Detroit Mercy 12/21 7:00 ESPN+

[leo from jersey]

Is this the Rufus and Leo show? You guys need to get a room. Just bustin your chops boys.

The last 4 minutes of the first half and the first 4 minutes of the second half was outstanding team ball. Great defense, excellent passing, great low post entry passes, excellent shooting. Those 8 minutes built the working margin reflected in the final score.
Vik is a load. Very skilled for his size. Great rebounder and anticipation of where the ball is going.
Nolley is going out of his way to facilitate and his passing has been excellent, almost to a fault as he is passing up lots of good shots for himself. Becoming a real leader.
Ody deserved more minutes. He is looking for his offense and really elevating his game. We need a second low post presence and he is providing.
JD doesn't need to play on nights he is not shooting well. He couldn't throw it in the ocean tonight and got waaaay too many minutes.
I really believe if Hensley had the long leash JD gets that he would be a monster. He is so close and only needs extended minutes to get more comfortable.
The pups are doing great. Skillings gives great effort and wants so badly to be an offensive force. Great nose for the ball. Reed very solid and gonna be a player also.
MAW and DD played very solid games.

Mercy had a couple very good offensive players that repeatedly scored against good defense.
Time for the real bullets to start flying. I am guardedly optimistic and hopeful. Lets shock the world Cats!

I thought JD played more because he was trying to pass and he did hit the open man twice for points. While he did jack up too many shoddy shots, he seemed to be trying. Maybe CWM was rewarding him.

[leo from jersey]

Once again, I didn't see Kalu E. or that big freshman.

[RedDog]

I thought JD played more because he was trying to pass and he did hit the open man twice for points. While he did jack up too many shoddy shots, he seemed to be trying. Maybe CWM was rewarding him.

Could be the case, good point. He had a bunch of assists by his standards. Its just his defense usually needs to be offset by his points, so maybe this time the assists were the rationale.
Hes a nice rotation piece, just not the cornerstone we try to make him. I think we are better if his shots went to Nolley and when they are both out there, Nolley becomes a spectator too often. Last night he actually became the point guard and deferred to JD for shots. I am gonna watch the game again and see if Nolleys points came when JD was in or out.

I didn't even see Kalu on the bench. Will look for that also.

[RedDog]

I am traveling from NC to Cincy next week. Tulane will be my first game in the refurbished arena - can't wait.
Happy Holidays to all! Lets hope the guys are ready to turn the corner and surprise us all with better than expected results. I like this team and I see some real chemistry developing. Now we have to make it happen.

[red_n_black_attack]

I thought JD played more because he was trying to pass and he did hit the open man twice for points. While he did jack up too many shoddy shots, he seemed to be trying. Maybe CWM was rewarding him.

Ody has been effective replacing JD. I think JD is getting the message. I did see him pass the ball at least twice last night. He ran the floor better too.

[Longtime Lurker]

As noted above, I'd agree that JD can be a valuable rotation piece, and it does seem like he is looking to pass more (and his turnovers are way down this year compared to last)-if would be good for him to end his senior year in the right role and getting appreciated for what he can do, rather than seeing a hometown guy who wanted to play here get beaten up for all the ways he falls short in a role not suited for him.

Was at the game yesterday-RedDog, you are in for a treat, the renovations are a big step up from how it used to be, particularly up high, where there are now good viewing angles everywhere and you no longer fell like you are going to pitch forward to your death even when sitting down. My couple of observations-was great to see DDJ really get after it with regards to guarding Antoine Davis-he wanted the assignment at all times, including waving off switches-and really made life miserable (it got heated on the floor a few times, but actually a cool sportsmanship moment in the handshake line after with Mike Davis giving him a long hug, as did Antoinne)-DDJ showed that how much he can contribute with defense, leadership, and effort even when not scoring in bunches. Big Vik is really coming along-he is going to give some big men fits in-conference. Ody looks much better-but he gets gassed quickly-not sure if that is because of a lack of conditioning, or that he goes all out all the time, or banging against bigger bodies-but would love to see more minutes for hensley to help spread that load. I feel like we are starting to see what wes is striving for-he may not quite have the horses to pull it off yet, but the glimmers really seem to be there.

I'll still expect them to lay an egg or two this year against teams they should beat, and i worry that Houston may just be too good/disciplined for us realistically-but I really think we will steal at least one game against Memphis (because Penny) and that this team feels more like they can build through the year rather than flame out like last season...

Stay safe everyone, and happy holidays to all.

[leeraymond]

I bash coach Miller more than anyone on this blog. However, I believe in giving a man credit when he deserves it. Since UC has come back from Maui, the team has lost only one half of basketball (1st half of Xavier game) over this time period. Likewise, if you look at the box score of the X game, UC blew X out in the second half (outscored them by 14 points). Miller has been doing a pretty good job of coaching since Maui. In fact, on the season, UC has played 24 halves of basketball (I am NOT including Chaminade because they are DII) and has won 19 out of 24 halves this season (that represents a 79% win percentage). The adjustment that Miller made by playing both forwards (Lakhin and Oguama) at the same time was a nice move. That combination should help them in the conference. I do not understand what is going on with Ezikpe though. UC is going to need him in the conference. Not sure why the coaching staff is jerking him around. On the other hand, Ezikpe is NOT playing for a reason. Christmas Break is always interesting. The team that you have before Christmas may NOT be the team that you end up with after Christmas. That long break sometimes changes the team dynamic. I have seen that happen once with a Huggins' team (Dan Fortson era). Anyway, Tulane is up next. Cincinnati owes Tulane an *&%^# WHOOPING after what Tulane did to them AT HOME last year. UC was down by 23 at halftime. If Miller can get this team to play GOOD DEFENSE every game (holding teams to 60 to 65 points a game), along with their scoring, this can be a difficult team to deal with in the conference. Don't drink too much this Holiday Season. Happy Holidays.