jjray Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 In another thread on this board, a few posters pointed to key losses in the upper-tier of CUSA in support of the proposition that the CUSA bigs may be down next year. I haven't done any in-depth analysis of the recruits coming in to replace the losses; however, I would not expect Marquette, Louisville, and Cincinnatti to come down a notch next season. These programs have a much easier time recruiting replacements for star departures than a team like SLU which less recent success. And please don't argue with the point of Marquette's "recent success" on the basis of it being largely a one season phenomenon at this point--they made the NCAA final 4 last season! SLU has never done it. A CUSA team has not done it during the history of the conference. It is huge for recruiting purposes. Below is a post from the cusa-talk.com board regarding the players Cincy will be putting on the floor next year. Granted, the dude has drool dripping down his chin over how it all looks on paper without seeing the team in action. For instance, I was not impressed with Bobbitt at all--he is a gunner who fires long-range shots whether his team is ahead or behind, he is hot or cold, whether they need to run clock or not. Not a team player. --------- Re: Will next year be Huggs most talented team? What do you guys think? The only other teams I can see that are comparable on paper talent-wise are the 96-97 team with Fortson, Patterson, Burton, Flint, etc..But that team didn't have the right chemistry and then the 99-00 team with Martin, Johnson, Satterfield, Mickeal, Logan, Tate, etc..I think this was his most talented team and they did very well until the obvious happened On paper though this team could be just as good as those two when it comes to pure-talent. Plus they will have unbelievable depth as well. Lets see Whaley, White, and Bobbitt were all national Top 25 recruits out of high school. White and Whaley were Top 10 by most everyone. All three were selected as McDonald's All-Americans but only White played. The other two backed out. Maxiell, Hicks and Moore were National Top 50 recruits... Williams, Kirkland, and Piglrim were all Top 100 recruits... Nick Williams is a Top 5 JUCO... I just think when looking at this roster, this team is stacked with talent from Top to bottom!! If they can get the chemistry going, then I can see this team doing some very special things. Man I can't wait to see Nick Williams Thoughts? http://www.cusa-talk.com/modules/newbb/vie...=23641&forum=31 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taj79 Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 I think the poster is biased ..... but aren't we all. What would prevent some over-zealous Billiken fan from writing similar stuff about his "team?" This Cincy fan is entitled to that opinion and his ability to compare the coming roster with some pretty high ranking previous rosters makes me envious. But if one wanted to, any fan of any team could make similar comparisons. In any sport. What's the phrase ... "hope springs eternal" ..... Again through the proof will be in the pudding and the reality that the end of a season brings. I went on the CUSA tlak board and could not believe one Cincy fan gushing poetically about how Huggs is the "second cahnce" cahnce. That he is so concerned ... passionately concerned .... about the individual that he gives soem of these lesser types that proverbial second chance. To make a long story short, I got b*tch slapped all over the place for disagreeing. For laughing at the statement. And rightly so in a way ... they defended their perceptions. Perceptions are much harder to fight than the reality of it all. So I bowed out, realizing that I was preaching to the choir and could not win. But this could be an example anywhere. That's what fans of a program do. This guys is no different. Maybe Whaley is the next Carmelo Anthony? Who knows. Maybe its this Iti kid. Rodney White was pretty spectacular his one yar in Charlotte green. This kid is supposedly better. But only product will tell. Coudl the Bills have the next Carmelo Anthony? Reggie Bryant is from Baltimore. He at least has that going for him ....... like my old freind Joaquin Andujar used to say ...."youneverknow." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLU8592 Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 Whaley-- Have to wonder about a player that even Mizzou would pass on due to "legal" issues. What kind of impact would this person have on those around him (or will he be impacted by positive forces)? The question remains, will Cincy be better or worse off with these kind of "student" athletes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted July 9, 2003 Author Share Posted July 9, 2003 Cincy B-ball = thug U ... but you have to admit that they are never short of atheletes on the floor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3star_recruit Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 Cincinnati sorely needs some consistent outside shooting and a big man who can stay out of trouble. Instead Huggie Bear brought in James White (Brickmaster Supreme) and Robert Whaley (Lawbreaker Supreme). White has a reputation for being a primadonna. Both players should do wonders for team chemistry. Good luck to the the Bearcats. Marquette has some frontcourt and backcourt issues they need to address. Wade and Robert Jackson are gone. Marcus Jackson, Robert's replacment, averaged less than 8 pppg at his juco. Novak, despite being 6'9/6'10 averaged a Braun-like 2.2 rpg last year. Wade was a powerful 6'4 210 lb man, Dameon Mason is a skinny high school kid. Mike Davis and Larry Eustachy can testify that it's hard to keep the ball rolling after losing a do-everything All-American. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjray Posted July 9, 2003 Author Share Posted July 9, 2003 I really like Maxiell. If they play Hicks and Maxiell together at 3 and 4, few teams in CUSA are going to be able to rebound with them (although I would not expect much scoring out of Hicks other than fast break and put back baskets). Thus, I think they can get by with a merely serviceable center. As Bobbitt is eractic based upon what I saw of him last year, I think UC needs the juco Nick Williams to come up big for them to get solid scoring from their backcourt. In the half-court set, when they are not able to get out running and score alot of transition baskets, UC had their fangs clipped. Would expect the same thing this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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