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(05-09-2019 08:28 PM)skyblade Wrote:  

(05-09-2019 07:11 PM)bearcatlawjd2 Wrote:  

(05-09-2019 06:56 PM)skyblade Wrote:  

(05-09-2019 06:38 PM)crex043 Wrote:  

(05-09-2019 05:36 PM)skyblade Wrote:  Nevertheless, his point stands. Mike Young was hired a week before Brannen and has gotten a 4-star, 3-star and a transfer. Plus he has hired a quality outside assistant coach and has the inside track on Samari Curtis.

If VT and UC are comparable (or UC is the better program), then where are our recruits and assistant coaches?

Firstly, VT plays in the ACC and had a Top 25 team last year.

Secondly, since Young was hired, VT has had a Top 100 player decommit and their senior C Blackshear who averaged 14 pts last year is considering transferring. Another player declared for the draft.

So arguably a net loss in what is currently in the short term a better position.

Brannen had a top 150 player decommit and our senior center did transfer. Cumberland declared for the draft. So the losses have been more or less equal, but the gains have been nowhere close.

The fans on here said over and over again that UC should be able to recruit despite being in the AAC. That Cronin is a terrible recruiter. That UC should recruit like a top 25 program. VT is at best a middle of the pack ACC team (4 NCAA appearances in the last 20 years, one sweet sixteen). They are exactly the type of team UC should be beating out in recruiting according to the fans who thought Cronin couldn't recruit. Both teams got a new coach within a week of each other. One of those teams has gotten a 4-star, a 3-star and a quality transfer. The other has gotten no one, but is pursuing 2-stars and transfers being recruited by low-majors.

Who had the job elevating the brand the last 13 years? 20 years ago UC was putting together a team that had the national player of the year and spent most of the season ranked number 1. We are so far away from the pinnacle of the sport because we had an administration and coach that refused to embrace the past and take chances to build the UC brand.

Mick was a good coach but was really bad at growing UC’s brand. Basically all our regional rivals grew and gained market share in national landscape. Things like NCAA tournament success, sending players to the NBA and the G league, beating your rival, playing in marquee pre-season tournament and events, and winning conference championships are all important. Doing some of those things some of the time isn’t going to cut it when Xavier, Ohio State, Louisville, and Kentucky are doing those things more frequently.

Nope. Fans kept saying over and over that Mick should be recruiting top 50 classes every year. That UC is a top 25 program and should be recruiting like it. That the only reason we couldn't recruit is because Mick is a terrible recruiter.

Now we are seeing the reality that I've been ridiculed for saying. UC isn't a national power anymore. No coach is going to come in here and make our recruiting top 25. The top of the AAC is going to have trouble competing with even middle of the pack P5 teams.

Brannen and Mike Young were hired within a week of each other. VT has gone to 4 NCAA tournaments in 20 years and one sweet 16. They are a team that the Mick hating fans would have said UC should easily out-recruit. But they've gotten a 4-star, a 3-star and a quality transfer and we are offering 2-stars and haven't gotten any yet. Let me know when Brannen starts getting all those 4 and 5-stars you guys thought Mick should get. So far this year it seems we'll be lucky if he can pull in a 3-star or two.

Don't get me wrong, I think Brannen can be a great coach. But he's going to have to do it by developing and teaching players better then Cronin did, not by recruiting better then he did. If anything I expect a step back in recruiting over the next couple years as Brannen builds his name and brand, not a step forward.

Now if UC isn’t a national power anymore doesn’t that fall on our previous coach and the administration. UC was a national power during the Huggins years. Was a national power for parts 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s. Brannen’s job is to get back there and not settle for being good.

Cronin couldn’t take that next step. He took over an awful situation and made the most of it early on. The arena, conference affiliation change, and apparel deal didn’t help but a great coach would have pushed through and taken that next step. He almost did but the Nevada game happened. Mick’s problem wasn’t just post season failure it was going into the post season and realistically having no chance to advance deep in the tournament.

I have no idea if Brannen can get UC to the level of Cronin, Huggins, or beyond but I am willing to give him a few years to do it his way.