Cincinnati basketball

[Waquoit]

I'm hoping they right the ship sooner rather than later.

 

[Hans Sprungfeld]

i hate everyone and everything

Any chance Cronin wins 2 games and still doesn't get past the first weekend?

 

[connVA]

Any chance Cronin wins 2 games and still doesn't get past the first weekend?

Sounds like a deal with the devil gone wrong. "So, Leprechaun Man, you'll give me your soul if you can finally win two games in the tourney? Let's do it."

 

[Tyler2Rings]

A quote from a player in the Athletic article...

“I do not want to leave. Everything about Cincinnati is great. Except for one thing. Literally, one thing.”

 

[Hey Adrien!]

A quote from a player in the Athletic article...

“I do not want to leave. Everything about Cincinnati is great. Except for one thing. Literally, one thing.”

Just read the article. Wow.

Reading all the quotes and reports, Brennan sounds like an good coach and an OK guy, just didn't have the flexibility and compassion the players needed in a totally upside-down year. He's built a reputation of being an intense, hard-working coach, but this year out of all is needed to connect with players, especially since the guys had almost nothing else in their lives outside of basketball. Thankfully, this sounds like there was no singular moment that really put the kids in a tough situation, but more of a sum of the parts.

On the flip side, you see a guy like Hurley, who, like Brennan, is known as an intense, hard-working coach who expects a lot out of his players. However, you also see a guy with a great sense of humor, takes his job but not himself seriously...you see his ability to connect with the team and there's a sense of love and family within the team.

 

[Greathusky]

I would not want to be the Cincy AD right now and sure as hell glad that I am not a Cincy fan.

The equivalent situation happening to UConn would send me over the edge into oblivion.

 

[Tyler2Rings]

Reading all the quotes and reports, Brennan sounds like an good coach and an OK guy, just didn't have the flexibility and compassion the players needed in a totally upside-down year.

Who knows, Brannen could establish the culture he wants in the next couple years and end up being fine... but alienating the players you inherited- on what was a really good team last year and the year before- is a painful way of getting there.

Also, some of the stuff like not allowing jewelry at team meetings and meals just strikes me as so tone deaf in 2021. I don't think it accomplishes anything really

 

[polycom]

i hate everyone and everything

I will be honest here, we tried to warn you. You didn't listen, your sorrow is yours and yours alone.

 

[Slasher]

Who knows, Brannen could establish the culture he wants in the next couple years and end up being fine... but alienating the players you inherited- on what was a really good team last year and the year before- is a painful way of getting there.

Also, some of the stuff like not allowing jewelry at team meetings and meals just strikes me as so tone deaf in 2021. I don't think it accomplishes anything really

Here's the thing... these aren't the players he inherited. All of the transfers this year (except 1) are players he recruited . . .

 

[UConnJim]

The Cinci team issues are why I really like what Hurley has done to rebuild UConn basketball. When he was hired, he did not run off players or treat them poorly. He tried to develop them. His first year, he only brought in 1 HS recruit who he had recruited to URI. His recruiting classes have been a manageable number of new players. For transfers, he only brought in kids he knew personally. Cole played for his dad and really wanted to play at UConn and he recruited and coached Martin at URI. He brought in Tom Moore as an assistant coach and he hired Taliek Brown as director of player development linking the current program to the past. And he hired Kevin Freeman as an assistant coach and made Mamidou Diarra a grad assistant. Now the foundation at UConn is solid.

 

[Waquoit]

I will be honest here, we tried to warn you. You didn't listen, your sorrow is yours and yours alone.

Way harsh. Myself, I save both barrels for the holes.

 

[polycom]

Way harsh. Myself, I save both barrels for the holes.

Ha, Kobe knows he deserves this, he dropped Cronin off at the airport.

 

[dennismenace]

I personally take no pleasure in the trouble with Cincinnati and the AAC. The AAC IS pretty good at football, but the P5 and NCAA won’t let them get better/wealthier. Now some of that is just economics (if they had huge followings and success, the money (or invite) would be there), but the deck is stacked against them. It’s similar in basketball. A few of the schools care, but they are saddled with other conference-mates that don’t, and the aforementioned deck stacking against them.

Cincinnati, in my opinion, was always a forced rival. UConn and Cincinnati are very different institutions. But we were in a similar boat and I don’t take pleasure in them sucking. To be clear, I want them to be worse than us (and the AAC worse than the Big East), but I’d be fine with them succeeding.

Regarding the situation at hand, Brannen needs to get in front of this if he has any chance of surviving in the near and long term. I wouldn’t be surprised if Cincinnati is in a financial situation like UConn football with Diaco where they had to think outside the box (for better or worse) to come up with a way to get rid of him and afford a coach.

I will always respect them as a very worthy opponent. Nobody worked harder on defense than Cincy and even now I am kind of rooting for the Carrot Top Leprechaun whose team just knocked off Michigan State after UCLA has lost it's top two defenders. He's just such a character like a bantam rooster.

 

[Hey Adrien!]

FWIW, Cincy just signed its first '21 commit, forward Bryson Spell whose other offers are Virginia Tech, GW, Elon and Old Dominion. Interesting timing.

 

[SportsFan88]

The Athletic article on Cincy is SCATHING

 

[kobe]

Ha, Kobe knows he deserves this, he dropped Cronin off at the airport.

best use of gas money ever

 

[polycom]

best use of gas money ever

I love the energy. Haha

 

[Doctor Hoop]

1) Lost the AAC title game by nearly 40 points.

2) Have lost five players to the transfer portal in two days.

3) Have no incoming recruits.

4) Profit.

View attachment 65922

What about stealing underwear? Did they forget that step?

 

[gsmooth]

best use of gas money ever

LOLOLOLOLOL

 

[gsmooth]

The Athletic article on Cincy is SCATHING

I don't have access or a free Athletic account, but I read a snippet that someone pasted either in this thread or another one. Yeah, it's not good. That video of him walking off is a terrible look, even worse than Ed Cooley.

 

[UConnJim]

I don't have access or a free Athletic account, but I read a snippet that someone pasted either in this thread or another one. Yeah, it's not good. That video of him walking off is a terrible look, even worse than Ed Cooley.

The article on The Athletic is pretty balanced and presents both sides. It sounds like the isolation associated with COVID contributed to a tough situation.

 

[Waquoit]

best use of gas money ever

Did you hear your boy just outcoached Izzo?

 

[BParkDog]

Sounds like a deal with the devil gone wrong. "So, Leprechaun Man, you'll give me your soul if you can finally win two games in the tourney? Let's do it."

Plot twist, Devil goes to collect and discovers that Mick is soulless.

 

[kobe]

I will be honest here, we tried to warn you. You didn't listen, your sorrow is yours and yours alone.

damn you put bad juju on your boys. still havent won a tournament game since Obama was in office. so sorry.

 

[tcf15]