upstate game thread

Scheids21 · 12-04-2013, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JackBauer151

So many things wrong with this post. First off you have no idea what the circumstances were behind Mick not calling Pitino. So saying he dropped the ball when you have no earthly idea what went on is making a quick assumption. Again I agree with your point about scheduling better OOC mid majors. Im not even going to respond to the AK nonsense again. Stupid on all levels. Mick's first 5 years here were a disaster. Who would want to play us? While that was going on Xavier was winning conference titles and going to the sweet 16. With schedules being made years out in advance is it really surprising that X is able to get better games than we are? No. The reasons for the shitty schedule are pretty identifiable. This is not a video game where you can just pick who you want to play. You have to make the right decision for your program and it has to coincide with a plethora of other factors. The schedule is getting better (And has to) with us losing the Beast conference. Also keep in mind a lot of the great games played in OOC are early season tournaments. Most can only take one team from a conference. When we were in the BEAST its tough to get those games because the tournaments have so many good teams to chose from. I agree Mick has to do a better job at a lot of areas but he takes much more heat on this subject than he deserves. Also way to go UC fans for the NC State game. That team had multiple McDonalds All Americans on it and we managed just over 7,000 fans. Need to do our part too.

Good breakdown, and I agree, I was surprised and embarrassed that game only drew 7k. The sad truth is so many fans aren't impressed with an opponent unless there's a little number next to their name. A couple more wins and we should have one of our own and that always helps with perception locally and nationally.

Patrick Bateman · 12-04-2013, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scheids21

Good breakdown, and I agree, I was surprised and embarrassed that game only drew 7k. The sad truth is so many fans aren't impressed with an opponent unless there's a little number next to their name. A couple more wins and we should have one of our own and that always helps with perception locally and nationally.

Keep in mind for TV and ESPN purposes that game was at 5 pm on a Tuesday.

And keep in mind when talking about X and their conference being superior to ours that they are not on ESPN all season, we are on 11 times I think. That will have a huge affect going forward.

Robert · 12-04-2013, 01:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick Bateman

Keep in mind for TV and ESPN purposes that game was at 5 pm on a Tuesday.

Exactly. Put that game on a Saturday and you're looking at 9,000, easily. Still not great, but the time and day definitely had a negative effect.

JackBauer151 · 12-04-2013, 01:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick Bateman

Keep in mind for TV and ESPN purposes that game was at 5 pm on a Tuesday.

And keep in mind when talking about X and their conference being superior to ours that they are not on ESPN all season, we are on 11 times I think. That will have a huge affect going forward.

I never said they were in a superior conference. I said they were winning conference titles and going deep into the tournament. The ESPN deal is the saving grace of us getting kicked out of the OLD Beast. The new Beast is not even remotely close to what we left. God I cant wait to beat the dog shit out of those mouseketeers.

CaptDale · 12-04-2013, 01:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nomadic1

... His two blocks were against shorter opponents. As for his boards, he's a space eater. To be expected. As far as New Mexico goes, they just survived UAB. They're not the team we faced last year.

Blocks are blocks. They don't differentiate them in the stats. You think JJ only blocks players his own size or bigger? Space eater? For a freshman he moved pretty well. I suppose you like Big Dave? Mick needs to come up with a game plan to defend Kirk. It going to have to go beyond the swarming defense. Whatever he comes up with will lay the groundwork for future encounters with competent bigs.

L-T · 12-04-2013, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JackBauer151

So many things wrong with this post. First off you have no idea what the circumstances were behind Mick not calling Pitino. So saying he dropped the ball when you have no earthly idea what went on is making a quick assumption. Again I agree with your point about scheduling better OOC mid majors. Im not even going to respond to the AK nonsense again. Stupid on all levels. Mick's first 5 years here were a disaster. Who would want to play us? While that was going on Xavier was winning conference titles and going to the sweet 16. With schedules being made years out in advance is it really surprising that X is able to get better games than we are? No. The reasons for the shitty schedule are pretty identifiable. This is not a video game where you can just pick who you want to play. You have to make the right decision for your program and it has to coincide with a plethora of other factors. The schedule is getting better (And has to) with us losing the Beast conference. Also keep in mind a lot of the great games played in OOC are early season tournaments. Most can only take one team from a conference. When we were in the BEAST its tough to get those games because the tournaments have so many good teams to chose from. I agree Mick has to do a better job at a lot of areas but he takes much more heat on this subject than he deserves. Also way to go UC fans for the NC State game. That team had multiple McDonalds All Americans on it and we managed just over 7,000 fans. Need to do our part too.

You have no idea what went on between Mick and Pitino either. So, in absence of the facts, we can only take Pitino at his word, which is a direct quote, and the quote says, "If Mick had asked first, he would have been on the schedule." It's hard to argue the only fact we have been presented, and it came out of the mouth of a Hall of Fame coach who is Mick's friend. No reason for him to lie.

You accuse me of nonsense when your post is full of more nonsense than you accuse me of......for instance....."the schedule is getting better." Maybe you didn't read my earlier post. Our schedule strngth today in Kenpom is 348 of 351. Now, unless last year was 351, 350, or 349, it's pretty hard to say our schedule is getting better. Then you say..."Mick's first 5 years here were a disaster. Who would want to play us?" Well, after 50-some years, Ohio State jumped right on board to play us immediately for the easy win. For every reason you guys say Mick can't schedule anyone good, I can counter with reasons why we should have had our pick of good opponents. i.e....Let's get Cincinnati while they are down. It's a high profile program that suddenly sucks. They have name recognition, so there's a huge upside. It looks like a far better win and comes with little or no risk. Ohio State obviously thought so.

On this site, hearsay, conjecture, and assumptions will always trump facts. The facts say Mick is a really good Xs and Os coach. He does a lot with a little. But, the job is a lot bigger than Xs and Os. The head coach is the face of the program and is the frontman in selling it to fans and recruits and I don't think he has done well in this area. The trend line is still going up, but at a slow pace. I'll say it again.....he's a damn good coach, but he needs to improve in some of the other areas of his job to reach elite status, or to get this program to elite status.

charlie hustle · 12-04-2013, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by #BearcatNation

Do you think they'll be able to find me seats equal to as good as mine? I'm in section 213 halfway up right now, which aren't amazing seats, but I don't want to move to upper corner seats and pay the same price just to be on UC's side.

i actually had to take slightly worse seats (was in the 100 section in the corner, still ended up in the 100 section but one section further behind the backboard), so i don't have any positive feedback for you there.

but it couldn't hurt to call and ask. plus if i could have done it over again, i would have asked them to refund my "convenience" fee since it wasn't very convenient for me to (A) not know which side is which, (B) have to call them back to get DIFFERENT seats, and (C) end up with worse seats for the same price.

damn...

Patrick Bateman · 12-04-2013, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CaptDale

Blocks are blocks. They don't differentiate them in the stats. You think JJ only blocks players his own size or bigger? Space eater? For a freshman he moved pretty well. I suppose you like Big Dave? Mick needs to come up with a game plan to defend Kirk. It going to have to go beyond the swarming defense. Whatever he comes up with will lay the groundwork for future encounters with competent bigs.

He moved pretty well? Not from what I saw. At least twice they fed him in the post and he couldn't even bend down to get the entry pass and it went out of bounds. He was extremely immobile and slow. There is a reason that when he was in the game Mick put Big Dave in.

We may try to take the ball at Kirk and try to get him in foul trouble. I am looking forward to the test.

Patrick Bateman · 12-04-2013, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L-T

Again.....Rick Pitino's quote....not mine.....“Mick’s a very close friend and ex-colleague of mine, but Memphis asked first,” Pitino said earlier this week. “Had Mick asked first it would have been him on the schedule rather than Memphis, but Memphis asked first.”

Louisville is an absolute no brainer annual game and Mick dropped the ball. There are 350 potential opponents. I don't believe for a minute that he can't schedule teams that at least bring our schedule strength under 200. Today, it is a robust 348 of 351 teams. Not a single coach gave us a vote in the coach's poll. Only 8 gave us votes in the AP. You don't think our schedule has a lot to do with that? I don't care how good USC Upstate and NC Central are. The whole world believes they are patsies no matter how high they are ranked in Kenpom (which today is 128 and 108). Even though their rank would suggest they are a mid-major, nobody views them as mid-major. One is in the America Sun and the other is in the MEAC...not mid-major conferences. Those are low major.

Until Mick signs some top recruits, plays the best competition, has the program consistently in the Top 20, makes some long runs in the NCAA, etc., the fans just won't embrace him or the program. We've been to the NCAA tournament 3 straight years and have played in the top conference in the world. To offer up some lame excuse why he can't take down the Andy Kennedy team in average attendance is just that...an excuse. Bottom line, there is no excuse for our attendance. There are only facts. He hasn't been a great recruiter like we all thought he would be, and his OOC schedule has been pathetic. In the first 17 years of the Shoe, playing only in a Mid-major conference, we only drew under 10,000 fans per game twice....in the 1st year and in the Andy Kennedy year. There were only two other years where we drew under 12,000 fans per game...in Huggs last year and in 1998. Playing in the #1 conference in the world under Mick, we haven't had a single season that supassed any of the previous 17.

Under Mick's watch, Xavier has supassed us in attendance and in conference affiliation. Oh by the way, Xavier can somehow play an OOC schedule that includes....Tennessee twice, Morehead St., Miami, Iowa, Southern Cal, Bowling Green, Evansville, Cincinnati, Alabama, Wake Forest, etc. Amazing how teams are dying to play in Cintas with a capacity of 3,000 less than the Shoe, but Mick somehow scares all of them away.

This is what I was referring to JB151