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  It started this weekend.

Seemed pretty bad around here after the OSU and East Carolina losses. Given the fact we lost 3 NBAish players last season and were picked to finish 4th or so by the media...you would think this would be looked at as a pretty good, and maybe slightly frustrating season.

Instead, it feels like people think our program is doomed by this loss.

It would be a lot easier to be sanguine about this year if last year's squad hadn't spit out the bit two rounds ahead of schedule.

The Nevada game just keep rearing it's head. Seems like this forum has been a disaster since that loss. I haven't posted or read this forum as much this year due to the constant negativity around any loss. Since that loss it feels like half the posters just lurk biding their time, waiting to once again scream fire Mick.

Doesn't matter that this year is a different team, doesn't matter that it is a rebuilding year and next years team will be much better, doesn't matter that many on here were predicting we'd be a NIT team this year. It's all about wanting Mick gone.

If you hate Mick that much maybe it's time to stop following UC basketball. Because he isn't going anywhere. He has national respect, he is one of few to go to 8 straight NCAA tournaments (and I can guarantee it will be 9 next year), I believe we just set the UC record for wins over a 3 year period. Everything is looking up. Yes, he hasn't done well in the NCAA tournament. But the NCAA tournament is a crap-shoot, for every lucky team there must be an unlucky one, so far we've been unlucky but keep going and eventually that will change.

As for recruiting, I think many are blinded by number of stars and not by the actual play of the players. A 3-star Junior will outperform most 4-star freshmen. Mick has made the program by developing players and is likely to continue that route. He has gradually gotten more and more athletic players and that will lead to improvement. They may not be 5-star players, but they are players he can develop into stars.

Last year our two least athletic bigs graduated, this year our two least athletic guards graduate. Next year we will have a team full of players with NBA level athleticism (with the arguable exceptions of Cumberland and Moore). I'd say the over/under is 3.5 on number of players on next years team that will eventually play in at least one NBA game.

Could we be better at recuiting? Yes. But we aren't going to compete with many of the top teams without being in a top conference and paying the recruits. And Mick puts a lot of stock into kids personalities. We've seen teams full of 5-stars fail to make the NCAA tournament. Part of what Mick does so well it gets guys who buy in and commit to the program and each other. Without that his level of consistency would not happen.

I'm not sure what that means? NBA athleticism?
A team full of guys with NBA athleticism?
I don't agree that these guys have NBA athleticism but even if I did all of the athleticism in the world won't cure UC's issue...

UC needs shooters aka players who can make baskets and create their own shot.

Athleticism wasn't the problem yesterday or this season.
Putting the round orange ball through the net was.

Athletic players is Cronin's MO. He gets raw athletes and develops them. Athletes who aren't raw are generally 5-stars and getting paid by Duke/UK Et al. The quality of the athletes has been gradually going up though. Diarra can shoot 3's, Hardnett scored 35 to lead his team to their HS championship win, Johnson is the most athletic PG UC has seen in many years. Our recruiting isn't suddenly going to skyrocket. But it should gradually improve as we get guys who are a little better athletes and/or a little further along in development when they come here. That is exactly what has been happening and will likely continue to happen.

(03-12-2019 05:55 AM)skyblade Wrote:  Athletic players is Cronin's MO. He gets raw athletes and develops them. Athletes who aren't raw are generally 5-stars and getting paid by Duke/UK Et al. The quality of the athletes has been gradually going up though. Diarra can shoot 3's, Hardnett scored 35 to lead his team to their HS championship win, Johnson is the most athletic PG UC has seen in many years. Our recruiting isn't suddenly going to skyrocket. But it should gradually improve as we get guys who are a little better athletes and/or a little further along in development when they come here. That is exactly what has been happening and will likely continue to happen.

This is just patently untrue...the only consistent thing about Mick's recruiting level is that it has been below average for what it should be given his coaching pedigree and Cincinnati's historical pedigree. Linked is a breakdown of the average 247 composite national rating and count of the HS recruits Mick has gotten over his tenure.

https://ibb.co/KVD5K8h

2017 and 2018 were objectively awful in terms of recruiting and anyone that follows Cincinnati closely sees the writing on the wall once Jarron Cumberland leaves. 2018 is actually worse than what it appears because Prince Gillam wasn't even rated nationally by the recruiting services.

Keith Williams has been the only promising one of the bunch, and I'll give Logan Johnson a pass this year because he played behind Broome and Jennifer. This also doesn't surprise me considering they were also the highest rated recruits of the bunch. I'm tired of this old recruit rankings is for the fans trope. It matters!

(03-11-2019 11:08 AM)Banter Wrote:  

(03-11-2019 08:58 AM)CliftonAve Wrote:  

(03-11-2019 07:52 AM)Banter Wrote:  This place is pretty insufferable during basketball season... Cant wait for Spring practice to start...

It started this weekend.

Seemed pretty bad around here after the OSU and East Carolina losses. Given the fact we lost 3 NBAish players last season and were picked to finish 4th or so by the media...you would think this would be looked at as a pretty good, and maybe slightly frustrating season.

Instead, it feels like people think our program is doomed by this loss.

We were predicted to finish 2nd.

(03-11-2019 04:23 PM)Recluse1 Wrote:  

(03-11-2019 03:47 PM)converrl Wrote:  

(03-11-2019 08:08 AM)Recluse1 Wrote:  

(03-11-2019 12:24 AM)converrl Wrote:  I think you meant bad years and mediocre years....where's Skyblade? Aren't you his roomie?

Mediocre to bad years like the ones from '97 - 2005, where we consistently did just as "bad" as we have been with Mick? Tame your nostalgia boner. We were never on this upward trajectory you have going on in your delusional head. You can wax poetic about if KMart was never injured, but that's just a worthless hypothetical, and does nothing to excuse all the other misses. Squads with supposedly much more talented players than what we've been recruiting under Mick. At least, according to you.

When are you going to face the fact that this isn't going to be a blue blood program just because we snap our fingers and hire someone new?

Worked for UH....

Ow...that's gotta hurt!

Um, no it didn't.
They haven't done anything in the Dance, they've managed one regular season AAC title, and he's been there since 2014. But then again, you're probably just a troll.

Let's just watch the tourney before we pass judgement. If UH is still standing after UC falls..I'll have made my point.

Are you the one pushing to turn the C-Paw into a white flag? That may have been where I got the idea...

(03-11-2019 06:17 PM)Ragpicker Wrote:  Simply this is a young team, with regard to floor experience, playing a college game ruled by guard play. They have clearly overachieved and both the players and Mick should be proud.

I would not be surprised to see this team win just one more game this season. If we make it to the second weekend, it will be one of the best coaching efforts in UC history.

We are starting 1 senior, 3 juniors, and a sophomore. I don't know that I consider that a young team. Cronin has only played one freshman and has done that very sparingly.