2019-2020 Season

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Yep, he says he wants Brannen to be successful but also wants everyone to know he is ready to pounce at the first sign of trouble.

I said I want him to be successful. But I will Hold him to an extremely high standard.

Just like every time we lost, certain posters of this board had a fire mick meltdown. I won’t be that extreme, but I will expect him to win in year one. I will expect him to make the tourney.

This league is quickly on the rise, a few down years from
UC could catapult other teams a head of us. If we ever miss the tourney 2 years in a row I’ll. Be calling for his head. Hopefully that never happens .
 
no shit, the point is that UCLA isn't some downtrodden program that has been in the dumps for a while. They've had more recent success than UC.

And as for the roster not winning in a long time, 2017-2018 they were a tournament team. Oh, but I'm sure it's the freshman you say that haven't won in a long time, huh? It's been what, one year for them? Lol.



Lol yep UCLA was an 11 seed that year and they return just 3 non crucial players from that team that only finished 21-12

I don’t even know whet your arguing. They fired Alford for not winning lol. So clearly the players aren’t winning players.
 
all we can do is take it one game at a time, its hard to predict the season when there is so much unknown with this team and new coach. So lets start with the OSU game, I would be interested to hear everyone's thoughts and predictions on the game.

I will say the biggest thing I am worried about with this game in Columbus is Kaleb Wesson. He had his way with Brooks most of the game last year and OSU returns everyone except CJ Jackson and Keshawn Jackson. Then there was the factor of Brooks being in foul trouble most of the game forcing Nsoseme to play 14 minutes. Now with Brooks and Nsoseme gone we will be relying on Sorolla, Vogt, Diarra and Scott to guard the post. Obviously we all the know what happened last year, how the team shot 27% compared to OSU 40%. With OSU's roster basically the same and UC's roster much different (6 guys who played in this game last year are gone) it will be interesting to see how we match up.
 
I said I want him to be successful. But I will Hold him to an extremely high standard.

Just like every time we lost, certain posters of this board had a fire mick meltdown. I won’t be that extreme, but I will expect him to win in year one. I will expect him to make the tourney.

This league is quickly on the rise, a few down years from
UC could catapult other teams a head of us. If we ever miss the tourney 2 years in a row I’ll. Be calling for his head. Hopefully that never happens .

It would probably be a lot easier to stomach if you just give the coach your support and stop making proclamations about if/when you will be calling for his head. That's not how support works. You say to them I am behind you 100% and I won't make any rash judgments until we see how you operate and what were the circumstances that led to your results.

An AD is not going to say...well you didn't make the tourney so guess what? They will look at the season as a whole and give an evaluation based on all circumstances that led to the results. Perhaps even give some areas of improvement or kudos for areas we did well.

Many fans are not known for being the most logical. But luckily those that make big decisions go through a much more rigorous process of evaluation. Pressure will rise without results from the fan base and maybe even a board...but the board and AD don't add that pressure from the start because it is counter productive. They will offer support first and foremost...then continually evaluate circumstances, progress, and methods.

Just take a Xanax and offer full support for now. Let's see how he operates.
 
all we can do is take it one game at a time, its hard to predict the season when there is so much unknown with this team and new coach. So lets start with the OSU game, I would be interested to hear everyone's thoughts and predictions on the game.

I will say the biggest thing I am worried about with this game in Columbus is Kaleb Wesson. He had his way with Brooks most of the game last year and OSU returns everyone except CJ Jackson and Keshawn Jackson. Then there was the factor of Brooks being in foul trouble most of the game forcing Nsoseme to play 14 minutes. Now with Brooks and Nsoseme gone we will be relying on Sorolla, Vogt, Diarra and Scott to guard the post. Obviously we all the know what happened last year, how the team shot 27% compared to OSU 40%. With OSU's roster basically the same and UC's roster much different (6 guys who played in this game last year are gone) it will be interesting to see how we match up.

Yeah, I think Wesson and OSU's interior game as a whole are a huge concern.

I have a hard time seeing a 4 guard lineup having success against OSU. It can work against smaller teams, but against a team with true quality bigs, 4 guards are probably going to get abused on rebounding - especially since none of our guards really stand out as great rebounders. It's going to be a real quick test.

Best case scenario is we win a close game. Worst case scenario is we get blown out. If I were betting, I'd bet on us losing by 15-20. If we faced OSU in March it would be different, but early in the year with our lack of chemistry and them most likely dominating us on the inside and I don't see a good result.
 
I said I want him to be successful. But I will Hold him to an extremely high standard.

Just like every time we lost, certain posters of this board had a fire mick meltdown. I won’t be that extreme, but I will expect him to win in year one. I will expect him to make the tourney.

This league is quickly on the rise, a few down years from
UC could catapult other teams a head of us. If we ever miss the tourney 2 years in a row I’ll. Be calling for his head. Hopefully that never happens .

You should really just become a UCLA fan. It's getting a bit monotonous
 
I’ll be interested to hear the score of the Dayton secret scrimmage.

Sucks because I won’t get to see this team in person until OSU. I was in the UK for madness, and zero chance my daughter let’s me miss Halloween for an exhibition game against Thomas More.

I think OSU beats us, but not by much. But what concerns me is that Wesson isn’t just a big body, he can stretch the floor and shoot. Covering him will be tough. I think we lose because of rebounding and because of Wesson.
 
Yeah, I think Wesson and OSU's interior game as a whole are a huge concern.

I have a hard time seeing a 4 guard lineup having success against OSU. It can work against smaller teams, but against a team with true quality bigs, 4 guards are probably going to get abused on rebounding - especially since none of our guards really stand out as great rebounders. It's going to be a real quick test.

Best case scenario is we win a close game. Worst case scenario is we get blown out. If I were betting, I'd bet on us losing by 15-20. If we faced OSU in March it would be different, but early in the year with our lack of chemistry and them most likely dominating us on the inside and I don't see a good result.

I don't see a winning result in the first game but then we have 5 in a row for CJB to get his bearings and figure out who's playing well and which lineups are most effective. He hasn't had much time to iron out some of those details. We will find out in the first game who can handle their own in the paint against quality bigs from that 5 spot.
 
There's already been signs of trouble the guy couldn't keep a top 15 roster together. He hasn't won me over which in my mind is a glaring sign bc the games haven't even started yet, foreshadowing possibly a aspect about him that doesn't sell to many recruits. UC brand is strong enough to at least get in a kids ear or living room. Brannen is a watch film, analytics, run you out the gym kind of coach... I expect this team to struggle during this yr, primarily with post play, defensive continuity, offensive flow. Hopefully team chemistry on the court can pick up it's just alarming how brannen is speaking about shorted roster and practically botched practices. This yr had to be a success bcs he's fresh, wants a good start at this level and we got him as an upgrade replacement he was the apple of the ads eye the whole time.. We have to make the tournament bc next yr could easily be a wash.
The only decent player we lost was brooks and he was gone before a coach was announced. Not sure how that’s the new coaches fault but whatever helps your argument.
 
Yeah, I think Wesson and OSU's interior game as a whole are a huge concern.

I have a hard time seeing a 4 guard lineup having success against OSU. It can work against smaller teams, but against a team with true quality bigs, 4 guards are probably going to get abused on rebounding - especially since none of our guards really stand out as great rebounders. It's going to be a real quick test.

Best case scenario is we win a close game. Worst case scenario is we get blown out. If I were betting, I'd bet on us losing by 15-20. If we faced OSU in March it would be different, but early in the year with our lack of chemistry and them most likely dominating us on the inside and I don't see a good result.


I think no matter what we do Kaleb Wesson is going to get his just like Jarron for us, I think we just have to contain there wings and smaller guards from penetrating the lane and kicking it out to the wings. One thing is for sure and that is we wont be in that rotating/ man/ zone we played with Cronin so if we play man and Sorolla and Vogt are on Wesson, Wesson wins 9/10 times. I think we will just have to live with the fact Sorolla and Vogt are in there to foul and get rebounds.

Where we can win the game is getting penetration in the lane with Keith and Jarron, Jarron is one of the best at drawing fouls in the lane. Also what we have this year is a guy who can flat out stroke the ball in Jaevon Cumberland, I think he will be vital in this game, I think Jarron will do what Jarron does and that's take the game over when needed. I think Harvey gets in the mix a little bit, I think Tre will have a tough time in the paint for this game, so if he can extend to the baseline and play inside out and make OSU and Wesson come out to defend and respect his jumper I think we could get some serious pressure down low with Diarra. But again we will see, first game of the year with over half the team brand new.... who knows haha
 
The only decent player we lost was brooks and he was gone before a coach was announced. Not sure how that’s the new coaches fault but whatever helps your argument.

This isn’t true

CJB was very much the coach when brooks left
 
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It would probably be a lot easier to stomach if you just give the coach your support and stop making proclamations about if/when you will be calling for his head. That's not how support works. You say to them I am behind you 100% and I won't make any rash judgments until we see how you operate and what were the circumstances that led to your results.

An AD is not going to say...well you didn't make the tourney so guess what? They will look at the season as a whole and give an evaluation based on all circumstances that led to the results. Perhaps even give some areas of improvement or kudos for areas we did well.

Many fans are not known for being the most logical. But luckily those that make big decisions go through a much more rigorous process of evaluation. Pressure will rise without results from the fan base and maybe even a board...but the board and AD don't add that pressure from the start because it is counter productive. They will offer support first and foremost...then continually evaluate circumstances, progress, and methods.

Just take a Xanax and offer full support for now. Let's see how he operates.
This
 
The only thing I am concerned about is recruiting.

I had really high hopes for 2020 but it’s currently just decent.

Im not worried about what happens between the lines yet. But I do think it’s fair to not fully trust Brannen until he proves we should. I’m optimistic on the season, I think we can be a sweet 16 team. But it is tough just trusting a guy to lead a program I care so much about when he’s never competed on this level yet. There will be bumps in the road, he will be our chess matched in some games. I just hope he learns quickly and gets UC to the next level.
 
Gotta trust in him just like we trusted in Huggins and Mick. Brannen has proven he can turn a nothing program into a little something, Huggins did the same at akron. Murray State has sorta been the same program since the 80s.
 
I think no matter what we do Kaleb Wesson is going to get his just like Jarron for us, I think we just have to contain there wings and smaller guards from penetrating the lane and kicking it out to the wings. One thing is for sure and that is we wont be in that rotating/ man/ zone we played with Cronin so if we play man and Sorolla and Vogt are on Wesson, Wesson wins 9/10 times. I think we will just have to live with the fact Sorolla and Vogt are in there to foul and get rebounds.

Where we can win the game is getting penetration in the lane with Keith and Jarron, Jarron is one of the best at drawing fouls in the lane. Also what we have this year is a guy who can flat out stroke the ball in Jaevon Cumberland, I think he will be vital in this game, I think Jarron will do what Jarron does and that's take the game over when needed. I think Harvey gets in the mix a little bit, I think Tre will have a tough time in the paint for this game, so if he can extend to the baseline and play inside out and make OSU and Wesson come out to defend and respect his jumper I think we could get some serious pressure down low with Diarra. But again we will see, first game of the year with over half the team brand new.... who knows haha

I think you almost have to front Wesson and try to deny the ball? If he gets position on the block you already lost the battle. I don't think we can stop him unless we limit his chances.
 
I think you almost have to front Wesson and try to deny the ball? If he gets position on the block you already lost the battle. I don't think we can stop him unless we limit his chances.

A few of his buckets last year were from him being the trailer and just getting a easy open 3 point shot.

Need to stay with as soon as he crosses into half court
 
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.

He’s been here for six months, jeez dude. I just don’t understand your guys hit takes, they make no damn sense
 
No, actually you haven’t been told Cronin should be nabbing top 100 guys all the time. More than he did? Yes. But not all the time. Good try though. Keep telling yourself Cronin was a good recruiter

Seems to be doing fine at UCLA
 
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