Game 25: South Florida 2/9 7:00 ESPN+

[kennh]

Look it wasn't a very pretty game but what do you people expect? Miller had nor recruits coming in when he took the job and very little time to form a team. You have to realize that after last year this program was near a disaster. 5 of the guys playing weren't even on UC's campus last year. This team was put together to make it through the year. We have to cheer them on and take what they give us. We are actually in a better place than I thought we would be. Be patient and enjoy the wins they give us.

[GoBearcats31]

Look it wasn't a very pretty game but what do you people expect? Miller had nor recruits coming in when he took the job and very little time to form a team. You have to realize that after last year this program was near a disaster. 5 of the guys playing weren't even on UC's campus last year. This team was put together to make it through the year. We have to cheer them on and take what they give us. We are actually in a better place than I thought we would be. Be patient and enjoy the wins they give us.

Fair points. In speaking with the media, Wes Miller made a point of saying something to the effect of always being happy when you get a double-digit road win, regardless of the circumstances.

[bearcatjd]

Any win is a good win especially on the road. It was a great night, UC won & XU lost

[DesertFog]

The duration of time outs seemed to be extremely long. Does anyone know if there is an NCAA or conference rule re time out durations?

[John P]

Look it wasn't a very pretty game but what do you people expect? Miller had nor recruits coming in when he took the job and very little time to form a team. You have to realize that after last year this program was near a disaster. 5 of the guys playing weren't even on UC's campus last year. This team was put together to make it through the year. We have to cheer them on and take what they give us. We are actually in a better place than I thought we would be. Be patient and enjoy the wins they give us.

Well put and that's exactly the point I was wanting to make but couldn't quite find the words as well (and calmly) as you did. As someone else mentioned, I'm just hoping for a 20-win season.

[Gmann]

As has been said before if they make their 3's it can cover up some of the many deficiencies and inconsistencies of this team and what we are used to seeing from UC basketball. Their games will continue to be maddening to watch. I agree they need to seriously upgrade the talent level to compete in the Big 12 and **** even the AAC.

I remain concerned that out of ten guys that rotate in and out I don't see any real improvement in their game even though the talent is limited. They each flash a little bit and then fade away again. We would in the past see many 3 star guys improve under Cronin and Huggins and be much better players when they left the program. Lakhin really is a mystery to me in that as bad as our inside game is he still gets very little playing time.....not that he earns more from when he's in there. Something is wrong there.

Bottom line is I'm willing to see how this plays out with CWM since he does have a track record of success coming in. In fact given where we ended last season I'm happy with the record even though we are not going anywhere this year.

[Rufus]

Oh Im excited about the win, any win is a good one. And we all know that CWM is playing against a stacked deck in that he was "stuck" with these players. The frustration comes from watching the same rotation of players and they still doing exactly the same mistakes they would make to begin the year. Every single game , and I've seen them all and theses guys are not developing. Some are even regressing. I'm not going to single any one out but at some point you would think that we would see some coaching, training, comprehending or instruction being displayed. I'm not even down in the coaches as apparently they know what they have talent wise. These players are still shooting themselves in the foot ( pun intended) with bad habits that can be easily avoided but yet continue in them.

[Oldtimer_UC_fan]

If we had won against Monmouth and Temple, 2 games we should have won, and we were 18-5, would we still be complaining?

[Greg7173]

I pretty much agree with what everyone else is saying. This team is tough to watch and really isn't improving their basic basketball skill level. It is interesting if you read gobearcats.com you might get a totally different spin on things. Talk about lipstick on a pig.

[Gmann]

If we had won against Monmouth and Temple, 2 games we should have won, and we were 18-5, would we still be complaining?

Yes because we could have easliy lost the Miami, WSU or ECU games so that's a wash. It's not so much just wins and losses it's the lack of improvement and the same mistakes being repeated competing in what is a very weak league.

[Oldtimer_UC_fan]

Yes because we could have easliy lost the Miami, WSU or ECU games so that's a wash. It's not so much just wins and losses it's the lack of improvement and the same mistakes being repeated competing in what is a very weak league.

My question was a "what if". Assuming we won those others. Expectations coming in were not great. Without any inside offense, what choice does that leave other than 3 pointers? Did you really expect to compete for league champion this season? Seems to me that we have competed with all except Houston. We are currently 4th place at 6-4, only half game behind Memphis.

[longtimefan]

We saw what this was last year, with Keith Williams and Tari Eason. While I was hoping that some of the transfers would magically transform that team into a tournament lock I really didn't expect it. As I've said before, coach got the job in April, and there is a reason those guys were available to transfer so late in the process. We've reached the point in the year where a coach usually settles on a 6-8 man rotation, keeping his best players on the court against better competition. For the life of me I don't know how I could settle on such a rotation with this bunch, as I see DDJ as the only consistent, reliable starter that I can count on night in and night out. The rest of the roster consists of one-dimensional guys, guys who maybe shoot it very well (sometimes) but become a liability on the defensive end. Or we have guys who only go to the left, or guys who can get to the rim but can't finish, or guys who can't catch the ball underneath and even if they do can't do anything with it. Have they improved? Judging from the Houston game they have compared to last year, when they flat out quit when they fell behind, not once but twice. Are they a typical Bearcat team? No they're not, they sure don't look like they have hit the weight room like so many Bearcat teams before them.

As limited as they are, a good run from here on would put them in a good place as far as a postseason bid is concerned, whether NCAA or NIT. In either case, it would be a successful year. Judging Coach Miller by what we've seen so far isn't really fair, but we need to see big improvement next year, and I think we will.

[leo from jersey]

Look it wasn't a very pretty game but what do you people expect? Miller had nor recruits coming in when he took the job and very little time to form a team. You have to realize that after last year this program was near a disaster. 5 of the guys playing weren't even on UC's campus last year. This team was put together to make it through the year. We have to cheer them on and take what they give us. We are actually in a better place than I thought we would be. Be patient and enjoy the wins they give us.

I tire of this rationalization. Let us look at which players were here last year. DD has improved, but VL JD, MAW, MS and MM have gone down hill and are playing pathetic me me me basketball. Their eyes are on the rim and not on their teammates. That is what I am judging CWM on. Sure they may not be the best players and poorly recruited by JB, but one would think that they would have shown improvement and not in tiny pieces in very few situations. Let us stop the excuses and see what has been done with those with a prior UC presence. It is just about unwatchable, but we do, because regardless of the coach, regardless of these self centered players, we love UC. The first game I ever saw had Oscar. He made me a fan forever. Love them Cats, but I shudder at the wretched excrement on the court and I see little reason for hope this year. I will give CWM time for new recruits, but he has had time with the returning players and has shown negative results except for DD. Regardless I will still watch my beloved Bearcats.

[Gmann]

I tire of this rationalization. Let us look at which players were here last year. DD has improved, but VL JD, MAW, MS and MM have gone down hill and are playing pathetic me me me basketball. Their eyes are on the rim and not on their teammates. That is what I am judging CWM on. Sure they may not be the best players and poorly recruited by JB, but one would think that they would have shown improvement and not in tiny pieces in very few situations. Let us stop the excuses and see what has been done with those with a prior UC presence. It is just about unwatchable, but we do, because regardless of the coach, regardless of these self centered players, we love UC. The first game I ever saw had Oscar. He made me a fan forever. Love them Cats, but I shudder at the wretched excrement on the court and I see little reason for hope this year. I will give CWM time for new recruits, but he has had time with the returning players and has shown negative results except for DD. Regardless I will still watch my beloved Bearcats.

This is dead on the point I've been trying to make. I would say this team was playing better in the first part of the year and have regressed since then. Regardless of what the talent level is that CWM inherited and assembled the only one who has improved is DDJ. The rest have not improved skill-wise and are not held accountable when they make the same mistakes repeatedly. I'm not expecting them to be great just incrementally better than they were. If going forward CWM is able to land all 4 and 5 star guys and just roll the ball out there much like the Memphis model then fine. I do believe there are a lot of players who will love Miller's style and the fact that he never gets on you or sit you for not listening. If you can't recruit the very best athlete then you have to have a program that develops what you get. While it's early but I don't see fundamentals and development emphasized.

[Lobot]

This is dead on the point I've been trying to make. I would say this team was playing better in the first part of the year and have regressed since then. Regardless of what the talent level is that CWM inherited and assembled the only one who has improved is DDJ. The rest have not improved skill-wise and are not held accountable when they make the same mistakes repeatedly. I'm not expecting them to be great just incrementally better than they were. If going forward CWM is able to land all 4 and 5 star guys and just roll the ball out there much like the Memphis model then fine. I do believe there are a lot of players who will love Miller's style and the fact that he never gets on you or sit you for not listening. If you can't recruit the very best athlete then you have to have a program that develops what you get. While it's early but I don't see fundamentals and development emphasized.

Look at the bright side. The players don't step out of bounds 5 times a game like under the last guy.

I don't think anyone aspires to be Memphis based on the results.

We're used to having a negative energy firebrand coach and Wes is very different than that. I think we'll get used to it eventually. Not to make light of PTSD but it wouldn't surprise me if some of the holdovers from last year actually had it.

You can't coach those who do not want to be coached. I'm not referring to anyone specifically here but I'm guessing there's a least a couple of guys in that bucket.

Unrelated but when Justin Jenifer got here, he was a speed demon who wanted to push the ball at every opportunity. As a function of Cronin's offense, Jenifer had to slow down a lot during his career. He became a really solid PG because of it and I think we'll eventually see the same with Mike Saunders Jr.