So, after viewing all of the episodes of "The Season", I figured I'd
share a few observations.

The thing that's bothering me most in the context of this season is
Armein and how he came off on the show. From the car he drives to his
quote tonight I am worried about him more than just a little bit. On
the show tonight, the players were talking about the Randy Moss
mooning incident, and Armein basically said that he thought it was
misunderstood, and that Randy Moss is misunderstood. He then said he
was the Randy Moss of college basketball and told the camera crew to
make sure and use that.

That worries me. While I agree the Moss thing was way overblown, who
does Armein feel is misunderstanding him? In what is he caught up? One
of the things I feel is irreplaceable about Huggs is the mentor/father
aspect of him. How he takes kids, no matter how solid or weak their
upbringing, and does everything in his power to turn them into
positive men. I always felt Armein had a much more solid base, family,
upbringing, then a lot of former (and perhaps current) Bearcats who
had it a lot more rough. It really surprises and worries me that, as a
junior especially, he is obviously not above the fray of worrying
about silly things and not ready to fully focus on his craft. He's the
guy on the team I think, more than any, could be a top 15 NBA pick,
but he's not there as a person and seems to be making only small hunks
of progress and not chunks. It shows in his often obvious stat and
minute counting, it shows in his seeming lack of desire to board, and
it shows in Huggs open criticism of those very aspects of his game. I
want Armein to dominate for the good of himself, and for the good of
the team, and it seems the mental aspects of his game are way behind
the physical ones. That is a tale that is fairly consistent with many
a young player, it's just a shame to see it with a kid who seems to be
starting from such a strong physical and emotional base.

On the other hand we have J-Max, a credit to all the wonderful women
in his life. He seems so polite and mild-mannered, he's just become
impossible not to root for. Do I wish he was more consistent? Yes. Do
I wish he was less selfish? Sure. Do I wish he had Jermaine Tate, Art
Long, or Jamal Davis to take some pressure off him? Hell yeah. I used
to wonder why he tries to dunk every time he gets to the rack,
sometimes at the expense of a guaranteed two points ala Danny Fortson.
I am beginning to realize he does it because it's fun, it's the role
he plays, it's a big part of what basketball is to him. I love seeing
the increased production from him over the last few weeks, I love
seeing him top the 20 point plateau, and I hope he plays more games
like tonight where he goes to the rack and not to the turnaround J.

How about Eric Hicks on The Season? Man, you have to love a guy like
that. Whether or not he turned it up a notch with the cameras around,
he just seems like a great guy to be around. How great was it to hear
him lamenting the stupid graduation rates tonight, or to see him so
accepting of a polar-opposite white walk on from suburbia like Ryan
Patzwald? I was already a fan of Eric's due to his dominance in the
post and warrior mentality, now, I think I'd be comfortable using him
as "the" representative of the basketball program and the University.
I am not sure I would've said that two years ago, but whatever
attitude problem he might have had seems like a complete afterthought
now, and he seems like an incredibly positive guy. We are going to
miss Max next year, but we're in good hands.

I loved the snippets of the other guys too, especially Jihad. I think
his faith gives him excellent guidance and strength, and he seems like
a very mature, intelligent kid. Have his assist numbers increased with
the debut of The Season, or is it just me? He obviously has to fight
the influence of some of the fans, and people like his brother, who
seem to feel it unfortunate he has had to sacrifice to get his
teammates involved, but I loved, LOVED, his comments after the
Louisville loss. He wasn't as morose as Nick seemed or as cavalier as
Meeker, he just seemed hurt and determined. I like that. Jihad just
needs to adjust mentally to the big games, and he'll be one heck of a
player by the end of the season. "The Season" showed me he's
emotionally strong and smart enough to make that progress.

I can't see how a show like this does anything but reek of the
positives of the program. Sure, the show was edited, but it didn't
really have a voice. Having not seen the show before, I loved that
there is no narration, and that things are just allowed to unfold as
they are happening. It truly was unbiased in that way, and I don't see
how anyone can take a long, hard, unbiased view at the Bearcats and
not come away with a positive viewpoint. Yes, I would've liked there
to be more of a focus on class. Yes, I would've liked to have seen
Jamal Lucas' academic accomplishments highlighted a little more. No, I
don't think it hurt not to have any of that. The end of the second
episode with the team "Our Father", the words from someone like
Kenyon, the good time the guys on the team all have, and the support
of Coach Huggins are all things on which I'd hang my hat as a Bearcat
fan during even the darkest of times for the basketball program. I
thought I was as fanatical of a Bearcat fan as I could be before The
Season. I'd bought the merchandise, the season tickets, gone to
Midnight Madnesses, Saturday Scrimages, Summer Leagues, Conference
Tournaments, and Road Games. I'd bought the books, from Huggs to
Oscar's, from Mike Perry's to Meacham's, and devoured every tidbit I
could find. I'd taped years and years of games. Yeah, I didn't think
my love for the program could get any deeper, but I think, with
watching "The Season", that it has. Thank to Brian Teter and everyone
involved for making it happen. I assure you, it was worth it.

Antonio Mazzaro