Bearcat 'Crootin: Don't Forget About Hoops

In the past few weeks, football has largely eclipsed basketball in terms of recruiting. That is par for the course since there are far more roster spots to fill for a football program than basketball, but in general, things have been quiet on the basketball front, aside from Cincinnati losing out on Darius Hicks two weeks ago. However, this week, UC made a move in the basketball recruiting game, offering Thomas Allen.

Allen, who was dubbed the "best junior point guard you've never heard of" by USA Today High School Sports, is a three-star recruit according to Rivals and would be an addition for the 2018 class if he decides to attend Cincinnati. At 6-foot-2, he is a bit undersized for the two-guard position, but just ask 6-foot-1 Farad Cobb if you can succeed in that role. Hailing from Garner, North Carolina, Allen can play the point as well and would be another nice addition as Cincinnati begins to reload in the backcourt with Cobb gone and Troy Caupain and Kevin Johnson following him next spring. Jarron Cumberland should be on his way to being established at that point and Justin Jenifer will be the starting point guard by the time Allen would potentially get to school, which sets up a nice trio for the future.

While a drip from the basketball pipeline came through, the offers on the football side kept gushing this week.

Before we get to those, however, there was a commitment made this week, as Trinity Valley Community College offensive tackle Blake Yager committed to UC. Just like with Desmond Ridder last week, Yager decided to become a Bearcat very quickly. He visited the campus earlier this month and locked himself in on Wednesday. Yager was a Ball State commit but ended up playing in junior college this past season. At 6-foot-5 and 300 pounds, he is already built for the college game and should compete for playing time as soon as possible.

Now back to your regularly scheduled offers. Guess where we are going to start this week. Ding, ding, ding. You are correct, sir. Its Florida. You must be getting your Buzzy Cohen on.

Although they are a bit late to the show, the Bearcats are making a run at tight end Michael Ziemba, who hails from Lake Mary, Florida. A three-star recruit for the class of 2017, Ziemba already has offers from a few folks Cincinnati knows well (East Carolina, Syracuse, Tulane and UCF, among others) and is warming toward the Pirates, Orange, Green Wave and Knights, according to 247Sports.

The rest of the offers that were sent out in the Sunshine State this week went toward improving the defense as linebacker Kalia Davis and outside linebacker/defensive end Christopher Whittaker both got theirs.

Let's dive in with Davis first. A two-star prospect from Pensacola, Davis is built to play the inside. He is the No. 77 inside linebacker in the 2017 class and the 286th prospect in the state of Florida, according to 247Sports. The 6-foot-2, 235-pound linebacker is considering offers from a pretty sizable number of schools, including Tulane, East Carolina and Kent State.

Whittaker is a more highly sought after recruit. With a three-star designation from 247Sports, the versatile defender is already mulling offers from Florida Atlantic, Illinois, NC State and South Carolina, along with a number of American Athletic schools beside UC, namely Temple, UCF and USF. The 6-foot-4 defender plays in Hollywood (the Florida version) for Chaminade-Madonna Prep. He is the No. 49 defensive end for the 2017 class and the 142 prospect in Florida.

Heading to the great state of Alabama, Cincinnati also made an offer to offensive tackle Khalil Keith. A 6-foot-5 bruiser from Alpine, Keith has generally gotten offers from smaller programs like Jacksonville State and South Alabama.

The recruiting trail made a stop in Detroit for the Bearcats coaching staff this week. More specifically, it led to Cass Technical, where Dyontae Johnson and Jaren Mangham play football. Johnson is an outside linebacker who has also received an offer from Michigan State. He would be an addition to the 2018 class. Mangham is a running back, but he won't be making a decision anytime soon, as he will graduate in 2019.

Finally, Josiah Scott, a cornerback from Fairfield, Ohio got his offer from UC this week. Scott has been sought after by a number of schools, including Iowa, which 247Sports is predicting as his final landing spot.