2019 surprise unknowns?

[waterhead]

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.

Jaevin was brought here to shoot the ball and he will do that. He doesn't need to do a lot more with Keith and Jarron out there doing the driving. I don't see much to question with him. Knock down 3's and get another bucket or two in transition or half court.

McNeal was brought here to push pace and he will do that. As long as he is not trying to do too much he should be just fine. He won't need to. I think we replace Jenifer and Broome fairly well.

The biggest question will be how we minimize the loss of Brooks. That seems far more up in the air to me.

 

[waterhead]

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

There are some big question marks for sure. But the one thing I am excited to find out is...what if Brannen can put his players in better position to use their talents than Cronin did or would have? Jarron is Jarron and I don't think he needs too many plays drawn up for him...just get him the ball.

But how can we get Keith loose in space? How will Brannen use Scott to make things easier for him? How is the passing and spacing going to open things up to make things easier? How is pushing pace and taking the first good shot going to increase efficiency?

I can't imagine a scenario where our overall defense will be better but if we can get points off the press it could minimize the half court differential. At worst it should be a more exciting brand of basketball. At best who knows?

 

[waterhead]

Another thing that keeps coming back to me is something Terry Nelson said. "Get ready to hear a lot about on time on target passing". Sounds like something any coach would say but perhaps not a major focal point. If I had a dollar for every missed or late entry pass to the post I could be rich. If you wait until the defender has position you have lost the advantage.

Same goes on the perimeter. I look for better spacing, quicker passing and more reversals but the focus being on hitting the target so a shooter (already in shooting position) doesn't have to relocate his center of gravity. It's little things like that I can't wait to see. Our perimeter passing has been pretty awful and it gets stalled out a lot letting defenders catch up. You have to tire out a defense and keep them off balance to open up shots and driving lanes.

This is all on top of going balls to the wall full court each way. We walked it up WAYYYYY too much taking our advantage away by getting up court while the defense was not settled. And we didn't press full court much.

 

[cincyguy13]

Jaevin was brought here to shoot the ball and he will do that. He doesn't need to do a lot more with Keith and Jarron out there doing the driving. I don't see much to question with him. Knock down 3's and get another bucket or two in transition or half court.

McNeal was brought here to push pace and he will do that. As long as he is not trying to do too much he should be just fine. He won't need to. I think we replace Jenifer and Broome fairly well.

The biggest question will be how we minimize the loss of Brooks. That seems far more up in the air to me.

You know these things for sure? I hope you’re right

 

[CaptDale]

Hopefully this coach won't micromanage the team calling EVERY play. The defining moment was when Jenifer got his pocket picked while Cronin was bending his ear on what play to run. Just give them guidance and play sets and let them run the floor. UCLA fans won't be happy when their team averages 70 points per game.

 

[waterhead]

You know these things for sure? I hope you’re right

Jaevin shot a ton of 3's last year at a high % and from video a good portion of them were not anything as easy as Jenifer would shoot. From what I hear he is not a big time play maker off the bounce.

McNeal is a PG who is fast. There is nothing from his efficiency numbers that any coach would be interested in.

I am putting two and two together here.

 

[cincyalum2014]

Lance McAlister said last night to prepare for some bearcats "breaking news" within the next day or two. Could be basketball or football, either way I am intrigued.

 

[JoeRunner89]

There are some big question marks for sure. But the one thing I am excited to find out is...what if Brannen can put his players in better position to use their talents than Cronin did or would have? Jarron is Jarron and I don't think he needs too many plays drawn up for him...just get him the ball.

But how can we get Keith loose in space? How will Brannen use Scott to make things easier for him? How is the passing and spacing going to open things up to make things easier? How is pushing pace and taking the first good shot going to increase efficiency?

I can't imagine a scenario where our overall defense will be better but if we can get points off the press it could minimize the half court differential. At worst it should be a more exciting brand of basketball. At best who knows?

Well, it seems that most ppl love offense; but defense, effort and rebounding win you most games. Offense just takes skill and some headiness. Problem with most Cronin recuits was they weren't that exceptionally recurited therefore they weren't that confident or skillful. You must play with a confidence on that side of the and it typically requires skill to go with it. It takes a coach to build players up and position them every now and then but before that the guy must bring personalities together and build a team first based off his image. In college it's easier to do this opposed to the pros. Now Kieth had always had skill, he just needed more seasoning and more time to learn and develop which is what college is for. Whenever Cronin positioned the program to gain better prospects would of be the time when the offense would get noticiably better and appease those who desire all the style and flair of that but what spoke volumes too me was how a good coach can win without all of that and master the way of getting these guys to buy in. Highschool kids are always gonna want to freelance on offense and lollygag on D it's common even in the pros at times which is why D in the pros is typically the difference between winning and loosing. Even more so in college

 

[waterhead]

Well, it seems that most ppl love offense; but defense, effort and rebounding win you most games. Offense just takes skill and some headiness. Problem with most Cronin recuits was they weren't that exceptionally recurited therefore they weren't that confident or skillful. You must play with a confidence on that side of the and it typically requires skill to go with it. It takes a coach to build players up and position them every now and then but before that the guy must bring personalities together and build a team first based off his image. In college it's easier to do this opposed to the pros. Now Kieth had always had skill, he just needed more seasoning and more time to learn and develop which is what college is for. Whenever Cronin positioned the program to gain better prospects would of be the time when the offense would get noticiably better and appease those who desire all the style and flair of that but what spoke volumes too me was how a good coach can win without all of that and master the way of getting these guys to buy in. Highschool kids are always gonna want to freelance on offense and lollygag on D it's common even in the pros at times which is why D in the pros is typically the difference between winning and loosing. Even more so in college

I'm not all that concerned about flair or style. Just get the ball in the bucket and keep it from going in on the other end. There is nothing about good spacing or proper passing that is flashy. Tempo is not flashy...it's just the speed at which the game is played. Getting shots off before a defense gets set is not flashy.

The kids are working hard under Brannen and Rehfeldt just look at the latest videos and pics. I don't think Brannen is just going to let these kids loose to do what they want. He has a system just like Cronin did. If you are good at executing the system...you will play. If you want to freelance...you probably won't.

We know how Cronin operated but that doesn't mean Brannen isn't going to have his own pet peeves. It seems you are selling him a bit short because of unknowns before he even gets out there. Cronin micro managed the game and had impressive results in regular season. There is a style between micro managing and free for all.

And I don't think brannen is going to forget about defense and effort

 

[TheRealMick]

2017 the frontcourt was better than this team and that's it, I'm taking 19 backcourt and bench depth. Mcneal is PERFECT PG for this team pushing the pace, I bet small wager he avg over 5ast game.

 

[cincyalum2014]

I would take Jennifer, Sophmore Jarron, Jacob Evans, Gary Clark and Kyle Washington over any 5 you put out there at the same time on this current roster. With that being said I think this team has more depth than that 17-18 team and I think this new roster looks wonderful on paper and I am all in on the new roster.... but I am not ready to say a team that has never played a single game together is better than a 2 seed 30+ win team nor am I sold on McNeal who has been at 4 or 5 different colleges but has only played 2 full seasons. I hope I am wrong and McNeal comes in and lights it up. I think with the addition to Harvey they add another guy who can come in and contribute right away.

 

[waterhead]

I would take Jennifer, Sophmore Jarron, Jacob Evans, Gary Clark and Kyle Washington over any 5 you put out there at the same time on this current roster. With that being said I think this team has more depth than that 17-18 team and I think this new roster looks wonderful on paper and I am all in on the new roster.... but I am not ready to say a team that has never played a single game together is better than a 2 seed 30+ win team nor am I sold on McNeal who has been at 4 or 5 different colleges but has only played 2 full seasons. I hope I am wrong and McNeal comes in and lights it up. I think with the addition to Harvey they add another guy who can come in and contribute right away.

Still not sure what Harvey is going to bring this year being late to the game and also rehabbing an ankle that has kept him out most of the year and more rehab to come. I guess if all goes well he will be able to get some decent minutes but who knows how long he can stay out there with all the running we will be doing. I think the other guys are doing conditioning now.

Could be a nice scoring pop off the bench though

 

[TheRealMick]

Harvey jaevin jarron Williams Scott. Plus my bench a lot better

 

[Gocats]

Hopefully this coach won't micromanage the team calling EVERY play. The defining moment was when Jenifer got his pocket picked while Cronin was bending his ear on what play to run. Just give them guidance and play sets and let them run the floor. UCLA fans won't be happy when their team averages 70 points per game.

70 Points....try 57

 

[cincyguy13]

Still not sure what Harvey is going to bring this year being late to the game and also rehabbing an ankle that has kept him out most of the year and more rehab to come. I guess if all goes well he will be able to get some decent minutes but who knows how long he can stay out there with all the running we will be doing. I think the other guys are doing conditioning now.

Could be a nice scoring pop off the bench though

I think it would be reasonable to expect 7-8 pts a game with a couple 15+ point games. Depending on the matchup. Something similar to Jarron or Jacobs freshman years. Maybe a notch below them.

 

[TheRealMick]

I think it would be reasonable to expect 7-8 pts a game with a couple 15+ point games. Depending on the matchup. Something similar to Jarron or Jacobs freshman years. Maybe a notch below them.

Lol notch below or above? Harvey looks more skill wise satterfield lance demar than Evans Williams Cumberland

 

[cincyguy13]

Lol notch below or above? Harvey looks more skill wise satterfield lance demar than Evans Williams Cumberland

I said notch below because those two guys were pretty good. One was drafted in the 1st round of the nba draft and the other is going to be a top 5 scorer in uc history. So yeah, it’s going to be hard to be better than those two. But I hope he is.

He also has a couple good players in front of him that will take his minutes.

 

[Helicopter]

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.

Jaevin has proven he can shoot. In a game. Off the dribble. Off the screen. From deep. With a quick release. At high volume with high %. While defended.

We haven't really had that versatility since Field Williams. If he is semi-competent with ball handling and defense he will be a very valuable piece.