While we have all been distracted with the historic UC football season, the basketball season has snuck up on us and our Bearcats basketball squad will tip-off the season for the first time Wednesday and then we have the Crosstown Shootout on Sunday. Now seemed like the perfect time for us all to catch up on who you can expect to see take the floor this week and what kind of expectations to have for the season.
The Newcomers –
For the 2nd consecutive season UC fans will have a lot of new faces to get familiar with, seven of them to be exact. Five of the seven make up John Brannen’s freshman recruiting class and each one of them gives fans something to be excited about. Let’s run through the freshman real quick. Point guard Mike Saunders, Jr. Saunders might be the fastest player not just on the Bearcats, but in the country. I expect him to be a true spark off the bench (think Cane Broome without the fully developed jumper yet) and I think because of his style of play and his hair he will become a fan favorite quickly. Shooting guards, and siblings, Gabe and Mason Madsen. Gabe is the more skilled of the two brothers, but Mason made living in high school as a knockdown shooter. I would expect both of them to see action throughout the season, with Gabe developing more and more as the season rolls on. Forward Viktor Lahkin, Lahkin comes to the Bearcats via Russia, and he was the last player to be added to the class. He’s 6’11 and was someone in Russia who can finish around the rim, rebound, and shot block. If I had to wager I guess I think Lahkin might see the least amount of playing time of anyone this year as he works on improving his frame and his game behind some already proven guys (also recovering from knee surgery). The final freshman is another forward, Tari Eason. Eason is my pick for the biggest early contributor out of this class. I believe he can help fill the hole left by Tre Scott, Eason is 6’8″ he can rebound, he can run the floor and he can be consistent from outside to stretch the floor.
This brings us to the other two newcomers, and they are the two guys who will not only start this year, but will give the Bearcats team the biggest boost in production. Point guard David DeJulius came to the Bearcats after transferring from Michigan. DeJulius never truly found his footing in Michigan, but I have a feeling he has a breakout season this year in Brannen’s system. He is a guy who can right away run your offense, he was a Top 100 recruit out of high school, he can knock down shots, he can set guys up and despite only being 6 foot tall he rebounds well for his position. The final new guy is forward Rapolas Ivanauskas. Rapolas is a transfer from Colgate, who UC fans should remember from him taking it to the Cats en route to a Colgate upset win last year. He is a guy who slides right into that forward position next to Vogt. He can shoot from anywhere, and shoots 43% from the field. He can rebound and defend and for a guy with his 6’10” size he is a great passer. I believe he is the guy who will benefit the most from joining the Bearcats and getting a year to play for Brannen.
