Monday, November 01, 1999Conference USA: It's closer than you think
BY MIKE DeCOURCY
The Cincinnati EnquirerROSEMONT, Ill. — Glancing at the preseason basketball magazines, which universally predict the Cincinnati Bearcats will claim the Conference USA championship and widely project them as the nation's second- or third-best team, it is easy to infer they are far removed from the other teams in their league.
So how come on Sunday afternoon it was easy to find players who understood how it felt to beat UC? Guards Quentin Richardson of DePaul and Brian Wardle of Marquette were at the C-USA media day to talk hoops, and each made a huge contribution to a win over the Bearcats last season. UNC Charlotte's Diego Guevara helped his team beat UC in two of three games.
Yes, the Bearcats have won every league title since C-USA debuted in 1995-96. Yes, they've won 82 percent of their conference games. Yes, new Marquette coach Tom Crean cites UC players when he's cajoling his Golden Eagles to perform in practice. Yes, “Cincinnati is the benchmark,” as DePaul coach Pat Kennedy said.
As reverently as the Bearcats' competitors speak of them, however, there is no sense of capitulation among the other teams in C-USA.
Should there be?
“I've always felt like this, since last season was over,” said UC senior forward Pete Mickeal. “If anybody had a chance to beat us, it was last year. I'm glad they got their best shot. Because this year, it's one of those things where you know you're on a great team, we know we've got great chemistry — now, our job is to keep it together, keep working hard. The thing about it this year, we've got guys that want to win.”
In the four years C-USA has been in business, the other 11 members have spent much of their time trying to catch the Bearcats. This has been both negative and positive.
They haven't reached that goal consistently, but the effort appears to have drawn them closer to the upper echelons of college basketball.
UNC Charlotte has been to the second round of the NCAA Tournament the past three seasons, something cross-state rival North Carolina can't say. Louisville has been forced to overhaul its coaching staff and recruiting efforts in an attempt to reassume a position alongside the Bearcats. DePaul has reasserted control of the rich Chicago talent pool to escape the bottom of the league.
“If we consistently play well against them,” Richardson said of the Bearcats, “then we can play with anybody. ”
That the Bearcats have ruled the league without translating that success into NCAA advancement has led to the assumption C-USA does not sufficiently prepare them for what they face.
It is a convenient explanation, but does not hold up. Gonzaga reached the Elite Eight last season from the West Coast Conference and Valparaiso made the Sweet 16 the year before from the Mid-Continent.
“I think if you look the last 2-3 years, the toughest games we've had have been inside the league,” said UC coach Bob Huggins.
UC's inability to advance in the tournament has been a disappointment for Conference USA; it is the only major conference without a team in the Sweet 16 the past two seasons. As a whole, the league also has never placed five teams in the NCAA Tour nament.
With Lousville, UNCC, DePaul and South Florida considered tournament contenders in addition to UC, this would appear to be the best opportunity since Tulane practically handed away a fifth league bid with two dreadful performances in the final week of C-USA's inaugural season.
“Bob has basically made people in this conference decide whether they want to have a basketball team or a basketball program,” South Florida coach Seth Greenberg said. “It's the Cincinnati factor. You're seeing most schools possessing coaches that are very much committed to recruiting, to recruiting players that are capable of playing at the very highest level.”
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