Almost in
A UC victory Wednesday night at Pitt - which admittedly is a tall order - plus a St. John's loss at Georgetown later that night - which is expected - would enable UC to clinch a berth in the Big East Tournament after a one-year absence. That's still a long way from the NCAA Tournament, but perhaps a step closer to the NIT. And really, did anyone honestly believe at the start of this season that UC would play in the NCAA Tournament? Making it to the Big East Tournament and then possibly to the NIT is a realistic goal and a logical next step for where this program is trying to go, especially considering where it had to come from. Progress is being made, although from the tone of some of the comments on this blog, the progress hasn't been quick enough. It's as if some people thought UC would go from 11-19 to the Final Four in one year.
posted by bill koch at 11:27 AM
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Post a Comment*Keep drinking the Kool-Aid. The Obama Bobcats are going nowhere this year.
Give Mick a chance and he'll pull this misery back to respectability.
Those on the blog expecting UC to go from 11-19 to the Final Four are from the instant gratification generation. UC was in the Final Four, championship game in 1963 and did not return to the Final Four until 1992. However, the fans had many good teams to follow during the time between Final Four trips.
This season has not been logical. So my subdued expectations have been tossed out the window. I'm with Mick and anything short of the NCAA's is a disappointment. If anything, UC should get in as a make up for A K's Bearcat team getting snubbed.
UC would have to win 3 of their last 4 (includes @ PItt and @UConn) and 2 in the Big East tournament (right now it would be Seton Hall and Notre Dame) to have any chance at the NCAA tournament.
How you can expect that and be disappointed with anything else is beyond amazing.
I am (now) happy AK's team got snubbed, because if they hadn't, how embarrassing would it have been to have been on national tv in the first game without two of our best players because they DIDN'T GO TO ONE CLASS THE ENTIRE SEMESTER.
AK should be glad, too, because he just might not have gotten the Ole Miss job if that had come out much earlier. The coach can't make the kids go to class, but he can make their lives miserable if they don't (much like parenting).
Anon 11:59,
Those of us who DID go through those years also got to enjoy the terrible Tony Yates and Ed Badger eras also. And, these last two seasons have an eerie similarity to those horrendous seasons of those two sorry jokes for coaches. And we see the comparable play from Mick's teams and the same type of excuses. Capeesh?
Anon 2:57:
It's funny you mentioned the idea that the two players would have been suspended for the NCAA tourney. I have always thought that in the back of my head and the other night I looked into it. James and Jihad would have played in the first two games(I think - correct me Bill if I am wrong), but you are right, it would have been embarrassing(sp?) to get to the sweet 16 and have six scholarship players available. Looking back, it is amazing that that team hung with South Carolina in that last game - Eric Hicks and Devan Downey (soon to be 1st team SEC Devan Downey)willed that team to respectability in that one - long live E HICKS!!!!
Why should Cats fans get excited about the Not-In-Tournament?
We'll start caring again if Mick can get the Cats back to the NCAA tourney in a year or two.
Had UC been in the Big East during the 1980s, the results would have been far worse than even those less-than-mediocre years we had to endure.
However, that also describes part of the problem. The power structure of college basketball was much less fluid during the 80s, so when you were stuck on the bottom, it was next to impossible to dig your way out. Now you can be Old Dominion and think you've got a chance to live a Final Four dream.
Mick has us on track to be very good much sooner than reasonably could have been expected. Of course, some people expect the moon and expect to have it delivered each and every year or they'll whine. That's one reason college sports is so out of whack in general when it comes to coaches jumping jobs or being fired.
You have to be kidding me if some of you don't see Mick already turning this program around.
Lets look at the last 15 games. The St. Johns loss was dissapointing. But other than that, the other 5 losses were all tough teams (four of which are against top 20 teams in the nation). But this team also has five very nice wins (Louisville, Syracuse, Villanova, Pitt, WVU).
In fact, UC has two losses to teams worse the 100 in the RPI. Five losses to teams between 25-100 and an astounding 6 loses to teams in the top 25. So basically, they are just getting beat up by good competition.
Bill, thanks again for providing a measure of sanity to this matter of reaching basketball goals in 2008. The vast majority of people picked UC to to 12-18 overall and only win 6 games at best in the Big East (ask Huggins how tough it is in the Big East). As mentioned 2 weeks ago, if this team won their last 3 home games and 1 of 3 away games with Georgetown, Pitt and UConn, and win 2 games in the Big East tourney, they would have a chance for the NCAA tourney.
Although that is a very difficult task, it is still possible. Most likely we are talking NIT, which most reasonable basketball fans would call success in 2008. This team did beat W.Virginia, Syracuse, Villanova, and Pitt and is in 7th place in the Big East. No one thought UC would finish in the top 8 in the Big East in 2008.
Anybody with an ounce of sense or just a little bit of intelligence knows that UC has greatly improved this season.
Anon 3:17 -No, we don't "capeeshe". We don't even capice.
To be able make a comparison to Tony Yates teams in less than 2 seasons is remarkable.
I'll put you down for the instant gratification group.
3:49 - So you are only a Bearcat fan when they play in the NCAA tournament?
That's kind of pathetic, isn't it?
You are not a true fan.
Anon 3:17
I agree the Badger and Yates years were not good years for UC basketball. The teams of the 60's after the 1963 loss and the early 70's were worth following. The late 70's until Huggins arrived were painful.
Not "quick enough," eh? Notwithstanding that the Cats should never have been out of the top 25, the University of Tennessee men's team has gone from nothing to number 1 in three years.
3:49 Anon-
Great way to support your team. It's good to know you're a true fan. When the 'Cats are in the tournament again (and it will be soon), don't be surprised if someone tosses you off the bandwagon.
almost good - almost above .500.
For a lot of us UC supporters - when all else fails, lower your expectations.
CBI for Mick -
Bill, you're absolutely right.
The danger is always adjusting your expectations along the way. And those adjustments are often (although not always) biased and off-kilter.
BEAST Tourney and NIT would be a good step. Yeah, we'd love to go to the NCAA's, but we're clearly not quite there.
Go Bearcats !!
People who post on here with all these ridiculous expectations and who think Mick isnt doing a good job....
His best player is out for the season--his best recruit (Jason Henry) didnt qualify--and he's in 6th place IN THE BIG EAST
good lord man, can we get a mob together and find these naysayers and strip them of their privilege of being a Bearcat fan please?
I'm not Bill but the last game those two players, James and Jihad, were eligible to play in was the last game they played in and lost. So it was in some ways fortuitous.
UC should be gratefull that they are a .500 team. This is the best they can expect.
UK, UNC, Duke, Florida, and others can expect to turn around a program with a good coach within one year. But UC should be happy to be Mediocre with Mediocre talent and Mediocre expectations.
Is Jason Henry playing anywhere and will he be a Cat in the near future?
The Bearcats are a bubble team
...for the NIT
And tell us, just what years were UK, UNC, Duke and Florida deprived of recruiting for two full seasons and left with only one scholarship player?
Anon 7:23,
That would be just perfectly mediocre for this very mediocre town, especially when it comes to its "pro" sports teams.
UK was in tank before R.Pitino, Duke collapsed when Coach K hurt his back and couldn't recruit, Louisville sank under Crums downfall (before R. Pitino arrived), UNC faultered after Dean Smith, and where was Florida before Billy Donovan? Oooopppss !!! Nuff said.
I agree with the tone of Bill's blog entry. I frankly don't have time to read the negativity that oozes out of many of the comments on this blog.
For UC "fans" - If you are that negative about the Bearcats, find another team, even Xavier, that you can be positive about.
For UK and XU fans who lurk on this site (probably most of the negative posters on this site) - Get a life. Most of us real UC fans (2 degrees, UCATS member for 16 years) couldn't care less. The 3 programs and universities are all unique and very different. They really can't be compared, and when you posters try, you embarrass yourself (be thankful for anonymous posting).
Personally, I love college basketball, watch most XU games, and love the way they play the game. I think it's really SAD, that some of you crypto-Xavier fans (use your dictionary on "crypto")can't enjoy the unexpected success of UC BB this year or even the success of the nationally-ranked UC football team.
You can never build yourself up by tearing someone else down.
Cinti was a thriving town in 1980's. Then urban blight set in and City loyality went to the suburbs. What remained settled for .500 or below performance in sports and life.
Ah yes, I have found the place where I want to be. Thank god for St Johns,
South Florida, Rutgers and Providence. UC has proven that they are a better team than they are. I am much more satisfied with the UC team now that it is a sure thing that they will play a game in the Big East tournament. This blog is soooo interesting because it is updated every 12 hours or so whether it needs it or not and if you are posting anything other than praise for Lord Mick and the Bobcats then you are censored. HAPPY BLOGGING!
8:19 Xavier grad with 2 degrees and I really like UC football; exciting to watch and great coach.
UC fans tend to denigrate X as the small school with no endowments.
The "mid major" tag gets blogged around, but most true X BB fans care more about performance and results.
You may find it hard to believe, but I feel most of us root for UC to succeed; it's positive for our city.
I honestly think there are UC fans who root for X for the same reason.
We're competitive institutions in the same city, so it's natural to be biased to our individual schools.
If BK can turn around the football program, MC can do the same for basketball if given the chance.
Lately, UC fans are starting to promote the Sean Miller move to Indiana; we actually are honored that you realize what a great coach we have.
UK was in tank before R.Pitino, Duke collapsed when Coach K hurt his back and couldn't recruit, Louisville sank under Crums downfall (before R. Pitino arrived), UNC faultered after Dean Smith, and where was Florida before Billy Donovan?
You can't be serious. Only UKs situation was even close to being in the mess that UC was in when Mick took over:
Coach K missed HALF A SEASON with his back injury.
Bill Guthridge took UNC to 2 Final Fours in the three years after he took over for Dean Smith, his overall record was 90-28. Matt Doherty left UNC and Roy Williams a team full of great recruits, including 3 McDonald's AAs.
Florida had experienced ONE losing season the year before Donovan arrived. His first two seasons at Florida they went 13-17, and 14-15, so your assertion that he turned them around within one year (regardless of the situation he took over) is a joke, as are you.
BTW, Pitino's first UK team was 14-14, so even he didn't make your "within a year" window.
Bill, the Bearcats must come up with a 3rd scoring threat to defeat Pitt at home. They'll not do it with two. Someone -- anyone -- needs to step up tonight.
Moderating a blog is a good thing. I'd like to see all the "sippin' comments deleted...they're infantile.
Any posts that are racist, violent, personal attacks, or trollish should be deleted.
All others should be allowed, no matter how poorly written or poorly argued.
Hey, Bill, have you asked Mick about recruiting offense in the future yet? He's going to need it if "Almost in" is to ever become "In" the Big Dance.
Sippin' Mick Moniker Maker
Bill,
I just read that on Pat Forde's most recent column, he said a Big East coach recently got into a fight with an assistant at halftime outside their locker-room. Apparently the fight reached the point of punches being thrown.
It wasn't Sippin' Mick and one of his assistants, was it?
Sippin' Mick Moniker Maker
Contrary to your original post, UC DOES NOT need a win over Pitt AND a St. John's loss to clinch BE Tourney. Either/or will do as ST> John's has 10 BE losses & UC has 8 BE wins. A ninth win or 11th loss clinches.
A ninth win, and over Pitt, is what we need. Especially coming on the heels of the EMBARRASSMENT last Saturday at Georgetown. Who cares what on earth St. Johns does?
Calling Mick 'Sippin Mick" is a great observation he does hang onto that water bottle during the game. We could also call him 'Rising Star Mick' since he's on the rise in the national buzz, and we could call him 'IN THE Top 3 Of BE Coaches This Year. Heck I think I'll call myself Mick's Protege and Backer, or Risin Star Mick Moniker Maker. That's the one I like; Risin Star Mick Moniker Maker.
signed,
Risin Star Mick Moniker Maker.
awesome news on the St Johns situation -
UC can back in if they lose.
I'm in the cronin can recruit but can't coach corner - his big BE wins were catching teams at injury time - but that is part of the game.
no doubt the team has improved from the beginning of the season to now - but the lack of coaching / preparation at the beginning has cost them in the RPI.
And the constant excuses get old - UC starts 4 seniors and 1 sophomore - that is a more veteran lineup than over 50% of the teams in the BE.
A 'great' coach would have done better in his SECOND year - and mick has more scholarship players at UC than they have had in many years -
I must have some Missouri blood in me - show me a 'great' mick coaching job.
2:19 anon--- The post of mine at 1:41 was only pointing out that Bill's premise in his original post was inaccurate. Although I also don't care what St. John's does, a loss by STJ's, even if UC also loses tonight, nevertheless CLINCHES a BE Tourney bid for UC. Please read the posts in context if you're going to make a comment.
2:58
Like Uncle Ronnie Reagan used to say,
"there you go again..."
Veteran team of 4 seniors? How about 3 seniors in the program 2 years and therefore of sophmore experience level at D1 ball, and 1 who was ruled ineligible last year and is playing his 1st year of D1? Comparing that to 4th or 5th year seniors who grew up in a program with the same coach all years is ridiculous and distorted. But then that's pretty much the norm for those who hate Cronin.
Distorted thinking is usually the sign of a narrow minded person. Now who could I be thinking of?
Ah, now come on, boys and girls. Let's give each other and especially Sippin' a break here. After all, one of his five starters isn't even a basketball player! Anon 4:57, now who could I be thinking of?
5:23
I'd say it was yourself, but then I'd be flattering you to put you in the same sentence with My Msin Man, The Polish Hustling Demon, The One The Only, The Fabulous Adam H.. Uhh how many years of college ball did you say you played? If four, then we're tied.
And you think you know basketball?
Funny.
Oh and Adam sez any time you want to lace up and put your money where your mouth is, he'll be more than happy to show you how bad you think he is. Matter of fact, he'd like you to trash talk him to his face, big boy. Ready for the challenge?
Hell I'll take ya on and give ya five points and I've got creaky knees now. Probably won't even need to work up a sweat.
Anybody can talk the talk, well then, let's see ya walk the walk. Otherwise it's just more silly noise from a squeaky gear.
Now back to my set I gotta watch my Man Adammmmm Raaaa-Shawnnn-Nik play defense like the big time big east center that he is. Hell he might get hot and make a couple layups. Go Adam.
Risin Star Mick Moniker Maker
Stick with Bill. A win by UC win and a St John loss are needed to clinch the tourney. Not either-or as anons state above. Check out the tiebreaker rule.
http://www.bigeast.org/fls/19400/pdfs/mensbball/tiebreaker07.pdf?DB_OEM_ID=19400&KEY=&SPID=11228&SPSID=94715
The UC victories over UL and WV do not break a tie. If ND ties with UL and St Johns beats ND and WV, St Johns has the tiebreaker with their win over MARQ. Just thought you should know.
Raisin Czar Sippin' Mick Monument Maker,
You're right about a number of things there, big guy. I wasn't a BB star, just simply a dumb football player. However, I do know good athletes when I see them and bad ones, too.
When you said, "Go Adam", didn't you really mean to say, "Slow Adam?"
Sincerely:
President of the 'We Love Mick No Matter What Fan Club'
Someone should really disect what UC has done this year. I haven't went over every win and every loss but it still doesn't seem like UC was ever "good" this year. I think UC is lucky that South Florida, Rutgers, Seton Hall, and Depaul are in the BE.
The Big East is so bad at the bottom you can win with senior leadership and just staying healthy. I don't think this year has been that amazing. It's been about average.
As Adam H.'s buddy told everybody earlier, he's the reason that UC is so very good this year. What are we going to do when he's gone??
Yea. An OT win against Rutgers and a 1 point luck win against South Florida.
Without that you are looking at another terrible year and some major heat on the head coach. Instead people see an overall decent record and start making hilarious claims for coach of the year. The people that are delusional are the one's that are so quick to judge this season a miracle and a great success.
Next season it's Vaughn and who? Gates is LAZY and I wouldn't be surprised if he struggled early. UC will most likely go through another average season and with the 09 class looking bad it's gonna be VERY hard times for Mick. He better hope that Cashmere, Gates, and Vaughn put together a great season when Vaughn is a senior.
That's unless Mick is allowed to prove the hypocrisy of UC and sign Bud Mackey and/or any other arrested recruit.
13-14...
The Cats NIT bubble may have just burst after tonight's loss to Pitt.
Anon 11:19 PM,
Not to worry. There's now the new petite tourney that Cronin has been courting! Things are so great now that some UC fans are actually excited that we are in the conference tournament this year. The conference tournament!! And we might even be in the new little, tiny, petite tournament. Perfect for teams who just missed out by being on the bubble of the losers NIT. Thanks BOT and Nancy!
Anon 10:45 PM,
While hardly viewing this season as a great success, I do view it as a miracle of sorts. Winning as many games as they have with only 2 Big East level players and a starter that shouldn't be on the floor is a miracle of sorts. Whether it is because of coaching or in spite of it, I can't really say, but I'm hardly a delusional fan AND I, for one, am not entirely sold on ANY coach, including Mick, that is still somewhat unproven at this level. Time will expose if he is a good one, or not.
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