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(02-05-2021 05:19 PM)SeniorBearcat Wrote:  9 games left on the season...I'd take 6-3 down the stretch...put us at 10-10 with an 8-7 conference record...play lights out in the conference tournament and treat it like a new season. If we end up with a winning record this year it will be nice to see the Team didn't quit while also building an identity for next season.

Still loved the effort last night and it was awesome waking up after a Bearcat victory...enjoy the little things

6-3 and a couple conference tournament wins would be my bench mark for confidence going into next year. Honestly believe if they can play good defense they have a chance at getting there.

I haven't been reading much of the other threads so it's probably been discussed already but the way DeJulius is playing gives me high confidence and hope for next year. We likely would have seen this from the start of the season had the Cats been able to have a normal off-season.

Still the major goal of this next off-season should be to find a serviceable big to play along side Eason/Diarra. It definitely wasn't Vogt this year.

(02-09-2021 01:14 PM)dubcat14 Wrote:  Still the major goal of this next off-season should be to find a serviceable big to play along side Eason/Diarra. It definitely wasn't Vogt this year.

About the only thing harder than watching the Bearcats when Vogt is in the game is watching the Bearcats when Vogt is out of the game.

(02-09-2021 03:10 PM)Bruce Monnin Wrote:  

(02-09-2021 01:14 PM)dubcat14 Wrote:  Still the major goal of this next off-season should be to find a serviceable big to play along side Eason/Diarra. It definitely wasn't Vogt this year.

About the only thing harder than watching the Bearcats when Vogt is in the game is watching the Bearcats when Vogt is out of the game.

We need a transfer big with high-major experience in the worst way. I'm guessing (hoping) Brannen is planning on hitting the transfer market hard based on the lack of 2021 commits. Good college centers are hard to come by and I'm not expecting a miracle, but if we can find someone in the mold/talent level of a Nysier Brooks or Octavius Ellis, our roster should be in good shape next season.

(02-09-2021 05:31 PM)robertfoshizzle Wrote:  

(02-09-2021 03:10 PM)Bruce Monnin Wrote:  

(02-09-2021 01:14 PM)dubcat14 Wrote:  Still the major goal of this next off-season should be to find a serviceable big to play along side Eason/Diarra. It definitely wasn't Vogt this year.

About the only thing harder than watching the Bearcats when Vogt is in the game is watching the Bearcats when Vogt is out of the game.

We need a transfer big with high-major experience in the worst way. I'm guessing (hoping) Brannen is planning on hitting the transfer market hard based on the lack of 2021 commits. Good college centers are hard to come by and I'm not expecting a miracle, but if we can find someone in the mold/talent level of a Nysier Brooks or Octavius Ellis, our roster should be in good shape next season.

You can tell Eason, Harvey, MAW, Davenport and Saunders are all genuinely stud athletes albeit raw and unexperienced. How well the team is next year (outside of finding a big) will be determined by how well they gel together with an experienced DeJulius and how well Brannen can coach them up.

I believe a lot of this year's struggles stem from not having a true offseason.

(02-10-2021 09:17 AM)dubcat14 Wrote:  

(02-09-2021 05:31 PM)robertfoshizzle Wrote:  

(02-09-2021 03:10 PM)Bruce Monnin Wrote:  

(02-09-2021 01:14 PM)dubcat14 Wrote:  Still the major goal of this next off-season should be to find a serviceable big to play along side Eason/Diarra. It definitely wasn't Vogt this year.

About the only thing harder than watching the Bearcats when Vogt is in the game is watching the Bearcats when Vogt is out of the game.

We need a transfer big with high-major experience in the worst way. I'm guessing (hoping) Brannen is planning on hitting the transfer market hard based on the lack of 2021 commits. Good college centers are hard to come by and I'm not expecting a miracle, but if we can find someone in the mold/talent level of a Nysier Brooks or Octavius Ellis, our roster should be in good shape next season.

You can tell Eason, Harvey, MAW, Davenport and Saunders are all genuinely stud athletes albeit raw and unexperienced. How well the team is next year (outside of finding a big) will be determined by how well they gel together with an experienced DeJulius and how well Brannen can coach them up.

I believe a lot of this year's struggles stem from not having a true offseason.

I don't MAW is anywhere near the athleticism of the other 4, at least he hasn't shown it on the court. I could easily see him being a Jaquon Parker type...big time deferral who makes an impact when absolutely necessary and finds a shot in the corner, but he won't (or shouldn't) be a ball dominant guy in his career here.

All in all, looking at that core, if we find a center at some point, I think this team could be dynamic offensively...defensively is another story, but that's what we chose when moving to Brannen from Cronin.

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

(02-10-2021 09:17 AM)dubcat14 Wrote:  

(02-09-2021 05:31 PM)robertfoshizzle Wrote:  

(02-09-2021 03:10 PM)Bruce Monnin Wrote:  

(02-09-2021 01:14 PM)dubcat14 Wrote:  Still the major goal of this next off-season should be to find a serviceable big to play along side Eason/Diarra. It definitely wasn't Vogt this year.

About the only thing harder than watching the Bearcats when Vogt is in the game is watching the Bearcats when Vogt is out of the game.

We need a transfer big with high-major experience in the worst way. I'm guessing (hoping) Brannen is planning on hitting the transfer market hard based on the lack of 2021 commits. Good college centers are hard to come by and I'm not expecting a miracle, but if we can find someone in the mold/talent level of a Nysier Brooks or Octavius Ellis, our roster should be in good shape next season.

You can tell Eason, Harvey, MAW, Davenport and Saunders are all genuinely stud athletes albeit raw and unexperienced. How well the team is next year (outside of finding a big) will be determined by how well they gel together with an experienced DeJulius and how well Brannen can coach them up.

I believe a lot of this year's struggles stem from not having a true offseason.

I don't MAW is anywhere near the athleticism of the other 4, at least he hasn't shown it on the court. I could easily see him being a Jaquon Parker type...big time deferral who makes an impact when absolutely necessary and finds a shot in the corner, but he won't (or shouldn't) be a ball dominant guy in his career here.

All in all, looking at that core, if we find a center at some point, I think this team could be dynamic offensively...defensively is another story, but that's what we chose when moving to Brannen from Cronin.

Interesting. I actually feel pretty good about where the defense is, particularly because they just don't have the rim protection on this roster they've had in the past (Eason can give it, but he's a freshman who is still easy to move with the pump fake). I feel like finding a center would be huge for this team defensively. As it is their 58th in kenpom adjusted defense (129 in offense). Their huge offensive deficiencies are turnovers and shooting. I think turnovers will be solved as these guys grow and play more together.

Defensively they do a good job on the glass (64th nationally in protecting against offensive rebounds without a real dynamic rebounder on the roster), they do a good job guarding the 3. They are 66th nationally in 3 point percentage allowed and more importantly they don't let teams take many 3s, 17th nationally in 3PA/FGA. They are middle of the road as a two point defense. I think that comes down to the lack of a rim protector. Brannen's defense is designed to give up mid range twos (which is good). However, our lack of rim protection allows for too much at the rim. I think these guys will be pretty dynamic defensively if they stay together.

Yep, it appears to me defense has come a long way since before the Covid 19 break temporarily derailed the season. Bearcatmark, I agree--no rim protector is a glaring deficiency. But compared with earlier this year when opposing players could take a leisurely stroll to the rim for uncontested layups, most possessions, there is improvement. And I think the team will benefit from reserves getting live game experience right now before Dou and Harvey return to the court, hopefully well before March.

If healthy, I really believe this team could make some noise in the AAC Tournament, especially if they can work their way into the other side of the bracket and avoid playing Houston early.

Houston game moved to Houston; we'll have 7/8 games on the road. Not that we were going to be an NCAA at large candidate anyway but the conference has not done us any favors.

(02-10-2021 11:28 AM)RealDeal Wrote:  Houston game moved to Houston; we'll have 7/8 games on the road. Not that we were going to be an NCAA at large candidate anyway but the conference has not done us any favors.

Has the league given an explanation for this? It's punishment for players getting sick during a pandemic?

(02-10-2021 11:44 AM)levydl Wrote:  

(02-10-2021 11:28 AM)RealDeal Wrote:  Houston game moved to Houston; we'll have 7/8 games on the road. Not that we were going to be an NCAA at large candidate anyway but the conference has not done us any favors.

Has the league given an explanation for this? It's punishment for players getting sick during a pandemic?

Miss the road game the other can choose to flip your home date.

(02-10-2021 11:12 AM)OKIcat Wrote:  Yep, it appears to me defense has come a long way since before the Covid 19 break temporarily derailed the season. Bearcatmark, I agree--no rim protector is a glaring deficiency. But compared with earlier this year when opposing players could take a leisurely stroll to the rim for uncontested layups, most possessions, there is improvement. And I think the team will benefit from reserves getting live game experience right now before Dou and Harvey return to the court, hopefully well before March.

If healthy, I really believe this team could make some noise in the AAC Tournament, especially if they can work their way into the other side of the bracket and avoid playing Houston early.

There is so much parity in the league right now outside of Houston. This team could easily make it to the conference finals (as could probably 7 or 8 other teams in the AAC) if it does end up on the opposite side of the bracket.

(02-10-2021 12:17 PM)UCBearcatlawjd2 Wrote:  

(02-10-2021 11:44 AM)levydl Wrote:  

(02-10-2021 11:28 AM)RealDeal Wrote:  Houston game moved to Houston; we'll have 7/8 games on the road. Not that we were going to be an NCAA at large candidate anyway but the conference has not done us any favors.

Has the league given an explanation for this? It's punishment for players getting sick during a pandemic?

Miss the road game the other can choose to flip your home date.

That rule does seem punitive. Arena availability and ticketing issues should both be off the table in 2021 and no team should have to have such an unbalanced schedule for travel when facing all the other challenges of player testing, treatment, and absences. When given a choice, what coach would say, "l'll take a road game please?" A poor decision in this case by the AAC.

(02-10-2021 01:06 PM)OKIcat Wrote:  

(02-10-2021 12:17 PM)UCBearcatlawjd2 Wrote:  

(02-10-2021 11:44 AM)levydl Wrote:  

(02-10-2021 11:28 AM)RealDeal Wrote:  Houston game moved to Houston; we'll have 7/8 games on the road. Not that we were going to be an NCAA at large candidate anyway but the conference has not done us any favors.

Has the league given an explanation for this? It's punishment for players getting sick during a pandemic?

Miss the road game the other can choose to flip your home date.

That rule does seem punitive. Arena availability and ticketing issues should both be off the table in 2021 and no team should have to have such an unbalanced schedule for travel when facing all the other challenges of player testing, treatment, and absences. When given a choice, what coach would say, "l'll take a road game please?" A poor decision in this case by the AAC.

Make Houston come here on Friday night. Then UC can play them on Sunday. Even better add the ECU home game on Tuesday night.

We've got our last two wins on the road. Let it roll!

(02-15-2021 10:27 AM)SeniorBearcat Wrote:  

It's impressive and I'm certainly supportive of Brannen at this point. But someday soon, I'd like some noteworthy wins in November and December, especially after he gets a full cadre of his players in the program.

As the American continues to struggle to get teams ranked and advancing in the tourney, out of conference wins against high profile teams will become even more important. And I'll hasten to add, this isn't uniquely a Brannen issue. Mick dropped a pair of early games, home and away, to both Ohio State and Butler, and we know all too well what's happened too frequently against brand X.

(02-15-2021 11:50 AM)OKIcat Wrote:  It's impressive and I'm certainly supportive of Brannen at this point. But someday soon, I'd like some noteworthy wins in November and December, especially after he gets a full cadre of his players in the program.

As the American continues to struggle to get teams ranked and advancing in the tourney, out of conference wins against high profile teams will become even more important. And I'll hasten to add, this isn't uniquely a Brannen issue. Mick dropped a pair of early games, home and away, to both Ohio State and Butler, and we know all too well what's happened too frequently against brand X.

I think that's fair. It's certainly a sign of a good coach for a team to develop and improve as the season goes along but November/December out of conference games count towards your resume and as you mentioned if the conference is down they have increasing importance to that resume. I can't speak as to what happened at NKU early in seasons but I think our early season struggles in his two years here are not overly concerning to me. Last year our returning conference player of the year was injured in the preseason and we struggled to integrate him as he gained health; and it sounds like there was some conflict between the two. This year we had a ton of newcomers with the offseason program significantly disrupted by COVID and our only seniors are limited inconsistent players.

Moving forward we're going to have newcomers next year but with returning guys like DDJ, MAW, Mason, Zach, Tari, and JD we need to have a good non-conference next year.

For lack of a better place to put this, here's a link to the coach's shows - last of the season is tonight's, 3/15.