The rumors started swirling over the weekend that Lance Stephenson, the ultra-talented guard out of New York, was visiting and would commit to Cincinnati. Tuesday, the news broke and was confirmed elsewhere that Stephenson is indeed committing to the Bearcats. Whether official word will come before or after his July 15 court date regarding his misdemeanor sexual assault charge is undetermined.
While teams have been scared off from recruiting Stephenson for plenty of reasons (the sexual assault, meddling father, attitude questions, academics, NCAA eligibility relating to an online documentary on Stephenson), Cincy coach Mick Cronin seems willing to take a chance on Stephenson -- assuming the NCAA clears him to play.
The Big East Tournament gets underway Tuesday, and this year the Big East Tournament (BET) matches the construction of the conference -- oversized, a bit confusing and very clearly divided.
The Big East at this point has seven teams that are definitely going to the NCAA tournament and one team that lies way out on the fringe of the bubble. This year, the BET is all about teams trying to improve or maintain their projected seeding for the Big Dance.
If you caught any halftime show on ESPN or any college basketball segment on SportsCenter this weekend, there was always something about the NCAA tournament bubble and the projected last four in and last four out. Cinci kept showing up on the wrong side of the projections.
But the Bearcats don't have to worry about that drama anymore. Losing to South Florida on the road all but guarantees they won't be appearing anywhere in tournament projections.
Cincinnati fans still have great affection for their Huggy Bear. The man who brought the Bearcats back to national prominence is still greatly loved in the Queen City. When West Virginia hired Bob Huggins in 2007, the Big East just happened to produce a schedule that only had Cincinnati visit West Virginia in the 2007-08 season, with no return trip. So tonight was his first trip to the Fifth Third Arena as the coach of the Mountaineers.
And Cincinnati responded in a way that made the coach a little misty.
University of Cincinnati's head basketball coach Mick Cronin doesn't like ESPN.com's newest NCAA Tournament projections. ESPN's resident bracketologist Joe Lunardi has just seven Big East teams in the dance -- none of which are Cincinnati.
Cronin didn't find it amusing. "I would tell Joe Lunardi he needs to buy the ESPN Full Court package. Are you telling me that Syracuse wouldn't win the A-10? Does somebody want to give me that answer? I'd like to have that argument with somebody.
It was thinning out over the last couple weeks as Notre Dame's losses piled up. It could be rationalized as the losses were all to teams in the Top 25. Things would improve after they got out of that grueling stretch. Not quite. The losing streak reached six in a row with a 93-83 loss to Cincinnati.
Once more, the Irish failed to play any defense of any significance. Cincy came into the game averaging just over 63 points per game in Big East play. The Bearcats had no problem scoring tonight. They did it from the outside, they did it driving to the basket. They just scored with ease. The backcourt of Deonta Vaughn and Larry Davis combined for 55 points.
The strange piece of video above comes from Media Matters for America, and it shows Bill Cunningham, a radio host in Cincinnati, asking about the number of illegitimate children fathered by the University of Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team.
When I first moved to the Cincinnati area (which, by the way, was exactly one decade ago today), I would be told that the Xavier-Cincinnati basketball rivalry was up there with Duke-UNC. I just moved from Charlotte and shot that down immediately.
It is a neat little rivalry that has fallen on some hard times. The event that once gripped the city has turned into a oh-that's-coming up game. It is coming up this Saturday.
So, wha' happened?
Obviously the fall of the Cincinnati Bearcats has contributed to this. The game used to feature a ranked Bearcats team versus the mid-major Muskies who are known to come up and bite you every once in a while. The Bearcats were a polarizing team that you either loved or hated; Xavier doesn't own that level of love or hate -- even from Cats fans. To outsiders, it was a matchup of the thuggish Bearcats and the small Jesuit school.
Police intercepted a package containing 11 pounds of the hippie lettuce that Blount picked up from a shipment out of state. The police watched the entire transaction and then followed Blount home where they arrested him. Upon a search of his home, they found one seven-pound and another 11-pound package of weed.
The cops also seized over $29,000 in cash, three guns, a Mercedes Benz, Cadillac Escalade and Chevrolet Suburban. Blount has been charged with felony drug possession and is free on a $10,900 bond.
Blount was a star at the University of Cincinnati in the early 1990s and was on that 1992 Final Four team. He would go on to play 10 years in the NBA with the Bulls, Lakers, Cavaliers, Suns, Warriors, Sixers and Raptors. He was a teammate of Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant ... yet didn't play on an NBA Championship team.
Wright will undergo surgery later this week to repair his ACL and will miss the season as he goes through rehabilitation over the next 6-8 months.
"We feel terrible for Cashmere as he was looking forward to the season as all young players do," said head coach Mick Cronin. "Obviously he was a big part of our plans this year so we are going to have to make some changes.
I want our fans to know that although we have had some setbacks, we are on the right track and our kids are working very hard. Our best days are ahead of us and we can't wait to get started this year."
Wright had originally committed to Clemson after his junior season but changed his mind and chose Cincinnati. The Savannah, GA product chose the Bearcats because he felt it was the best situation for him to start immediately.
I don't know why he believed that since incumbent Deonta Vaughn isn't a slouch. Vaughn led the Bearcats in scoring and assists last year and was an All-Big East selection.
NCAA Basketball 
The rumors started swirling over the weekend that Lance Stephenson, the ultra-talented guard out of New York, was visiting and would commit to Cincinnati. Tuesday, the news broke and was confirmed elsewhere that Stephenson is indeed committing to the Bearcats. Whether official word will come before or after his July 15 court date regarding his misdemeanor sexual assault charge is undetermined.
The Big East Tournament gets underway Tuesday, and this year the Big East Tournament (BET) matches the construction of the conference -- oversized, a bit confusing and very clearly divided. 
If you caught any halftime show on ESPN or any college basketball segment on SportsCenter this weekend, there was always something about the NCAA tournament bubble and the projected last four in and last four out. Cinci kept showing up on the wrong side of the projections. 
Cincinnati fans still have great affection for their Huggy Bear. The man who brought the Bearcats back to national prominence is still greatly loved in the Queen City. When West Virginia hired 
University of Cincinnati's head basketball coach 
It was 
When I first moved to the Cincinnati area (which, by the way, was exactly one decade ago today), I would be told that the Xavier-Cincinnati basketball rivalry was up there with Duke-UNC. I just moved from Charlotte and shot that down immediately.
Former Cincinnati Bearcat and Chicago Bull 
Bad news for the University of Cincinnati hoops team. Freshman point guard Cashmere Wright will 
