This Year Compared to the Past Few Years

GarradJ21 · 02-21-2018, 07:46 PM

I have been thinking a lot on how this season has been going so far and how it compares to the past few seasons. It’s not so much of analytical approach but more of a greneral feel. People that look up stats and Kenpom numbers feel free to add some commentary on where we stand this year compared to the past few years. I know the numbers have been mentioned in other threads.

2013-2014: Starting with the end of the SK era. I enjoyed SK of course I mean who didn’t but after we lost to Harvard I was looking forward to seeing us move on. SK was surrounded with some decent players but it seemed like we were having some serious talent come in. We relied too much on SK, rightfully so, but it was time to get a better team feel. Caupain looked promising, we had Gary Clark and Quadri Moore committed, a new tall agressive center in Ellis, a pure shooter in Cobb, and the feeling that this was going to be Shaq Thomas’ team.

2014-2015: A tough year overall, a lot of new pieces. It felt good that we only had one senior in Jermain Sanders so we knew the upcoming 2015-2016 season could be a special season (it’s always “next year” in Cincinnati lol). We lose Cronin due to a very serious health issue, we lose to Xavier at home, but still won enough to get into the big dance. I think our signature win was home against San Diego State if I’m not mistaken. We make it to the tournament and win probably the most exciting first round game all of us could imagine. We knew we basically had no chance against UK the following round but it just felt good to win a tournament game, and again we knew the following year looked promising. Good bye Jermaine Sanders.

2015-2016: Overall Maybe the most heartbreaking and unlluckiest year ever. We lose so many games by 1 or 2 points we lost pretty much every big road game, except a key win at UCONN. We lose a heatbreaker in the conference tournamentand NCAA tournament. We dealt with A lot of injuries. I think Cobb was going through some things, Gary rolled his ankle in the shoot around before the conference tournament UCONN game, and Shaq Thomas was pretty much done for the year. It was a shame for Shaq he wasn’t absolutely killing it but was playing his best basketball. We really could have used him especially defensively against Hamilton in the conference tourney and Bremby or what ever during the St Joes game. The year ended and again, I think we were all are ok knowing it was going to be Caupain’s senior year, Jacob had natural talent, Gary was one more year in, a top 60 recruit in Cumberland coming and a natural scoring center coming to take over in Washington.

2016-2017: Last year was probably our best Regular season in the Cronin era. We start out by losing to R.I. which sucked, but then we win at ISU which was amazing, lost to Butler which was ok, Beat SMU and Xavier, lose at SMU and at UCF, I think overall still we all were pleased with that regular season. 27-4. We lose to SMU in the tournament which again I don’t think any of us cared too much. We get shipped out west and lose to a top 5 team in the tournament when we were probably a top 15 team. Overall, a really good regular season, but again lacking a tournament run. Next year (this year) extremely high hopes. We lose a 3 year starting PG but we are going to replace him with a speed and a natural scorer. It was time for the Caupain era to end and get the up and down going.

2017-2018: Here we are. I don’t need to explain what this year has been like since we are all living it. I think if we had to say this year hasn’t been all that amazing. It’s been good and there’s still some hope but it def isn’t going how we all wanted it to go. A tournament run can solve that

My reason for writing this is because every year we have been looking forward to the following year and here we are. I don’t think any of us could say we are looking forward to next year over this year. We really need a tournament run. We will win these next 3 games by 20+ each game, big deal. We need a nice signature win at WSU. We need to make it to the championship of the AAC I hope to win it but won’t be too down if we don’t, but we absolutely need a tournament run.

What do you guys all think? I think overall last year so far was more successful than this year but we still have some huge unknowns as of now.

UC86 · 02-21-2018, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GarradJ21

2017-2018: Here we are. I don’t need to explain what this year has been like since we are all living it. I think if we had to say this year hasn’t been all that amazing. It’s been good and there’s still some hope but it def isn’t going how we all wanted it to go. A tournament run can solve that

My reason for writing this is because every year we have been looking forward to the following year and here we are. I don’t think any of us could say we are looking forward to next year over this year. We really need a tournament run. We will win these next 3 games by 20+ each game, big deal. We need a nice signature win at WSU. We need to make it to the championship of the AAC I hope to win it but won’t be too down if we don’t, but we absolutely need a tournament run.

What do you guys all think? I think overall last year so far was more successful than this year but we still have some huge unknowns as of now.

I would agree. I think this is Mick’s best team ever, and, as fans, we’ve finally reached the point where we can’t say next year we will be a better team. I believe this is Mick’s peak, he’ll never get one and done players, and now he finally has a team of veterans that’s capable of making a deep run in the tournament. And that’s not a slight at Mick, it’s just reality. He recruits 3-4 star recruits that are 3-4 year players. The stars have aligned and now it’s up to mick and the players to make a run. If Mick can’t get this team to make a run, then you really have to question when will he ever.

I would say it’s a bit premature to say last year was more successful than this year. Obviously, that could change with a win @ Wichita, conference tourney, and NCAA tourney run. But I would agree that so far, last year was the better year. We’ve obviously struggled in our toughest games this year, but what teams haven’t struggled this year. In the end, this team has plenty of talent to do the 3 things I listed above, just a matter of if they can get things clicking before it’s too late.

GarradJ21 · 02-21-2018, 08:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UC86

I would agree. I think this is Mick’s best team ever, and, as fans, we’ve finally reached the point where we can’t say next year we will be a better team. I believe this is Mick’s peak, he’ll never get one and done players, and now he finally has a team of veterans that’s capable of making a deep run in the tournament. And that’s not a slight at Mick, it’s just reality. He recruits 3-4 star recruits that are 3-4 year players. The stars have aligned and now it’s up to mick and the players to make a run. If Mick can’t get this team to make a run, then you really have to question when will he ever.

I would say it’s a bit premature to say last year was more successful than this year. Obviously, that could change with a win @ Wichita, conference tourney, and NCAA tourney run. But I would agree that so far, last year was the better year. We’ve obviously struggled in our toughest games this year, but what teams haven’t struggled this year. In the end, this team has plenty of talent to do the 3 things I listed above, just a matter of if they can get things clicking before it’s too late.

I agree, too soon to say last year was the better year but regular season wise so far it has been But it will be interesting to see how we feel if we can win that game on March 4th

**sedziobs** · 02-21-2018, 09:08 PM

It brings up an interesting philosophical question of what do we want as sports fans? Most of my most vivid Bearcats memories are not tournament related. Melvin Levett vs Duke, Kenyon vs DePaul, Donald Little vs Marquette. Even some losses provided special memories, like Eric Hicks' missed three vs Villanova. Lots of exciting moments from tournaments where we didn't make a run too, like Bobbitt vs East Tennessee St, Caupain vs UConn. I think my college basketball fandom is due to the unpredictability of the sport, combined with getting to experience the full journey of individual players and squads. Although I'm always rooting for tournament success, I don't need it. In a single elimination format, having a superior team and a good game plan is no guarantee. I embrace the randomness. It's exciting.

In sports, it's always on to next year whether you win or not. Last year's final four teams are just as hungry for success as anyone else. I think the will to win is much more important than winning itself. A deep tournament run would be amazing, and would give us so many more great memories. But, personally, I don't need one to enjoy all the time I put into following the Cats.

GarradJ21 · 02-21-2018, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sedziobs

It brings up an interesting philosophical question of what do we want as sports fans? Most of my most vivid Bearcats memories are not tournament related. Melvin Levett vs Duke, Kenyon vs DePaul, Donald Little vs Marquette. Even some losses provided special memories, like Eric Hicks' missed three vs Villanova. Lots of exciting moments from tournaments where we didn't make a run too, like Bobbitt vs East Tennessee St, Caupain vs UConn. I think my college basketball fandom is due to the unpredictability of the sport, combined with getting to experience the full journey of individual players and squads. Although I'm always rooting for tournament success, I don't need it. In a single elimination format, having a superior team and a good game plan is no guarantee. I embrace the randomness. It's exciting.

In sports, it's always on to next year whether you win or not. Last year's final four teams are just as hungry for success as anyone else. I think the will to win is much more important than winning itself. A deep tournament run would be amazing, and would give us so many more great memories. But, personally, I don't need one to enjoy all the time I put into following the Cats.

That’s a good way to look at it. II can agree that just because some games don’t go our way and there’s been lack of post season success that doesn’t mean the ride hasn’t been enjoyable but I truly do want a tournament run. I will say though, next year I can’t say I expect us to be better than this year which I haven’t said that in the past 5 years. But yes, if we get knocked out again early and the season comes to an end, after a few months of summer I’ll be anxious and excited for Bearcats basketball to start again.

**sedziobs** · 02-21-2018, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GarradJ21

next year I can’t say I expect us to be better than this year which I haven’t said that in the past 5 years.

I agree. Our generally consistent upward trajectory is probably coming to an end. Although, we all thought the same thing after the 99-00 season. Kenyon failed to advance past the second round in his 4 years and we expected a big drop off with DerMarr and Mickeal leaving too. But then we went to the sweet sixteen for the first time in 5 years in 2001.

Cin City · 02-22-2018, 06:14 AM

Here is a hot take. 6 predictions for the remainder of the season...just for fun, please do not get overly worked up over this. It's really meaningless.

3 Negatives

1. We do not win the regular season confernece championship outright
2. Gary Clark does not win Conference POY
3. We get a 5 seed in NCAA Tourney and face everyone's trendy upset pick East Tennessee State

3 Positives

1. We win the conference Tourney...beating both Houston and WSU
2. Evans and Clark make First team AAC, with KW on 2nd
3. We advance to the Elite 8 after manhandling ETSU, beat #4 seed Ohio State, and #1 seed Kansas

Just having some fun here.

juckerrules · 02-22-2018, 06:39 AM

I'd say it's a toss-up so far. The competition is better this year - big plus for last year was beating X

juckerrules · 02-22-2018, 06:47 AM

i thought we'd be so much better this year because of Broome. Either he hasn't adjusted to the game at this level as well as I thought or the coach is stubborn and won't play his best players the most.

Maybe it's just that Caupain/Jenifer and KJ/Cumberland were better than Jenifer/Broome and Cumberland backed up by ???

Queens_NYC · 02-22-2018, 07:12 AM

This is our best chance to win an outright AAC regular season and tournament title since we've been in the league and I stick with that statement regardless of how the season plays out.

02-21-2018, 07:46 PM	#1
GarradJ21 Epic Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Cincinnati Posts: 1,725	This Year Compared to the Past Few Years I have been thinking a lot on how this season has been going so far and how it compares to the past few seasons. It’s not so much of analytical approach but more of a greneral feel. People that look up stats and Kenpom numbers feel free to add some commentary on where we stand this year compared to the past few years. I know the numbers have been mentioned in other threads. 2013-2014: Starting with the end of the SK era. I enjoyed SK of course I mean who didn’t but after we lost to Harvard I was looking forward to seeing us move on. SK was surrounded with some decent players but it seemed like we were having some serious talent come in. We relied too much on SK, rightfully so, but it was time to get a better team feel. Caupain looked promising, we had Gary Clark and Quadri Moore committed, a new tall agressive center in Ellis, a pure shooter in Cobb, and the feeling that this was going to be Shaq Thomas’ team. 2014-2015: A tough year overall, a lot of new pieces. It felt good that we only had one senior in Jermain Sanders so we knew the upcoming 2015-2016 season could be a special season (it’s always “next year” in Cincinnati lol). We lose Cronin due to a very serious health issue, we lose to Xavier at home, but still won enough to get into the big dance. I think our signature win was home against San Diego State if I’m not mistaken. We make it to the tournament and win probably the most exciting first round game all of us could imagine. We knew we basically had no chance against UK the following round but it just felt good to win a tournament game, and again we knew the following year looked promising. Good bye Jermaine Sanders. 2015-2016: Overall Maybe the most heartbreaking and unlluckiest year ever. We lose so many games by 1 or 2 points we lost pretty much every big road game, except a key win at UCONN. We lose a heatbreaker in the conference tournamentand NCAA tournament. We dealt with A lot of injuries. I think Cobb was going through some things, Gary rolled his ankle in the shoot around before the conference tournament UCONN game, and Shaq Thomas was pretty much done for the year. It was a shame for Shaq he wasn’t absolutely killing it but was playing his best basketball. We really could have used him especially defensively against Hamilton in the conference tourney and Bremby or what ever during the St Joes game. The year ended and again, I think we were all are ok knowing it was going to be Caupain’s senior year, Jacob had natural talent, Gary was one more year in, a top 60 recruit in Cumberland coming and a natural scoring center coming to take over in Washington. 2016-2017: Last year was probably our best Regular season in the Cronin era. We start out by losing to R.I. which sucked, but then we win at ISU which was amazing, lost to Butler which was ok, Beat SMU and Xavier, lose at SMU and at UCF, I think overall still we all were pleased with that regular season. 27-4. We lose to SMU in the tournament which again I don’t think any of us cared too much. We get shipped out west and lose to a top 5 team in the tournament when we were probably a top 15 team. Overall, a really good regular season, but again lacking a tournament run. Next year (this year) extremely high hopes. We lose a 3 year starting PG but we are going to replace him with a speed and a natural scorer. It was time for the Caupain era to end and get the up and down going. 2017-2018: Here we are. I don’t need to explain what this year has been like since we are all living it. I think if we had to say this year hasn’t been all that amazing. It’s been good and there’s still some hope but it def isn’t going how we all wanted it to go. A tournament run can solve that My reason for writing this is because every year we have been looking forward to the following year and here we are. I don’t think any of us could say we are looking forward to next year over this year. We really need a tournament run. We will win these next 3 games by 20+ each game, big deal. We need a nice signature win at WSU. We need to make it to the championship of the AAC I hope to win it but won’t be too down if we don’t, but we absolutely need a tournament run. What do you guys all think? I think overall last year so far was more successful than this year but we still have some huge unknowns as of now.

02-21-2018, 09:08 PM	#4
sedziobs Senior Moderator Join Date: Jan 2018 Posts: 2,395	It brings up an interesting philosophical question of what do we want as sports fans? Most of my most vivid Bearcats memories are not tournament related. Melvin Levett vs Duke, Kenyon vs DePaul, Donald Little vs Marquette. Even some losses provided special memories, like Eric Hicks' missed three vs Villanova. Lots of exciting moments from tournaments where we didn't make a run too, like Bobbitt vs East Tennessee St, Caupain vs UConn. I think my college basketball fandom is due to the unpredictability of the sport, combined with getting to experience the full journey of individual players and squads. Although I'm always rooting for tournament success, I don't need it. In a single elimination format, having a superior team and a good game plan is no guarantee. I embrace the randomness. It's exciting. In sports, it's always on to next year whether you win or not. Last year's final four teams are just as hungry for success as anyone else. I think the will to win is much more important than winning itself. A deep tournament run would be amazing, and would give us so many more great memories. But, personally, I don't need one to enjoy all the time I put into following the Cats.

02-22-2018, 06:14 AM	#7
Cin City Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Southern Indiana Posts: 377	Here is a hot take. 6 predictions for the remainder of the season...just for fun, please do not get overly worked up over this. It's really meaningless. 3 Negatives 1. We do not win the regular season confernece championship outright 2. Gary Clark does not win Conference POY 3. We get a 5 seed in NCAA Tourney and face everyone's trendy upset pick East Tennessee State 3 Positives 1. We win the conference Tourney...beating both Houston and WSU 2. Evans and Clark make First team AAC, with KW on 2nd 3. We advance to the Elite 8 after manhandling ETSU, beat #4 seed Ohio State, and #1 seed Kansas Just having some fun here.

02-22-2018, 06:39 AM	#8
juckerrules Elite Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 520	I'd say it's a toss-up so far. The competition is better this year - big plus for last year was beating X

02-22-2018, 06:47 AM	#9
juckerrules Elite Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 520	i thought we'd be so much better this year because of Broome. Either he hasn't adjusted to the game at this level as well as I thought or the coach is stubborn and won't play his best players the most. Maybe it's just that Caupain/Jenifer and KJ/Cumberland were better than Jenifer/Broome and Cumberland backed up by ???

02-22-2018, 07:12 AM	#10
Queens_NYC Epic Member Join Date: Jan 2017 Posts: 1,655	This is our best chance to win an outright AAC regular season and tournament title since we've been in the league and I stick with that statement regardless of how the season plays out.