One of the main reasons the Cincinnati Bearcats are sitting at 14-0 heading into the Crosstown Shootout is the play of their 2nd unit. While Mick Cronin refers to the unit as the red team, they have taken to a nickname created by red-shirt freshman Sean Kilpatrick.

Kilpatrick, a New York native, grew up in the Rucker Park basketball scene where everything has a nickname, so it was only fitting that he deemed the group “The Goon Squad” brought in by head coach Mick Cronin to infuse effort and energy that consists of Kilpatrick, Larry Davis, Darnell Wilks, Justin Jackson and Anthony McClain.

“It's New York slang for the guys that do all the dirty work,” Kilpatrick said. “It's the people that will do any and everything just to win and be successful.”

Kilpatrick didn't stop with just naming the group, as each of the five members has their own persona that they bring to the court.

“Larry's the Street Shark,” said Kilpatrick who is 3rd on the team in scoring at 10.1 ppg. “Me, I'm plain old Killa. Wilks is Half Man Half Amazing. Biggie's the Garbage Man Justin has a couple nicknames. Jumping Jack, Jack Jack, Jack Attack, Space Jam.”

Davis is enjoying his role as a defensive stopper, and has regained the form on his outside jumper to provide some offensive spark when he is on the floor. He is having the best season of his career so far, and has taken a liking to his place on the Goon Squad.

“I think me and SK are kind of the ring leaders on the Goon Squad because we're the most hyper active on defense,” Davis said. “Everybody just feeds off of that.”

While Davis and Kilpatrick like to wear their emotions on their sleeve, Wilks is more the quiet type that lets his actions do the talking.

“They may be the vocal leaders, but I just try to lead by example,” said Wilks. “They do the yelling and stuff, I just go out there and go hard.”

The Goon Squad is relied on for what they bring to the defensive end of the court, but they are also producing on the offensive end as well. The 5 reserves account for 23.8 points per game which is 31% of the total production on the season. Cronin knows how important the group is to his team’s success, and he needs them to keep it going through Big East play.

“If we can make it a game of depth, it's an advantage for us 9 out of 10 games,” said Cronin. “We've got to get continued quality play from those guys.”

Junior forward Yancy Gates is firmly planted on the black team as a regular starter, but he is well aware how important the depth behind the first five has helped the team remain unbeaten and for the first time this year in the national rankings.

“It makes it easier because some teams don't have a good long bench like us,” said Gates. “Coach Cronin always tells us you aren't going to play tired. You just go out there and you play and if you get tired you don't worry about it because you come out and the next guy comes in. As you sit down you see the flow of the game and the pace of the game stays the same.”

While there is often a divide between the starters and guys coming off the bench, this team has bought in to filling their roles and doing whatever it takes to make it back to the NCAA Tournament. Davis is thriving in his role as a defensive presence, and he knows how valuable it is in keeping the first five rested and ready to perform at a high level.

“We take the pressure off them and give them more legs on offense and take the pressure off on defense,” Davis said. “When the game gets tough all of our guys will be fresh, and that's a big help in the Big East.”

For Kilpatrick, the Goon Squad is more than just a nickname. It's that New York way of life coming through, and he couldn't ask for a better group of seniors to show him the ropes.

“With Larry and Wilks being a part of the Goon Squad it's a fun experience,” Kilpatrick said. “When you're on the court with them they have so much energy. They're the people in practice giving you the momentum to do any and everything. It's fun being on the Goon Squad.”

As for Cronin, he still calls them the red team. Something about the Goon Squad just doesn't fit for the coach.

“There's too many good looking guys in that group.”