Seeing a bunch of comments about Brannen's coaching job last season. Losing to that school in Norwood always sucks, but all of last season should be looked at in context.
Justin Williams has a great article in The Athletic about what John Brannen went through personally last season with his father's illness and eventual death.
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https://theathletic.com/2213184/2020/11/...the-brink/
Good reminder! Took some time, but as I mention in Xavier thread I thought he did a fine job and by end of season we were looking strong.
(12-06-2020 08:51 PM)natibeast21 Wrote: [ -> ]Good reminder! Took some time, but as I mention in Xavier thread I thought he did a fine job and by end of season we were looking strong.
I keep hearing this same mantra from many different people and I just don't get it. UC was looking strong at the end of the season???
The last month of the season UC was 5-3. Of those 5 wins only ONE was by more than 3 points. Of the losses, only ONE was to a ranked team and that was #25 Houston and they throttled UC by 15 points.
UC was barely winning games against mediocre teams. I completely understand the personal stuff Brannen had going on last year but thus far I'd rate his performance as a B-. He needs to start showing improvement in all areas. Defense was lousy the first two games. Offense looked good in the first half against X but terrible in the second half. Recruiting has been decent but still not to the level it needs to be.
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basket...eason/2020
We were very iffy on making the tourney going into Feb and did exactly what we needed over those last 10 games.
7-3 with wins over #21 Houston, 2 big wins against Wichita, and a big win against Memphis.
2 OT losses one of which was double overtime. One bad blowout loss @Houston.
I thought key players outside of Vogt were really turning it on. I was happy with where the team was at and really looking forward to post season play. To each their own.
Did that article come out yesterday? If so, really odd timing.
No time to reflect. Furman Wednesday may be better offensively than X. See what we have going now that they've taken a loss.
(12-07-2020 09:57 AM)natibeast21 Wrote: [ -> ]https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basket...eason/2020
We were very iffy on making the tourney going into Feb and did exactly what we needed over those last 10 games.
7-3 with wins over #21 Houston, 2 big wins against Wichita, and a big win against Memphis.
2 OT losses one of which was double overtime. One bad blowout loss @Houston.
I thought key players outside of Vogt were really turning it on. I was happy with where the team was at and really looking forward to post season play. To each their own.
And Vogt was playing through a torn labrum.
(12-07-2020 09:59 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote: [ -> ]Did that article come out yesterday? If so, really odd timing.
It came out last week.
The ESPN announcers commented on this sometime in he second half (not the idiot Dakich, the other guy).
I had the radio feed going...after he insinuates UC was DD’s only transfer option where he’d be given the ball I had enough of him.
(12-07-2020 11:14 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote: [ -> ]I had the radio feed going...after he insinuates UC was DD’s only transfer option where he’d be given the ball I had enough of him.
Seriously - what the hell was that about? He had a ton of options. DD is easily Brannen's biggest recruiting win. I love Keith Williams for all that he's done to improve his game and for the coaching changes he's faced. But this is and should be DD's team.
Yeah, that was a really dumb take from Dakich. A point guard who averaged 7 points per game off the bench in the Big Ten and has two years of eligibility remaining has no demand? Get real.
The way he said it and they responded to the other guy’s incredulous question with a “weeellllll...” like he has inside info from Brannen or something was stupid.
(12-07-2020 11:23 AM)robertfoshizzle Wrote: [ -> ]Yeah, that was a really dumb take from Dakich. A point guard who averaged 7 points per game off the bench in the Big Ten and has two years of eligibility remaining has no demand? Get real.
Better yet, for a team that finished the season #16 in Ken Pom. He wasn't scoring buckets in garbage time for a team like Nebraska that was always losing by double digits. He was making meaningful contributions in meaningful games.
He also insinuated that DD was better off staying at Michigan since he was at least in the rotation. I tire of the some of the blowhards on ESPN. It’s like UC gave them a swirly and took their lunch money years ago.
I like what Brannen has done recruiting wise, I like his philosophies, and he seems like a knowledgeable coach, but I have to admit I’m starting to worry how things will play out.
(12-07-2020 01:06 PM)C1ncy4Life Wrote: [ -> ]I like what Brannen has done recruiting wise, I like his philosophies, and he seems like a knowledgeable coach, but I have to admit I’m starting to worry how things will play out.
I just think the team needs time to gel. Lots of new parts.
(12-07-2020 01:08 PM)Bearcatbdub Wrote: [ -> ] (12-07-2020 01:06 PM)C1ncy4Life Wrote: [ -> ]I like what Brannen has done recruiting wise, I like his philosophies, and he seems like a knowledgeable coach, but I have to admit I’m starting to worry how things will play out.
I just think the team needs time to gel. Lots of new parts.
Dealing with the issues he did last year and then Covid this year has had to be tough. I mean even the returning players probably aren’t comfortable in the system yet, especially with the limited practices this offseason. That’s not even factoring in all of the new faces this season.
Hopefully we can get on a roll and at least make the tournament. That would be a good season to build off for the younger guys and help in recruiting.
(12-07-2020 01:08 PM)Bearcatbdub Wrote: [ -> ] (12-07-2020 01:06 PM)C1ncy4Life Wrote: [ -> ]I like what Brannen has done recruiting wise, I like his philosophies, and he seems like a knowledgeable coach, but I have to admit I’m starting to worry how things will play out.
I just think the team needs time to gel. Lots of new parts.
x2
Losing Tre and Jarron was a big deal from a production and leadership perspective. Replacing them with Rap and DD is not exactly like for like; and probably won't match their production. Of your three upper classmen returners, one (Dou) is losing out on minutes to a true frosh off the bench; and the other two aren't going to fill Tre and Jarron's shoes.
Truth is, Keith, right now, is our best player and that's a problem. Keith is better off being a second option, at best, on offense and someone that could defend a opponent's second/third best player. Your other returning starter is Vogt who is too slow on both ends and seems more apt to interfere with your team defense than help. We are lucky that college bball is still relatively unsophisticated as he would get exposed every possession on defense in a pick and roll in the NBA. They would hunt him down and torture him on the perimeter.
You throw in Rap, who refuses to help, and our defense is literally a revolving door at the rim.
We have more quickness these days. Either we press or zone but i just can't see us playing man with Rap and Vogt in a lineup together.
i posted this in another thread but i think we should consider going with a small ball lineup of Mika, DD, Keith, Davenport and Rap. Probably a decent shooting lineup and decent defensive lineup. We'd have to team rebound which would limit our transition but hopefully offset some of that on the offensive side. The other option is to go with a more pressing lineup DD/Mika/Keith/Davenport and Vogt, where sub heavily to maintain pace and Vogt/Dou/Eason defend the rim.
Like alot of ppl on this board, i don't see it working with both Vogt and Rap on the floor together.
The problem is we don’t have a lot of time to figure it out, especially this year. Hopefully we can gel quickly and find a way into the tournament.
I feel like Brannen has done a good job of recruiting, but we can’t expect the Freshmen and Sophomores to carry the team and find a lot of success. The future may look better than what we are going to see this year, but hopefully they can figure it out as the season goes on.