11/23 - MBB vs. #18 Cincinnati

AUFC

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You mean that drunk group yelling profanities and finally addressed by the police? Those with kids near them had to move. If I was a Bearcat alum I would have been embarrassed. The only thing they accomplished was making fools of themselves.
I must have missed that or we are talking about a different group - I was several sections over and they were still there sarcastically cheering on our free throw shooters with under a minute to play so I didn't see the police ever address them unless it happened after the buzzer. I didn't hear specifics of what was being said but saw a lot of taunting G/PG rated hand gestures towards our bench and student section.
 

GT11

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Maybe if the alums that have tickets would come to the games instead of selling them……..but what the heck we’ve already discussed that in another section and we have far too many fair weather fans than true fans!! I’m a true fan and will be there win or lose.
 

GT11

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I must have missed that or we are talking about a different group - I was several sections over and they were still there sarcastically cheering on our free throw shooters with under a minute to play so I didn't see the police ever address them unless it happened after the buzzer. I didn't hear specifics of what was being said but saw a lot of taunting G/PG rated hand gestures towards our bench and student section.
Same group. They were very vulgar using the “f” word quite often. A police woman was standing there watching. I was yelling at her to do something. Batt went to her and instructed her to go address everything with them
 

GT11

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I must have missed that or we are talking about a different group - I was several sections over and they were still there sarcastically cheering on our free throw shooters with under a minute to play so I didn't see the police ever address them unless it happened after the buzzer. I didn't hear specifics of what was being said but saw a lot of taunting G/PG rated hand gestures towards our bench and student section.
We are talking about the same group of drunks. They were repeatedly using the f word in their taunting. There was police and they were just standing there watching. I was yelling at her to address it. Finally Batt told her to handle it and she did. This was about two minutes left. They calmed down a little at that time so
 

1979jacket

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It was ugly. Cinci is very good and they were hot early but still .... We seem to be hanging our head right now. If this keeps up, play Mustaf and the freshmen. We just aren't crisp with passing and there is too much one-on-one with guys that truthfully appear over matched. Let's play some more games.
 

awbuzz

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Well...
We had more steals than Cincy...
And we reduced turnovers in the 2nd half.
Only were outscored by seven points in the second half, that was an improvement versus the first half.

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Techwood Relict

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So this image is a complete opposite of our game at their place last time. My family and I had to sit in the nosebleeds to get in the full house game in Cincy.

I didn't get to watch, but the thread and stat line seem to say the same thing, out-efforted by a lot. 5 apiece for Baye and McCollum, 3 for Reeves with 72 minutes of floor time between them. I'm guessing Reeves grabs pine first. Mustaf and Terry are both capable of at least that production in those minutes. We definitely haven't played like a "team" yet.

Who is going to be our emotional leader? I'm actually ok with CDS' demeanor. In my experience, a coach cannot be the emotional leader. Somebody on the floor has to take that responsibility. I would think McColloum, maybe George (but he too would have to change his personality). Man, this team needs a Jose.....
 

GaTech4ever

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Baye and Nait look like they’re expecting other players to pick it up. I’m chalking up the seemingly disinterested Baye into being shell-shocked. Not sure if he realized what was expected of him this year. I think we may have underestimated losing the veteran leadership of Sturdy, Kelly, and Deebo.
 

bke1984

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Didn’t watch and haven’t read comments. But let me guess - defense was poor with low energy, offense is waiting for an individual ri rise to the top and outperform everyone else with little creativity in our sets. How’d I do?
 

SecretAgentBuzz

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Wow, that was ugly. It is clear that CDS is not getting through to the team right now and there are some real issues with effort and energy. I don't really see him doing a whole lot of coaching, but only playing Reeves, McCollum, and Baye for 21, 14, and 24 minutes is, I believe, his way of saying, "Your effort is not good enough." However, without those guys playing up to their potential and talent....we are sorely lacking and it shows. What is the answer? Heck if I know. But if CDS doesn't figure it out quick, what he is trying to build will be severely undercut. He is not getting the best out of his players and it is certainly questionable whether he is putting them in a position to succeed.

What I liked:
-Duncan Powell. He didn't even play vs. UGAg and I thought he might be losing favor...but he made the most of his minutes and brought some spark and energy. Lance Terry also had a heartbeat and didn't shoot as well as last game but kept his aggressiveness.
-I liked the full court pressure and thought it was helpful...but then we went away from it.

What I didn't like:
-Lack of effort. Our guys are not slow (as some guessed above). But they look slow when they are not playing with full effort. This is becoming a trend.
-Speaking of trends...welcome to the rim, Cincinnati. All of our past opponents liked to hang out there too, so why not you, too? Dribble penetration was so easy that, Cincinnati, a good outside shooting team, hardly needed to shoot outside.
-55% on FTs is gross.
-As is 25% on 3s, and 36% on all shots. Ugly, ugly, ugly.

We had a lot of misses early that looked like they were going in and then went out...but I am not sure it would have changed anything. Even with good luck, this team was out-hustled and out-gunned from beginning to end. Like previous seasons, we can turn this around...but we are digging a hole quickly. I'll keep watching (even if I have to avert my eyes every once in a while). Go Jackets.
 

spdrama

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I was excited to arrive at McCamish for the first time in 26 years. It was Alexander Memorial McDonald’s back then. It wasn’t for a game, although I did see Matt Harpring receive his degree at the same ceremony my son got his. Been a fan for over 30 years now. Disappointments will never result in my bashing this team publicly. I firmly believe the negative impact of fans berating their own teams will adversely effect attracting new fans, game turnout & support and in turn, team play & recruitment. Not saying this is a root cause of the awful start to the season. But it certainly doesn’t help.

My take on seeing this program live yesterday is an environment with a complete lack of confidence. Fans & players alike. It started with me. Standing outside waiting for doors to open and being surrounded by way too many fans in Bearcat gear. It changed my confidence level before even entering the arena. Watching the red shirted fans take prime seats was as disheartening as seeing thousands of empty seats & empty looks on too many faces on those who attended. They screamed low expectation. And so many fans old like me. So few in the present or next generation even though my campus visit revealed lots of students around on a sunny afternoon on their way to doing anything else but watching their school compete in sports. Athletes competing in front of a small crowd who resembles their parents & grandparents and not their fellow students. How disheartening is that? There was a really bad vibe in the air.

There are a lot of talented basketball players on this team. The coaching staff is impressive and knows their stuff. This board can pick apart & analyze players and coaches game after game until the cows come home. When you feel terrible because you lose, does it make you feel better complaining with negativity? I guess for some of you it does. Can you play better than these kids? Do you know the sport better than these coaches? Can you coach better than they can?

I didn’t see lazy or sleepy kids. I didn’t see bad coaching or awful defense. A coach who doesn’t publicly berate his players screaming at them on TV is not a bad coach. Kids are getting pulled for live turnovers and slow defense responses. That’s what I saw and that is enough to send the message.

Early on I thought, this Cincinnati team, in their second season in Big 12 is damn good and we are badly overmatched. But I think I was wrong. On offense we got plenty of open clean looks and just kept missing. Each shot weaker than the last, including at the rim in failed attempts to finish or put back despite a good offensive rebounding game. To me, repeatedly the ball was not shot with any confidence it would go in. The more misses, the more lack of confidence. It’s hard to defend a team that has multiple catch & shoot sharpshooters who release bombs without getting set and with amazing accuracy well beyond the 3 point line that we were able to defend fairly adequately. But defensely our guys caused turnovers, including clock expirations, yet Cincy alway came back, often with a mile long trey that just added to a lack of confidence.

When you look at the offense stat line we took enough good shots, both 2s, layups, 3s & FTs to have made this a competitive game if our percentages were closer to average/good than awful. Thought the makeup of this team, between returnees and newcomers would elevate offense production over last year. Didn’t know whether they entered the game lacking confidence or developed it as the game progressed, but to me it was obvious. That’s a product of losing. Playing at home is supposed to be an advantage. Looks like a disadvantage to me for these kids to play in MCCamish. I bought season seats this year knowing full well I would rarely use them, just to offer some financial support to the program. Thought of returning for Duke next month, but now rethinking that visit. McCamish is not a fun place for a Yellow Jacket fan to watch them play. No games at MSG this year. Syracuse, BC & Pitt are possibilities. I could dress in my GT colors & cap, watch them play in front of capacity crowds and be among the same number of GT fans without having to travel as far. And maybe, just maybe, road trips to neutral or opposition sites will result in a big win of both game & confidence. But if I don’t show in Atlanta next month you won’t find Duke fans in MY seats. No SeatGeek resale for Blue Devils from me. That’s total bullsh** to sell your seats for opponent fans to grab up.
 
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MtnWasp

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Interesting take, but it begs the question, by what mechanism or process does confidence originate?

Fan support may create positive feedback in confidence for a team but it sure ain't gong to create team or player confidence de novo.

I'm sorry, but I can't bridge the idea that we have good coaches, good approach and good players but by some black-box miracle, it comes together in poor play. The diffusion of accountability in that take rankles.
 

Jack

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Interesting take, but it begs the question, by what mechanism or process does confidence originate?

Fan support may create positive feedback in confidence for a team but it sure ain't gong to create team or player confidence de novo.

I'm sorry, but I can't bridge the idea that we have good coaches, good approach and good players but by some black-box miracle, it comes together in poor play. The diffusion of accountability in that take rankles.
Ultimately I guess it boils down to the head coach. He makes the biggest bucks and he has to answer the hard questions.
 

Techster

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We looked like a JV team playing against a Varsity team. Cincy just physically took it to us. It seemed like Cincy made it a point to intimidate Ndongo.

Not much else to say. This team needs some leadership on the floor willing to punch back.
 
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