Who is our next UC coach?

[leeraymond]

Dug up my thoughts from when we hired Wes. This was easy to see coming, and it's very concerning that nothing has changed: https://www.bearcattalk.com/threads/....12515/page-69

The first short list candidate we've heard that has college head coaching experience. I don't know how I feel about him though. His recent teams have been good because they cause a lot of turnovers and crash the offensive glass. That fits the traditional Cincinnati style basketball that fans like. His recent teams haven't been very good shooting the ball though. They don't get to the free throw line and have very few shots blocked, so they're not attacking the rim. They have very low assist rates, so they aren't passing the ball to get open set shots.
...
It's one thing to understand the importance of the three point shot, and it's another to have a scheme that creates open three point opportunities. Same with shots at the rim. The very low assist rate means not many threes are open catch and shoot attempts, which is probably why their percentage is so bad. The very low foul rate (and shots blocked) means they aren't putting the defense in many compromising positions attacking the rim. Better players will obviously help with some of that, but I'd like to see him hire someone who will modernize the offense.

I do not always agree with you on matters concerning college basketball, but I have to give it to you. You got this one right about Coach Miller. Two points here: 1) I believe that John Cunningham hired Miller on one major thought; Miller had the most wins of any coach under 40 at that time; and 2) Cunningham did a very poor job of fully vetting Miller's coaching history. Had Cunningham fully examined Miller's win-lost record, he would have seen that Miller averaged about 13 to 14 losses very year. Just about what he is averaging now. Also, Miller's teams historically have given up about 69 to 70 points a game. Too many points to win championships.

I actually went back and looked at Miller's record for every year while at UNCG. Based on what I uncovered, I did NOT think that Miller was the coach that should have been hired. However, Miller is a politician. He KNOWS how to get along with people. People like him. Also, he is not a bad looking guy. That makes him attractive to potential employers. However, Miller's biggest problem is that HE DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO WIN GAMES against higher quality teams. That is the anchor around his neck. The fans and the administration at UC are now seeing that.

[leeraymond]

I don't think Mitchell as a player or a small, athletic 4 is the problem. The problem is we play offense as if it's 2005. What's the point of a 4 out roster if you're just going to run a traditional PG/C PnR or iso the wing? Offense has become more efficient over the years by spacing the floor. We condense the floor. It makes no sense.

I normally pay closer attention to the defense when I am watching a basketball game. Today when UC plays Kansas, I am going to lock into the offense. This game is going to be tough for UC to win. Hopefully, UC CAN find its offense again. Hoping for a big UC win at home.

[sedz]

I don't think Mitchell as a player or a small, athletic 4 is the problem. The problem is we play offense as if it's 2005. What's the point of a 4 out roster if you're just going to run a traditional PG/C PnR or iso the wing? Offense has become more efficient over the years by spacing the floor. We condense the floor. It makes no sense.

Dug up my thoughts from when we hired Wes. This was easy to see coming, and it's very concerning that nothing has changed: https://www.bearcattalk.com/threads/....12515/page-69

The first short list candidate we've heard that has college head coaching experience. I don't know how I feel about him though. His recent teams have been good because they cause a lot of turnovers and crash the offensive glass. That fits the traditional Cincinnati style basketball that fans like. His recent teams haven't been very good shooting the ball though. They don't get to the free throw line and have very few shots blocked, so they're not attacking the rim. They have very low assist rates, so they aren't passing the ball to get open set shots.
...
It's one thing to understand the importance of the three point shot, and it's another to have a scheme that creates open three point opportunities. Same with shots at the rim. The very low assist rate means not many threes are open catch and shoot attempts, which is probably why their percentage is so bad. The very low foul rate (and shots blocked) means they aren't putting the defense in many compromising positions attacking the rim. Better players will obviously help with some of that, but I'd like to see him hire someone who will modernize the offense.

[sedz]

I don't think Mitchell as a player or a small, athletic 4 is the problem. The problem is we play offense as if it's 2005. What's the point of a 4 out roster if you're just going to run a traditional PG/C PnR or iso the wing? Offense has become more efficient over the years by spacing the floor. We condense the floor. It makes no sense.

[longtimefan]

Yowza, there are some extreme reactions in this thread. Roy Williams saying Wes can coach means far more to me than a three game losing streak in a ridiculously hard conference. I don't have a complaint against Wes in the least. I believe he will be an, actually no, IS an excellent coach. Three games is nothing to lose your stuffing over. I personally believe the issue is something our university has done for ages. We played an embarrassingly easy non-conference schedule that did little to prepare us for conference play. We do this every year. It drives me crazy. I look at some of the other non-conference schedules of our conference foes and have no trouble understanding why they are far more ready than we are. I mean, Grambling State in late December as our final tune-up before conference play?! Coach Wes can coach. We just have to knock off playing about 10 schools every year we have no business playing. 3 to 5 to work out some kinks? OK, fine. Close to 10? Forget it.

We could be in the AAC, be 14-0, and everybody would be happy. This is what we asked for, a tough league that will prepare us for the NCAA, so maybe we don’t get knocked out in the first weekend every year. We’re big time now, and Wes is the guy to lead this team.

[leeraymond]

Man, I don't think we are watching the same games. We must be living in different timelines.

Excluding the Baylor game, Mitchell is hitting for 14 points and pulling down 9 rebounds a game in the conference. I am not sure what happened in Waco. I think that the entire team was affected by the very poor travel conditions and the nerve-racking experience of having to wait around for suitable planes to travel on. At any rate, Baylor may have been the worst game of the season for Mitchell.

I like Mitchell. UC cannot win without him. He is the best rebounder on the team and one of its best scorers. I agree with you that perhaps Miller is not using him in a way to optimize his usefulness. I don't know man. I think another big man, like Reynolds, Lakhin, or McKinley could really help. Not sure what was seen in Page to justify recruiting him. Page reminds me of a guy that is better suited to play at the mid-major level. He is not equipped to play against high-major big men.

From my point of view, big men are an AFTER THOUGHT in Miller's system. Miller has signed two ball handling types of guards for next year, but has NOT signed any bigs. Tyler McKinley is the only one of two freshman big man that Miller has recruited in the time he has been at UC. The other big man that Miller recruited plays for Kansas. The big men that Miller let get away are doing well at their new schools (Reynolds 11.6 points and 7.9 rebounds; Lakhin 10 points and 6 rebounds). Whether Miller goes after a point forward or a regular power forward, he needs to develop a 4-man rotation of big men and stop messing around with this four out / one in system. In its present form, it is not working for Miller in the BIG XII, especially against teams that play with big body or very tall forwards and centers.

You know what, if Lukosius and James were scoring at their normal rates, we would not be having this discussion because the team would be winning its games.

[sedz]

I have no problem with Michell's offense. That may be the best part to his game. In conference play Mitchell is scoring 9.3 points and 6.7 rebounds a game. The problem is on defense.

Man, I don't think we are watching the same games. We must be living in different timelines.

[leo from jersey]

". I myself find it very tiring to see four players standing around while our "point guards" dribble the ball around the top of the key as it occurs much to frequently..

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It might help if one of the pgs would stop looking down as he dribbled around and look for his buddies. I have hope that the tide will turn, but it is getting deep in conference play. That conference is very deep itself. Things can happen on the floor but good fundamental 'TEAM' PLAY" can help the good things happen. Can CWM go beyond bragging on his favorites and develop the team? Maybe the Athletic department has a few old CLF shirt with TEAM on the back.

[bearcatjd]

This offense is very much like Cronin's offense where the guards just dribbled around the perimeter & then late in the shot clock force a shot! Very frustrating to say the least!

[Rufus]

This is an overreaction. No, the Bearcats aren't playing well on offense right now. It's not as though there's no chance of recovery. Take a deep breath. The Jayhawks are going to be tough, but even the Sun Devils are hanging with them at Phog Allen tonight.

All eight of BearcattonyOO's are "the sky is falling" overreactions. We all know UC bball is in dire straits. And we all know that the talent is there for success to be had but just where the problem lies is the problem. Either the players do not have a clue as to what CWM and his staff are trying to do or CWM and staff are in over their heads and don't know themselves what to do or how to go about putting together a "team". I myself find it very tiring to see four players standing around while our "point guards" dribble the ball around the top of the key as it occurs much to frequently.To continue beating a dead horse that many members point out on here, there are so many facets of basic bball that are being neglected, ignored or not taught? With that said I fear CWM will be given the full term of his contract to right this ship because either option, terminating him now, or us ending this season at the bottom of conference standings basement is a scenario that will put UC sports in a very precarious position. I hope Miller can figure this out but it has to start happening now.

[leeraymond]

Lol, who are you going to play at the 4 then? You want even less mobility on the floor? Page would foul out in 10 minutes and get abused by quick forwards. We have no one else bigger than Mitchell.

We can try a point forward regardless of who is on the court. The idea is to force bigger, slower defenders to move around screens and free up guards to operate in space on the wings. It can work regardless of how big our frontcourt is. Our offense is the big problem right now. The defense has been fine. We need to try something different.

Good question. Who else can Miller put at that 4? I have asked myself that question. What about Betsey? He is a forward. I have no problem with Michell's offense. That may be the best part to his game. In conference play Mitchell is scoring 9.3 points and 6.7 rebounds a game. The problem is on defense. It is difficult for Mitchell to handle bigger forwards. Mitchell weighs 210. He was no match for Dixon 265 (Villanova). Also, taller forwards in that 6'9"- 6'11" range give Mitchell problems (K-State).

I am not sure if the defense will be fine after the Baylor blowout loss 68-48 (UC did hold Baylor under 70). The twenty-point loss is a problem. I think that UC's travel problems had ALOT to do with the Baylor loss. In every BIG XII game this year so far, UC was dominated somewhere in the game. That is a problem.

I do agree that UC needs to try something different.

[JohnFrancis]

Heck, even the Xavier and Dayton wins are not looking so good now...these teams are having problems too. Injuries?

[UC4me]

Yowza, there are some extreme reactions in this thread. Roy Williams saying Wes can coach means far more to me than a three game losing streak in a ridiculously hard conference. I don't have a complaint against Wes in the least. I believe he will be an, actually no, IS an excellent coach. Three games is nothing to lose your stuffing over. I personally believe the issue is something our university has done for ages. We played an embarrassingly easy non-conference schedule that did little to prepare us for conference play. We do this every year. It drives me crazy. I look at some of the other non-conference schedules of our conference foes and have no trouble understanding why they are far more ready than we are. I mean, Grambling State in late December as our final tune-up before conference play?! Coach Wes can coach. We just have to knock off playing about 10 schools every year we have no business playing. 3 to 5 to work out some kinks? OK, fine. Close to 10? Forget it.

[Bearcat93]

I can agree with some of that and you can argue that the goal should be to win every contest if you're the coach and players. As a fan I do not expect to win road games in this league. Are you going to grab a 3-4? Sure if you play well.

I'll disagree that the NCAA Tournament games are road games. They can feel like it depending on location and the opposing fan base but by and large these are neutral court games. Totally different vibe that's more similar to a conference tournament with multiple fan bases stuffed into the arena than a true road environment.

I’ll just add that Huggins image & to probably a greater extent his players off the field conduct, we were cheered against in many tournament games across the 90’s & 2000’s. But I’ll restate it maybe a little better: teams that play poorly on the road are challenged more so in the ncaa tournament .
I

[sedz]

We can shake up the offense without waiting for players who aren't on the roster and even if Mitchell might not be able to defend big men.