Tuesday, March 21, 2000
There is talent in UC's future
But DerMarr's return is key
BY Mike DeCourcy
The Cincinnati Enquirer
It was the loser's locker room. No doubt about that. There were no smiles among the Cincinnati Bearcats, and a lot of eyes were focused on the floor.
The place did not have the same feel, though, as it did in each of the three previous years, when UC also dropped out of the NCAA Tournament after two rounds. The mourning generally present after such a defeat had been done 10 days earlier, the day Naismith Trophy winner Kenyon Martin broke his leg.
The Bearcats' season ended that day. They tried to restart it in the NCAA Tournament, but couldn't.
There is no way to know what would have become of the Bearcats with Martin in the lineup, although a glance at what's left of the NCAA Tournament field suggests they were as dominant as it seemed.
Three of the teams in the Sweet 16 lost to UC in the regular season — one after the other early in the regular season, by an average margin of 10.3 points. And that was before Martin truly discovered what he was capable of accomplishing on offense; he averaged 18 points in those games, a half-dozen fewer than he did in the season's final month.
There is no way to know what next season holds, either, until a few questions are answered first:
• Will shooting guard DerMarr Johnson return for his sophomore season or enter the NBA draft?
• How long will it take for UC's rebuilt frontcourt to adapt to playing full-time in Division I?
• Does Bob Huggins have any immediate plans to coach in the pros, or are the latest, more-persistent-than-ever rumors simply idle chatter?
These issues will decide where the Bearcats stand when the NCAA field is constructed next March. What happens then is anybody's guess.
If basketball fans learn anything from the curious results of this year's tournament, it should be that it is an event in which success is generated largely from good fortune in the draw.
And UC, once again, faced a defensive demon. If it seems to happen every season, it's only because it does.
In the past four seasons, the Bearcats have been seeded either No. 2 (1998, 2000) or No. 3 (1997, 1999). In each of those years, the team seeded to meet them in the second round had the best defensive field goal percentage among the teams in its seed grouping.
Tulsa, the No.7 seed in the South, held opponents to .392 shooting this season. Auburn's opponents shot .410, Louisville's shot .424 and Oregon's .429.
The average defensive percentage for UC's scheduled second-round opponents in the past four seasons has been .393. The average for other teams seeded in the same position was .422.
It's no coincidence, then, the Bearcats averaged 63.8 points in their four tournament defeats.
UC's team this season had the most offensive ability of any team under Huggins, but evolved into a team largely dependent on Martin to produce points. He was so good and so difficult for defenses to stop it made sense to take full advantage of his talent, but circumstances turned that reliance into a handicap.
It's not certain why the Bearcats ceased to be a running team. Huggins insists it wasn't by design and it wasn't to keep them from outrunning the full potential of Martin's contribution. It just happened.
As the program continues to evolve more in the direction of players who can produce points it would not hurt for the emphasis on offensive execution to be as powerful as that applied to defense.
The 2000-01 team will be deeper and more talented than many expect.
With or without Johnson, next season's Bearcats have an abundance of talent. With him, they likely would be a top 10-caliber team.
There isn't much experience inside, but 6-11 Donald Little gives the Bearcats an athletic rebounder and shot-blocker and 6-11 B.J. Grove eventually will be the team's best pure low-post scorer since Danny Fortson. Eugene Land, at 6-7, has added power to his leaping ability and will be able to score inside and around the lane. Junior college recruit Jamaal Davis has size and skill. Freshman Rod Flowers will have the luxury of advancing at his own pace. Huggins has demonstrated he can teach players to contribute as quickly as any coach in the nation.
Counting Johnson, the perimeter will be manned by three players who qualify as returning starters — Johnson, point guard Kenny Satterfield and guard Steve Logan — and a year of maturity will make it impossible for Huggins to ignore Leonard Stokes' varied talents. UC also recruited one of the nation's top 3-point shooters, Field Williams, who hit better than 60 percent from long range in his senior season at Waltrip High in Houston.
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