Temple 1/1 3:00 ESPN

[JBB]

This team doesn’t play as a team. They have talent, but they all are spoiled individuals. We played well the first 10+ minutes, then we get into track meet basketball, launching 3’s before the rest of the team can get to the front court for, maybe………Get An Offensive Rebound??? In the mean time we let them go on a 15-0 run and game over at halftime. No offensive patterns I can see….when they go to track meet fast breaks, they don’t have numbers and dribble into defenders. I love the cats, but it’s hard to see any progress being made

[Rufus]

This was a game I thought Ezikpe should have gotten some minutes.

I am certainly perplexed as to what's going on with this young man. In a game when we couldn't buy a rebound his help was definitely needed. Temples energy was just too much for Vic and Ody alone. Should have brought Hensley and Ezikpe in to spell Ody and JD. There were several times when Temple had three, four attempts at buckets. That is good old bearcat basketball used against us

[Bearcats1232002]

I just fear what is going to happen when we get to the Big12. If you are struggling with a .500 AAC team then I hate to see what would happen in the Big12. The last few years it has been like this. Struggling with middle of the road AAC teams with the Big 12 lurking next year.

[Bearcat93]

There’s clearly enough talent to win some games but there’s a lot of inconsistencies in effort and poor fundamentals (shot selection, failure to feed into the paint) that will hold this team back.

[leeraymond]

Some observations on the Temple game: 1) why not call a timeout when Temple was on its 15 - 0 run? 2) Why match Skillings (a freshman) up with Battle (one of the leading scorers in the AAC)? Look what happened when DeJulius matched up with Battle, he stopped scoring. 3) It is very apparent that UC has all kinds of problems playing HALF-COURT basketball. Think about this for a minute, all three of the half-court teams that UC has played this year resulted in losses (NKU, Ohio State, and Temple). Neither Ohio State nor Temple scored any fast-break points. All of their points came in the half-court. 4) Nolley, Davenport, and Skillings gave up a lot of baskets against Temple. You would think that these guys would be better perimeter defenders since they are all about 6'7". It is now CLEAR that Miller is NOT much of a defensive coach and does NOT DEMAND MUCH DEFENSE OR REBOUNDING FROM HIS TEAMS. UC's PICK-AND-ROLL DEFENSE is horrible and is NOT improving. Why does Miller continue to label himself as a defense first coach? If you look at just about ALL of the data points that are used to measure a team's toughness, UC is ranked nationally below the top 100 or the top 200. Check these rankings out (these do not include the Temple game): Total Rebounds Per Game (ranked 105), Offensive Rebounds (143), Defensive Rebounds (126), Steals Per Game (167), Blocks Per Game (65), Bench Points (259), Opponents Field Goal Percentage (174), and here is the one that is downright embarrassing for a UC team, SCORING DEFENSE (191). On the other hand, UC ranks in the top 100 nationally in some offensive categories and rank in the top 50 in scoring offense. It makes you wonder how much practice time EACH DAY is dedicated to INDIVIDUAL DEFENSIVE AND REBOUNDING DRILLS. If Temple out rebounded UC by 18, what is Houston going to do to them? I understand that it is very DIFFICULT to win on the road. However, at this point of the season, a team is what it is. That is not to say that a team cannot improve. What becomes clear is that Coach Miller does NOT have his act together when it comes to DEFENSIVE BASKETBALL. THE NUMBERS DON'T LIE. The numbers STRONGLY suggest that Miller is an OFFENSE FIRST coach. At best, Miller's teams are mediocre on the defensive end. The current level of defense for UC may succeed against weaker non-conference teams, but it will NOT succeed against the better AAC teams. I sincerely hope that coach Miller can get the team to play better defense while there is still something to play for.

[djs]

Yesterday's performance can't be explained away as a "tough road game." There was no one in the stands. It was like playing a scrimmage.

[leo from jersey]

My question is what is CWM thinking. In a game that the Cats were continually beaten to the boards why didn't he at least try Sage Tolentino? He burned his red shirt for 2 games with total playing time under 8 minutes I think. If he wasn't ready CWM should have seen that in practice. If CWM was afraid what it would do to his confidence, what is sitting on the bench going to accomplished with a burnt red shirt year. Why not try Kalu? ODy seems out of position and JD doesn't belong in the front court. Does CWM have a doghouse? Did CWM really think the team could come back after being pushed around? What did he have to lose playing Sage and Kalu as he had already lost the game. ISO ISO ISO I saw a team unable to play it. I know I was s for yanking Kalu earlier, but the situation was desperate. Your two bigs who were the tallest on the court had 5 and 4 rebounds a piece. Totally out of position without a clue where to get in position. They were beaten by a much quicker, BB smarter and seemingly stronger team. I saw one college level box out and that was from MAW. These guys are not ready to rebound as their eyes are not on where the ball is going as they try not to foul instead of positioning. Maybe CWM will add some front court depth, but has of now we know the opponent's strategy. Take it to Vik get him in foul trouble, let him rant and then he will lay back..More to come I fear.

[Bearcats1232002]

Yesterday's performance can't be explained away as a "tough road game." There was no one in the stands. It was like playing a scrimmage.

I agree. Over the last coupe of years we seem to lose too many of these games that are winnable. Temple has some good players but they are not a scary team. They lost to Penn, MD-Eastern Shore, Wagner and Richmond this year. It's not like we were playing Duke on the road.

[leo from jersey]

I agree. Over the last coupe of years we seem to lose too many of these games that are winnable. Temple has some good players but they are not a scary team. They lost to Penn, MD-Eastern Shore, Wagner and Richmond this year. It's not like we were playing Duke on the road.

well it showed we lacked rebounding fundamentals as well as good shot selection. Many would say that was poor coaching. Yes there might not be talent, but a good coach can be expected to have taught basics by his second year. They may not get a rebound, but they should know how to position themselves by now. They don't. Once again, CWM said he needs to be a friend to the players and listen and talk with them. He also needs to address basic fundamentals in his talks and in practice, He may give hugs, but he might need to give what Huggs did. He should expect effort if not skill.

[coach]

Some observations on the Temple game: 1) why not call a timeout when Temple was on its 15 - 0 run? 2) Why match Skillings (a freshman) up with Battle (one of the leading scorers in the AAC)? Look what happened when DeJulius matched up with Battle, he stopped scoring. 3) It is very apparent that UC has all kinds of problems playing HALF-COURT basketball. Think about this for a minute, all three of the half-court teams that UC has played this year resulted in losses (NKU, Ohio State, and Temple). Neither Ohio State nor Temple scored any fast-break points. All of their points came in the half-court. 4) Nolley, Davenport, and Skillings gave up a lot of baskets against Temple. You would think that these guys would be better perimeter defenders since they are all about 6'7". It is now CLEAR that Miller is NOT much of a defensive coach and does NOT DEMAND MUCH DEFENSE OR REBOUNDING FROM HIS TEAMS. UC's PICK-AND-ROLL DEFENSE is horrible and is NOT improving. Why does Miller continue to label himself as a defense first coach? If you look at just about ALL of the data points that are used to measure a team's toughness, UC is ranked nationally below the top 100 or the top 200. Check these rankings out (these do not include the Temple game): Total Rebounds Per Game (ranked 105), Offensive Rebounds (143), Defensive Rebounds (126), Steals Per Game (167), Blocks Per Game (65), Bench Points (259), Opponents Field Goal Percentage (174), and here is the one that is downright embarrassing for a UC team, SCORING DEFENSE (191). On the other hand, UC ranks in the top 100 nationally in some offensive categories and rank in the top 50 in scoring offense. It makes you wonder how much practice time EACH DAY is dedicated to INDIVIDUAL DEFENSIVE AND REBOUNDING DRILLS. If Temple out rebounded UC by 18, what is Houston going to do to them? I understand that it is very DIFFICULT to win on the road. However, at this point of the season, a team is what it is. That is not to say that a team cannot improve. What becomes clear is that Coach Miller does NOT have his act together when it comes to DEFENSIVE BASKETBALL. THE NUMBERS DON'T LIE. The numbers STRONGLY suggest that Miller is an OFFENSE FIRST coach. At best, Miller's teams are mediocre on the defensive end. The current level of defense for UC may succeed against weaker non-conference teams, but it will NOT succeed against the better AAC teams. I sincerely hope that coach Miller can get the team to play better defense while there is still something to play for.

He actually did take a timeout at about the 5 or 6 minute mark, and there was also a tv timeout at about the two minute mark during their run.

[bg703]

Hi all, I was at the game yesterday. It was really physical inside and obviously UC lacks depth there. Not seeing Ezikpe probably tells us what the coaching staff thinks of him. Folks are right, the environment was very subdued without students there (and during the Eagles game). Honestly, the biggest thing next to the rebounding was UC had some pretty good looks at times and simply came up empty. Skillings seemed to be trying to do too much in front of friends and family. Not a dreadful loss but winning at Wichita would really be a good idea with Houston on Sunday.

[leeraymond]

He actually did take a timeout at about the 5 or 6 minute mark, and there was also a tv timeout at about the two minute mark during their run.

Okay. Good call. I missed that one. However, I thought by the 2-minute mark in the 1st half, MAW hit a shot to end Temple's run. I could be wrong.

[JBB]

Certainly CWM is an offensive coach first. It is plain as say to this arm chair QB that defense and rebounding is not a priority. The Bearcat tradition has been built on toughness, defense and rebounding. It’s obvious the AAU coaches only coach shooting and dunking. When these players get to a D-1 program they are not equipped to compete at this level. CWM needs to demand that these skills improve to get PT.
If not, we may be looking for a new coach. Wonder if Norman Dale is available

[leo from jersey]

Certainly CWM is an offensive coach first. It is plain as say to this arm chair QB that defense and rebounding is not a priority. The Bearcat tradition has been built on toughness, defense and rebounding. It’s obvious the AAU coaches only coach shooting and dunking. When these players get to a D-1 program they are not equipped to compete at this level. CWM needs to demand that these skills improve to get PT.
If not, we may be looking for a new coach. Wonder if Norman Dale is available

at his age he might come cheap.