Thursday, February 03, 2000
Young guards not hurting UC
Other top teams in same situation
BY MIKE DeCOURCY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — There were so many factors to examine when Cincinnati Bearcats coach Bob Huggins considered tinkering with his lineup a week ago, but the one that received the most national attention attracted the least of his.
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UC at UNC CHARLOTTE
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• When: 9 p.m. today
• Where: Halton Arena (9,105), Charlotte, N.C.
• Records: UC 20-1 (8-0 Conference USA); UNCC 12-8 (4-3)
• TV: ESPN
• Radio: WLW-AM (700)
BY THE NUMBERS
• 27: Margin of UC's win over UNCC at Shoemaker Center Jan.5
• 1-2: UC's record in Halton Arena• 0: NCAA teams other than UC ranked in the top 10 in both field goal percentage and field goal defense
• .550: Steve Logan's 3-point percentage the past five games
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Since the start of the season, Huggins has had DerMarr Johnson at shooting guard. And he named Kenny Satterfield a starter at point guard after he had been a reserve the first 19 games. It's not common to find freshman guards starting in the NCAA Final Four, but Huggins did not fear turning his starting backcourt into an all-freshman affair.
“Not at all,” Huggins said. “I've got a lot of confidence in both of them.”
Johnson and Satterfield will start for the third time together with the No. 1-ranked Bearcats (20-1, 8-0) at 9 tonight in a Conference USA game against UNC Charlotte (12-8, 4-3) at Halton Arena. Each will be playing in his 22nd game, though, which is one reason their coach contends it's not a big deal to turn over the ball to rookies.
“The last game, Coach told us we're not freshmen any more,” Satterfield said. “We've played 20 games, and it feels like we've been around a long time.”
The biggest reason it may not be a big deal, though, is that so much of the competition is in a similar position.
Arizona won the Preseason NIT with rookie point guard Jason Gardner and classmate Gilbert Arenas as the shooting guard.
Duke turned over its attack to freshman Jason Williams at the start of the season. The Blue Devils lost their first two games but since have won 16 in a row. Stanford's primary offensive threat is shooting guard Casey Jacobsen, also a freshman.
If UC — or Duke or Arizona, for that matter — is able to win the NCAA title, it would not be the first to do so with a freshman point guard.
When Arizona won its championship in 1997, Mike Bibby ran the Wildcats offense and was opposed by another freshman, North Carolina's Ed Cota, in the Final Four semifinals. In the title game against Kentucky, Bibby made a number of huge shots to help Arizona win in overtime.
Satterfield says there is much to learn from Bibby.
“I don't think I needed that example, but it is a perfect example for a freshman point guard,” Satterfield said. “He was real calm on the court, didn't try to force anything. It looked like he'd been doing it a while.”
Huggins still wants to see defensive improvement from both of his first-year guards.
After two games, though, Huggins likes what he sees from Steve Logan as the sixth man. “He's more versatile than either of them,” Huggins said.
Rather than placing another obstacle between the Bearcats and the Final Four — youth — the change may represent UC's best chance to achieve its potential.
Because Logan often functioned as the shooting guard when he played alongside Satterfield, it stood to reason the Bearcats could get the same level of production if he came off the bench, so long as he accepted the change and his minutes were roughly the same.
“He's fine,” Huggins said, and Logan demonstrated that with a 19-point effort in 30 minutes Saturday against South Florida.
The Bearcats recognized they could get much more from Satterfield, however, than he delivered in the first seven games of January.
In the Big Island Invitational in November, Satterfield averaged 8.7 points and 7.7 assists and made the all-tournament team. As the job of substitute began to seem permanent, he began forcing plays and turned over the ball 22 times before he started against Louisville last week and went error-free for 28 minutes.
“It's a real long season,” Satterfield said. “I'm just getting more relaxed, letting the game come to me, not trying to do things that are outside the offense.”
Perhaps the biggest difference between UC and the Arizona squad that won the title in 1997 is not that the Bearcats have twice as many freshmen in the backcourt, but that they have four seniors in their rotation.
The team Bibby operated did not use any seniors for extended minutes in the tournament. Satterfield and Johnson can rely upon veteran stars Kenyon Martin and Pete Mickeal, along with senior forwards Jermaine Tate and Ryan Fletcher.
“They treat us as equals,” Satterfield said. “When we're running a play and somebody's in the wrong spot, I'll tell them, and they just listen. They know it's the best for the team.”
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Ohio State 51, Wisconsin 48
Stuff 96, San Diego 90
