Thursday, March 30, 2000

UC loses most of its scoring

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Junior-college recruits focus for next season

BY MIKE DeCOURCY
The Cincinnati Enquirer

DerMarr Johnson | ZOOM |

        Cincinnati Bearcats coach Bob Huggins has no idea what others will expect of his basketball team now that promising guard DerMarr Johnson decided to enter the NBA draft.

        He's not certain who will take Johnson's position, although there are a few candidates already on the roster and a few more UC is recruiting.

        What Huggins knows is this: “We'll be OK. We're always OK. We'll go get some guys and be fine. We've lost a lot before. You go get some more guys, you get the ones you have better, and then you go play. History is on our side in that.”

Returning	Pos	Ht	Yr	PPG
Dave Dissinger	G	6-4	Sr.	0.9
B.J. Grove	C	6-11	So.	1.9
Eugene Land	F	6-7	So.	3.2*
Donald Little	C/F	6-11	So.	1.1
Steve Logan	G	6-0	Jr.	9.8
Kenny Satterfield	G	6-2	So.	9.2
Leonard Stokes	G	6-5	So.	2.2
Chris Taflinger	G	6-2	So.	0.3
Newcomers	Pos	Ht	Yr	PPG
Jamaal Davis	F	6-7	Jr.	-
Rod Flowers	F	6-8	Fr.	-
Antwan Jones	F	6-7	-
Field Williams	G	6-2	Fr.	-
Departing	Pos	Ht	Yr	PPG
Ryan Fletcher	F	6-10	Sr.	7.1
DerMarr Johnson	G	6-9	So.	12.6
Kenyon Martin	C	6-9	Sr.	18.9
Pete Mickeal	F	6-7	Sr.	13.5
Jermaine Tate	F	6-9	Sr.	4.6
* Statistics are for 1998-99 season. Land redshirted in 1999-2000.

        A 6-foot-9 shooting guard, Johnson averaged 12.6 points for the Bearcats and was named Conference USA freshman of the year. He scored in double figures in all except nine games but topped 20 points only three times.

        With Johnson gone — joining seniors Kenyon Martin, Pete Mickeal, Ryan Fletcher and Jermaine Tate — the Bearcats lose a combined 56.7 points of the 77.6 they averaged as a team.

        Following the 1996-97 season, however, UC lost a combined 56.3 points from a team that averaged 80.7. With Bobby Brannen as their star, the Bearcats went 27-6 the next year and earned a No.2 NCAA Tournament seed.

        As Duke proved this season, which players a college team loses is not as important as which ones it puts on the court the following year.

        “I don't think they'll be preseason ranked as high as they probably could have been,” said Anthony Buford, the analyst on UC television broadcasts. “But I have confidence in Huggs' ability to make his team extremely competitive. They'll have a lot of time to get guys acclimated to new roles.”

        The Bearcats are fortunate to start their reconstruction with point guard Kenny Satterfield, who should rank among the best at his position in 2000-01. He led the C-USA in assists as a freshman and stepped forward when Martin was injured in the league tournament, averaging 12.6 points and 5.0 assists in the three games the Bearcats played without their star.

        The only other player with substantial experience is guard Steve Logan, who has scored 618 points in two seasons with the Bearcats. He will continue to spell Satterfield at the point but, more important, will compete with Leonard Stokes and a likely junior-college recruit for the chance to replace Johnson.

        Aware Johnson might spend one year at UC, the Bearcats signed McDonald's All-American Jerome Harper in November as a replacement. When it became apparent he might not qualify academically — the school later rescinded his letter of intent because of an arrest — the coaching staff began looking at the junior colleges for shooting guard prospects.

        UC is one of the final two schools being considered by 6-4 Monte Cummings of NJCAA champion Southeastern Iowa and 6-4 Immanuel McElroy of Tyler (Texas) J.C.

        “I think on the perimeter they'll be fine,” Buford said. “They'll have to get some nice work out of Stokes. He'll have to get comfortable. I never thought he was comfortable this year.”

        Buford said he believes there will be extra offensive pressure on the perimeter if the Bearcats can't generate an inside scoring presence. They recruited Antwan Jones out of Tallahassee Community College to be an immediate starter and plan for him to be an important offensive option.

        UC coaches think 6-11 B.J. Grove can be an effective scorer if he can master other elements of the game and keep himself in shape. Donald Little, who can play either inside position, has demonstrated the ability to shoot the ball in practice but has not been asked to score when playing as a reserve. It's easy to forget about power forward Eugene Land, who redshirted this season, but he scored in double figures in four of his first 13 games as a freshman.

        “The summer will be key to the big guys returning,” Buford said. “Those guys will really have to have outstanding summers.”

        Had Johnson returned, Huggins could have focused the offense on Johnson's varied scoring talents and the matchup problems his size causes for opposing shooting guards.

        This season, Johnson averaged only 9.2 shots a game.

        With a full offseason of strength training and the opportunity to pick up some of the offensive responsibilities left behind by Martin and Mickeal, he potentially could have played at an All-American level.

        This is what UC will miss. If Huggins is frustrated by the loss of that opportunity, he will not say so publicly out of deference to Johnson.

        “If this is what he wants to do, that's fine,” Huggins said. “He's not getting any resistance from us whatsoever.”

       

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