I looked back at some of my posts this time last year and noted that I had much to say about the state of Cincinnati Basketball. Compare that to this year as I'm not sure if I've even brought them up this year. I felt I should at least make a note of it as the Bearcats season came to an end this afternoon in West Virginia. There will be no postseason tournament. Nor did they even qualify for their conference tournament. Calling it a rough season would be an understatement. This rebuilding year brought the program's worst season since the early 80's and featured the longest losing streak since 1924. Just two players returned this year: one who would've come off the bench of a good team and one who might have [emphasis: might] been able to walk on if he went to a local high school. It was miraculous that Mick Cronin got them to double digit wins this year.
Still, almost two years later, there are those in town reeling of what went down with Bob Huggins. These people are going to regret if they don't get back on board with this team. This season's struggles will be the seed for a program on the rebound. Kids will want to play for Mick in Cincinnati; they're a Big East team in a nice-sized market with excellent facilities. I wholeheartedly believe that this team has a bright future. So now we can put this past year and the many thrashings behind us.
At least for the Bearcats, next year starts tomorrow.