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Welcome Coach Brannen!

This was the first name I thought they would go after and I am really happy with the hire.

Offense, spacing, shooters, pressing D... let's go!

So how long is the deal and for how much. Welcome Coach.

Welcome. Awesome hire.

Excited! Think this was the right hire.

Welcome, Coach Brannen! We made the right move.

Promising hire. LFG!

Bohn quote : "He has a proven record as a head coach, longtime ties to the local community and coaches an exciting style of basketball. We were impressed with his passion, drive, determination and basketball acumen during the interview process where he truly emerged as the best coach to lead the Cincinnati basketball program with a bright future."

I'm in, lets go. I've got alot of nostalgia for the Huggins era, but part of me was ready to go ahead and make a move in a new direction to see how it works out.

It will be so exciting to watch a team wearing Cincinnati play some offense!

I have mixed emotions on the selection but I trust Mike Bohn and I know it came down to who was BOTH interested in the job and remained available. I'm just glad to put the past behind us and move forward to begin a new chapter.

Quote:Northern Kentucky Norse head coach John Brannen is the Cincinnati Bearcats' choice to replace Mick Cronin and fill UC's head coaching vacancy.

UC confirmed the hire a little after 3 p.m. Sunday. Director of Athletics Mike Bohn informed the UC players. About 20 minutes later, NKU announced it was beginning a national search for Brannen's replacement.

"We are thrilled to welcome John, his wife Lisa and their daughters, Jaylee and Katelyn, to the Bearcats family," Bohn said in a statement. "He has a proven record as a head coach, longtime ties to the local community and coaches an exciting style of basketball. We were impressed with his passion, drive, determination and basketball acumen during the interview process where he truly emerged as the best coach to lead the Cincinnati basketball program with a bright future."

UC will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. Monday for the official announcement.

Neither Brannen nor Bohn returned calls Sunday in immediate wake of the news. Bohn headed the search.

"It's truly an honor to take over such a storied program at the University of Cincinnati," Brannen said. "The Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky community is special to my family and we are happy to remain at home. I want to thank President Pinto, Mike Bohn and the search committee for this opportunity. We are thrilled to join a world-class University and continue to build on the historic success of Bearcats basketball and the incredible lineage of former coaches."

Word of the hire was spreading at UC.

"I'm trying to get a meeting of the basketball alumni together," said Terry Nelson - current radio analyst and former player - per The Enquirer's John Fay. "We want to get behind the new coach. We thought all along it was going to be John."

CBS Sports' Gary Parrish was the first to report Sunday afternoon via Twitter that Brannen emerged as the favorite for the UC job. The Enquirer's John Fay had reported earlier this weekend that Brannen was among two frontrunners.

The 45-year-old Brannen, an Alexandria native and Newport Central Catholic graduate, has been NKU's head coach since 2015. In just four seasons, Brannen helped the Norse from a 9-21 record in his first year to 26-9 this past season, in addition to two NCAA Tournament appearances and one NIT appearance.

The Norse were two-time Horizon League Tournament champs (2017, 2019) and two-time Horizon League regular-season champs (2018, 2019) under Brannen - in a remarkably brief period of time since they transitioned from Div. II to Div. I.

Next Coach In!

Yes, please.

Joe Danneman
@FOX19Joe

Drew McDonald on what it's like playing for John Brannen: "He's going to play fast. He used the term '94-feet both ways.' He's going to press the ball and push the ball. 70% of the practice will be defense, but he knows the game better (offensively) than anyone I've been around."

12:55 PM - 14 Apr 2019

One thing to consider. It sounds like Brannen blew them away at the interview. My guess is they planned to interview a few others this week, but Brannen made it an easy call for Bohn.

Seems like a really solid hire. Welcome to UC Coach.

No more "short" jokes. Maybe this means we get a few more officiating calls to go our way?!

Any grad transfers out there with connections?

(04-14-2019 03:35 PM)Bearcats#1 Wrote:  Any grad transfers out there with connections?

I think Cumberland is the obvious one. Also Pierce's brother.

The Legend is back in building.