Coming into the season most expected Cane Broome to be a starter for the Bearcats. The senior was in and out of the lineup last season and seemed to get comfortable playing point guard in Mick Cronin’s system. Broome is a more of a slasher play-maker than a traditional point guard so him learning how to pick his spots and take controlled chances took some time to get used to.
Broome started the first game in the new Fifth Third Arena against Ohio State and he had a rough shooting night going 1-of-10 from the field and 1-of-4 from three for a grand total of five points in 28 minutes of action. He started along with Justin Jenifer in the first game, but Cronin decided to bring Broome off the bench against N.C. Central and the senior played 14 minutes in that contest. Not only did he come off the bench, but he shot 0-of-3 from the field and 0-of-2 from three so he scored no points. On the outside looking in who knew what was going to happen in the future, was he going to be able to thrive in his new role? Would he accept it or would he stay in a rut and never get out? The answer to the question is very important to Bearcats success because many including myself thought the transfer from Sacred Heart would be the second leading scorer behind junior guard Jarron Cumberland.
So, put that together one of your better scorers’ starts the season 1-of-13 from the field averaging 2.5 points doesn’t seem idea for success. Fast forward seven games later and he has seemed to have figured out how to be effective in his new role. He’s averaged 12.9 points, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals on 53% from the field in 25.4 minutes in the last seven games. The Bearcats have won eight straight and the senior has had a huge role in some of their recent wins (i.e. UNLV and George Mason). On the season he is averaging 10.6 points (3rd on the team) on 45.6% from the field.
I like how he is looking to slash more and using his mid range game. The more he plays downhill the more I feel like he is in his zone. If he keeps playing like this he will be in line to be a dark-horse in the AAC Sixth Man Player of the year, but most importantly the Bearcats will win games if the senior keeps playing at this level.
