Full Season Grades/Review
 

Overall Grade: C-
-We can't grade the season on how it the conference tourney went (which was good outside of the Houston game) and overall, the standard is the standard and we didn't meet it. The first 10 games were about the most frustrating UC games I've ever watched. We lacked an identity (and still largely do) and seemed to play as if nothing was at stake. But after the covid break, the team got some slump busters under their belt and figured out how to win. But overall, its a bad season. And nothing to be really be proud of. This is not UC basketball. But hopefully its a step in the right direction.


Growth & Development: B+
-the team clearly got better from Game 1 to the last game. But it wasn't perfect either. But overall I think you can count on john's teams getting better as the season goes on. JD, Mikey, Mason, & MAW all seemed to get better and more confident with the more games they played, which is what you want from a young core. Tari oozes with potential but seemed to get his own way through the season. Bigs take longer to develop. So I'd expect a huge jump from him in the offseason. But other guys like Chris Vogt some how got worse and become almost a liability, when last year they were an asset.

Coaching strategy/Rotations: C+
- the insistence on Vogt continued to boggle my mind throughout the season. And some of the player rotations at certain segments also bothered me. But overall It was an acceptable job. I do think Brannen needs a "defensive coordinator" on his staff (if he can recruit, then hire him today).



Kenpom preseason Rank: 59
Kenpom Postseason Rank: 116


Tier 1: 1-4
Tier 2: 4-4
Tier 3: 4-2
Tier 4: 3-1

Offensive Rank:151
Defenisve Rank: 87


We will finish the season with just 2 players on the roster with an offensive rating over 100 ( MAW, who literally matched his OR from last year and JD).



Returning players: ( Not including Dou, Nor Gabe until I see reason to )

Starters:
PG-David DeJulius - Sr
SG: Mika Adams-Woods - JR
SF: Jeremiah Davenport - JR
PF- Tari Eason - SO
C- Victor Lahkin - FR

Bench:
PG- Mikey Saunders - SO
G- Mason Madsen - SO



Team Needs:
-Alpha Scorer (SG)
-Elite lockdown wing defender (SG/SF)
-Athletic Shot blocking big (C)
-Stretch 4 (PF)
-Project Big with Offensive upside

All fair I think. The loss didn’t change much for me. It looked terrible but We need everyone to stay and need pieces. All that still applies.

My grades are going primarily off this season's results.

Out-of-Conference (33% weight): D+

Other than the Furman win, the OOC was a near disaster.

AAC Play (50% weight): C

Started out 1-4, finished 7-2. There were definitely some inspiring performances (@SMU, @Tulsa) but for the most part we struggled against mediocre teams despite having better players.

AAC Tournament (17% weight): A-

Beat two bubble teams but didn't have the right stones to throw at goliath for the championship game. Still a very noteworthy accomplishment given the circumstances.

Overall: C

No NCAA bid, No NIT bid, didn't beat X, finished sub-100 in NET & KenPom, finished 5th out of 11 in a (barely) 2-bid conference (were picked to finish 4th preseason).

BUT, we saw encouraging development from many of our underclassmen and have the foundation in place for a team that can be much more competitive over the next 2 years.

We peaked at just the right time and our two wins in the conference tournament delivered some very positive press for a program that had been void of it for much of the season.

If this season represents taking one step back to take two steps forward, then it'll be for the better. We need to take a big step forward starting next season though.

Team appears to be right on track for what a young team should look like. The only hope for this year was Keith would make a huge leap (like Grimes did) and be a league mvp. That didn't happen and we struggled a great deal.

It would have helped a great deal if Vogt would have been what he was supposed to be, but he clearly came in a lot weaker and even slower than before.

JD came out of nowhere and that was great to see.

The freshman class did all you could expect them to do. They got better as the season went on and really showed their abilities at the end.


I don't know if I've been as excited about a group of freshman/sophomore in a long long time. Other classes have had better individual players (Gary, Cumberland, Evans) but I'm not sure we've had this number of freshmen and sophomores to be excited about at once. Davenport/Eason/Saunders have first team aac potential by the time they're Srs. Thats not bad for Brannens first 2 classes. Pick up some pieces and turn into a bubble team next year with a big run coming in 2 years with a team full of Srs and Jrs.

I'll go for some individual grades. These might seem harsh, I'm using C as average compared to my expectations.

Keith Williams: D+
- Keith's passing improved, but that's about it. He wasn't able to handle an increased usage rate as an efficient scorer. Defense and rebounding remained just ok.

Chris Vogt: D-
- Not sure what his issue was this year. Big drop from last year, especially in true shooting percentage from elite to average.

Mamoudou Diarra: D
- Still a turnover and foul machine as a 4th year player. He did provide some energy and rebounding at times.

David DeJulius: B
- Shooting was disappointing, but his dribble penetration and passing were better than I expected. He can be a good floor general.

Mika Adams-Woods: C
- Typical second year progression reducing foul and turnover rates and improving defense. Shooting took a step back. Still too reliant on dominant left hand.

Jeremiah Davenport: A+
- Big step up in all areas in his second year. My only complaint is poor interior defense and rebounding against bigger 4s, but I didn't expect him to be doing that anyway.

Tari Eason: C+
- He's about what I expected as a top freshman recruit. Tons of ability, but lots of mental lapses. Hoping for a big jump next year.

Mike Saunders: B+
- Showed huge potential late in the season. High turnover rate typical of a freshman pg. Shooting needs work.

Mason Madsen: A-
- I wasn't expecting much, but it's nice to have a fearless shooter. Showed some good instincts on both ends too. Defense needs work.

Coach Brannen: C-
- It's hard to judge him in such a strange year. We don't know what role he played in opt outs. Starting the year with Rap at the 4 was a big fail, but then got the team playing pretty well into March.

I think the current group of fresh and Soph are exciting. I have zero doubts about their ability In this awful league.

But I do think against high major teams, these guys will need a whole lot more help. I don’t think the returning core is a top 40 team.

If John can add some really high level transfers, with the addition of our young core, then I think we can really make some noise.


But make no mistake, the future of UC basketball depends on who John adds this offseason not what’s returning. I think in a perfect world Mason, Lahkin, Mikey & Maw are the strong bench a winning team needs. Which means you need 2 starter level additions for next year. If you can add those 2 kinda players, then when you go to the bench your bringing in 2 high level shooters, a speedster, & a stretch big.

There are definitely portal guys out there. If he can convince them of what you just described, the plan moves up a year.

We just need any one who plans on transferring to transfer now, that includes opt outs.

If Harvey ain’t coming back then transfer so we can free up his scholarship. Same goes for gabe. Either enter portal now or don’t.

It feels weird to say this now, but I’m not gonna be mad if Gabe decides a transfer is best for him. He maybe awesome. But man, in terms of on paper needs, he isn’t the alpha scorer (at least I don’t think) and he isn’t a lockdown defender. If he leaves and we can fill his spot with one of those kinda players, then it’s good news.

I’d love Harvey to come back. Because I think he can be the alpha scorer. But I’d imagine he announces he’s transferring as soon as March madness is over

I say grab couple 6’6-6’8 skill guy(transfers), tall HS PG, and HS C

So as of now we looking @5-6 open spots?