Cincinnati Bearcats Basketball

Unfortunately, Monday night showed that the Cincinnati Bearcats (12-7, 2-4 Big East) aren’t tough enough just yet.  That’s not to say that this team won’t BE tough enough.  It just means that at this point in time, UC has some growing to do in the balls region. 

We don’t need to single out any one player or blame head coach Mick Cronin for this.  This team is extremely young.  Only one player in the rotation is listed as a senior.  Only two players in the rotation are listed as juniors.  The other seven Bearcats who get minutes are freshmen and sophomores. 

It’s not that this team is afraid of being physical.  The Bearcats out-rebound almost every team they face.  In fact, Cincinnati has grabbed the fifth most rebounds in all of America this season. 

Last night was an example of not knowing how to battle through fatigue to be strong with the ball and own the defensive backboard.  The Bearcats turned the ball over 17 times and let Providence (12-6, 4-2) grab 14 offensive rebounds in a 72-63 loss at the Dunkin Donuts Center. 

So far, it is evident that the Bearcats as a whole do not understand what it is to be mentally tough on a nightly basis.  Of course, after playing a road game just two days before and then flying to Rhode Island, the legs aren’t going to be there. 

But that’s where mental toughness comes in.  You have GOT to be strong with the ball.  You have GOT to block out and go get those missed shots.  If you can’t do that, on the road against a good team, you’re leaving with a big fat L. 

The first reflex as a fan in this situation is to say that this team is a bunch of p****** or that Mick Cronin isn’t a good enough coach.  I choose to look at these setbacks as good learning experiences for a young team that is trying to get better and will get better. 

Take a look at Connecticut.  What are they, No. 3 in the country right now?  Well where were they two years ago when the team was a bunch of freshman and sophomores?  Oh yeah, not even in the NIT.  6-10 in the Big East.  But they grew up, made the tournament last year, and now they are a legit title threat.  It takes patience sometimes. 

One quick thought about Yancy Gates though.  Gates missed a bunch of close-range shots last night.  If I were Cronin, I would tell Yancy that if he ever SHOOTS a shot from four feet or closer, he’s coming out of the game.  I want a dunk attempt!  Take a power dribble and ram that sh*t!  This is the Big East.  I don’t care if you foul out on five charges if all the charges come on dunk attempts.  You dunk a few and guys will get out of your way.  Stop with the four-footers and fade-away jumphooks.  DUNK IT big fella!

Next Up: Thursday, 6:00 PST @ St. John's (ESPNU)

After holding on for a 59-55 win at DePaul on Saturday, Darnell Wilks and the Cincinnati Bearcats were on their way to the apparently-gang-riddled Providence, RI area with a couple of monkeys freshly removed from their backs. 

UC (12-6, 2-3 Big East) was finally able to end its nine-game Big East losing streak on Wednesday at 5th Third Arena, rallying from 16 points down to lock Rutgers up, 71-59. 

(Speaking of “locked up,” has anybody seen that puffy-coated gang-banger who strolled onto the court last night in the middle of the Marquette/Providence game at the Dunkin Donuts Center after his brother Jeff Xavier was poked in the eye very lightly and unintentionally by a Marquette player? Put an APB out for that nack. And somebody print up the “Over-reaction Of The Year Award” for Mr. Xavier.)

The win at DePaul (8-10, 0-5) was the season’s first Big East road win for Mick Cronin’s young souljahs.  It was the opener of a 3-game swing away from Clifton, Ohio. 

Now it’s time to see what kind of balls this team really has at this point in the season. 

Back on January 7, Providence (11-6, 3-2) came into 5th Third Arena and dominated the Bearcats, 87-79. The Friars shot 54 percent from the field and led by as many as 13 in the game. 

On Monday night (5:00 PST, ESPN Full Court), Mike “Everything’s Jelly” Williams and the ‘Cats get an opportunity for payback. 

Do they have the necessary-sized nuts to get it done, on the road, against a team who had a big lead Saturday night before falling 91-82 at home to No. 14 Marquette? 

Can Cronin find someone to slow down Weyinmi Efejuku, who got wherever he wanted on the floor all night (18 pts, 11-14 FT, 7 assts) in the first matchup?  And the Friars shot 12-24 from long range on Jan 7—can UC play better perimeter defense?

“It’s time to put our nuts on the table and see how big they is,” junior center Steve Toyloy said with a scowl, while eating a steak the size of Eric Hicks’ right tricep without silverware. 

Back in November, Cincinnati displayed some good-sized junk when it knocked off UNLV on its home floor. The Runnin' Rebels had lost the night before and brought a desperate effort, but Alvin Mitchell, Yancy Gates, and Dion Dixon flexed harder, as UC held on for a 67-65 vic at the raucous Thomas and Mack Center.

This is a chance to get one back.  I’m anxious to see what this team is made of.  Not as much as Mick Cronin is, though:

“We can’t be f***** p****** in this game.  We can’t be f***** stupid either.  We’ve got to show these guys that we’re Cincinnati and we don’t take  sh** from anybody.”  

Well said, Mick. Tune in Monday evening to get a gage on the mass of this team’s collective sack.

Holy lord that was a frustrating mess of a game last night between Cincinnati and Memphis.  It was so bad that I bet even the Memphis fans wanted their money back after that total struggle. 

Since I’m a Bearcat fan, I will list/vent the reasons why watching that game was worse than sprinting into a McDonald’s about to explode in your pants and finding people already occupying all of the stalls.  Also, I will offer a few notes as to why this game is not the end of the world for UC. 

Why I Would Have Rather Watched a Dharma & Greg Marathon Than Watch That Game:

1)    Both Teams Missed A Million Shots…Terribly.

I don’t know if the rims at the FedEx Forum were just tighter than the little kids' shoelaces at Play It Again Sports or what, but about 90% of all the shots taken in the game were GIANT bricks.  I’m talkin’ not even close to going in.  Really really awful shooting.

2)    “Hey Bearcats, You Wanna Grab That Rebound Or… “

Cincinnati played pretty solid half-court defense in this game, limiting Memphis to 37.5% from the field and a puke-inducing 11% from downtown, but on many occasions the Bearcats gave Memphis two or three extra chances.  For whatever reason, UC fumbled about 10 or 12 rebounds out of bounds.  And every UC blocked shot or tipped pass somehow magically went right to a Memphis player.  I’m not sure I remember a game where those things happened THAT much. 

3)    Ed Hightower.  Period.

How does Ed Hightower continue to have a job as a referee?  When he refs a game, he treats it like he gets paid commission for every whistle blown.  He calls more off-the-ball fouls than anyone I’ve ever seen, and makes the correct call about 0% of the time.  He starts blowin’ that whistle every three seconds and then his partners want in on the action—so they start blowin’ away. 

Hightower, who must have purchased his hair rug from “The Obvious Store,” called a blocking foul on Cincinnati’s Mike Williams that was so vexing that I felt like I was captured by British aliens and catapulted off to Saturn.  He was standing completely still, guarding his man in the post, when his man took a hard dribble, dropped his shoulder, and crashed into Williams, who then fell to the ground. 

Hightower called a BLOCKING foul on that.  What?!  Williams got up and looked around completely dumbfounded, speechless as to how in the name of Moses that wasn’t a huge charge. 

Neither team can get into a flow when the whistle is blown on virtually every single possession.  Why would the NCAA want THAT to happen?  Oh yeah, because they’re dumb. 

And referees are dumb.  They are dumb control freaks that need to just let the game be played and only call OBVIOUS fouls.  Not ticky tacks, not “he might’ve nicked his shoulder.”  And please give it a rest already with all these “illegal” screens.  Unless a moving screen leads directly to an easy basket, who cares??  Oh my God, thanks for letting me vent on that. 

(I’m not blaming the loss on the refs, just to be clear.  I just can’t stand their antics sometimes.)

Why This Loss Isn’t the End of the World 

1)    Cincinnati stands at 10-3 heading into conference play.  When the schedule initially came out, most Bearcat fans were hoping for ten non-conference wins.  UC was only 5-7 last year in its pre-conference schedule. 
2)    Memphis was 44-2 at home in the past three seasons coming into this game.  Nobody on the selection committee will punish the Bearcats for losing at the FedEx Forum.
3)    Playing poorly in a tough non-conference road game should be a good learning experience for a young team as they head into the toughest conference of all time.
4)    UC still played pretty good defense, as has been the case in all three losses. 
5)    There are still 18 Big East games left! 


So for those of you who suffered through this game because of my recommendation, I apologize deeply.  Next up: UC at No. 25 Marquette, Sunday Jan. 4 on ESPN Full Court at 11:00 PST.

Mick Cronin and his young, wide-eyed Cincinnati Bearcats (10-2, 1-0 road) will travel to Memphis, Tennessee, to battle John Calipari and his 24th-ranked Tigers on Monday, Dec. 29 (9:00 EST, ESPN2) with nothing to lose. UC has already doubled last year’s non-conference win total and not many people think the Bearcats have a chance in this game.

Memphis (7-3, 6-1 home) lost a ton of firepower from last year’s 38-1 national runner-up squad, including point guard Derrick Rose (first pick in NBA Draft) and seniors Chris Douglas-Roberts (first-round pick) and Joey Dorsey (second-round pick). 

So basically, Calipari lost his best playmaker, his best wing scorer, and his best big man—that’s quite a task when you’re talking about replacing all that talent. 

It’s been a rocky start for the Tigers, who have already lost three times (Xavier, at Georgetown, Syracuse). 

Calipari did manage to reel in three highly touted freshman guards—but there are two problems:

1) None of the three is a point guard.

2) One of them is Tyreke Evans.

Tyreke Evans, from what I’ve seen so far, is more selfish with the basketball than Roseanne Barr is with the entire spread at Thanksgiving (you knew it was coming). He forces more shots than a slutty college chick with below average curves trying to get her groove on at the club. 

Evans, a McDonald's High School All-American, leads the team in scoring at 15.4 ppg, but is shooting just 19% from long range and averages a team-high 3.8 turnovers/game.  “Like MC Breed, I gotta get mines,” Evans said. “I know I have a chance to be a lottery pick so I’m all about the numbers baby.”

Meanwhile, Mick Cronin faces a similar situation with his Bearcats, in that he doesn’t have the luxury of a true point guard either. Before the season, speedy, sweet-shooting Cashmere Wright tore his ACL (injuries of this magnitude have happened too many times to count with this program).

Cronin expected Wright, an explosive scoring point guard from Savannah, GA, to run the show. He’ll of course be out for the season.

Cronin has assigned most of the ball-handling duties to junior Deonta Vaughn (15.1 ppg, 4.8 apg, Preseason First team All Big East). Deonta has never played point guard before; and none of the other four guards on the active roster are point guards, so at times, the turnovers can add up like the number of dependents on Sarah Palin's daughter's tax return. 

ESPN2 has scheduled the game to follow the first major Big East/Big Monday contest of the season: (9) Georgetown at (2) Connecticut.  Cincinnati has not been nationally relevant since 2004. Memphis lost all its stars from last year’s Final Four unit.  Will anybody who doesn’t live in Cincinnati or Memphis be overly concerned with this game? 

Probably not. So for those of you who need a reason to tune in, here’s one: Cincinnati’s 6'9", 270-pound freshman, Yancy Gates, thickly pictured above. 

Big men are a dying breed in college basketball. Gates is just 18 years old, so at times he can look lost. But at other times, he can throw down gigantic two-handed rim-pain or swat shots into the upper deck. He is an absolute man-child when he wants to be.

Oh, and also, this is a rivalry game that dates all the way back to the Metro Conference of the 1980s. In the 1991-92 season, Cincinnati beat Memphis FOUR times, concluding with a 31-point clowning of the Tigers in the Elite 8 on its way to the Final Four in Minneapolis.

Two years ago, Memphis smoked the Bearcats by 33. Plenty of storylines. Check it out next Monday on ESPN2 at 6:00 PST.

Payback always feels good.

Dion Dixon and the Cincinnati Bearcats (6-1, 0-0) held off the scrappy UAB Blazers, 87-80, before 6,500 fans at Fifth Third Arena Saturday. UAB (5-3, 0-0) put a hurtin’ on UC last season in Birmingham, winning by 17 points. 

Mick Cronin once again received positive contributions from all 10 Bearcats in his deep rotation. Senior forward Mike “Everything's Jelly” Williams was the high scorer with 17, thanks to 11-of-14 shooting from the foul line. Explosive sophomore Darnell Wilks came off the pine to smoothly drain two three-pointers in the first half, and UC carved out a 12-point lead at the break.

Cronin held Deonta Vaughn (13.3 ppg, 4.5 apg) and Rashad Bishop (6’6” sophomore, Newark, NJ) out of the starting lineup, later revealing that neither guard practiced well during the week. It was the first time in 66 games that Vaughn did not start.

Both Bearcats responded well to the lesson—Vaughn offered 16 points, five rebounds, and five assists to the box score, while Bishop led the team in rebounds with eight. 

The Blazers, led by senior Robert Vaden’s 23 points, attempted to get back in the game in the second half—cutting the UC lead to six on a Vaden triple with 15:09 to play. Vaughn then answered with back-to-back buckets as the Bearcats eventually built a nineteen-point bulge, capped by a buttery Mike Williams J with 4:45 to play. 

The young, much-improved Bearcats shot 50 percent from the floor and out-rebounded UAB by fifteen. However, UC committed 16 turnovers to only 14 assists, which Cronin attributed to UAB’s pressure and the Bearcats’ lack of a true point guard. 

The 6-1 Bearcats now have a week off to prepare for the Crosstown Shootout battle with 14th-ranked Xavier (a.k.a. “God’s Team”) next Saturday (8:00 EST, ESPN2).

Cronin is 1-1 vs. the Musketeers in his short tenure at Cincinnati. The game will be played in Fifth Third Arena (the home team has won the last five games in this rivalry).

Mick Cronin and his athletic 10-man UC basketball squad flew back to the friendly confines of Cincinnati on a high note Sunday.

Faced with its two toughest challenges of the early season, matchups with Florida State and UNLV in the Global Sports Classic in Las Vegas, UC did what it needed to do, while gaining priceless experience.

In game one on Friday night, the Cats suffered the campaign's first loss, a 58-47 grinder to the Seminoles. The 11-point deficit makes this game look like Florida State dominated Cincinnati.

But, let's look inside the box score.

First, Rashad Bishop and the Bearcats still played phenomenal defense. FSU, who would go on to win the finale on Saturday night, shot just 38 percent from the floor while coughing up 18 turnovers. Most nights, those numbers will equal a solid win for UC. Unfortunately, Deonta Vaughn (two assists, six turnovers) and the Bearcats played even worse on the offensive end.

As any knowledgeable fan knows, all teams struggle offensively at some point in the early part of the season, especially young, inexperienced teams. Cincinnati has one three-year player on scholarship, while the other nine Bearcats in the rotation can only boast one varsity letter at best.

The great sign from this setback was the defensive effort. As Cronin has stressed since day one, defense must be a constant, so that when the team has an off-night shooting the basketball, it will still be in the game.

In the early game that night, tournament host UNLV was shut down by Mike Montgomery's Cal Bears, setting up the matchup Bearcat fans had wanted anyway—UC vs. UNLV.

UNLV had won 19 straight games at the Thomas & Mack Center before falling to California. Cronin knew that handing the Runnin' Rebels their second straight loss on their home floor would be a daunting task.

The game started out as a continuation of the FSU game, with the Bearcats falling behind 7-0 right off the bat. This is the point where Cronin displayed his coaching ability.

In the previous night's loss, 6'9" freshman Yancy Gates had turned in a poor performance: three points, four rebounds, and four fouls in 19 minutes. Cronin opted to start sophomore seven-footer Biggie McClain in an attempt to wake Gates up.

It worked because Gates entered the game as a man possessed. He immediately threw down a monstrous dunk, grabbed a defensive rebound, and then scored again. Gates would finish with 16 points and seven boards in that same 19 minutes, including several big buckets down the stretch.

The game was back and forth all night, as UNLV pulled ahead late in the first half to grab a 31-27 lead at the break. 6'3" freshman Dion Dixon kept the Bearcats in the ballgame, draining three three-pointers, while starting shooting guard Larry Davis struggled (0-for-10 from the field).

Late in the second half, the Bearcats found themselves down by two coming out of the under four minute media timeout. Sophomore Alvin Mitchell, the team's second leading scorer, creamed back-to-back three-pointers, and then PF Mike Williams scored on the baseline to give UC a six-point lead with under three minutes to play.

The lead would hold up, thanks in large part to two gigantic free throws by Williams with 11 seconds to play and the Bearcats clinging to a one-point lead.

So, as the Cincinnati Bearcats now enter a two-game stretch against two long-time nemeses, UAB and Xavier, Cronin and his crew can go forward with a little extra confidence and experience. UC is shooting for at least a 10-3 non-conference record, and splitting the two games in Vegas was step one to making that happen.

Stay tuned for more Bearcat excitement.

For the Cincinnati Bearcats, nothing ever comes easy.

Ever since the forced departure of Bob Huggins (courtesy of she-who-shall-not-be-named), the Bearcats have faced incredible amounts of adversity. Injuries, decommits, transfers—clearly, Cincinnati has been in rebuilding mode for a couple years.

But the 'Cats keep clawing back. Under new head coach Mick Cronin, two Big East wins in 2006-07 turned into eight only one year later. This season, the third-year coach may have his best team yet.

Junior guard Deonta Vaughn, a 2007-08 first team All-Big East selection, will be aided in the backcourt by freshman Dion Dixon and sophomore Larry Davis. The frontcourt will feature five sophomores, providing much-needed depth for this young team. Senior Mike Williams and the eagerly anticipated arrival of local prep star Yancy Gates, from Withrow High School, will be expected to produce in the paint for UC.

Junior forward transfers Nick Aldridge and Steve Toyloy also hope to improve the scoring woes for the Bearcats this season. Toyloy is a 255-pound semi-truck that will plug the middle, while Aldridge is a legitimate scoring threat from Western Carolina University.

Despite a devastating season-ending injury to highly-touted freshman Cashmere Wright, the Bearcats are looking to improve on last season's turnaround and even make a push for the NCAA tournament.

However, their schedule seems to think otherwise.

Aside from the raucous Big East, UC will have a pretty tough non-conference schedule.  Naturally, the Bearcats are going to have to take full advantage of their non-conference schedule and build up quality wins where they can. Among these key non-conference games are Florida State, No. 13 Memphis, and, of course, Xavier (another team creeping around the top 25).

And then, well...things get a tad bit tougher.

Welcome to the Big East, folks. This conference has turned into the equivalent of SEC football: Seven teams in the AP's preseason top 25, four in the top 10, and three—three—in the top five. Of course, you have to take preseason rankings with a grain of salt. But, regardless, this conference will be the strongest in the nation from November to April.

Connecticut. Louisville. Marquette. Pittsburgh. I'm getting lightheaded. Notre Dame. Villanova. Georgetown. I need to lay down.

This conference is a marathon, from start to finish. The key for the 'Cats to stay competitive is the consistent play of Deonta Vaughn and nightly contributions from their bench.

So before I pass out from dizziness, here is a look at five key games the Bearcats have that will determine their season.

Xavier, Dec. 13

Never underestimate the rivalry game. Xavier could be ranked by this point, or have three losses. It doesn't matter. Win this game, and the team's confidence is through the roof heading into Memphis only two weeks later.

XU's Derrick Brown is on the Wooden Top 50 to watch list, and is returning experience from an Elite 8 team a year ago. UC forward Mike Williams must body up Brown and play physical, and must win the battle on the boards for UC to stay in the game

at Memphis, December 29

The Tigers are ranked No. 13 in the preseason, and although without last year's stud Derrick Rose, Coach Calipari always has his boys ready. Guard Antonio Anderson and forward Robert Dozier are two senior leaders that will pose a big challenge to Deonta Vaughn and freshman Yancy Gates, respectively.

at Marquette, Jan. 4

The 'Cats kick off the new year and conference play with a difficult road test in Milwaukee. UC could create serious momentum with a road upset win, because three straight home games follow this one. Of course, all eyes will be on the delicious matchup of guards Dominic James and Deonta Vaughn, two of the Big East's best guards.

Jan. 17, 19, and 22

The Bearcats have three road conference games against DePaul, Providence, and St. John's—all three being winnable matchups. A 3-0 road trip would gain considerable momentum preceding a six-day layoff.

Louisville, Feb. 21

Nothing needs to be said about this rivalry, but I'll say it anyway. This is always a must win, especially this late in the season. Last season's upset victory at Freedom Hall left a bad taste in the Cardinals' mouths, and they will come out on fire. As we saw last year, as point guard Edgar Sosa goes, so go the Birds. Shut him down and the 'Cats have a great chance in this game.

It's been said once, it'll be said a million times this basketball season, the Big East conference is the greatest collection of teams ever.

It's a fact because when looking at the top nine teams, there are nine NCAA Tournament teams. Notre Dame, UCONN, Louisville, and Pitt will be in the preseason top ten while Villanova and Marquette will float around in the top 20 and Georgetown, Syracuse, and West Virginia are top 30 teams.

But that's only nine teams. What about the other seven?

Four of the remaining seven teams are in a position to take a giant step forward, but the gaggle of powerful teams at the top of the conference could prevent these teams from moving forward.

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Providence is the poster boy for constant conference whippings. The Friars are the only one of the original Big East teams to never win the regular season conference title. For the first time in a long time, PC finally has the players to compete for a conference championship. 

Now it may seem like a pretty bold statement, but in a normal year, PC would probably rank fourth or fifth in the conference which means saying they are a conference contender a legitimate statement.

But in 2009, this solid collection of players will at best get the Friars a seventh place finish in the Big East. In essentially any other conference, PC would be projected to finish third or fourth, but not in the Big East. They are projected to finish 10th.

But being 10th in the Big East in 2009 might actually be good enough to go to an NCAA Tournament. Providence should turn itself around from its 15-16 record a year ago to win over 20 games. They won despite not having their best guard Sharaud Curry who sat out all but one game due to injury.

PC returns all but one player. That's four players who averaged double-digit points. That's seven players who played at least ten minutes per game. That's a team loaded with five seniors, two juniors, and three sophomores.

It's a team with a phenomenal coach. Mid-rate coach Tim Walsh was fired after ten so-so seasons in favor of Drake's savior Keno Davis. The new PC coach should be able to work the same magic he did with Drake which was also a very deep, experienced team.

Providence is going to beat a lot of tough teams in 2009, so don't be surprised when the Friars hear their name called on Selection Sunday.

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Rutgers has finally dipped into the good New York and New Jersey talent. Somehow, someway, the Scarlet Knights brought in two stellar freshmen that will eventually be stars in the Big East. With the strength of the conference, having two future stars says a lot.

Guard Mike Rosario of Jersey City, New Jersey committed to RU despite its 11-20 season and just three conference wins. Rosario is considered one of the premiere freshman guards in the country and a McDonald's All-American.

Now enter in Gregory Echenique, a top-notch forward/center combo who will eventually be able to bang inside with the Big East's top big men. Where's he from? St. Benedict's Prep, another New Jersey school.

Coach Fred Hill needs to build off those two players and continue to reel in the top prospects from the New York City area. Both Rosario and Echenique come from two of the most impressive prep schools in the country and could become the piece of the pipeline that will consistently send very talented players to Rutgers.

Hill has a great location to work with and probably the toughest place to play in the Big East, the RAC. No matter how bad Rutgers is, almost every year some top tier team (some years multiple teams) come into the RAC and leave with a stunning defeat.

Last season, Villanova and Pittsburgh (who was actually at home) went down with head-scratching losses.

Rosario and Echenique will also have talent around them in their first year with the team.

Then freshmen, Corey Chandler and Mike Coburn gained valuable experience throughout Big East play combining for 52 minutes and 20 points per game.

Rutgers also has solid upper-classmen leadership. Seniors JR Inman and Anthony Farmer will play major roles in mentoring the young players and the leading RU in an upset or two in 2009. Junior Hamady Ndiaye will serve as Echenique's tutor as a tough, shot blocking, defensive center.

Once again, it goes back to how Rutgers would fare in a normal conference. Maybe in a PAC-10 or an SEC, two conferences that will struggle this season, could the Scarlet Knights finish in the middle of the pack.

But with a ridiculous group of teams in the Big East, Rutgers is looking at a finish no better than 12th.

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Cincinnati used to fall under the same category as a Memphis or a Gonzaga. They were a mid-major powerhouse. Now they are a BCS laughing-stock.

The transition from Conference USA basketball to Big East basketball has come with some major lumps. The switching of conference came at a bad point in Cincinnati's program.

Current coach Mick Cronin has only been around for two years, and a pretty bad two years at that. The Bearcats have fallen to the depths of mediocrity, but are on the way back up.

In Cronin's first year, Cincinnati won just two games in the Big East; last season, they won eight games. Vast improvement, but still not good enough for the standards of Bearcats fans.

Despite losing stud guard Devan Downey who transferred to South Carolina, Cronin has quickly reassembled the Bearcat roster into a group of players who can win.

Nobody knows who Deonta Vaughn is, but the junior is probably the most dominant player in the Big East. No single player in the Big East with the exception of maybe Luke Harangody takes over more games and single handily wins them. Vaughn averaged 17.3 points per game for a team that couldn't score to save its life.

Vaughn won't receive much help from the remaining returning Bearcats, but it's the incoming JUCO transfers, Division I transfers, and freshmen that will bring new life to the 'Nati basketball team.

Junior Nick Aldridge only averaged 18 points per game for West Carolina two seasons ago. Not too shabby eh? (Ed. Thanks to Jux for pointing out Aldridge recently didn't qualify academically for UC)

Senior Mike Williams enters the Bearcats from the University of Texas and will help provide depth in the frontcourt.

Freshman guard Cashmere Wright and forward Yancy Gates are two of the most over-looked freshmen in the Big East. Wright will prove to be a perfect compliment to Deonta Vaughn because of Wright's ability to drive and finish or drive and pitch.

Yancy Gates is the highest profile prospect to come out of the actual city of Cincinnati in years. Keeping him in town is the biggest success of the short Mick Cronin era.

So where does this leave Cincinnati?

Despite the collection of impressive players, the Bearcats will still be left in the dust wondering how will they catch up to the rest of the top tier Big East teams.

UC will surely regress in the win column from the 2008, but will most likely still improve as a team. A finish higher than tenth in the conference would be shocking.

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The St. John's name used to carry a lot of prestige, and to basketball traditionalists, it still does, but to those new to the game in the 21st Century, Red Storm basketball is a joke.

Mike Jarvis sent this team spiraling downwards in a hurry. Now Norm Roberts has been left to try to pick up the pieces.

It would seem like a school that plays in the Big East conference, that has a rich history, plays in New York City, and plays home games in the most recognizable arena in the world, Madison Square Garden, shouldn't have trouble attracting players.

But a string of poor recruiting classes, busts, and injuries have left St. John's wondering when they'll ever get back to the promise land.

While the current recruiting class is a solid class, it lacks a major superstar that can help Norm Roberts re-brand the program. He needs to be able to keep the best players from New York City in New York City in order to make the Johnnies consistent winners.

The emergence of numerous Big East powerhouses as well as strong Mid-Atlantic and Northeast mid-majors has made it very difficult for St. John's to hand pick the best players from the great New York City area.

What Roberts does have working for him is a core group of players that consists of seven sophomores and one stand-out senior.

Anthony Mason Jr. has struggled through injuries, but if healthy should be primed to make his final year as a Johnnie a memorable one. Mason Jr. played in only 22 games last year, but made a significant impact as the team's leading scorer at 14 points per game.

In 2008, the Red Storm will be fighting it out with South Florida to stay out of the conference's cellar.

It’s not very often that a team who finishes its season on a six-game losing streak is considered to be moving in the right direction. 

But, ask just about any Big East coach, and you’ll hear that Mick Cronin has turned around the Cincinnati program from abysmal to competitive in just two seasons.

Last season, Cronin’s first at his “dream job,” with a makeshift last-second roster, the Bearcats finished dead last in the Big East.  This season, playing virtually the same players, UC moved up six spots, while quadrupling last season’s conference win total. 

While some Bearcat fans are impatient with Cronin’s progress, any expert or coach will tell you that he has done a remarkable job, given the situation. 

This season was a success.  The goal was to make it to Madison Square Garden to play in the Big East tournament.  That was accomplished.  Not only that, but a leader has emerged—6’1” guard Deonta Vaughn, a unanimous first team All Big East selection.  The best part?  Vaughn is just a sophomore.

Before UC ran out of gas down the stretch, Cronin had the scrappy never-say-die Cats sitting in sixth place in the Big East, and, unbelievably, there was talk of post-season play.  How did he do it?? 

His best big man, former McDonald’s All-American Mike Williams, was lost for the season with an Achilles tear before practice even started.  His top ranked recruit, 6’7” guard Jason Henry, didn’t qualify academically. 

The rest of the roster?  Deonta Vaughn, five JuCo’s who frankly would struggle to crack the starting line-up at most mid-major schools, and a stable of unheralded freshmen. 

Pretty incredible that this team won any Big East games!

As for the future, it looks promising.  Already committed for next season: 6’9” man-child Yancy Gates, Ohio’s Division I Player of the Year; lightning-quick prolific-scoring point guard Cashmere Wright from Savannah, GA (ranked among the Top 15 at his position by most publications); and Dion “D Double” Dixon, the best guard in the Chicago Public League.

Not to mention the return of Mike Williams, a 6’8” beast in the low post, and the transfer of Nick Aldridge from Western Carolina—where all he did was average 19 ppg his freshman season. 

And Mick may have one or two more recruits on the way. 

Finally, three freshmen, Rashad Bishop, Larry Davis, and Anthony “Biggie” McClain, received minutes and all showed flashes of solid potential. 

Rebuilding is a gradual process.  Cronin, the workaholic Cincinnati kid, is doing a phenomenal job.  I can’t wait for next season.

During a matchup against the school he took to the Final Four—the first since being forced out in 2005—Bob Huggins, wearing a mustard colored suit and matching shoes, witnessed a game like none he has coached.

Mick Cronin’s Bearcats, who just suffered two losses by a combined four points, came right out and punched Huggins' “not tough enough” Mountaineers in the face.

Led by the team’s only double figure scorer, sophomore guard/fullback Deonta Vaughn, Cincinnati (10-11, 5-4) jumped out to a 21-7 lead and never looked back.

Two stats from Wednesday’s game in Morgantown leap out and slap you in the face.  First, West Virginia (15-6, 4-4) shot 10-50 from the floor. The 20 percent field goal shooting is the worst performance in school history.

Ten field goals. For an entire game...Yikes.

The other statistic that will shock the hell out of you—especially if you’re at all familiar with Bob Huggins’ coaching style—the Bearcats snatched 21 more rebounds than the Mountaineers.

Twenty-one more. The ESPN box score gives UC a 15-rebound advantage, but no matter what, that is seriously alarming. It was alarming to Huggins especially.

“It was like men playing against boys out there,” he said.

The final result was an embarrassing 62-39 beat down for the rattled Mountaineers, suffered in their home arena.

This is the same arena in which West Virginia had won 15 straight games before a controversial one-point loss to No. 6 Georgetown over the weekend.

For Cincinnati, it was another benchmark victory in what has become an astonishingly entertaining season.

For Cronin, it was another road win against another mentor. UC upset Rick Pitino and Louisville 58-57 on New Year’s Day. (Strangely enough, those are Cronin's only two Big East road victories since taking over at Cincinnati.)

Halfway through the Big East slate, the Bearcats are tied for the second most wins in conference play. Amazing, if not stunning, for a team that finished dead last at 2-14 last season.

To add to Cronin’s impressive accomplishments—and most Big East coaches say he is the current front-runner for Big East Coach of the Year—consider this:

1) Every team in the Big East, besides St. John’s and Cincinnati, has at least three players averaging double figures. St John’s has two, and is in dead last. UC only has ONE and is a half game out of third!

2) The Bearcats have been without the services of former McDonald’s All-American forward Mike Williams, who suffered a season-ending Achilles injury during preseason conditioning. Cronin calls him his best player.

3) Nobody on the current roster has been in the program for more than two years.

I think it’s safe to say Cronin has this program headed in the right direction. It should be interesting down the stretch, as UC will play five of the bottom six teams in the league (four at home).

Will Cronin shock the world and lead Cincinnati to the postseason?

Stay tuned.