Two incidents that I think most of this board missed:
1) During the Houston game, the announcers said that there was a UC-players-only meeting after the regular season Houston game. After that meeting, Brannen said he was shocked at the loneliness & isolation that his players felt. Brannen was quoted as telling the announcers something like, "We don't realize it because we get to go home to our family at night, but they go back to a dorm room. So we started delivering them food and doing other things to show them that we cared."
What type of coach is that clueless about his own players? They'd been quarantined for 4+ months at that point - didn't he talk to them at all?
2) After the Houston game, Brannen left the bench before the final buzzer sounded & went straight to the locker room. He was walking (alone) up the tunnel 14 seconds after the final buzzer. I don't know if he shook hands with Houston's coach.
Check it out at 8:35 in the video: Brannen's not on the bench with 5 seconds left on the clock. By 8:54 he's well on his way up the tunnel:
Meanwhile our players sat on the bench for at least 5 minutes with towels over their heads. Assistant coaches were comforting them.
After Houston was done celebrating, UC's players got up and graciously congratulated the Houston players in the handshake line. It made me really proud of our players.
Brannen was probably alone in the UC locker room for 10 minutes.
Between these two incidents, it makes me think there's a big disconnect between Brannen & his players.
It also makes me appreciate Fickell's "I'll call you back" video even more.
There's a ton wrong right now but these are two really random nit picky things to point out. Frankly it kinda pissed me off that our guys shook their hands after the way they clowned us on their bench--jacking up threes while already up 30. I would've walked right into that locker room too.
I have been saying this all season that something was wrong. It’s why I wanted to move on. Maybe Brannen finds the transfers next season to win but do you have any confidence in this.
There is something seriously wrong going on in that locker room. Cumberland and Brannon had a feud last year but the team was so talented it didn’t matter too much because we still put together a successful season albeit not as good as it should have been. Everything seems to be going wrong this season. At some point we can’t just blame COVID, Brannen doesn’t understand how to manage egos in a high-major D1 program.
(03-16-2021 10:32 AM)Cataclysmo Wrote: There's a ton wrong right now but these are two really random nit picky things to point out. Frankly it kinda pissed me off that our guys shook their hands after the way they clowned us on their bench--jacking up threes while already up 30. I would've walked right into that locker room too.
The leaving the floor thing, on its own, is probably nitpicky.
But not knowing that your players are lonely & isolated?
I'm a professor who's teaching 100% online right now. So I'm way further removed than Brannen is. But I still talk to my students enough to know that a lot of them are feeling very isolated. It boggles my mind that Brannen didn't know that until a players' committee informed him.
My guess is you're going to see a ton of guys go closer to home for the obvious reasons above. However, i'm not totally surprised Gabe isn't coming back and have thought it was 50/50 to begin with. From what we saw he looked physically not ready to compete as a 3 from what i saw. My guess is if he worked at it for a couple years got bigger and stronger he'd see more action. However, he was not the bigger/athletic wing they were/are seeking. He's not near as physical as JD who is obviously being groomed for the bulk of the minutes there. I think ZH is looking for a place to start and play 30 minutes a game and with quite a few guards here he wasn't going to get it not to mention he's a ways from home. Is he even in the portal yet? Saunders is a head scratcher given what he did down the stretch, but up until then it would not have surprised me a bit if he did transfer as he didn't show much the first 2/3rd's of the season. My guess is Gabe ends up at a smaller school where he can play the 3. Saunders and Harvey who knows, but this younger generation of players are looking to play starter minutes right away. Eason who knows for a variety of factors. I think X now has lost 3 of their 5 recruits from two years ago as well, and i believe Holtman lost most of his first or second class as well. The Ncaa has to define these transfer rules and eligibility as it's getting to crazy. It's starting to look like an annual AAU draft. Hmmm?
(03-16-2021 10:32 AM)Cataclysmo Wrote: There's a ton wrong right now but these are two really random nit picky things to point out. Frankly it kinda pissed me off that our guys shook their hands after the way they clowned us on their bench--jacking up threes while already up 30. I would've walked right into that locker room too.
The leaving the floor thing, on its own, is probably nitpicky.
But not knowing that your players are lonely & isolated?
I'm a professor who's teaching 100% online right now. So I'm way further removed than Brannen is. But I still talk to my students enough to know that a lot of them are feeling very isolated. It boggles my mind that Brannen didn't know that until a players' committee informed him.
Not everyone is comfortable talking to groups. Brannen often spends his time mumbling like he hasn’t slept in days and hunched over looking at the desktop. His communication body language sucks at times. If that is how he communicates to non-media in this job, he’s got a longevity problem in this business.
(03-16-2021 11:10 AM)crex043 Wrote: This is all uninformed speculation and hearsay.
If it's really that bad, we should expect every single player to enter the transfer portal.
Maybe the explanation is simple - players think they can start now and don't want to sit on the bench and there is no penalty to transfer.
If that's the case, you'll see Ohio State empty out this year. They're still on the younger side, and have some good talent coming in. But that won't happen, because their coach has the locker room.
(03-16-2021 11:10 AM)crex043 Wrote: This is all uninformed speculation and hearsay.
If it's really that bad, we should expect every single player to enter the transfer portal.
Maybe the explanation is simple - players think they can start now and don't want to sit on the bench and there is no penalty to transfer.
If that's the case, you'll see Ohio State empty out this year. They're still on the younger side, and have some good talent coming in. But that won't happen, because their coach has the locker room.
Holtman did have issues in his first couple of seasons. A lot of guys did transfer out.
(03-16-2021 11:10 AM)crex043 Wrote: This is all uninformed speculation and hearsay.
If it's really that bad, we should expect every single player to enter the transfer portal.
Maybe the explanation is simple - players think they can start now and don't want to sit on the bench and there is no penalty to transfer.
If that's the case, you'll see Ohio State empty out this year. They're still on the younger side, and have some good talent coming in. But that won't happen, because their coach has the locker room.
Holtman did have issues in his first couple of seasons. A lot of guys did transfer out.
Yeah, maybe not the perfect example. The difference is that he's continued to bring in top classes and hasn't missed the tourney.
I just think we're going to see a lot of schools struggle with this. Someone above noted X has lost significant portions of their class, and KyKy Tandy entered the portal.
Just wait until the NCAA tourney field starts paring down. That should mean that there will be plenty of opportunity, but be prepared to watch some ugly basketball until this open portal thing is resolved.
(03-16-2021 11:28 AM)Bear Catlett Wrote: Unless Jimmy Chitwood shows up and says he'll only play for Brannen, I think we gotta make a move on this... yesterday.
Guys who are guaranteed playing time (and a lot of it, too) don't even want to be here!!! Am I still a sicko now?????
We can't have this!
Good lord, I'd take Archie Miller or little Ricky Pitino at this point. At least they can get... and keep... players.
Really? You want Archie Miller? Did he make the tourney or even get close to the finals in his conference tourneys at IU?
I for one would like to see Brannen get at least one full off-season. He's yet to have that.
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Disconnect between Brannen & his players
