Mick Cronin’s Logic…

…or lack thereof .

This isn’t exactly new. But because I am still busy as hell I haven’t put anything up about it yet.

What I really don’t understand about this is why Cronin hasn’t been anticipating having this scholarship open. Lance Stephenson is an insanely talented kid. There is very little that he can’t do on the court if he chooses to do it. As evidenced by his transformation from a sieve on defense in high school into something a little less permeable this year. I said before that Lance was the best on ball perimeter defender at the end of the year and I stand by that. But the bottom line is that Lance was always going to be a one and done guy. He stared in a documentary at 14 where he declared pretty clearly that his primary desire was to be an NBA player. Knowing that coming to the process how can you not recruit with the anticipation of that scholarship being open. That’s pretty basic stuff in my mind. John Calapari recruited John Wall and Co. knowing full well that most of that class was going to the NBA after a year. So he went to work and put together another insanely deep class. If you are going to recruit the #11 player in the country, you have to recruit to replace him. Quickly. Mick seems to disagree with that. Looking at the team coming back you have a nucleus of Yancy Gates, Ibrahima Thomas, Cashmere Wright, Sean Kilpatrick, and Jaquan Paker. Is that a group that can improve demonstrably this coming year? Maybe. Would I bet on it? Probably not, not with this staff’s track record for player development. This team needs another big time player to contend for the upper half of the Big East. Everyone who follows the team knows that, Mick Cronin knows that. But that player isn’t anywhere to be found. I like Justin Jackson and Kelvin Gaines, but neither appears able to push UC to that next level and I don’t see anyone on the horizon that can do that, not in this recruiting class. Then again I didn’t see Lance in the Red and Black this time last year either. But Mick needs to pull something big out of the hat this summer. Again. Otherwise he might be coaching this season with his last leg.

Fare Thee Well Lance Stephenson

So, no more of this then

To be honest I am not at all surprised that Lance Stephenson is taking his game to the NBA after 34 games in a UC uniform. I don’t know how anyone who has read much about his past could be. From the age of 14 his overriding ambition was to make it to the NBA. Now he has his chance, and just before a potential lockout or a new Collective Bargaining Agreement that will surely include much lower rookie salaries. Lance is doing the right thing in my book, the talent is there for everyone to see. There are some things that he needs to work on to become a staple of an NBA rotation, primarily his jump shot and decision making/shot selection. And it is pretty clear as well that he wasn’t properly utilized in the confines of the UC offensive system. Lance is a great slasher and finisher of the Basketball who played in a system that values post play and perimeter shooting. I am not sure who gets the blame for Stephenson launching two threes a game while shooting a robust 21 percent, either Lance or Mick, but it is safe to say that wasn’t the best use of Born Ready’s prodigious talents on the Basketball court. This is not going to turn into a condemnation of Mick Cronin and his tenure. I think Mick fell well short of what this team was capable of, but that is a subject for another time and another place. One area in which Cronin has helped Stephenson is on the defensive end of the court. I watched Stephenson a couple of times in high school and his defense at that point would have to be considered poor at best. But as the season progressed he made tremendous strides on that side of the ball. By the end of the season I thought he was pretty clearly the best on ball defender on the team. He still had mental lapses and breakdowns that could lead to buckets but when he was on and focused he was nearly impossible for most guards to get by. But his effort was way, way up. It might sound like a cop out to say that improving effort can make someone a better defender. But with the massive assortment of physical gifts that Stephenson  has improving effort will improve production. All in all the Lance Stephenson Experiment was a mixed bag for all parties involved. UC didn’t quite take that next step in the Big East pecking order, but I fell confident in saying that UC would not have won 19 games without #33 in the lineup. For Stephenson he leaves a much improved defender, a battle tested competitor, but still an unpolished bundle of kinetic energy on the offensive side of the ball. In all honesty another year would serve him well, but I get why he is departing at this point in time. It is sad to see him go, even if it wasn’t entirely unexpected.

peace out Lance, it was fun while it lasted