The Mick Cronin Era of Cincinnati Basketball - A University of Cincinnati Dynasty

[fnz51]

Interview with Cincinnati Enquirer's Bill Koch, UC sports writer for the newspaper.
Koch: You've finally landed your dream job, Mick. How has the last year been for you?

Cronin: Well the last year has had its ups and downs. After Coach Kennedy was fired after the loss to South Carolina in the NIT, I accepted the job. We had been in talks for a week or two, They (UC AD Mike Thomas and school Pres. Nancy Zimpher) told me that they weren't going to be bringing Andy back, and well I jumped all over the offer. Gowing up in Cincinnati, going to LaSalle in Cincinnati, coaching under Bob Huggins....I've always wanted this job, and well I'm very proud and honored to be the coach of the Bearcats.

Koch: You said that "There were ups and downs." What were some of the downs?

Cronin: Well in the 05-06 season the basketball team was put in a bad situation, with the firing and an interim coach, so there wasn't much I could do recruiting-wise. And then before the season started we lost three of our big guys. Hernol Hall was ruled ineligible, and he decided to stay at the school, Abdul Herrera transferred, and Adam Hrycaniuk was ruled ineligible for the season. Overall we didn't live up to my personal expectations and certainly we didn't give the fanbase what they wanted.

Koch: What one word could describe this year's squad?

Cronin: We have five seniors , but only 4 years of Division 1 experience among them. So I would say young.

Koch: You managed to get a top 25 recruiting class. What can you tell us about them?

Cronin: They are very talented from what I've seen in practice. They still have to adjust to the college level though. Expect to see 3 or 4 of them regularly in the rotation.

Koch: What 3 or 4?

Cronin: Bill, you know I rarely talk about lineups with the media. Just wait and see. And tune in to the games.

Koch: What are the team goals this year.

Cronin: I want to get these seniors to the NCAA tournament. We have a bad taste in our mouths from last year. And they've worked too hard to not make the tourney this year.

Koch: Good Luck this season. Hope all goes well.

[fnz51]

Non Conference Shcedule

Nov. 9 Tenn.-Martin FOX19 7:00 PM
Nov. 10 Western Carolina FOX19 7:00 PM
Nov. 12 VMI FOX19 7:00 PM
Nov. 16 New Orleans FOX19 8:00 PM
Nov. 24 Texas A&M ESPN2 2:00 PM
Nov. 26 Delaware St. FOX19 7:00 PM
Dec. 1 at Geroge Mason ESPNU 4:00 PM
Dec. 8 at South Carolina FOX19 7:00 PM
Dec. 12 at Xavier ESPN2 7:00 PM
Dec. 19 Memphis ESPN 7:00 PM
Dec. 23 at Gonzaga ESPN2 9:00 PM
Dec. 29 Miami OH FOX19 6:00 PM

[fnz51]

Player Previews

Deonta Vaughn (78 OVR) Soph. Guard – Deonta should step up this year and be the team leader. He is coming off of a stellar freshman season. He will be the team’s starting Point Guard.

John Williamson (75) Sr. Forward – If Deonta doesn’t become a team leader then John certainly will. He had surgery in the offseason to repair his injured knees that he played with last year, but he is healthy. He is a solid rebounder and should contribute even more with taller guys on the team. He will start at Power Forward.

Jamual Warren (74) Sr. Guard – Warren is a true point guard: a good ball handler and a great passer with a pass-first mentality. Although he will not start at point guard he should get some valuable minutes off of the bench.

Mike Williams (71) Jr. Forward – Mike will be redshirted this season after what continues to be a rocky start to his Bearcat career. After committing to Texas as a McDonald’s All American, Williams didn’t receive substantial playing time in his first two years with the Longhorns. He transferred to UC and sat out the 06-07 season, in which he also endured a tragedy as his family’s home in Alabama burned down. In summer practice this year he tore a tendon in his foot and is currently rehabbing the injury.

Alvin Mitchell (71) Fr. Guard/Forward – Alvin continues to impress Coach Cronin with the strides he has made in practice. He is one of the members of the highly touted recruiting class and averaged 33 points as a senior in high school last year. He will not start but see key minutes during the season.

Marcus Sikes (70) Sr. Forward – Marcus led the team in 3 point shooting last year. Because of the lack of height the Bearcats had, Marcus was often play Center and going up against taller players. This season he can move back to his natural position, Small Forward. Sikes will not start for the Cats but will come off the bench and hopefully provide a spark from behind the arc.

Marvin Gentry (70) Sr. Guard – Marvin will be looked at this year to provide leadership and teach the younger guards how the college game is played. He is a key component of the Bearcats 3 point shooting offense and routinely makes big shots. He will start at Small Forward this year.

Anthony “Biggie” McClain (70) Fr. Center – Anthony McClain one of the most hyped recruits in recent memory. He gives the Bearcats there first 7-footer (although some say he’s actually 6-11) since Bobby Brannen. Coach Cronin believes that McClain’s time will come and that he will be a force down low. Over the summer he worked out with Georgetown’s Roy Hibbert. His offense needs some work and he needs to get tougher so therefore he will be coming off the bench for Cincinnati.

Larry Davis (69) Fr. Guard – Davis may become a fan favorite in Fifth Third Arena this year with his playmaking ability. He’s an underrated passer with great speed and quickness and sinks threes regularly. He will start at Shooting Guard for the Cats.

Rashad Bishop (67) Fr. Guard/Forward – Rashad is very unique player in that he loves to play defense, a rare quality among players today. He does the subtle things that make a whole team better. Bishop will see minutes off the bench this year and figures to be the last guy in a ten man rotation.

Kenny Belton (66) Fr. Forward – Kenny Belton’s inside presence has potential to be outstanding, as he went to the same high school and was coached by the same coach that produced former Bearcat star Eric Hicks. Belton will see marginal minutes this year.

Darnell Wilks (66) Fr. Forward – Some scouts see Darnell as the future best player for the Bearcats, but he was late being cleared to practice by the NCAA so he still is making strides in practice to get on the same level as everyone else. Because of this he shouldn’t see a whole lot of minutes early on.

Adam Hrycaniuk (62) Sr. Center – Adam is one of hte biggest question marks on the team this year after sitting out all of last season due to his violation of NCAA regulations (he played semi pro ball in Poland). Cronin feels he is vastly underrated and that he is a great rebounder and can make midrange jumpers, too. He will start at Center for the bearcats this season.

Staring lineup for game one against Tennessee-Martin
PG #5 Deonta Vaughn
SG #11 Larry Davis
SF #1 Marvin Gentry
PF #45 John Williamson
C #34 Adam Hrycaniuk

Jeff Piecoro and Anthony Buford will call the game on FOX19.

[CincyFan]

Dec. 12 at Xavier ESPN2 7:00 PM

Quite honestly that is the only game that really counts for both teams schedule. While I will follow and wish you the best of luck I can't on this game since I love the X. Hopefully they can do what they did in real life this year lol.

[fnz51]

Bearcats beat Skyhawks 56-33
Box Score
Player PTS REB AST BLK
Vaughn 0 2 1 0
Davis 13 4 2 0
Gentry 8 3 2 0
Williamson 11 7 0 1
Hrycaniuk 6 5 0 1
Warren 2 3 8 1
Sikes 3 7 0 0
Mitchell 0 0 1 0
McClain 5 5 0 1
Bishop 4 1 0 0
Wilks 4 0 0 0
Belton 0 0 0 0

Larry Davis wins Cincinnati Bell Game MVP Award.
McClain and Wilks both shot 100%
Davis was 3-6 from 3 point range.

[fnz51]

The Bearcats are now 7-1, with the only loss coming to Texas A&M(ranked 17th at the time, 16th now).
UC currently allows 48 points per game, best in the nation. But they only score 67.1 ppg as a team, which ranks in the bottom third of NCAA teams.

Tonight UC battles 8th ranked Xavier in the much anticipated Crosstown shootout. The Bearcats are entering a tough stretch in their schedule, with games against XU, Memphis, and Gonzaga. UC's schedule has been relatively weak so far, being that the combined records of the teams they have played so far is 29-36.

While Xavier only averages 1 more point than UC, they look to have the better team in this matchup. Xavier's scoring defense is second in the country at 52 ppg. UC shoots over 50% from the field but only 59% from the FT line. With a more explosive team and home court advantage I think it's safe to say that we can chalk this victory up for the Muskies.
Prediction: Xavier by 14.


In the next update: Postgame analysis of the Crosstown Shootout and a recruiting update.

[fnz51]

The Bearcats had their best start to a game this season against Xavier. At one point they were up by 17 in the first half. They led by 13 points at halftime. With five minutes remaining the Bearcats had a fourteen point lead and all seemed to be going the Bearcats' way.
Then Dante Jackson happened.
The Freshman began sinking threes and finding holes in the UC defense. cutting the lead to single digits. Soon, the lead had dwindled to 6, then 4, then 2. When Jamual Warren took an ill-advised three pointer with 15 seconds left on the shot clock, Xavier got the rebound and took advantage. Setting up their offense, Stanly Burrell got open in the corner. When Drew Lavender passed him the ball two Bearcat defenders swarmed to him; leaving Josh Duncan wide open in the paint. Burrell made a quick pass down low and Duncan tied the game at 76 with 8 seconds to play. UC called two consecutive timeouts, the second one after seeing XU set up in a full court press. Marcus Sikes passed the ball in to Deonta Vaughn. As he dribbled up the court the Bearcat players were not setting up in any sort of play. Vaughn called for a pick and roll at the wing, after the pick two XU defenders locked on to Vaughn leaving Williamson open while he was cutting to the basket. When he caught the ball he took one dribble and dunked the ball.
There was no time left on the clock after the dunk. The problem was, there was also no time left on the clock while John Williamson had possession of the ball. Had there been .5 seconds more on the clock the game would have been over. Instead a depleted Bearcats team was headed to faceoff with the eighth ranked Muskies in overtime.
Both teams scored back and forth for all of the overtime and Xavier had a chance to win it. They passed it down low to Derrick Brown when he turned around he fired a shot that was partially blocked by Anthony McClain. UC got the ball and dribbled down court. Deonta Vaughn went to the left wing and handed marcus Sikes the ball. he passed it right back to Vaughn, who was now in the corner, with less than 3 seconds to play. Vaughn quickly passed it back to Sikes who rose up over Stanley Burrell's hand and sunk the game winning basket in overtime.

The Bearcats caught a huge break in this game. They shot 2-11 from the FT line and 11-36 from behind the arc, compared with Xavier's 9-10 from the free throw line and 8-16 from three. Derrick Brown had 14 points and 15 rebounds. Dante jackson scored his 20 points in only 9 minutes. The Bearcats had 5 guys(Warren, Vaughn, Sikes, Marvin Gentry, and Williamson) score in double figures, with Vaughn dishing out 9 assists and Adam Hrycaniuk grabbing 11 rebounds.


Recruiting:
he Bearcats have received one commitment so far. Connor Nixon is a four-star shooting guard from Naperville, Illinois. He averaged 15.9 points per game and 9.5 rebounds. The 6-3 guard is a gifted passer and defender.

The Bearcats have two scholarships currently out on the table. One is for Richard Ziri, a 6-7 SG from Troy, Michigan. He is an excellent shooter, and 4 star recruit, and UC really hopes to have him on the roster next year.
The other scholarship is for 6-10 center Danny Dickerson from the Bronx, NY. He is a 3star recruit.

[CincyFan]

BOOO!!! what is my XU team doing out there. Did you pay them to throw the game!!!!


so painful to read that lol. good luck on the rest of the season.

[Vinsane187]

The crosstown shootout is one of the most exciting and fueled rivalrys in college basketball. It's insane how much attention that game gets in the state of Ohio and across the nation. Hell I know as a Buckeye fan even attending Ohio State last year, When Cincy and Xavier throw down EVERYONE watches.

Great start to the season, bring some glory back to Cincy and your a shoe-in for Coach of the Year.

[fnz51]

The Bearcats didn't follow up their win against Xavier as they would have liked. They went 1-3 in there next four games(L's to Memphis, @Gonzaga, @ Louisville, W against Miami OH).
However they have had a quite impressive start to their Big East schedule. After losing to Louisville at Freedom Hall, UC went to St. John's and beat them. Then upset Syracuse at home by 12, and beat Villanova. After losing at Notre Dame, they returned home to beat Pittsburgh by 14. Their record now stands at 13-5, 4-2 in conference play.

Other Notes:
Larry Davis's scoring numbers have been dropping lately and Alvin Mitchell's have been up. He may be inserted in to the starting lineup.

The emergence of Darnell Wilks lately has created a jam at the wing position. It'll be interesting to see whose minutes will drop.

[fnz51]

The Bearcats wrapped up the regular season with a 20-10 record, and spent a week as the No. 25 team in the nation. Still, Mick Cronin didn't feel comfortable with his team's record. That team made it to the big East Championship game, only to lose to Seton Hall by double digits.
However the Bearcats earned a number 6 seed and the right to play the Oregon Ducks in the first round. Coach Cronin was pleased. After beating the Ducks in the first round on Thursday, the Bearcats were set to face Mississippi State(3 seed). UC came out and they played their game, controlling the offensive tempo for most of the game. But late in the game the Bearcats found themselves down by 4, with under a minute left. As Jamual Warren dribbled down the court, Alvin Mitchell and Deonta Vaughn had picks set for them and both ended up in the corners. Warren found Vaughn wide open and he made a three, making the game 62-61 with 42.5 seconds left. Ben Hansbrough ran down the court called for a pick and roll and found an open lane to the basket, what he didn't see was Anthony McClain leaving his man open at the wing. As Hansbrough went up for the layup, McClain timed his jump perfectly and bl***ed the shot.
There it was the Bearcats had there shot to make the winning basket. Jamual Warren slowly dribbled the ball up court and called timeout with 20.1 seconds left. UC came out of the TO with Deonta Vaugh, Warren, McClain, John Williamson, and Marcus Sikes. As Warren got the ball he again dribbled up slowly, giving the Bearcats the opportunity to have the last shot. Warren called for a pick with 7 seconds left to play. After Williamson set a pick on Hansbrough, he tried to break towards the basket but his man read him perfectly forcing him back to the three point line. Warren couldn't get to the basket either, he forced a pass into Williamson who took two dribbles. The cloack read "2.7" seconds left to play. Williamson panicked and threw a pass over to McClain, who on the other side of the court. He took one dribble. The clock then read "0.9" seconds. He nervously handed the ball off to marcus Sikes who fired off a shot, with 0.2 second left. The ball sailed from his hands, The Bearcat bench was anxious, and Adam Hrycaniuk was covering his face with his hands. Then it happened. The shot went in. Sikes raised hi hands in the air as hiw teammates surrounded him. The Bearcats are headed to the sweet sixteen. Mick Cronin has made believers out of the Bearcats faithful. Bearcat basketball is back, for now. UC has to play #2 seed North Carolina on Thursday. As for the players, they can't wait.

[fnz51]

UC upset #2 seed North Caolina 65-63 and made an appearance in the elite eight. In that round they faced #5 seed Arizona. The Bearcats lost 86-77 and John Williamson and Adam Hrycaniuk both had 15 points. But Deonta Vaughn, Williamson, and Marvin gentry got into foul trouble and had to sit out during a key stretch in which Arizona went on a 13-2 run.

The Final Four ended up being Kansas(2) vs. Arizona(5) and Tennessee(2) vs. Louisville(2)
Tennessee beat Arizona in the Championship and Bruce Pearl took home his first National Championship trophy.

[fnz51]

Player of the year: Tyler Hansbrough (UNC)
Coach of the Year: Bruce Pearl (Tennessee)
Freshman of the Year: Michael Beasley (Kansas State)

Big East Awards
POY: Luke Harangody (Notre Dame)
COT: Rick Pitino (Louisville)
FOY: Corey Fisher (Villanova)

Notable Coaching Changes

Team In(school) : Out(reason)
Arizona Mark Few(Gonzaga) : Lute Olsen(retired)
Texas Tech Darrin Horn(W. Kentucky) : Bob Knight(retired)
Oregon St. Mike Deane(Wagner) : Jay John(fired)
Northwestern Bob McKillop(Davidson) : Bill Carmody(fired)
Gonzaga Sean Sutton(Oral Roberts) : Mark Few(new job)

[fnz51]

Players lost to Graduation:
F John Williamson
F Marcus Sikes
C Adam Hrycaniuk
G Jamual Warren
G Marvin Gentry

Recruiting Class:
SG Connor Nixon (4 stars, 72 overall)
SG Richard Ziri (4 stars, 74 overall)
C Danny Dickerson (3 stars, 63 overall)
C Jean-Baptiste Chavis (4 stars, 68 overall, Soph.)

Roster
No. Name Pos. Class Height Rating
1 Romeo French* PG Fr. 6'1" 52
5 Deonta Vaughn PG Jr. 6'1" 83
11 Larry Davis SG So. 6'3" 74
15 Darnell Wilks SF So. 6'7" 71
21 Mike Williams PF Jr. 6'7" 76
22 Rashad Bishop SF So. 6'6" 71
23 Alvin Mitchell SF So. 6'5" 76
24 Connor Nixon SG Fr. 6'3" 72
30 Anthony McClain C So. 6'11" 74
31 W.C. Deane* SF So. 6'8" 66
32 Kenny Belton PF So. 6'8" 70
33 Danny Dickerson C Fr. 6'11" 63
43 Richard Ziri SG Fr. 6'8" 74
50 Jean-Baptiste Chavis C Fr. 6'11" 68
52 Ronny McNamara* C Jr. 6'11" 63
*walk on

[fnz51]

15-Nov Binghamton
16-Nov at Northwestern
19-Nov at New Mexico
21-Nov San Diego State*
22-Nov Virginia/Towson*
29-Nov Central Connecticut
6-Dec Xavier
13-Dec at Illinois
16-Dec Houston
20-Dec at Maryland
24-Dec Eastern Illinois
27-Dec at Washington
3-Jan at Georgia

*Blackjack Sootout A @ Thomas and Mack Center

[fnz51]

Last year's Elite Eight run certainly made believers out of the fans. But it has had an even bigger affect on the players, and recruiting, too. UC is off to an 8-0 start, and now ranked 8th in the country. Mike Williams is third in the nation in scoring, averaging 27.1 points per game.
The Bearcats have already used their only scholarship available for recruiting, as 4 star PG Trevor McCalebb has committed to play at Cincinnati next season. UC chose to save a scholarship from last offseason in order to have one for this offseason.

[CincyFan]

does that mean you beat XU agian?

[fnz51]

haha, yeah. Unfortunately for XU the game was a little lopsided. kinda like the XU-UD game last night. (except a role reversal on xu's part)

[CincyFan]

man thats two years thats not realistic since its UC winning lol. Come on XU!!!

[Cincybearcatfan]

Yea Go Bearcats! :):thumbsup::clap::bow::salute::cool:

[fnz51]

The Bearcats made it to the second round before an embarrasing 20 point loss to seven seed Stanford. UC was ranked as high as #5 during that year.
Arizona ended up winning the national championship.
UC forward Mike Williams was named first team All Big East, averaging 20.5 ppg and 5.4 rpg.
I was offered the head coaching job ay St. John's and Maryland, but respectfully declined.
The offseason was kind. I signed 4 star PG Trevor McCalebb, and had nobody graduate, or leave the team. I focused on recruiting soon to be HS seniors, and moved into first place on two of those recruits lists, 5 star PG Clifford Martin, and 5 star PF Pearson Dilligard.
A few Bearcats have been generating some pro buzz too.
Deonta Vaughn is rumored to be top pick.
Mike Williams is seen as a second round choice, As is junior Alvin Mitchell.
And Rashad Bishop is listed as a Dark Horse by numerous NBA scouts, but he's only a junior.

[fnz51]

Team Preview
PG Deonta Vaughn - (Steve Logan - Former Bearcat Comparison) Vaughn is the team leader and is a gifted passer and shooter.
SG Richard Ziri - (Armein Kirkland) Above average shooter, plays good defense, tall and lanky.
SF Alvin Mitchell - (Tony Bobbitt) Lights out shooter, but has occasional off nights.
PF Mike Williams - (Jason Maxiell) Finesse PF with great power post moves, excellend rebounder, same build as Maxiell.
C Anthony McClain - (Donald Little) hopefully he can have a good season and be more like Kenyon Martin. Excellent rebounder and shotblocker, lacks finesse in the post.
SG Larry Davis - (Field Williams) Davis relies heavily on the three, and shoots tremendously well off the pass, not so much off the dribble.
SF Rashad Bishop - (Leonard Stokes) Gifted defender, average shooter, has explosive quickness.
SF Darnell Wilks - (James White) Not a great shooter, but his dunking ability is outstanding, doesn't get the playing time he deserves because of the traffic jam at the wing position.
PG Trevor McCalebb - (Jihad Muhammad) Gifted shooter, very quick, very skinny guard.
C Jean-Baptiste Chavis - (Cedric McGowan) A little bit taller than McGowan, but same offensive and defensive skills.
PF Kenny Belton - (Kareem Johnson- average defender and offensive player, above average rebounder.
SG Connor Nixon - (Chadd Moore) Plays effective defense, shoots the ball well, can play both guard positions.

[fnz51]

UC went 23-9, earned a 2 seed, and made it to the Elite Eight and lost to Duke by 15. Bearcats' guard Deonta Vaughn won Player Of The Year, averaging 26 points and 8 assists per game. UC only lost two players to graduation this year: Vaughn and forward Mike Williams.
The recruiting class was strong. The Bearcats signed two HS All-Americans in season: PF Pearson Diligard and PG Clifford Martin, both 5 star recruits. Coach Cronin spent most of his time recruiting HS juniors after signing Martin and Diligard. Recruiting will be an important part of Cronin's 5th season at UC. The Cats have seven seniors on the roster.

[vols21]

couple good seasons. hope ur internet starts working better soon