Thanks, Nancy

August 23, 2005 is a day that continues to live in infamy in the eyes of University of Cincinnati basketball fans. It was on this day that school president Nancy Zimpher gave long-time coach Bob Huggins a choice: resign or be fired. Huggins chose to resign Zimpher and Huggins had shared a huge difference on opinion on a variety of issues. This tension was furthered when Huggins was charged with DUI in June 2004. Cincinnati fans resented Zimpher for her decision to get rid of Huggins. “Nuck Fancy” signs and T-shirts were a popular item following Huggins ouster.

Why were people so upset at Zimpher? Whether or not you agree that she made the right choice by moving the basketball team in another direction, there is one thing that cannot be debated: Huggins produced a winning team on the court. Huggins went 399-127 in 16 seasons at the school, including 14 straight NCAA Tournament appearances*. He may not have had a stellar post-season record (only one Final Four appearance) and his players may not have all been overly scholarly or moral in character, but Huggins produced teams that were fun to watch. He produced winners. He restored pride and glory to the University of Cincinnati basketball program.

Andy Kennedy was the interim coach for the 2005-2006 season and helped guide Eric Hicks, Devan Downey, Jason White and the rest of the Bearcats to a productive first season in the Big East. Many people thought that the Bearcats deserved to be in the NCAA Tournament just for their impressive regular season, which included a near-upset of second-ranked Villanova. In the first round of the Big East tournament, Syracuse’s Jerry McNamara hit a last-second, game winning shot against UC . The ‘Cats were snubbed three days later on Selection Sunday, later receiving a top seed in the National Invitational Tournament rather than a place in the Big Dance. Kennedy left after the season to become head coach at Ole Miss, while Huggins became head coach at Kansas State. Freshman standout Devan Downey also chose to transfer to South Carolina following the season.

Mick Cronin was hired on March 24, 2006. Cronin, a UC alum, was a former assistant under Huggins and Louisville coach Rick Pitino. Most, recently, he was head coach at Murray State guiding the Racers to two NCAA Tournament appearances. At first, Cronin seemed like a good fit for the Bearcats. However, into his third season, Cronin has received little praise from the UC community. He was 69-23 in three seasons for Murray State, but was just 24-38 in his first two seasons at UC**. This season started out well with the Bearcats going 10-3 in non-conference play. However, the Bearcats are currently just 2-4 in conference play, including two losses to Providence.

In early November 2004, the University agreed to join the Big East Conference. Along with Louisville, DePaul, Marquette, and South Florida, Cincinnati was set to help solidify an already-powerful basketball conference. This would be a far different league than the powder-puff Conference USA where Huggins had so dominatingly carried his teams. “In the days of Conference USA, we won the league when we had average teams,” said Cronin. “But you played on your whole schedule all year one or two ranked teams. We play a ranked team every week in the Big East.” (taken from the January 22,2009 News Record)
In the current Associated Press poll, 8 teams: Connecticut (3), Pittsburgh (4), Syracuse (8), Louisville (9), Marquette (11), Georgetown (12), Notre Dame (19), and Villanova (20) are currently ranked. UC could come back and make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2004-2005season, but it’s doubtful considering they still have games against 7 of these ranked teams, including two against Georgetown.

Xavier, which is currently ranked 15th in the Associated Press poll, is having the kind of success that UC saw under Huggins. Also like Huggins’ teams, Xavier plays in a scarcely competitive conference. The Atlantic 10 is arguably even weaker than the former Conference USA. At least the Conference USA of the ‘90s had UC, Louisville, and Marquette. Right now, the A 10 has Xavier and only Xavier. One difference between Xavier’s program and UC’s program is that Xavier has remained competitive amidst coaching changes. Skip Prosser and Thad Matta left successful Xavier teams for bigger schools in Wake Forest and Ohio State, respectively. After Matta left, Xavier hired Sean Miller, who is 108-41 in his fifth season as Xavier’s coach. Miller has led the Musketeers to 3 straight Tournament appearances, which includes a 4-3 post-season record and a trip to last year’s Elite Eight. The 39 year-old Miller is obviously a good coach with a lot of potential, but it’s still up in the air as to whether or not he’ll honor his contract with Xavier (which runs through 2017) or leave for the big time, just like his predecessors.

Looking at Xavier’s success in such a weak conference, compared to UC’s semi-failure in what some people are calling “the greatest conference ever in the history of college basketball,” one has to wonder what would happen in the two schools switched places. If UC were in the Atlantic 10, would they be ranked in the top 15? If Xavier were in the Big East, would they too have a losing conference record? (UC has lost the past three Crosstown Shootouts to Xavier.) If Huggins hadn’t been forced out, would UC be just as good as the other teams at the top of the Big East? Of course there is no way of answering any of these questions, but the last question is the most intriguing.

No matter if you love or hate Bob Huggins, it is pure fact that his ouster has had a major effect on the current basketball program. Players often sign with a school not just because they like the campus or area, but also because they like the coach. This was the reason that Devan Downey and other players chose to transfer away from UC after Huggins was forced out. Huggins is a great recruiter. He was only at Kansas State for a year, but was able to recruit star player Michael Beasley. After Huggins left Kansas State to coach at his alma mater, West Virginia., Beasley (2nd overall pick) and Bill Walker (47th overall pick) declared for the NBA Draft.
West Virginia, which is also in the Big East Conference, is currently not ranked, but Huggins did get his team to the NCAA Tournament in just his first year at the school. Huggins is still in the process of brining players to Morgantown that fit his coaching style. In a few years, the Mountaineers will resemble a traditional tough, motivated, dominating, Bob Huggins team. This isn’t to say that Cronin isn’t a good coach or a good recruiter. That’s still up in the air. I am saying, however, that Huggins is better known than Cronin. Cronin is still in the process of finding his identity as UC’s head basketball coach.

Bob Huggins became a legendary figure in University of Cincinnati sports history. At this point in time, it is doubtful that Cronin will ever reach that status. But with all this uncertainty surrounding Cronin, one thing is for sure: Bob Huggins would never have allowed his team to lose twice in 12 days to the Providence Friars. Growing up, I’d always wanted to attend UC. I could always see myself cheering on the basketball team. Since starting school in 2005, I have witnessed the growth of the football team along with the demise of the basketball team. This is a different time in college sports. I hope UC’s football program continues to grow. Regardless of the football team’s recent success, however, Cincinnati is historically known as a basketball school, and that notion will not easily fade. Sooner or later, the team will be restored to prominence. Until then, enjoy the ride while it lasts, Xavier fans!.


Sources:

The stats about Huggins coaching career at UC were taken from: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=2141113 *

The stats about Cronin’s coaching career were taken from:
http://www.bigeast.org/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=19400&ATCLID=1280620&SPID=11915&SKIP_BACK_BUTTON=YES **

The stats about UC’s current season were taken from:
http://gobearcats.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/sched/cinn-m-baskbl-sched.html ***

The stats about Xavier’s current season were taken from:
http://goxavier.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/miller_sean00.html ****

Blooperstown?

Monday January 12th was selection day for the 2009 class of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. To no one’s surprise, Rickey Henderson was selected in his first year of eligibility, earning nearly 95% of the overall votes. ESPN baseball analyst and former Cincinnati Red Joe Morgan said he was surprised that Henderson “only” received that high of a percentage of votes. According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, Henderson is the career leader in stolen bases with 1,406 and in runs scored with 2,295. Henderson, who primarily played the outfield, also collected 3,055 hits and 297 homeruns. His 26 season, 9 team career included three separate stints with the Oakland Athletics.
Jim Rice was also elected to the Hall of Fame in his final year of eligibility, receiving just 1.4% above the 75% of votes needed for election. Rice spent his entire 16-year career with the Boston Red Sox, collecting 2,452 hits, 382 homeruns, 1,451 runs batted in, and a .298 batting average, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Henderson was a shoe-in for the Hall, while Rice was seemingly lucky to get in. Some Reds players, like Tony Perez, Johnny Bench, and Joe Morgan were shoe-ins for the Hall of Fame, while many other former Reds may or may not receive moralization in the Hall. Here are the top five players who spent the majority of their careers with the Cincinnati Reds, who do not yet have a place in Cooperstown.

5. George Foster- this left fielder played in the league from 1969 to 1986 and was a major offensive producer for the Big Red Machine. He collected 1,928 hits, 348 homeruns, and a .274 career batting average. He also won the league’s Most Valuable Player award in 1977.

4. Joe Nuxhall- in 1944, fifteen year-old Joe Nuxhall became the younger Major League player to ever step foot on a field. The southpaw pitcher spent most of his career with the Reds. He ended his playing career in 1966 with a 135-117 record, 3.90 earned run average, and 1,372 strikeouts. Although his playing career was solid, it was far from being Hall of Fame-worthy.
Nuxy, as fans affectionately knew him by, began broadcasting in 1967. He continued his career as a Reds radio announcer until he retired in 2004. Even after retiring, Nuxhall still did some guest commentary, up until his death in November 2007. He was fondly remembered for his common saying, he’s “rounding third and heading for home,” which is immortalized on the outside of Great American Ballpark. There is also a statue of Nuxhall outside the ballpark. He brought the game to life and deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, where his longtime partner Marty Brennaman is already enshrined.

3. Barry Larkin- he’ll first be eligible for election into the Hall of Fame next year, but it’s uncertain whether or not Larkin will be elected on his first try. This shortstop surely deserves to be in the Hall. “One of the most complete players of all time,” according to the Reds’ official website, the 12-time all-star played for 19 seasons, all with the Reds. He received 3 Gold Glove awards, the 1995 MVP award, and collected 2,340 hits. He also had a .295 batting average, hit 198 homeruns, and scored 1,329 runs. Like the next two players listed below, Larking spent his entire playing career with the Reds. It’s not really a question of if Larkin will get into the Hall of Fame, but rather a question of when.

2. Dave Concepcion- this Venezuelan-born shortstop was an integral part of the Big Red Machine. He was voted to 9 all-star games and was awarded 5 Gold gloves in his 18-year career, all with the Reds. He collected 2,326 hits and 993 runs in his career. He is widely considered to be one of the top defensive shortstops to ever play the game.

1. Pete Rose- like Barry Larkin, he was born and raised in Cincinnati. He played from 1963 to 1986, was selected to the All-Star Game 17 times, won two gold gloves, and the 1973 MVP Award. He is baseball’s all-time hits leader with 4,256, and has a lifetime batting average of .303.
Yes, baseball’s all-time hit king did bet on baseball. That was definitely a mistake, but it’s not like he was betting against the team he was managing. Rather, he was betting on them, which probably gave him even more motivation to win. I’m not trying to justify what Pete did; I’m just saying that there are people who have done worse things who are in a Hall of Fame (cough...O.J…cough). Regardless of the mistakes that Rose may have made off the field, nothing changes the fact that on the field, he was one of the greatest players to ever play the game. Rose was banned for life upon being suspected of betting on baseball in 1988. So unfortunately, until he is reinstated, writers cannot even cast a Hall of Fame vote for Peter Edward Rose.

Honorable mentions: Ted Kluszewski, Ken Griffey Sr., Eric Davis, Mario Soto.

^All Reds’ player statistics listed above were taken from: http://cincinnati.reds.mlb.com/cin/ballpark/museum/ hofers.jsp

What's up, blog?

Welcome to my blog, sports fans! My name is Matt Knochelman and I am a fourth-year journalism student at the University of Cincinnati. I was born and raised in Cincinnati,Ohio and attended Elder High School. I am a huge fan of the Cincinnati Bengals and Reds, the University of Cincinnati Bearcats, the Elder Panthers, and the Cincinnati Cyclones. Since I am a sports fan, many of the stories in this blog will be related to Cincinnati area sports.
In addition to being a sports fan, I am also a delivery driver for Papa John's pizza, so I may write some stories relating to gas prices, Cincinnati street crime, or the local economy, since all three of these aspects affect the pizza business in some way. I am also an avid roller coaster enthusiast, so I may also write a story about Kings Island or some other local amusement park. I hope you find my blog enjoyable and interesting. Please leave any feedback you may have and let me know what you did or didn't like about my blog. You can also e-mail me with any questions you may have or with any story ideas you would like to see.