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

I don’t care so much about bulk. We are soft. Weak hands. No junk yard dog in any of them. Perhaps that is Brannen’s personality filtering down.

Bring in Brady from the football program for a guest wake up call. My guess is half of them would transfer.

(03-05-2021 08:29 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  I don’t care so much about bulk. We are soft. Weak hands. No junk yard dog in any of them. Perhaps that is Brannen’s personality filtering down.

Bring in Brady from the football program for a guest wake up call. My guess is half of them would transfer.

I get what you're saying...but PLEASE keep in mind, these players couldn't do ANYTHING during the summer, through to at least September, because of the Covid Restrictions on campus/for athletes. With a team this young, that's going to exacerbate any problems. Throughout college basketball this season, the teams that are winning are teams full of upper classmen who weren't learning the system through Zoom calls and given next to no time to develop their bodies in a college training regimen. The teams that are playing like dogshit are the ones that were relying on freshmen up and down the rosters to make contributions.

Not making excuses, because that was ROUGH last night and there have been clear cracks forming throughout the season, but just giving some perspective.

As I posted in the other thread, if there is no individual or supervised strength training in season, we have other problems.

I’m old enough to remember when UC players were so ripped Pete Gilles said UC was Men play against boys. A good S&C program is a must

Ironic when you have guys opt out during the season you might not have enough guys to finish the season. If ZH wasn't happy about his playing time, he would have been seeing plenty now.

RE: "being soft", they can't play JD at the 4 next year unless he commits to becoming a much better rebounder and defender. Particularly on the rebounding side he's just not good. Rarely has a body on anybody and very slow to locate the ball. Hard to play a guy at the 4 like that unless he works on it. I hope he does, but it's a struggle watching him.

JD was a 3 in HS.

He grew several inches taller in his his prep year but he’s really still a 3.

Eason seems to want to be a Center-combo guard. He’s a great talent but unless something changes with his D and interest in swapping paint, he’s not the answer in the big uglies department. The mystery Russian is apparently a stretch 5 type.

This roster needs a few talented goons to guard the rim and rebound in the worst way.

(03-05-2021 08:29 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  I don’t care so much about bulk. We are soft. Weak hands. No junk yard dog in any of them. Perhaps that is Brannen’s personality filtering down.

Bring in Brady from the football program for a guest wake up call. My guess is half of them would transfer.

I think Davenport has a lot of "junkyard dog" in him. He goes after rebounds like no one's business.

I also think he is committed to UC (earlier you said "dollars to donuts" none of the core stays through their senior year). He's a Moeller grad and I think he likes playing for the local team.

He has some junkyard dog in him but not really on D.

If he wants to be a 3 (he really is, IMO) I’d worry if the plan is to keep playing him at the 4. It’s really not fair to him.

And I said dollars to donuts one of them will not be here next year. That’s a pretty low risk proposition bet nowadays.

Something else to consider...here are the dates of the games played since the month long stoppage...

2/4 @Temple W
2/7 @Tulane W
2/12 Temple W
2/14 UCF W
2/21 @Houston L
2/24 @Tulsa W
2/26 Tulane W
2/28 Memphis L
3/4 Vandy L

Prior to Vandy, we played 4 games in a little over one week including 2 road trips. With our limited roster and the opting out of DD in particular, it was probably fools gold to beat anyone with a pulse on March 4th. MM in particular had shot from the three pretty decent until last night. Tired legs? Maybe. You have to at least consider the impact on the players both physically and mentally.

(03-04-2021 09:47 PM)skylinecat Wrote:  

(03-04-2021 09:36 PM)eroc Wrote:  

(03-04-2021 09:11 PM)levydl Wrote:  Anyone see a top 25 core out of Eason, Saunders, Mason, Davenport, MAW? I'm dubious.

Some days. Most days i see a group of players that are going to get their coach fired. No need to invoke the evolution of K-Mart, or even Tre. Let's be realistic. Justin Jenifer improved massively from his JR to SR year. He became a smarter defender and a way better shooter. JD has already taken a big step as a shooter. Hopefully he continues to improve, especially on the defensive side.

That said, Eason, JD and MAW are the only ones i see as starters from that group. i think Mason is a 6th man going forward but is pressed into big minutes because of all the roster turnover, and i can see Saunders being a good backup, high energy guy off the bench.

They are pieces but not the core. There have to be additions to the roster that take the program to the next level; otherwise Coach Brannen will be fired.

Would any of that “core” start over the core of Jenifer, Cumberland, Evans, Clark, Washington/Brooks? Hell no.

This year's "core" are freshmen & sophomores. You can't compare freshmen to juniors & seniors on a top-10 team.

When they were freshmen, Brooks & Jenifer barely touched the floor. Washington started for a mediocre NC State team, was lousy on defense, and scored 4 points a game.

Yes, I think Eason is as good as any of those three, and Saunders, MAW, and Davenport are better than all three of them.

Obviously that's not the question: your question is if any of them will be as good as Evans, Clark and Cumberland. I have no idea. All I know is that I don't remember any of those three being all-conference type players as underclassmen (not even of the "honorable mention" variety).

(03-05-2021 10:22 AM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  He has some junkyard dog in him but not really on D.

If he wants to be a 3 (he really is, IMO) I’d worry if the plan is to keep playing him at the 4. It’s really not fair to him.

And I said dollars to donuts one of them will not be here next year. That’s a pretty low risk proposition bet nowadays.

I think he could develop into a better version of Jaquan Parker as far as being the "4" in a 4 guard lineup. However, to do that you desperately need an effective 5. That sweet 16 UC team that went 4 guards often had Gates. I like the idea of playing segments with a 4 guard lineup going forward, but they desperately need a five that is in position, understands rotations and can protect the rim, to do that effectively.

(03-05-2021 10:51 AM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  

(03-04-2021 09:47 PM)skylinecat Wrote:  

(03-04-2021 09:36 PM)eroc Wrote:  

(03-04-2021 09:11 PM)levydl Wrote:  Anyone see a top 25 core out of Eason, Saunders, Mason, Davenport, MAW? I'm dubious.

Some days. Most days i see a group of players that are going to get their coach fired. No need to invoke the evolution of K-Mart, or even Tre. Let's be realistic. Justin Jenifer improved massively from his JR to SR year. He became a smarter defender and a way better shooter. JD has already taken a big step as a shooter. Hopefully he continues to improve, especially on the defensive side.

That said, Eason, JD and MAW are the only ones i see as starters from that group. i think Mason is a 6th man going forward but is pressed into big minutes because of all the roster turnover, and i can see Saunders being a good backup, high energy guy off the bench.

They are pieces but not the core. There have to be additions to the roster that take the program to the next level; otherwise Coach Brannen will be fired.

Would any of that “core” start over the core of Jenifer, Cumberland, Evans, Clark, Washington/Brooks? Hell no.

This year's "core" are freshmen & sophomores. You can't compare freshmen to juniors & seniors on a top-10 team.

When they were freshmen, Brooks & Jenifer barely touched the floor. Washington started for a mediocre NC State team, was lousy on defense, and scored 4 points a game.

Yes, I think Eason is as good as any of those three, and Saunders, MAW, and Davenport are better than all three of them.

Obviously that's not the question: your question is if any of them will be as good as Evans, Clark and Cumberland. I have no idea. All I know is that I don't remember any of those three being all-conference type players as underclassmen (not even of the "honorable mention" variety).

I think only Eason seems to have the potential to end up the caliber of Evans/Clark/Cumberland. But those were 3 of the best 4 players of the Cronin era. Them being on the roster at the same time is why they were a top 5 type team in 2018 instead of the 25-50 type team we had most of the Cronin era. I think the other guys are absolutely the type of players we saw here and have the potential be the core of damn good teams in the next couple years. We need to find another scoring wing, we desperately need a couple athletic bigs that can defend and to really be great we need Eason to figure it out...he's got worlds of potential...he needs to make better decisions, protect the ball more and figure out how to defend without fouling.

Eason is going to be a really good player for the Bearcats

(03-05-2021 11:09 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(03-05-2021 10:51 AM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  

(03-04-2021 09:47 PM)skylinecat Wrote:  

(03-04-2021 09:36 PM)eroc Wrote:  

(03-04-2021 09:11 PM)levydl Wrote:  Anyone see a top 25 core out of Eason, Saunders, Mason, Davenport, MAW? I'm dubious.

Some days. Most days i see a group of players that are going to get their coach fired. No need to invoke the evolution of K-Mart, or even Tre. Let's be realistic. Justin Jenifer improved massively from his JR to SR year. He became a smarter defender and a way better shooter. JD has already taken a big step as a shooter. Hopefully he continues to improve, especially on the defensive side.

That said, Eason, JD and MAW are the only ones i see as starters from that group. i think Mason is a 6th man going forward but is pressed into big minutes because of all the roster turnover, and i can see Saunders being a good backup, high energy guy off the bench.

They are pieces but not the core. There have to be additions to the roster that take the program to the next level; otherwise Coach Brannen will be fired.

Would any of that “core” start over the core of Jenifer, Cumberland, Evans, Clark, Washington/Brooks? Hell no.

This year's "core" are freshmen & sophomores. You can't compare freshmen to juniors & seniors on a top-10 team.

When they were freshmen, Brooks & Jenifer barely touched the floor. Washington started for a mediocre NC State team, was lousy on defense, and scored 4 points a game.

Yes, I think Eason is as good as any of those three, and Saunders, MAW, and Davenport are better than all three of them.

Obviously that's not the question: your question is if any of them will be as good as Evans, Clark and Cumberland. I have no idea. All I know is that I don't remember any of those three being all-conference type players as underclassmen (not even of the "honorable mention" variety).

I think only Eason seems to have the potential to end up the caliber of Evans/Clark/Cumberland. But those were 3 of the best 4 players of the Cronin era. Them being on the roster at the same time is why they were a top 5 type team in 2018 instead of the 25-50 type team we had most of the Cronin era. I think the other guys are absolutely the type of players we saw here and have the potential be the core of damn good teams in the next couple years. We need to find another scoring wing, we desperately need a couple athletic bigs that can defend and to really be great we need Eason to figure it out...he's got worlds of potential...he needs to make better decisions, protect the ball more and figure out how to defend without fouling.

Also, we don't need 3 players that caliber. Cumberland was only a sophomore on that top-5 team.

We're all remembering Cumberland as a junior & senior the next two years. We forget how much he grew as a player between his sophomore and junior years.


Also also, we're forgetting two other young players: Gabe Madsen and Victor Lahkin.

I can't imagine Gabe leaving if his brother is here. Even if they want to leave, it'll be tough to find a place where both of them will fit in well.

Lahkin has stuck it out all year as a redshirt. I can't imagine him wanting to leave after doing that. And he's already used up his redshirt so he'll lose a year of eligibility if he transfers.

There are no redshirt years this season. Nothing counts for anyone. Free year all around.

(03-04-2021 09:11 PM)levydl Wrote:  Anyone see a top 25 core out of Eason, Saunders, Mason, Davenport, MAW? I'm dubious.

At best, that is an NIT team. People complained that Mick's team were comprised of hard-nosed athletic guys that couldn't shoot. Brannen's teams are soft UNathletic guys who can't shoot.

(03-05-2021 11:30 AM)Captain Bearcat Wrote:  Also, we don't need 3 players that caliber. Cumberland was only a sophomore on that top-5 team.

We're all remembering Cumberland as a junior & senior the next two years. We forget how much he grew as a player between his sophomore and junior years.


Also also, we're forgetting two other young players: Gabe Madsen and Victor Lahkin.

I can't imagine Gabe leaving if his brother is here. Even if they want to leave, it'll be tough to find a place where both of them will fit in well.

Lahkin has stuck it out all year as a redshirt. I can't imagine him wanting to leave after doing that. And he's already used up his redshirt so he'll lose a year of eligibility if he transfers.

I'm not comparing them to Cumberland or Evans or Gary Clark. I'm just having a hard time seeing the foundational guys here now as the core of a top 25 team. They are going to need a lot of help. Losing Harvey is a huge blow. Let's hope for some good transfers I guess. Otherwise we might be in for a much longer rebuild than it once looked like.

I keep hearing the excuse that we did not have an off season to practice or condition. True but neither did the team 8itch slapping us!

Have to think having a bunch of freshman and walkons playing with limited practice has led to a lot of the defensive woes.

Just sayin’

Huggins had four basketball players and one football player his first year and that team would beat this one by 20.

I'm tired of the excuses.