Originally Posted by Reds4Life
We just got a "They are a good team" and a "Our kids played really well in practice this week." So predictable.
We just got a "They are a good team" and a "Our kids played really well in practice this week." So predictable.
All models are wrong. Some of them are useful.
Yeah, I agree. Teams now throw up a token press against UC because they know they'll get 3-4 turnovers just over brain cramp passes. And for the life of me, I can't figure out the "offense". What they run isn't as good as the middle school team I watched the other day.
I see a team that hasn't made up its mind what kind of team they want to play and who the go-to guys are. And lackluster effort. If I were coach, I'd be reaming these guys out and sitting their butts down. Mick can recruit, but he's not a game coach.
She used to wake me up with coffee ever morning
Prior to this season I've been about as big of a Mick supporter as is humanly possible but this team's performance is really starting to test my patience.
My biggest frustration is the consistent lack of player development. I was willing to give Mick a pass during the first two seasons because he was essentially starting from scratch and I was willing to chalk up the lack of player development to the fact that he was working with a bunch of JUCO players who had already reached their potential. That is no longer the case.
With the exception of some modest improvement from Rashad Bishop, I can't think of one player on this roster that has improved during their time at UC. Three years into his UC career and Darnell Wilks looks just as lost on the court as he did when he showed up at UC, ditto for Biggie McClain. Yancy Gates doesn't look any better, or any more motivated, than he did last season. To make matters even worse, Deonte Vaugh has seemingly regressed from where he was two years ago.
At some point all of that has to come back on the coaching staff...
RIP Mick. It would have been great to see a local kid coach the Bearcats back into national significance and stick around for a long time. But another late season flushing appears to be in progress. I am not sure if the team gets tired at the end of the season (unlikely) or that Cronin simply can't coach them up (very likely). The Bearcats have now turned a 46-43 lead with a little under 13 minutes to play into a 70 - 54 deficit with a minute and a half to go. The Bearcat offense (?) is painful to watch.
Edit: Syracuse goes on a 28-5 run to end the game. Bearcats turn a 49-43 lead into a 71-54 loss.
Last edited by texasdave; 02-07-2010 at 04:24 PM.
They played pretty well for 30 minutes, then tanked. Typical Cronin ball.
Scored 5 points in the last 10 minutes of the game. Mick substitutions continue to mistify me. Sit Gates and Lance at the same time, with a small lead. BRILLIANT. Vaughn did what Vaughn does, which is disappearing in every big game he plays in. He has to be the worst senior "leader" of any player that I can remember in a long time. He is one of the most overrated Bearcats ever, IMO.
Reading this confirms that Cronin has jumped off the cliff. He tossed in his standard excuse of playing good during practice, only thing he missed was a "we are young".
http://news.cincinnati.com/ucblogCronin encouraged
Posted by bkoch February 7th, 2010, 6:08 pm
When I asked Mick Cronin after the game to take the long view and look ahead at his team’s NCAA Tournament chances he said he was encouraged because, for one thing, UC doesn’t have to play Syracuse again and he considers the Orange to be the best team in the country.
He might be right about Syracuse, but it’s hard to see how he can be encouraged after his team’s meltdown in the final 12 minutes today.
Anyway, here’s what he said.
But despite the meltdown in the final 12 minutes Sunday, Cronin was encouraged by the way his team played.
“If we play the way we did today, we’re going to be fine,” Cronin said. “I’m not encouraged by the last six minutes, but with eight minutes to play it’s a one-point game against what I think is the best team in the country.”
He went on to say that UC has become a much better team in practice the last few days and that he was happy to see the Bearcats focused on the right things against Syracuse - namely rebounding, defense and taking good shots.
Give him this much. He’s a glass half-full kind of guy.
Seriously, Mick?
Sounds like Mike Brown gave him talking points...
As a Syracuse fan I was really surprised that the Bearcats run so many guys in and out of their line up. It seems like Cronin doesn't stick with what is working for too long and is late to change what is not working.
If you have a losing record at Reds games, please stop going.
Fire Mick. Time has come, he has shown he can't coach up a team. If you are an opposing team and watch film of UC why would any coach play anything besides zone? Poor offensive fundamentals with Stephenson looking like the only player who knows how to beat a zone.
Sad thing is UC has talent, as much talent as any team they play this season. Don't know why Mick can't coach them up, but its sad.
I'll say this, Bob Huggins (or his like as a coach) is very unlikely to be coming back. Mick walked in to an awful situation and has done a nice job of righting a ship that was listing severely. Can he take them up another level? Too early to say at this point, however, three years just isn't enough time to answer the question considering the state of the program when he walked in.
IMO, UC is a young team that lacks veteran leadership on the floor. When does that problem usually manifest itself? Late in games.
A lot of this no longer holds water.
UC had the talent last year to make the tourney, but imploded down the stretch, for the 3rd straight year. They have the talent this year, but he isn't developing his players. They have shown no progress from the start of the season, and will miss the NCAA's again.
He's done nothing to motivate Yancy Gates at all. They can't run offensive sets, they can't shoot, and they sure can't make a free throw to save their life. They have a senior guard, Vaughn, that disappears in every big game they play.
I thought Mick was a great hire at the time, but I was wrong. It's time to move on with somebody else.
Why do we have to watch more years of Mick to see if he can manage a game after the tip? We've seen him coach games for years now and verdict is pretty clear. Who has improved under Mick? Vaughn? Biggie McClain? Gates?
I'd argue they're regressing. I'd argue the whole team has regressed since Maui. Arguing that the team is young is just making excuses for Mick. His job is to mold the young talent. Just by merely saying the young talent has not jelled is also admitting Mick hasn't done his job.
Agree.
This UC team is not even entertaining when they win. When the UC game comes on the radio, I will be turning it off the rest of this season. Can't stand to listen to this anymore. I accept that the Big East is harder than previous competition. But you have to be competitive in your league, and he has had four years to bring in his guys. Where are the sharp shooters?
Hugs, smiling, and interactive Twitter accounts, don't mean winning baseball. Until this community understands that we are cursed to relive the madness.
what you see in UC is a team that lacks a true point guard ready to lead on the floor. The have some nice parts but no leader at the point (Vaughn is not a PG). So what happens at crunch time? There is no one on the floor that is going to make sure the team gets a good shot. What you can blame Cronin for is not having a true PG.
Do you really want them to fire Cronin and start over again?
I am reminded of a quote from Fran Fraschilla a few years back that is one of the best ever spoken on TV. "Early in the season you win games with toughness but as the season wears on you have to win more with execution."
UC won games early in the year with their toughness and athleticism. However, their execution has not improved enough to win more games in the Big East. This is due to the lack of a PG to make sure they execute their stuff and get good looks.
Doc has stumbled into some insight.
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2...ieces+together
Last edited by flyer85; 02-08-2010 at 03:54 PM.
While you may be right about lacking a true PG but this team's offensives difficulties lie right at the feet of Cronin. Their zone offense is as poor as I have ever seen. I have seen better coached high school teams than what UC offers. I don't understand Cronin's use of 10+ players in a game. That is fine at the beginning of the season, but not in the middle of conference games. Normally a coach will go 7-8 deep during a conference game.
Right now Cronin has proven he can't up-coach a team. Players don't play motivated and improve under him. The type of offensive execution is just plain unacceptable at the Big East level.
Posting Permissions
|
Board Moderators may, at their discretion and judgment, delete and/or edit any messages that violate any of the following guidelines: 1. Explicit references to alleged illegal or unlawful acts. 2. Graphic sexual descriptions. 3. Racial or ethnic slurs. 4. Use of edgy language (including masked profanity). 5. Direct personal attacks, flames, fights, trolling, baiting, name-calling, general nuisance, excessive player criticism or anything along those lines. 6. Posting spam. 7. Each person may have only one user account. It is fine to be critical here - that's what this board is for. But let's not beat a subject or a player to death, please. |
Reply With Quote