Cumberland Named AAC Co-Sixth Man of the Year

Its awards season in college basketball. Yesterday, the American Athletic Conference named its all-conference teams, and the Cincinnati Bearcats had three players included. Two of those players received additional honors today, as Jarron Cumberland was named co-Sixth Man of the Year and Troy Caupain won the conference’s sportsmanship award.

Cumberland, who shared the award with SMU’s Ben Emelogu, was easily the most important member of the Bearcat reserves, as he ranked sixth on the team in minutes per game (18.0), easily outpacing Justin Jenifer (13.8). The highly touted freshman gave a wonderful preview of what he could become for the Bearcats, as he was a spark plug with his scoring. He shot well from long range (.359 3FG percentage) but what was really great to see was his willingness to put the ball on the deck and get to the rim. It was doubly heartening to see that skill set in a freshman, as Cumberland could easily have shied away from banging bodies down low in exchange for jacking threes all the time.

Caupain’s contributions on the court have been obvious, as he led the team in minutes played (31.8 PG) and assists (4.5 PG) during the regular season. However, he has done a lot more than that and is a 2016-17 candidate for the Senior CLASS Award for his frequent activities outside the hardwood.