TicketsBy Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – Even during the middle of last season when the University of Cincinnati Bearcats were on their way to a 30-6 record and their seventh straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, Cane Broome was a frequent topic of conversation among the UC faithful.
The 6-foot transfer from Sacred Heart, who ranked eighth in the nation in scoring two years ago with a 23.1-point average before transferring to UC, was viewed as the point guard the Bearcats have long been waiting for. He was expected to be the prolific scorer who would put the Bearcats over the top in their quest to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament when he became eligible in 2017-18.
Now his time has arrived.
As Mick Cronin discussed his team's prospects Wednesday for this season, his 12th as UC's head coach, he was quick to acknowledge what Broome could mean for the Bearcats, adding a dash of his own special brand of reality.
"Our style of play, with Cane and Justin (Jenifer) being much faster, quicker point guards is something that would be a big difference," Cronin said. "We're a deeper team, we're a more athletic team and we have much more speed at the point guard position. Cane's speed and quickness, and his elusiveness, are definitely things that he brings to the table. But whenever a guy transfers everybody's always excited about the guys that sat out. Last year it was Kyle (Washington). This year it's Cane. The guy that sat out is always the best player in the world."
The Bearcats have enough talent surrounding Broome that they don't need him to be the best player in the world, but there's no doubt that all eyes will be on him as the season begins.
The confident Broome will take the reins of an offense that has been run for the past three years by Troy Caupain, who was bigger and not as quick as Broome.
"I feel like I'm my own player," Broome said. "He had a great career and filling his shoes isn't going to be easy, but I'm ready to do my own thing here and get that going."
Broome is not the whole story at UC, not by a long shot. The Bearcats return three starters and their top player off the bench from the 2016-17 team that won the second-most games in school history. Six-foot-nine forwards Gary Clark (10.8 points, 7.9 rebounds) and Kyle Washington (12.9, 6.8) give the Bearcats two solid inside players to go with 6-foot-6 swingman Jacob Evans (11.1 points, 41.8 percent 3-point shooter). Six-foot-five sophomore guard Jarron Cumberland, who made the American Athletic Conference all-rookie team after averaging 8.3 points, averaged 11.6 points in five postseason games a year ago.
They also have four promising freshmen to go with returning players Tre Scott and Nysier Brooks – 6-foot-9 forwards Mamoudou Diarra and Eliel Nsosome, and 6-foot-5 guards Keith Williams and Trevor Moore.
"I'm excited to see what's in front of us," Clark said.
So is Cronin, who said he woke up at 5 a.m. Wednesday in anticipation of the first official day of practice. This is a team that will begin the season with the respect that has so often eluded it in recent years. The Bearcats have been ranked in the Top 25 in most, if not all, preseason rankings. USA Today has them ranked No. 21, Bleacher Report 12th, The Sporting News 13th, Blue Ribbon 13th and CBSSports.com 15th.
"I know there's a lot of excitement about this team in the community, which we appreciate," Cronin said. "In relation to expectations, you'd rather have them high than low. There's no doubt about that. I think ours are legitimate because I think our personnel is legitimate. We've got some proven players that are quality players.
"We're used to being underrated. We're a team that traditionally starts out unranked and ends up ranked. We just have to embrace it and make sure that you realize this doesn't matter. It didn't matter when we were unranked, so it can't all of a sudden matter when you're ranked."
For the first time since the 1988-89 season, the Bearcats will not play their home games at Fifth Third Arena, which is undergoing an $87-million renovation that is scheduled to be finished in time for next season. Until then, UC will play its home games at Northern Kentucky University's BB&T Arena. Because of the change in home venues, in an effort to avoid a conflict with NKU, UC sought a waiver from the NCAA to move its Nov. 1 pre-season exhibition game against Division II power Bellarmine to Louisville.
Other than that, Cronin said, the Bearcats will do their best to conduct business as usual.
"From our ticket sales, our fans are embracing it, so we just have to embrace it. When we play games over there, turn it into our home gym. There's a lot of people that don't play on campus around the country. We don't really talk about stuff like that because I don't think it matters where the game is being played. It's who's tough enough, who's ready to play and who's tough enough to execute and get the win. We're not gonna use it is any type of excuse."
In the end, Cronin said, the Bearcats will go as far as their guards take them. Their front line, he said, is a known commodity. But when UC reaches the NCAA Tournament against other quality opponents, someone will have to step up and make perimeter shots.
As Cronin put it, "You have to have answers."
His biggest concern as practice begins is to find someone who can close games the way Caupain did so many times during a stellar career that saw him finish as the only player in school history with more than 1,300 points and 500 assists. His 515 career assists are a school record.
"Troy's not here now," Cronin said. "He's the second-winningest player in the history of the school. He maybe didn't have the best senior year individually, but he finished a lot of games for us. There's an area where somebody is gonna have to step up as a finisher. Somebody's got to have the ball late in the game and make plays. It usually has to be a guard. It can't be a big guy because they'll just double team him.
"Hopefully we've got some guys that are ready for that role. I think we do, but we'll see.
That'll be the big difference for this team that would make me nervous. That's real. Until we get in that moment where other guys are gonna have the ball at the end of the game, you don't know how it's gonna go."
Not to worry, Clark said.
"I think this year we have a lot of guys that can do that," Clark said. "We've got a lot of guys that can step up and knock down free throws, hit those big shots for us. In time, we'll see who that person is."
Add it all up and the Bearcats are hoping this is the year they make it past the second round of the NCAA Tournament for only the second time during Cronin's tenure. Their stay in the tournament was ended in two of the last three years by UCLA and Kentucky, two of the sport's most celebrated programs, both times in the second round.
"We went 30-6 last year, but it was a disappointing way that we went out because we expected way more," Washington said. "I'm not gonna speak on it a lot this year, but I'm excited to meet the challenge and finally conquer it."
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer – before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January 2015.
// PURCHASE SEASON TICKETS NOW
A limited number of season tickets for the 2017-18 UC men's basketball campaign are on sale now at the UC athletics ticket office on the fourth floor the Richard E. Lindner Center, on the phone at 1-877-CATS-TIX or online at GoBearcats.com/tickets. Due to anticipated high demand, purchasing season tickets may be the only way fans can guarantee their seats for Bearcats' home games at BB&T Arena in Highland Heights, Kentucky.
Ticket holders for the 2017-18 campaign will earn additional priority for selecting their seats for the 2018-19 season inside newly renovated Fifth Third Arena.