Outlook: With the departure of “Hollywood” Mick Cronin, as he is widely known, Cincinnati begins a new era, one that came as a relative stunner after he emerged as UCLA’s emphatic 10th or 11th option. The Bearcats’ brass needed only to look across the river into Kentucky for its next coaching hire, bringing aboard John Brannen, the 45-year-old responsible for guiding Northern Kentucky through its transition into the Horizon League and earning the school two NCAA Tournament berths in its first three years of Division I eligibility.

Brannen brings an entirely different style to the table than Cronin, and his emphasis on spacing, ball movement, and three-point shooting may leave Cincinnati fans feeling dazed and confused. The cousins Cumberland – returning star Jarron Cumberland and Oakland grad transfer Jaevin Cumberland – should thrive in the new scheme, with Jarron delighting in the driving lanes that the spacing creates and Jaevin raining down hellfire from deep after hitting 105 threes at a 40% clip last year. Jarron is a tank, a physically commanding wing who bullies opponents all the way to the rim, and he displayed improved court vision and marksmanship on his catapult-like perimeter jumper. To properly execute the scheme, though, Brannen will need more shooters than just the two cousins to emerge.

Ideally, that group will include Keith Williams and Trevor Moore, two 6’5 junior wings, whose jumpers last year were hazardous to basketball rims everywhere (28% and 27%, respectively). Williams is more of a physical mid-range scorer, but Moore’s struggles were inexcusable, given that his game is much more in the mold of a “shooter” – he took 68 threes and only 17 twos. Both should see better shot quality in the new system, but if they don’t produce (Moore in particular), freshmen Mika Adams-Woods and Zach Harvey will be ready to seize more playing time. Harvey in particular should be in line for immediate minutes; the top 50ish recruit reclassified from 2020 and gives Brannen an exciting new toy. Additionally, big man Tre Scott should see his three-point volume double after flashing some potential out there last year, and Brannen likely uses him as a small-ball center more frequently, as well.

Two other grad transfer additions will give Brannen more lineup flexibility. The roster was looking solid from positions 2 through 4, but a true point guard and shot-blocking center were nowhere to be found. Enter Chris McNeal from Tennessee Tech (and New Mexico and junior college and Western Kentucky…) and Jaume Sorolla from Valparaiso, two pieces who can help fill those roles. Like his predilection for school-hopping, McNeal’s decision-making on the court can be erratic, as well, and Sorolla is stepping up quite a bit in competition, but having another body at center alongside incumbent Mamadou Diarra should help both players.

Defensively, the old and new coaches have a little more in common. Both mix in full court pressure (Brannen spent six years under current Dayton boss Anthony Grant at VCU and Alabama), getting up the line and into passing lanes while hoping to force offenses into difficult isolation possessions. Surprisingly, Brannen’s teams have actually rebounded better on the defensive end on a per possession basis than Cronin’s squads, likely due to the now-UCLA coach’s affinity for employing his matchup zone (although he is loath to call it that). Apart from McNeal, the Bearcats’ sizable wing rotation will be highly switchable, and Sorolla gives them an intimidator when he’s on the court. With that said, this still could be the first time since 2008-09 that the Bearkitten offense actually ranks ahead of its defense in advanced metrics (11 years since that happened!).

Bearcat Nation may also be relieved to know that the grinding, walk-it-up days are mostly over. Cincy ranked in the bottom 10% in the country in tempo each of the last six years, and although Brannen’s teams haven’t been crazy fast (just above average the last two years), Cincy games will be veritable track meets compared to how they’ve seemed recently. The roster appears well-suited for such a shift, and Freight Train Cumberland (that’s Jarron) will be an absolute terror in the open floor.

Bottom Line: The depth isn’t ideal unless most or all of the newcomers fit in quickly, but Cumberland is going to be a preseason All-American at nearly every outlet, and his production should only increase with the coaching change. Scooping his cousin off the transfer market was vital to help stretch out the offense (interesting that Jaevin played against Branne in the Horizon League), and the athletic pieces are present to maintain an intimidating defense. As a program, the floor may not always be as high without Cronin’s nearly-automatic top 25ish defenses, but the ceiling finally raises beyond the round of 32 with the infusion of more offensive potency and Brannen’s continued zeal to recruit shooters.