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Bill Koch offers the latest on the Cincinnati Bearcats


Bill Koch is a sportswriter covering the University of Cincinnati's athletics.

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Thursday, January 31, 2008

Symbolic win?

I just got back from Morgantown. I was thinking on the drive home that perhaps UC's win over Bob Huggins and West Virginia will finally serve as a symbolic turning of the page when it comes to the Bearcat basketball program and its fans. It's clear now that there is Life After Huggs at UC and that Mick Cronin has the program moving in the right direction. I'd like to think that most fans have already come to grips with the fact that the Huggins era is over, but for those who haven't, what better symbol could there be than a victory over Huggins for Cronin's team? That's not to say it still won't be a big deal when Huggins comes to Fifth Third Arena next year. It's understandable that Huggins' return to UC would create a stir, but maybe now it will be more of a feel-good nostalgia thing than anger over what happened in 2005.


57 Comments:

at 3:02 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Fat chance. People love to stir up trouble.

 
at 3:08 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

3:02, you should know that your comment likely will. I know the answer to this question already, but why can't we UC fans remember that we are ALL behind UC and just allow one another to have our own opinions/thoughts/feelings about the 2005 situation? GO BEARCATS!!!!

 
at 3:25 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

AMEN, Bill..

Hope he wears the yellow suit here next year. Mick could get an all red outfit.

 
at 3:35 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Basketball? are we going to start talking aboutbasketball now? No more angst? Just when I was starting to enjoy it? Do I have to go back watching the soaps in order to experience someone else's misery? Say it aint so! No more broken hearts, tales of lost love, true misery? Basketball? Are we talking about basketball? What will I do, where will I go to feel the pain of you all? Basketball? This is going to get BORING!

 
at 4:13 PM Blogger Dave in Omaha said...

UC still has lots of growing and getting better to do, but only the folks lying to themselves (and wishing the worst upon Mick and UC) won't admit to the advances that this team has made. The foundation is in place (and it appears sturdy) Mick is proving to be a solid motivator and floor coach as well as a recruiting maven...Magnificent!

 
at 4:17 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

I hope you're right, Bill.

At the least, last night's result should help change the local conventional wisdom that we gave up on a wizard in the college basketball world and had to settle for his apprentice. Mick is looking like a big-time coach, getting it done with an undermanned squad that makes up for what they don't have with tenacity and smarts.

 
at 5:21 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

These guys are good! I would like to have aother go at Memphis. Would surprise a lot of people! No more mister nice guy and no more walking on to the court with any negative thoughts!

 
at 6:19 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

I hope you are right, Bill. This Bob Huggins/Nancy Zimpher stuff is getting pretty old. I have gone to UC games for over 40 years since my dad took me when I was 10. He went to UC. I went to UC. Now my son goes to UC.

I am a huge UC fan. And I was a huge Huggins fan. I thought he really believed in his kids, and also tried to help them become successful in life. And, he was a top notch coach, and developed a very successful program at UC. But, he is responsible for most of his troubles. Sure, the way he was fired, the timing and execution was bad and a total mess. BUT IT IS OVER.

We have a new coach who is doing some fairly impressive things in a short period of time with his kids. Let's talk about THAT. You don't agree, great. Good or bad - accolades or criticisms. Talk about stuff going on TODAY. Share your opinions; mix it up. How much of a waste of time is it to rag about a situation that happened years ago. It's over. The damage is done. You're either a fan or you're not (doesn't mean we all have to agree or be positive all the time.)

If you're mad Nancy is here, move on because she ain't leaving. If you're mad Huggins is gone, move on because he ain't coming back.

 
at 6:41 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'd bet your house that we'll never see the banana suit again on Huggs. He's very superstitious about clothing.

 
at 6:41 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

I came to UC in 1958, we had a good team, good players, a guy named Robertson, he was good, REAL good! Got to the final four! Then he left, all was lost! Next year we won it all, then we did it again and then we almost did it again. Now the good times are back again! Enjoy it!

 
at 6:42 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

OK, Huggs is gone - until the game at Fifth Arena next year. The good thing is though: it's only a matter of time until Nancy leaves and won't return!

 
at 6:45 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Very big win for MC and the Bearcats. When was the last time a Huggs coached team scored less than 40 pts.

MC is proving he can coach as the team has continued to improve.

Do wonder however how strong the BE is this yr - Bearcats had losing record in non conf play altho couple difficult opponents in
Xavier and Memphis. Winning record in BE due to team improvement? Probably.

Even as an X fan I admire what MC and the Bearcats have accomplished.

 
at 6:53 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

6:45, enjoy x's brief moment in the sun.

 
at 7:17 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks Anon 6:19. I've been singing your song all season but there are people who just want to wallow and complain, no matter what.

I'm at the point of believing these so-called fans would be happier if the team regressed, if Mick failed, if the program suffered for years, all so they could be miserably happy.

 
at 7:27 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Lowest point total for Huggs at UC was 40.

Back in 93, they beat UAB 40-38. I think Nick hit a mid-court shot to win it.

Huggs teams were held in the 40's three other times by Xavier, St Louis and Temple

 
at 8:58 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

6:19


Why complain about people talking about the past when that's what you spent most of your post talking about?

 
at 9:01 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

NaZi and her gang of incompetents on the BOT have worked very hard to be remembered. We have to make sure people of her ilk and character(less) are never hired again or welcome here. I for one will always comment on her mismanagement as long as the BOT keeps her around. When they get rid of her, this era will end, until then we have an open wound festering.

NaZi go away, you are not welcome.

 
at 10:19 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

The Ghost of Huggins Past has been exorcised.

 
at 10:22 PM Blogger Jimmy - Lexington said...

I agree completely. I personally needed that game to see Huggins on the other side, and realize that though I may not have Bob, I have a group of Bearcats that I am still proud to root for. It makes you remember that thought we often cling to the coach because he is the only constant in a college program, what we truly our fans of is the Bearcat uniform. I still love Bob, and love the great years he gave all of us Bearcats fans, but I love the black and red more.

 
at 11:38 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Excellent comment, Jimmy in Lex. I agree 100 percent. We are Bearcats, and no one person can claim ownership of that mantle.

 
at 7:51 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ahhh...it only took until 9:01pm to bring back the Nancy talk.

Hey, how's that Nancy and BOT protest going for you? This is a really good forum to express yourself about that. Bet you're having a lot of impact with your protest by posting here. Keep it going. Seems to be pretty effective. I bet Nancy and the BOT are all on their way out. Probably this weekend.

 
at 8:35 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

7:51, hope you're all packed and going with them!

 
at 9:18 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

9:01 keep holding out! don't lose faith in the clever Nicknames and acronyms you created. Im sure Nancy will move on someday just as most college presidents that improve the situation of their current school do. And when she does move on...you can take credit because you called her NaZi and posted on a sports page blog.

 
at 9:31 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

9:18, Thanks Nancy!

 
at 9:51 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Who is Nancy?

 
at 10:11 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yeah, Nancy who?? I don't know any Nancy.

 
at 10:12 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'll take the reputation of the school over the reputation of the basketball program any day of the year.

On the former, she's been a success.

On the latter, UC is having to overcome a national image of being the UNLV of the East. If that means a few years of rebuilding, so be it.

No one is dying, no one is going homeless, no child is left unfed because of the transition.

 
at 10:41 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

rickNmd, have you ever wondered if Nancy is already married? Ah, forget it, you're cousins.

 
at 10:58 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anon 10:41, most of us want to discuss UC basketball in the present tense, but anytime someone says anything remotely positive about the progress of the program, the school or Mick Cronin, you get on here and call people names, make insults and scream bloody hell for something that most of us don't know what. Most of us are sick of your monotonous, ongoing rant.

You can't win. Huggins is not coming back, Zimpher isn't getting fired, and the basketball team is moving forward. So should you.

These are happy days for UC as an institution and athletic program all the way around.

 
at 11:22 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

rickNmd, if there was a Nancy Defense team, you would be lead counsel; a fan club, the president; a blog, the spokesperson for all. The latter, already self-appointed.

 
at 11:25 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

rickNmd

I'm with you. I only hope that for guys like 9:01, having Nancy and the BOT "screw over" Huggins and UC, is their biggest problem in life. If that is the case, life is pretty good.

It's out of your control. The only thing in your control is to stop buying tickets, stop donating to the university, stop sending your kids to UC. Or sit on Nancy's front lawn and protest. Write a letter to governor. Do something. Whining here probably isn't going to fix "your bad luck in life".

Hey, we got a game tomorrow. What do people think it's going to take to beat Marquette?

 
at 11:32 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

I dated a chick in college named Nancy. But she did not wear fishnet stockings or a terrible pant suit.

I hope that we can catch Marquette on an off night and clobber them too.

Go Cats.

 
at 11:36 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

If you want people to forget about the Bob Huggins era, the first thing you have got to do is bring the program back to that level. Until then, it will not happen. I am sorry, but 10-11 is not going to make that happen. Perhaps winning the next nine games and going to the NCAA will do it. You can tout Mick Cronin all you want but the bottom line is: put up or shut up.

Something that could help people ignore Bob Huggins would be to post huge billboards around town picturing Bob in B.J. Grove's mustard suit.

 
at 11:38 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

11:32, did she wear yellow and red? Yellow teeth and red lipstick? Let's beat another ranked team tomorrow!

 
at 11:44 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yeah, so what 11:22?

I'm proud of the direction the school is headed, I'm proud of the way the renegade basketball program is being cleaned up, I'm proud of the way the football team has grown and is on national TV almost every week, I'm proud of my UC degree, and if that's because of Nancy Zimpher or Casper the Friendly Ghost, I don't care.

I'm not embarrassed to give props where they are deserved and lay fault where it's necessary. With academics on the rise and athletics on the rise, where's the fault?

Oh yeah. Poor, pitiful Huggins, who did absolutely nothing to bring his dismissal upon himself.

 
at 11:46 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

CHEVIOT SPORTS AUTHORITY, look out! The calvary (aka rickNmd) will be on the way to save the day and to straighten you out!

 
at 11:49 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

I like fishnet stockings -
(signed Nancy) Go Bearcats, lets beat Marquette.

 
at 11:52 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hey Authority, when Mick puts up, are you going to shut up? Good Lord. Apparently you're not very smart to realize it's a process. You can't snap your fingers and win big in the Big East. You can do it in C-USA...not in the Big East. They've already made incredible progress.

You can't want them to be good and it automatically happen. They were put WAY behind the 8-ball in this one, and have made incredible strides in a short time. Open your eyes.

 
at 11:57 AM Anonymous Anonymous said...

YEP! HERE THEY COME! LMAO.

 
at 12:01 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

You must have an mighty big buncombe to laugh off CSA because you post the exact same diatribes as Jack in Blue Ash on Fay's Reds blog and as Clueless Krivsky on Rosecrans' old spot with the Post.

 
at 12:13 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Weep not for Bob Huggins. I loved Huggy Bear as much as any other U.C. fan. But people get fired every day. That's life. But the man was given $3,500,000 to go away. My employers are welcome to abuse me like that any day they want. And on top of that, he's ended up making $2,000,000 a year at WV, a school he was ready to leave U.C. for anyway a few years ago until WV pulled the contract offer. Poor Bob Huggins. It's time to move on guys. Mick's the man now. End of story.

 
at 12:23 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Such squaller coming from guys with no names.

 
at 12:42 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow, that's funny, I don't see "Cheviot Sports Authority" listed in the phone book anywhere. Anyone can make up a clever name to hide behind so they can spout off like an idiot.

 
at 12:43 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Big of you to talk CSA. Don't see you denying the accusations.

 
at 3:02 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Accusations? Accusations of what?
When you get to be old enough to go into a tavern, then go to any sports bar on the west side of Cincinnati and just ask for the Cheviot Sports Authority. I am not hard to find.
By the way Blue Ash is a long way from Cheviot and Krivsky is a moron.

 
at 3:09 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Interesting how your claim to fame is being well-known in West Side watering holes. My how proud you must be. Maybe you should step out and see the light from time to time. You may actually learn something...but I'm guessing since you already know EVERYTHING, you'll make some other smug comment about how great and all-knowing you are. You're funny.

 
at 3:21 PM Blogger Dave in Omaha said...

I don't find him particularly funny OR interesting. Funny how his own ignorance is focused on because of his arrogance.

"authority"


good grief.

 
at 3:43 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Cheviot Sports Authority, rickNmd and Dave in Omaha ALL know it all. The only thing I don't understand is why none of them agree with each other. Baffling.

 
at 4:02 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

3:43, common sense is not too hard to understand unless you're just a blockhead who can't see past his nose and own junior high rants.

 
at 4:45 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

superior intelligence and many years of experience are what makes me the foremost authority on sports in this area. If you don't agree with my opinions, then you are obviously wrong. If you don't like my Bearcat analysis, then just wait till spring training starts. Perhaps you will enjoy my insight into the Cincinnati Reds. By the way, last spring I predicted the Reds would win 75 games when all the ostriches were predicting a competitive season. I was wrong. They were even worse than my expertise could fathom. Sometimes even the best are off a little bit.

 
at 6:40 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

4:02 You're very likely an expert on blockheads, knuckleheads, and other such folk.

 
at 9:08 PM Blogger Dave in Omaha said...

I don't know it all, but I do know good basketball and UC is playing it. Spread your venom 'neath the veil of anonymity all day. I'll be enjoying watching Micks guys progress...


(I also know that you're a vacuous dullard, but that doesn't make me anything special because everyone else knows that too. nicely done)

 
at 9:19 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dave in Omaha, If you're actually there, then there IS one thing to like about you.

 
at 9:30 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

CSA,
I've read your posts on many of the Enquirer blogs for the past year or so and found them interesting. Many of your thoughts about the Reds were right on the mark, as was your prediction of their W/L record.
You are obviously quite knowledgeable concerning Bearcat basketball.

How do you see Mick's crew doing next year?

 
at 9:30 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

In all honesty I would rather have Mick than Bob. Seriously, how many more heart-breaking second round losses could you go through? Huggs teams always peaked too early, and I think we are seeing the same thing this year at WVU. WVU peaked during the Georgetown game. Just watch they wont play that well of a game for the rest of the year. The team look physically, mentally, and emotional spent only a couple min into the game. I want a team that is going to get better as the year goes along, just like what we have this year.
As for Nancy, she did treat the Huggs situation very poorly. No one would argue that. However, she has done a lot of good for the university as a whole. The campus is beautiful (which helps with basketball recrutes), enrollment is up, and we have had the smartest freshman classes for 4 straight years. Indirectly she has helped the basketball team as well.
As for the game tomorrow, Go Cats! MU has yet to win a road game in the big eat, and I can't wait to see the D. James vs J. Warren match-up. Come to the game, be load, and wear read to support coaches vs cancer and our Cats!

 
at 10:00 PM Anonymous Anonymous said...

UC = UNLV East

...Or maybe not - UNLV has cleaned up its act, has a winning record, & has made the NCAA tourney last year.

 
at 10:06 PM Blogger Manny said...

Yay, UNLV made the NCAAs. Meanwhile Ohio State lost in the title game. Again. I guess the basketball program has something in common with the football program, they choke in big games.

 
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