Midnight Madness Observations

[Antonio Mazzaro]

First of all, and I am *certainly* not one to bend over backwards to heap
praise on this UC administration (though they are getting my dollars via the
law school), but this was absolutely the best "madness" event I've attended
at UC in the last decade. The "UC Idol" ran a little long, and some of the
events were a little useless (student dunk contest?) but the overall program
was very well planned. It is still a shame, having attended Madness events
elsewhere, that no effort is truly made to get the students involved. It
could EASILY be worked into rush events with Fraternities and Sororities,
but, as it stands, the freaking student sections weren't even available.
They do need to do a better job getting the students involved in these
events, but the scheduling of this and the "feel" of the event was awesome.
VERY cool video package of the players conditioning, the players seemed to
get a huge boost out of seeing it on the video board.

For those of you who weren't there or didn't see it, here are some of the
highlights.

- Coach Cronin easily won the respect of most of the 6-8k in attendance.
Instead of running a 20 minute scrimmage, the team went through around 20
minutes of practice drills. Cronin coached the team during these drills, but
he did so over microphone so everyone in attendance had a chance to hear
exactly how many times Abdul Herrera screwed up. Cronin generated a couple
of small outbursts of applause with his orders to the team to run, to play
defense, etc. He was really coaching the guys during the drills, and it was
awesome to hear. I have the utmost respect and loyalty to Huggs and Kennedy,
but, if one evening is any indication, Coach Cronin will win the respect of
everyone around the program just like those coaches did. Whether he can fit
into the UC21 system I guess remains to be seen, and I don't pretend I can
begin to speculate on that one way or the other, but I don't think there
will be any issue winning over the fans.

- The team will be fun to watch. Not just because it's so full of newcomers
that it's a dream to those of us who have always enjoyed the unwrapping of
new Bearcats this time of year, but because it seems to be full of
interchangeable parts and is going to run an exciting system. Cronin was
really hammering the team about how to play the fast break, to the point
that even individual dribbles (mostly by Marvin Gentry) were being called
into question for slowing down the system. Abdul Herrera turned the wrong
shoulder on a rebound, therefore hindering his ability to throw a perfect
outlet pass, and then loafed down the court. Cronin was livid, and, while he
held some of it back because he was on a live mic in front of fans, it was
clear he's going to be riding Abdul until he stops playing so lazily.
Gentry, Warren, Crowell, Vaughn, Williamson, Ced and even Ronald Allen were
running like crazy. This style of play should help them stay competitive in
games that they'd otherwise be outmatched from a "team" standpoint, and, if
it transfers to the defensive end, look out.

- 15 wins may well be a low end estimate. Of course, this was only one
night's practice, but it certainly revealed that this is not a team full of
stiffs. Not only does the system seem to be fun for the players, if this is
truly Mick's system, it WILL attract recruits. He said at one point "we have
a new rule around here, if you're open, you shoot it" and gave Crowell a
hard time for passing up a shot. I honestly think if Devan Downey sees some
UC on TV this season, he will be disappointed he left. Williamson and Ced
seem to be ready to fill up the wings, and Gentry, Crowell and Warren all
seem to be very solid with the ball.

- The size isn't a legit 6'10" on Hernol Hall, but he shined in the
practice. He rebounded well, jumped quickly, stuck a nice 10 footer from the
elbow, and ran well. He is at least as poised as some of the other
transfer/juco big men the team has had in the past (think more Jamal Davis
than Robert Whaley).

- The team seems very loose and good-spirited. Randy mentioned in his
excellent post the other day that he wondered who would fill the Terry
Nelson role of this team in the 92 comparison. It seems several are ready,
including Ronald Allen. Allen also seemed improved, he stuck a nice hook
shot in the post and snagged a couple of rebounds, though it appears he
still hasn't learned to box out. Cronin noted at one point that Allen has
worked very hard in the weight room and he (Cronin) thinks Allen "has it in
him" to be very good.

- Look for Ced to play a lot of 3 this season. Cronin mentioned he was
adapting to more of a wing role, and that his leadership was invaluable, and
Ced looks to work well in the fastbreak system. It seems Mick is going to be
asking for a lot of passing from the 2 and 3 spots, as the offense seems to
consist of doing whatever possible to screen and shift and not let the
defense get set. Granted, they've yet to install set plays, but it's clear
this team's style is going to be working to impose their will/tempo on the
other team.

- Abdul is going to be in and out of the doghouse all season. I am not sure
what kind of effect Cronin's doghouse will have on him, I will say he
(Abdul) seems to have a ton of potential, and that is of course why Mick is
riding him so hard. Cronin remarked at one point that Abdul has lost 30
pounds, I think he could end up being an excellent contributor, or lose
minutes to Adam H. In two years, he could be a stud, he still seems very
green. Hopefully tough love will not scare him away to Frank Martin.

- Deonta Vaughn made a crisp, picture-perfect pass from halfcourt to lead to
a perfect layup. He's not going to be physically overmatched, even as a
freshman.

It was really nice to see so many former players in attendance. If Herb
Jones, Damon Flint, Andre Tate, Corrie Blount, Armein Kirkland, et al are
willing to give the team and the program a chance, I think it behooves
everyone reading this and every one of the traditional 13176 to do the same.
This program still means something to the people who gave so much effort to
it, it will take a lot more than the paltry mismanagement of a University
President to kill it. Events like tonight are so positive, there is never a
better time for a team than opening day, and while it's almost childish to
pretend that everything is rosy at UC under NZ, we are the ones who spit on
Coach Huggins' legacy if we don't bust our collective asses to support this
team and the new coach. Maybe it's the fact that this is my first UC team as
an actual UC student, having grown up in the early 80's going to games on
the Riverfront and then being rewarded with 15 years of brilliance, but this
is no new era in UC Basketball. It's still UC, plain and simple. Coach
Huggins reinvigorated a historical giant and made wonderful history of his
own during his time here. Now he's gone, but the team, and the program he
(re)built, is not. Those of you who aren't watching, who won't be enjoying,
will be missing out, but, more than that, if you don't watch, if you don't
give this squad what you've given in past years, then the terrorists (nz)
win. Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

I support Coach Cronin and the 06-07 Bearcats.

Antonio Mazzaro