Re: I hope these guards can play

[Ben Hurst]

I don't think anybody is saying "these are the best recruits since the
beginning of time."  Merely that we have high expectations for a roster that
has filled out as nicely as one could have expected.  I would agree that we
should not make any comparisons to the 1992 Final Four team and I agree this
is not a top 5 recruiting class.  I would say it might be a top 25 class
however, with the addition of Hall.  I think what most people are looking
forward to is watching these guys play and learning to mesh.(maybe its next
year)  Then, after Mick lands a couple of 4 star recruits for 2007, we'll be
fine.  But I'm definitely rooting for these guys to get 20 wins and go to
the tourney.  Why not?

Even if they would start out poorly, I only hope to see them finish strong
in the second half of the season when it counts. (During BEast play and
tournament) Does anyone hate the dreaded word post-armein more than bearcat
fans.

Nonetheless, True fans have only one perspective and that is to win.  So,
why root against them before they even get started?  Anyway, how many times
do we play a double directional state school? Bring them on!

Ben H.

-----Original Message-----
From: address@hidden
[mailto:address@hidden Behalf Of richard l. kandell
Sent: Tuesday, July 04, 2006 3:08 PM
To: UC Basketball Forum
Subject: Re: [UC Basketball] I hope these guards can play


Now I know that just about everyone on the Forum is a big Bearcat fan, and
wishes them nothing but success - but we need to put where we are in some
perspective:

a.    The last time we brought in a bunch of jc players to "build" the
program we wound up in the Final 4, and probably should have won the
national championship the following year - however the center and point
guard on those teams have a combined what(?) - about 20 years of play in the
NBA.  The current crop hasn't played a minute of division 1 basketball.
Maybe Mick did get lucky and sign the 2nd coming of Corrie and Nick, along
with the appropriate role players, and just maybe he didn't.

b.    How many of us would settle for the next couple of years just to not
be embarrassed in the BEast?  Some of us doubted they could win 10 games
overall next year, and now we have guys suggesting not only the NIT, but
even the NCAA.  Boy oh boy do I hope they are right - but before declaring
this the best group of recruits since the beginning of time, how about we
see whether any or all of them can actually compete at a high division 1
level?  ;-)

c.    Once more I caution against putting too much stock in Clark Francis'
ranking which are heavily based on volume - and how many times are we going
to have 37 basketball recruits in one season?    :-)    Remember, under his
calculations a team with seven 3 point recruits finishes ahead of another
with two 10 pointers.  Which would you rather have?  I know, I know, this
year we needed 18 recruits just to field a team, much less practice, but be
careful of putting a lot of stock in Francis' ranking.

d.    Do not, I repeat, do not, compare this year's team with that of last
year.  Last season, with all the turmoil, we started 3 seniors, a junior and
a freshman.  Hicks, a 4 year player, while undersized, had the heart of a
lion.  White, if you include the semester he practiced with the team, had 3
1/2 years, was a Mickey D AA, and came within a hair's breath of being an
NBA first round draft choice.  Downey, the freshman, was one of the prized
recruits in the nation despite his size.  I could go on, but we all know
their stories - while last year's team was hardly what one could call deep,
it was reasonably experienced and, at least in the top 5/6, pretty talented.
Maybe we have 8 first round draft choices on next year's team, but I'd
prefer to wait until they actually play some games before becoming
enraptured with their skill levels.  You don't have to be a UC fan for
several centuries to remember highly touted players, especially juco's, who
have not performed at CBA quality levels much less NBA levels.

e.    The one thing all this recruiting has done is that I am no longer
dreading next year, at least we should not look like a team with a Sagarin
rating well over 200.  We could win 20 - how many times can we play
Northeast Montana State A&T?  ;-)

Richard K.