Sikes commits to Cincinnati

[OrangeandBlack74]

My turn to drive, right?

Yep, but what about a U of I football game before then? We caught a rare U of I victory last year.

Agreed. We need to get to both U of I and ISU for football games this year.

[DannyCooksey]

We need to get to both U of I and ISU for football games this year.

I can't speak for Illinois, but the Redbirds have a very solid team returning. Big things are expected in Normal this Fall. 1 more year of Drone to Robinson should make for some impressive games.

[tornado]

Cincy is about to get another recruit to fill their class.
It is rumored they will get Yancey Gates, a 6-9 PF who is class of 2008.
So he won't take any PT from Sikes this upcoming season, but he definitely will next year, as Yancey is a FIVE STAR recruit
and rated by some as TOP in the nation in his class.

http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&c=1&nid=1689748

[tornado]

I wonder if this is of any interest to Marcus Sikes, that collegehoopsnet.com
has picked Cincinnati to finish 13th in the 16 team Big East this coming season. Pretty low considering they have among their recruits 3 of the top 10 junior college players in the nation and a top 30 prep player.
Here is the review.

http://collegehoopsnet.com/preview/2006/bigeast/cincinnati.htm

Here are the comments as they apply to Sikes:

"Cincinnati will rely on six incoming jucos and a prep school player. Bearcat fans are extremely optimistic about this group of newcomers, but the fact is few players making the transition from junior college to high-major D-1 programs have much of an impact, particularly their first year. This is especially true for interior players, even those who come to D-1 amid glowing accolades. Instead of becoming the highly-anticipated aircraft carrier in the middle, many simply crash and burn."

Then they find it interesting that coach Mick Cronin would recruit so many players who play the same position...given that the only returning player who is sure to start is Cedric McGowan, a very good power forward, and they have two other backup guys who play there as well returning.

The recruits are Marcus Sikes, John Williamson, Hernol Hall, but it does note:
"However, Williamson played at a Division 2 junior college, so his competition wasn't exactly tough."

[Cellus]

I ran across this article about Cincy. They project Marcus Sikes as a bench player already, playing behind guys who will be there for the next 2 years. I wonder if he expected to just be a backup?

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061023/SPT0101/610230362

[Bravesguy]

Don't they have two guys who might not even play due to transfer/transcript problems?

[tornado]

Yes, two of their big guys were in "limbo"

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061021/SPT0101/610210470/1064

"Adam Hrycaniuk and Hernol Hall go to basketball practice every day at the University of Cincinnati not knowing if they'll be able to play when the Bearcats open their season.............
Both Hrycaniuk, a 6-foot-10 center from Mysliborz, Poland, and Hall, a 6-10 center from Limon, Costa Rica, are waiting for an NCAA ruling concerning their participation in leagues in their native countries that could force them to sit out several games this season..."



PS--- The Cincinnati Bearcats held an open intrasquad scrimmage yesterday, Sunday.
the news reports state the best player was John Williamson, another juco PF that Sikes will be battling for playing time.
Williamson had 21 points, 11 rebounds, and the report mentions the performances of several other players, but doesn't say how Sikes did or if he played.

http://gobearcats.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/102206aaa.html

But I did find a link to the scrimmage's box score:

http://graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/cinn/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/UCScrimmageOct.pdf

and it does show that Marcus Sikes did pretty well.
He apparently played a lot, was 5-7 from the floor, 4 rebounds and 13 points.


Here are a couple of comments from their message board posters who saw the scrimmage:

"Marcus Sikes ???‚¬??? Sikes impressed me the most today. He was rebounding shots, making nice passes, stroking it from inside and outside, going after loose balls, etc. His game today was nothing like his reviews. He was the most versatile, and he can be used at the 3, 4, and 5 positions. His 6???‚¬?„?8 looks legit. If he plays during the season like he did today he will easily be lots of peoples favorite. He is very quick too for a big guy and has soft hands."

"Sikes continues to impress..from some his later games in the Devores play to this game....he has kirkland size, but a much more sound wing player IMO...better outisde shooting, better shot selection and better rebounding effort crashing the boards"



and from the Rivals report of the scrimmage is a bit less complimentary, "and says he has the chance to be one of the better bench players in the Big East."
"Marcus Sikes

Sikes is a fundamentally sound player that at times seems to take a play off here and there. At one point in the scrimmage Coach Cronin called him and Abdul out for not hustling and took them both out of the scrimmage.

He has really nice touch around the rim and seems to always be in good position for the rebound. He can bang inside or take his man out on the perimeter.

He was 2-4 from behind the arc and 5-7 overall. He knows how to use his body very well. His biggest weakness right now is his inconsistent effort at times.

If he can become consistent from an effort stand point I feel that he will be one of the better bench players in the Big East."


With his talent he would start instantly and be a superstar in the Valley.