Cincinnati has attracted some top transferring talent in the past few seasons. Farad Cobb came over from junior college a couple years ago and the Bearcats made a big splash by bringing in NC State transfer Kyle Washington exactly one year ago. The tradition continued back in April, when former Sacred Heart player Cane Broome announced his transfer to UC.
Plenty of other programs have added big names for the 2016 and 2017 seasons by way of the transfer market, but according to CBS Sports, Broome is one of the top 10 transfer acquisitions so far.
In two seasons for Sacred Heart, Broome averaged 18.7 points per game, while shooting 44.5 percent from the floor. He absolutely erupted in 2016, netting 23.1 points per game for the Pioneers, who went just 12-18 . He was a frequent shooter from 3-point range, averaging 7.5 attempts from beyond the arc each time out while posting a 3-point attempt rate of .400. His 212 triple attempts would have led the Bearcats by a long shot last season, as Cobb finished with a team-high 188. However, the 6’0" guard only made 31.1 percent of his long range shots. Despite that, he still posted strong efficiency numbers, with a PER of 20.7, a true shooting percentage of 55.4 and an effective field goal percentage of 50.8.
Although Broome will not be able to play until 2017, his addition is another step in a different direction for the Bearcats. UC is often put into the defense-only box, and rightfully so. Mick Cronin’s philosophy has been focused entirely on squeezing teams until they break. But that has meant UC has seemingly attempted to get water from a stone when it comes to offense. However, last season, with the aid of a shorter shot clock and more 3-point shooting, the Bearcats resembled a more productive group on the offensive end.
This past season, Jacob Evans, largely considered an offense-first type player, came in and thrived. Adding Broome in April and getting a 2017 commitment from scoring wing Trevor Moore earlier this week shows that Cronin is trying to recruit more scorers. So far it appears that he is succeeding.