Bearcats basketball 2020-2021

ronnie mund said:
Apparently Martin was close to coming here before. After Mick left Martin was Bohn's(previous AD) first choice. Not sure what the details are on why it didn't work out though. You think he'd do well here? I don't know much about him.
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Fits the mold of what's worked well at UC IMO. Very defensive-oriented coach that I'd describe as being a more socially acceptable form of Bob Huggins in terms of leadership and the type of culture he tries to instill in a program.

If Brannen bombs, Frank Martin is somebody I think would get Cronin-level results or better, and would turn things around pretty quickly.
 
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Chop Stix said:
It's going to be an eventful offseason with or without Brannen.
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Honestly props to him if he walks out on the floor at 5/3 next season with literally the entire fanbase against him. He should resign out of sheer embarrassment alone.

4 scholarship players remaining. The rest of the roster has to be filled out through he portal.
 
ronnie mund said:
Honestly props to him if he walks out on the floor at 5/3 next season with literally the entire fanbase against him. He should resign out of sheer embarrassment alone.

4 scholarship players remaining. The rest of the roster has to be filled out through he portal.
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Could potentially be 6 if Williams and Vogt utilize their extra year of eligibility. No idea why Keith would given the storm and as bad as all this has been I still hope Vogt doesn't lol
 
Having completely lost interest in watching the Bearcats since Brannen took over, it’s not surprising to me his entire team feels the same way about playing for him. Has this happened to another D1 coach? Ever?
 
This is very bad for Brannen. There are a few schools that have had more players enter the "portal", but they all either are making coaching changes or had a new coach this year.

It seems likely that he royally screwed up here, whether it's relating to players or some incident that hasn't become public yet.
 
nwwarrior09 said:
This is very bad for Brannen. There are a few schools that have had more players enter the "portal", but they all either are making coaching changes or had a new coach this year.

It seems likely that he royally screwed up here, whether it's relating to players or some incident that hasn't become public yet.
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From the rumors I've read, it seems like he lost the locker room through a prolonged series of small events piling up.

I'm sure many teams experienced Covid-induced challenges this season but it sounds like Brannen's staff handled them worse than most programs.
 
I'm just glad Brannen is being a true leader by addressing the fans during all this and not staying completely silent as half the team transfers. Good, quality head coach material right there.
 
The guys that run this account usually seem to be pretty well sourced. Judging by the transfer portal activity, this would have to be either Cincinnati or South Florida. Something to keep an eye on, as depending on specifics this could be something that would allow either to give their coach the boot while getting off the hook for any remaining buyout that would be owed otherwise.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1372277334640836611
 
nwwarrior09 said:
The guys that run this account usually seem to be pretty well sourced. Judging by the transfer portal activity, this would have to be either Cincinnati or South Florida. Something to keep an eye on, as depending on specifics this could be something that would allow either to give their coach the boot while getting off the hook for any remaining buyout that would be owed otherwise.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1372277334640836611
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James White and Demarr Johnson confirmed on Twitter that it was USF.
 
lasalle9802 said:
That would be the only Brannen would be let go. No way the UC pays the 4.5 million dollar buyout.
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If the Gregory’s, Jeff Wyler or Sheakley want Brannen gone and are willing to put up the buyout money, he will be gone by end of this weekend. I personally think he should be Fired for currently having Zero recruits for next seasons class. Kids can transfer for no real reason at all, it’s unacceptable for a Coaching Staff to have 0 recruits in a recruiting class in D1 Athletics!
 
This is why you don’t give into fans and fire a good coach like Cronin. You never know if you are stepping into a better coach, especially at a mid-tier program like UC. Now, UC is basically facing a death penalty scenario. It might be 3-4 or more years before UC relevant again.
 
eastside_purple said:
This is why you don’t give into fans and fire a good coach like Cronin. You never know if you are stepping into a better coach, especially at a mid-tier program like UC. Now, UC is basically facing a death penalty scenario. It might be 3-4 or more years before UC relevant again.
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Combination of disillusioned fans and bigoted fans who thought that a team full of GCL all-stars with a new man in charge would magically keep UC as a top 25 program and allow for deep March runs every other year.

We gave up being a top 25-50 program for what - a more attractive offense and mediocre defense? Brannen can't even land a high 3 star recruit unless they have major baggage or he has to sign their red headed step brother along with them.

Cronin should've been given a lifetime deal. Situations like this make me hate being a Cincinnati sports fan and I'm very reluctant to even push UC onto my son as he gets older.
 
eastside_purple said:
He was maligned during much of his tenure at UC. Fired, allowed to leave, whatever, Bearcat fans wanted him out.
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I'll be the first to admit that I wanted Cronin gone after the Nevada collapse. UC had reached a plateau, and his refusal to adapt his defensive style of play was frustrating as hell because it kept players like Jacob Evans, Tre Scott, Cumberland, etc from reaching their full potential imo. All were very good players but could have been great if UC played a slightly more up-tempo pace. For 14 years UC ran some of the ugliest offensive sets imaginable and it never seemed to bother Cronin because it was good enough to get them to the tournament every year before getting bounced in the first or second round. His coaching style worked very well in the AAC but floundered big time against better competition. It's easy to criticize in hindsight because UC missed so badly on Brannen and UCLA is in the second round. They made the right call in moving on from Cronin but made a colossal f up in hiring Brannen. Now stop the bleeding and get rid of this guy before he destroys another 2-3 seasons.
 
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As far as the buyout goes, UC has spent $200 million over the last 8 years redoing the Nippert press box and rebuilding 5/3rd. You'd think they could find $4M to get rid of Brannen, pandemic or not
 
Sig Hansen said:
I'll be the first to admit that I wanted Cronin gone after the Nevada collapse. UC had reached a plateau, and his refusal to adapt his defensive style of play was frustrating as hell because it kept players like Jacob Evans, Tre Scott, Cumberland, etc from reaching their full potential imo. All were very good players but could have been great if UC played a slightly more up-tempo pace. For 14 years UC ran some of the ugliest offensive sets imaginable and it never seemed to bother Cronin because it was good enough to get them to the tournament every year before getting bounced in the first or second round. His coaching style worked very well in the AAC but floundered big time against better competition. It's easy to criticize in hindsight because UC missed so badly on Brannen and UCLA is in the second round. They made the right call in moving on from Cronin but made a colossal f up in hiring Brannen. Now stop the bleeding and get rid of this guy before he destroys another 2-3 seasons.
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I was still holding on after the Nevada game. After the Iowa game, however, I was done with Cronin. I still stand by it too. Cronin did great here but UC is better than making it to the second weekend once in two decades. I'm not going to change my opinion just because Brannen seemingly wasn't the right hire.
 
UC's problem is that the fans don't like what works for them, which is very physical basketball centered around good defense. They're never going to be good playing a style that's cool or visually appealing.

Should have never tried to push Cronin out the door, although he should have won a little more in the tournament.
 
Has the UC AD made any comments yet about the locker room “rift” between Brannon and some players? The AD acting like no problems exist?
 
SMARTY22 said:
Has the UC AD made any comments yet about the locker room “rift” between Brannon and some players? The AD acting like no problems exist?
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I imagine the AD is living in the land of reality where after the last year this is a bad time to be buying out multiple years of a coach's salary plus another the current contract of another coach you'd like to hire.

Good or bad, they probably almost have to bring Brannen back for next year before seriously evaluating keeping him or making another change.
 
nwwarrior09 said:
I imagine the AD is living in the land of reality where after the last year this is a bad time to be buying out multiple years of a coach's salary plus another the current contract of another coach you'd like to hire.
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I get the money part. Season ended, 6 Transfers, 1 player signed for next years class, a supposed “rift” between Coaches and Players and the AD saying nothing. Maybe the AD needs Fired?
 
SMARTY22 said:
I get the money part. Season ended, 6 Transfers, 1 player signed for next years class, a supposed “rift” between Coaches and Players and the AD saying nothing. Maybe the AD needs Fired?
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Definitely a bad off-season to this point that resembles a few other programs that either are or will be making coaching changes. It's terrible to say, but it's looking like the best thing that could have happened for UC would be if Brannen was the AAC coach that screwed up handling a racial language incident instead of it being Gregory at South Florida, so that they may have been able to find a way to fire Brannen with cause and avoid paying the buyout.

I can't comment on the AD other than knowing they're fairly new and came to UC after Brannen. If things are a mess as it looks like they'll be next year, the AD may have a quick trigger finger (if they can manage it financially) to can him and bring in their own coach.
 
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