2019-2020 Season

[cincyalum2014]

Hello everyone... as we are about halfway through a great football season and I thought I would get the thread going for the upcoming basketball season and wanted to welcome everyone back for hopefully a big year for the Cats starting Nov 6th @ OSU. We also have a few scrimmages coming up against Thomas More and Dayton. We have a couple big non conference games that will prepare us for conference play with OSU, UNLV, a good Vermont team, Tennessee, Iowa and of course Xavier.

I wanted to get everyone's thoughts on the upcoming season, any concerns with the team and projected staring lineups. I will get it started with my thoughts..

I think my biggest concern for the upcoming season is the fear of the unknown, this team is a shell of what is was last year so aside from Keith, Tre and Jarron we don't really know how this team will gel together against tough competition. I know Jarron will be back from his foot injury as should Trevor Moore, Davenport looks to be out until December and Gillman is lost for the season due to medical issues. I think Zach Harvey is going to be a great player for us this year but I think he may struggle a bit in the beginning.

My projections for the Starting lineup against OSU is....
G-Chris McNeal
G-Jarron Cumberland
G/F- Keith Williams
F-Tre Scott
C-Mamoudou Diarra

First off the Bench being...
Jaevin Cumberland
Zach Harvey
Chris Vogt and Sorolla

Next off the bench in under 10 min ppg
Trevor Moore
Davenport
Adams Woods (early in the season) I expect Adams Woods to get more or less time depending on the play of McNeal and the play of himself. Like I said there is just so much unknow with this team, they look like they have really gelled off the court so hopefully that translates to on the court, either way I am excited for the John Brannen era to start and finally see what this team can do.

Finally what are you thoughts on final record for the year.

I am saying they finish around 20-8 at the end of the regular season.

 

[mdchick]

I think we will be a bubble team this year, I think brannen is going to be a solid coach for us I think 20-8 sounds right, I really think Zach Harvey come seasons end is going to be what jc was for us his freshman year, with tre as our only 4 in our lineup we should have a lot of small ball lineups.

I really hope Trevor Moore has improved over the off season, he’s a great kid and put a lot of time in, in the off-season, I hope it pays off for him, he needs to start hitting shots

 

[sirthought]

Hopefully rotating between Scott/Diarra/Vogt/Scarrolla will be enough to have a productive front court. We really could use one more big just in case of injuries or someone to cause some interference on defense. Can we get another big guy walk on from the football team?

I could see both Cumberlands starting just because it'll mean more experience on the court. Probably depends on people's health as the season unfolds.

Between a good number of injuries and the new staff I think we'll have to be patient. But there are certainly a lot of positives and I think the season will be exciting. The conference is looking up!

 

[cincrulz11]

Hopefully rotating between Scott/Diarra/Vogt/Scarrolla will be enough to have a productive front court. We really could use one more big just in case of injuries or someone to cause some interference on defense. Can we get another big guy walk on from the football team?

I could see both Cumberlands starting just because it'll mean more experience on the court. Probably depends on people's health as the season unfolds.

Between a good number of injuries and the new staff I think we'll have to be patient. But there are certainly a lot of positives and I think the season will be exciting. The conference is looking up!

The starting lineup should be interesting. I dont see cumberland coming here to come off the bench when he had plenty of places he could go. But I also don't see us starting without a PG.


I'm not sure if we start with Scott at the 5. Can't wait for that first game.

 

[waterhead]

Tough call on the starters. Pick your poison between leaving your only other proven shooter on the bench, a 2nd big, or your PG. Adjustments can be made very quickly in any game but the starting lineup will be interesting.

If you put the best 5 out there to start we will likely be very small to start the game with 4 guards and an undersized 5.

I think good side of the bubble this year would be my best prediction at this point as well and I would be satisfied with that especially if we are playing our best ball in the end.

 

[skyblade]

I think we have to start Diarra, simply because I think we need another big besides Scott to be able to provide 20+ minutes per game and Diarra has by far the most potential. He may also be a better three point shooter than most/all of the (non-Cumberland) small ball guard options.

We can all agree that Jarron, Scott and Williams fill out the 2-4 spots. So then it comes down to McNeal, Jaevin or some other guard. Jaevin is a far better 3 point shooter and also had a better assist/TO ratio (1.94) his senior year than McNeal had in his most recent year a UNM (1.42). McNeal has to provide significant value as a PG or on the defensive/rebounding end to get the spot over Jaevin and I don't see that happening.

 

[justinhub2003]

The starting lineup should be interesting. I dont see cumberland coming here to come off the bench when he had plenty of places he could go. But I also don't see us starting without a PG.


I'm not sure if we start with Scott at the 5. Can't wait for that first game.

Add in that Game 1 might be more matchup based because we are going to need a big body to take on Caleb Wesson.

Brannen says his offense is always evolving so I would imagine that we see multiple starting lineups.

 

[KennyFreaselefteye]

Bubble team? Cmon now. How does anyone look at this roster and think we’re gojjg to be worse than last year. Our top three scorers from last year our back, we add in a ton of experience through grad transfers and a freshman that I’ve hesrd could be in the NBA after two years. You’re right though, losing Reshawn Fredericks is tough. Idk how we can possibly replace that production. I’m also on the Mick stinks train, so I think Brannen can docmore with this team. Super excited.

 

[justinhub2003]

I’ll be honest. My expectations are to make noise in the tourney. I want a sweet 16. Brannen likely won’t get many players as good as Jarron Cumberland and that’s not a diss to him, that’s extremely high praise to Jarron. Jarron could go down as one of the best Bearcats ever. He’s been good every single year unlike guys like Kenyon who took a few years to develop and he’s been the best player we’ve had in the 3 tourneys he’s appeared in,

So I expect to see us do something big this year. CJB is inheriting his top 3 scorers back and the returning player of the year.

The reality is... outside of Harvey, who fell into our Lap after legal issues, we aren’t exactly killing it on the recruiting trail. We likely will miss out on Traynor & Eason and have to settle for another kid ranked in the 300’s... so this Roster maybe the best it’s going to get for at least 2-3 seasons.

Let’s take advantage of it and make some noise.

 

[cincyalum2014]

I’ll be honest. My expectations are to make noise in the tourney. I want a sweet 16. Brannen likely won’t get many players as good as Jarron Cumberland and that’s not a diss to him, that’s extremely high praise to Jarron. Jarron could go down as one of the best Bearcats ever. He’s been good every single year unlike guys like Kenyon who took a few years to develop and he’s been the best player we’ve had in the 3 tourneys he’s appeared in,

So I expect to see us do something big this year. CJB is inheriting his top 3 scorers back and the returning player of the year.

The reality is... outside of Harvey, who fell into our Lap after legal issues, we aren’t exactly killing it on the recruiting trail. We likely will miss out on Traynor & Eason and have to settle for another kid ranked in the 300’s... so this Roster maybe the best it’s going to get for at least 2-3 seasons.

Let’s take advantage of it and make some noise.

I would agree with that, I think its important to win some of the big non conference games, I think this team is fully capable of beating OSU... but we really don't know what team will show up game one in Columbus. I think they beat Iowa in Chicago. I think they lose to Tennessee and I think they will have a gutty win @ X. I think we split with Memphis and Houston.... maybe drop one to temple and then maybe lose a random one we should win against like USF or SMU or some middle of the conference team. But I think they make the tourney and depending on seeding could make a nice run.

I think the Madsen twins will be nice in the future especially Gabe, Saunders could be a solid player, but Zach Harvey would never be here if it wasn't for his legal troubles, usually dudes like that aren't coming to Cincy. Priority for 2020 class is to fill that last scholarship with a solid big. Unfortunately Brannen has struck out on some of the bigger names in that class we had a chance with.

 

[skyblade]

Bubble team? Cmon now. How does anyone look at this roster and think we’re gojjg to be worse than last year. Our top three scorers from last year our back, we add in a ton of experience through grad transfers and a freshman that I’ve hesrd could be in the NBA after two years. You’re right though, losing Reshawn Fredericks is tough. Idk how we can possibly replace that production. I’m also on the Mick stinks train, so I think Brannen can docmore with this team. Super excited.

Brooks was our second best player and one of the best offensive rebounders in the country. We replace him with a pair of unimpressive unknowns - Sorolla is a horrible offensive rebounder, Vogt is skinny and can't shoot - and Diarra who right now is just potential.

Jenifer was arguably our best 3 point shooter, Broome showed up in big moments. McNeal is a bad 3 point shooter and commits too many TO's, Jeavin is an excellent three point shooter, but not really a PG. Both are unproven at this level of play.

We've got an excellent 3 players in Jarron, Williams and Scott. But teams need 8-9 players to contribute. I can see us being anywhere from an outside looking in bubble team, to a top 20 team. It depends on if the grad transfers can make the jump to the higher level (and with better stats then they put up at the lower levels in all cases but Jaevin) and how quickly the freshmen can contribute.

I also think Moore and Diarra will be major factors. If we go small, Moore is one guy with the size and willingness to battle inside that we will need to succeed at small ball. Diarra providing quality minutes at C and backing up Scott will be huge.

 

[skyblade]

I would agree with that, I think its important to win some of the big non conference games, I think this team is fully capable of beating OSU... but we really don't know what team will show up game one in Columbus. I think they beat Iowa in Chicago. I think they lose to Tennessee and I think they will have a gutty win @ X. I think we split with Memphis and Houston.... maybe drop one to temple and then maybe lose a random one we should win against like USF or SMU or some middle of the conference team. But I think they make the tourney and depending on seeding could make a nice run.

I think the Madsen twins will be nice in the future especially Gabe, Saunders could be a solid player, but Zach Harvey would never be here if it wasn't for his legal troubles, usually dudes like that aren't coming to Cincy. Priority for 2020 class is to fill that last scholarship with a solid big. Unfortunately Brannen has struck out on some of the bigger names in that class we had a chance with.

Brannen's recruiting thus far has been fairly unimpressive. Despite all the talk from fans, we've only added one 150+ player in 2019/2020 (Zach Harvey). Traynor/Eason would be big additions, but neither seems to be likely currently.

Still I've maintained from the start that better recruiting is not what will make Brannen great, it will be doing more with the guys he does recruit (or honestly, just doing as well as Cronin and having more success in the NCAA tournament).

I think this team is capable of beating OSU, but getting blown out by OSU would not surprise me. OSU has a quality center, which may give us major problems and I expect the team to take a while to gel. Much like last years team, I think we will be much better come March than we are in November. We may not get a high seed in the NCAA tournament, but we should be a team high-seeds don't want to play.

 

[KennyFreaselefteye]

Brooks was our second best player and one of the best offensive rebounders in the country. We replace him with a pair of unimpressive unknowns - Sorolla is a horrible offensive rebounder, Vogt is skinny and can't shoot - and Diarra who right now is just potential.

Jenifer was arguably our best 3 point shooter, Broome showed up in big moments. McNeal is a bad 3 point shooter and commits too many TO's, Jeavin is an excellent three point shooter, but not really a PG. Both are unproven at this level of play.

We've got an excellent 3 players in Jarron, Williams and Scott. But teams need 8-9 players to contribute. I can see us being anywhere from an outside looking in bubble team, to a top 20 team. It depends on if the grad transfers can make the jump to the higher level (and with better stats then they put up at the lower levels in all cases but Jaevin) and how quickly the freshmen can contribute.

I also think Moore and Diarra will be major factors. If we go small, Moore is one guy with the size and willingness to battle inside that we will need to succeed at small ball. Diarra providing quality minutes at C and backing up Scott will be huge.

Nysier is definitely a big loss, but with the style Brannen is preaching, I think we can play small and be just fine. Cumberland Cousins, Harvey, Williams and Scott is a lineup that can run. Sure you’re small, but you cause havoc with length and speed. I may be in the minority, but I don’t think losing Jenifer and Cane Broome is the end of the world. Cane did win us some clutch games last year (Tulsa) but add in Jaevin to take his spot. Harvey as a 10 point scoring option. I just don’t see how we’re not better. Only time will tell. I also thought last years team just wasn’t that great. So many close games that could have gone the other way and been a completely different year. Was nothing like the previous year in terms of how they came out and rolled. I like this team to be a 6 seed.

 

[cincrulz11]

Brannen's recruiting thus far has been fairly unimpressive. Despite all the talk from fans, we've only added one 150+ player in 2019/2020 (Zach Harvey). Traynor/Eason would be big additions, but neither seems to be likely currently.

only 1 150+ player, but he was top 50.


Also Gabe comes in the top 150 in some rankings.

 

[waterhead]

Brannen's recruiting thus far has been fairly unimpressive. Despite all the talk from fans, we've only added one 150+ player in 2019/2020 (Zach Harvey). Traynor/Eason would be big additions, but neither seems to be likely currently.

I would grade Brannen's recruiting as a B so far. There are so many things to look at and things we can't know yet. He ended last year getting Jaevin and Harvey. Then he starts this year with Saunders and Madsen with not a lot of time to build new relationships.

He threw the farm at Madsen leading me to believe CJB sees higher value than his current rank. Probably especially or specifically for his system. I think Mason will end up surprising us some as well. But these two are dedicated gym rats and trending up. They will both work to get better and have tremendous attitudes.

Saunders is super stoked to be here and that is important for chemistry. He is also trending up and outplayed some higher ranked guys along the way. If he can develop a 3 ball he's going to be a very very good get. Again, he fits the system to a T outside of his shooting. Speed at PG seems to be a big deal to the coach and this kid has speed for days.

Speaking of the coach. He is a very smart, analytical and clever dude. Until we see these kids play in his system I have to trust he knows what he wants and why he wants them.

I do worry about getting quality bigs but I am not dissapointed at all with guards and wings so far. And I don't think we are out on the two PF's just yet. Spring will also open up some new opportunities for transfers, late bloomers or yet unsigned kids. Let's see what happens and evaluate after it actually happens.

 

[skyblade]

only 1 150+ player, but he was top 50.


Also Gabe comes in the top 150 in some rankings.

Yes, but we also only got him because of his legal issues and late reclassify. So I don't really consider him to be a sign that Brannen can regularly get that level of player.

 

[cincrulz11]

I would grade Brannen's recruiting as a B so far. There are so many things to look at and things we can't know yet. He ended last year getting Jaevin and Harvey. Then he starts this year with Saunders and Madsen with not a lot of time to build new relationships.

Lets be real, before we hired a new coach, if I tell you we get Cumberland, a top 50, and a top 150 for the next year, everybody here would have been thrilled.



I'm not sure how anybody could possibly be disappointed with that.

 

[cincrulz11]

Yes, but we also only got him because of his legal issues and late reclassify. So I don't really consider him to be a sign that Brannen can regularly get that level of player.

we haven't regularly recruited that level on player since huggins, but it is nice to see one come in. he could have gone other places, but he came here.

 

[waterhead]

Lets be real, before we hired a new coach, if I tell you we get Cumberland, a top 50, and a top 150 for the next year, everybody here would have been thrilled.



I'm not sure how anybody could possibly be disappointed with that.

After we landed those two (Jaevin and Harvey) it led to some of the critics to put feet in mouth. But now we are back to being impatient again. We have two quality recruits for 2020 already. I think on 247 they are ranked around 180ish so that's pretty close to the 150 level and as you mentioned some sites may rank them different.

But outside of their ranks they have some intangibles that add value. Madsens will be the last one's in the gym and that can rub off by example on other players. Saunders wants to be here and seems to want to help other players to come here. That is worth something.

Both of them seemed like no brainers for CJB so I would be pretty confident they pan out.

 

[justinhub2003]

only 1 150+ player, but he was top 50.


Also Gabe comes in the top 150 in some rankings.

I think the point is... we landed Harvey because nearly all of his offers were pulled. He kinda ran out of landing spots.

Its great for us. But not great for our recruiting potential as I don't think we want to fill out the rest of our roster with dudes no one else will take.

Traynor seems like a moot point, as he is likely headed to Lousiville and Eason has some P5 schools that are closer to home after him.

Our big situation is bad for next season. With Prince likely gone. Its Vogt and Diarra. We need the next gary clark or top 150 big at least. But its been tough to make that happen so far


I was kinda hoping the Mick Cronin "meh" recruiting approach was done and we'd be getting top 30 classes, but as of today, I think his recruiting is actually below what Mick was pulling in.

Obviously its early so no time to panic yet