John Brannen - Cincinnati Issues

[MJAlltheWay24]

1 hour ago, Walter said:

What was the story with Carson Williams and Faulkner leaving?

I'm not sure about Faulkner, but if I remember, right, Carson Williams wanted to play more on the perimeter but I am not sure he had the skill set to do so, plus they already had Drew McDonald that was playing more in that role and I'd say it worked out quite well for Drew and NKU.

[Walter]

4 minutes ago, theguru said:

Generally speaking I agree with Kevin Johnson but when players have a choice (a choice where they are not punished in any way by having to sit out) situations like UC (and transfers in general) are the new normal. 

I know I harp on this but actual choice changes a lot in life. 

Oh I agree and I'm all for kids being allowed to make the choice on where they go and not being punished or forced to sit out.

Coaches are free to come and go as they please for millions of dollars. 

At the end of the day, these kids are leaving because JB gave them a reason to and that's more on him than the player. 

I'm just trying to figure out if this is an isolated incident and just a Cincinnati problem or if he had troubles at NKU too that were masked due to the stricter transfer rules.

Another red flag was Jalen Tate leaving NKU last year and not wanting to go play for his previous coach and choosing Arkansas instead...even though dad (and former Bearcat) said publicly that he would love to see him end up at UC to finish his career. 

[theguru]

1 minute ago, Walter said:

Oh I agree and I'm all for kids being allowed to make the choice on where they go and not being punished or forced to sit out.

Coaches are free to come and go as they please for millions of dollars. 

At the end of the day, these kids are leaving because JB gave them a reason to and that's more on him than the player. 

I'm just trying to figure out if this is an isolated incident and just a Cincinnati problem or if he had troubles at NKU too that were masked due to the stricter transfer rules.

Another red flag was Jalen Tate leaving NKU last year and not wanting to go play for his previous coach and choosing Arkansas instead...even though dad (and former Bearcat) said publicly that he would love to see him end up at UC to finish his career. 

I would call that smoke at NKU and obviously a raging fire at UC.

[TheDeuce]

36 minutes ago, Jack of all Trades said:

Here is my 2 cents.  Brannon will be removed in short order.  He coaches the old school way and kids today do not like that.  Too me the biggest issue is the Transfer Portal and the ease with which kids can now live from school to school.  I was told that there are 350 plus kids in the portal right now.  

I think the portal is going to be VERY popular for the foreseeable future because of how restrictive the transfer rules have traditionally been. I do think eventually it will be less popular as programs adjust. 

[TheDeuce]

18 minutes ago, theguru said:

Generally speaking I agree with Kevin Johnson but when players have a choice (a choice where they are not punished in any way by having to sit out) situations like UC (and transfers in general) are the new normal. 

I know I harp on this but actual choice changes a lot in life. 

I'll never understand those who are against the one free transfer rule. Coaches can move around at will, but the players aren't supposed to? It makes no sense. 

Yes it's going to seem like a lot initially, but it will settle down and not seem as dramatic. Players should be able to leave a program and play immediately somewhere else, if the NCAA truly wants to be about the well being of the athletes. 

[theguru]

1 minute ago, TheDeuce said:

I think the portal is going to be VERY popular for the foreseeable future because of how restrictive the transfer rules have traditionally been. I do think eventually it will be less popular as programs adjust. 

I agree with every word here Deuce.  In short, with the transfer portal flourishing coaches that don't mesh well with their players will have issues with players transferring no matter where they are coaching and coaches that lose a lot of players to the portal won't move up to big jobs like Cincinnati.

[Walter]

1 minute ago, MJAlltheWay24 said:

I am all for players being allowed to transfer if and when they wish.  So I don't side with the transfer portal being the problem here.  Brannen has always struck me as a guy that I'm not sure I'd enjoy playing for.  Doesn't seem like he has much of a personality.

I got to know Grant pretty well while he was at Newcath when I was covering NKY and KY high school hoops. Grant always seemed like a player's coach that related well to his kids. 

I've never got that vibe from John from the few interactions I've had with him. I know he's had players over his house for different activities but if you look at Luke Fickell and how he interacts with his players in videos and how much you hear recruits mention the family vibe with his program, it's the complete opposite from what we see with Brannen.

[TheDeuce]

10 minutes ago, MJAlltheWay24 said:

I am all for players being allowed to transfer if and when they wish.  So I don't side with the transfer portal being the problem here. 

Agreed, the portal is not the issue here. 

While I do believe that some younger folks are a bit on the soft side, every single generation has said that about the generation that followed them. Every single one. Wanting to transfer to find a better situation does not automatically make someone soft, in my book. 

[MJAlltheWay24]

12 minutes ago, Walter said:

Another red flag was Jalen Tate leaving NKU last year and not wanting to go play for his previous coach and choosing Arkansas instead...even though dad (and former Bearcat) said publicly that he would love to see him end up at UC to finish his career. 

I am not sure you can loop Tate into Brannen's transfer troubles.  Given that Arkansas is in a better conference and playing in the tournament this weekend (can't remember if they would have last year or not) it was definitely the right choice for Tate to go to Arkansas over UC.

[MJAlltheWay24]

5 minutes ago, Walter said:

I got to know Grant pretty well while he was at Newcath when I was covering NKY and KY high school hoops. Grant always seemed like a player's coach that related well to his kids. 

I've never got that vibe from John from the few interactions I've had with him. I know he's had players over his house for different activities but if you look at Luke Fickell and how he interacts with his players in videos and how much you hear recruits mention the family vibe with his program, it's the complete opposite from what we see with Brannen.

I don't know either of the Brannen's personally but from watching them on the sidelines and/or seeing them interact with others, Grant definitely seems more personable of the two to me too.  Granted that's a lot easier to do in HS vs College, in my opinion.

Something to keep in mind with Brannen too, his father passed away last year during the season (I think) and I think they were pretty close to each other.  Not a reason or an excuse for anything but probably takes up some head space.

[Walter]

7 minutes ago, MJAlltheWay24 said:

I am not sure you can loop Tate into Brannen's transfer troubles.  Given that Arkansas is in a better conference and playing in the tournament this weekend (can't remember if they would have last year or not) it was definitely the right choice for Tate to go to Arkansas over UC.

As far as roster and success goes,  UC was the better pick at the time. Only upside with Arkansas was playing in the SEC. 

Here's the issue UC fans have with Brannen and recruiting right now... When pressed on not having any commits, Brannen has used Covid and not being able to meet/see players in person to make sure they're the right fit as the excuse for why no high school kids were a "take".... Even though every other program in the country has dealt with the same constraints and recruited just fine.

He has said time after time that they will rely on the transfer portal to build this year's class. 

That just doesn't seem very smart if you're trying to build and sustain consistency within your program and build a culture/identity.

[theguru]

1 minute ago, Walter said:

As far as roster and success goes,  UC was the better pick at the time. Only upside with Arkansas was playing in the SEC. 

Here's the issue UC fans have with Brannen and recruiting right now... When pressed on not having any commits, Brannen has used Covid and not being able to meet/see players in person to make sure they're the right fit as the excuse for why no high school kids were a "take".... Even though every other program in the country has dealt with the same constraints and recruited just fine.

He has said time after time that they will rely on the transfer portal to build this year's class. 

That just doesn't seem very smart if you're trying to build and sustain consistency within your program and build a culture/identity.

That sounds disingenuous and building through the portal is a stop gap in this case.

[Walter]

7 minutes ago, MJAlltheWay24 said:

I don't know either of the Brannen's personally but from watching them on the sidelines and/or seeing them interact with others, Grant definitely seems more personable of the two to me too.  Granted that's a lot easier to do in HS vs College, in my opinion.

Something to keep in mind with Brannen too, his father passed away last year during the season (I think) and I think they were pretty close to each other.  Not a reason or an excuse for anything but probably takes up some head space.

His father passing was definitely rough on him and many UC fans gave him a pass on last year when Justin Williams of the Athletic wrote an article detailing what he went through that season. 

I'm personally hoping Covid and the recent change in transfer rules is the reason for all the issues at UC right now but the more I hear from others and think about things that went on last year and this year, it seems to be more of a coaching personality issue. 

Also doesn't help that his wife is liking tweets that kids quit on the team and weren't willing to work when they got beat out by others. Rough couple days for the Brannen bunch. That's for sure.

[Walter]

6 minutes ago, theguru said:

That sounds disingenuous and building through the portal is a stop gap in this case.

I think Covid and not being able to see a kid play in person is just a poor excuse for why he hasn't/didn't land any of his primary targets in this cycle. 

Hopefully more comes out on why all of these kids decided to leave just days after the season ended. That tells me their minds were made up long ago. 

[MJAlltheWay24]

12 minutes ago, Walter said:

Also doesn't help that his wife is liking tweets that kids quit on the team and weren't willing to work when they got beat out by others. 

Ouch.  That's not good.