Bearcats Get The W Tonight

[Bearcat Fan Since 1958]

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/boxscore?gid=200711100116

UC trailed late in 2nd half but rallied to pull it out at the end.

Whew!

[jeffto]

Yeah, keep that up they'll be in Madison Sq. Garden in March!

[SLMadiCat]

They looked much better than they did last night. Poor shooting and bad shot selection (albeit, better than last night) kept W. Carolina in the game. Hopefully they keep improving, each game.

[Bearcat Fan Since 1958]

They looked much better than they did last night. Poor shooting and bad shot selection (albeit, better than last night) kept W. Carolina in the game. Hopefully they keep improving, each game.

They are leaving plenty of room for improvement, that's for sure.

[SLMadiCat]

They are leaving plenty of room for improvement, that's for sure.

Which should be expected from a team playing a lot of Freshman and no one with more than 1 year experience. Keep in mind with the earlier start to the season, they have had less time to practice. This hurts inexperienced teams.

I'll say it again: UC has a lot of talented Freshman. It is going to be fun watching them develop.

[jkwuc89]

You don't want your team to be at its best in November. The key is continued improvement and I believe this team will get better as it plays more games and practices more. And for our historians (OK...historian) who continually brings up results from the not too distant past, a certain Final Four team lost to Athletes in Action during the pre-season and beat American University of Washington DC by just 3 points in their 2nd regular season game. Now, I am not saying this team is going to the Final Four. But I seriously doubt many folks thought that team would go to the Final Four after those two games.

[tophat]

Exhibition games are/were meaningless. Whether Nov 91 or Nov 07.

UC edged American but pounded several other OOC opponents in its first few games. There's no comparison whatsoever between 1991-92 and 2007-08.

You're right. The 92 team was loaded with jucos. Aside from the ones Mick was forced to take at the last minute last year (who understandably aren't that good), he recruited all HS and prep players for this year. Growing a program with freshmen is something Huggins nuts will have to learn to appreciate: it takes longer, you lose more in the short run, but when your players mature, you're good enough to advance in the NCAA. Your program also has a better image.

[jeffto]

And, because of the prep schools, there aren't as many quality Jucos anymore. It's easy to say you're not going to stoop to recruiting Juco's when there aren't many to recruit.

I think your premise is correct, the program will be stronger in the long term with HS/Prep players with 4 years of eligibility.

[tophat]

And, because of the prep schools, there aren't as many quality Jucos anymore. It's easy to say you're not going to stoop to recruiting Juco's when there aren't many to recruit.

I think your premise is correct, the program will be stronger in the long term with HS/Prep players with 4 years of eligibility.

It will be stronger and it will take longer, especially when you don't have quality veterans to combine them with.

[Cincatz13]

I miss UC basketball as much as any UC fan does. Mick has a team of freshman and mistakes will be made, most likely, many of them. Don't start judging the whole season based on the first two games. For most of the players on the team these games were the first of their college career. You can't just throw a squad of freshman out there and expect to blow teams out. The team plays hard and thats all you can ask. Eventually things will start to fall into place. The defense will come around and once Marvin and Deonta realize that we do have big men down low this year and they don't need to fire up 3 after 3 you'll see some marks in the W column. Just bide your time and the results will come.

[Bearcat Jeff]

I would rather have a team struggle early and peak late. Huggs was a helluva coach we all can agree on that. We may disagree on his methods but his coaching was very good. He is gone. Coach Cronin, like this team, is adjusting to major college basketball. He has proven he can win at Murray St. but we all know the BEAST is a different animal. Everyone needs to quit comparing, get off the ledge, and enjoy this team's growth process. It will be fine....I promise.

[jkwuc89]

This thread was starting to get a bit out of control so I decided to clean it up. Let's keep this thread on topic about last night's game.

[Bearcat Fan Since 1958]

Fortunate to win the game. Bowling Green won't be easy - they beat Belmont.

[jkwuc89]

Deleted two more posts. If you want to talk about Coach Huggins, go to a WVU board or to the "Where are they now" forum on this board.

[tophat]

actually he sounds like a realist to me. in general he uses facts to back his educated point of view to combat some obviously rose colored glasses view. the first part of a solution is to realistically see the problem. some here choose to rewrite the past and try to make it look not as good as it was to make the present look better. That is not being realistic. I find his posts (BFS1958) based on fact and obvious experience, where many others just pt out spelling errors and typos and call them non fans.

There are no "unfair" comparisons. If anyhthing, Huggins had it WAY tougher.. whats unfair about comparing year 2 to year 2?
I'll tell you, Cronin's in the Big East, has 16 years of a GOOD reputation to build on and isn't in "the death penalty" from the NCAA,

You're right it's not fair to compare, Cronin has a ton more to work with than the Huggins did....

I have no problem with facts; it's how one chooses to use and interpret them.

No one is complaining about what MC has to work with from a recruiting standpoint, and in fact he's bringing in very good talent. But he did not inherit nearly as good a situation as Huggins did as far as players being in the program when he arrived, and that's where we are now. Huggins didn't inherit numbers, but there were 4 kids who could really play when he got here. McGowan was the only one, as it turned out, when MC arrived.

There was no NCAA penalty when Huggins came here. There was one AFTER he came here.

[tophat]

I completely agree on talking only about the present, not the past. What I find unbelievable, though, is that people who are supposed to know something about this game are ready to throw MC under the bus because of the way this team looked in its first game in EARLY NOVEMBER. They never even used to start the season till December 1, which gave coaches 6 full weeks to prepare their team. Three weeks isn't nearly enough time, especially when you're trying to teach 6 freshmen how to play. I suspect that's one reason for all the upsets by the Atlantic Sun teams: more experienced players more ready to play.

[iamspen]

I suspect the Cats will look smoother in each successive game this month. Hopefully, the shooting will get better, as well.

[Catmandu]

There was no NCAA penalty when Huggins came here. There was one AFTER he came here.

Wierd... I could have sworn we were on a yates penalty when he got here...

[tophat]

Wierd... I could have sworn we were on a yates penalty when he got here...

No, there was none.

[jeffto]

"Bearcats Get The W Tonight" Now this is a forum topic that will be used sparingly this year.

[Bearcat Fan Since 1958]

No, there was none.

False. UC was on NCAA probation in 1989 when Huggins arrived. It was Yates leftover.

Major Infractions Cases

Institution: University of Cincinnati
Date: 03-NOV-88

Facts Summary: Improper financial aid; lack of institutional control; improper recruiting and entertainment; extra benefits; out-of-season conditioning.

Violation Summary: IMPROPER FINANCIAL AID: financial aid awarded to several student-athletes who were nonqualifiers; excessive financial aid awarded in football and men's basketball. IMPERMISSIBLE RECRUITING: reduced-cost hotel for a high-school coach; impermissible lodging in a dormitory; impermissible transportation on several occasions; lodging at a local hotel at a reduced rate for two weeks. EXTRA BENEFITS: improper arrangement for automobile rental through an athletics representative's dealership. IMPERMISSIBLE CONDITIONING ACTIVITIES. FAILURE TO COMPLETE SQUAD LISTS. LACK OF INSTITUTIONAL CONTROL.

Penalty Summary: Public reprimand; annual reports; maximum of 11 grants in basketball for 1989-90 and 12 for 1990-91; maximum of 19 initial grants in football for 1989-90, 21 for 1990-91 and 22 for 1991-92; postseason ban for football and basketball; recertification.

Involved Sports:
Football
Men's Basketball

Involved Penalties:
TV: 0 yrs Reduction in Financial Aid: Yes
Postseason: 1 yrs Recruiting: No
Probation: 3 yrs Show Cause Action: No

[Bearcat Fan Since 1958]

Wierd... I could have sworn we were on a yates penalty when he got here...

U R correct. See above.

[Bearcat Fan Since 1958]

I have no problem with facts; it's how one chooses to use and interpret them.

No one is complaining about what MC has to work with from a recruiting standpoint, and in fact he's bringing in very good talent. But he did not inherit nearly as good a situation as Huggins did as far as players being in the program when he arrived, and that's where we are now. Huggins didn't inherit numbers, but there were 4 kids who could really play when he got here. McGowan was the only one, as it turned out, when MC arrived.

There was no NCAA penalty when Huggins came here. There was one AFTER he came here.

There were recruiting restrictions (loss of scholarships) in 1990 (limited to 11) and 1991 (limited to 12). NCAA probation in 1989, 1990, and 1991.