2019 surprise unknowns?

[cincyguy13]

On paper this best team since Kenyon Sr yr. I'll fire Brennan if they only .500 after 10 games

How is this the best team since Kenyon, on paper, if most of the team is unknowns?

The team 2 years ago was 10 times better than this team, on paper and on the court. I’m excited to see what they can do, but might want to pump the brakes.

 

[cincyalum2014]

IMO one of the biggest unknows is Jaevin Cumberland. Now hear me out on this, I am very excited and extremely happy he is here and I think he will make a big contribution. With that being said he has had one good season in the 4 years at Oakland (I know he missed most of JR b/c of injury). Last year was the first year he started and he averaged 17.2 pts a game while playing 37 mpg. Shot 42% from 2 and 39% from 3. He shot the ball on average 12 times a game and averaging almost 2 turnovers a game (60 total on the year). He played 1222 minutes last year.

Now that is a great season but if you look at his 2 previous years at Oakland where he played more than 20 games he played 332 minutes total in the 2 years combined and 108 pts in the 2 years combined. I know points are not everything but Jaevin was brought to UC to score on the wing. I am not saying Jaevin will not be good but there is a lot of unknow with only one full starting season under his belt for 4 years on a average Oakland team in the Horizon league.

I think some fans may be a little too optimistic about how much Jaevin is going to do here much like some were for Cane Broome, a lot of fans thought Cane would come here and score on command when in reality that just wasn't going to happen. I think that's the same with Jaevin, I think Jaevin will get his and he will be a great asset on the wing but to think he is going to shoot the ball over 12 times a game will be an extreme stretch, I think Jaevin can play at this level and I think he will have to contribute in other ways than scoring.

 

[waterhead]

IMO one of the biggest unknows is Jaevin Cumberland. Now hear me out on this, I am very excited and extremely happy he is here and I think he will make a big contribution. With that being said he has had one good season in the 4 years at Oakland (I know he missed most of JR b/c of injury). Last year was the first year he started and he averaged 17.2 pts a game while playing 37 mpg. Shot 42% from 2 and 39% from 3. He shot the ball on average 12 times a game and averaging almost 2 turnovers a game (60 total on the year). He played 1222 minutes last year.

Now that is a great season but if you look at his 2 previous years at Oakland where he played more than 20 games he played 332 minutes total in the 2 years combined and 108 pts in the 2 years combined. I know points are not everything but Jaevin was brought to UC to score on the wing. I am not saying Jaevin will not be good but there is a lot of unknow with only one full starting season under his belt for 4 years on a average Oakland team in the Horizon league.

I think some fans may be a little too optimistic about how much Jaevin is going to do here much like some were for Cane Broome, a lot of fans thought Cane would come here and score on command when in reality that just wasn't going to happen. I think that's the same with Jaevin, I think Jaevin will get his and he will be a great asset on the wing but to think he is going to shoot the ball over 12 times a game will be an extreme stretch, I think Jaevin can play at this level and I think he will have to contribute in other ways than scoring.

I don't think Jaevin is going to produce what he did in the Horizon but when looking at his tapes he was making bombs often times with a hand in his face and a defender right on top of him. He could put them in from NBA range as well. I would expect him to make around 2-3 threes a game and then sprinkle in another couple of buckets in transition or half court. So that would be 10-13 ppg. If you contrast him with Jenifer...he was a guy that would camp right on the 3 line (catch and shoot mostly) and only shoot when there was enough space. Those are just easier shots to make. We have Keith to penetrate and get to the rack and also Jarron so Jaevin should just be camping out there. He's not going to score much going in the paint. He is exactly what we needed though.

 

[waterhead]

He was getting pushed around on the block last year, hopefully he gained some lower body strength, that is his biggest flaw imo

Hopefully he gets to work on positioning with Sorolla and Vogt (and Scott). They aren't low post scoring bigs but it should help get him ready to battle and figure out how to get position on bigger guys. Not that he couldn't have learned that last year.

But you are right...he could use 15 lbs of muscle if he is going to man the 5. When we play with 2 bigs we should have some nice back side help for blocks. I worry a little bit about not having low post scoring because we are going to have to knock down our threes in order to get some penetration for inside dishes and lobs etc. If we get the shots to fall our bigs are in for some easy buckets off driving action. And Diara is going to work well in transition and stepping out on the perimeter.

I think it's going to be a trade off. He might get abused a little bit in the paint but he offers some other things to offset the points we might give up there. He can run and jump and shoot and he should be fun to watch in the full court press and in transition on the break.

 

[waterhead]

I want to land Harvey mostly for 2020 and beyond. I think with his injury and being late to the game for practice and weight training he is probably going to be a 10-15 mpg guy tops (if...IF...we get him). We have 3 very solid wings in front of him to bring him along slowly. But we might need him later in the season (much like Moore) for a heat check guy. If one of the wings are cold...it would be nice to have a scoring option on the bench to see if they can get something going.

This is the year for Moore to put up or shut up really. He simply has to make his 3's or he's not going to be as useful for Branne as he was for Cronin. Cronin would put him in if he was hustling on D and passing the ball and rebounding...but I doubt Brannen will use him like that. Either put the ball in the basket or he will be better off transferring to a lower level team.

 

[Cin City]

Really looking forward to Adams-Woods. I think we will see flashes of his skills that will make us hungry for his sophomore season, alongside Mike Saunders. I really think they will be a fun backcourt to root for.

 

[JoeRunner89]

Always have been looking forward to Kieth Williams rise... Was def looking forward to Hardnett the 6'8 wing from Baltimore but oh well I guess

 

[waterhead]

Always have been looking forward to Kieth Williams rise... Was def looking forward to Hardnett the 6'8 wing from Baltimore but oh well I guess

For a soph I thought Keith rose pretty well. I don't know what to say about Hardnett. No way to tell anymore with him. I hope what Brannen said about Keith is true...that he fits the system well. I could see him getting more transition buckets on either end in the new faster pace tempo and full court press.

 

[skyblade]

How is this the best team since Kenyon, on paper, if most of the team is unknowns?

The team 2 years ago was 10 times better than this team, on paper and on the court. I’m excited to see what they can do, but might want to pump the brakes.

Agreed, on paper this could be a top 15 team, but there are a lot of unknowns we have to count on. Kentucky has seen teams filled will 5 stars fail to make the NCAA tournament because they couldn't develop chemistry.

Jarron and Scott are the obvious foundation of the team that we can rely on. But beyond that, a lot of the optimistic views are because people want to see Brannen do well.

Jaevin needs to be able to hit threes at a high rate, Williams needs to take his play to the next level. Somebody needs to be able rebound and play defense down low. McNeal needs to play better than he has up to this point in his career or our PG position starts to look very shakey.

I could see us as a top 15 team if all the pieces fit together right and quickly. I could see us not making the NCAA tournament if the pieces don't fit together. The amount of unknowns will make the early season exciting as we watch the team develop. Like last year, I expect us to look ugly at times early in the year, but hopefully show major improvement by conference play.

 

[TheRealMick]

How is this the best team since Kenyon, on paper, if most of the team is unknowns?

The team 2 years ago was 10 times better than this team, on paper and on the court. I’m excited to see what they can do, but might want to pump the brakes.

How hell we end up with a bunch of unknown players at top 15 all time program? Best teams in country have highest turnover rate of players. I'm taking this team over team from 2yrs ago, this much better with skills players. Not to mention I believe all players just go naturally play better in this system and have more fun, so team chemistry shouldn't be problem at all. I'm looking forward to coach having 10 players play at least 10min game. This season if nothing else go be fun

 

[Jon Rycek]

How hell we end up with a bunch of unknown players at top 15 all time program? Best teams in country have highest turnover rate of players. I'm taking this team over team from 2yrs ago, this much better with skills players. Not to mention I believe all players just go naturally play better in this system and have more fun, so team chemistry shouldn't be problem at all. I'm looking forward to coach having 10 players play at least 10min game. This season if nothing else go be fun

Yeah this team is better than our 2 seed team with 2 NBA players and another great CBB player. Lmao

 

[Union Bearcat]

Yeah this team is better than our 2 seed team with 2 NBA players and another great CBB player. Lmao

 

[cincyguy13]

How hell we end up with a bunch of unknown players at top 15 all time program? Best teams in country have highest turnover rate of players. I'm taking this team over team from 2yrs ago, this much better with skills players. Not to mention I believe all players just go naturally play better in this system and have more fun, so team chemistry shouldn't be problem at all. I'm looking forward to coach having 10 players play at least 10min game. This season if nothing else go be fun

If this team is so good on paper, why aren’t we ranked on most preseason rankings. And why aren’t we ranked high In Those ranking.
Preseason rankings are based on teams rosters, “on paper”. And before you say rankings don’t matter, which they don’t this early, you would think the best team we have had since Kenyon would be ranked by most people.

We are counting on mama, Moore, McNeal, prince, sorreal, and freshman to contribute. That is not a great team on paper. It’s just not.

 

[cincyguy13]

I hope this team is great but on paper, it’s not that good. At least right now. It’s not even close to the best teams we have had over the years.

 

[waterhead]

I hope this team is great but on paper, it’s not that good. At least right now. It’s not even close to the best teams we have had over the years.

On paper no. In theory anything is possible...lol. Just gotta hope Brannen is the real deal and that he can get the kids ready in time.

Just make the dance is all I am hoping for this year and playing better at the end of the season than the beginning.

 

[cincyguy13]

On paper no. In theory anything is possible...lol. Just gotta hope Brannen is the real deal and that he can get the kids ready in time.

Just make the dance is all I am hoping for this year and playing better at the end of the season than the beginning.

I’m like everyone. I think we can be good, and maybe brannen system can help these guys reach their potential. But on paper, outside of 3 starters, it’s not good. As far as anyone knows.

 

[HarryBosch]

I hope this team is great but on paper, it’s not that good. At least right now. It’s not even close to the best teams we have had over the years.

Would it have been any better if Cronin were still here?

 

[cincycpaw]

I’m like everyone. I think we can be good, and maybe brannen system can help these guys reach their potential. But on paper, outside of 3 starters, it’s not good. As far as anyone knows.

I hear you, but we’ve got Cumberland as a senior with a coach that will help put him in better position to be efficient. C2 hopefully replaces the 3 point shooting of Jenifer. Scott was putting things together last year and I’m excited about this year for him. Losing Brooks is a defensive hit, but dude was 7feet and hardly ever attacked the rim. A loss for sure, but if Brannen increases the shooting %’s then the loss of brooks is less since he was a great offensive rebounder. If Prince, Diarra, and any other newcomers give us what Broome did, this team could easily be better than last years. Have to see how it all plays out, lots of unknowns, but I’m excited.

 

[cincyguy13]

Would it have been any better if Cronin were still here?

If we are talking “on paper”, yes it would have been better. Would have probably only lost 2 players from a team that won the aac championship. Less unknown. Still some but less.

I think this team has more potential, but time will tell.

 

[JoeRunner89]

If we are talking “on paper”, yes it would have been better. Would have probably only lost 2 players from a team that won the aac championship. Less unknown. Still some but less.

I think this team has more potential, but time will tell.

This team going into this yr was a whole lot better and in better position before all the changes. Honestly the program is in more jeopardy right now than when Cronin was still here he ran a stable program that was honestly slightly but surely rising. Old players were starting to come back, their were ties to the regime, there was flow it was a program in every sense of the word essentially. Now thier are a lot of unknowns... And Brannnen has a better system maybe. He recuits and gets more out of his players maybe. He is a more character of a man and a better leader of young men, maybe. We'll just have to see, as far as this upcoming season I expect JC to go all out but hopefully not for himself too much. I feel a rise in Kieth Williams coming. I spoke with Tre Scott not too long ago and he said everything is fine and they will be alright, stating Brannnen is cool referencing how he recuirted him... Well that's all well and dandy. Tre Also said he's in the best shape of his life. This team at least has a big 3 in Tre, JC and Kieth. The bench will likely be Shakey... If they can still make the tournament at least, the yr will be a succes based off what's transpired. Haha like I said I really wanted to see Hardnett go to work would hope he's at least replaced before the start of the season