UCF 2/5 7:00 CBS Sports Network

[GoBearcats31]

I'd love to be sitting here right now with UC in the top 15-20, not far off from entering "lock" status for the NCAA Tournament.

Short of that, there's something special about being on/around the bubble and scoreboard watching every night and watching the ratings fluctuate. The fact that we're not even in the picture makes it hard to enjoy the rest of CBB.

But I remain hopeful they can beat UCF and then they have back-to-back games against BYU and Utah which, in theory, they should be able to win. Obviously the WVU game instills minimal conference. But maybe, just maybe they can do something on Wednesday night and go from there...

[longtimefan]

Both Hickman (foot) and Fredrick (back) are hurt.

Then I’d use two walk-ons.

[swilsonsp4]

This is it, do they finally learn to compete?

My starting lineup for Wednesday, CWM please consider this.

Hickman
Betsey
Griffith
Frederick
Mitchell

First time they dog it, yank them. You have to do something, so send a stinking message. Have the walk-ons ready. The worst thing we can do is continue to tolerate the disgraceful, un-Bearcat play.

Both Hickman (foot) and Fredrick (back) are hurt.

[D.A.H.]

These guys appear to be feeling sorry for themselves. Fast story. Before Lance Stevenson got to UC, Cronin complained that he could not practice in a physical manner with the team because the players rejected that type of practice and did not respond well. When Lance got to UC the players were used to their NCAA specified practice time and that was it. Lance was trying to go pro and used to be in the gym all of the time. He used to go to the gym after midnight on Fridays and would take Sean Kilpatrick with him. Before you know it, Deon Dixon started going. That changed everything for Cronin in terms of players staying ready. Yancy Gates also started doing extra running to keep his weight down and cardio up. The very next season Cronin made the NCAAs for the first time at UC. I believe that Lance Stevenson changed the trajectory of Cronin's career by showing his teammates HOW to win.

My point is this. When things are not going well, hit the #@^%$ gym and figure why your shot is not working. Put the extra work in. Stop chasing girls or whatever young guys do these days and get yourself in the gym.

Miller is always talking about taking a day off. I know that the NCAA allows only 20 hours of TEAM practice a week. The last time that I checked, there were 168 hours in a week. As individuals, UC players can get in the gym as many hours as they want. If UC wants to win, Miller should encourage them to get in the gym. If UC is serious about winning, they should get in the gym. Do not wait on Miller, get in the gym.

fwiw, i don't have any stats on this, but i do agree with you. when you talk about the guys that stand out, they all have one trait, bar none. they never stop working, never stop trying to get better. there's no shortcut.

[leo from jersey]

Players do need to put in extra work on their own time. Michael Redd is an example that comes to mind (since I live in the Columbus media market). When he played for aO$U, there were stories about him shooting 300+ jump shots per day on his own time. He became an NBA player. I have never heard of anyone under Miller, Brannen, and the later Cronin years putting in that extra work. Maybe they have but the results sure have not shown up.

I still hope we win them all

[longtimefan]

UCF has always been a tough place to play for us, even in years when we were top 25 and they weren’t in the top 200. I hope like **** we compete, but after seeing play recently, it wouldn’t surprise me if UC gives up halfway through the first half. The players have to know that fans and media are questioning their manhood, their character, last night McAlister was particularly brutal. How do they respond?

I’ve been a UC fan for a loooooong time, and I’ve never looked at a game and thought we have 0% chance to win, until now. Man, I hope they prove me wrong.

[GoBearcats31]

Need a players' only meeting!

In the process of falling short of all the expectations, I'd at least like to not finish below UCF...

UCF is 13-8 (4-6) with similar narrow wins over CU and ASU (but at home and on road) but also wins at Texas Tech and at home versus TCU. The Knights have lost 4 of 5 but three of those losses were to Houston, Iowa State and Kansas plus a 6-point L to BYU over the weekend.

Top guys:
Keyshawn Hall, 6'7 G/F, 18.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists (Cleveland native transferred from George Mason)
Darius Johnson, 6'1 G, 14.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 2.5 steals (fourth year at UCF, scored 16 last time out versus UC)
Jordan Ivy-Curry, 6'3 G, 14.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals (fifth year transfer from UTSA)
Moustapha Thiam, 7'2 C, 9.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.5 blocks (freshman from Dakar, Senegal; Aziz, Cheikh Mbodj, Ibrahima Thomas also from there)

UCF scores nearly 80 ppg, including 77.8 from FT

The Knights are #63 in the NET (Quad 1 road game!)

He doesn't play but UCF has a Thai kid named Poohpha Warakulnukroh which is fun; I am sure Dan Hoard will try to pronounce that at least once.

[red_n_black_attack]

How will today’s student athletes react to that kind of decision by a coach? With NIL and the portal, you are walking a very fine line there. I would not want to be a coach in the current environment. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t.

Ask the players if they want to play in the NBA, G-League with hopes of NBA, or overseas. The ones who respond NBA, tell them this is what they need to do to be that good because none of them are that good yet.

[London 'Cat]

Players do need to put in extra work on their own time. Michael Redd is an example that comes to mind (since I live in the Columbus media market). When he played for aO$U, there were stories about him shooting 300+ jump shots per day on his own time. He became an NBA player. I have never heard of anyone under Miller, Brannen, and the later Cronin years putting in that extra work. Maybe they have but the results sure have not shown up.

[leeraymond]

These guys appear to be feeling sorry for themselves. Fast story. Before Lance Stevenson got to UC, Cronin complained that he could not practice in a physical manner with the team because the players rejected that type of practice and did not respond well. When Lance got to UC the players were used to their NCAA specified practice time and that was it. Lance was trying to go pro and used to be in the gym all of the time. He used to go to the gym after midnight on Fridays and would take Sean Kilpatrick with him. Before you know it, Deon Dixon started going. That changed everything for Cronin in terms of players staying ready. Yancy Gates also started doing extra running to keep his weight down and cardio up. The very next season Cronin made the NCAAs for the first time at UC. I believe that Lance Stevenson changed the trajectory of Cronin's career by showing his teammates HOW to win.

My point is this. When things are not going well, hit the #@^%$ gym and figure why your shot is not working. Put the extra work in. Stop chasing girls or whatever young guys do these days and get yourself in the gym.

Miller is always talking about taking a day off. I know that the NCAA allows only 20 hours of TEAM practice a week. The last time that I checked, there were 168 hours in a week. As individuals, UC players can get in the gym as many hours as they want. If UC wants to win, Miller should encourage them to get in the gym. If UC is serious about winning, they should get in the gym. Do not wait on Miller, get in the gym.

[London 'Cat]

I remember when Huggins would not let them in the locker room and made the players wear regular gym shorts and t-shirts. He would not let them wear UC gear.

How will today’s student athletes react to that kind of decision by a coach? With NIL and the portal, you are walking a very fine line there. I would not want to be a coach in the current environment. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t.

[bearcatbret]

I remember when Huggins would not let them in the locker room and made the players wear regular gym shorts and t-shirts. He would not let them wear UC gear.

[Bearcat93]

I would like to see Betsey & Griffith get more minutes. I don’t really expect the end result to change but it would at least be a little different. I’m fine not seeing Hickman or Frederick the rest of the season, just not a fan of their game at all. Brace yourselves for a possible high scoring loss