Things have really spiraled for Cincinnati basketball in recent years. Mick Cronin took the Bearcats to nine straight NCAA Tournament appearances before leaving for UCLA right before the pandemic. Seven years have passed since the Bearcats have danced, including five disappointing and underwhelming years under Wes Miller. His final team did tie for 7th in the Big 12 standings but finished just 18-15 and underachieved based on their talent.
Now Cincinnati turns to Jerrod Calhoun, who achieved success leading both Youngstown State and Utah State in his head coaching career. In his first power conference gig, he’s basically rebuilding from scratch, with all of those talented pieces gone from the Bearcats roster, including Jalen Celestine, Day Day Thomas, and Sencire Harris to name a few.
New looked Bearcats
We can’t fit in everyone from the massive transfer haul, though Cincinnati got some real players and a ton of scoring potential. 6-11 center Riley Allenspach arrives from George Mason while Tyler Tejada put up incredible numbers in Towson’s backcourt. Among the most notable additions are Tylen Riley from Tulsa and Myles Colvin from Wake Forest, two guards who should see significant run on the court this season. Calhoun also grabbed a number of Utah State players, with one standing head and shoulders above the rest.
If he’s ruled eligible then MJ Collins Jr. is absolutely the most important new piece for the Bearcats. He’s a 6-4 guard from South Carolina with significant experience in his career, dating back to his time as a starter at Virginia Tech as an underclassman. Collins spent a single year at Vanderbilt before really shining under Calhoun at Utah State last season, putting up 17.5 points per game on 36% from 3 and 62% from inside the arc.
Collins is far from the only impressive scorer added to this roster, but he has the unique combination of power conference experience and work in Calhoun’s system. He instantly becomes the most important guard and a major scoring threat with the Bearcats, though we’re uncertain if his presence is a sure thing. He was ruled eligible and then another ruling changed that, with Collins still waiting to see if he’ll be on the court for Cincinnati in the coming months.
Without Collins, this is a very talented team that Calhoun built in his first offseason and it’s pretty impressive for any first-year coach to bring this much talent in. However, the Big 12 is no joke and the Bearcats really could use Collins’ presence out there this season. This can be a Tournament team and break that long drought without his services, but having him out there would be a massive asset as Calhoun implements what he wants to run here at Cincinnati.
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