Men's Basketball Schedule
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Men's Basketball Schedule |
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UC Men's Basketball Schedules and Roster | |||||
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The team had its usual summer of drama. The good news is none of the players were involved; the bad news is Coach Huggins D.U.I. gave the University some of the worst publicity it has had in years. Coach Huggins had the summer to do a little sole searching and is now back for his 16th season at UC striving to lead this team to its school record 14th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance and a 9th C-USA championship (out-of-10). Assistant Coach Dan Peters left UC this summer for the top assistant job at Ohio State to work for Darth Vader (Thad Matta) and the evil empire. Oscar Robertson volunteered his scarce time in the absence of Peters and Huggins this summer to become a figure head for the basketball program. It was great to hear he made time to talk with the players weekly and give the school some much needed positive publicity. Andy Kennedy has been promoted to Associate Head Coach after the departure of Coach Peters. Coach Huggins said the help of interim head coach Oscar Robertson was invaluable over the summer but that Coach Kennedy was pretty much running the show in his absence. Frank Martin was hired as an assistant coach to work with the big men and recruit. Andy Kennedy will go back to working with the guards and coordinate their recruiting efforts. Keith LeGree will work with all the perimeter players. Last season ended with the Cats losing 92-68 to Illinois in the 2nd
round of the tourney. It was the worst-ever loss for the Bearcats in
their NCAA history, uugghh. Easily forgotten is the fact that they finished the 2003-04 season (25-7, 12-4 C- This years schedule has the Cats playing 18 teams that were in post-season play last year. Fifteen of the teams participated in the NCAA and three more were in the NIT. Five of the teams were part of the Sweet-16 (Wake Forest, Xavier, UAB, Illinois, Vanderbilt). Bearcat travelers will find tempting trips like; Indianapolis vs .Purdue, Dayton vs. the Flyers, and downtown vs. Miami (OH). The best trip will be in Las Vegas on New Years Eve for the rematch with Illinois. Big home games are the Mouseketeers, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, Valpo, DePaul, Charlotte, Louisville, UAB, and Marquette. The season winds up with their final C-USA tournament in Memphis. Surprise, the Bearcats once again will play this
season with out a true center on the team. A big man that wants to do
the work and stay out of trouble has been harder to find than weapons
of mass destruction in This year the program is full of optimism with their newcomers being judged among the nation¹s best by the recruiting experts. The coaching staff has repeatedly stated Jihad Muhammad is probably the best juco PG in the country. They also bring in two, true freshman in sharp shooter Vincent Banks and forward Roy Bright. Asrangue Souleyman redshirted last year so he is a freshman and Mike Pilgrim is a sophomore who had to sit out last year because the NCAA questioned his test scores and eligibility. So the team will have 5 first year contributors. Coach Huggins we will be thin inside without a true center but has two 6-7 forwards (Max & Hicks) with 7’2” and 7’3” wingspans. Both players bench press over 350 lbs. so they will do some damage. Armein will play some guard, forward, and possibly center if the match-ups necessitate. James White and Mike Pilgrim are both 6-7 and great jumpers that need to rebound. So we have a plethora of guards and forwards but the only guy listed on the roster as a center is red-shirt stick man Asrangue Souleymane at 6-8. He is long and athletic but only weighs 10 more pounds that Chadd Moore so he needs muscle. The best thing about this team is that there will be fierce battles for playing time. The only returning starters are seniors Jason Maxiell and Nick Williams. I’ll repeat my opinion that most preseason polls are about as reliable as promises from the ownership of the Cincinnati Reds so I won’t waist your time with all the preseason polls. . Senior Nick Williams worked very hard this
summer to be prepared for this year but unfortunately he already has
had a setback. He had surgery Monday to repair ligament damage on his non-shooting hand
(left thumb).
This will force him to miss out of all the preseason scrimmaging, both
exhibition games, and make him doubtful for the opener vs. Valpo. Nick
will move back to shooting guard and is expected to fill some of the
void caused by the departure of Field Williams and Tony Bobbitt. I think
shooting guard is his true calling and that will increase his production
once he gets back. His minutes and ppg should both go up this year.
At Kansas St. his freshman year and was on the Big-12 All-Freshman team
before he decided to leave that school. His coach would not release
him from his scholly so he was forced to lose a year and play JUCO ball
last year. He can penetrate to the basket and uses his quickness to
create separation for his shot. Last year he averaged 6.7 ppg, he need
to increase that to 10 ppg. Senior John "The Grim" Meeker is
the team rock star that is back for his farewell tour. Many coeds will
be disappointed that they won’t have John to scream for any more. Last
year I called him the Grim Meeker because when John entered the game,
the end was near for the opposition. He is a senior and given the fact
that the Cats will play a lot of 3 guard basketball, he may get some
quality minutes this year. Huggs says he is one of the hardest workers
on the team, is quick, handles the ball, he always productive when he
is in. Junior James "Flight" White surprised many last year with his ball handling and passing skills that made him the team leader in assist. He has the unbelievable hops but really didn’t get a whole lot of opportunities to show them last year. He would drive and dish at the hole or finish with a lay-up instead of trying the monster dunk. He finished the season averaging 7.9 ppg, 4.0 rpg, and 3.6 apg. I think they will need to be a more consistent scorer, rebounder, and defender. His assist might go down a little with Jihad Muhammad handling the point this year. James was forced to be playmaker last year in the absence of someone else to do it. He can beat most forwards off the dribble and create space for his shot or the pass. I hope he will look to finish his drives with dunks more this year instead of the flip lay-ups. The former McDonald's All-American transfer from U. of Florida did not add any bulk but did increase his strength. James loves to play to the crowd and I think this year he will give them plenty to get excited about. Junior Eric "Shaft" Hicks (he's a bad …..) has increased his strength, his vert, and his confidence. The former North Carolina high school Player of the Year has a 7 foot 3 inch wing span that he uses to snatch rebounds and dunk with authority. Coach Huggins said he looks for to increase his minutes/game from 20 to 30 this season. Huggs said Eric must maintain his effort against the lesser teams and not just play big against the good teams. Most all his baskets are at the rim but this year he will shoot the short range jumper. Don’t moan, he can shoot. In high school he average 30 PPG in high school and scored 40+ six times. He has the Dennis Rodman attitude around the basket, he loves rebounding and blocking shots. He averaged 7 ppg and 5.8 rpg, those numbers must go up for the Bearcats to be successful. Junior Armein Kirkland is the anomaly on this team. He has the ball skills to play guard at 6-8. He has increased his strength significantly and can guard small and big forwards. With the Cats being short on big men he may be used in the center spot at times also. AK shows glimpses of greatness but then disappears at times, consistency is what they are looking for. He is a tough match-up for the opposition so plays will be created so that Armein can exploit whoever they guard him with. If it’s someone smaller, he will post them up. If it’s a bigger player he will take them to the hole. His potential is high but this year they need more production than his 6 ppg, 2.6 rpg, and 2.3 apg. Armein was 2nd on the team in assist/game last year. Coach Huggins said AK must concentrate on rebounding the ball.
Junior point guard Jihad Muhammad is exactly what the doctor ordered. The 5-11 guard is not muscular but plays very strong with the ball. His long, pulled back dread locks give him the Brian Grant look. Jihad will cause a holy terror for C-USA guards that have to stay with him. He finishes to the basket with the left or right and has a very soft shot. He reminded me of a very young Gary Payton if you can remember those days. We got him while Baylor (who he verballed to originally), Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, and Texas all wanted him also. Jihad and Chadd will fight for the starting PG job, many people think Jihad has the advantage. Jihad was an All-American last year at San Jacinto Junior College and averaged 16.8 ppg and 7.2 apg. A very good free throw shooter that can run the offense and create his own shot if he needs to. He has an infectious smile and an energetic bounce to his game that Bearcats fans will like. He is a master at getting the ball to his teammates in the right spot so that they can catch and go. Coach Kennedy said he is very fast and very skilled, many expect him to start. J was rated as the top juco PG in the country by The Sporting News and was ranked No. 2 by Hoopmasters.com. http://ucbearcats.com/sports/mbball/bio.asp?PLAYER_ID=1562 Sophomore Mike Pilgrim is a Cincinnati guy that was all-state in 2001-02 at Cincinnati Purcell Marian High. He played one season at the Brewster Academy and got accepted initially but the NCAA flagged something about test scores and made him a non-qualifier. As of today he is eligible and on the team. Every person I ask about what’s going on with Mike I get a slightly different answer. I know is Mike is an athletic high flyer who can finish on the break and hit the mid range jumper. He sat out last year and could not even practice with the team. There were periods last year when his status on campus was unknown. All I can say about this year is so far so good. I hope he has been taking care of business and is ready for the first full year of Bearcat basketball. He is another forward with hops that the Cats need in the rotation. He was a McDonald's All American Nominee and was in the CBS Sportsline Top 100. Redshirt freshman Asrangue "Soulman" Souleymane is a native of Central Africa who came to UC last year from Laurinburg Prep which is where Vincent Banks came from this year. Souley is an athletic defender with long arms and good timing when blocking shots but his slight build (6-8 190 lbs.) won’t help him around the rim against C-USA big men. He has only been playing basketball a couple years and is still raw at the offensive end but should be able to guard and rebound. I asked Jason Maxiell if Souley is ready this year and the response was “He has to be.” He will get some minutes and I guess we’ll have to wait and see how he does against Div-I competition. His immediate potential is limited by his slight build but in a couple years, watch out. Vincent “5/3rd”
Banks is a true freshman in the mold of Lazelle Durden.
Vince is a combo guard that has a beautiful outside shot that we will
get to see a lot of over the next 4 years. He will come off the bench
to relive Nick Williams at the shooting guard spot. While Nick is hurt
he will get valuable experience working with both teams. He was Mr. Basketball for the state of
Roy Bright is the other true freshman out of Durham, NC. At 6-6, 230 lbs he already is the third biggest guy on the team weight wise. The comparison given to me was a young Pete Mikeal that will play right away. He is a good rebounder that goes to the hole strong and/or can step out and hit the jumper. I like what limited action I got to see of Roy. He can play the 3 or the 4. He helped his Mt. Zion Christian Academy to a 29-1 record and a Top-20 national ranking last year. http://ucbearcats.com/sports/mbball/bio.asp?PLAYER_ID=1561 With so many new players I will make no predictions, impossible to tell at this point. Come down to the Shoe tonight and see for yourself.
*What Bearcat players came to UC after their senior year of HS; Eric Hicks, Armein Kirkland, Jamaal Lucas, Jason Maxiell, and John Meeker. *Last years 25 wins made it 8-out-of-9 in the last 9 years. *The Cats play 18 teams that played in postseason play last season, 3 NIT, 15 NCAA (5 Sweet-16). *29 Bearcats have been selected as All-Americans,
there have been 2 Olympic Gold medalists, Oscar Robertson & Jack
Twyman are the former players in the NBA Hall of Fame . Walter Van Winkle
was a coach. *Final four appearances for C-USA teams: Louisville-7,
Cincinnati-6, Houston-5, Marquette-3, Memphis-2, DePaul-2, and Charlotte-1.
Head Coach: Bob Huggins (West Virginia '77) - Coach
Huggins is 374-119 (76%) at UC and 542-191 all-time. He is 5th in winning%
(73.9) among all active coaches. He has been to 14 post-season tourney
appearances; Final Four in 1992, Elite Eight in 1992, 1993, 1996, and
Sweet Sixteen in 1992, 1993, 1996, 2001. He has won 10 C- Associate Coach: Basketball Operations: Video Coordinator:
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