Cronin Undecided on Bishop

swg · 03-16-2010, 06:44 AM

CINCINNATI - University of Cincinnati junior forward Rashad Bishop, who was suspended for the Big East tournament for breaking team rules, will remain suspended for the Bearcats’ first-round National Invitation Tournament game Wednesday against Weber State.

UC coach Mick Cronin said Monday that Bishop is not necessarily suspended for the entire tournament.

Bishop started 20 games this season and averaged 8.4 points with 4.4 rebounds. He was also regarded as one of the Bearcats’ best defensive players, but Cronin said he doesn’t think UC is “really much different” without him.

“Our rebounding and defense were excellent in New York,” Cronin said. “Those are things he did really well. I think Jaquon Parker is capable of giving us toughness and Ibrahima (Thomas) and Darnell (Wilks) both rebounded the ball. Those are the guys that took up most of his minutes.”

The Bearcats said they’re excited about playing in the NIT. “It ain’t the tournament that I wanted,” said senior guard Deonta Vaughn. “But what can we say? We lost a tough one (to West Virginia). That kind of hurt us deep down inside. But the NIT is better than the CBI.”

UC played in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational in 2008, losing at Bradley, 70-67, in the first round.

The UC players believe that playing well in the NIT would be one more step in the process of rebuilding the UC program.

“It would mean that we made a lot of progress,” Vaughn said. “First we got the CBI, now we got the NIT, then hopefully next year they’ll go to the NCAA.”

“The NIT will help us build on what we’re going to be next year,” said junior forward Ibrahima Thomas. “Our next season is going to start with the NIT.”

UC’s last NIT appearance was in 2006 under interim head coach Andy Kennedy. The Bearcats beat Charlotte and Minnesota before losing to South Carolina by three points.

Minutes after the loss to South Carolina, UC announced that Cronin had been hired as UC’s new head coach. Kennedy was hired the same day to become the head coach at Ole Miss.

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2...or+entire+NIT?

03-16-2010, 06:44 AM	#1
swg Epic Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Ohio Posts: 7,155	Cronin Undecided on Bishop CINCINNATI - University of Cincinnati junior forward Rashad Bishop, who was suspended for the Big East tournament for breaking team rules, will remain suspended for the Bearcats’ first-round National Invitation Tournament game Wednesday against Weber State. UC coach Mick Cronin said Monday that Bishop is not necessarily suspended for the entire tournament. Bishop started 20 games this season and averaged 8.4 points with 4.4 rebounds. He was also regarded as one of the Bearcats’ best defensive players, but Cronin said he doesn’t think UC is “really much different” without him. “Our rebounding and defense were excellent in New York,” Cronin said. “Those are things he did really well. I think Jaquon Parker is capable of giving us toughness and Ibrahima (Thomas) and Darnell (Wilks) both rebounded the ball. Those are the guys that took up most of his minutes.” The Bearcats said they’re excited about playing in the NIT. “It ain’t the tournament that I wanted,” said senior guard Deonta Vaughn. “But what can we say? We lost a tough one (to West Virginia). That kind of hurt us deep down inside. But the NIT is better than the CBI.” UC played in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational in 2008, losing at Bradley, 70-67, in the first round. The UC players believe that playing well in the NIT would be one more step in the process of rebuilding the UC program. “It would mean that we made a lot of progress,” Vaughn said. “First we got the CBI, now we got the NIT, then hopefully next year they’ll go to the NCAA.” “The NIT will help us build on what we’re going to be next year,” said junior forward Ibrahima Thomas. “Our next season is going to start with the NIT.” UC’s last NIT appearance was in 2006 under interim head coach Andy Kennedy. The Bearcats beat Charlotte and Minnesota before losing to South Carolina by three points. Minutes after the loss to South Carolina, UC announced that Cronin had been hired as UC’s new head coach. Kennedy was hired the same day to become the head coach at Ole Miss. http://news.cincinnati.com/article/2...or+entire+NIT?