TicketsGEORGE MASON (2-3) vs. CINCINNATI (3-1)
EMERALD COAST CLASSIC - NICEVILLE, FLA.
GEORGE MASON SERIES INFO: Cincinnati leads 1-0 overall; Cincinnati leads 1-0 at neutral sites
LAST MEETING: Cincinnati won 72-48 in the first round of the 1999 NCAA Tournament (East Region) in Boston
STREAK: Cincinnati - Won 1
COACHES: Mick Cronin is in his 13th season at Cincinnati (271-141); 16th season overall (340-165)
Dave Paulsen is in his fourth season at George Mason (49-55); 25th season overall (445-269)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (NOV. 19): Cincinnati (--/--); George Mason (--/--)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Mo Egger provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: CBS Sports Network; Brad Johansen provides play-by-play with color analyst Steve Lappas
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB
By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – No one was more surprised than Keith Williams when he was called on to make his first career start on Nov. 13 against North Carolina Central.
After coming off the bench for 33 games as a freshman, the 6-foot-5 sophomore guard from Brooklyn, N.Y., had become accustomed to standing and applauding as the starters were announced.
As is the case with most freshmen, Williams needed time to figure things out, to get a feel for what he had to do on the college level to earn playing time, especially at the University of Cincinnati where defense takes precedence over everything else.
"At first I thought if I could score, I could play," Williams said, "but when you see (Gary) Clark and Jacob (Evans) just playing defense, I was like, I'm going to just stick to that. I was so used to playing (in high school), I was just trying to find ways to get on the floor. I just told myself I'm going to stick to that. And it worked. I'm starting now."
Williams has started UC's last three games, but that doesn't necessarily mean he will again at 7 p.m. Friday when the Bearcats (3-1) face George Mason (2-3) in the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla . The winner will face the winner of the game between Baylor and Ole Miss on Saturday night.
"It's early," UC coach Mick Cronin said. "We're still trying to figure out lineups. We've been spoiled here with obvious lineups for the last two years. With this team, we've got a lot of guys that are equal. They just bring different things to the table. Playing certain guys together gives us a better chance to be at our best as a team. So what we tried to do with putting Keith in the lineup was to get an athlete in there with Jarron Cumberland, somebody whose mind is on offensive rebounding. It's like trying to make a dish. Certain things go well together. We're just trying to figure that part of it out."
George Mason won its second in a row Tuesday night with a 78-63 victory over North Carolina Central, the same team that UC beat 73-51 on Nov. 13. The Patriots, from Fairfax, Va., lost their first three games of the season to Penn (72-71), American (78-75) and Southern (98-89).
They have four players averaging in double figures, led by Justin Kier (12.2 points.) He's one of five starters returning from last season's team that went 16-17. The Patriots added forward Jarred Reuter, a transfer from Virginia who averages 10.2 points and 4.6 rebounds.
"I see a team that's trying to pressure the ball," Cronin said. "They're a little bit different than anybody that we've played, with their quickness. They're an aggressive man-to-man team. They try to do some things the way we do actually, so it's stuff that we see in practice. But we've seen more conservative defenses (in the early games). Because they're not the biggest team, they're not going to turn it over a lot because they play a lot of guards and they've got good quickness. So our size and our athleticism need to be a factor in this game."
Williams averaged 22.2 points and 10.6 rebounds as a senior Bishop Laughlin High School. He played in 33 games as a freshman at UC, averaging 3.1 points. But he shot only 38.5 percent from the floor and made four of 27 shots from three-point range.
He made a big splash in his first start when he scored a career-high 15 points. He followed that performance with 12 points against Milwaukee and eight against Western Michigan. For the season, he's averaging 9.8 points to go with 2.5 rebounds.
"His mind's on rebounding," Cronin said. "His last two games, he's had double-figure deflections. He had 12 in the last game and he had five rebounds."
When Williams got his first start, senior guard Cane Broome was struggling offensively. Broome scored only five points combined in his first two games. Since then, he has scored 17 against Milwaukee and 14 against Western Michigan. With Williams now in the mix in a significant way, the Bearcats now have five capable guards that Cronin can mix and match, including point guard Justin Jenifer and freshman Logan Johnson.
And even though Williams has been the starter lately, Broome's value hasn't been diminished.
"I wasn't concerned (about Broome)," Cronin said. "He's a veteran. It was just a matter of him getting his confidence back. Cane is a scorer, but he's not a 3-point shooter. That doesn't mean he doesn't make threes. It's the same with a lot of our guys. We came out of the gate shooting too many threes and that's my fault.
"You've got to help kids figure out who they are and what they need to do to be successful. Whether a guy starts or not, obviously we need Cane Broome to win. If we're going to compete for our league title and try to make the NCAA Tournament, Cane Broome is going to have to be a big part of that."
Williams wants to be a big part of it, too, which is why he has gladly assumed the role of defensive and rebounding stalwart after pushing through a sometimes frustrating freshman year.
He has Jenifer, among others, to thank for that.
"He's been through it," Williams said. "You just have to wait your turn. It was tough, but I tried to stay mentally sharp. It helped me a lot though. Now it's just a lesson. I'm just happy to be out there playing, especially starting. I'm just grateful."
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer –before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January 2015.
EMERALD COAST CLASSIC - NICEVILLE, FLA.
GEORGE MASON SERIES INFO: Cincinnati leads 1-0 overall; Cincinnati leads 1-0 at neutral sites
LAST MEETING: Cincinnati won 72-48 in the first round of the 1999 NCAA Tournament (East Region) in Boston
STREAK: Cincinnati - Won 1
COACHES: Mick Cronin is in his 13th season at Cincinnati (271-141); 16th season overall (340-165)
Dave Paulsen is in his fourth season at George Mason (49-55); 25th season overall (445-269)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (NOV. 19): Cincinnati (--/--); George Mason (--/--)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Mo Egger provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: CBS Sports Network; Brad Johansen provides play-by-play with color analyst Steve Lappas
JOIN THE CONVERSATION (TWITTER, FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM): @GoBearcatsMBB or GoBearcatsMBB
By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – No one was more surprised than Keith Williams when he was called on to make his first career start on Nov. 13 against North Carolina Central.
After coming off the bench for 33 games as a freshman, the 6-foot-5 sophomore guard from Brooklyn, N.Y., had become accustomed to standing and applauding as the starters were announced.
As is the case with most freshmen, Williams needed time to figure things out, to get a feel for what he had to do on the college level to earn playing time, especially at the University of Cincinnati where defense takes precedence over everything else.
"At first I thought if I could score, I could play," Williams said, "but when you see (Gary) Clark and Jacob (Evans) just playing defense, I was like, I'm going to just stick to that. I was so used to playing (in high school), I was just trying to find ways to get on the floor. I just told myself I'm going to stick to that. And it worked. I'm starting now."
Williams has started UC's last three games, but that doesn't necessarily mean he will again at 7 p.m. Friday when the Bearcats (3-1) face George Mason (2-3) in the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla . The winner will face the winner of the game between Baylor and Ole Miss on Saturday night.
"It's early," UC coach Mick Cronin said. "We're still trying to figure out lineups. We've been spoiled here with obvious lineups for the last two years. With this team, we've got a lot of guys that are equal. They just bring different things to the table. Playing certain guys together gives us a better chance to be at our best as a team. So what we tried to do with putting Keith in the lineup was to get an athlete in there with Jarron Cumberland, somebody whose mind is on offensive rebounding. It's like trying to make a dish. Certain things go well together. We're just trying to figure that part of it out."
George Mason won its second in a row Tuesday night with a 78-63 victory over North Carolina Central, the same team that UC beat 73-51 on Nov. 13. The Patriots, from Fairfax, Va., lost their first three games of the season to Penn (72-71), American (78-75) and Southern (98-89).
They have four players averaging in double figures, led by Justin Kier (12.2 points.) He's one of five starters returning from last season's team that went 16-17. The Patriots added forward Jarred Reuter, a transfer from Virginia who averages 10.2 points and 4.6 rebounds.
"I see a team that's trying to pressure the ball," Cronin said. "They're a little bit different than anybody that we've played, with their quickness. They're an aggressive man-to-man team. They try to do some things the way we do actually, so it's stuff that we see in practice. But we've seen more conservative defenses (in the early games). Because they're not the biggest team, they're not going to turn it over a lot because they play a lot of guards and they've got good quickness. So our size and our athleticism need to be a factor in this game."
Williams averaged 22.2 points and 10.6 rebounds as a senior Bishop Laughlin High School. He played in 33 games as a freshman at UC, averaging 3.1 points. But he shot only 38.5 percent from the floor and made four of 27 shots from three-point range.
He made a big splash in his first start when he scored a career-high 15 points. He followed that performance with 12 points against Milwaukee and eight against Western Michigan. For the season, he's averaging 9.8 points to go with 2.5 rebounds.
"His mind's on rebounding," Cronin said. "His last two games, he's had double-figure deflections. He had 12 in the last game and he had five rebounds."
When Williams got his first start, senior guard Cane Broome was struggling offensively. Broome scored only five points combined in his first two games. Since then, he has scored 17 against Milwaukee and 14 against Western Michigan. With Williams now in the mix in a significant way, the Bearcats now have five capable guards that Cronin can mix and match, including point guard Justin Jenifer and freshman Logan Johnson.
And even though Williams has been the starter lately, Broome's value hasn't been diminished.
"I wasn't concerned (about Broome)," Cronin said. "He's a veteran. It was just a matter of him getting his confidence back. Cane is a scorer, but he's not a 3-point shooter. That doesn't mean he doesn't make threes. It's the same with a lot of our guys. We came out of the gate shooting too many threes and that's my fault.
"You've got to help kids figure out who they are and what they need to do to be successful. Whether a guy starts or not, obviously we need Cane Broome to win. If we're going to compete for our league title and try to make the NCAA Tournament, Cane Broome is going to have to be a big part of that."
Williams wants to be a big part of it, too, which is why he has gladly assumed the role of defensive and rebounding stalwart after pushing through a sometimes frustrating freshman year.
He has Jenifer, among others, to thank for that.
"He's been through it," Williams said. "You just have to wait your turn. It was tough, but I tried to stay mentally sharp. It helped me a lot though. Now it's just a lesson. I'm just happy to be out there playing, especially starting. I'm just grateful."
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer –before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January 2015.