Wednesday, November 24, 1999Versatility now Fletcher's goal
UC super sub will do whatever it takes
BY MIKE DeCOURCY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
His holiday one year ago was a feast. Ryan Fletcher carved up All-American Elton Brand with a punishing defensive effort, passed for five assists and even threw the pass that led to the pass for the game-winning dunk as the Cincinnati Bearcats shocked top-ranked Duke.
Ryan Fletcher takes a rebound away from Duke's Elton Brand last year.
(AP photo)
| ZOOM |Fletcher left the Great Alaska Shootout as a hero. He returned to the UC bench not long afterward. Talk about a long trip.
“I felt at first that my contribution to this team had gone down,” Fletcher said. “I just felt there was a bigger responsibility on my shoulders when I was starting. It was disappointing ... but I realized after that I could help this team a lot more ways.”
He arrives at the Big Island Invitational having put some distance between himself and his concerns. With the No. 1-ranked Bearcats (1-0) opening Friday against Cleveland State (0-1), Fletcher remains the first frontcourt reserve behind starters Kenyon Martin and Jermaine Tate, but is growing more comfortable in that situation.
“I think I've got a pretty good understanding of what I need to do for this team to be successful,” said Fletcher, a 6-foot-10, 260-pound senior from Middletown High. “It depends on who we're playing, what defense they're playing or what offense. It changes the way I look at and approach every game.”
BIG ISLAND INVITATIONAL (all times EST)
Friday
1: Cincinnati vs. Cleveland State, 5 p.m.
2: Rhode Island vs. Santa Clara, 7:30 p.m.
3: Arkansas vs. Mercer, 10 p.m.
4: Iowa State vs. Hawaii-Hilo, 12:30 a.m.Saturday
5: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 5 p.m.
6: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 7:30 p.m.
7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 10 p.m.
8: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 12:30 a.m.Sunday
9: Game 5 loser vs. Game 8 loser, 1:30 p.m.
10: Game 5 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 4 p.m.
11: Game 6 loser vs. Game 7 loser, 6:30 p.m.
12: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 9 p.m.Coach Bob Huggins isn't sure he and Fletcher have come to the same conclusion regarding that approach. The coach said the two may be “worlds apart” on this subject.
More likely, they are considering the same idea from different angles.
“I want him to take open shots,” Huggins said, meaning those shots that result when the Bearcats operate their offense properly. “He's not a guy that's going to create shots, but he consistently tries. He has to screen. Our offense is a lot better with Jermaine right now, because Jermaine will do what we need him to do. He'll screen, he'll offensive rebound, he relieves pressure.”
Searching for a more dynamic defense, Huggins replaced Fletcher with Tate in the starting lineup last January. With the move, though, some of what made Fletcher an effective member of the team — and what made the Bearcats an effective team apparently was lost.
The Bearcats were 15-1 at the time of the change, then went 12-5 over their final 17 games. The move also might have impacted Martin. With Fletcher at power forward, providing more of an offensive and physical threat to opponents, Martin shot .590 from the field. Following the shift, he hit .551.
The move had obvious affects on Fletcher's game. As opposed to the space-eating role player he was as a starter, he became someone upon whom UC relied for an offensive lift off the bench.
He served well in this capac ity, on occasion, with nine double-figure outings including a 15-point effort at DePaul that helped to force overtime and a 17-point contribution in an easy win against Louisville. When the Bearcats needed an offensive lift in the Conference USA tournament against UNC Charlotte and the NCAA Tournament against Temple, however, he shot a combined 0-for-10 from the field.
Fletcher can be a jumble of contradictions as a basketball player. He has three-point range but sometimes struggles to connect on point-blank shots. He had solid ballhandling and passing skills but commits near ly twice as many turnovers as he collects assists. His frame is massive and muscular, but had two or fewer rebounds in a half-dozen games last season in which he played at least 10 minutes.
This is Fletcher's fifth year with the Bearcats, and it has taken him a while to adjust to playing the game as Huggins teaches it. Fletcher has applied more of his own ideas to the game than many of his teammates.
His rebounding, for instance. He said his approach is changed — and a 10-rebound game against Youngstown State in the opener offers proof — but last season Fletcher often used his size to power opponents away from the lane and allow the ball to fall to a UC teammate. Fletcher now realizes it's more prudent to pursue the rebound himself after executing his box-out; it leaves less to chance.
“I'm concentrating more on it,” Fletcher said, “going out there and knowing that I want to try to get every rebound that comes off the rim.”
Fletcher is looking to be a more versatile player, contributing in whatever manner is required against a given opponent. When the Bearcats face North Carolina, for instance, he figures he'll be asked to perform the same sort of function against the Tar Heels' 7-footer Brendan Haywood as against Brand.
“I think for us to be successful that game, it's not going to be so much my offense as my defense,” Fletcher said. “If I can limit the guy, contain him, we're going to have a chance. Because he's probably going to be their No. 1 option — him or Ed Cota, and I can't guard Ed Cota. So I can't worry about that.”
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