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Such a night and day difference between old coach and new coach.

Old coach had tons of excuses while here and felt he had to leave to have a chance at reaching the next level of success. New coach believes he has that opportunity here and is energized and motivated.

I am an energized and excited UC MBB fan again!

(04-18-2019 05:07 PM)jarr Wrote:  

(04-18-2019 04:16 PM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  ^^^Im not sure Mick truly believed he could get the talent to UC needed to get to the final four and so I don’t believe he thought UC could realistically have the expectation to reach the final four (in this day and age anyway).

Just my opinion.

And that is in no way a bash on Mick. Sort of like Dantonio. I think Dantonio saw Cincinnati as a mid major/Mac level type program. Bryan Kelly came in and said we can win here. I see Brannen being like that.

The approach from Brannen is so different in so many ways than from Mick, and I love it. It really reminds me of Fickell. Time will tell if JB can take us to the next level, but so far he has killed all his interviews and press conference. I dont think we will be missing all of the Mickisms and always being the little program thar could. Brannen is just like, lets just win no excuses.

You mean like saying he spells fun "w-i-n" while his new AD sits next to him looking like his soul is dying in real time? I swear I heard the Curb theme

(04-18-2019 05:07 PM)jarr Wrote:  

(04-18-2019 04:16 PM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  ^^^Im not sure Mick truly believed he could get the talent to UC needed to get to the final four and so I don’t believe he thought UC could realistically have the expectation to reach the final four (in this day and age anyway).

Just my opinion.

And that is in no way a bash on Mick. Sort of like Dantonio. I think Dantonio saw Cincinnati as a mid major/Mac level type program. Bryan Kelly came in and said we can win here. I see Brannen being like that.

The approach from Brannen is so different in so many ways than from Mick, and I love it. It really reminds me of Fickell. Time will tell if JB can take us to the next level, but so far he has killed all his interviews and press conference. I dont think we will be missing all of the Mickisms and always being the little program thar could. Brannen is just like, lets just win no excuses.

Mick saw UC as his dream job but I don't think he saw UC as a Top 25 program all time, which it is. This is in line with the fact that I heard Mick on more than one occasion mention recruits he has no chance at and so didn't waste the time. And maybe HE didn't have a chance at them. But if you think your program is a big time program, a destination type program, you are going to go after those recruits believing and sometimes thats all it take. I mean come on, with our historic program there is ZERO reason we didnt REGULARLY get top 100 guys.

I think Brannen see's UC as a big time program. He talks/acts like he believes it anyway.

“I Felt This Thrill Going Up My Leg” As Brannen Spoke

(04-18-2019 05:07 PM)jarr Wrote:  

(04-18-2019 04:16 PM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  ^^^Im not sure Mick truly believed he could get the talent to UC needed to get to the final four and so I don’t believe he thought UC could realistically have the expectation to reach the final four (in this day and age anyway).

Just my opinion.

And that is in no way a bash on Mick. Sort of like Dantonio. I think Dantonio saw Cincinnati as a mid major/Mac level type program. Bryan Kelly came in and said we can win here. I see Brannen being like that.

The approach from Brannen is so different in so many ways than from Mick, and I love it. It really reminds me of Fickell. Time will tell if JB can take us to the next level, but so far he has killed all his interviews and press conference. I dont think we will be missing all of the Mickisms and always being the little program thar could. Brannen is just like, lets just win no excuses.

I'm getting the same vibe and feel from Brannen post-hire that I got from Fickell post-hire. The same kind of buzz and energy. A reinvigoration, if you will.

To that, I felt the same pre-hire for both. Not flashy, not sexy, but seemed solid and made sense. Each knocked it out of the park as soon as they hit campus.

It's nice when the world confirms your priors. :)

Good to see Bearcat fans excited about hoops.

Can we all finally get along now?

(04-18-2019 08:35 PM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  Can we all finally get along now?

cincinnati hasn't been this excited about an offseason sport since homer bailey was traded for yasiel puig alex wood et al

(04-18-2019 05:52 PM)BearcatMan Wrote:  

(04-18-2019 05:07 PM)jarr Wrote:  

(04-18-2019 04:16 PM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  ^^^Im not sure Mick truly believed he could get the talent to UC needed to get to the final four and so I don’t believe he thought UC could realistically have the expectation to reach the final four (in this day and age anyway).

Just my opinion.

And that is in no way a bash on Mick. Sort of like Dantonio. I think Dantonio saw Cincinnati as a mid major/Mac level type program. Bryan Kelly came in and said we can win here. I see Brannen being like that.

The approach from Brannen is so different in so many ways than from Mick, and I love it. It really reminds me of Fickell. Time will tell if JB can take us to the next level, but so far he has killed all his interviews and press conference. I dont think we will be missing all of the Mickisms and always being the little program thar could. Brannen is just like, lets just win no excuses.

You mean like saying he spells fun "w-i-n" while his new AD sits next to him looking like his soul is dying in real time? I swear I heard the Curb theme

when I watched the UCLA press conference for Mick Cronin's hiring at UCLA, i NOTICED how odd the AD looked as mick spoke about players getting degrees, going to classes, doing the right things and working hard on defense. I just thought the AD looked sort of like ' what did I just do' haha

(04-18-2019 08:50 PM)Lush Wrote:  cincinnati hasn't been this excited about an offseason sport since homer bailey was traded for yasiel puig alex wood et al

HAHAHAHA. Yes, I agree.

blount and buford spent time in prison. Van Exel didn't have much control over his family as his son murdered someone a few years ago in san antonio and I ASSUME he's still in jail over that one. James White probably never got his college degree. What former players did they want to coach UC? I bet it wasn't Keith Gregor.

The BEST comment I've heard/read since CJB was hired:

"Brannen gives them the possibility of new heights with his style of basketball which includes the good defense UC fans expect, but with an emphasis on offense that extends beyond the offensive imagination of the coach’s dad. "



https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/...519025002/

(04-20-2019 12:40 PM)Cat-Man Wrote:  The BEST comment I've heard/read since CJB was hired:

"Brannen gives them the possibility of new heights with his style of basketball which includes the good defense UC fans expect, but with an emphasis on offense that extends beyond the offensive imagination of the coach’s dad. "



https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/...519025002/

Well written and was going to give pdoc credit for the first time in well forever. Then I noticed someone else filled in for him.

Some funny comments,

https://www.kentucky.com/sports/spt-colu...37749.html

https://sports.yahoo.com/winners-and-los...43719.html

(04-23-2019 01:55 PM)dsquare Wrote:  Some funny comments,

https://www.kentucky.com/sports/spt-colu...37749.html

https://sports.yahoo.com/winners-and-los...43719.html

Good find - thx. I even liked Mack's tweet to Brannen.

From the Kentucky.com article:

"Under the departed Mick Cronin, the Bearcats made nine straight NCAA tourneys but Cronin’s grinding, defensive-oriented style was not exactly a fiesta in terms of entertainment value (and, see above, didn’t produce much success in the NCAA Tournament once there).

Brannen brings a more polished offensive approach (78.5 points per game, 47.8 field-goal percentage, 36.2 three-point percentage last season at NKU) that should make UC more fun to watch and might make the Bearcats more dangerous in March."

I couldn't agree more with the above.

Still no news on assistants though. That is concerning. And did we even try to go after Jaevin Cumberland? seems like we have 2 juco's we offered....to me, that's a sign of desperation.

(04-23-2019 03:39 PM)UCinNKY Wrote:  Still no news on assistants though. That is concerning. And did we even try to go after Jaevin Cumberland? seems like we have 2 juco's we offered....to me, that's a sign of desperation.

I don’t know about that. The juco kids seem like good players. I am just waiting on news too. Usually coaches know way more than fans do about who they can get late in the process.

My questions are:

1. Is Curtis coming to Cincinnati?
2. Will Cumberland return?
3. Which players will transfer out?
4. Which new recruits will be part of the 2019 class?
5. Who will be a part of the new coaching staff?

While we have some clues about the those five topics eventually it will be sorted out. Maybe we could have any info thread for each question.

(04-23-2019 03:39 PM)UCinNKY Wrote:  Still no news on assistants though. That is concerning. And did we even try to go after Jaevin Cumberland? seems like we have 2 juco's we offered....to me, that's a sign of desperation.

Brannen's not going to pull in amazing recruits late in the year. He has to start recruiting new guys and Cronin likely wasn't recruiting very much for this year before he left (didn't need to with only one scholarship open). Brannen's success this year is going to come from keeping the team together, any new recruits are likely to be desperation guys. In the recruiting world it's hard to get a guy when you start building the relationship this late in the season.

Similarly with assistants, Brannen got hired so late in the year that he's unlikely to pull in a top assistant as everyone is already settled in at current jobs. Maybe he can pull an outside assistant (he made one attempt that we know of), but it seems unlikely.

Luckily, it seems like Johnson is staying and if Brooks can be talked into staying we are still in very good shape for next year - unless Cumberland goes pro. And Shumate looks like a very good assistant who should be here shortly if the leaks saying Kelsey is getting the NKU job turn out to be accurate. He might bring over another NKU guy and keep Parker from the UC staff. Next year when more turnover starts to happen he might be able to bring in a top assistant.