There are a lot of questions surround the state of Cincinnati basketball right now. So much so, that I decided that it’s the perfect time to have a questions and answer session with myself. It’s not me asking me questions, it’s actual people from twitter! Who would have believed it? No one, that’s who. Actually, someone would have probably believed it. After all, this is the most popular Cincinnati blog according to my mom. And your mom. She was my Valentine. What up. Let’s get to some of your questions.
At this point, Yancy’s attitude is Yancy’s problem. What more can the coaching staff do to get him to see the light? @Chuges
Great question Chuges. I don’t really know how the coaching staff can get him to see the light. Let’s say that you work at an office with 13 people. One of them is great salesman. Your office is doing great and everyone is happy. Things start slipping, and the star salesman starts sulking and bitching at the management. During the month your company never has good sales, the salesman gets suspended. The company needs him back, so they bring him back, even though nothing changed. There comes a big sales expo, and the manager keeps the salesman away from the prospective buyers because of his attitude. How do you fix him? You would think fire him, but the management can’t because he can bring in the sales. They need him to keep the office afloat. They know they can’t use him because he’s being an asshole and blowing sales when he’s on calls. If you are like me, your mind wonders why he didn’t stay suspended until he got the message. Why would you bring someone off suspension if the point wasn’t proven? Because you are desperate. Yancy Gates knows that the Bearcats need him, but since he’s not getting what he wants, he’s pouting like a baby. He can’t just be kicked off the team. That makes Mick Cronin look like an idiot for bringing him back. They can’t suspend him again. That makes Mick Cronin look like an idiot for bringing him back. They can not play him, but what’s the point of that? Why not keep him suspended if you aren’t going to play him? Why have him and his position on the bench be a distraction every game?
Short answer, pray. A lot.
Thoughts on Bearcats fans booing Yancy. How will it affect him? Any chance he just quits after that. @ervinsm
Thanks for the question Stephen. His background picture is of the Wire. Normally I’m against the booing of college athletes. They aren’t paid, they willingly came to your university, they have a lot to deal with, and many of them are teenagers and guys in their early 20s. They are trying hard, and booing them seems kinda mean. In the case of Gates, I dunno. I mean, we know he’s not playing hard and being a jerk. But, he’s immature and has a lot to learn in his life. I don’t think booing him is the answer. It could turn him into someone with a him against the fans mentality, and that’s a lose lose. The point of going to games is to support your team. Instead of booing, I suggest icy silence. Being loved and being hated is one thing, but having people just not care is another. You could look at it like maybe Gates notices that everyone is down on him and he’s the problem, and will turn things around. Or, he will think fuck the fans, fuck the coach, I don’t need this, I’m outta here. It’s a line that should be treaded lightly upon.
I think Mick needs to reach out to Calipari. Maybe he can learn how Cal dealt with Cousins and that will help with Gates. @theotherjfk
Interesting idea JFK. First time I’ve ever said that. Anything is worth a shot really. Cousins has proven to be a giant headcase in Sacramento, to the point he was recently suspended. Last season, he was a headcase, but the only thing he did acting out was elbow Jared Swopshire in the face. Cal has coached a whole lot of primadonas in his day, so he would know what to do when a problem came up. But, I believe Mick was here when Reuben Patterson was here, and that dude is crazy. Worth a shot. And that wasn’t a question. Jerk.
The following questions are from @ssmag13. Take it away Aaron.
I know it’s frustrating to watch this team play sometimes but isn’t it too early to give up like so many have?
I touched on this some in the game recap. I thought the team had to go 3-1 in the 4 game segment of @DePaul, St John’s, Louisville, @Providence. So far, they won and lost. The possibility for 3-1 still exists. I think a lot of the negativity around the program has arisen for 3 reasons.
1, #34.
2, the here we go again with the recent history of late season Big East collapses.
3, people weren’t really sold on the team, and now that they are struggling, there are lots of “I told you so” people ragging on them.
It is too early to give up on the team in my opinion.
Say UC wins the next two, what then do they have to do in their remaining games to get in? Interested to see what you think.
They can win the next two. Georgetown and UConn visit Cincinnati. Marquette is a little worse than Marquette teams of the past. The only game I think they have no chance in hell is at Georgetown. I asked Andy Glockner of SI if going 3-3 down the stretch with wins against Louisville, Providence and Marquette would get UC in and he said “Gut says that’s not enough” You definitely need to follow him on twitter if you aren’t. Yesterday hurt a lot. That was a big RPI win that UC let go. It was a sweep over another bubble team. It was a game they should have won. The Bearcats still have the BET remaining after this as well. UC has 5 big steaks on the table. It’s time to eat.
That question made me think of this. When the schedule came out, I’m pretty sure every single UC fan was worried about this happening. I pessimistically picked 1 non-conference loss, 2 max. That kind of piss poor scheduling was, and is, dragging down the whole profile. Not to mention it unfair brings up the paper tigers argument. The UC administration took no chances with the schedule this season. It was stupid back when they did it, and it’s incredibly stupid now. Even if Dayton was good, that’s only 2 non-conference wins that would have any luster. It’s another poor decision by Mick and the administration in a season that’s turned into many poor decisions (see question 1).
Say we miss the tourney yet again this year, is it definitely time for cronin to go? Even with the upcoming class
That’s a tough one. If UC loses to Louisville, Georgetown twice, UConn and Marquette and completely flame out, I think so. He lost control of the team at the end of last season, with Bishop being suspended. He lost the star player of the team in the middle of the most important part of the season. It’s 4 suspensions in 5 years. It’s another year of late season collapses. It would all start to add up. I’m a Mick supporter. I think he can coach. But, his teams don’t get better as the season advances. He’s done a great job getting UC back to the point where they are in NCAA discussions. But, I don’t know if he’s the coach to get it to the next level. I don’t think he’s the Brian Kelly if you will. Hope I’m wrong.
When is the last time a team on the NCAA bubble played the last 5 mins of a tight game w/out its 2 leading scorers? No Dixon? @NatiBuck
That’s a great question. The answer is probably some team that had it’s stars injured. I can’t think of who that team is off the top of my head. I don’t really know why Dion Dixon doesn’t play the last 10 minutes of games. I posted on twitter earlier that Dion, my best friend, has taken 28 free throws this calender year, compared to 43 in December alone. Someone else commented back saying he doesn’t play enough, and that his recent jump shooting binge is on the coaching staff. I don’t agree with the last part. I think making him the back up point guard has changed his menality a lot. He doesn’t drive as the PG. I can see why he doesn’t play if he settles for jump shots though. Larry Davis is a better shooter, and a better defender. If someone is going to put up jumpers, might as well be him. But, Dixon is more of a scorer than Davis is. Dixon can do things with the ball. I would like to see him at least come in a play a couple of minutes. The stats say UC plays better with Dixon on the floor than Davis. The are both about equal in offensive rating. Dixon is better in the Roland ranking. I don’t know. Dixon should play more down the stretch. Period. Case closed. Next.
Cronin: “They dont play hard on D, they dont follow scouting report, they play undisciplined.” Shouldnt Cronin teach this?
That’s also from Natibuck. It’s easy to say yes, he should teach that. But, the coach can’t play. He can’t get on the floor and make the passes, or block the shots, or draw the charge. It’s his job to get the people who will and get them in the position to maximize their talents. Obviously, the Bearcats are not maximizing their talents if they are playing undisciplined. That’s on players. I would split this one 70/30 on the players fault scale. A third from Nati.
Unreal how just 1 month ago this team was carried by Yancy and now he’s apparently the cancer of the team. Maybe it’s Cronin?
I feel like I’ve touched on this a little bit already. It’s weird how, on January 6, Yancy Gates was the toast of the town. On February 5, he’s suspended from the team. There are a lot of things under the surface that we might never heard about. What can you do besides wonder what the hell went wrong?
I had a couple of other questions that weren’t related to this season.
My friend Ed asked who the greatest UC basketball player of all time was. That’s easy to say Oscar since he is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Since I haven’t seen anything but highlights of the Big O, I’ll vote for a more recent Bearcat. Jihad Muhammad. I’m kidding, it’s Kenyon Martin. I even created a Kenyon Martin gif. 
GIFSoup
It makes me laugh. I created a few more. I’ll break them out over time.
Finally, we have a football question. The ACC released their schedules today, and one notable thing was the the Bearcats return game with NC State is set for September 22, at 8 pm on ESPN. That’s a Thursday night affair. Looking forward to it. That brought this question.
Anymore Football dates announced? I know UT is on 9/10/11. @MRNelson2
According to FBSchedules, it’s as followed
9-3 v Austin Peay
9-10 @ Tennessee
9-17 v. Akron
9-22 v. NC State
10-1 @ Miami (OH)
The 2012 has Ohio State and Virginia Tech on it, both road games. Although the Va. Tech game is at the Redskins Stadium I believe.
There you go folks. Thanks to everyone for their great questions. I hope I answered them well. I also hope that more of you send in questions so that we can do this again. Thanks a bunch.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
