Saturday, January 15, 2000
Bearcats lose day of practice
UC NOTEBOOK
BY MIKE DeCOURCY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
UC may not be so enthusiastic about playing midnight games in the future now that it's costing the Bearcats a day of practice.
The NCAA determined that the game counts as Saturday activity because it starts after midnight. The walk-through and pregame preparation count as Friday activity.
That basically wipes out two days for the sake of one game. The Bearcats thus are forced to take Sunday off from practice to meet NCAA requirements and will not get any work for a period of 60 hours, until they practice Monday afternoon.
N-I-T, N-I-T!: With their victory against Ohio, the Bearcats guaranteed they'll finish with a winning season. That means if they were to lose every game they played through the close of the regular season and the first round of the Conference USA tournament, they'd still end up 16-15.
MIGHTY HUNTER: UC coach Bob Huggins was extremely complimentary of Ohio freshman center Brandon Hunter, who scored 11 points, grabbed eight rebounds and shot 5-of-9 from the field. Hunter is a product of Withrow High.
Hunter did not start because he was late for a team gathering but ended up playing 29 minutes. He spent part of the night matched against UC All-American candidate Kenyon Martin.
“He was a man,” Huggins said. “I thought he played very well, played very aggressive. He's got great strength. It's hard to believe he's a freshman.”
STEELY STEVE: Ohio freshman wing Steve Esterkamp, a product of LaSalle, had his second homecoming in a week and his second double-figure game in those homecomings.
He was 3-of-3 from 3-point range and scored 13 points to lead the Bobcats. That matches the best long-distance percentage among Bearcats opponents.
“Steve's a winner, and a very smart basketball player,” said Ohio coach Larry Hunter.
QUIET RIOT: Both Huggins and UC forward Pete Mickeal said there was not a raucous halftime speech delivered when the Bearcats led by only five at the break.
Ohio guard Dustin Ford noticed the Bearcats did not leave themselves even a full minute to warm up for the second half and figured differently.
“Obviously, Coach Huggins is not an idiot,” Ford said. “There were probably things getting thrown in there, players getting thrown, chairs ... ”
NUMBERS GAME: UC forward Jermaine Tate finished without a foul for the first time this season. Asked when last he did not commit a foul in a game, he said, “It was probably a game I didn't play.” In fact, Tate was foul-free twice last year, in seven minutes against Southern Mississippi and 17 against Saint Louis.
• After topping .500 from the field in eight consecutive games, the Bearcats have shot .383, .456 and .419 in the past three games.
• This was only the fourth time the Bearcats grabbed more offensive rebounds than their opponent (16-11).
• UC's homecourt winning streak stands at 39 games.
Bearcats Stories
Duquesne no longer A-10 joke
Reds get OF Ochoa from Brewers
Reds tickets go on sale today
Selig's ploy actually may work for Reds
Bengals eager to sign Anderson
Grunkemeyer taking his shots
UK's SEC road getting tougher
Master P to show his stuff to Stuff
No. 1 St. X rallies past Elder
Cincinnati boys basketball roundup
Cincinnati boys basketball scores
Ohio boys basketball scores
Ohio girls basketball scores
Holy Cross seniors shoot for '4-peat'
N.Ky. girls basketball roundup
Newport one step from All 'A' title
Kentucky girls basketball scores
N.Ky. boys basketball roundup
Kentucky boys basketball scores
Colts' James a key threat
Cyclones 6, Detroit 3
Philadelphia 6, Mighty Ducks 2
Softball Hall of Fame to induct four
