Crowd Sourcing: Thanks Huggs Tribute

On Thursday, Feb. 26, former UC basketball coach Bob Huggins returned to Fifth Third Arena for the first time as an opponent (he now is the head coach at his alma mater West Virginia).

Huggins, the all-time winningest coach in UC history, was honored before the game with a 45-second tribute video. Signs were also handed out to fans that read 'Thanks Huggs' on one side and 'Go Bearcats' on the other.

The video showed highlights of Huggins from the sidelines yelling at his players and referees. It also showed the large number of players he coached through the years.
There were many senior night moments where Huggins was hugging farewell to his players.
This got to Huggins as he was seen on the West Virgina bench shedding tears.

Upon the completion of the video, Huggins was given a standing ovation and he waved to the crowed in gratitude.

What I want to know is if this moment gave fans closure to the Huggins saga that took place upon his dismissal in 2005.

I went to Bearcatnews.com forum to find out. Bearcatnews.com is a website dedicated to UC basketball and football. The forum members range from prospective UC students to UC alumni. There are also non-UC alumni/students. Men and women of all ages are welcome to join the forum.

Some fans were unsatisfied with the ceremony and felt UC should have done more.

"A class act by UC to do it. Having said that, I think it should have been done bigger...way bigger.
"A 16 year career, the most ever wins by a UC coach, countless titles and championships, and 14 NCAA tourney appearances could have been one heck of a 5 minute video - a video for the ages for UC fans. I think they should have had the former players join Bob at mid-court for a presentation of a plaque with his season records, accomplishments, etc. and a big THANK YOU engraved at the bottom. That would have been even more special. Allowing Bob to take the mic and say thank you would have been really unbelievable." -Bearcat-in-Italy

Other fans thought this ceremony symbolized the end of an era and finally have closure to all of the controvery surrounding Huggins' departure.

"UC's tribute to Coach Huggins tonight was well done and well received. Coupled with the eminent departure of Nancy Zimpher, UC now has closure on the Huggins' era at UC." -jkwuc89

"Thanks Coach Huggins. What an awesome ceremony last night. For anyone who thought Bob didnt care last night hopefully changed your minds. That place went nuts and deservingly so. Great to see that legends from the past like Reuben, Logan, Levett, all were there. Amazing game to be at." -TheLivingLegend

Fans who weren't at the game, but watched it on TV, wished the ceremony coverage was better.

"I like a lot of what ESPN did, but wow they blew it when they took the camera off of Bob way TOO early. Does anybody else agree? He was getting a big ovation, crying, displaying great human emotion that you can't control and, all of a sudden, (Bret) Musburger and (Bob) Knight are on the screen and you can still hear screams and cheers outside of the picture. I guess I was pretty upset even though I think, for the most part, they did a good job." -Forsure21

After reviewing the forum, there was a wide range of reactions. Some people finally felt closure, others were left wanting more, while others simply didn't care and were tired of hearing about Huggins.

Crowd Sourcing: Students indifferent towards Zimpher's departure

UC President Nancy Zimpher last week announced that she's leaving the university in order to take the chancellor position at the State University of New York system. The official UC announcement can be found here.

I wanted to find out what were UC students' reactions to this news. I asked UC journalism students the following questions:

1. What are your thoughts on the announcement that UC president Nancy Zimpher is leaving UC to go to the State University of New York?
2. How do you feel about her tenure here at UC?
3. What, if anything, do you think she accomplished at UC?
4. Are you a UC athletics fan? Does this factor into your thoughts about Zimpher?

For the most part, UC students didn't seem to mind Zimpher was leaving.

Here are some comments I got:

" Zimpher means nothing to me. I don't know her and she doesn't know me. She ruined the basketball program, yes, but I'm too busy to attend any games anyway so I won't pretend like I am upset about that. However, academically, some people may say she did wonders for the university, but I see it turning our world up-side-down and leaving. Switching to semesters, huh? And not staying to see it through? Good job. How about we make a Journalism department? Nancy is probably a nice lady to have tea with and apparently she is talented enough that SUNY likes her, a lot. So congratulations to her - but it means nothing to me. I'll be gone in a jiffy. But her leaving seems premature; she should stay longer to finish what she started." -Amanda W.


"I don't really think it's going to make that much of a difference that she's leaving. I'm not sure if she accomplished too much at UC. I'm somewhat ignorant on the subject, but apparently it's harder to get into UC now, so I guess that's a good thing (?). Also tuition went up 10% when she was here, although I don't know if that was necessarily completely her fault.
"Yes, I am a sports fan. I said "Nuck Fancy" just about as much as anyone after Huggins was fired, which I disagreed with. She did fire Huggins and pretty much ruined the previous two basketball seasons, but at the same time, she did hire our current athletic director, who hired Brian Kelly. So, while she temporarily paralyzed the basketball program, she did also help to bring the football team to national prominence." -Matthew K.

There were also students who think she did a lot for UC and hope the university can find a competent replacement.

"I know most don't really like her, but I've interviewed her in person several times and she's really super nice. She's done a great job in making the campus more friendly, and she's also done wonders with her various improvements to several programs and departments here at UC... In general she's been great in helping boost up UC's reputation too - we really needed her help in that regard. Hopefully our next president will continue making UC a better school. I think she deserves a lot of thanks for her work here." -Caroline T.

Red hot Pitt Downs UC

http://www.newsrecord.org/sections/sports/red_hot_pitt_downs_uc-1.1437252

Red hot Pitt downs UC
Jeff Geiser The News Record


The University of Cincinnati men’s basketball team went into Saturday’s game against No. 4-ranked Pittsburgh winning five of the last six games and searching for a signature win to bolster its NCAA tournament resumé.

That search continues after the Panthers defeated the Bearcats 85-69 before a crowd of 12,508 at the Peterson Events Center.

Pittsburgh tied a school record, shooting 67.4 percent from the field and missed only eight field goal attempts from the two-point range for the entire game.

“That’s the difference in their team this year: They’re putting up 77 points a game,” said UC head coach Mick Cronin. “They’re the best team we’ve played. They have the most complete team.”

The Pittsburgh attack was led by Sam Young’s 18 points and DeJuan Blair’s 17.

“They played well. Let’s give Pitt credit,” Cronin said. “Dejuan Blair made circus shots in the paint. His fall-away shots were ridiculous. He played like Karl Malone.”

Pitt’s offensive efficiency could largely be attributed to senior point guard Levance Fields.

“They have Levance Fields, who dominates with 13 assists and no turnovers. He’s probably the best pure run-your-team point guard,” Cronin said. “He’s not the talent that maybe Johnny Flynn (of Syracuse) is, but they have the best, pure senior point guard in the country.”

Despite the defensive struggles, there were some bright spots in the Bearcats’ performance: UC shot over 50 percent from the field against a vaunted Pitt defense and rebounded the ball well.

“Here’s our positives: We were able to come in here and shoot 52 percent and 46 percent [from 3-point range] at Pittsburgh, a team that’s known for their defense and toughness; and we were able to get 12 offensive rebounds, which was 48 percent of our misses,” said Cronin.

UC had three double-digit scorers, led by senior forward Mike Williams’ 17 points. Sophomore guard Larry Davis and freshman guard Dion Dixon added 13 points and 10 points, respectively.

The Pittsburgh defense limited UC’s leading scorer, Deonta Vaughn, to nine points – seven below his average.

“We’re not down. Obviously we don’t believe in moral victories. We’re not happy with our effort on the defensive end, but we did a lot of things well today,” Cronin said. “We just got beat by a better team, let’s just call it what it is. There’s a reason why I think they can win the national championship.”

The Bearcats return to action Saturday, Feb. 21, against Big East rival Louisville at Fifth Third Arena.

http://www.newsrecord.org/sections/sports/1.1370321-1.1370321

Cincinnati seeks season sweep over Red Storm

Jeff Geiser | The News Record

Published: Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Updated: Tuesday, February 10, 2009

On Saturday, Jan. 10, the University of Cincinnati men’s basketball team lost to the University of Connecticut 81-72, in its fourth straight loss. After losing to the Huskies that day, the Bearcats were winless in conference play and their chances of making it to the NCAA tournament looked bleak.

Now fast-forward exactly one month later and after winning six of its last eight contests, Cincinnati (16-8, 6-5) is very much in the hunt for not only postseason play but a possible NCAA tournament bid.

“Nobody thought we’d be where we are a year ago. I think it’s cool,” said sophomore guard Alvin Mitchell. “We control our own destiny. It depends if we get some key wins at the end of the season whether we can make the tournament or not.”

UC has seven Big East games remaining on their schedule, the next being Wednesday, Feb. 11, against St. John’s at Fifth Third Arena.

The Bearcats previously defeated St. John’s 71-60 on Jan. 22, in New York, after overcoming an 11-point halftime deficit.

Despite the victory, UC Head Coach Mick Cronin is concerned about St. John’s physicality and ability to rebound the basketball.

“We’ve got to compete with them physically. They out rebounded us by 11 in the first half last game. That’s a pretty significant advantage in a half of a game,” Cronin said.

“What we’ve got to be ready for is what they bring from an intensity standpoint on the backboard. That’ll be a major area of concern. We can’t get down that big in the rebounding category. That really was something that had me ready to lose my mind at halftime the last time we played them.”

Another area of concern for the Bearcats is the return of Malik Boothe, St. John’s starting point guard, who missed the previous game against UC due to a
thumb injury.

“Malik Boothe was out for a while, I think it was due to his hand. He’s going to change the tempo of the game a lot. He likes to get it up and down,” Mitchell said. “That’s going to be something we have to adjust to, that we didn’t last game because [Paris] Horne was at the point guard position.”

Win or lose Wednesday, the Bearcats know each remaining game is an opportunity to further rebuild the UC basketball program.

“We’ve got two seniors and we want to get them to the NCAA tournament this year. We’ve got Branden Miller and Mike Williams, who we don’t know for sure if he’s going to be able to come back next year,” said junior guard Deonta Vaughn. “We’re just trying to get them to the NCAA tournament and go all the way for them, so they can feel like they had a lot to do with rebuilding this program.“

Forensics Team Competes in Indianapolis

Critical thinking group participates in public speaking competitions across Midwest area

INDIANAPOLIS — Many people associate the word forensics with police work due to popular television shows like CSI; however, forensics is also a term used to define speech and debate.

It is generally acknowledged that the number one fear among adults is public speaking. So why are there a growing number of students who choose to face this fear by competing on the University of Cincinnati forensics team?

UC forensics head coach Wendy Larcher, an adjunct communications professor, can offer many answers to this question.

“Why are there so many people who like to play basketball? Because you can, because you like it. There aren’t as many speakers as there are basketball players, but that doesn’t make it any less worthy,” Larcher said. “And frankly, there’s just a little bit of thrill because you are able to move an entire room of people with what you can say. It’s thrilling for a basketball player to hit a three-pointer. For speakers, it’s a thrill to move someone with their words.”

The UC forensics team, in its fourth year, competes against other universities in the field of public speaking. There are 11 different speech categories in which students compete, including persuasive, impromptu, poetry and informative speaking.

Competitions are held on weekends throughout the fall and winter quarters at various colleges in the Midwest. Forensic members’ food allowances, transportation, hotel and registration fees are all covered by the university.

The team has approximately 15 members, most of whom are communications students; there are also business, journalism, organizational leadership and aerospace engineering students on the team.

Most members of the forensics team view competition as an opportunity to develop their talents.

“I’ve learned a great deal about my strengths and gathered detailed comments on places I can grow as an orator. The events are full of fun adventures and the company is always great,” said Tifanei Moyer, UC forensics team vice president. “I really have enjoyed my experiences and recommend it to anyone who is looking to build their individual skills, [and] resume and have an amazing time while doing so.”

Other forensics team members simply see competition as an opportunity to travel and make new friendships.

“I thought it would be a great opportunity to cross the Midwest and see different schools. The camaraderie of my teammates is the best part of being on the team,” said Joe Oder, recording secretary for the team.

The team’s most recent competition was Feb. 7 at the Dominata Classic on the campus of IUPUI in Indianapolis. Other schools that competed in the Dominata included Ball State, Butler University, Indiana University, Miami University and Western Kentucky.

The team has three remaining competitions, the next scheduled for Feb. 21-22 at the University of Akron.

“There aren’t many other activities that are going to teach you to get up and talk in front of an audience and to be a critical thinker. What better way to learn how to do that than with your peers?” Larcher said. “You get to travel with friends, get put up in a hotel, and meet students from other schools. And if you’re halfway good at it, you’ll get a trophy. Plus somebody else is paying for it.”

The forensics team is always looking to add new members. For more information about the UC forensics team, call 513-556-4412.

UC Forensics - Dominata Classic @ IUPUI

INDIANAPOLIS -- I just got back from the UC forensic speech team's competition Saturday at the Dominata Classic on IUPUI's campus in Indianapolis, Ind.

Of the 15 total members on the team, only five competed this weekend.

The highlight for team was Tifanei Moyer and LaToya Suggs finishing second in their Duo Interpretation grouping.

No other members finished higher than third.

Other participants this go around were Joe Oder, Winnie Nguyen, and myself.

This was my first forensics competition and although I didn't finish very high, (I finished last place in both duo attempts) I still had a blast.

Nguyen and I did an interpretation of "The Princess Bride". I haven't seen the movie or read the book. I didn't even get my script until earlier in the week. So finishing with a top score was going to be nearly impossible considering we were competing against students who received scholarships for their forensic speaking abilities.

The competition was solid. There were teams from Miami (Ohio), Butler, Indiana University, Ball State and Western Kentucky.

UC forensics head coach Wendy Larcher was a number of the events.

The coolest part of the competition was when Suggs and Moyer snuck into see Nguyen and I's first performance. Despite getting a low score, mostly because we didn't have the entire script memorized, we for sure had the best crowd reactions. There were several students laughing and carrying on througout our performance.

No other performances during the first round got as many laughs. (Whether or not they were laughing at us or with us remains to be seen, haha)

Look for an article on the UC forensics team from me in the News Record either Monday or Wednesday this week. The article basically introduces the team, as they've never had an article written about them, and mentions their participation in Indianapolis yesterday.

I'll post the link to the article once it becomes available.

Archiving past articles

So far, I've had three articles published in the News Record, UC's student newpaper. For the sake of documentation, I will periodically add the links to past articles on this blog.

Jan. 11: http://www.newsrecord.org/sections/sports/bearcats_lose_both_meets_to_louisville_cardinals

Jan. 20:
http://www.newsrecord.org/sections/sports/uc_track_wins_bgsu_challenge

Feb. 1:
http://newsrecord.org/sections/sports/notre_dame_cruises_to_win-1.1320479

As you can see, I've written about the UC swim & dive team, women's track and women's basketball. While these may not be the most glamorous sports to cover, I've enjoyed writing about them because I learned quite a bit doing so. I previoulsy had very little knowledge about swimming and diving competitions, as well as track. Now I'd say I know more than the average person. I also have enjoyed interviewing the head coaches. All three coaches (Monty Hopkins, Susan Seaton and J. Kelley Hall) were tremendous and very accomodating. They were able to fit me in their busy schedules just in time for me to make my deadlines and for that I'm very appreciative.