AAC Basketball

Former Cincinnati Bearcats head coach John Brannen filed a federal lawsuit against the university, athletic director John Cunningham and school president Neville Pinto, according to Justin Williams of The Athletic. 

According to the lawsuit, #Bearcats athletic director John Cunningham has been sued in both his official and individual capacity.

— Justin Williams (@Williams_Justin) May 21, 2021

Williams noted the move was expected following Brennan's ousting in April after just two seasons. 

The exact nature of the complaint was not immediately available.

Cunningham announced an internal investigation into the program following the entrance of six Bearcats players into the transfer portal at the end of the season. 

"The University has always put the welfare of its student-athletes first," Cunningham said in announcing the investigation. "We feel this is an essential step to ensure that all of our athletic programs meet the highest standards." 

When Cunningham announced Brannen's suspension April 3, he explained the athletic department spoke with "student-athletes, coaches and staff, as well as with Coach Brannen" before reaching a decision but would not go into any of the allegations, findings or details uncovered. 

Per Williams:

"Details of the allegations against Brannen, the scope of the external review and/or any prior internal investigations by the university remain unknown at this time, although sources saidthey believe the external review to be a multifaceted, layered examination encompassing Brannen’s two seasons as coach of the Bearcats."

The AD called the entire situation a "personnel matter." Brannen was eventually fired April 9.

Wes Miller was hired as Brannen's replacement on April 14.

Now, Brannen will have an opportunity to plead his case on the record in front of a federal judge. 

After Brannen was placed on suspension pending the outcome of the investigation, the coach retained attorney Tom Mars, who quickly cast doubt on Cunningham's ability to conduct a thorough examination of the program. 

“It’s been my experience that collegiate ADs are experts at mishandling internal investigations, and this case is no exception,” Mars told The Athletic in April. “I’m in possession of a document that John Cunningham hasn’t seen. I haven’t decided when to share it with UC’s outside lawyers. But whenever John Cunningham does see it, I expect he’ll have a change of heart about the direction he’s been going and his decision to place Coach Brannen on administrative leave."

The University of Connecticut announced Friday it signed women's head basketball coach Geno Auriemma to a five-year contract extension through the Huskies' 2024-25 season.

The new deal is retroactive to the 2020-21 campaign and includes an annual base salary of $600,000 plus of media, consulting and speaking appearances fees worth $2.2 million in the first season. Auriemma's base salary will increase by $100,000 each year of the deal and includes postseason incentives meaning it's worth "at least $15 million," per Alexa Philippou of the Hartford Courant.

Auriemma, 67, has led UConn to 21 Final Four appearances and 11 national championships since taking over the program in 1985. He owns a career record of 1,119-144 record (.886 winning percentage) in 36 seasons.

His new contract includes a variety of incentives based on the team's performance and the option to receive either a job within the Huskies' athletic department with a $500,000 annual salary or a one-time $1.5 million payment if he retires or resigns from coaching in good standing, per Philippou.

Last July, Auriemma joked COVID-19 quarantine requirements that forced him to stay in the same spot for an extended time pushed him even further away from retirement thoughts, though.

"This is the longest I've been in one place in my life. I've been in Connecticut since the middle of March," he told reporters. "If this is what retirement is like, I've got no time for this. I'm not ready for this. No way, no how. I can't do this."

Although UConn hasn't won a national title since 2016, when the Huskies won their fourth straight championship, the program has retained powerhouse status with at least 28 wins and no more than three losses over the past five years. It reached the 2021 Final Four where it fell to Arizona.

The current Huskies roster features Paige Bueckers, one of the most prized recruits in recent history, and they added the second-best group of 2021 prospects, per ESPN.

Auriemma, an Italy native who grew up in Pennsylvania, has solidified his status as one of the greatest coaches in history between his success at UConn and leading the U.S. national team to three Olympic gold medals in women's basketball.

The contract extension should end any further questions about his short-term status.

An attorney for former Cincinnati men's basketball coach John Brannen denied Brannen bribed players not to come forward about compliance issues within the program.

"Coach Brannen paid $135 of his own money so one of his players could see a mental health professional during the pandemic," Tom Mars wrote Tuesday. "UC Athletics has no psychologist on staff, instead opting to outsource those services to a Kentucky clinical psychologist whose advertisements say that he sees patients about infertility, gender identity, amnesia and infidelity."

@MrKeithJenkins @Williams_Justin @FOX19Jeremy @ChadBrendel @pauldaugh https://t.co/Gc2d4uPHSu pic.twitter.com/EZSlkqZQO7

— Tom Mars (@TomMarsLaw) May 4, 2021

The Cincinnati Enquirer's Keith Jenkins obtained the termination letter Cincinnati Director of Athletics sent to Brannen on April 9. Cunningham said Brannen "failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance within the men's basketball program with respect to rules, regulations and policies and have further jeopardized and/or disregarded the well-being, health and safety of student-athletes, despite written reprimand":

Moreover, you have made, attempted, arranged or otherwise made payment for special benefits for a student-athlete other than through approved channels; intimidated and/or attempted to intimidate students from raising proper compliance concerns; as you have previously been notified, running one or more practices without proper precautions for player health and safety and repeatedly violated time management plan policies; and not been forthcoming with the University regarding your actions.

Cincinnati moved on from Brannen on April 9 following an investigation during which administrators spoke with players, coaches and staffers. The school had placed him on administrative leave, a step that came after six Bearcats players entered the transfer portal.

According to Jenkins, Brannen was also reprimanded last November after staging a practice that wasn't pre-approved by the team's training staff. The workout reportedly was so intense that one player required help to leave the court.

In a statement to the Enquirer, Mars countered that Brannen's firing was the culmination of "a pre-determined plan" to oust him without being on the hook for his $5 million buyout.

Brannen spent two years in charge at Cincinnati, with the Bearcats going 32-21. The university hired Wes Miller as his replacement on April 14.

UConn announced star basketball player Paige Bueckers underwent surgery Friday to repair an osteochondral defect on her right ankle, per ESPN Women's Hoops.

She is expected to return by the start of preseason action in September.

Beuckers averaged 20.0 points, 5.8 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game last season on her way to becoming the Associated Press Women's Basketball Player of the Year—and the first freshman ever to win the award.

Paige Bueckers of @UConnWBB is the FIRST freshman to be named AP’s women’s basketball player of the year!

Hats off to @paigebueckers1!

(🎥 @AP_Top25)

pic.twitter.com/S0rWgfsnRb

— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) March 31, 2021

The guard was the clear go-to option for a team that reached the Final Four before losing to Arizona in the national semifinals.

Since 1995, every other winner has been a junior or senior except former UConn stars Maya Moore and Breanna Stewart, who both won as sophomores.

Bueckers' impressive performance in her first collegiate season wasn't enough to get the Huskies a title, but they will again go into next year with high expectations.

The team returns each of its top five scorers in Bueckers, Christyn Williams, Olivia Nelson-Ododa, Evina Westbrook and Aaliyah Edwards. The squad also adds No. 1 prospect Azzi Fudd, a guard, as part of the second-best recruiting class in the country, per Shane Laflin and Jason Key of ESPN.

As long as Bueckers is healthy, UConn has the talent to bring home its first title since 2016.

Moussa Cisse's time with the Memphis Tigers is reportedly over after just one season.

Jeff Borzello of ESPN reported on Monday that the big man entered the transfer portal following his freshman campaign on Penny Hardaway's team. 

According to 247Sports' composite rankings, Cisse was a 5-star prospect and the No. 10 overall player in the recruiting class of 2020.

The 18-year-old averaged 6.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 55.2 percent from the field during his one season with the Tigers. Cisse was a key rotational player in the frontcourt even though he was far from a go-to option.

Cisse flashed his potential at times with double-doubles against SMU, Wichita State, Mississippi Valley State and Arkansas State, but consistency on the offensive end was something of an issue. He would disappear for extended stretches as a reliable offensive force, although he helped make up for that by contributing on the boards and protecting the rim.

He earned American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year honors in large part due to those efforts in areas outside of scoring.

Jason Munz of the Memphis Commercial Appeal noted this development comes after Cisse announced he would enter the NBA draft without signing with an agent so he could keep his eligibility.

Munz also reported the big man is the fifth player from Memphis' team last season to enter the portal. Boogie Ellis (USC), D.J. Jeffries (Mississippi State), Damion Baugh (TCU) and Jordan Nesbitt (Saint Louis) have already chosen their destinations.

Cisse's departure leaves Malcolm Dandridge and incoming freshman Sam Onu as centers for the Tigers.

Cincinnati interviewed former Bearcats star Nick Van Exel as part of its search for a new men's basketball coach, according to Keith Jenkins of the Cincinnati Enquirer.

The school fired John Brannen on Friday after placing him on administrative leave while it looked into why six players entered the transfer portal shortly after the conclusion of the 2020-21 season.

Van Exel spent two seasons at Cincinnati before embarking on a 13-year NBA career. In retirement, the 1997-98 All-Star began building his coaching resume.

Having worked as a player development instructor for the Atlanta Hawks, he joined the Milwaukee Bucks' staff for the 2013-14 season and then moved on to the Texas Legends of the NBA G League. He was the Legends head coach in 2015-16 when they finished 23-27.

Van Exel's most recent gig saw him work as an assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies for three seasons.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported in April 2019 the 49-year-old was interested in succeeding Mick Cronin as Cincinnati's head coach, with the Bearcats opting instead for Brannen.

Because of his experience as a player with the program, Cincinnati probably wouldn't have to sell the fanbase on Van Exel too much. However, Jenkins reported the university also interviewed Erik Martin, an assistant coach at West Virginia who was also college teammates with Van Exel.

According to Jenkins, UCLA associate head coach Darren Savino could be in the mix as well but reportedly has yet to formally interview. While Savino didn't suit up for the Bearcats, he was the team's associate head coach for nine years under Cronin.

A Kentucky native who also coached at Northern Kentucky, Brannen knew the region but didn't have firm ties to Cincinnati prior to leading the Bearcats. It appears school administrators want to stay within the family in identifying his replacement. 

The University of Cincinnati has parted ways with men's head basketball coach John Brannen, the school announced Friday.

pic.twitter.com/qCSkTA1ADV

— John Brannen (@coachbrannen) April 9, 2021

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports and College Hoops Today first reported that Cincinnati was expected to part ways with Brannen. Justin Williams of The Athletic confirmed the move. 

Brannen was placed on administrative leave by the school on April 3 pending an investigation after six players transferred last month. 

Matt Norlander of CBS Sports noted Brannen and Cincinnati athletic director John Cunningham "haven't been on speaking terms for weeks" and a parting of ways was "an inevitability."

Per Justin Williams of The Athletic, the recent spate of transfers is "tied to a rift between those players and coach John Brannen."

Williams noted some of the rift between the players and Brannen was related to navigating the 2020-21 season amid the COVID-19 pandemic. There were also "personality clashes and the culture within the program" that "exacerbated the mental strain for some."

Within a three-day period last month, Mason Madsen, Tari Eason, Mike Saunders Jr., Gabe Madsen, Zach Harvey and Mamoudou Diarra all announced they had entered the transfer portal. 

Brannen was hired by the Bearcats in April 2019 after Mick Cronin left the program to become head coach at UCLA. The 47-year-old went 32-21 with Cincinnati over the past two seasons, winning an AAC regular-season title in 2019-20. 

Penny Hardaway and the Memphis Tigers landed a significant addition from the transfer portal.

Guard Earl Timberlake told Jonathan Givony of ESPN that he is transferring from Miami to Memphis to play for the Tigers during the 2021-22 season.

"I felt like I can learn a lot from [coach] Penny Hardaway—all he's done in his career," Timberlake said. "I like the way they defend, they have the No. 1-ranked defense in the country. I can add to that. I like how they see my game. They know I can pass and they'll help me get back to defending the way I know I can defend and try to win a national championship. I appreciate everyone for recruiting me and I'm going to do my best at Memphis."

That the defense stood out for Timberlake is notable because the Tigers finished last season No. 1 in the country on that side of the floor in KenPom.com's rankings. They used that defense to go 9-2 in their final 11 regular-season games and eventually win the NIT championship over Mississippi State.

Maintaining that defensive presence figures to be key for the 2021-22 campaign, especially given the overall roster changes.

Givony noted Boogie Ellis, Damion Baugh, Jordan Nesbitt and D.J. Jeffries all entered the transfer portal, while Moussa Cisse declared for the NBA draft but is yet to hire an agent. An impressive recruiting class that is No. 8 on the 247Sports' composite rankings is coming in, and Davion Warren transferred to the Tigers from Hampton.

Timberlake arrives as another key addition and someone who could play his way up NBA draft boards with a successful season.

He dealt with ankle and shoulder injuries in his freshman season with the Hurricanes and appeared in just seven games while averaging 9.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.7 steals a night.

At his best, he is someone who can impact the game in a number of ways, including on the defensive end.

That should fit in well with Hardaway's squad.

Houston men's basketball head coach Kelvin Sampson spoke with reporters Friday about his father, John "Ned" Sampson, as well as his experiences with prejudice and racism growing up in 1960s North Carolina.

Sampson's father primarily worked as a basketball coach and athletic director, and he had a 34-year career with Pembroke High School that ended in 1983.

But he's also known for his role in running the Ku Klux Klan out of Maxton, North Carolina in 1958. During what is known as "Battle of Hayes Pond," he was one of several hundred members of the Lumbee Tribe who prevented a KKK rally from occurring in the area.

"I'm very proud of Lumbee Nation. I'm very proud of my father," Sampson told reporters, per Scott Gleeson of the USA Today. "[Ned Sampson]'s a pretty good person to be a role model of growing up."

He also added:

“Even to this day if you go back to Pembroke, North Carolina, he was a rock and a foundation piece for that community. We’re a non-federally recognized native American tribe that’s felt prejudice and racism our entire lives. When I was raised in Pembroke, that was a big source of pride—that we stayed with each other. We kind of care of each other. The KKK was huge in that area. That’s a vivid, clear image with me." 

Sampson spoke with Nick Martin of Deadspin in March 2018 about his recollection regarding the Battle of Hayes Pond, which happened when the Houston coach was just three years old.

“The thing I remember about Hayes Pond was my father, Mr. Deldon—these were all his friends—they just jumped in a truck and went down to Hayes Pond. And they were bound and determined to break up that KKK rally. [A KKK member] had put a lightbulb out there in the shed, they were having that rally, pumping their KKK rhetoric. [A member of the Lumbee tribe] shot the light out, shots were being fired. And the first thing [the Klan] did, because they didn’t have guns, was they jumped under a truck. Just jumped under it. ... The next thing you know was the rally was broken up and it was gone, and that was considered a victory. They ran the KKK out of town.”

Sampson's father also endured racism while working part-time in a tobacco factory, and the Houston coach noted that water fountains and bathrooms were segregated. His father also taught at segregated coaching clinics.

"You didn't think anything of it at the time," Sampson said. "It's the way it was in the 1960s. It was very divided. Very racist. But we survived. We achieved."

The elder Sampson did his best to break down down those barriers, and Ronnie Davis, a former athletic director of the Public Schools of Robeson County, spoke about the coach.

“It didn’t matter what nationality or race a kid was,″ Chavis told Earl Vaughan Jr. of the Fayetteville Observer in Feb. 2014 following Sampson's death. “He was a kid that needed to be coached.″

Sampson's son will now be looking to win the first national championship of his illustrious coaching career.

His Houston Cougars will be playing the Baylor Bears in the Final Four on Saturday at 5:14 p.m. ET. The winner plays Gonzaga or UCLA on Monday in the national championship.

The Houston Cougars are headed to the Final Four for the first time since 1984 following their 67-61 Monday night victory over the Oregon State Beavers.

After leading 34-17 at halftime, Houston allowed Oregon State to claw all the way back to tie the game at 55-55, but the Cougars' prowess both on defense and on the offensive glass was just too much in the end.

Houston also made too many threes against an Oregon State team that had excelled on the defensive perimeter for the past few weeks. Marcus Sasser led all scorers with 20 points and five made triples. Quentin Grimes was close behind, scoring 18 with four made threes. DeJon Jarreau also made a pair in his second straight game with at least nine points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

With the victory, Houston became the first team in NCAA tournament history to reach the national semifinals by going through four consecutive double-digit seeds.

The combined seed total of opponents Houston has faced (No. 15 Cleveland State, No. 10 Rutgers, No. 11 Syracuse and No. 12 Oregon State) is 48, and that is just the sixth time a team has faced a seed total of 45 or greater in its first four tournament games.

• 1990 UNLV faced a 16-8-12-11 path (47 total)
• 1991 North Carolina faced a 16-9-12-10 path (47 total)
• 2001 Michigan State faced a 16-9-12-11 path (48 total)
• 2008 Kansas faced a 16-8-12-10 path (46 total)
• 2011 Kansas faced a 16-9-12-11 path (48 total), but it lost to No. 11 seed VCU

(Let the record show that Gonzaga's four previous trips to the Elite Eight each featured a combined seed total below 40, and this year's is 35. When I tweeted about Houston's seed path Saturday night, there were a whole bunch of "Well, that's just an average year for Gonzaga" responses and, come on, just stop already.)

That cupcake path is going to be a narrative for the next few days, but don't let it detract from how good this Houston team is.

After beating Texas Tech 64-53 on a neutral court in late November, the Cougars entered December ranked in the top 15 on KenPom and never once abandoned that post. All season long, they have had one of the most efficient defenses and one of the most relentless frontcourts of offensive rebounders, and that has continued through the first four rounds of this tournament.

Despite upsetting three very impressive teams in Tennessee, Oklahoma State and Loyola-Chicago, Oregon State looked hopelessly overmatched most of Monday night. The Beavers switched up their defensive alignments frequently, trying anything and everything to push Houston out of its comfort zone. However, open looks were all but impossible for Oregon State to come by, and it simply could not buy a defensive rebound when it needed one most.

And yet, the Beavers scored more points (61) against Houston than any other team has thus far in this dance. That's a testament to how suffocating this defense typically is.

Houston now ranks in the top 15 in the nation in all of the following on defense: steal percentage, block percentage, three-point percentage, two-point percentage, effective field-goal percentage and even free-throw percentage.

That last one might seem more random than defensive, but the Cougars make teams work so hard for every inch of space that even the free-throw strokes look fatigued after a while.

Case in point: Oregon State's Ethan Thompson was 25-of-26 from the charity stripe in his first three games of the tournament, but he shot just 5-of-8 against Houston. Maurice Calloo had not missed a free throw since early February and was 27-of-30 on the season. He missed two of his five tries against the Cougars. They just wear you out.

Perhaps most impressive and unexpected has been Houston's ability to swarm without fouling. Putting opponents at the free-throw line was a common problem during the regular season—frankly, the only significant complaint one could make about this defense—but the Cougars have committed just 14.8 fouls per game during the tournament.

Oh, and the offensive rebounds, otherwise known as the defense played on offense.

Houston had a completely unexpected off night in that department in the Sweet 16 against a Syracuse team that almost always struggles on the defensive glass. The Cougars only got back 29.7 percent of their misses in that one. But they corralled 43.2 percent against Rutgers, 48.5 percent against Cleveland State and 46.3 percent against Oregon State.

All told, Houston has grabbed 62 offensive rebounds while only allowing 86 defensive rebounds. And those second/third/fourth chances usually make a colossal difference for a team that is now 28-3.

It's all remarkable stuff.

But as has been the refrain all season long with the Cougars: Who have they faced?

Every other team that earned a No. 1 or No. 2 seed had at least eight Quadrant 1 wins. All the No. 3 seeds had at least six such victories.

Houston, though?

Just two wins in three tries, and one of those two wins was a road game against NET No. 65 SMU—a team that never felt like a serious threat for an at-large bid. The Cougars had that November win over Texas Tech and no other bragging rights. (TTU's primary power forward, Kevin McCullar, wasn't playing at that point in the season, either, because of a high-ankle sprain.)

Suffice it to say, overall strength of schedule was a huge question mark for the Cougars long before the NCAA tournament began, and this little Waltz of the Creampuffs through the Big Dance has done nothing to change that.

Maybe it would be different if Houston had plowed through its four games the way USC destroyed Drake, Kansas and Oregon en route to the Elite Eight. Instead, the Cougars needed a borderline miraculous comeback against Rutgers and narrowly avoided a complete meltdown against Oregon State.

But if you've been patiently waiting for months to see if Houston can hold its own against some of the best teams in the country, you're in luck.

After four consecutive wins on the game's easy setting, it's time for the Cougars to crank the difficulty level up to expert. To win it all, they'll need to beat Baylor in the Final Four and probably Gonzaga in the national championship—merely the two teams we've been hyping up as national championship co-favorites since before the season began.

If that happens, would anyone seriously still care about how weak this year's AAC was or how favorably that Midwest Region broke for the Cougars?

Of course not. We would spend at least the next decade trying to figure out how Houston—the program that was on the receiving end of one of the wildest national championship upsets of all time in 1983—became the lone hurdle this Gonzaga juggernaut couldn't clear.

These Cougars have the defense to beat anyone. And if they win two more games, the strength of opponents they faced in the previous 31 will be an irrelevant footnote on a historic season.

                   

Kerry Miller covers men's college basketball and college football for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter, @kerrancejames.