Re: How many of these current players are startersin 07/08?

[Brock Schweitzer]

If Cronin is shooting for the "best athlete available," then we may have to
expect an all out running-style team.  I expected that from what I saw at
Bearcat Madness, but in the games, there has been little to no pressing, and
the team still doesn't run the floor effectively enough to mask the lack of
size and a set half-court offense.

Sikes is a smaller version of Corie Blount, except with a better jump shot.
He was never intended to play in the middle and should be rotating between
3-4, but could be effective in a running-offense at the 5.  Its really
obvious that Williamson feels most comfortable running the floor, and not in
a half-court offense, which is why he is flourishing, to a degree, this
year.

I agree, we need a true point guard, but Vaughn is VERY promising.  Vaughn
insisted that he was a passer from the get-go, and you can see it at times,
but Cronin really wants him to shoot, which as we've seen, can be very
effective.  I think Cronin realizes, if Vaughn becomes a legit threat from
3, teams will have to play tight on the perimeter with him, which will allow
him to penetrate and dish (something he's already good at).  Whether Larry
Davis is the answer is yet to be seen, but I suspect a "Downey-like" guard
would be the best choice.

I have a feeling, that this team will be full of players 6'4"-6'7" in the
coming years, and that will very much resemble the Villanova team from last
year.  The more players on the 6'7" end with speed (i.e. Williamson) will
yield even better results than 'Nova.

I am curious as to whether the press is not being implemented because of a
lack of depth or because of just not running it effectively.  Against
Oakland, when they ran it, was horrible... the front guy (Vaughn or Warren)
and the back guy (Sikes) would look good, but the guys in the middle were
lost and missed lots of opportunities to snag some long passes.  This is
where I see those new mid-size players coming in and making our press scary.

Another question is whether the old-school press (i.e. Huggins '92-'93,
Pitino '92-'95) is even effective anymore.  It was a hit in the early-mid
'90s, but has since disappeared from college basketball.  Is it too easily
manipulated by offenses, or is it just too tough to teach a team to run it
effectively with the brutal schedules and short-term players?  I certainly
hope its not a dinosaur, and I hope Cronin can get these guys to run an
effective press, because that's the best shot without some solid depth at
the 4-5 spots.

On 12/1/06, dfairchild <address@hidden> wrote:
> Brock,
>
> I asked this question about a week ago, but no one had an answer.  I think
> that we are short on big men and a quality point guard.  Right now for big
> men, it is Adam H., Sikes, and Mike Williams.  Will Connor Baldwin come
> back
> out again next year?
>
> I think Vaughn will be a great player, but I see him more as a 2 guard
> than
> a 1.  Some have compared him to Logan.  It would be great to see him
> develop
> like Steve did, but I think Steve's develop was more his skills and
> understanding of the game.  I think he had a pg's mentality from the git
> go,
> and I haven't seen that from Vaughn or Warren.
>
> Go Cats!
> Darryl
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: address@hidden
> [mailto:address@hidden Behalf Of Brock Schweitzer
> Sent: Friday, December 01, 2006 1:31 PM
> To: UC Basketball Forum
> Subject: Re: [UC Basketball] How many of these current players are
> startersin 07/08?
>
>
> Speaking of which, are there any big guys on our recruiting radar to fill
> the gaps of Herrera and Hall?  Seems like this would be a top priority for
> Cronin and staff since they've got plenty of depth at in the front court
> for
> next season.
>
> On 12/1/06, John <address@hidden> wrote:
> >
> > This team will be much better next year and may just surprise a lot of
> > people.  With a year of experience with the current team, plus the new
> > additions and big men we will be alright.  After that we should have a
> > good recruiting class to begin replacing the current players that will
> > be graduating.
> >
> > cpaw fan wrote:
> > > One starter is a senior, but Adam should be there for the starting
> > lineup
> > > next season.  Of the other starters, should we expect that all of them
> > > will
> > > be starting again next season?
> > >
> > > Mike Williams should be able to win a spot, but what about the
> > > recruits?  Do
> > > any of them appear to be good enough to be impact players as Freshman?
> > >
> > > If the answer is that Willimson and Vaughn are the only hold over
> > > starters,
> > > then things look pretty good.
> > >
> >
> >
> >
>
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