John Brannen

[Rufus]

If it is correct in the higher ups wants a more high profile coach and one that will put butts in the new renovated 5/3rd and one that would have enough recognized name to influence the more sought after players in the transfer portal and therefore allowing a more quicker rebuild, then i would think that would leave out the NVE, EM and, DS, hire. That says that they are looking to make a statement hire and so AM would be the logical move, (especially if its true that hes expressed interest) followed by perhaps Drew or Gates.

[red_n_black_attack]

If it is correct in the higher ups wants a more high profile coach and one that will put butts in the new renovated 5/3rd and one that would have enough recognized name to influence the more sought after players in the transfer portal and therefore allowing a more quicker rebuild, then i would think that would leave out the NVE, EM and, DS, hire. That says that they are looking to make a statement hire and so AM would be the logical move, (especially if its true that hes expressed interest) followed by perhaps Drew or Gates.

NYE is non starter. Savino is also likely out with that statement.

Erik Martin is an excellent assistant, great recruiter, a known quantity, and is very well respected so he may yet fit that bill.

The scary thing to me is this could point to Slick Rick Pitino, though I don't thik so given Pinto was at Loserville when his issues blew up.

I could live with Archie, but prefer Scheyer, Bryce, or Gates.

wild card alert. What ifWhatre is a different target? Someone high enough profile, doing very well at a non traditional basketball power, yet at a P5 school. Nate Oates at 'Bama, Leonard Hamilton at FSU, or Ben Howland at Miss St. Another possibility is Tommy Amaker at Harvard. Any of those names do anything for you?

[MDW79]

Fwiw, Terry Nelson was on with Lance McAlister yesterday and he said Nick was currently taking classes and would have his degree finished up by the summer. He also pitched the idea of him coming on not to be the head coach but to be Martin's assistant.

The more and more I think about it, I think I can get behind this. Having Eric Martin and Nick Van Exel return would be pretty freaking awesome. I think they'd create as much goodwill and excitement as anyone, and I don't think they'd struggle to recruit. So why not give it a shot?

It would be one thing if some of these other resumes were unbelieveable, but it's not like hiring an Archie Miller or Bryce Drew is like hiring a Rick Pitino or John Beilein. Both of them struggled when they stepped up to bigger jobs. And as far as the rest of the names mentioned, why would we give the job to a UCONN assistant of a Cleveland St. coach over bringing a pair like this in? Is the fanbase really going to be more excited for Kimani Young than Martin/Van Exel?

Note: I'm assuming Terry knows what he's talking about, and Nick would want to be an assistant at the college level. Pairing these two up is what really makes this intriguing to me.

[Bearcat1996]

Fwiw, Terry Nelson was on with Lance McAlister yesterday and he said Nick was currently taking classes and would have his degree finished up by the summer. He also pitched the idea of him coming on not to be the head coach but to be Martin's assistant.

The more and more I think about it, I think I can get behind this. Having Eric Martin and Nick Van Exel return would be pretty freaking awesome. I think they'd create as much goodwill and excitement as anyone, and I don't think they'd struggle to recruit. So why not give it a shot?

It would be one thing if some of these other resumes were unbelieveable, but it's not like hiring an Archie Miller or Bryce Drew is like hiring a Rick Pitino or John Beilein. Both of them struggled when they stepped up to bigger jobs. And as far as the rest of the names mentioned, why would we give the job to a UCONN assistant of a Cleveland St. coach over bringing a pair like this in? Is the fanbase really going to be more excited for Kimani Young than Martin/Van Exel?

Note: I'm assuming Terry knows what he's talking about, and Nick would want to be an assistant at the college level. Pairing these two up is what really makes this intriguing to me.

I think Martin / NVE combo makes the most sense. These guys represent the greatest modern day era for 90% of alumni, therefore would have total booster support. The current students would welcome the change I'm sure. Martin is well connected in the recruiting ranks. NVE well connected in the NBA ranks. Both played for a future HOF coach and mentor. I'm sure Huggs would be happy to help them in any way possible. What young man wouldn't want to learn and play for these two men? Not to mention, these two would go a long way in getting UC back with the Jumpman brand. I am 100% on board with this scenario.

[GoBearcats31]

One thing that concerns me about Erik Martin is how countless people will spell his name "Eric." I had enough of people referring to JB as "Brennan" or "Brannon," so surely everyone would refer to Erik Martin as "Eric." Obviously, I say that in jest (mostly), though I do think Archie Miller and Dennis Gates may be the least likely to have name misspellings haha.

[Gmann]

I have to think that given how they shoved Brannen out the door they know they better make a splash with the next hire and feel good they can get them. It's hard to believe they can go "high profile" with all the discussion of lack of funds for other athletic related efforts. Where's the money going to come from?

[Lobot]

Fair warning everyone. . I'm going to give this thread another week and then I'm going to do some housekeeping and move it to Where Are They Now since he's no longer the coach here.

If you're on the subject of who the new coach should be, we have a diffferent thread going for that.

[Rufus]

C'mon Brent I was wanting to see if we could push this baby to 1000 posts 😂 All kidding aside we have beat this horse its going to be months before any details come out.

[Gypo O'Leary]

The bottom line is JB was in a tough situation when he has an AD that doesn't support him. Given his short tenure, he lacked any juice. That said, I was never on board with his selection and his style of play. I felt Cincinnati was a premier b-ball school given Huggs lifting of the program, and Cronin's NCAA success. To not have a big time coach come in was a let down for me.

Chris Vogt was a solid small college player, he did not have the talent to be starting for a team that aspires towards high level play. I was writing off the lack of recruiting to JB's late start in year 1 and Covid in year 2...but this is a program that under Bob Huggins was attracting NBA level talent. Eason is the only guy JB brought in that is in the tier of player the Bearcats should attract. I was very disappointed that UC b-ball became a mediocrity this year. Brannen will land on his feet somewhere, Cunningham will bring in his man. I personally doubt it will be someone connected to Huggs. The fans are living in the past with that one.

[CincyBearcats2]

The last posting on the second line should read "Van Exel can handle the offense"

You can edit your post if you make a mistake. Just press the 3 dots in the bottom right of your post and press edit and then you can fix the mistake that way. That way it all stays in one post.

[longtimefan]

I feel bad for everybody on this one. When JB was hired, I really hoped he would be able to bring in a new up-tempo style, maintain our success, and build on it. Almost from the start there were troubling signs, the defections, and the disconnect with Jarron Cumberland. Initially, I wrote that off to a new system and normal resistance to change, which is not uncommon in sports or business. But there were troubling signs. The major red flag to me was the lack of signings in the early period last fall, despite the fact that three scholarships would be available. There were no signings, and it appears we weren't even close to any quality players. Filling three spots from the transfer portal, or the leftovers from unsigned high school guys is very risky if that's all you have. JB had to have at least one quality player last fall, he didn't. That, to me, showed a worrisome decline in the program, and I guess I was more concerned than most about it. Then the terrible start made it look like the sky was falling, and it was. Realistically, after the covid break, we won enough games to reach .500, but those were against the bottom of the league, save Wichita. Against the real measuring sticks, Memphis and especially Houston, we were flat over-matched, with no help on the way via the recruiting trail. Two years ago we were the standard bearer for the league, now we were middle of the pack and sinking fast. To me then, it was apparent that we needed a new direction before the end of year transfers, and subsequent investigations. John Brannen was over-matched in the AAC.

[Lobot]

The first red flag I saw was him missing on Jalen Tate as a transfer. I didn’t think much about it when it happened but that should have been an eye opener for everyone.

[Rufus]

If Brannen was such a "captain morton" ( Mr. Roberts) I wonder why players from NKU such as Tate or others hadn't spoken up when this was all being revealed or even now that he has been dismissed.

[Lobot]

That’s a legitimate question.

[red_n_black_attack]

If Brannen was such a "captain morton" ( Mr. Roberts) I wonder why players from NKU such as Tate or others hadn't spoken up when this was all being revealed or even now that he has been dismissed.

I kinda thought Jalen wanted to create his own and not follow his dad to Clifton. Hadn't considered that JB might be the reason to avoid UC