John Brannen

[Gmann]

It has ben a whirlwind week for all of us. I've come 360 and behind Brannen again. I think silence from the AD means there really isn't anything to say

I do think Brannen is staying but I believe some statement should be made by the AD to at least acknowledge the situation and endorse Brannen so he can recruit. I would surmise since Brannen signed Spell last week he had to assure the kid that he wasn't going anywhere.

[Lobot]

I do think Brannen is staying but I believe some statement should be made by the AD to at least acknowledge the situation and endorse Brannen so he can recruit. I would surmise since Brannen signed Spell last week he had to assure the kid that he wasn't going anywhere.

If nothing’s really changing, then there’s nothing to announce. I don’t know for sure but seems like that’s going to be the case.

[coach]

Brannen's not going anywhere. Somebody told me this am that Saunders had posted something on his Instagram re: the door not being closed yet, so those who frequent Instagram might see what it's about. Eason's going to be at his fifth school in the past 6 years given he went to several high schools so he's a seasoned journeymen who i'm guessing is bound for warm weather. Saunders evidently had been talking to BYU per below where a number of his old prep school guys are. Seems like a very odd selection given some of his issues with Cincy. There's a lot of speculation on Louisville guys hitting the portal between the assistants being fired, the commits pulling out and possible sanctions. I'll be curious to see if JJ Traynor's name comes up. LIkely not given he's from down there, but who knows. Eason would never have been here if Traynor came to Cincy vs. Lvl.


"BYU's top recruiting targets this offseason will be Barcello and Averette. If one of those two decide to move on, I would expect Mark Pope and staff to be very active in the transfer portal. Mark Pope has already expressed interest in Cincinnati transfer Mike Saunders Jr. Saunders prepped at Wasatch Academy with fellow BYU signees Richie Saunders, Caleb Lohner, and Fousseyni Traore. He was a four-star recruit out of the 2020 recruiting class".

He was a 4 star on Espn fwiw

[Bearcat9796]

heard brannen had a "no hat rule" in meetings, not a reason to transfer, but wonder if he's learned how unimportant that is, as long as a kid is listening and engaged, should be enough

[coach]

heard brannen had a "no hat rule" in meetings, not a reason to transfer, but wonder if he's learned how unimportant that is, as long as a kid is listening and engaged, should be enough

Shows how old i am, but are you allowed to wear a ball hat in class at school nowadays? I know it would not have been allowed at my school growing up. It would seem to be kind of odd a game that is played without hats that a guy has an issue with not being allowed to wear one while in meetings, but who knows. Just petty stuff. At some point there is discipline in everything. I believe Fickell has rule re: meetings but i'm not familiar with the specifics.

[DesertFog]

One thing that hasn't been discussed is the state of the Athletic Department at UC. There has been a lot of turnover recently. April 2019, Cronin departs, Brannen arrives. Nov 2019, AD Bohn departs. Dec 2019, AD Cunningham arrives. Are there any good or bad vibes, and if so are they impacting the current BB issues under discussion?

[Rufus]

No hats in meetings may seem trivial on the surface but that is just part of the entire regimen of team building 101. You remove all individualism and self awareness for the greater good of the team. Now it hurt that the entire plan could not be implemented because of covid restrictions this year and so led to this chaos, because most of these guys come from a school (high) whose game plan consisted of just get the ball to the star. No longer is it Tari Eason or Gabe madden or mike saunders. It is the UC bearcat team they are now part of an entire whole.

[GoBearcats31]

Paul Daugherty column ($): the silence from UC is deafening https://www.cincinnati.com/story/spo...rs/7004723002/

He makes a good point, noting that we have heard from David DeDejulius (via the Q&A with Justin Williams) but not Cunningham or Brannen. He's not the first to comment on the silence from UC. It's been here on Bearcatnews, there is a very thread on that on BearcatJournal.com and Mo Egger discussed that this afternoon on his show. Daugherty also suggests CJB promised an interview today, but as of 5:30 pm still has not heard from him.

I am rarely quick to criticize and like to give the benefit of the doubt. But it does seem something should be said -- more so from above Brannen (i.e. his boss) -- at this point.

I can't be sure of UC's policies, but oftentimes you cannot interview a player just by contacting them directly; rather you need to go through the SID. I appreciate DDJ's comments but, factoring in that logic, I've assumed UC used that as a way to counter the first story -- let DDJ go on record for a more positive spin. But as Daugherty suggests, David DeJulius should not be the program spokesperson.

[Bearcat9796]

Shows how old i am, but are you allowed to wear a ball hat in class at school nowadays? I know it would not have been allowed at my school growing up. It would seem to be kind of odd a game that is played without hats that a guy has an issue with not being allowed to wear one while in meetings, but who knows. Just petty stuff. At some point there is discipline in everything. I believe Fickell has rule re: meetings but i'm not familiar with the specifics.

I'm a middle school teacher, no hats allowed in class, kids try to grab them off each others heads, etc...no hoods either, I think they encourage sleeping...I get discipline,
but these are young men, and I think it's trivial

[longtimefan]

I thought I heard on the radio today that Brannen and Cunningham haven't spoken since the end of the season. I must be wrong. It can't be true, can it?

[CincyBearcats2]

I thought I heard on the radio today that Brannen and Cunningham haven't spoken since the end of the season. I must be wrong. It can't be true, can it?

Chad Brendel was on with Mo today talking about it. Haven't met face to face with any of the coaches or the returning players but he met with all of the players that were leaving.

[GoBearcats31]

Chad Brendel was on with Mo today talking about it. Haven't met face to face with any of the coaches or the returning players but he met with all of the players that were leaving.

I would think that -- COVID aside (obviously can virtually meet) -- an AD and coach would sit down regardless of whether they are great, bad, or something else going on. I don't doubt Chad, but that is pretty surprising if true.

[BorisTheCat]

Once again... need to pump the brakes on getting too carried away with information that cannot be verified.

[GoBearcats31]

“Bearcat Twitter” is buzzing tonight ... anyone hearing anything?

[GoBearcats31]

“Bearcat Twitter” is buzzing tonight ... anyone hearing anything?

So I don’t subscribe to BCJ ($) but did just listen to part of recently posted BCJ podcast (around hour mark). Chad Brendel: “I’ve heard from a couple different people/coaches around the college basketball world that are hearing or have heard that there will be a new coach at Cincinnati. That is not what I’m reporting, it is not really anything I can confirm at this point. But I think it is something that is relevant, that that conversation is going around the country.”