John Brannen

[RedDog]

Still haven't found the information myself that you need a degree, apparently some schools you do others you don't like you said. Cant find UC requirements though. Having Nick against Penny would of been a big draw though, just saying. I'm down on Coach Brannen right now, really and truly. We're at the bottom of the conference and this isn't a rebuilding year.

I think we understand you are down on Brannen. Let it play out and we shall see. There is nothing to gain by continuing to beat him up 10 games into this Covid riddled season. Just a thought, do you think a home Bearcat crowd might have influence some results and perhaps even changed the entire teams outlook at this point?? I sure as **** do. Playing in empty gyms is more impactful than being given credit.
This IS a rebuilding year!!! We had very few significant contributors returning and a ton of new guys to work into the lineup.
My bigger concern than this teams record is our lack of commitments going forward. Again in fairness that is Covid impacted but others are working through it.

[RedDog]

I too think Diarra would be a good addition in the line up and deserves a chance to prove his worth. Just the sheer fact that the current line up is struggling to get any results warrants some kind of a change. The few minutes Diarra currently has on the floor isn't really giving him an opportunity to show what his true value is. I'd really like to see how he performs given 20 minutes a game for a few games in a row.

As coach said, unless you are permitted to play with 10 fouls, this isn't going to happen. I too want a bigger contribution from Dou but he's been his own worst enemy minutes wise because he can't stay on the court with fouls.

[bearcat1518]

Read the book not the cover.

Exactly. Read Diarra’s entire career...not the 2 games he did well against bottom feeder teams.

[bearcat1518]

Diarra would make up for the lack of quickness and leaping ability of Vogt the same way Scott had to the year before. A transfer from UConn compared to a transfer from Colgate and they both can shoot the 3 (not talking about Vogt).

You do realize that the Mamadou Diarra who played for UCONN is a totally different person, right?

[RedDog]

You do realize that the Mamadou Diarra who played for UCONN is a totally different person, right?

Ahhh the Rookies.

[coach]

As coach said, unless you are permitted to play with 10 fouls, this isn't going to happen. I too want a bigger contribution from Dou but he's been his own worst enemy minutes wise because he can't stay on the court with fouls.

His fouling has nothing to do with minutes played and everything to do with being an undisciplined player. Keith Williams suffers from the the same bball disease. The game is very much mental as are all sports. You can't repeatedly lose your composure and not suffer the consequences. Both of those guys tend to take the bait or particularly in Williams case let whatever happened to them on one end of the court impact them on the opposite end of the court out of frustration. You have to play within yourself. You have to play vertical, and when you lose the ball don't hack people trying to get it back. It's not a complicated game, but you can't play with only physical tools. They both struggle with the mental part.

[RecNizeRealBCat]

I think we understand you are down on Brannen. Let it play out and we shall see. There is nothing to gain by continuing to beat him up 10 games into this Covid riddled season. Just a thought, do you think a home Bearcat crowd might have influence some results and perhaps even changed the entire teams outlook at this point?? I sure as **** do. Playing in empty gyms is more impactful than being given credit.
This IS a rebuilding year!!! We had very few significant contributors returning and a ton of new guys to work into the lineup.
My bigger concern than this teams record is our lack of commitments going forward. Again in fairness that is Covid impacted but others are working through it.

To be fair I think this season with no fans has limited impact on the season, there's no excuse in that area. Actually benefits the more experienced teams, a theory on why teams like Kentucky are struggling to catch fire. In some cases no crowds are going to alleviate the pressure and stress, in others ways it's going be hard to generate the momentum/energy but this is like year round neutral court. Really shouldn't matter, it's team vs team with out the fans no distractions, more like a AAU game or closed scrimmage setting. This is a Coaches year, seen alot of upsets from this style this year.

[RecNizeRealBCat]

His fouling has nothing to do with minutes played and everything to do with being an undisciplined player. Keith Williams suffers from the the same bball disease. The game is very much mental as are all sports. You can't repeatedly lose your composure and not suffer the consequences. Both of those guys tend to take the bait or particularly in Williams case let whatever happened to them on one end of the court impact them on the opposite end of the court out of frustration. You have to play within yourself. You have to play vertical, and when you lose the ball don't hack people trying to get it back. It's not a complicated game, but you can't play with only physical tools. They both struggle with the mental part.

That's the Coach's job to manage those problems but also, this seems to be the only year I've seen this problem from Keith. Had no problem playing the game out last year and he was considered one of our best on ball defenders. Familiarity is a problem this year. Brannen is playing around with the lineup too much and not playing the best most experienced 5. It took 5-6 and counting games just to find a rotation off the bench.

[RecNizeRealBCat]

Exactly. Read Diarra’s entire career...not the 2 games he did well against bottom feeder teams.

Your stuck on numbers but when fighting for a share of the conference title, none of the games at the end of the year were walks in the park. "Bottom feeder" come on guy when has Temple ever been a bottom feeder? Maybe mid pack but every game I've seen UC play against this program had been tough. And he hasn't had significant minutes his whole career but he's been seeing time since Cronin and for sure should get more then what Brannen has now. Be real.

[RecNizeRealBCat]

Coach Brennan is not rebuilding. He came in with experience players that resulted in a title share and returned 2 seniors, 1 junior and 3 sophomores from the previous season. Excuses will lead to a slide in our status in the league. This guy doesn't even look or sound like the Guy in interviews: twitchy, no eye contact responses. I can put up with this with a basketball genius but he's not showing that ability. Showing off "his" players is not going to win games, the team should not be in last place this year Covid season or not. Hopefully he humbles himself, think that title share went to his head.

[bearcat1518]

"Bottom feeder" come on guy when has Temple ever been a bottom feeder?

10th out of 12 teams in the conference would be a bottom feeder. I agree they are historically a tough team...but last year not so much. 10 out of 12!!!

And the tallest guy they played against us in that game was only 6’7”!

[coach]

That's the Coach's job to manage those problems but also, this seems to be the only year I've seen this problem from Keith. Had no problem playing the game out last year and he was considered one of our best on ball defenders. Familiarity is a problem this year. Brannen is playing around with the lineup too much and not playing the best most experienced 5. It took 5-6 and counting games just to find a rotation off the bench.

I can't really say how many games you've seen the past several years, but KW has had the problem of bad fouls his entire career. He's taken himself out of more games in the first half of games as any guard i can remember. Whether it's Cronin or Brannen, he does it on impulse. Maybe they should get a sports shrink. I won't get into Diarra as i think most of the folks who have been on this board recognize this, and honestly he's a very raw player. You can work with guys all you want in practice, but when real game speed hits they have to eventually step up. You can leave them in the game, but by the last 10 minutes you're going to have a very short bench as they've not shown to date the ability to avoid it. By your fourth season in college, you are pretty much who you are. You have to play smarter. The blame is on the player.

[Lobot]

Still haven't found the information myself that you need a degree, apparently some schools you do others you don't like you said. Cant find UC requirements though. Having Nick against Penny would of been a big draw though, just saying. I'm down on Coach Brannen right now, really and truly. We're at the bottom of the conference and this isn't a rebuilding year.

Just to put this part to bed, this is a NCAA requirement in D1 Athletics across the board. You must have a 4 year degree or be granted a waiver and currently enrolled pursuing a Bachelors. It can be in any subject.

I've only seen one head basketball coach try and get a degree at the same time they were coaching and that was Eddie Jordan at Rutgers. There was a huge deal over this because Rutgers tried to cover up that he didn't have a degree when they hired him and then had to get an NCAA waiver to let him coach the team while he was taking classes. He got his degree and then got fired the next year.

[RecNizeRealBCat]

10th out of 12 teams in the conference would be a bottom feeder. I agree they are historically a tough team...but last year not so much. 10 out of 12!!!

And the tallest guy they played against us in that game was only 6’7”!

2001, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2019
Years in the NCAA tournament, definitely not a bottom feeder but if that's your definition. Welcome to the bottom. Under Brannen you might want to get cozy.

[RecNizeRealBCat]

I can't really say how many games you've seen the past several years, but KW has had the problem of bad fouls his entire career. He's taken himself out of more games in the first half of games as any guard i can remember. Whether it's Cronin or Brannen, he does it on impulse. Maybe they should get a sports shrink. I won't get into Diarra as i think most of the folks who have been on this board recognize this, and honestly he's a very raw player. You can work with guys all you want in practice, but when real game speed hits they have to eventually step up. You can leave them in the game, but by the last 10 minutes you're going to have a very short bench as they've not shown to date the ability to avoid it. By your fourth season in college, you are pretty much who you are. You have to play smarter. The blame is on the player.

Watched more than a few and I'm would have to say the same thing about you. Rarely if I've ever seen Williams stay or be in foul trouble throughout the season until this one. For what I've seen he's been a growing contributor every year. Actually I don't even know where your getting this about Diarra. With Coach Cronin he had people above and still played as many minutes as he does now. I've seen Diarra finish games more than once and I don't remember foul trouble being a problem. Your reaching terribly to justify him not being on the court. Coach Brennan needs his head checked for the lineups he puts together. Shoot we might see Harvey start if he has another good game.