2011/2012 UC Basketball official thread

[paintmered]

Originally Posted by Boss-Hog

I don't mean to pour cold water on what looks to be a pretty good recruiting class, but UC's Class of 2007 (this year's seniors) was similarly ranked pretty highly, as well, coming in. That class included Rashad Bishop, Biggie McClain, Larry Davis, Alvin Mitchell, Jason Henry (who never played at UC) and Kenny Belton. Look no further than RedsZone if you don't believe me. Rankings mean very little if those players don't develop, as was the case with this year's senior class.

Indeed, it was a highly rated class. Here's how they've turned out.

Rashad Bishop - probably the best out of the class. Underperformed at times, dismissed from the team and reinstated for this year.

Biggie McClain - a project whose development suffered from injuries. At least he's no longer a stick.

Larry Davis - a complete failure of a player. Can't score, can't guard. I don't know how he gets as minutes as he does. Yet, Cronin keeps throwing him in there to disastrous results.

Alvin Mitchell - supposedly the most talented of the recruiting class. The question with him at the time was not if he was going to be good, but for how many years could UC keep him around. He turned out to be lazy and a malcontent, and soon found himself off the team for good.

Jason Henry - never played (as you mention) although I forget why. I think Darnel Wilks took his scholarship instead of going to prep school.

Kenny Belton - chronic back injuries ended his career. He still has his scholarship due to the medical issues but is no longer with the team.

So yeah, the class has been a total flop for many reasons. There was reason to be excited about the class at the time, but sometimes kids don't pan out...sometimes all at once.

[bucksfan2]

Rashad Bishop has been kicked off the team a couple of times I believe. Could be a talented role player but he doesn't realize that. He isn't a three point shooter, which he wants to be, more of a slasher and defender.

Larry Davis was supposed to be an outside shooter. He must shoot lights outs in practice because Mick continues to go to him. He is a disaster on the court.

McClain just never developed. I saw him at the UC rec center on night and he moved around like an 80 year old man.

Kenny Belton had spinal cord issues. I thought he could develop into a very good player over 4 years. He had the body and strength to do so. Unfortunately for him you don't mess with spinal cord issues.

[Reds4Life]

I don't understand why Davis is still on the team, as you both said, he's awful. He isn't a D1 level player, or even bench filler. He belongs at an NAIA school.

[Boston Red]

I assume all the UC posters are still downtown celebrating their 68-34 thumping of Dayton. That's the only reason I can think of that this thread hasn't been bumped back to the top. That's a pretty shocking outcome (to put it mildly).

[reds1869]

Originally Posted by Boston Red

I assume all the UC posters are still downtown celebrating their 68-34 thumping of Dayton. That's the only reason I can think of that this thread hasn't been bumped back to the top. That's a pretty shocking outcome (to put it mildly).

I live right next to the arena. The UD fans were in a daze which is always a pleasant thing for a Xavier fan. A really embarrassing result for the Flyers. But what else would you expect when UD was playing a game in our fair city. Jimmy Carter says hello!

Of course, I was too busy having a 3OT heart attack to enjoy their pain at the time. Congrats to the Cats on a nice win. You look to have a good team this year and I can't wait for the Shootout.

[jimbo]

Originally Posted by reds1869

But what else would you expect when UD was playing a game in our fair city. Jimmy Carter says hello!

UC 66
UD 81

3/22/2010 - Cincinnati, OH

Just saying. The whole Jimmy Carter thing doesn't fly anymore with UC. Actually, UD has beaten UC 2 out of the last 3 in Cincinnati I think, or something close to that. Although with xavier it's a different story.

As a Flyer fan, this game was humbling, but I'm not jumping off any cliffs. This team is young and the season is young. It still counts as one loss and IMO, there is too much talent on this team for them not to bounce back and have a good season.

[Boston Red]

Dayton has also beaten Kentucky and Louisville in Cincinnati since Jimmy Carter left office.

[reds1869]

Originally Posted by Boston Red

Dayton has also beaten Kentucky and Louisville in Cincinnati since Jimmy Carter left office.

Shhh...don't ruin our fun!

[SeeinRed]

I've spent the past couple days trying to figure out what was different from the team the played Dayton and the team I've been used to seeing the past couple years at UC. The first thing that popped into my mind is passion. UC actually had energy and desire that I haven't seen from them in a while and it started from the tip. Hopefully it is something that sticks around for the season, but it was nice to see for once even if it doesn't show again.

You obviously can't read too much into one game early in the season, but UC seems like a better TEAM this year. Last year was about Lance and Deonta. The best part about the win was the team was able to dominate without Gates. Hopefully they don't have to do that again, but it was nice to see. UC won't get much of a test for a little while again, but they are in a nice position going into the meat of the schedule if they keep it going.

[paintmered]

7-0 against inferior competition. But still, I really like what I'm seeing out of the freshmen and on the defense end of the court.

I do wish UC would have scheduled at least one more quality non-conference opponent this year since that plays heavily to the committee.

[Boston Red]

Originally Posted by paintmered

I do wish UC would have scheduled at least one more quality non-conference opponent this year since that plays heavily to the committee.

The fact that Xavier apparently stinks is a bad break for UC in the schedule quality department.

I'm guessing you UC fans will be able to get over your disappointment on that score.

[NorrisHopper30]

The Cats are back. We may not be a top 10 or 15 team this year, but this team plays hard and with some swagger just like the old Bearcats.

[joshnky]

Originally Posted by NorrisHopper30

The Cats are back. We may not be a top 10 or 15 team this year, but this team plays hard and with some swagger just like the old Bearcats.

You might want to play someone decent before you make this proclamation.

[Boss-Hog]

I defintely agree with this...that being said, while I'm not ready to say "they're back", I'm encouraged by what I've seen so far from this team. Even if it is against inferior competition, they look much better than last year's team did for the most part that was more talented "on paper". That certainly did not work out very well, as they did not get any better after Maui, where they peaked.

Originally Posted by joshnky

You might want to play someone decent before you make this proclamation.

[BearcatShane]

They do hustle and play with swagger. No doubt about that. And UC's three biggest non conference games are Dayton, Oklahoma and Xavier and they are all having really down years so far so that hurts. But I'll take the wins honestly. Plenty of opportunities to get quality wins in league play.