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

Where is the ceiling for Jarron Cumberland?

The clear star of the team heading into this year, Jarron Cumberland is the only returning double-digit scorer from last season. Even though he was not the “top option” offensively, he was still very dangerous on that end of the floor. Overall, he posted 11.5 points per game on shooting percentages of .409/.339/.678 (FG%/3P%/FT%). These are not very good efficiency measures for a third-option offensively but keep in mind that he was only a sophomore.

Now as the go-to offensive star of the team, Cumberland will shoulder more of the scoring burden. Of course, it is never easy to increase efficiency on a higher volume but he might have to do just that. As mentioned earlier, he is the only established AAC scorer on the roster and will therefore need to take a big chunk of shots. If Cincinnati is to succeed this season, either a bunch of players need to increase their offensive output or Cumberland will need to become one of the best scorers in the conference.

However, I’m not going to say that Cumberland is just a scorer because he can impact the game in other ways as well. At 6-foot-5 with a big body, Cumberland is extremely hard to stop when he gets a head of steam and this often attracts help defense. If surrounded by shooters on the perimeter, Cumberland could dish out a fair number of assists. For reference, he finished second on the team last year with 2.9 assists per game.