DePaul fires Leitao
- Thread starter NUChicago
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Maybe they'll bring him back in a couple years, third time's a charm
Wasn't he responsible for the only success they had had since they were cheating?
Look for Depaul to make a big push to hire Whitney Young alum Dennis Gates who has done a terrific job getting Cleveland State back into the tournament. A very good young head coach with the Chicago connections needed to succeed at DePaul.
As a Cleveland State season ticket holder, I want DePaul to stay away from him!
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I love Dennis Gates, but the one thing about this is that he likes his JUCO players, which would never fly at NU. I’m not saying he couldn’t build something with recruiting kids out of HS, but we haven’t seen it at CSU yet.
Fun story I heard last year. When Dennis Gates was in HS, he was being recruited by Wisconsin. The UW assistant who was recruiting him was Shawn Hood, who would later become Gavin Skelly’s High School Coach.
He probably was not working the same recruiting trails at Florida State. He adapted. Smart man.
It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when he will leave CSU. The Horizon is weak but has produced some good coaches. I was an NKU season ticket holder for two years. John Brennan is a good coach.
You certainly know more about CSU than I do, but I’ve read he inherited a train wreck of a situation at CSU with literally only a couple guys on the team. Maybe he is a big JUCO guy, but I’m assuming that at CSU he did that out of necessity.
He said when he was at FSU, he had 2 lists. One for guys he was recruiting to Florida State, and the other one for guys that when he got his own program he would pursue.
It was a huge train wreck! Part of it was necessity, because he had a month to fill out his roster, but he has said multiple times that he likes the attitude of JUCO kids, because most of them were overlooked, and feel like they have something to prove.
Do you think so? Having grown up in Cincinnati and gone to grad school there, I am also a Bearcat fan. I have been pretty underwhelmed with Brennan so far. He didn't strike me as all that charismatic during his initial hiring press tour and his results this year have been very sub-standard for UC. While he did get them to battle their way to the American championship game last week after finishing in the bottom part of the conference, they proceeded to lose that game by about 40, just like the last time they played Houston. That is pretty pathetic.
I hope you are right, though.
I do. But that does not mean I am confident he can be a good recruiter for Cincinnati's expectations. So far, it does not appear he is being very successful at it. He played the transfer market and it was not exactly overwhelming.
But he did a remarkable job at NKU. Maybe I am too impressed with the fact NKU was a DII program up to 2015. That he took them dancing the first year they were eligible. But recruiting wise, some major wins at a program with no name out there:
-Found McDonald as a diamond in the rough, who produced remarkably early in his career
-Found Lavonne Holland, a power conference quality PG in a Juco in Louisville
-Found Jalen Tate, another diamond in the rough who ended up producing very early. After Brennan left he played one more season at NKU and transferred. Now a starter at a super good Arkansas team
-Found Tyler Sharpe sitting on the bench of Louisville and forgotten by every program.
-Developed Chris Vogt from a kid that would make Matt Nicholson look like Kareem to a contributor. Even if he is over his head at Cincinnati
-Developed Dantez Walton into being an all conference quality guy
-Filled gaps in Juco and transfer markets with Zaynah Robinson and Silas Adekhe
-Attracted Carson Williams, Mr Basketball in KY. Unfortunately drove him away and he's now at Western KY. Loved that dude
-Attracted Mason Faulkner, Mr Basketball in KY averagin 36 a game in HS. Drove him away and he is now at Western Carolina posting good numbers. I was not sad to see him go. Kid is a textbook case of "me first"
-Attracted Trevon Faulkner, yet another Mr Basketball in KY - that's 3, for an unknown little program
I believe Williams and Faulkner left because Brannen is not a CC type of guy, willing to let players do whatever on the court. He had a short leash and I'm guessing is was a bit abrasive with what he tolerates. He challenged the domination of Wright State in the Horizon and there's an argument to be made NKU was better than WS in his last years there. Never saw him play zone, always a brand of aggressive man to man. Offense was disciplined, early good shots or run it with discipline.
I don't know if this all will translate into Cincy. Recruiting is a different beast. The American is a pretty decent conference where no fan base has higher expectations. His start has been shaky. I have my doubts about the recruiting, but as a developer and game coach I strongly believe in him.
PS-After Brennan left, Darren Orn took NKU to win the conference tournament with a roster heavily led by players recruited by Brennan. He under performed, IMO, in conference play though. Changed the entire identity of the team and plays 100% match up zone. Small ball on offense with zero interest in post players. Despite having recruited a kid called Marque Warrick, skinny overlooked yet incredibly good for a freshman, I have lost interest for NKU and don't care much for Darren Orn's style.
Thanks for this reply. Transitions are hard so I don't want to close the book on him. One positive sign is that the three freshmen he brought in this year appear to be pretty decent. They were playing significant, if not starters, minutes in the tournament and held their own. I don't know much about the class he's bringing in for next year. I don't follow them that closely anymore.
My disappointment in UC was somewhat tempered by the fact that UConn (my other adopted team) appears to be on the upswing again.
Welp.... I bet Brannen won’t last much longer at UC. He just had six players decide to transfer on him this week. This includes all 3 freshmen I was so high on in my post above. Seems the players really dislike him.
Whats more.... he has NO recruits for this fall.
Wow! That’s bad. Real bad. He always seemed to me like a strict type of coach, so I’m guessing you are right and the players just don’t like him. Wow
Yep, there's an article in The Athletic about it: https://theathletic.com/2461697/202...t-led-to-a-mass-exodus-of-basketball-players/
Thanks for posting the article. Really enjoyed reading it. It feels like the demise of a coach I actually liked. Probably severely lacking in the emotional intelligence department.
Transfers are going to be wild this season. Just learned yesterday Mashburn Jr is transferring from Minny.
Transfers are going to be wild this season. Just learned yesterday Mashburn Jr is transferring from Minny.
Not to jinx things, but I guess we should be pleased not to hear anything from the NU camp yet.
Agreed. For now.
I watched a few Cincy games a couple of years ago when Brennan took over. I felt there was a weird dynamic between him and Jarron Cumberland (a bonafide star player). Do you know if the coach/players relationship was already shaky at that time?
No, I don't. I'm not in Cincy anymore and so don't follow them that closely. All I can say is next year is going to be awful and I hope it doesn't affect their ability to get a good coach.
At this point it seems to me kids without a coach might as well go into the portal. They can always come back and, in the meantime, they meet some coaches and have options.
College Basketball Coach Indefinitely Suspended While Under Investigation
Roughly a week after launching an investigation into their men's basketball program, the Cincinnati Bearcats have decided to suspend head coach John Brannen.
thespun.com
He’ll be gone. The only question is whether UC has to pay him to leave.College Basketball Coach Indefinitely Suspended While Under Investigation
Roughly a week after launching an investigation into their men's basketball program, the Cincinnati Bearcats have decided to suspend head coach John Brannen.
Sad to read about his antics at UC. Can't believe he didn't behave this way in his previous engagement. Cut bait ASAP and move on from this toxic dude.
Cincy hired Wes Miller, who was, reportedly, in the run for the North Carolina job.
From the outside, Cincinnati is a good job. The fan base is large and engaged. They play in a newly renovated arena. Rebuilt in the same modern(esque) way WR was ,but quite bigger. You know, kind of like a W hotel of arenas.
If they could only move to a power conference...
From the outside, Cincinnati is a good job. The fan base is large and engaged. They play in a newly renovated arena. Rebuilt in the same modern(esque) way WR was ,but quite bigger. You know, kind of like a W hotel of arenas.
If they could only move to a power conference...
