Two Cents & Sense: Thoughts on UC vs Albany

(

N.C. Brown

| The News Record)

On Monday, the Bearcats looked sloppy, sluggish, and stupid in the first half. In the second half, they replicated what they had going on Friday and stormed out to a convincing 74–51 victory over a solid Albany team. It was a nerve wracking first half that ended up being offset by a great finish. I still think this team is going to be special, but we’ll find out for sure this weekend. Let’s get to it:

(Video via ESPN/Bearcats TV. GIF by OhVarsity)

Positives:

• The offense still looks potent, as long as everyone is where they should be. That means no more of the foul trouble we had on Monday. As soon as the starters returned in the second half, the offense (and defense) got back in gear and took off.
• Troy Caupain is still stuffing the box score. He finished with eight points, four rebounds, five assists, four steals, and zero turnovers. I hope the low scoring is because of the weak opponent, because — while he doesn’t need to shoot for 20 every night — UC will play games where they need 15 from him. First and foremost, he’s the facilitator. But he also needs to be able to get points when needed. That being said, the lack of turnovers is huge after he played an uncharacteristically sloppy game against Brown.
• The 1st Annual Troy Caupain Dunk Contest

(Video via ESPN/Bearcats TV. GIF by OhVarsity)

(Video via ESPN/Bearcats TV. GIF by OhVarsity)

• Kyle Washington is already making this team better. I said it after the last game, and I’ll say it again: Having someone of his size and energy with offensive acumen is glorious. He shot 6-for-8 from the field, and it feels like an answer from God when he turns a mediocre posession into points with is knack for finding the net down lown. I predict UC fans will end up saying a lot of things this year that make us sound like we hated Octavius Ellis. Obviously that’s not the case, but Washington will hopefully continue to be easy to gush about. The Bearcats have managed to find a guy that’s consistently done a lot of this:

(Video via ESPN/Bearcats TV. GIF by OhVarsity)

(Video via ESPN/Bearcats TV. GIF by OhVarsity)

• Is Jacob Evans actually Sean Kilpatrick? He put together a very SK stat line on Monday with 19 points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals on 2-of-7 from outside and 7-of-8 from the line. Looking at the box score is like taking a trip back to 2014. Obivously I’d like if he could clean it up a bit from behind the arc, but if he’s scoring efficiently otherwise, I’m okay with letting him shoot a bit and hoping he gets hot. The most exciting part about Monday was his ability to get to the line. He got himself eight free throws and turned an otherwise decent offensive night into 19 huge points. Jacob had high expectations coming into the season, and he’s absolutely met them through two games.
• I think I’m in love with Justin Jenifer. What a revalation this kid has been through two games. Several, including Cronin, hyped him up as the most improved player on the team. I wasn’t quite sure what they meant by that, because I couldn’t picture his goofy shot getting better overnight. As it turns out, he’s basically Matthew Dellavedova now. Every Bearcats team needs a scrappy guy who gives the opponent fits and does the dirty work. JJ played the scrappiest game ever on Monday, sparking the team with six points, five assists, three steals, and just one turnover in less than 20 minutes. His effort was through the roof. If he can bring that every night, it will be massive for the Bearcats.

(Video via ESPN/Bearcats TV. GIF by OhVarsity)

• Tre Scott was perfect. Seven minutes of action. 2-for-3 shooting. Four points, three rebounds, one block. Nice little spark plug game for him. Sign me up for that every night.
• This team throws alley-oops like crazy. I can’t imagine it’s a bad sign that it seems like they’ve tossed more lobs than last year’s team did in a full season. We now live in a world where this wasn’t the most exciting play of the half:

https://twitter.com/PCBearcat/status/798343585351409664

• Cashmere Wright predicted the score. Great point guard, better psychic. Look at this.

Negatives:

• Foul trouble is scary. Mick called Kyle Washington’s foul struggles “a huge concern.” We got a good look at why on Monday. With all of the bigs getting rung up early, Mick was forced to play guys from the end of the bench in significant minutes. The offense — which has run well otherwise — quickly turned into a slog when it had to rely on guys like Quadri Moore and Nysier Brooks instead of Gary Clark and Kyle Washington. Not only that, but taking out key players threw less-competent offensive guys for a loop. Kevin Johnson, Jarron Cumberland, and Justin Jenifer struggled without the leaders on the floor because they were asked to do more than they should have to. The Bearcats will need to work hard to avoid situations like that, especially in big games.
• The three-point shooting is still awry. The ‘Cats are shooting 11-for-43, or 26%, through two games. This team actually has shooters for once, so I don’t think it will remain quite this rough, but it’s definitely not very encouraging to see an offensive posessoin run well but end in a brick from outside. Normally, I’d say they have time to find their shot. However, their next two games could be against #21 Rhode Island and #1 Duke. You’re gonna need to make shots against those teams, so hopefully they figure it out before this weekend.

Let’s see what these kids are made of. Bring on Rhode Island.