(05-05-2021 03:24 PM)pesik Wrote:  you have been blindly 1 sided..

Apologies to the board for this long post, but sometimes Pesik has to be called on his BS. I sometimes don’t know if you believe your own bull$hit or just assume nobody will call you on it. Here is my evolution on Brannen over the last couple months as more facts came available.

My position throughout the season was, there are things that concern us but he’s shown enough promise in identifying talent and had a difficult enough hand that we should see how things play out. Can he continue to bring in guys? Can he keep the core intact? Here’s an example of that kind of post.

(02-27-2021 09:10 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(02-27-2021 09:00 AM)Bear Catlett Wrote:  .
My lack of patience with Brannen stems from the fact that he did not walk into a rebuilding situation. He walked into a pretty dang good team that had been performing at a very high level. The only things that he needs to rebuild is whatever it is that he tore down himself.

This is just nonsense. He walked into a very good senior class (though one of those pieces immediately decided to leave and his best player battled through injuries all season) but a huge talent drain everywhere else on the roster. He won the conference with that senior class but has been forced to rely almost entirely on players he brought in late after being hired or guys in their first year in the program (during a pandemic with limited practice no less). He's been dealt an incredibly difficult hand but we're seeing promise in the young guys forced to carry this program early in their careers. If he can deliver a couple more good recruiting classes and keep the core intact the program will really be set up to succeed.

https://csnbbs.com/thread-917517-post-17...id17294077

Started to really get concerned something was up when Saunders transferred given their long history and the impression that he was a Brannen guy.

(03-16-2021 09:39 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(03-16-2021 09:34 AM)JFlight21 Wrote:  Mike Saunders transferring. What in the world is going on here? Brannen has some explaining to do. Good god this is pathetic.

This was is the first one that really worries me. He really came on. He developed a ton throughout the year and was an encouraging sign of what we could see as Brannen got his guys. If there really is a mass exodus things could get bad.

https://csnbbs.com/thread-901125-post-17...id17330515

The mass exodus quickly happened and because we had little from Brannen or the AD at that point my position was basically, the AD better figure out what the heck is going on and decide if this has long term implications or a fluke of the year.

(03-16-2021 04:45 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  Cunningham should be meeting with every player in the portal (and still on the roster) and Brannen and trying to figure out what the hell happened. He should be interviewing Brannen for his job and what the plan is for stabilizing the program and building on some of the development later in the season.

https://csnbbs.com/thread-918847-post-17...id17331636

And while we didn’t know enough to know what UC should do I still defended Brannen’s track record.

(03-17-2021 05:48 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(03-17-2021 05:24 PM)skyblade Wrote:  2020: we probably needed to win 2 conference tournament games to be an at large bid.
2021: got blown out in a conference championship game.
These don't have quite the same ring to them as made the NCAA tournament.

Also, half the team transferred out because they can't stand the coach and the players say Brannen lied to them in recruiting. How many times do you think potential recruits are going to hear that from teams competing with us in recruiting?

Your point was he hasn't made the tournament which is kind of an absurd point as he missed one tournament. Our last coach missed his first 4. The one before that missed his first 2. They were both good coaches. Your post implied he had this long track record of missing tournaments.

There is plenty to complain about given the current transfer situation and mass exodus but this seems a ridiculous critique.

https://csnbbs.com/thread-918845-post-17...id17333702

One of my working theories early on was that this largely could just be a fluke of the strange season. Again didn’t have enough information but I pointed this out.

(03-18-2021 06:47 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  Thanks for posting, Namrag.

I will say it is telling that the guys transferring (minus Harvey) are guys that only experienced the weird COVID year. MAW and Davenport seem still on board. UC fans have to hope this insanity is just a product of kids reacting to weird circumstances and coaches just not handling it well plus the unprecedented transfer portal opportunity. Ultimately Brannen has to kill it in the late signing period if he has any hope of being successful here. He's shown he can identify talent and even develop it. Saunders made huge strides throughout his first year. Eason got better as the season went on. Davenport made an insane leap in year 2. About halfway through last season Tre Scott reached levels I never imagined him reaching as a college basketball player (and I always liked Tre Scott).

https://csnbbs.com/thread-918947-post-17...id17334351

After the first Athletic story I was still skeptical of the issues that had been raised up to that point.

(03-26-2021 04:05 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(03-26-2021 03:57 PM)rath v2.0 Wrote:  There is going to be more.
I doubt all of this ever fully comes to light unless it’s in writing in an official document that the Enquirer legal department gets it’s hands on

I almost hope you're right. Every piece of information that's surfaced has been so minor including quotes from players and their parents. None of it means Brannen is/was the answer here, but these complaints seem like such small potatoes and the kind of things if you were already ingrained in the program in a normal year probably would barely have registered. I continue to think it's telling the guys that are staying are the guys who had a normal year under Brannen and a guy who knows what playing somewhere else is like.

https://csnbbs.com/thread-919499-post-17...id17350681
In fact, given what we knew at that point, here was my position:

(04-02-2021 06:15 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(04-02-2021 06:04 PM)levydl Wrote:  

(04-02-2021 05:56 PM)Coopdaddy67 Wrote:  Fire him, pay the buyout and move on.

Feels like we are choosing the worst possible option. I'd even feel better if the admin came out today and supported Brannen. Just letting this thing hang out there for a weeks is crazy.

Sounds like there are 2 options.

1. Suck it up, pay the buyout and start fresh . Or

2. Give a statement of full support. Blame covid and the crazy transfer environment. (And be ready to move on next offseason if brannen can't deliver this offseason/ season).

https://csnbbs.com/thread-919499-post-17...id17364971

When they ultimately placed Brannen on administrative leave, my thought was…ok that is kind of a big deal. What exactly is going on. I said we need to be patient until we know more.

(04-03-2021 04:10 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  Fans are impatient and when they don't know the facts they make them up in their own head. The situation was never going to be good when the entire freshman class entered the portal. We have no idea what has been said, alleged behind the scene. Sometimes keeping things in house is a sign of competence. I'm amazed how quick people are to judge Cunningham in this (though people made similar judgment during the silence of the fickell to msu rumors and he got an extension done).

https://csnbbs.com/thread-919499-post-17...id17366315
The thing that really began to turn me was how weak and desperate the stuff coming from Brannen’s attorney seemed to be prior to the firing but after the administrative suspension. Sharing the alleged Fickell text really seemed desperate as it didn’t do anything for their case.

(04-09-2021 03:06 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  Brannen is trying to burn it down on the way out. Having his attorney share a text between he and Fickell is low as hell.

https://csnbbs.com/thread-919499-post-17...id17376110

I still didn’t know whether for cause would work or not at this point, but I was fine with after Cunningham’s investigation he determined it was time to move on.

(04-09-2021 04:57 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  Cunningham kept it quiet while the process played out. He didn't hire Brannen and Brannen is gone. People have some unreasonable expectations. Ultimately he's going to be judged by what they spend getting rid of Brannen and who they bring in / how successful that coach is (this part mattering far more than anything else). These few weeks are going to be small potatoes.

https://csnbbs.com/thread-919499-post-17...id17376336

(04-09-2021 09:26 PM)bearcatmark Wrote:  Honestly it's way too early to know on Cunningham.

https://csnbbs.com/thread-920410-post-17...id17376751

However, my attorney instincts are what eventually made me skeptical of Brannen’s side and fairly confident that the university had more than some poor performance and upset players.

(04-10-2021 07:27 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  

(04-10-2021 07:17 AM)skyblade Wrote:  I think Cunningham is going to come out of this looking just fine. Pinto obviously thinks so and he has a lot more information than we do. The BoT was certainly involved in this as well. A lot of people who know what their doing determined that Brannen can and should be fired with cause.

UC admin has been quiet, they've said as little as possible. They were investigating him well before the season ended, there has been plenty of time for them. They never tried to dirty the waters. To me this indicates they found something that justifies a for cause firing.

Brannen has been trying his best to muddy the waters. Frivolous lawsuits, Tom Mars on twitter, Brannen's wife on twitter, the Luke text release. I feel like Brannen knows UC has something on him and is trying to make this as ugly as possible in order for UC to give him a significant chunk of go away money. At some point Brannen decided he know longer cares about UC and is going to do his best to burn it down on his way out.

We disagree on here a lot but I keep coming back to the bolded in my evaluation as well. Maybe we'll be proven wrong but uc has handled this like they are confident in what they have. I don't think they make the move if they are not. Mars and Brannen have acted increasingly desperate throwing crap against the wall in public. I don't think they're fond of their case so they're trying to use public anger to fuel a beneficial settlement.

https://csnbbs.com/thread-920410-post-17...id17376825

This post ultimately explains my full evolution throughout this process. Basically as we’ve learned more I’ve gone from defending Brannen, to lets see, to nothing out so far seems that bad, to OK the administration seems confident keep an open mind, to Brannen’s side seems desperate, to oh there is some pretty concerning medical stuff coming out.

(04-12-2021 08:21 AM)bearcatmark Wrote:  I've been pretty open minded about Brannen most his time here.

I said throughout the season there was a lack of talent in the upper class and the key to his success would be developing (and keeping) the talent in place he brought here. I wasn't calling for his head. I thought he might work out.

Even as a weird amount of players were leaving midseason over his first 2 years I shrugged it off saying it could be the circumstances he inherited and COVID.

The biggest red flag came when Mike Saunders wanted out. That was a kid he'd known forever. If he was bailing, there could be an issue. The mass exodus quickly followed.

Even then my position was, yea this is weird, it could be something and UC needs to be talking to all the players and interviewing Brannen for his job, but it could still just be kids who never had a real college experience hitting reset.

Then the school announced its investigation. I was hoping it wasn't just an attempt to trump up allegations. I was worried about that.

Then we heard reports from players regarding the environment in practice and medical staff having to step in. That was troubling. It gave me some indication maybe there was something more to it.

But really the thing that has pushed me toward my current position that I think the university is handling this correctly and has a pretty good case is how the parties have carried themselves. UC has taken strategic steps, without saying a ton. As an outsider they seem confident they have enough and that they needed to remove Brannen. Brannen and his attorney seem desperate and are just throwing anything they can out there. I could be wrong, but I think the university has taken the steps it should have taken and is in a good position with regard to Brannen's buyout.

Maybe facts will come out that change my mind. I haven't been set at any point and have moved as I've learned and observed more. I could be wrong, but that's where I am.

Ultimately I believe the administration has handled this correctly. I think there is plenty there that could apply to a for cause firing based on the language in the contract. Will it be a slam dunk in court if Brannen follows through with litigation and settlement isn’t reached? I don’t know. Who knows what else is there from both sides? But it’s enough where pursuing it is the right way to go.