That Sean Kilpatrick would be named the Bearcats athlete of the year is just about the least surprising development of the summer. Kila was very good in the non conference portion of the schedule, but for most of November and December he was battling a shooting slump. When he finally broke of it in conference play he was flat out dominant.
If we are being honest with ourselves most Bearcats would fully admit that the Bearcats had a flawed team from the start of the year. No real size to speak of, spotty offense brought about by a lack of shooting and floor spacing options meant that there was always a low ceiling on the 2013-14 Bearcats.
I would argue that this Bearcats team scraped that ceiling. They ripped off a 15 game win streak through the heart of conference play. That win streak was by far the longest of the Cronin era and it assured the Bearcats of at least a share of their first regular season title in over a decade. They climbed as high as 7th in the polls.
None of that happens if Kilpatrick doesn't make the leap from good to great this year, but make it he did, and he is thoroughly deserving of that honor.
