Tuesday, February 29, 2000
Huggins turning up intensity
UC practices will become more competitive
BY MIKE DeCOURCY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Cincinnati Bearcats coach Bob Huggins always has been a believer a basketball team plays like it practices, so he plans to make UC's practices more competitive.
The Bearcats are ranked No.2 in the nation but lately have played as though that ranking would do all the work necessary to deliver victory in the games that still stand between them and the start of the NCAA Tournament.
Their effort in a 68-59 victory Sunday over Louisville at the Shoemaker Center disappointed Huggins nearly as much as the loss to Temple one week earlier.
“We're going to make everything as competitive as we possibly can. We're going to make everything in practice have as much urgency as we can,” Huggins said. “Frankly, we haven't done that as much.
“We've tried to learn, tried to back off — not the intensity, but the competitiveness of some things. Hopefully, we've done the right thing.”
In previous years, practices were more physical and players frequently banged into each other in pursuit of rebounds and loose balls. That led to physical wear on players, which the coaching staff considered might have contributed to the Bearcats' recent struggles in March.
“Hopefully, we're at the point now where we can turn it up,” Huggins said.
Huggins said there would be no new focus on generating the desired competitiveness through lineup changes, but he has mentioned following two of the past four games that he was remiss in not pulling some of his starters more quickly.
“We're going to play guys that do what we ask them to do,” Huggins said. “We've got enough guys, fortunately, that we can put somebody else in the game.”
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