Xavier

[Bearcat_NTS]

Originally Posted by jacobkdoyle

I don't think there is a master plan. I honestly think Mick tends to psych himself out before the game even starts. If it is determined that we're playing a good team, he believes the "uptempo" style is just a nonsense gimmick. And if you really want to win those games, you have to win by 50 point grinder. Bc that's how you really need to play. You have to "gut" it out and win a rock fight. That's what he knows. And unfortunately, that means you score 0 fast break points, like we did today. We went against a set defense on virtually every possession. That's really freaking hard to do. And in postgame Mick says something like "When you have 16 TO you aren't going to win, and all other talk about strategy is moot". Come again? Way to deflect the blame coach. Does 16 TO make it hard to win? Damn right it does. But each and every one of those TO is more costly when you intentionally play limited possession, glorified high school basketball. This was a problem last year...and we played this style. And the fact that they weren't putting extreme pressure on us, or pressing, just confirms AGAIN that the style we chose today is not right for our personnel. How many minutes did we waste today having Troy walk it up the floor in slow motion? How many more possessions could that have given us? Notice Xavier plays pretty much the exact opposite of us offensively, and they had no problem scoring in the mid-60s (against an elite defensive team that is taking the air out of the ball). They have no problem beating us 7 out of the last 9 times. And they have no problem getting to Sweet 16s on a regular basis. We complain about defense when Myles Davis flies down the floor and gets a layup with 26 on the shot clock after a make...but we didn't try anything like that ONCE. Hell, with 26 on the clock, we're lucky to have Troy more than 25 feet from the opposing baseline. And good thing we took the time at the beginning to "feel things out" too, bc they went up 10-1 like it was nothing. Bc it was nothing. It's not like anything crazy happened...they were just playing their normal game and we were waiting to get the ok from coach to start the game. I just can't believe I thought we were over this.

Their best player scored 3 points, their best big man was out 2 minutes in with two fouls, they only scored 23 points in the second half...yet they were comfortably ahead by double digits for the entire game.

[Doogle]

I think what y'all are speaking to comes down to attitude, aggression, and execution. And yes, a Coach that allows you to play to your strengths.

Been thinking about this for awhile now...and I'm convinced a lot of my frustrations about UC Basketball are of my own making. I had the fortune and privilege to attend UC during the '92-'93 seasons - a period that not only marked the pinnacle of UC's modern era tourney success, but also set a standard for Bearcat Basketball that I fear will never be approached again. That group of players were like a pack of junkyard dogs. If a team even scored on them their rage was palpable. They had a couple of skilled players that could score, surrounded by a bunch of guys that just absolutely hated losing and would grind teams into submission. They played with a level of passion, intensity and aggression that I've never seen ANY team at ANY level play with before or since.

And even in later years we always had a player or two that fit this mold. Kenyon, Jason Maxiell, Eric Hicks, Steve Logan...there was always someone that walked on the floor and looked at the other team like Forrest Whitaker looked at Lincoln's football team in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High". Here's the chip on my shoulder. Knock it off if you dare.

Watching that game tonight, the thing that saddens me the most is not how they played or that they lost. It's that I'm not surprised in the least at how they played or that they lost. Passion? Aggression? Pride? Not in this particular group of players' DNA. They let Xavier blow out to a 10-1 lead with all the emotion of microwaving a hot pocket. And while I agree with the absurdity of walking the ball up the floor and limiting possessions (really? Our top 2016 recruit was on twitter SCREAMING about how soft and unaggressive they were), honestly who is Troy going to throw it to in transition? Shaq's ball-handling makes Michael Horton look like John Stockton by comparison. Gary Clark is a player with wonderful potential but the next time I see any real aggression from him will be the first time.

Another thing I agree with wholeheartedly is the issue with playing time for Jenifer/Moore. I don't think Jenifer is the answer this year as starting PG but for Christ sake, it would be nice to hear about how OUR freshmen stepped up in the Shootout, rather then theirs. The only way Jenifer and Moore are going to get better is through attrition in games like today's. Whenever the game gets big, Mick's rotation gets small. And that's no way to run a railroad long term.

Anyway, I'm rambling. Sad. Frustrated. And looking for something out of this team. Some fight. Somebody other than Tay pissed off and ready to take it out on the rim. I don't think they have it in them, including the Head Coach. Prove me wrong and I'll gladly eat every word.

[Bearcat_NTS]

Originally Posted by Doogle

I think what y'all are speaking to comes down to attitude, aggression, and execution. And yes, a Coach that allows you to play to your strengths.

Been thinking about this for awhile now...and I'm convinced a lot of my frustrations about UC Basketball are of my own making. I had the fortune and privilege to attend UC during the '92-'93 seasons - a period that not only marked the pinnacle of UC's modern era tourney success, but also set a standard for Bearcat Basketball that I fear will never be approached again. That group of players were like a pack of junkyard dogs. If a team even scored on them their rage was palpable. They had a couple of skilled players that could score, surrounded by a bunch of guys that just absolutely hated losing and would grind teams into submission. They played with a level of passion, intensity and aggression that I've never seen ANY team at ANY level play with before or since.

And even in later years we always had a player or two that fit this mold. Kenyon, Jason Maxiell, Eric Hicks, Steve Logan...there was always someone that walked on the floor and looked at the other team like Forrest Whitaker looked at Lincoln's football team in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High". Here's the chip on my shoulder. Knock it off if you dare.

Watching that game tonight, the thing that saddens me the most is not how they played or that they lost. It's that I'm not surprised in the least at how they played or that they lost. Passion? Aggression? Pride? Not in this particular group of players' DNA. They let Xavier blow out to a 10-1 lead with all the emotion of microwaving a hot pocket. And while I agree with the absurdity of walking the ball up the floor and limiting possessions (really? Our top 2016 recruit was on twitter SCREAMING about how soft and unaggressive they were), honestly who is Troy going to throw it to in transition? Shaq's ball-handling makes Michael Horton look like John Stockton by comparison. Gary Clark is a player with wonderful potential but the next time I see any real aggression from him will be the first time.

Another thing I agree with wholeheartedly is the issue with playing time for Jenifer/Moore. I don't think Jenifer is the answer this year as starting PG but for Christ sake, it would be nice to hear about how OUR freshmen stepped up in the Shootout, rather then theirs. The only way Jenifer and Moore are going to get better is through attrition in games like today's. Whenever the game gets big, Mick's rotation gets small. And that's no way to run a railroad long term.

Anyway, I'm rambling. Sad. Frustrated. And looking for something out of this team. Some fight. Somebody other than Tay pissed off and ready to take it out on the rim. I don't think they have it in them, including the Head Coach. Prove me wrong and I'll gladly eat every word.

Difference is we had an imposing character on the sidelines, a larger than life character in Huggins. Mick is no where near that type of personality.

[Doogle]

Originally Posted by Bearcat_NTS

Difference is we had an imposing character on the sidelines, a larger than life character in Huggins. Mick is no where near that type of personality.

Sigh. What might help is somebody who can simply create and make shots. Cumberland?
I'm resigned to the fact that we're not who we once were, but man I was hoping this team would at least play with some attitude after all the talk about the UK game giving them some hope and motivation. Hasn't happened. And that offense looks awesome against Robert Morris but very much resembles last year's abomination against even mid-level competition.

[Bulldog01]

Who was the recruit calling soft?

[Doogle]

Originally Posted by Bulldog01

Who was the recruit calling soft?

Nobody specifically. Just basically said that the entire team was playing soft and to attack the zone. I think the verbatim quote was "ATTACK!!!!"

[Doogle]

Here you go:
PLAYING SOFT ATTACK THE ZONE!!!!!!!😡😡😡😡😡

[Doogle]

Steve Logan was none too happy as well. Mick can blather all he wants about how the "Crosstown stuff doesn't mean anything to him". Well, it means a helluva lot to the players that wore the damn uniform before now. From Logan:
Steve Logan ‏@Only1SteveLogan 2h2 hours ago
When I played , I always felt like this was a must Win game. True ballers never downplayed this game like it didn't mean nothing!!

[jacobkdoyle]

Really bizarre post game interviews. I saw the one with Mick on Bearcats TV Twitter...but couldn't find a player one. Chad posted his on BCJ with the players...

When asked if the 1-3-1 threw them off, Troy said no and that they were just rushed and moving too fast and needed to relax. Troy said that. Troy Caupain. He really doesn't get it. Hate to break it to you Troy, but if you moved any slower tonight, you would've been standing still. And the casual lob passes back and forth out top seemed pretty relaxed to me. Wow.

The really bizarre part though was that the next question was about Xavier and Mick jumped in and dismissed the Shaq and Troy, saying "Have you guys had enough? This is Cincinnati. So we'll answer questions about Cincinnati". But then he immediately jumped in to giving Xavier credit. Really weird. For a guy who wants tougher players, that kind of thing isn't going to get it. Wow that was weird. What the hell is going on with this team? Mick protects his players in the presser, but then deflects blame and talks about Xavier himself after saying we would only talk about Cincinnati as his reason for dismissing them.

[jacobkdoyle]

Originally Posted by Doogle

Steve Logan was none too happy as well. Mick can blather all he wants about how the "Crosstown stuff doesn't mean anything to him". Well, it means a helluva lot to the players that wore the damn uniform before now. From Logan:
Steve Logan ‏@Only1SteveLogan 2h2 hours ago
When I played , I always felt like this was a must Win game. True ballers never downplayed this game like it didn't mean nothing!!

We don't have a Logan type killer. That's for sure. I wasn't old enough to really know the Final 4 team, but I remember Logan very well. Most competitive person I've ever seen. If we were up 30, he wanted to be up 32. If we were up 32, he wanted to be up 34. I don't agree with trying to downplay big games either. That's what Marvin Lewis does. We've seen how that works out. That's not what Xavier does...unfortunately we've seen how that works as well. We can complain that it means more to them, or a random guy gets hot from 3, blah blah blah. But at the end of the day, they're doing all the winning. And they don't feel sorry for us.