Cincinnati Basketball: Impact of Chris Vogt’s return for 2020-21 season

Cincinnati Basketball received a boost on Thursday evening when center Chris Vogt announced he would be returning to school.

Cincinnati Basketball is one of the programs with a number of outstanding NBA Draft decisions, just two weeks before the withdrawal deadline. Chris Vogt partially solved that problem on Thursday evening.

The veteran big man took to social media to announce that he would be returning to Cincinnati for his senior season. His withdrawal from the NBA Draft automatically boosts the Bearcats towards the upper echelon of AAC teams entering the 2020-21 season.

It took a couple of years for the 7-footer to grown into a major role in college basketball, but he came on strong as a junior during the 2019-20 campaign. In 28 games, Vogt averaged 11.0 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, to go with 1.6 rejections per game. He validated his decision to follow coach John Brannen from Northern Kentucky to Cincinnati ahead of the year.

His most reliable trait as a junior was his ability to put the ball in the bucket. He only attempted seven shots per game, but Vogt did manage to shoot 64.8 percent from the field. That was the best field goal percentage in the conference.

Vogt declaring for the NBA Draft wasn’t a huge surprise after the season – every high-level college basketball player has the right to explore the process and do their due diligence. It was hard to come by a mock draft where Vogt was selected, however, all but ensuring his return to school for one more go-around.

That’s huge for Brannen’s squad, as there will be a dearth of veteran leadership on the team next season. The Cumberlands have departed, as has forward Tre Scott. There are projected to be no more than three seniors on next year’s team, potentially less. David DeJulius might be able to play a leadership role, but the Michigan transfer will not be eligible to take the court this season.

Cincinnati doesn’t have a ton of known entities next season. The program is expecting a major leap from guard Mika Adams-Woods, but that’s far from a guarantee for the sophomore. The team will also be expecting big contributions from Rapolas Ivanauskas, a graduate transfer from Colgate.

The biggest draft decision for Cincinnati has yet to come to pass, however. Guard Keith Williams, who would also be a senior next season, hasn’t made his final decision about whether or not to stay in the draft or return to school. If he did return, he would be the Bearcats’ leading returning scorer.

Earlier in the offseason, the Bearcats ranked third in our AAC power rankings. The hope back then was that Vogt and Williams would be returning, so Vogt’s draft withdrawal doesn’t elevate them to the top of the conference. If Williams also returns, then it’s worth revisiting those rankings.

After finishing tied for first in the AAC last season, Cincinnati will have an opportunity to go to their first NCAA Tournament under John Brannen in 2020-21. Chris Vogt’s return will be a major factor in that quest.