Houston 1/3 2:00 FOX

[bearcatlifer]

I saw this game as a potential turning point for the season. Win this game and it sets the tone and the players realize what it takes to win at this level. Lose and they get discouraged and the season is lost.
We'll likely leave WV with another loss and so on and so on.Wes is frustrated and probably humiliated.He is giving it his all ( with considerable talent on this team) and he still can't win. That means he does not deserve his multi-million dollar salary and has got to go. Look at Butch Jones. He was making millions at Tennesee but it was not within his capabilities to win consistently. Now he has been at Arkansas St for 6 years
making $800k. Still not a bad gig but a bitter pill to swallow nonetheless.Wes,you tried but you are just not good enough. Go back to UNCG.

[Rufus]

Houston is just the better team. Baba forcing his dribble for no reason and getting it stolen, followed by Jizzle going Kobe and trying to drive right into their big man for the O-foul was the game. Then Baba gets to the line and bricks to free throws. Back to back bad plays, not really on Wes. Your players are at one level, Houston's are at another level. 65-60 with four minutes left, either you man up and make plays or you make stupid turnovers and the superior team eats your lunch.

Accept it....it's going to be a long year rooting for the 12th best team in the Big 12.

I did not watch the game. But did see the last four minutes as the curiosity got the best of me. Kelvin Sampson built his Houston teams on the blueprint written by Huggins play hard all game, dictate the tempo of the game, know your role on the team and perform it to the best of your ability, force your will onto the opponent and be physical. In the last four minutes it was Houston forcing to's, causing UC to make mistakes, making UC to be indecisive, but typical of a Wes Miller coached team they run out of gas, got disoriented, and lost control. So whataya gonna do?

[leeraymond372@gmail.com]

I do not think that we can blame this loss totally on Coach Miller. When the game was even-steven with about 4:50 left to go in the game, UC turned the ball over about 6 times to finish the game. Thomas and James had 2 TOs each and both Celestine and Baba had 1 TO each. At one point UC turned the ball over 3 consecutive times. A team cannot win like that.

Houston outscored UC by 12 in the second half. UH allowed UC just 27 points. UC gave up 39 points. A team cannot win like that either.

Here is the part that I find strange. Thomas and James seem to have a knack for turning the ball over at the most crucial times in the game. When the game is on the line and a win is still possible, BANG; those guys will turn the #@&% ball over. It is amazing that both Thomas and James repeatedly make that mistake. Think back to the Clemson game. The same thing happened; Thomas and James had crucial TOs when UC made a come-back. This is something that I noticed last season. This type of thing should not be happening to Thomas and James (or Kriisa) with all of their experience. But it does. Get in the gym and work on ball handling and passing.

When the time is running out in a close game, the WEAKER team will always FIND a way to lose.

[leeraymond372@gmail.com]

Once again, UC basketball lacked that killer instinct to win. Then again, you cannot display anything that you do not have.

[sedz]

60 points in 64 possessions. Under a point per possession isn't going to win many games against good teams. The biggest problem was 15 turnovers in only 64 possessions. That's a 23% turnover rate. Our shot selection was decent. Got to the rim 22 times and the FT line 16 times compared to just 7 midrange shots. We actually outscored Houston at the rim and FT line combined. 53% true shooting compared to their 47%. But we lost the rebounding and turnover battles so we had far fewer chances. That is of course Houston's MO.

Thiam was (barely) our best player with just 2.4 net points. A highly efficient 13 points on just 7 shots, but turned it over 3 times. Day Day recorded 2.3 net points, scoring 10 from the field on 10 shots and going a perfect 5 for 5 at the line with a team best 2 blocks. Dzellat was third best with 2.1 net points, going 2 for 2 with a couple free throws in just 12 minutes. Celestine and Miller were also just on the positive side.

Jizzle had the worst game with negative 6.6 net points. 1 for 7 shooting with 3 turnovers. Harris was second worst, also going 1 for 7 from the field. We all know he's a poor three point shooter, but he's now at just 44% inside the arc on the season. His 42% eFG and -2.7 OBPM are almost identical to last year. We knew what we were getting in Harris.

Abaev was the worst player in his time on the court, recording an abysmal negative 16 BPM in 9 minutes. 0 for 3 shooting with no other stats and a team worst DBPM.

[SKell82155]

A few ramblings:
1- seemed like the last 4 minutes or so, the Cats started trying to do things individually instead of passing the ball- thus the turnovers. Also, couldn’t corral some rebounds that ultimately fell to Houston.
2. Tough decision as Houston has 3 guards that can score but was Buck ever put on Uzan the 2nd half ?
3. Baba has 0 offensive skills outside put backs & dunks.
love his rebounding tho.
4. Very good teams, unless veteran in nature, seem to have impactful freshman (ie- Houston Jennings) instead of developmental freshman (Cincinnati).

[Rufus]

Good news though is Miller gives out to everybody on the team a participation trophy.

[leo from jersey]

SKell wrote4. Very good teams, unless veteran in nature, seem to have impactful freshman (ie- Houston Jennings) instead of developmental freshman (Cincinnati).

CWM said a few weeks back that Tillery had to be ready as they would need him. He isn't and either is Abaev although he was given more experience.


I said I was interested how James would play when UH pressured him. 4 assists 3 TOs and 4 points. Some might say he is still getting used to playing. I will leave it at that.

When kerr went down and Jizzle had his day that he had, a ready Tillery would have been nice.

While DayDay had 15 points he had 4 TOs and 4 assists. So many like scorning but there was only TOs at crunch time.

I can't blame Tillery. I can't even blame the staff as it often takes time to develop. I do blame CWM by basically saying he would be ready. It got our hopes up, but we must get used to it. This is what a real fan does. We see the play, but our hope is for every game that the Cats win.

You can have the best scheme in the world, but if your team can't score in the last 3:52 of a tied game, but commit TOs and don't get back on defense. the scheme doesn't matter. That is what separates a BB player from a playstation player. The heart and the ability to win in pressure situations makes a BB player. The variables in which players adapt and overcome and not whine how things could have been.


UC has not been taught to succeed or to positively deal with failure. Being pissed off is surely not the answer.

“Don’t be afraid of failure. This is the way to succeed.”
Lebron James

[leo from jersey]

When my kids were training in our gym, I used to post quotes from players and coaches. I know many might not like them, but I find it often helps with attitude and motivation.

Here are some from Michael Jordan - the kid cut from his HS team.

I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.

I've never been afraid to fail.

The best evaluation I can make of a player is to look in his eyes and see how scared they are.

I play to win, whether during practice or a real game. And I will not let anything get in the way of me and my competitive enthusiasm to win.

Michael Jordan

Here is my favorite from Jordan concerning a player

My body could stand the crutches but my mind couldn't stand the sideline.--- some are mentally on the sideline

Here is my favorite for me and perhaps some in here

Even when I'm old and grey, I won't be able to play it, but I'll still love the game. -- MJ

I love it so much that I can't tolerate quitting. A good coach can teach a player how to overcome that-- CWM is not a good coach --- me

[leo from jersey]

My friends the coaching clinic Sampson put on yesterday during the conference opening nationally televised road game had little, if anything to do with the latest x's and o's strategy. He had his team mentally prepared to play and win when the going got tough. It is interesting that he has said on many occasions that he didn't develop his coaching style on all the lates schemes but watching and adapting the mentality of Bob Huggins. Some coaches give lip service praise to UC's past, but some coaches have learned from it. Thus, they win more often than not.

[Gmann]

60 points in 64 possessions. Under a point per possession isn't going to win many games against good teams. The biggest problem was 15 turnovers in only 64 possessions. That's a 23% turnover rate. Our shot selection was decent. Got to the rim 22 times and the FT line 16 times compared to just 7 midrange shots. We actually outscored Houston at the rim and FT line combined. 53% true shooting compared to their 47%. But we lost the rebounding and turnover battles so we had far fewer chances. That is of course Houston's MO.

Thiam was (barely) our best player with just 2.4 net points. A highly efficient 13 points on just 7 shots, but turned it over 3 times. Day Day recorded 2.3 net points, scoring 10 from the field on 10 shots and going a perfect 5 for 5 at the line with a team best 2 blocks. Dzellat was third best with 2.1 net points, going 2 for 2 with a couple free throws in just 12 minutes. Celestine and Miller were also just on the positive side.

Jizzle had the worst game with negative 6.6 net points. 1 for 7 shooting with 3 turnovers. Harris was second worst, also going 1 for 7 from the field. We all know he's a poor three point shooter, but he's now at just 44% inside the arc on the season. His 42% eFG and -2.7 OBPM are almost identical to last year. We knew what we were getting in Harris.

Abaev was the worst player in his time on the court, recording an abysmal negative 16 BPM in 9 minutes. 0 for 3 shooting with no other stats and a team worst DBPM.

Sedz, I was waiting to see your statistical assessment of the game. I always like to see if the numbers support what I think I saw. That said.

Harris - They need his energy and defense but he is such a liability on offense it cripples them.

James - The numbers bear out what it looked like. He looked completely flustered against the strong smothering defense of Houston. That really killed us on offense.

Abaev - He is not even playable at this point. He only looks to jack up 3's which he misses at an alarming rate. His body language is poor. He looks too slow for this level. At least Miller has realized this and is only giving him limited minutes.

Overall I thought the bigs played well against Houston. We usually get dominated there and I thought we competed well. I really like what I see from Dzellat. He's strong in the rotation of bigs. I felt our guards got completely dominated outside of the stretch Thomas had.

[bearcatjd]

I'm tired of the losing. On the way home no one wanted to listen to CWM's post game comments. I believe our players played hard & truly tried. However, we just don't have the talent to compete for 40 minutes against good, ranked teams. We have 5 assistant coaches & of course 1 hear coach. With all of these coaches we are not getting any better. Very sad! ::

[leo from jersey]

I'm tired of the losing. On the way home no one wanted to listen to CWM's post game comments. I believe our players played hard & truly tried. However, we just don't have the talent to compete for 40 minutes against good, ranked teams. We have 5 assistant coaches & of course 1 hear coach. With all of these coaches we are not getting any better. Very sad! ::

how will these guys respond to failure. If they supposedly tried their best and it wasn't good enough, WHAT'S NEXT. I am with you. I think they can get better. I just don't know that it will happen.

[sedz]

Sedz, I was waiting to see your statistical assessment of the game. I always like to see if the numbers support what I think I saw. That said.

Harris - They need his energy and defense but he is such a liability on offense it cripples them.

James - The numbers bear out what it looked like. He looked completely flustered against the strong smothering defense of Houston. That really killed us on offense.

Abaev - He is not even playable at this point. He only looks to jack up 3's which he misses at an alarming rate. His body language is poor. He looks too slow for this level. At least Miller has realized this and is only giving him limited minutes.

Overall I thought the bigs played well against Houston. We usually get dominated there and I thought we competed well. I really like what I see from Dzellat. He's strong in the rotation of bigs. I felt our guards got completely dominated outside of the stretch Thomas had.

The numbers are what they are. We are all free to do with them as we please. Confirm what we saw, maybe change our opinion of what we saw, or decide they are worthless. At least for me, they very often match up well with the on court action, which gives confidence that metrics are an accurate representation over the long term (where memory is less reliable) and for other teams (where our exposure is limited). So it's a good tool to evaluate our coaching and roster management decisions.

I don't know what the answer is on the wing. Harris and Abaev are not producing at a Big12 level. Maybe we need to go very big and give Baba some minutes at the 3. That position has been a black hole this season.

[Rufus]

My friends the coaching clinic Sampson put on yesterday during the conference opening nationally televised road game had little, if anything to do with the latest x's and o's strategy. He had his team mentally prepared to play and win when the going got tough. It is interesting that he has said on many occasions that he didn't develop his coaching style on all the lates schemes but watching and adapting the mentality of Bob Huggins. Some coaches give lip service praise to UC's past, but some coaches have learned from it. Thus, they win more often than not.

In the second half apparently sampson made a defensive change to putting someone on Day Day. 12 pts the first half 4 pts in the #2. Even though UH's leading scorer went scoreless virtually the whole game Uzan ? apparently had the game of his career but yet CMW didn't think enough to make some adjustments.