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(03-23-2024 03:01 PM)Dont tase me bro Wrote:  That felt a little like a December buy game. The talent disparity was pretty evident.

Jeez guys, enjoy a dominant win over a solid team.

Welcome the era of James and Skillings.

It may be “coach speak” - but Wes expresses all I feel for my alma mater.

Sometimes it is time to simply enjoy the moment.

(03-23-2024 03:19 PM)Bcatbog Wrote:  

(03-23-2024 03:01 PM)Dont tase me bro Wrote:  That felt a little like a December buy game. The talent disparity was pretty evident.

Jeez guys, enjoy a dominant win over a solid team.

Welcome the era of James and Skillings.

It may be “coach speak” - but Wes expresses all I feel for my alma mater.

Sometimes it is time to simply enjoy the moment.

Not sure where you got that I didn't enjoy the game out of my comment. Just pointing out that UC had much more talent

Priority #1...do everything you can to retain Jizzle in the offseason. Dear Lord that kid could end up being one of the best point guards we've had in a long while. I didn't get to watch the entire game but his passing was crisper than Day Day's and he has superior size and overall athleticism. Agree that Simas, Dan and Jizzle are the core upon which this house of red and black is built upon...so it is written, then so shall it be done.

Best part of game today, pg James played 38:04 minutes and had 1 turnover......

Was #3 seed Bradley that much worse than San Francisco or did UC just play that much better today?

Sadly, we've been conditioned to expect defeats snatched from the jaws of victory with some regularity this year in Fifth-Third. This is a UC team with plenty of talent, but still emergent. Hence the sequences we saw again today where UC will have five or six empty offensive possessions allowing an opponent to get back within striking distance.

Survive and advance and they did today. Here's hoping Minnesota wins and has to visit here next week rather than UC riding the bus to Terre Haute.

(03-23-2024 05:08 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  Priority #1...do everything you can to retain Jizzle in the offseason. Dear Lord that kid could end up being one of the best point guards we've had in a long while. I didn't get to watch the entire game but his passing was crisper than Day Day's and he has superior size and overall athleticism. Agree that Simas, Dan and Jizzle are the core upon which this house of red and black is built upon...so it is written, then so shall it be done.

Bolded, maybe that means DayDay is gone? I want both here but in today's portal free agency I can't imagine Jizzle wants to ride the bench a second year.

(03-23-2024 05:44 PM)OKIcat Wrote:  Was #3 seed Bradley that much worse than San Francisco or did UC just play that much better today?

Sadly, we've been conditioned to expect defeats snatched from the jaws of victory with some regularity this year in Fifth-Third. This is a UC team with plenty of talent, but still emergent. Hence the sequences we saw again today where UC will have five or six empty offensive possessions allowing an opponent to get back within striking distance.

Survive and advance and they did today. Here's hoping Minnesota wins and has to visit here next week rather than UC riding the bus to Terre Haute.

Numbers suggest Bradley is s little better but I think san Fran had the hardest individual matchup for uc.

That said, I think the result is just uc played better.

Jizzle>Day Day advocates are feeling vindicated today. When Jizzle struggles on Tuesday I don’t want to hear it from anybody. Jizzle should have been playing more all season and getting the growing pains out of his system because his ceiling is evident. I wish I wasn’t so neurotic about losing him to the transfer portal but I can’t help it.

100000% no slight to Day Day-he’s a damn good player in his own right, but JJ has another level to his game. You gotta build around that dude.

(03-23-2024 05:09 PM)CincyBro Wrote:  Best part of game today, pg James played 38:04 minutes and had 1 turnover......

amen to that. Jizzle had only 1 turnover and Day Day was having like 7 or more. We might have won 5 more games if day day was coming in to give jizzle a rest. i THINK we are seeing the changing of the guard at the point.

Progress from SF to Bradley is why the NIT is so important to UC these last 2 years. Development, seeing players go from caterpillar to butterfly (Jizzle), helping players identify what they need to work on are invaluable opportunities. IMO, the Bearcats are gaining a great deal of confidence that just escaped them during B12 play simply due to the gauntlet they faced every night not allowing them to ever get comfortable. Say what you will, I still think this season was much about the Bearcats learning to "believe" they belong at this level of hoops and what it takes game in and game out to compete and win.
For the team to take the next step and go from being a "good" B12 team to a "very good" B12 team (I'm deliberately stopping short of the great team thing) depends on a few thing IMO:
* The TEAM has to continue to develop the play as a team concept. There's still way to much driving without thinking of kicking out for an open 3 or to start moving the ball ahead of the D to open a driving lane for Jizzle or Dan or one of the new talents
* The TEAM has to embrace that, IMO anyway, their strength is in their depth and the fact that several of them are THE star on any given night. Maybe Simas, maybe Dan, maybe Jizzle, hopefully even one of the new bloods. That makes UC hard to defend and a nightmare matchup.
* The TEAM has to work on FT% especially Jizzle, Day Day and Dan. They will be the ones drawing fouls. Aziz is a must too simply to make teams pay for fouling him when the ball goes into him
* Skillings has to put The League out of his mind for at least a year. IF he can work on his 3 shot, both open and semi contested... and get his drives under control the the NBA will be there in a couple years. He has the raw talent but there are hundreds of raw talents playing overseas or in the G League plus I'd love to see him become better at finding his teammates when he has the ball which is something he'll definitely need at the next level
* Jizzle has to work on his 3 and being more of a distributor or at least a facilitator. Either will open up his drive and pull up mid range game. And of course he'll get better at fighting through screens
* Simas... play better D goes without saying and chill on the heat check 3s that he has a habit of taking after making one or two in a row.
* Aziz needs to work on strength and even more on his balance. He seems to lose his balance even on blocks where he doesn't make contact and anytime he has the ball on offense and goes up, even the slightest nudge completely throws off his momentum. And FT, FT, FT

But that's summer improvement stuff. For the next two weeks, just keep the TOs down, the FT% up and lets keep winning. It's not a Nat'l Chip but hanging an NIT banner would be a nice thing and a great way to start the '24-'25 season

Jizzle had a great game. He can score a bunch, and I knew he would. He only had one assist. He has a bunch to work on, but he can be a superstar.

(03-23-2024 08:41 PM)Bearcatbdub Wrote:  Jizzle had a great game. He can score a bunch, and I knew he would. He only had one assist. He has a bunch to work on, but he can be a superstar.

Agreed... but he's a true frosh that is used to being the focus and has time to learn and trust his teammates. I believe in CWM but I'd love to have seen his and Day Day's minutes switched during the last 2/3 of the conf season when it seemed a few more points would have made the diff in several games. And full disclosure, I was a disciple of Mick's defense first mentality but this team and subsequent UC teams will have to score more against the talent they'll play against, Defense will be important but scoring will be paramount and Jizzle seems more dynamic in that area than Day Day. But like I said, CWM has the 7 digit salary and sees them both in practice a lot more than I ever will

(03-23-2024 03:01 PM)Dont tase me bro Wrote:  That felt a little like a December buy game. The talent disparity was pretty evident.

Yes but there is a lot of talent spread around rn. Ex- San Fran had some talent. With talent more evenly spread now- coaching will matter even more. I hope Coach Wes is up to the task.

If Jizzle can become a floor general, that could play well with Day Day's ability to catch and shoot or drive. Day Day has his own upside that I hope he'll work on once he's healthy. We need more consistent scoring options and depth if we want to be in that upper tier.

(03-23-2024 02:48 PM)BearcatMan Wrote:  

(03-23-2024 02:43 PM)skyblade Wrote:  Ody in at center instead of Reynolds and it's paying dividends immediately.

You have to imagine Vik and/or Jamille are gone if today's rotations are any indication.

Coach was asked about Vik and gave something of a non-answer. That said, there was no indication that Vik was injured or that injury was keeping him out.

There’s a legitimate chance we see UC-Ohio State in the NIT Championship…

(03-24-2024 09:28 AM)eroc Wrote:  

(03-23-2024 02:48 PM)BearcatMan Wrote:  

(03-23-2024 02:43 PM)skyblade Wrote:  Ody in at center instead of Reynolds and it's paying dividends immediately.

You have to imagine Vik and/or Jamille are gone if today's rotations are any indication.

Coach was asked about Vik and gave something of a non-answer. That said, there was no indication that Vik was injured or that injury was keeping him out.

Lobot on BearcatNews saying that reports from those close to the program are that Vik "has an established pattern of not taking practice seriously."

That would be in line with want Wes said, which was essentially that we'll see how practice goes and that will determine if Vik gets any minutes in our next game.

It's unfortunate if that's what is keeping Vik out, as I firmly believe Vik was one of our best players for 2/3rds of the year and could be again. But can't blame Wes for setting expectations, especially since lately Vik often seems out of it when he does get in the game. If that's the case, it would seem unlikely he'll return next year.

I do wonder if he's still not 100% healthy too.

(03-24-2024 11:06 AM)skyblade Wrote:  

(03-24-2024 09:28 AM)eroc Wrote:  

(03-23-2024 02:48 PM)BearcatMan Wrote:  

(03-23-2024 02:43 PM)skyblade Wrote:  Ody in at center instead of Reynolds and it's paying dividends immediately.

You have to imagine Vik and/or Jamille are gone if today's rotations are any indication.

Coach was asked about Vik and gave something of a non-answer. That said, there was no indication that Vik was injured or that injury was keeping him out.

Lobot on BearcatNews saying that reports from those close to the program are that Vik "has an established pattern of not taking practice seriously."

That would be in line with want Wes said, which was essentially that we'll see how practice goes and that will determine if Vik gets any minutes in our next game.

It's unfortunate if that's what is keeping Vik out, as I firmly believe Vik was one of our best players for 2/3rds of the year and could be again. But can't blame Wes for setting expectations, especially since lately Vik often seems out of it when he does get in the game. If that's the case, it would seem unlikely he'll return next year.

I do wonder if he's still not 100% healthy too.

Bolded, if true, I commend Wes for keeping him on the bench. Some here have questioned Miller's team discipline and control. This would seem to suggest he knows how to deal with such performance issues. Good.

(03-23-2024 06:17 PM)DownOnRohs Wrote:  Jizzle>Day Day advocates are feeling vindicated today. When Jizzle struggles on Tuesday I don’t want to hear it from anybody. Jizzle should have been playing more all season and getting the growing pains out of his system because his ceiling is evident. I wish I wasn’t so neurotic about losing him to the transfer portal but I can’t help it.

100000% no slight to Day Day-he’s a damn good player in his own right, but JJ has another level to his game. You gotta build around that dude.

Bolded, I know as Bearcat fans we've often come to expect worst case scenarios. But aside from message board chatter, has there been any substantive report that Jizzle isn't happy here or is looking toward the portal? Wes must have established a strong relationship with him to get him onboard and I've seen nothing to suggest any of our players are disenchanted with our coach.

Oh well, I can't worry about what I can't control and this falls clearly into that category. He and Dan and Simas are emerging as a strong core for an excellent '24-'25 season. Here's hoping the 'Cats can return to their rightful place next year in March Madness.

(03-24-2024 11:06 AM)skyblade Wrote:  

(03-24-2024 09:28 AM)eroc Wrote:  

(03-23-2024 02:48 PM)BearcatMan Wrote:  

(03-23-2024 02:43 PM)skyblade Wrote:  Ody in at center instead of Reynolds and it's paying dividends immediately.

You have to imagine Vik and/or Jamille are gone if today's rotations are any indication.

Coach was asked about Vik and gave something of a non-answer. That said, there was no indication that Vik was injured or that injury was keeping him out.

Lobot on BearcatNews saying that reports from those close to the program are that Vik "has an established pattern of not taking practice seriously."

That would be in line with want Wes said, which was essentially that we'll see how practice goes and that will determine if Vik gets any minutes in our next game.

It's unfortunate if that's what is keeping Vik out, as I firmly believe Vik was one of our best players for 2/3rds of the year and could be again. But can't blame Wes for setting expectations, especially since lately Vik often seems out of it when he does get in the game. If that's the case, it would seem unlikely he'll return next year.

I do wonder if he's still not 100% healthy too.

What an odd issue to pop up in the post-season.

That's typically an "early season" issue that gets addressed by the time conference play begins. And usually not an issue you see develop in a multi-year, returning player...