The University of Cincinnati showed versatility with its lineup during Saturday night's 119-53 exhibition victory over the Worldwide All-Stars from Budapest.

        For a brief stretch, coach Bob Huggins went without a true power forward, using a smaller, quicker lineup — Kenny Satterfield, Steve Logan, Leonard Stokes and Immanuel McElroy — that pressed full-court and forced two backcourt turnovers in three Budapest possessions.

        Freshman guard Field Williams came in for Stokes. Then Stokes came in for McElroy. Then Huggins used his two big men, 6-11 Donald Little and 6-11 B.J. Grove, together.

        “You'll probably see a lot of stuff, and it's probably going to change from game to game,” Huggins said. “We're not going to be able to do what we've been doing, just line it up and slug it out.”

        Stokes, the starting small forward, played some point guard Saturday night; McElroy played some point in the first exhibition game.

        TICKET INFO: Individual game tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. Monday. The only UC game sold out is the Crosstown Shootout against Xavier (Dec. 14). Call the UC Athletic Ticket Office at 556-2287.

        C-USA TALK: The consensus among Conference USA coaches at the league's Media Day last Sunday in Chicago was Cincinnati remains the team to beat, but the rest of the league is closing the gap.

        Not because of any slippage by the Bearcats — who have won all five of the league's regular-season titles — but because other schools are upgrading their talent.

        “There really isn't a bad team in the conference,” South Florida coach Seth Greenberg said. “There are more good teams and more teams that have a chance to make a difference.”

        “People are losing good players and replacing them with other very good players,” Marquette coach Tom Crean said.

        Cincinnati (18th) and DePaul (21st) were ranked in the Associated Press preseason poll, with three other teams (South Florida, Charlotte and Memphis) receiving votes. Louisville also received votes in the USA Today/ESPN rankings, the first time six C-USA teams have done so in a preseason poll.

        ANTWAN UPDATE: Junior Antwan Jones, who had foot surgery Oct.2, had his foot X-rayed again Wednesday. “I'm hoping in the next two weeks we'll have this kid playing,” said team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Angelo Colosimo. “It's almost completely healed.”

        Athletic trainer Jayd Grossman cautions that Jones' return to practice will not mean an immediate return to games. There will be a transition period when Jones' foot adjusts to running and jumping without holding back.

        “What everyone has to understand, and especially Antwan, is he has not played any type of basketball since the beginning of May (when he broke his foot),” Grossman said. “I fully anticipate there will be a day or two when he feels sore and we're going to back him off.

        Grossman said it is more realistic to target mid-December for Jones' appearance in games. WOMEN'S NEWS: Debbie Merrill, a 6-foot-3 center from Montgomery Central High School in Cumberland City, Tenn., has signed a national letter of intent to attend UC. She is the 25th-ranked player in the country by All Star Girls Report and the highest-rated recruit ever to sign with a Conference USA school since the league started in 1995. Merrill is a USA Today and Parade All-American, ranked among the nation's top five high school centers.

        Merrill joins three others who signed with the Bearcats: Leslie Knoch (5-6, G, Fort Frye HS, Beverly, Ohio); Edwina Williams (6-3, C, Regina High School, Cleveland), Sara Piepho (5-6, G, Howell, Mich., HS).

        The UC women beat WBC Ilirija (Slovenia) 80-37 Saturday in their final exhibition game. Junior Tammy Douglass led the Bearcats with 14 points and eight rebounds, and freshman Valerie King added 11 points.

        UC opens its regular season Friday night at home against St. Bonaventure.

UC 13, Memphis 10 UC 119, Budapest 53 Huggins mixing it up with Bearcats' lineup

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