From Cincinnati.com
"We appreciate Deshaun's efforts as a Bearcat," Cronin said in a statement. "He is a hard worker and competitor. We discussed his options and his future after the season and he has decided to transfer. We both believe a change will be best for his opportunities for more playing time in the future."
It's not hard to see where Morman is coming from. His first year he was kinda sort of talked into a red shirt that he didn't want. He then got injured taking the decision out of his hand. He comes into this season expecting to make an impact as a defensive stopper energy guy.
As it turned out that role never materialized. With the Bearcats interior defense being so dominant the need for a extraordinary perimeter defender was limited. The simple fact is that a great rim protector matters more in constructing a good defense than great perimeter stopper does. When you have Octavius Ellis anchoring the defense you can have Farad Cobb getting over powered by bigger point guards, or Troy Caupain constantly spacing out off ball and still have one of the 15 best defenses in the nation.
In that context the need for Deshaun Morman's skill set turned out to be less than the coaches probably anticipated back in October. While Deshaun was fine offensively, and he really had some moments, he wasn't good enough offensively to really give the Bearcats offense the punch up it needed. His 91.6 O rating was in line with what Shaquille Thomas did as a red shirt freshman, but ti wasn't enough to earn him extended run unless one of the other guards got injured or were in foul trouble.
It wasn't going to get any easier for Morman to get playing time next year either with Jacob Evans coming in. Evans is one of the best pure scorers that the Bearcats have signed in a long time. More to the point Evans excels in the super structured offense that defines the Bearcats. Morman is an open court killer, but the open court doesn't seem to exist in Clifton unless you get a steal. It's sad to see such a talented guy go, but we wish him nothing but the best.
Once a Bearcat, always a Bearcat Deshaun.
