Cincinnati Basketball: 5 questions facing the Bearcats for 2018-19

Cincinnati basketball might have a hard time recovering from losing a ton of talent this offseason. What might the team have to address?

Despite falling in heart-breaking fashion in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, everyone should be able to agree that Cincinnati basketball had a great season in 2017-18. The team rolled through a competitive schedule to the tune of a 31-5 (16-2 AAC) overall record and that is not easily done. They also came away as regular-season and conference tournament champions in the AAC, continuing their dominance in the league despite the addition of Wichita State.

However, with that season now in the books, there are some serious questions facing the team heading into 2018-19. Jacob Evans, Gary Clark, and Kyle Washington, three of the team’s top four scorers, are all gone now and their production will not be easily replaced. Not only were these players the top scorers but they were also sound defenders and excellent leaders on the court. To be specific, Clark was named the Player of the Year and the Defensive POTY in the AAC this past season while the other two were also incredibly valuable contributors.

With these three pieces no longer with the program, head coach Mick Cronin will have his hands full this year. Although there are some solid returning pieces, it will be a challenge to repeat the amount of success that the Bearcats have had in recent years. Due to the amount of young players rising from reserve roles last season, there is a ton of potential for this team to still compete for the AAC title. Yet, a lot of the pieces are still very unproven.

Because of that, there are plenty of questions that need to be answered regarding the team. Here is a look at five of the most pressing heading into this year.