Next Season

[bearcatmark]

I posted something almost identical at NCAABBS.... but i like to get everyone elses responses... he is my breakdown of what to expect next season.

It is great the Mick has pulled in a recruiting class that is really going to be good for UC for the next 4 years(well more than likely)... I am excited for next season watching these guys develop... but we should remember a few things.

1. These guys are freshman... Belton and McClain are likely to be very raw talent. We may not see the benefits for a year or two with them.
2. We may have some eligability issues... This is particularly true with Henry...
3. We still lack a really good point guard to really help everyone improve at a fast pace. The best way to get new players comfortable is with a PG who can get everyone involved. I really wish we still had Downey...but we'll just have to make due with Warren...and hope Vaughn gets better taking care of the ball and can be a SG/PG on the floor
4. Uconn had a top 5 recruiting class last year, and they finished towards the bottom of the big east. This is important to remember. It is difficult to say how fast freshman will grown. And most freshman that are not top 25 caliber recruits are not immediate impact players at the DI level. This is just how it is.
5. It's only Mick's 2nd year as a head coach in the big east, he's still feeling his way around...and once again he will be adjusting, trying to integrate a ton of new players and teach them what he wants to do.
6. All of these guys are going to be learning to play with each other for the first time. My biggest hope is the core of Sikes, Vaughn, Warren, Williamson, Gentry, and Williams will have significant impacts and really help everyone grow into the system and learn to play together.

Best Case scenario... UC grows up quickly... goes just above .500 in the Big East, and earns an NCAA bid
Worst Case scenario... A young team makes some improvements throughout the season...but still struggles in a very tough conference and fights to be one of the last teams in the conference tourney...

My Prediction- UC gets some wins and experience early playing a fairly easy nonconference schedule...though we get shelled by Memphis. UC struggles early in conference play, but gets noticeably better by the end of the season. We finish just below .500 in the league, but earn an NIT bid...and end up reaching madison square garden.


Predicting a team that is sooo young can be incredibly difficult, because you never know how they will play together...or how they will adjust to college basketball.. As noted UConn's team this year struggled mightily even with top notch talent... Clearly there are a lot of directions next years team can go...what is nice to know is we have talent..that has a great chance to develop..and by their junior and senior years... UC could very well be a major player again

[Rickriot]

I'm just glad we'll have something to watch once the conference schedule kicks in. UC is TONS better on paper than last year and that will only continue for '08. I'm not expecting to win the Big East next year, but I do expect them to be competative in every game they play. Under the circumstances of the past two years, that is a tall order.

[Big B]

You see alot of the guys that post here inserting all the freshman into the starting lineup. But it's just not going to happen, Mick's not going to just hand these guys a starting position they will have to earn it. And in practice you will see a bunch of men against boys and their not there to groom freshmen their there to play basketball and finish off their senior seasons strong. I think we will see a totally different team this year, but mainly because guys like Sikes will be able to play in his natural position. Don't get me wrong they will definitely make an impact, but look for them in a supporting role. Last year when players weren't hot or not hussling, Mick hand no where to go but walk ons or Allen (the future NBA star). Now he's got options, I would guess that McClain and Henry will be int he starting lineup before the year ends.

[bengals21]

I will be happy with an NIT bid next year. I know some are saying NCAA's but I think that will be a bit of a reach. Being in the top half of the Big East doesn't always mean an automatic bid as Syracuse and West Virginia found out this year. Also having a great recruiting class doesn't always mean success as UConn found out this year. All the freshman will need time to adjust to Mick's style and playing college ball. Some will catch on quick while others will need a year or 2. I think Henry has the best chance of starting and making an impact if he becomes eligible.

[waterhead]

I don't expect to be in the top 3 of the Beast but when you add the depth that we now have we can press like Mick wants to do without worrying about wearing out the starters. That's huge. Add a human eraser down low and a slightly overated but experienced and hungry McDonalds AA in Williams and you take the same team from last year and improve it greatly. We lose McGowen and replace him in the lineup with better talent. Not to mention a 6'10 center in Adam H for depth down low with McClain.

I expect to win quite a few more Beast games this year. Two or three of the 6 freshman should contribute in a big way and two or three won't be ready yet. Not having depth killed us the last two years and not having size was the another thing that hurt us. I think Mick has addressed both of those issues in a big way. I think we can manage to finish middle of the pack in the Beast this year with some good coaching.

[bearcatfan93]

i believe we will go 20-9 next year and get into the tourney...i think u guys are under estimating the ctas big time...im really looking forward to next season

[jrmac151]

wow we go from under 500 to 20 wins. you gotta love Bball fans! either one could be right, although I think somewhere in the middle is the best bet. I look at it as experience is not gonna be as big of an issue with Vaughn, Williams, and Adam H(club team exp). I see depth and alot of options Offensively as well as on D. you go big - small, perimeter oriented- feed the post-high and low post with Adam H passing.... I also like the rebounding aspect with Biggie, Williams and Williamson(leading O-Reb last year. Just looks a whole lot better and quicker than I think any of us could honestly have imagined! Think about it only one calender year and we have theese 5 and Wilkes and Gates coming and 3 more still to give! Now we are discusssing filling holes!

[UCnut]

i believe we will go 20-9 next year and get into the tourney...i think u guys are under estimating the ctas big time...im really looking forward to next season

i hope your right!

[cpawfan]

As long as the Cats make the Big East Tournament next season, I'll be happy.

[ThreeRiversKing]

Now that we have signed the Donald Little clone(I mean this as a compliment, Little was underappreciated on the court), my worst scenario will be a 500 season for next year. I think we might be able to squeeze out a 20 win season and sneak into the NCAA tourney.

There are no quick fixes anymore. Quick fixes being the Michigan fab five and this years Buckeyes are abberations and gone as fast as they are formed.

The team now looks like a group that will stay all 4 years and develop together.
None of these recruits are "The One", but the collective has great potential.
With just this group alone and not taking into account any further blue chip recruits (We all know at least one will sign in each of the next 2 years) the Bearcats should make some serious noise in the 2009-2010 tournament.

[jkwuc89]

This past season taught me a valuable lesson about over-estimating and over-predicting results. If UC makes the Big East tournament (ideally, winning their opening game) and makes the NIT (ideally, winning a game or two), I'll be satisfied with the progress being made.

[jon b]

What the recent signings do (for me) is make more excited about the potential upside. Because we are so young I am still going to stick with rather pedestrain predictions: >.500 record, approach .500 record in BEast (after last season 6 wins would "approach"), make the NIT.

What is exciting is we can compete now against most teams. Although an occassional egg should still be expected, we are more likely to surprise a team or two also. The upside is 20 wins and an NCAA bid. I am not ready or willing to predict it, but I'll go gentle on those who do. If you cannot wear your rose colored (sorry), your black and red colored glasses now, when can you?

[bearcatmark]

What the recent signings do (for me) is make more excited about the potential upside. Because we are so young I am still going to stick with rather pedestrain predictions: >.500 record, approach .500 record in BEast (after last season 6 wins would "approach"), make the NIT.

What is exciting is we can compete now against most teams. Although an occassional egg should still be expected, we are more likely to surprise a team or two also. The upside is 20 wins and an NCAA bid. I am not ready or willing to predict it, but I'll go gentle on those who do. If you cannot wear your rose colored (sorry), your black and red colored glasses now, when can you?


And I for one am certainly rooting for the ones predicting NCAA team...final four team in two years to be right. It's hard to predict one young guys will do..who will live up to hype, who will flop, who will take longer to develop. I could see it going i variety of ways. As i said my prediction was just under .500 in the big east...and a run to MAdison Square Garden in the NIT.... but really... WHO KNOWS???

Here's hoping those in the red and black colored glasses or dead on... i would love to be wrong to the tune of being back in the NCAA tourney

[james jr]

I don't know if I'm ready to "predict" a 20 win season but I do feel this team should be capable of winning at least 17 games. What is really the crux of the matter is that Mick now has all the components he needs to install his system: depth, especailly on the perimeter; rebounding: Williamson, Williams, Belton, McClain and Adam H., defensive presence in the middle! If Mick is the coach we think he is next year should be a tournament year [probably NIT]; 08-09 should be a sweet sixteen and 09-10 the sky's the limit. It's all contingent upon Mick being a high quality coach because I think the verdict is in on his recruiting! GO CATS!

[Bearcat_DF]

I think I will wait to see who ends up on the roster and who we will play before I start making predictions.

For the record, despite everyone thinking I was doom and gloom when I predicted 9 OCC wins and no more than 3-4 wins in the B-East - it appears I was too optimistic.

Go Cats!
DF

[richard k.]

While it is obvious we will much improved next season - be careful about predicting too much in the way of great things. The newcomers, aside from Williams & Adam H., are all freshmen, and the history of freshmen, with the usual noted exceptions, has been that they are not huge contributors in their first year. And the reason we had 3 jc transfers in the most productive 10 last season is because we had no one else to play - I would suggest that only Williamson would have seen any appreciable amount of playing time for the top half of the BEast; so despite the year's experience, from a practical standpoint, we really don't have a lot coming back. What I hope for, and expect, with the all the newbies, is that there won't be any Memphis/OSU type games, where it is painfully obvious that not only couldn't we compete with top flight teams, we didn't belong on the same floor. Mick has, indeed, done wonders, and has us in a position to be competitive with just about everyone in the BEast, even if we lose more then we win, and based on the situation at the time he was hired that alone is nothing short of miraculous in this space of time. I wouldn't want to be in a position where I felt that finishing over .500 for the season, and close to that in conference was a disappointing result for next season. 18 months ago if you told me that would be the result for '07-'08 I would have told you that you were crazy - now I think it is quite possible, and that alone is quite remarkable.

[Josh Rexhausen]

I think I will wait to see who ends up on the roster and who we will play before I start making predictions.

Exactly, who has been cleared to play next year? Or at least who appears to have the grades and scores to be cleared at this point? I guess we know that Henry has had issues, and McClain just took the ACT. I have heard others input on other players, but when will we know anything definite?