TicketsThe Bearcats undeniable will to win played out in the NCAA tournament's opening weekend, but it was built through the vision of Mick Cronin.
CINCINNATI - Dion Dixon lay in the lane, writhing in pain after suffering a blow in the back. The pain never stopped him from a second effort for the loose ball, of course.
Cashmere Wright, fighting nagging knee injuries which limited his minutes down the stretch, skids around a defender for one of five steals to extend his all-time, single-season UC mark in the category to 74.
Sean Kilpatrick, moments after Florida State guard Luke Loucks answered a 3-point shot, pulled up without hesitation in traffic to bury another with a cold-blooded, fearless focus.
In a game defined by the height of the Seminoles, 6-foot-3 JaQuon Parker somehow shook 11 rebounds out of the trees.
These performances defined these Cincinnati Bearcats as much as they did the Round of 32 win later dubbed, "World War III," by Mick Cronin. Yet, the road from bubble to Boston was littered with moments of hustle, grit, resiliency and unrelenting refusal to lose. Night after night, they played on a loop.
In seven of the last nine games, one possession separated the teams in the final two minutes. Only one of those nine opponents weren't among 68 to hear their name called on Selection Sunday (Villanova) and four are still alive. Only a blowout of Marquette and four-point deficit in the in the final minutes against Louisville break the trend.
Of the seven games within one shot of flipping from ecstasy to agony the Bearcats emerged 6-1.
Talent takes teams to the brink of victory, the will to win at all costs earns it.
Coaches across the country desire this characteristic. Few find it. Most of them are still playing this weekend. None owe more to it than the Bearcats.
These traits didn't evolve by chance or by virtue of a fight. They were carefully molded through the vision of a head coach.
"I tell guys all the time, if you don't want problems don't recruit them and if you don't want guys that don't play hard, don't recruit them," Cronin said.
In a college basketball world of one-and-done McDonald's All-Americans, those who are attempting to rise to the top of the recruiting food chain place as much importance on desire and demeanor as jams and jumpers.
Of the 16 teams remaining in the NCAA tournament, 11 sport a member of the prestigious high school all-star game on their roster. UC has none.
Such is not to say they start inferior talent. Only, their talent fits a specific profile defined by their head coach. Lazy superstars not welcome here. Grind or go home.
"You got to try to find guys that play hard because what you are trying to get in your style," Cronin said. "Then again, you can't always get who you want. It becomes a game of cat and mouse."
Cronin would love to find the perfect combination of mental toughness and offensive skill, but when building a program from rubble those aren't exactly low-hanging fruit. At some point in time you're picking one trait and hoping to develop the other. Picking potential talent over toughness can be done with a few, but a strong contingent of tough guys must be present for Cronin to feel comfortable with the mental makeup of his group.
With Justin Jackson and Parker, the effort and fearless nature of their basketball personality was the known quantity. One recruiting trip to the Virginia state tournament proved that about Parker.
"It was real clear when he shut down DeShawn Painter in the low post, whose 6-foot-9, plays for NC State, that he was a man," Cronin said. One second watching Jackson play tells even the most uninformed viewer of his passion for play.
It's not always so easy, though.
"You try to find that, but that's the hardest thing to find," he said. "The problem is we do so much of our recruiting off summer basketball where nobody cares who wins in most of the games because they play too many games. Kids go to Orlando now for two weeks and there are two consecutive tournaments and we complain that they are not playing hard but we are tired of watching them. Imagine how tired they are of playing in those games - four AAU games a day."
With this group, the journey to creating a team which thrives and looks forward to outworking teams to the final seconds came in development during this season and not as much on the recruiting trail. Pundits point to the fight against Xavier, but a closer look exposed the ghosts of the 2011 senior class.
"That was the metamorphosis of our team," Cronin said. "It had nothing to do with a fight, it was Yancy, Cash, SK and Dion, those four guys. Those four guys had to change their basketball personality. Their basketball personality was offensive player - and good offensive player. Because we lose five guys that had a defensive personality. Those guys had to change their basketball personality or we weren't going to win."
They did. And they have.
"Coach Cronin just keep telling us: defense wins," Wright said. "Even though at first I think we was more worried about our our offense, he told us we are not going to win games because of our offense. The better defense we play the easier its going to be to win. We just bought into it."
Consequently, they created a team that prides itself on hustle and fully believes no matter who the opponent or how poor the shot percentage, they can win out of sheer will.
Miss 20 3-point shots against Marquette? Win going away.
Shoot 2 of 21 from deep against Georgetown and face a double-digit deficit in the Big East tournament? Win in double overtime.
Face a Texas avalanche and disappearance of a 19-point second-half lead in the opening game of the NCAA tournament? Survive with six consecutive points under the game's most intense spotlight.
Then, there was the war of wills against Florida State. A win built on fight and hustle.
UC expects the same in the Sweet 16 on Thursday against Ohio State and their five McDonald's All-Americans. It's all they know.
"We know we are not going to blow everybody out," Wright said. "We know every game we are not going to shoot well but we know one thing you can control and that's what you bring every day. That is hard energy, play all out leave it all on the floor."