Re: Depth+Tough Schedule=Deep NCAA Run

[richard l. kandell]

1.    Let's hold off falling all over ourselves about Moore (& Hicks whose
good game was a little lost in the accolades afforded Moore) for a moment -
as cities go it was Chattanooga, not Louisville or Charlotte or St. Louis
(much less Marquette).

2.    My heavens - conference play hasn't even started and we're already
worrying about who's getting playing time next year?  :-)

3.    As to this year - we still really don't have a "5" - and this may
cause some problems down the road against teams who do.  Lebo was saying we
were too big and strong inside - that isn't going to happen against most of
the teams we play the rest of the year.  And . . .

4.    Huggins said this could be his worst shooting team - e.g., Bobbitt
never shoots the ball the same twice in a row.  And . . .

5.    Our rebounding, especially against bigger, stronger teams, is somewhat
suspect.  But . . .

5.    We're expecting a run to the Elite 8 -

6.    Not to be a pessimist, but can we hold off a second and see how the
next couple of weeks go?  If we start the conference 5-0, including a win
over ECU at their place, maybe we can defend that which is rightfully ours -
the C-USA title - and we can start to think about how deep a run we can make
in the tournament.

Richard K.

And I perhaps we can wait until after the tournament is completed before
worrying about who is going to constitute the starting lineup in November,
2003.  :-)



----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Sorge" <address@hidden>
To: <address@hidden>
Sent: Friday, January 03, 2003 11:56 AM
Subject: Re: [UC Basketball] Depth+Tough Schedule=Deep NCAA Run


> I will be happy if this team makes the NCAA tourney.  I think the only way
> this happens, is if Huggins starts playing Max and Hicks more together.
> Max, although not as tall as a traditional center, is only 1-2 inches
> shorter then the starting centers on this team, but with his wing span,
and
> vertical leap, he plays much larger.  Hicks can complement him nicely at
the
> 4.
>
> My main concern is about next season.  We are going to be way overloaded
in
> the frontcourt.  Whaley, White, Pilgrim, Hicks, Max, Flowers, Hollman, and
> Johnson.  You figure Whaley, Hollman, and Johnson at the 5.  Max and
Flowers
> at the 4, and White, Pilgrim, and Hicks at the 3-4.   It seems to me that
> there is going to be some un-happy campers for the next couple years when
it
> comes to playing time.
>
> Chris
> > I know most of you will not agree with the subject line but I believe
that
> this years team may make a deep run in this years NCAA tourney for the
> following two reasons:
> > Depth
> >
> > This is the first Bearcat team in a VERY long time that could go 8-9
> players deep.
> > This may at first appear to be a negative because there arent 5 very
good
> players on this team but I am a firm believer that teams with deep benches
> go further in the tourney than teams with 5 good players but no bench
help.
> Not to mention the fact that this team will drastically improve over the
> next two months.  There arent a lot of teams in the country that could go
> two deep at 4 of the 5 positions.
> > Schedule Strength
> >
> > The non-conference schedule was tough but not nearly as tough as C-USA
> will be this year.  Louisville, Marquette, Memphis, and yes even East
> Carolina will be very good this year.  This will be the first time since
the
> inception of C-USA could end the season with four ranked teams.  While
this
> may be the end of Cincy's long run as conference champs, this will help us
> tremendously in the tourney.
> > Over the past 5-7 years our problem has been lack of competition.  There
> were periods of stretches where we did not have to get up for our
opponents
> because they simply were not good.  This is in stark contrast to the NCAA
> tourney where you have to get up for every single game.  Our adversity
early
> in the season and throughout C-USA play will make this team tough to beat
> during the tourney.
> > Bottom Line:  Look for an Elite Eight bid this year and a pre-season top
5
> ranking this year.
> > ---------------------------------
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