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He’s not going anywhere anytime soon. Not sure that’s a good thing.

Fan and donor apathy will get him fired before heartless, boring basketball will.

(02-22-2021 03:53 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(02-22-2021 03:46 PM)UCBearcatlawjd2 Wrote:  Stop the excuses. We haven’t even seen basic coaching strategies or players development in year 2. This staff continues to bring in the wrong type of players, believes running the ball up court is a good idea, and then sits on sidelines lost when things go bad. Even with other staffs that had a hard time early in you see real coaching and a philosophy take shape.

I don’t see any of that with this staff. They way overestimated talent and underestimated how challenging it is to win at the high major level. Your not going able to just play fast and expect to win games in this league. You basically need to grind it out on defense, rebound, and be effective on offense while playing slower halfcourt basketball.

I wish I would see more than they play hard when things go well but that is about the only thing I see from this group.

Being reasonable and understanding the situation / how developing players works in college basketball isn't making excuses.

That worked before college free agency. You can’t expect to build a program the way you used too.

It’s why you need be a stud on the recruiting side and play for instant impact guys until you build your reputation where players want to play for you.

I honestly believe Mick on purpose under recruited to avoid the revolving door of players. Brannen doesn’t have the luxury.

(02-22-2021 03:46 PM)UCBearcatlawjd2 Wrote:  We haven’t even seen basic coaching strategies or players development in year 2.

LMFAO. O.k. I guess you're the all knowing poster on coaching strategies.

(02-22-2021 03:46 PM)UCBearcatlawjd2 Wrote:  This staff continues to bring in the wrong type of players,

Out of necessity he's been forced to bring in huge classes to fill massive roster holes. When the prior guy had to do that we struggled massively as well. Early on I remember Mick repeatedly talking about how they needed to get where they were filling 3-4 spots a year not 6 and 7. Evening out the classes. Yea there have been a lot of square peg, round hole situations but the key is he has some good young guys that can develop if given time.

(02-22-2021 03:46 PM)UCBearcatlawjd2 Wrote:  believes running the ball up court is a good idea,

There are good teams that run. (UNC won title in 2017 40th fastest pace in the country) There are good teams that play slow. (UVA won the title in 2019 as slowed pace team in the country) This was stupid when people criticized Mick for playing deliberately. It's stupid doing the opposite. Brannen wants these guys to play with pace. He's trying to put his imprint on the program. They are making some mistakes but they are learning. Hopefully it will pay off down the road. You can play fast and win in college basketball. Their pace isn't exactly scorched earth, out of control either. They run half court too. But they look to get out and go.

(02-22-2021 03:46 PM)UCBearcatlawjd2 Wrote:  Your not going able to just play fast and expect to win games in this league. You basically need to grind it out on defense, rebound, and be effective on offense while playing slower halfcourt basketball.

I wish I would see more than they play hard when things go well but that is about the only thing I see from this group.

Sorry. That's not it. Styles don't win games. Players and execution do. These guys aren't struggling because they are asked to play a bad style. They are struggling because their upper class isn't very good and their young guys are learning to play together. There are too many holes. You don't have to be a grind it out team to win games in this conference. You have to be a good one. This team isn't there yet.

Maybe they get there with Brannen, maybe they don't, but it's absurd to act like we can possibly know from one conference championship season and from year 2 when we basically have an entirely new roster from when Brannen took over and have had to develop the guys in the worst case scenario COVID season.

(02-22-2021 03:53 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(02-22-2021 03:46 PM)UCBearcatlawjd2 Wrote:  Stop the excuses. We haven’t even seen basic coaching strategies or players development in year 2. This staff continues to bring in the wrong type of players, believes running the ball up court is a good idea, and then sits on sidelines lost when things go bad. Even with other staffs that had a hard time early in you see real coaching and a philosophy take shape.

I don’t see any of that with this staff. They way overestimated talent and underestimated how challenging it is to win at the high major level. Your not going able to just play fast and expect to win games in this league. You basically need to grind it out on defense, rebound, and be effective on offense while playing slower halfcourt basketball.

I wish I would see more than they play hard when things go well but that is about the only thing I see from this group.

Being reasonable and understanding the situation / how developing players works in college basketball isn't making excuses.

Those of us who sat through Mick's first four years learned that these transitions are difficult and not usually accomplished in short cycle time. Brannen's got what, 20 months on the job; a depleted roster in a fractured, pandemic season like none before?

All of us have every right to expect a high performing basketball team at Cincinnati but a knee jerk coaching change right now wouldn't inspire any confidence among successor candidates. Sampson's got a potential Final Four team but he's in his seventh season at Houston and has been building that program year by year.

(02-22-2021 04:13 PM)OKIcat Wrote:  Sampson's got a potential Final Four team but he's in his seventh season at Houston and has been building that program year by year.

Sampson went 13-19 and finished 214 kenpom his first season. He didn't get to the NCAA tournament until year 4.

Every situation is different. One to one comparisons don't always work, but the snap decisions to me right now are crazy.

UC hired him on a snap decision.

Sweet baby Jeezus I think my thoughts are mostly aligned with Mark’s.

But I do agree with Rath that this was a snap decision and I’m not sure how much they did a real deep dive into the coaching search. This was convenient. I don’t like what I see, but CJB gets 4 years.

According to Bohn, this was the only guy he looked at. I still say if Brannen did what he did at Wisconsin Green Bay instead of NKU just 10 miles away no way we would have called him. The low mid-major staff Brannen has is not helping him much. In addition to actually getting some recruits in the pipeline, he needs to make some changes...too many of those guys may be in over their heads.

I am still ok with Brannen. I liked the hire and hope I'm not let down in another year or so. Then again, how's the saying about opinions go....they're like arses. Everyone has them and most stink. Which is why I think this board could use some lavender TP. It would freshen things up a little!

(02-22-2021 04:13 PM)OKIcat Wrote:  

(02-22-2021 03:53 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(02-22-2021 03:46 PM)UCBearcatlawjd2 Wrote:  Stop the excuses. We haven’t even seen basic coaching strategies or players development in year 2. This staff continues to bring in the wrong type of players, believes running the ball up court is a good idea, and then sits on sidelines lost when things go bad. Even with other staffs that had a hard time early in you see real coaching and a philosophy take shape.

I don’t see any of that with this staff. They way overestimated talent and underestimated how challenging it is to win at the high major level. Your not going able to just play fast and expect to win games in this league. You basically need to grind it out on defense, rebound, and be effective on offense while playing slower halfcourt basketball.

I wish I would see more than they play hard when things go well but that is about the only thing I see from this group.

Being reasonable and understanding the situation / how developing players works in college basketball isn't making excuses.

Those of us who sat through Mick's first four years learned that these transitions are difficult and not usually accomplished in short cycle time. Brannen's got what, 20 months on the job; a depleted roster in a fractured, pandemic season like none before?

All of us have every right to expect a high performing basketball team at Cincinnati but a knee jerk coaching change right now wouldn't inspire any confidence among successor candidates. Sampson's got a potential Final Four team but he's in his seventh season at Houston and has been building that program year by year.

One big difference in Mick vs. Brannen early on. One played in the Big East, the other in a one or two bid American. We should be better than what we are showing this year.

While there’s not a lot of optimism in the program right, it’s definitely way too early to pull the plug on Brannen. All of the guys leaving makes the situation look even worse, but this is happening everywhere. Just look up the road to OSU. They are a legit Final 4 team and Holtmann has lost 4 of his best recruits in the last few years. They’ve filled the gaps with some quality transfers and really developed core guys like Washington, Young, and Ahrens. Liddell is a stud, but this is a roster of 3-4 star guys that are really well coached.

(02-22-2021 08:11 PM)bcat1997 Wrote:  

(02-22-2021 04:13 PM)OKIcat Wrote:  

(02-22-2021 03:53 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(02-22-2021 03:46 PM)UCBearcatlawjd2 Wrote:  Stop the excuses. We haven’t even seen basic coaching strategies or players development in year 2. This staff continues to bring in the wrong type of players, believes running the ball up court is a good idea, and then sits on sidelines lost when things go bad. Even with other staffs that had a hard time early in you see real coaching and a philosophy take shape.

I don’t see any of that with this staff. They way overestimated talent and underestimated how challenging it is to win at the high major level. Your not going able to just play fast and expect to win games in this league. You basically need to grind it out on defense, rebound, and be effective on offense while playing slower halfcourt basketball.

I wish I would see more than they play hard when things go well but that is about the only thing I see from this group.

Being reasonable and understanding the situation / how developing players works in college basketball isn't making excuses.

Those of us who sat through Mick's first four years learned that these transitions are difficult and not usually accomplished in short cycle time. Brannen's got what, 20 months on the job; a depleted roster in a fractured, pandemic season like none before?

All of us have every right to expect a high performing basketball team at Cincinnati but a knee jerk coaching change right now wouldn't inspire any confidence among successor candidates. Sampson's got a potential Final Four team but he's in his seventh season at Houston and has been building that program year by year.

One big difference in Mick vs. Brannen early on. One played in the Big East, the other in a one or two bid American. We should be better than what we are showing this year.

And yet, UC is only 104 in Kenpom and 93 in Sagarin this year.

Mick's first three years:
KenPom - 141, 102, 86
Sagarin - 138, 107, 71

(02-22-2021 08:22 PM)Bearcat04 Wrote:  While there’s not a lot of optimism in the program right, it’s definitely way too early to pull the plug on Brannen. All of the guys leaving makes the situation look even worse, but this is happening everywhere. Just look up the road to OSU. They are a legit Final 4 team and Holtmann has lost 4 of his best recruits in the last few years. They’ve filled the gaps with some quality transfers and really developed core guys like Washington, Young, and Ahrens. Liddell is a stud, but this is a roster of 3-4 star guys that are really well coached.

Nobody is pulling the plug on Brannen any time soon. Too broke to do it.

If this program was a stock option...put and call on which direction the program is heading, wonder where most would place their $$? I think put option could be fairly popular right now.

BTW, Momster was on a tear yesterday. Watch the run on the puts if her baby boy ends up flirting with the portal in a month.

(02-22-2021 08:49 PM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  

(02-22-2021 08:11 PM)bcat1997 Wrote:  

(02-22-2021 04:13 PM)OKIcat Wrote:  

(02-22-2021 03:53 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(02-22-2021 03:46 PM)UCBearcatlawjd2 Wrote:  Stop the excuses. We haven’t even seen basic coaching strategies or players development in year 2. This staff continues to bring in the wrong type of players, believes running the ball up court is a good idea, and then sits on sidelines lost when things go bad. Even with other staffs that had a hard time early in you see real coaching and a philosophy take shape.

I don’t see any of that with this staff. They way overestimated talent and underestimated how challenging it is to win at the high major level. Your not going able to just play fast and expect to win games in this league. You basically need to grind it out on defense, rebound, and be effective on offense while playing slower halfcourt basketball.

I wish I would see more than they play hard when things go well but that is about the only thing I see from this group.

Being reasonable and understanding the situation / how developing players works in college basketball isn't making excuses.

Those of us who sat through Mick's first four years learned that these transitions are difficult and not usually accomplished in short cycle time. Brannen's got what, 20 months on the job; a depleted roster in a fractured, pandemic season like none before?

All of us have every right to expect a high performing basketball team at Cincinnati but a knee jerk coaching change right now wouldn't inspire any confidence among successor candidates. Sampson's got a potential Final Four team but he's in his seventh season at Houston and has been building that program year by year.

One big difference in Mick vs. Brannen early on. One played in the Big East, the other in a one or two bid American. We should be better than what we are showing this year.

And yet, UC is only 104 in Kenpom and 93 in Sagarin this year.

Mick's first three years:
KenPom - 141, 102, 86
Sagarin - 138, 107, 71

We shouldn’t be close Mick first three years. I down year should be Kenpom 70 and in the NIT. Most fans would feel better if this staff had some 2021 recruits or a great transfer track record or wasn’t losing players mid year. It’s one thing to give the Covid year a pass but we saw a lot of the same problems last year but with a more talented roster. I understand giving coaches time but this staff has so many red flags that it’s possible this gets really ugly if off season isn’t amazing.

There are so many wasted scholarships on this roster right now. Guys that have left the team, were injured, or have no business playing. The roster is such a mess and that is on the coaching staff. It’s also on the staff to fix next year.

Logan Johnson with 19 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists today for St. Mary's. Guy was not a very good shooter, but he always played with tremendous energy. Wish we had him on the current UC team. Played like a Bearcat, which is not something we've seen too often from this year's team.

(02-22-2021 10:33 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  

Put 'em in. What the hey.

Maybe he can block somebody out and get a rebound. That would be a welcomed sight.

(02-22-2021 01:57 PM)Cat-Man Wrote:  

(02-21-2021 02:58 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(02-21-2021 02:54 PM)BrooklynRocket Wrote:  Worst coaching job I've seen by a UC coach in 20 years - Andy Kennedy included.

2010 was worse. Mick was in year 4. Roster was loaded with talent. Played well early and then just were disastrous down the stretch. That was a tournament caliber roster that ended the regularly season losing by about 30 at Georgetown and ended the season getting smoked by dayton in the NIT.

In 2011 #25 UC lost by 38 pts to #4 Notre Dame in the BE tournament.

I think I remember this game. Didn't they have some stretch 5 who was just banging threes all game and our bigs were in capable of getting out on the perimeter to defend him?

Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

(02-23-2021 07:48 AM)Bear Catlett Wrote:  Put 'em in. What the hey.

Maybe he can block somebody out and get a rebound. That would be a welcomed sight.

In the NHL back in the day there was the big, slow guy they'd bring in off the bench to act as the "enforcer" or the "goon" to start a fight. Not that we need to go that far LOL but damn I would love a dude that could come in and bang bodies and boards for a time. Pick up a few hard fouls and enjoying it all at the same time.

(02-23-2021 07:48 AM)Bear Catlett Wrote:  

(02-22-2021 10:33 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  

Put 'em in. What the hey.

Maybe he can block somebody out and get a rebound. That would be a welcomed sight.

Always cracks me up when there are plenty of things you can criticize a team for and somebody chooses one of the things they do well. This is a very good defensive rebounding team. No UC team going all the way back to 2002 (the furthest back I can find the stat publicized for) has allowed the other team to rebound a lower percent of its misses. They are a very good defensive rebounding team.

Of course some major issues they have include:
1. They can't shoot
2. They turn it over too much
3. They give up too many layups
4. They foul too much.