Unless Cunningham is completely incompetent (which is possible), he isn't making this statement unless the investigation is already either complete or nearing completion, and they believe they will either have sufficient cause or be able to force a reduced buyout. Brannen is as good as gone.

(03-26-2021 12:12 PM)Joprior23 Wrote:  The portal is lit and this is Cincy’s play.

A bunch of incompetence calling shots over there.

He''ll be gone by middle of next week. Meanwhile, maybe our future coach isn't employed and can 'recruit' knowing he has another job lined at. Huggins did it when UC canned him and pulled in Bill Walker and Michael Beasley at Kansas State. I wonder what Archie is doing right now...

whatever happens has to happen VERY quick.. either way

there is still a chance to make an elite roster in the portal.. in 2-4 weeks most will already be committed..in about a week most will already start having favorites

(03-26-2021 12:58 PM)JFlight21 Wrote:  

(03-26-2021 12:12 PM)Joprior23 Wrote:  The portal is lit and this is Cincy’s play.

A bunch of incompetence calling shots over there.

He''ll be gone by middle of next week. Meanwhile, maybe our future coach isn't employed and can 'recruit' knowing he has another job lined at. Huggins did it when UC canned him and pulled in Bill Walker and Michael Beasley at Kansas State. I wonder what Archie is doing right now...

No doubt Archie will be under consideration. Bryce Drew is another name our fan base is speculating on.

(03-26-2021 11:56 AM)Joprior23 Wrote:  So. What does Cincy do when the outside firm finds nothing that would help them fire Brannen for cause? He’s a lame duck now. You guys can’t afford the buyout. Good luck recruiting anyone over the next year that has actual options.

i tend to think that they already have done their "review", and are now just trying to make it official, by having an official review.

(03-26-2021 01:46 PM)dave108 Wrote:  

(03-26-2021 11:56 AM)Joprior23 Wrote:  So. What does Cincy do when the outside firm finds nothing that would help them fire Brannen for cause? He’s a lame duck now. You guys can’t afford the buyout. Good luck recruiting anyone over the next year that has actual options.

i tend to think that they already have done their "review", and are now just trying to make it official, by having an official review.

His buyout drops after March 31st. He gone.

Do most of you UC fans want him gone? I think so, but not sure.

(03-26-2021 02:05 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Do most of you UC fans want him gone? I think so, but not sure.

The ones that want him gone are certainly more vocal. The ones that continue to 'support' him tend to point to the difficult circumstances with covid, blah blah blah and think he's a great coach. How anyone could watch all of our terrible losses the past two season and arrive at the conclusion he is a great coach is beyond me. Add that to all the transfers and lack of incoming recruits (hey we beat out Elon for Bryson Spell!) and this is a no brainer to me...

(03-26-2021 02:05 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Do most of you UC fans want him gone? I think so, but not sure.

I honestly just want our incompetent Ath Dept to pick a direction. I don’t care which one it is.

What happened today is one of the bigger displays of incompetence I’ve ever seen. The AD and coach are going to war, and the loser is going to be fans of the program. It’s insane you would do this to your own program.

He’s gawn. Dotting i’s and crossing t’s. This is going to follow the Wichita State plan.

Can’t say I’m thrilled with the timing but also can’t say that I’ll miss him much.

(03-26-2021 01:19 PM)pesik Wrote:  whatever happens has to happen VERY quick.. either way

there is still a chance to make an elite roster in the portal.. in 2-4 weeks most will already be committed..in about a week most will already start having favorites

The names UC is associated with are underwhelming at best. And it’s now going to be impossible to recruit to this situation. I don’t think this is salvageable, even with the portal.

The only advantage the portal will be give us, is that at least this time we’ll be able to field a full roster (unlike after Huggins). They just won’t be very good.

.

Is this the most challenging time, to date, re. the MBB Head Coaches?

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AAC schools with optimal/excellent Head Coach situations: 1

Houston

AAC schools with new or first-time Head Coaches: 4

Memphis - can they make their first NCAA under P.H. next season?

Wichita St - Does HC Brown have the skill set to take Shockers to NCAA?

Cincinnati - Brannen under fire, transfers departing

Temple - Still rebuilding,but expected to show some progress in 2021-22

AAC schools with HCs who are receiving heavy criticism on this board: 3

Cincy - Can Cincy reload? Will Brannen be back?

SMU - Rumblings afoot - the anti-"Jank" brigade agitating for change.

Tulsa - Critics of Haith become more vocal; last NCAA was in 2016.

AAC schools that won less than half their games in 2020-21:

Tulsa 21-10; 11-12 (32-22 since 2018-19 season) 2021-22 outlook?

UCF 16-14; 11-12 (27-26 since 2018-19 season)

USF 14-17; 9-13 (23-30 since 2018-19 season)

Temple 14-17; 5-11 (19-28 since 2018-19 season)

Tulane 12-18; 10-13 (22-31 since 2018-19 season)

East Carolina 11-20; 8-11 (19-31 since 2018-19 season)

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Possible NCAA teams: Houston, Memphis, Wichita State (?)

Possible NIT teams: Wichita St. & 4th place team (?)

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(03-26-2021 02:05 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Do most of you UC fans want him gone? I think so, but not sure.

Let me think... YES !!!

(03-26-2021 02:19 PM)stxrunner Wrote:  

(03-26-2021 01:19 PM)pesik Wrote:  whatever happens has to happen VERY quick.. either way

there is still a chance to make an elite roster in the portal.. in 2-4 weeks most will already be committed..in about a week most will already start having favorites

The names UC is associated with are underwhelming at best. And it’s now going to be impossible to recruit to this situation. I don’t think this is salvageable, even with the portal.

The only advantage the portal will be give us, is that at least this time we’ll be able to field a full roster (unlike after Huggins). They just won’t be very good.

have you SEEN the portal... it hit 900 players yesterday

there are over 60 15pt+ players in the portal... 3 conference player of the year..
3 5star so far....and THE SEASON ISNT FINSIHED!!!

also why would it be impossible to recruit to UC? .. the allegation arent that bad, you have name brand..
all the 100 or so top tier players in the portal cant all go to bluebloods, there are still scholly limits, most of high school recruits committed .. UC is a bigger name than most schools

if everything is settled (keeping brannen or getting a new coach) in the next 4-6 days.. the ability to make an elite roster is still on the table

and a note to add.. it really isnt going to take much to compete in the aac... most of our teams look like a disarray.. grimes, dejon, gorham have made it clear they arent returning on houston.. who knows who stays on memphis ... wichita has no pg, still undersized, unclear coaches recruiting ability.. smu may or may not keep coach .. no one else notable

goodman and dauster did a sweet 16 podcast.. i was just listening to it ..
they bring up brannen and UC for a quick second

looks like goodman had looked into it (for another potential expose).. says he spoke to players and sources.. there was no verbal or physical abuse. it was about trust. that none of them trusted him (might be connect to how he handled the covid thing).. but notes many he spoke to arent sure he will keep the job

also says usf gregory also on a very hotseat

(03-26-2021 02:13 PM)JFlight21 Wrote:  

(03-26-2021 02:05 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Do most of you UC fans want him gone? I think so, but not sure.

The ones that want him gone are certainly more vocal. The ones that continue to 'support' him tend to point to the difficult circumstances with covid, blah blah blah and think he's a great coach. How anyone could watch all of our terrible losses the past two season and arrive at the conclusion he is a great coach is beyond me. Add that to all the transfers and lack of incoming recruits (hey we beat out Elon for Bryson Spell!) and this is a no brainer to me...

You can't yada Yada Yada the unique nature of this season and the circumstances Brannen inherited but I also don't think those that support him are adament he's a "great" coach. Prior to the mass exodus my position and many who "supported" Brannen was that we liked the talent he identified because the talent level of the post jarron recruiting classes mick left behind was lacking. I also liked development i saw from young guys over the course of the season.

Of course ultimately he had to develop the talent further which meant he had to keep them. I don't know what happened. Good information seems hard to come by. The administration needed to figure out and determine if it was something that was unique to this year or debilitating to Brannen as the answer as coach. Even most his "defenders" that basically believed we needed time to adequately judge him believed the exodus was the worst sign so far and made his prospects as long term head coach of uc tenous.

(03-26-2021 02:37 PM)pesik Wrote:  have you SEEN the portal... it hit 900 players yesterday

Do you have a link for the portal? Have been searching for it.

Quote:it really isnt going to take much to compete in the aac... most of our teams look like a disarray.. grimes, dejon, gorham have made it clear they arent returning on houston.. who knows who stays on memphis ... wichita has no pg, still undersized, unclear coaches recruiting ability.. smu may or may not keep coach .. no one else notable

Yep - it looks like a real mess, with all the coaching changes and players leaving, the AAC could once again end up with only 1 NCAA in the first full round, as it did this season.

This is why the American should move heaven and earth to finally replace UConn BB with the best available BB school - - VCU.

ESPN has dropped us from their list of basketball power conferences, and hardly anyone has called the AAC a "Major" basketball conference this year. We run the risk of dropping down among the "mid-majors," and if we get stuck with that term, it could take a lot of hard work and a long, long time to get unstuck.

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(03-26-2021 02:37 PM)pesik Wrote:  

(03-26-2021 02:19 PM)stxrunner Wrote:  

(03-26-2021 01:19 PM)pesik Wrote:  whatever happens has to happen VERY quick.. either way

there is still a chance to make an elite roster in the portal.. in 2-4 weeks most will already be committed..in about a week most will already start having favorites

The names UC is associated with are underwhelming at best. And it’s now going to be impossible to recruit to this situation. I don’t think this is salvageable, even with the portal.

The only advantage the portal will be give us, is that at least this time we’ll be able to field a full roster (unlike after Huggins). They just won’t be very good.

have you SEEN the portal... it hit 900 players yesterday

there are over 60 15pt+ players in the portal... 3 conference player of the year..
3 5star so far....and THE SEASON ISNT FINSIHED!!!

also why would it be impossible to recruit to UC? .. the allegation arent that bad, you have name brand..
all the 100 or so top tier players in the portal cant all go to bluebloods, there are still scholly limits, most of high school recruits committed .. UC is a bigger name than most schools

if everything is settled (keeping brannen or getting a new coach) in the next 4-6 days.. the ability to make an elite roster is still on the table

and a note to add.. it really isnt going to take much to compete in the aac... most of our teams look like a disarray.. grimes, dejon, gorham have made it clear they arent returning on houston.. who knows who stays on memphis ... wichita has no pg, still undersized, unclear coaches recruiting ability.. smu may or may not keep coach .. no one else notable

I’m not saying it isn’t possible with who is in the portal, and I’m not saying we don’t have advantages of brand name, facilities, and resources. But the guys we have been targeting and that have mutual interest will leave us in no better position this upcoming year than we were last year, and that’s not nearly good enough, for us or for this conference as a whole.

(03-26-2021 02:05 PM)TripleA Wrote:  Do most of you UC fans want him gone? I think so, but not sure.

I'm only speaking for myself.

I think Brannen is just in over-his-head at this level. I'm OK with "how" he was hired (this pisses off other people... It feels like he was hired quickly and out of convenience. Before UC, Brannen coached at NKU, who lent us their arena while 5/3 was being renovated.) He was successful at the D2 and Horizon level...what was "missing" was any coaching experience at a mid-major level. We hired Mick Cronin from Murray State in the OVC, for example. Brannen jumped from a low-level program to a high-level. To be honest, he came with a record of recent success AND existing recruiting connections locally: it was a "natural" hire at the time.

Brannen was also handed a rough hand to work with. Mick Cronin left a core of established players but not much else. He had seemingly slacked off on recruiting, and most of the "Mick" players didn't seem to mesh well with Brannen and they all pretty much left. Factor in the COVID mess and the "Portal"...none of which Brannen could do anything about...and that makes it hard for any coach. Brannen's father died this past year and that also had to hurt.

But Brannen has had NO HS recruits this year. Zip. Nada. None. Then the majority of his team opted out and/or left right after the season finished. I said at the time that it's not so much a "rebuild" now but an enema. Thank God, it wasn't worse: Brannen retained a core of 4 players but the rest of the program was going to have to be rebuilt from scratch anyway. For his part, Brannen doesn't seem to know "how" to act/react. During games, he's brooding and sulky; after the CCG blow-out against Houston, he stomped off the court before the game was even over and sat in the locker-room alone while his team shook hands and stayed on the court. The players who left the program seem to indicate that the main reason they left was "the coach," though specifics have been hard to come by. Brannen himself has been invisible in the wake of the departures; no reassuring comments, no "wishing the guys well," not even a "I'm looking forward to working with the guys who are returning." It's like BB season ended and Brannen left town like Ted Cruz going to Mexico in the wake of the Texas ice-storm...except Cruz quickly came back.

In the end, I think it's best if Brannen and UC each go their own way. I'd like to think that a smart coach would realize that the situation is untenable and negotiate a release...not a firing but a release...so that everyone could start fresh. Brannen could use a fresh start and I hope he gets one. UC needs a fresh start.

I wish Coach Brannen the best of luck...SOMEWHERE ELSE.

(03-26-2021 03:55 PM)jedclampett Wrote:  

(03-26-2021 02:37 PM)pesik Wrote:  have you SEEN the portal... it hit 900 players yesterday

Do you have a link for the portal? Have been searching for it.

The link to the official portal is private... but verbal commits has a site that lists all the transfers that have entered the portal (offically now at 930- 40 more added today so far)

https://verbalcommits.com/transfers/2021

also i think our issues is coaching, not programs..