The question was: Will UC make the NCAA tournament? Now the question is: Will Mick
Cronin survive to coach another season? Some may think that is unfair, but that is going to be the biggest question surrounding UC the next few days, if not weeks. Some heavy hitters behind the program felt this was a make it or break year for Mick. Tournament or bust. A win over Syracuse would have extended UC's chances of making the tournament. The loss in and of itself didn't put the question on the front burner. But a 14-9 overall record with a 5-6 Big East record is not what boosters want in the fourth year of the rebuilding program. Scoring 5 points in the final 12 minutes is hard to explain to anyone. This wasn't Fordham against Syracuse, it was Cincinnati. It may have been hard for anyone to turn things around in four years. The most common excuse is that it would be tough to rebuild in the Big East, and that excuse is common because it is true. There is still time to show some grit down the stretch. I'm still not in the "Mick must go" camp. I still feel stability is big for a college program, and if Mick can get that corner turned, then you are looking at 15 to 20 years of a solid program, maybe longer. That's where I am in the minutes following the Syracuse game. But I know the question is out there. If it's my decision, the question becomes this: Should Mick survive to coach another season? If it's my decision, I owe it to the program to seriously entertain the question.
If I'm Xavier, I'm concerned about the blowout loss at Dayton. I'm not quite as concerned about an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament. I see enough wins down the stretch to make the Musketeers an attractive team. I don't see the quality road wins the selection committee seems to covet, but I see enough wins, period. Plus, I still think the Musketeers have enough firepower to win the conference tournament. Lock down the defense, and even though Dayton seemed to blow by the perimeter defense far too often, I think the Musketters have the talent to get it done.
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After Nancy Zimpher destroyed UC Basketball in favor of new construction that will ultimately crumble under the weight of all crime and graffiti that Clifton has to offer, what can one expect? It isn't to say that there aren't any other coaches out there that are Bob Huggins caliber, but the pickings are sure slim. The problem UC faced in the NCAA days of Huggins is that C-USA prepared them against teams with the talent of ITT-Tech's basketball team...exactly, they don't have one. But, when the NCAA rolled around, UC couldn't hang. Now, UC is trying to find its footing in the Big East. Unfortunately, I think Huggins would have been the guy to see UC Basketball through this transition. A Kennedy and a Cronin later and we still are flailing about. Does Lou Piniella do college hoops?!
ReplyDeleteBut, this is all irrelevant! We have new dorms. We have new houses of drunken irresponsibility...I mean frat houses. We have new restaurants. So, let's all go to Ms. Zimpher's office and thank her personally...oh wait, just as a tornado roars through a trailer park, wielding it's impending doom and then leaves, Nancy Zimpher has moved on SUNY with blessings, I’m sure, to be had by all.