UCF April 3 at 7:00 PM on FS1

[sedz]

UC should not bring in any player that cannot or will not play defense. A team cannot win championships without playing defense.

We have brought in many scorers who could not defend at first. Sean Kilpatrick and Steve Logan to name a couple.

If you want guys who excel at offense and defense when they step foot on campus, call up Cincy Reigns and tell 'em you're ready to sign an 8 figure check.

[Rufus]

Reading through these comments you could change the date of this thread to January and that’s a problem. Giving up 50 in the 2nd half. Dude cannot coach at this level. Stepping away from this mess 6 weeks ago was the right move for me.

JJ's play was a problem that occurred to begin conference play and now we ended the season the same way. And after twenty + games neither he nor Miller ( and the entire coaching staff apparently) haven't figured out that when he is not producing in any aspect of the game of basketball, defense, rebound, assisting, or facilitating others, to sit his a$$ on the bench and keep him there. He is neither a PG or a shooting guard when he is not scoring. All he does is continually shoot rocks and bricks. He only plays to attract attention to himself. I hate to say this but I hope Miller does let him seek other opportunities else where.

[leo from jersey]

We have brought in many scorers who could not defend at first. Sean Kilpatrick and Steve Logan to name a couple.

If you want guys who excel at offense and defense when they step foot on campus, call up Cincy Reigns and tell 'em you're ready to sign an 8 figure check.

In all fairness -- Logan and Kilpatrick had coaches who understood defense - both its value and how to teach it -- they also expected the players to play it - of course they didn't expect one to play what they had not been taught or had the heart for. Concerning your reply to Lee. He just stated his opinion as a lover of the Cats; as did you. All views should be considered with grace. I know last year I got all kinds of slack for going against JJ in here. This is a place not just to give stats, but to vent and hopefully one day celebrate. I don't think Lee was being personal. He was being a fan. Everyone's voice adds to our community.

[leo from jersey]

JJ's play was a problem that occurred to begin conference play and now we ended the season the same way. And after twenty + games neither he nor Miller ( and the entire coaching staff apparently) haven't figured out that when he is not producing in any aspect of the game of basketball, defense, rebound, assisting, or facilitating others, to sit his a$$ on the bench and keep him there. He is neither a PG or a shooting guard when he is not scoring. All he does is continually shoot rocks and bricks. He only plays to attract attention to himself. I hate to say this but I hope Miller does let him seek other opportunities else where.

so you are saying like Father (in his retirement) like son. His dad might like the change so he can appear on different broadcasts.

[BearKatz]

We have brought in many scorers who could not defend at first. Sean Kilpatrick and Steve Logan to name a couple.

If you want guys who excel at offense and defense when they step foot on campus, call up Cincy Reigns and tell 'em you're ready to sign an 8 figure check.

Yes we have! Wasn't that the knock on Rayvon Grffith? Has no idea how to defend, and played very little.

I watched Abaev play the other night. He can definetly jack up the 3, but stood around with no idea how to defend. I was hoping for a player who knows how to score around the Basket like Boozer & Dybansta.

This current roster has too many players willing to jack up 3s. Hopefully I'm wrong about Abaev and he's more than just another 3pt shooter. Hopefully Tillery will be the X Factor this coming season!

[London 'Cat]

so you are saying like Father (in his retirement) like son. His dad might like the change so he can appear on different broadcasts.

I don't recall James Sr. ever saying anything publicly about JJ. He supports his son and does not demand attention. Yes, he is a HOF running back and that attracts attention but I don't believe he is disruptive in any way. Maybe I have missed something.

[London 'Cat]

Yes we have! Wasn't that the knock on Rayvon Grffith? Has no idea how to defend, and played very little.

I watched Abaev play the other night. He can definetly jack up the 3, but stood around with no idea how to defend. I was hoping for a player who knows how to score around the Basket like Boozer & Dybansta.

This current roster has too many players willing to jack up 3s. Hopefully I'm wrong about Abaev and he's more than just another 3pt shooter. Hopefully Tillery will be the X Factor this coming season!

Abaev does not play the same position as Boozer and Dybansta so that is not a fair comparison. He will play either the 2 or 3 in college where as those two players are 4s or 5s in college. Irrelevant comparison IMO.

We have seem many players over the years who could defend but could not score and never learned to score. Maybe starting with an opposite type of player will have a different result.

[zykarious]

JJ's play was a problem that occurred to begin conference play and now we ended the season the same way. And after twenty + games neither he nor Miller ( and the entire coaching staff apparently) haven't figured out that when he is not producing in any aspect of the game of basketball, defense, rebound, assisting, or facilitating others, to sit his a$$ on the bench and keep him there. He is neither a PG or a shooting guard when he is not scoring. All he does is continually shoot rocks and bricks. He only plays to attract attention to himself. I hate to say this but I hope Miller does let him seek other opportunities else where.

Wes has shown in game and in season, he just doesn't demand accountability. I guess it goes along with his "I'll let you play" recruiting pitch, but letting guys make the same mistakes all season isn't helping them develop and isn't helping the team win.

Say Jizzle didn't have the players around him and had to force up shots all you want. I saw a team that ran pretty good offense with Day Day in and Jizzle on the bench. I saw Jizzle jacking up bad early shot clock shots. I saw a possession where Jizzle dribbled the ball for 25 seconds, nearly lost it and Reed ended up with the ball and had to jack up a bad three.

Mick Cronin would have pulled Jizzle out of the game about 10 times last night (especially when you count his defense issues) and maybe that would have been excessive. But Wes didn't pull him once, Jizzle didn't miss a rotation until late in the second half, it's just no accountability from the coaching staff. Go out there, play as bad as you want, take whatever bad shots you want, don't play defense, you'll still get your minutes because Wes barely makes in game adjustments and it takes him forever to even make in season adjustments for that matter.

[leo from jersey]

I don't recall James Sr. ever saying anything publicly about JJ. He supports his son and does not demand attention. Yes, he is a HOF running back and that attracts attention but I don't believe he is disruptive in any way. Maybe I have missed something.

sure sure -- did you notice how he spoke to CWM after a game and then JJ got the start last year.

[BearKatz]

Abaev does not play the same position as Boozer and Dybansta so that is not a fair comparison. He will play either the 2 or 3 in college where as those two players are 4s or 5s in college. Irrelevant comparison IMO.

We have seem many players over the years who could defend but could not score and never learned to score. Maybe starting with an opposite type of player will have a different result.

Agree! Abaev does not play the same position as Boozer & Dybansta etc.... But UC has had plenty of 2s & 3s in the past who could score 10ft in. All I saw from Abaev the other night was a player just willing to jack up 3s.

Hopefully I'm wrong, and Abaev is an all around polished scorer who can be a threat anywhere on the floor.

[zykarious]

Anyone else catch the in game interview with Wes last night? Really it was just a question or two, sometime late in the first half I believe. What he said sticks with me. He said (paraphrasing) he was "surprised by our lack of intensity, after we played hard in the first game". And I thought, what has he been watching all season? Most fans would say it's a safe bet we wouldn't bring intensity, especially not two games in a row. Maybe Wes thought money would motivate the guys where he couldn't.

[zykarious]

Agree! Abaev does not play the same position as Boozer & Dybansta etc.... But UC has had plenty of 2s & 3s in the past who could score 10ft in. All I saw from Abaev the other night was a player just willing to jack up 3s.

Hopefully I'm wrong, and Abaev is an all around polished scorer who can be a threat anywhere on the floor.

I always think it's safe to bet that Freshmen will under-perform fan expectations. Statistically, the odds are strongly in your favor if you bet against a freshman being starting quality on day 1. Of course those odds differ for highly rated 5-stars, but unless a guys a one-and-done type (and maybe even then), he's going to need some polish and have some holes in his game.

I'm hopeful Abaev can contribute 15+ minutes per game in year one, but it's incredibly unlikely he'll step in and be the savior of the team and Wes's career.

[sedz]

Boozer and Dybansta are the top 2 recruits on Rivals. Abaev is #22. That's a significant difference. Are we really complaining that our recruits aren't as good as the top two prospects? Like I said, unless anyone has 8 figures lying around, we can't just pick who we want from the McDonalds game. Let's be glad we landed a 5 star at all.

[BearKatz]

The fact is, nobody's complaining! Iv'e heard numerous times throughout the season, Rayvon's not playing because he's a defensive LIABILTY!

So are we throwing out defense for 5 Star Recruits and not others? Becuase Rayvon Grffith was never known for his defense in HS! He was known for his scoring ability! Thats my Point!

[swilsonsp4]

Boozer and Dybansta are the top 2 recruits on Rivals. Abaev is #22. That's a significant difference. Are we really complaining that our recruits aren't as good as the top two prospects? Like I said, unless anyone has 8 figures lying around, we can't just pick who we want from the McDonalds game. Let's be glad we landed a 5 star at all.

To reinforce this, BYU's boosters are paying Dybantsa a reported $8M for his upcoming one year of service. Per Chad Brendel, UC's entire basketball NIL is $6-7M.