Taj79 Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 .... where are you guys with the inside scoop on the Huggy-Bear stuff? What's the inside dirt on all this? Was the Bright/Branch issue a last straw? NatiCat hasn't answered and I'm figuring him to be in shock. Does not seem like a really good time for this, what with moving into a conference that seems to have enough big boys on the block to challenge the UC mentality night-in and night-out. Interesting play by Huggy .... fired but not really. Going to play out his last two years. What's the rationale behind that? Proving that even without leadership backing, he can still win and further his reputation as moving day approaches? Of does he really lame duck it and leave the program, the school and the new president in the lurch? Can't say I see him doing that ... it would hurt him too much in the coaching biz for a return. Unless he takes his heart problems and rides off into the sunset. I think the difference between Hugs and Knight is that with Knight, you had to deal with an egomaniac who becomes the center of the program per se. I don't believe Hugs has the same ego. Problem with Hugs and where the difference with Knight emerges is that Hugs has always recruited "questionable" kids. This is not a judgement but rather a fact ... no one can dispute the things Long, Van Exel, Patterson, Wingfield, Bright, Whaley and others have done. It might not all have happened at UC but it does reflect, rightly or wrongly, on the man, the coach and the program. I can't see him changing his style or his recruiting track record. Someone will certainly come after him ..... but it won't be Indiana, in my opinion. It will be another peripheral school in another major conference. Just like a Texas Tech in a Big 12 situation. UCTom? gruehls? Speak up. What's on the inside of all this? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naticat Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 Mr Naticat has been out of town. Visiting his family in Indiana, sorry I wasnt able to answer your question in a more timely manner. Now, Tom and Gruehls could answer your question better than I (Since this has got to be the big story in Cincy, not the Reds). But here's what I gather.....From Bob's press conference last night. Nobody in the athletic dept is being extended until a new AD is at UC......(Of course he's the only one on the hotseat Im sure) He said he wants to fulfill his obligations. He also reminded people that in 1993 he only had one year remaining on his contract and everything worked out OK. He Said that he's confident that everything will work out. As I said, the other two could probably give you more local detail, all I know is what Ive read (Which is probably what you've read). Bob's got two years to kick ass and take names in the Big East so that there's no way Nancy Zimpher and the new AD can turn him down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 kick ass and take names in the Big Beast....tall order Naticat with the likes of 'Cuse, Uconn, Louisville, Nova, etc....I don't see the 'Cats dominating the Beast like they did CUSA. Now if your players are concealing their weapons in their trunks, that could change the outlook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taj79 Posted May 17, 2005 Author Share Posted May 17, 2005 .... who's ont he way out? Goins? is Zimpher going to wait for a new person and make sure the new one can live with the King Pin? taht would make sense, I guess. But I am also with '72 ... I don't see the Big east beign thw walk in the park that, for the most part, CUSA was. Sure, UC had some nice rivals and takes one with them in UofL. Marquette and DePaul will be nice games as well but the Cats will miss Memphis and Charlotte although I suspect Pitt and others can fill the bill well enough. However, with the three opponents going with them carrying some nice rivalries, the replacements for the bottom feeders of CUSA is what is going to really hurt. Replacing Tulane, SoMiss, Houston and (yes go ahead and say it) us with the likes of Syracuse, Villanova, Georgetown, West Virginia and UConn is really going to make life for the Bearcats really interesting. I think they will ultimately compete ... but just like '72 says, not dominate. I think if Hugs continues to get his type of kids, they'll compete. Just a matter of will these continuing trips to the line-up room wear thin soon enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slufanskip Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 But to have a chance to make the final four ... you don't have to dominate the Big East ... especially the new one ... just compete at or near the top and you will get a very good tourney seed. I hate Cinci and Hugs with a passion, as any one within 3 sections of me during a Cinci game will attest ... but I think they will do fine in the Big East as will Louisville ... Marquette will be middle of the road. Making the tourney here and there. Official Billikens.com sponsor of H. Waldman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slu72 Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 UC dominated primarily when the top CUSA teams were not what they are today, ie UL, Messphis, etc. They were always a notch above. Granted they had some great teams and could have competed in the Big East in the past; the 2000 team with Kenyon Martin comes to mind and the team with Van Exel and crowd. With the talent they had the last 2 years I see middle of the road. Huggy ain't in Kansas anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 personally, i think you guys are selling the bearcats short. had jihad been all they thought last year, the bearcats would have went deep. but they lacked a decent point guard and that was the achillies heel. sure the telling stat these days is the day a program shuts down in march. and as of late, it hasnt been the best at huggyland. but overall in his career, there arent a lot of d-1 coaches that have more trips and have went as deep as huggy has. i dont make any bones about the fact i dont like the character of his typical recruit over the years. my gosh, huggins' players since at cincy have had more issues than the typical program that's for sure. yet that is the method that he chose to be competitive and it has worked for him. overall, i think the general consensus that they are entering some sort of shangrila conference in the big least is somewhat misleading. i contend that while it is good, i dont know if i want to say it is a conference where the top is head and shoulders always the best either. i believe that cincy and louisville (as long as huggy and slickster are there) will compete for big east titles from day one. now the rest of our big eyed cusa nomads, i.e. depaul, marquette and south florida, dont know what they got themselves into. they were in there typical years middle of the packers (except for the wade years) in cusa and that is the best they will ever be in the big least. i think huggy is playing mind games with the administration on this one. i am betting the last chapter hasnt been written for the summer yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naticat Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 Correct, Goins is going to retire. No one seems to understand what the hell Nancy Z is doing. I say this....If you want to fire Bob Huggins, fire him when he breaks the law and drives drunk. And frankly, I dont think she'd hear a whole hell of alot from the city/students/alumni. Dont run him out a year later cause Roy Bright carries a gun and Vincent Banks' dad has AIDS and Vince decided he should be in Georgia and not Ohio. She should call her friend Miles Brand up and find out what happens when you jerk a coach around. Winning the Big East year in and year out would be great. But we all know that just isnt going to happen. I really think the team(s) will be better prepared for March even when theyre finishing 3rd-4th in the conference then they were dominating CUSA. As I said before, will UC make the next 14 NCAA's? Probably not. But I'll bet the early exit's arent as often either. Hey Taj, How about those kind words from Roy regarding the Cats? Hell If I didnt know any better, I'd think there's more of me rubbing off on him since I moved, rather than his plan of him brainwashing me. Or maybe he's just being overly nice since I was busting my ass powerwashing his house today with his lovely wife and Billiken son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taj79 Posted May 18, 2005 Author Share Posted May 18, 2005 nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taj79 Posted May 18, 2005 Author Share Posted May 18, 2005 ... he's got you powerwashing his house .... you know exactly why he's being nice to you. He'll come at you easy now, check the water, see if he really has you .... something simple like pruning the petunias or helping hang the lace curtains. Once he establishes that .... watch out for the tarring of the roof! Slick Rick my arse! What we ahve here is "PT Barnum" Mueller at his best. Look at him ... I'll betcha' he's got a wide grin on his face. He's busted and he knows it! He'll try to hide behind the "lmao" comments and all. Don't fall for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 i was thinking tom sawyer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naticat Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 Dont think that I was just being kind to do the powerwashing. Nothing comes for free. Guess who's going to be at my house in a week or so to paint my unborn child's bedroom? I'll give you a hint...it isnt me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 nor me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taj79 Posted May 19, 2005 Author Share Posted May 19, 2005 Good to see you passed that breeding course and are now qualified. May the kittens all have the requisite number of appendages on each paw! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billiken_roy Posted May 19, 2005 Share Posted May 19, 2005 taj, naticat is so bearcat ate up, he has vowed to name the baby logan as in steve logan. that got a headshake from me and the mrs. when they told us that one. the saddest day though was the day i saw his recent bride wearing the bearcat pullover. when i got him to move to st louis, i thought for sure it would be a matter of time before he was wearing blue. not only did that fail, he now has his lifetime st louis area resident bride who even works at slu hosp, wearing bearcat garb and naming their baby after bearcat legends. coulda at least went with oscar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naticat Posted May 20, 2005 Share Posted May 20, 2005 Kenyon and Dontonio were denied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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