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Pirate Notebook No. 58
Wednesday, March 13, 2002

By Denny O'Brien
Staff Writer and Columnist

This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for Cincinnati. The Bearcats entered the season unranked and without the services of Kenny Satterfield, who exited early for the NBA.

Many questioned Steve Logan's ability to run the point. Experts doubted UC's depth. The Bearcats' best years, they said, were behind them. Bob Huggins had lost his edge.

After winning a Division-I best 30 games and earning an NCAA top seed, Huggins has once again proven the critics wrong. And he did it using the concepts most often attached to his name — intensity, hard work, and defense.

"It's certainly not the most talented bunch, particularly offensively, that we've had," Huggins said. "Their work ethic has been incredible, and they've played so well together, and they've played so unselfishly."

The Bearcats' steady rise up the national polls has been largely due to the play of Logan, who emerged by mid-season as a legitimate national player-of-the year candidate. The six-foot, 200-pound senior led UC in both scoring (22.2 ppg) and assists (172), while adjusting to his new role at the point.

As the season progressed, the Cleveland native developed a reputation for nailing the big shot, including a game-tying buzzer beater in the regular season finale against Memphis.

Even when Logan wasn't on top of his game, the 'Cats showed the ability to outclaw their opponents. This was essentially the case at the C-USA tournament, where Cincinnati benefited from steady contributions by a solid supporting cast.

"Steve Logan didn't shoot the ball really well," Huggins said. "But we had other guys step up. Leonard Stokes stepped up. (Immanuel) McElroy stepped up. Donald Little had a big game against Charlotte. It's kinda been that way all year. It's been Logan and then somebody else."

Regardless of the contributions from Logan's supporting cast, though, Huggins knows the Bearcats can't afford an off-night from their go-to guy during the NCAA tournament if they are to live up to the marquee billing they received from the selection committee.

As a matter of fact, after glancing at the brackets, Huggins found little reward in his team's number one seeding, noting the long list of heavyweights present in the West Region.

"I think the West is the hardest bracket," Huggins said. "When you look at who is out there, we won the Conference USA tournament, Ohio State won the Big Ten, Arizona won the Pac 10, Gonzaga won their tournament.

"Then you've got teams that are a little lower seeded like UCLA and Missouri, both of which at one point in time this season were top five teams in one or two of the polls. I think it's really loaded. Whoever comes out of the West is going to be a very good team."

Size has been a huge advantage for the Bearcats, who have been touted for their physical play and domination on the boards. Those dynamics, according to Huggins, could prompt Cincinnati's opponents to play zone, which at times during the season was particularly vexing for the big, strong 'Cats.

"I think the idea is to try to pack it in and hope we don't make perimeter shots," he said. "If people don't think they can guard us in a man-to-man situation, they're better off to try to fortify the paint and make us shoot the ball over the top of them from the perimeter."

Such a scenario is why some are predicting an early exit for the Bearcats, even though Huggins' team seems to perform best with its back against the wall.

For Charlotte head coach Bobby Lutz, the hours leading up to Selection Sunday were nothing short of excruciating. At 18-11, the 49ers were considered a bubble team by experts, many of whom didn't include Charlotte in their mock brackets.

"It was a long 48 hours," Lutz said. "It was the first time that we have had to wait to see if we were selected as an at-large bid. The other times we've been in since I've been here, we've won the tournament.

"We felt we were in good shape. Our RPI was in the 30s, and we played one of the best schedules in the country. Those are the things the committee tells you to do. And, we distinguished ourselves in our league. So, I felt good about our chances, but at the same time, it was a little nerve racking."

Not only did the Niners receive an invitation, they drew a respectable nine seed and will face a tough Notre Dame squad coached by former Duke assistant Mike Brey. The Irish possess one of the nation's premiere starting fives, headlined by the inside-outside combination of Ryan Humphrey and Chris Thomas.

Humphrey, a six-foot-eight forward who transferred to South Bend from Oklahoma, paced the Irish this season, averaging 19 points and 11 boards en route to earning All-Big East honors. Thomas, a freshman point guard from Indianapolis, tossed in 16 points per game, while dishing out a team-high 238 assists this season.

In an attempt to overcome the potential matchup nightmares the Irish pose, Lutz said he will likely present the Irish several defensive alignments Thursday night. Among those will be a steady dose of the two-three zone, which has a tendency to stifle opponents in March.

"That has always been a part of our gameplan," Lutz said. "Eventually, I'd like to get a team that is so good defensively, so athletic, that I think we can play man more than we do.

"I think the value of the zone, especially late in the year, is that some teams tighten up. As the games get bigger, some teams struggle putting the ball in the basket from outside. Plus, if you've played man-to-man all year, the zone can throw you off a little bit. I don't think you can play zone for 40 minutes, but I think it can be effective, especially this time of year."

But even if Charlotte's zone proves bedeviling to the Irish, the 49ers will likely have to ditch it in their second round game against one of the nation's premiere three-point shooting team — reigning national champion Duke.

Tom Crean has become a hot commodity these days. The Golden Eagles' third-year head coach is rumored to be a target of several Division-I schools, including Arkansas, which recently parted ways with long-time head coach Nolan Richardson.

So far, Crean isn't interested in discussing potential future destinations. Instead, he'd prefer to talk about the NCAA tournament, where Marquette drew a fifth seed, which many, including Crean, feel could have been higher.

"I certainly would like to have been a little higher, but once I saw that Gonzaga seed come up, that was beyond belief. They are really good and we have first hand knowledge of that.

"It really doesn't matter right now; we are going against a tough tournament tested team. Our seniors know Tulsa from their freshman year. That will be a tough opponent for us."

Even though Marquette lacks the tournament experience Tulsa possesses, Crean likes his team's current demeanor. The Golden Eagles have maintained their short-sighted approach, which propelled them to 26 victories on the season.

"I think the whole key to this is really focusing on that individual game that you have coming up," Crean said. "But at the same time, you've got to look at who you could be playing in the second round.

"You can't let your peripheral vision see all of the other things that are going on. You have to focus... on what is there. I thought our focus was great going into the conference tournament in Cincinnati, and hopefully we can just build on that."

Where Marquette lacks in experience, Crean can fill in the blanks. Crean was a part of Tom Izzo's staff at Michigan State in 1999 when the Spartans made a Final Four run that culminated with a narrow six-point loss to Duke.

The Spartans cut down the nets one year later, and the catalyst of that 2000 title team spent some time with the Golden Eagles on Sunday.

"Mateen Cleaves spoke to our team this morning (Sunday) and I couldn't have asked for a better speaker," Crean said. "He was wonderful.

"Cordell (Henry) got to spend a little time around him and I think everyone's spirits are good. Mateen speaks from the heart. He is battle tested in many situations, especially during this time of the year."

Crean hopes Cleaves' tournament savvy wears off on Henry, whose play will go a long way toward determining how high the Eagles will soar.