Open letter to Mick Cronin

Hey there, what’s goin’ on? I liked the tie you wore in the Louisville game. I am a fan of yours. Thought you did a good job at Murray State. I wanted you to get the job when it was clear Andy Kennedy wasn’t coming back. I was, and am, fully willing to give you the benefit of the doubt because you wanted to come back to Cincinnati and be the man to get us back to the top. You have gotten some good recruits to come to Cincinnati, like Cashmere Wright, Yancy Gates, Lance Stephenson, and Deonta Vaughn. You got a high profile transfer, Ibrahima Thomas. You have the team in contention for an NCAA tournament bid. You have brought expectations back to Cincinnati basketball. For that, I thank you. Despite what some Cincinnati ‘fans’ have said, you absolutely deserve more time to build the program. I mean, hello idiots, we’re in the mix for Marquis Teague. Our team is comprised of freshmen, Stephenson, Wright, Parker, sophomores, Gates, Dion Dixon, a transfer who has played like 5 years of basketball, Thomas, a Juco, Toyloy and couple of juniors, Bishop, Davis, Wilks, and Vaughn. I’m baffled that UC fans, who didn’t give a shit at the start of the year, are rooting for the team to tank so you get fired. Look at the big picture people. I bet half of them can’t name a player besides Vaughn who played on UC Mick’s first year. With my support clearly on your side, I do have a problem with something that you have said.

After the disappointing South Florida let down, you said “They had to win.” On the surface, that’s not so bad. Plenty of coaches say that after games. The problem is, that you have said that after the UAB, Seton Hall, St John’s, Louisville, Notre Dame, and now USF losses. UC no showed UAB, Notre Dame, and despite what you say, USF. UC had 33 points with 6 minutes left, and 4 assists, not a whole lot of caring. Louisville, and Seton Hall had UC build up early leads, then get dominated to close the first half, and beat in the second. The St John’s game was the only different loss, because UC had no idea how to execute down the stretch. What I’m getting at, is when is our time to win? Was it the 17 point beatdown against Syrcause? Is it Sunday against Marquette? Was it UConn? UC is 15-10, and now 6-7 in the Big East. The time for winning has to be soon. At some point, the effort on the road has to change. UC goes to West Virginia and Georgetown to close the year, and I’d rather not be embarrassed again.

More importantly, UC plays Marquette Sunday. Last season, Marquette beat UC 800-50 if I remember correctly. It’s become the most important game of the season, regardless of what Marquette does tonight at Pittsburgh. Cincinnati could go from playing for their NCAA tournament lives, to playing for their CBI lives due to this game. You have to get the guys to play a complete game. We’ve played 3/4s a complete game this month, and that’s not good enough. Your teams have faded every year you’ve been here, and this is the year that you need to right the ship. You need to come up with some offensive gameplan that allows UC to not stand around and watch Wright, Stephenson, and Wright dribble for 25 seconds, and allows UC too look like they’ve played half court offense in their lives. I’m not asking for a ton here Mick. I’m just asking that you,

1. Have the team play hard a full 40 minutes against Marquette and for the rest of the season.
2. Implement an offense in the 4 days of practice the team has had since South Florida.
3. Get the team to pass the ball to each other.
4. Not say that the other team needed it more if we lose again this season

None of that should be too hard to do, besides the passing. You can’t play the games, but you set the attitude for the team. It’s on you now Mick, let’s get the job done.

Sincerely,
Scott
Bearcats Blog