Let's! Go! Cats!

Bearcat Basketball. Ten years ago, those following college basketball on virtually any level would have known that the Bearcats were easily the greatest college basketball team in the history of the world. I mean, we had The Play that beat Duke, Kenyon Martin, Melvin Levett, and even the Gunslinger, for crying out loud! It’s been a long time since those glorious days. Three coaches later, Cincinnati basketball was looking at yet another 0-4 Big East start. We had Rutgers on the slate last night, a game I originally thought we could and would go through the motions and win, settling on the fact that this was far from an easy win. We started the game looking as I had dreaded: lazy and without any resemblance of a desire to win. And to think: I had rushed to the bar and even paid for a cab to watch my beloved Bearcats get spanked by the pricks from Jersey. And the stupid table at Joshua Tree sucked, was cramping, and the heat was cranked up to near sauna temperatures. Come on Cats! It’s only January, and we’re already in “must-win” game situations! With a recipe for a terrible night looming, the Cats finally realized that yes, they were in fact playing basketball, and decided to show up towards the end of the first half.

Our run started, ended, and revolved around Vaughn. He looked really good last night. Really good. It's obvious he's our star, and it's amazing how he can have such great form shooting, even during a fast break pull-up jumper, when the rest of the team looks like an awkward adolescent throwing various objects in the air. Vaughn proved last night he’s our guy, our dude, or whatever else you want to call him. He’s the shit. The team should be based around him. And for the most part, I’d say it is.

But here’s one of my beefs: What are we doing (ahem, Wilks) shooting 3-pointers from 3 feet behind the line? Frustration set in last night when we were down roughly 15, and we kept settling for shots past NBA-range, instead of letting Sir Yancy dunk over the entire Rutgers team, including the cheerleaders. Does Cronin condone this kind of play? Vaughn needs a consistent back up. To quote the ever-wise Keller MF Schnier, a longtime UC expert, “Vaughn is a man. He's good. We've known this all along, and he's just getting better. He needs some support though. Williams is starting to provide that (he should score at least 20 every game), but there has to be others. Gates could do it, Bishop could do it, Davis could do it, Wilks could do it (although he doesn't play as much as I think he should), and others. We have a lot that could do it, but not many that are, certainly not consistently.”

I was impressed by the way we came out of the locker room in the second half. Cronin must have had some words of encouragement (or discouragement, your call) to pump up the Cats and get them going. That’s the way we need to play in the Big East if we expect to win games and make the NCAA. And whenever Gates decides he’s not bored out of his mind playing D-1 basketball, that’ll add yet another threat to an ever-improving Bearcat inside game. I’m excited and ready to watch UC dominate the world once again. We didn't play perfect, but we've at least "come a long way."