Friday, December 10, 1999
Huggins: UC is not great - yet
No. 1 Bearcats can be better
BY MIKE DeCOURCY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
If it sounded like he was complaining, that really wasn't Bob Huggins' intent. Think of him the way you would, say, Bill Gates. Just because he has all the money in the world does not mean he won't show up at Microsoft on Monday to make even more.
Bob Huggins on the sideline in Hawaii.
(AP photo)
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So Huggins looks at the UC Bearcats and sees not just what he has — the No.1 ranking, an unbeaten record and wins in the Big Island Invitational and Great Eight — but what he could have.
“I hope we're not satisfied, because I think we're a good basketball team now. I don't think we're a great basketball team,” Huggins said. “And I hope our guys want to be a great basketball team.”
Even after a 77-68 triumph over No. 7 North Carolina in Chicago late Wednesday that probably will remain the Bearcats' most prestigious win before the NCAA Tournament begins, Huggins was noticing flaws and blemishes.
In fact, this was the beauty of UC's first-ever victory over Carolina. The Bearcats did not need a monumental effort, like the one they mustered last season to defeat top-ranked Duke. They just had to play well enough.
If you were watching analytically, which couldn't be easy with so little distance separating the teams for most of the second half, you might have seen several areas in which the Bearcats can improve:
• Defense. “We just gave too many direct drives to the goal,” Huggins said. “It's one thing to make shots over top of you. It's another just to be on the side of a guy and let him drive to the goal.”
North Carolina also got more open looks than Huggins would have liked. The Bearcats weren't concerned about being beaten by junior Max Owens, but neither did they plan on leaving him open enough to shoot 4-of-6 on threes.
Pete Mickeal wore down UNC freshman star Joseph Forte to the point he was only 1-of-5 from long range, but he had a clear attempt in transition in the final minutes that could have changed the game if he connected. A player of that caliber can't get a shot of that caliber in that circumstance. Somebody should have found him on the way downcourt.
“I just think we can get so much better defensively than what we are. I think that's an area we can improve tremendously.”
• More pressure. This team is athletic enough to use more fullcourt defense and take advantage of its depth, tenacity and ability to finish plays.
Huggins is generally more control-oriented against high-caliber competition. He has to remember this time he has the better players.
• DerMarr Johnson's 3-point shooting. He's a better shooter than .240 from long distance; you can see that much from his touch on pull-up jumpers in and around the lane. And range is not a problem. He fires comfortably from 23 feet and beyond.
Many of Johnson's misses fly well beyond the goal. It appears he may be putting an extra push on long attempts when a defender flashes out to contest his shot. Even at Maine Central Institute, which plays highly competitive basketball, he didn't have many college-style athletes flying out to bother his shot.
This problem can be fixed; Steve Logan, now one of the NCAA's leading long-range shooters, began his career 1-of-13 on threes.
• Lengthening the bench. With two blocks, a steal and a vicious dunk in only seen minutes, redshirt fresh man center Donald Little suggested what he might be able to do.
He hadn't played with as much confidence in any previous game, but similar efforts will earn Little more time and multiply the strength of UC's frontcourt rotation. Little can score around the basket and, as he showed in putting down a left-handed baby hook by Kris Lang, can be an exceptional shot-blocker.
UC also got a 3-pointer from freshman guard Leonard Stokes in the first half that was part of a game-breaking 9-0 run. Having one more shooter couldn't hurt.
• Finishing the job. UC isn't getting enough credit for completing wins in which it led comfortably and then permitted second-half charges. But the Bearcats could make opponents work harder to mount their comebacks.
“That's the thing we have to work on, is really putting the hammer down,” Mickeal said. “But a good team is always going to come back, make a run. We were in control the whole game. We never panicked.”
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