The unofficial online home for fans of the University of Cincinnati Bearcats. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

(01-04-2020 11:04 PM)dsquare Wrote:  I'm not sure it matters a heck of a lot. You have to have some mid and long range game in order to keep teams honest. We're sadly lacking in that area when it comes to road games. It's hard to fathom how you can have a 5th year 4 playing against an undersized team, and he gets nothing inside the 3 point line in 30 minutes. Nor does he get to the ft line.

i may be mis-remembering some things but in one of the post-game shows Coach Brannen mentioned that some of the players were still taking shots outside of the spectrum. When Terry asked him to elaborate on what the "spectrum" was he stated 3 pts and shots inside the paint. This is very much in line with what nba analytics suggest (ergo, long 2s or mid-range shots are inefficient compared to dunks/layups, FTs and 3 pts). i may be projecting but it feels like he's trying to phase out the mid-range game, which is something Tra and Jarron both excelled at.

i never thought this was going to be a rebuilding year. i thought it more a transition year. Certainly both are challenging and sometimes those challenges overlap. My biggest criticism of Coach Brannen is that it appears that he didn't maintain enough flexibility to work with the holdover players from last season using some of Mick's Jarron-centric offense while concurrently installing his system. i feel that reprogramming Jarron and Tra has really taken its toll on the entire team. As much as everyone is looking to them for Senior leadership, you can't keep faulting the Senior leadership when, in terms of learning Brannen's systems, they are for all intents and purposes on the same level as just about everyone except Vogt. They might know what it means to be Bearcats under Mick. They are learning just like everyone else what it means to be Bearcats under Coach Brannen and they clearly mean different things.

i get ppl are frustrated with them and all but more then anything i empathize with them. Yes, they are representatives of the university but they committed to Mick and we all know that players commit to coaches, not institutions. They didn't sign up for this any more than we did.

(01-05-2020 01:10 PM)levydl Wrote:  I can't believe people are claiming that this is a talent issue.

I would call it a performance issue.

(01-05-2020 02:32 PM)Former Lurker Wrote:  This, all of it. The old way didn't work. The new way might not, either, but it's interesting to watch the new approach. It's been one of the more eventful seasons of UC basketball in the past decade.

The galaxy brain take.

(01-05-2020 02:54 PM)eroc Wrote:  

(01-04-2020 11:04 PM)dsquare Wrote:  I'm not sure it matters a heck of a lot. You have to have some mid and long range game in order to keep teams honest. We're sadly lacking in that area when it comes to road games. It's hard to fathom how you can have a 5th year 4 playing against an undersized team, and he gets nothing inside the 3 point line in 30 minutes. Nor does he get to the ft line.

i may be mis-remembering some things but in one of the post-game shows Coach Brannen mentioned that some of the players were still taking shots outside of the spectrum. When Terry asked him to elaborate on what the "spectrum" was he stated 3 pts and shots inside the paint. This is very much in line with what nba analytics suggest (ergo, long 2s or mid-range shots are inefficient compared to dunks/layups, FTs and 3 pts). i may be projecting but it feels like he's trying to phase out the mid-range game, which is something Tra and Jarron both excelled at.

the reason they're phasing out those shots is because those are terrible shots. If Tre and Jarron excelled at them last year, then thats all the proof you need for how awful that shot is in basketball. Tre shot 37.2% on 2's not at the rim last year and Jarron shot 35.2%. Thats the same value on those shots as a 24.8 % and 23.4% 3 point shooter. We'd never beg for more 3's out of people shooting those percents.


the shot is bad and teams would love it if Tre shot those all day long, he's at 32.4% on them this year.

(01-06-2020 04:42 PM)CallMeSlim Wrote:  

(01-05-2020 02:54 PM)eroc Wrote:  

(01-04-2020 11:04 PM)dsquare Wrote:  I'm not sure it matters a heck of a lot. You have to have some mid and long range game in order to keep teams honest. We're sadly lacking in that area when it comes to road games. It's hard to fathom how you can have a 5th year 4 playing against an undersized team, and he gets nothing inside the 3 point line in 30 minutes. Nor does he get to the ft line.

i may be mis-remembering some things but in one of the post-game shows Coach Brannen mentioned that some of the players were still taking shots outside of the spectrum. When Terry asked him to elaborate on what the "spectrum" was he stated 3 pts and shots inside the paint. This is very much in line with what nba analytics suggest (ergo, long 2s or mid-range shots are inefficient compared to dunks/layups, FTs and 3 pts). i may be projecting but it feels like he's trying to phase out the mid-range game, which is something Tra and Jarron both excelled at.

the reason they're phasing out those shots is because those are terrible shots. If Tre and Jarron excelled at them last year, then thats all the proof you need for how awful that shot is in basketball. Tre shot 37.2% on 2's not at the rim last year and Jarron shot 35.2%. Thats the same value on those shots as a 24.8 % and 23.4% 3 point shooter. We'd never beg for more 3's out of people shooting those percents.


the shot is bad and teams would love it if Tre shot those all day long, he's at 32.4% on them this year.

The threat of a long-2 keeps the defender honest. Sure, Jarron shot 35% on long-2s, but shooting those long 2s opened up the driving line for him to get more easy layups.

(01-06-2020 04:42 PM)CallMeSlim Wrote:  

(01-05-2020 02:54 PM)eroc Wrote:  

(01-04-2020 11:04 PM)dsquare Wrote:  I'm not sure it matters a heck of a lot. You have to have some mid and long range game in order to keep teams honest. We're sadly lacking in that area when it comes to road games. It's hard to fathom how you can have a 5th year 4 playing against an undersized team, and he gets nothing inside the 3 point line in 30 minutes. Nor does he get to the ft line.

i may be mis-remembering some things but in one of the post-game shows Coach Brannen mentioned that some of the players were still taking shots outside of the spectrum. When Terry asked him to elaborate on what the "spectrum" was he stated 3 pts and shots inside the paint. This is very much in line with what nba analytics suggest (ergo, long 2s or mid-range shots are inefficient compared to dunks/layups, FTs and 3 pts). i may be projecting but it feels like he's trying to phase out the mid-range game, which is something Tra and Jarron both excelled at.

the reason they're phasing out those shots is because those are terrible shots. If Tre and Jarron excelled at them last year, then thats all the proof you need for how awful that shot is in basketball. Tre shot 37.2% on 2's not at the rim last year and Jarron shot 35.2%. Thats the same value on those shots as a 24.8 % and 23.4% 3 point shooter. We'd never beg for more 3's out of people shooting those percents.


the shot is bad and teams would love it if Tre shot those all day long, he's at 32.4% on them this year.

Exactly. One of the most encouraging things to me has been UC's shot selection. They get good looks. They get a lot of layups and paint touches. They avoid taking long, low percentages. The two areas of struggle have been turnovers and 3 point shooting. Turnovers had been better the three games prior to Tulane, hopefully that trend starts again on Wednesday. Three point shooting may be a struggle all year, but it would help if our 38% shooter/CPOY from last year wasn't shooting 28%.

(01-06-2020 04:49 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  

(01-06-2020 04:42 PM)CallMeSlim Wrote:  

(01-05-2020 02:54 PM)eroc Wrote:  

(01-04-2020 11:04 PM)dsquare Wrote:  I'm not sure it matters a heck of a lot. You have to have some mid and long range game in order to keep teams honest. We're sadly lacking in that area when it comes to road games. It's hard to fathom how you can have a 5th year 4 playing against an undersized team, and he gets nothing inside the 3 point line in 30 minutes. Nor does he get to the ft line.

i may be mis-remembering some things but in one of the post-game shows Coach Brannen mentioned that some of the players were still taking shots outside of the spectrum. When Terry asked him to elaborate on what the "spectrum" was he stated 3 pts and shots inside the paint. This is very much in line with what nba analytics suggest (ergo, long 2s or mid-range shots are inefficient compared to dunks/layups, FTs and 3 pts). i may be projecting but it feels like he's trying to phase out the mid-range game, which is something Tra and Jarron both excelled at.

the reason they're phasing out those shots is because those are terrible shots. If Tre and Jarron excelled at them last year, then thats all the proof you need for how awful that shot is in basketball. Tre shot 37.2% on 2's not at the rim last year and Jarron shot 35.2%. Thats the same value on those shots as a 24.8 % and 23.4% 3 point shooter. We'd never beg for more 3's out of people shooting those percents.


the shot is bad and teams would love it if Tre shot those all day long, he's at 32.4% on them this year.

The threat of a long-2 keeps the defender honest. Sure, Jarron shot 35% on long-2s, but shooting those long 2s opened up the driving line for him to get more easy layups.

We're getting plenty of easy layups. It's been the best part of our offense all season.

Bearcats shooting 52.5% from 2 on the year (72/353) while shooting a high number of 2s compared to 3s and getting to the line (21st best FT Rate in the country). Those things tell you the Bearcats get a lot of baskets around the rim.

(01-06-2020 04:54 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  Bearcats shooting 52.5% from 2 on the year (72/353) while shooting a high number of 2s compared to 3s and getting to the line (21st best FT Rate in the country). Those things tell you the Bearcats get a lot of baskets around the rim.

They just don't get enough.....

(01-06-2020 05:26 PM)CincyBro Wrote:  

(01-06-2020 04:54 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  Bearcats shooting 52.5% from 2 on the year (72/353) while shooting a high number of 2s compared to 3s and getting to the line (21st best FT Rate in the country). Those things tell you the Bearcats get a lot of baskets around the rim.

They just don't get enough.....

Eventually you have to make a jump shot. This team seems incapable of it.

If you look at last year versus this year, we're actually giving up less points when you factor out the Bowling green OT debacle, against what i would rate a better schedule to date than what we did last year over the entire season. At the end of the day the offensive stats are bad across the board. We've needed with JC's injury and lost production one of the other scorers/veterans(Scott, Williams, Jaevin, etc) to step up and replace that production in these first couple months. It just hasn't happened, specifically on the road. Vogt has been a big, big offensive help, but just not enough ump in these other guys game to get us over the top. Hopefully someone can get their sea legs on the road. I would have to put my money on Jaevin if it's going to happen.

(01-06-2020 04:49 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  

(01-06-2020 04:42 PM)CallMeSlim Wrote:  

(01-05-2020 02:54 PM)eroc Wrote:  

(01-04-2020 11:04 PM)dsquare Wrote:  I'm not sure it matters a heck of a lot. You have to have some mid and long range game in order to keep teams honest. We're sadly lacking in that area when it comes to road games. It's hard to fathom how you can have a 5th year 4 playing against an undersized team, and he gets nothing inside the 3 point line in 30 minutes. Nor does he get to the ft line.

i may be mis-remembering some things but in one of the post-game shows Coach Brannen mentioned that some of the players were still taking shots outside of the spectrum. When Terry asked him to elaborate on what the "spectrum" was he stated 3 pts and shots inside the paint. This is very much in line with what nba analytics suggest (ergo, long 2s or mid-range shots are inefficient compared to dunks/layups, FTs and 3 pts). i may be projecting but it feels like he's trying to phase out the mid-range game, which is something Tra and Jarron both excelled at.

the reason they're phasing out those shots is because those are terrible shots. If Tre and Jarron excelled at them last year, then thats all the proof you need for how awful that shot is in basketball. Tre shot 37.2% on 2's not at the rim last year and Jarron shot 35.2%. Thats the same value on those shots as a 24.8 % and 23.4% 3 point shooter. We'd never beg for more 3's out of people shooting those percents.


the shot is bad and teams would love it if Tre shot those all day long, he's at 32.4% on them this year.

The threat of a long-2 keeps the defender honest. Sure, Jarron shot 35% on long-2s, but shooting those long 2s opened up the driving line for him to get more easy layups.

If the mid-range jumper is open you gotta take it.

(01-06-2020 05:37 PM)dsquare Wrote:  If you look at last year versus this year, we're actually giving up less points when you factor out the Bowling green OT debacle, against what i would rate a better schedule to date than what we did last year over the entire season. At the end of the day the offensive stats are bad across the board. We've needed with JC's injury and lost production one of the other scorers/veterans(Scott, Williams, Jaevin, etc) to step up and replace that production in these first couple months. It just hasn't happened, specifically on the road. Vogt has been a big, big offensive help, but just not enough ump in these other guys game to get us over the top. Hopefully someone can get their sea legs on the road. I would have to put my money on Jaevin if it's going to happen.

Take the "giving up less points" with a large grain of salt. Offense is down across the country this year (the three point line moving back seems like the obvious cause). This year our kenpom AdjD of 93.0 is good for 54th in the country, last year the same AdjD would have placed us as 18th in the country.

(01-06-2020 07:39 PM)Former Lurker Wrote:  

(01-06-2020 04:49 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  

(01-06-2020 04:42 PM)CallMeSlim Wrote:  

(01-05-2020 02:54 PM)eroc Wrote:  

(01-04-2020 11:04 PM)dsquare Wrote:  I'm not sure it matters a heck of a lot. You have to have some mid and long range game in order to keep teams honest. We're sadly lacking in that area when it comes to road games. It's hard to fathom how you can have a 5th year 4 playing against an undersized team, and he gets nothing inside the 3 point line in 30 minutes. Nor does he get to the ft line.

i may be mis-remembering some things but in one of the post-game shows Coach Brannen mentioned that some of the players were still taking shots outside of the spectrum. When Terry asked him to elaborate on what the "spectrum" was he stated 3 pts and shots inside the paint. This is very much in line with what nba analytics suggest (ergo, long 2s or mid-range shots are inefficient compared to dunks/layups, FTs and 3 pts). i may be projecting but it feels like he's trying to phase out the mid-range game, which is something Tra and Jarron both excelled at.

the reason they're phasing out those shots is because those are terrible shots. If Tre and Jarron excelled at them last year, then thats all the proof you need for how awful that shot is in basketball. Tre shot 37.2% on 2's not at the rim last year and Jarron shot 35.2%. Thats the same value on those shots as a 24.8 % and 23.4% 3 point shooter. We'd never beg for more 3's out of people shooting those percents.


the shot is bad and teams would love it if Tre shot those all day long, he's at 32.4% on them this year.

The threat of a long-2 keeps the defender honest. Sure, Jarron shot 35% on long-2s, but shooting those long 2s opened up the driving line for him to get more easy layups.

If the mid-range jumper is open you gotta take it.

But what if taking the open mid-range gets you benched? i am projecting but i feel that the players are overthinking the game, trying to play to Coach Brannen's offensive principles. it's why i think players abandon an open mid-range to get to the rim where they have been called for, in some cases some very weak, charges.

Honestly, i'm ok with the treys if they are wide open. That said, i think they need to be able to take some mid-ranges if they are wide open if for no other reason than to see the ball go through the hoop. i mean, if you are going to play McNeal and his only options are to shoot a wide open trey because they don't have to guard him on the perimeter or having him drive the lane where they are waiting for him to commit a charge, why not let him take a few dribbles in and launch a mid-range? And can't be worse than anything else he's doing.

(01-04-2020 04:58 PM)jarr Wrote:  

(01-04-2020 04:56 PM)bearcatlawjd2 Wrote:  Should be up way more than 7. Just find a way to win and get out of New Orleans.

Both Cumberlands needs to have to be more effective on offense.

Has anyone else sort of been disappointed Jaevin? He may just be one of those players that needs a big volume of shots to be effective.

Can’t we sub out Scott more for JC-2?
I feel like he’s not the best at Coming in briefly here and there.

(01-04-2020 05:20 PM)jarr Wrote:  Probelem Brannen continues to have is putting the ball in the hands of the wrong guys over and over. Why is Diarra playing ISO ball at the top of the key. Just wasting possessions over and over.

I never understood how that happens. Bearcatman said that last game. Mcneil was leading us in the field got attemps I think in the first half. People should know their roles. Roles need to be defined.

Pretty insightful from Brannen. I agree they are executing pretty well on offense, but need to hit a few jumpers.

Defensively he talked about a few issues they are having with positioning, some habits still from going from predominantly zone to predominantly man.

(01-07-2020 12:12 AM)ZCat Wrote:  

(01-04-2020 05:20 PM)jarr Wrote:  Probelem Brannen continues to have is putting the ball in the hands of the wrong guys over and over. Why is Diarra playing ISO ball at the top of the key. Just wasting possessions over and over.

I never understood how that happens. Bearcatman said that last game. Mcneil was leading us in the field got attemps I think in the first half. People should know their roles. Roles need to be defined.

Yep, those two things are the only things that have really frustrated me about this season...personnel usage has been troublesome at times.

(01-07-2020 12:12 AM)ZCat Wrote:  

(01-04-2020 05:20 PM)jarr Wrote:  Probelem Brannen continues to have is putting the ball in the hands of the wrong guys over and over. Why is Diarra playing ISO ball at the top of the key. Just wasting possessions over and over.

I never understood how that happens. Bearcatman said that last game. Mcneil was leading us in the field got attemps I think in the first half. People should know their roles. Roles need to be defined.

Against Tulane McNeil only shot 2 times; one was a three point miss on a late pass to him. Sometimes I think our supposedly better three point shooters are hesitating at times too much. McNeil shooting certainly is disappointing but thought he played well defensively and rebounding (5) against Tulane.

Remember Huggs saying "There is a reason they are leaving you open for that shot, it is because they also know you cannot make it!"