The All-Time Favorite Cincinnati Bearcat Basketball Player Tournament: Bob Huggins Region Round Two

As we traverse through this community experiment we call the All-Time Favorite Cincinnati Bearcat Basketball Player Tournament it has become necessary to release the winners of the first round in another region. Yesterday we revealed the results of the first round of the Ed Jucker and Gale Catlett regions. Now its onto the Bob Huggins region. Here’s who will be moving on.

No. 1 Kenyon Martin defeats No. 16 Steve Collier

Outside of Oscar Robertson, there is no bigger name in Cincinnati basketball history than Kenyon Martin. He won a case full of trophies in 2000, including National College Player of the Year and is one of three players to have their number retired by UC. Collier, who was a fine player, but nowhere near as talented or beloved as K-Mart, was always going to lose this one, and by a lot. As it turned out, K-Mart would shut him out entirely.

No. 8 Justin Jackson defeats No. 9 Erik Martin

Jackson got more than three-fourths of the vote against Martin and will advance to take on K-Mart. Jackson is one of the stars of the Mick Cronin era, and a defensive force during a time when that side of the ball has been most important to the program. Martin led the Bearcats in rebounding and field goal percentage in 1992-93, but that wasn’t enough.

No. 4 Kenny Satterfield defeats No. 13 Gary Yoder

Satterfield, like Field Williams, was entered into the tournament due to popular demand. His support did not wane in the first round, as he received 88.4 percent of the vote. He did so despite facing Yoder, a former Metro Player of the Year. Satterfield’s dime dropping and scoring talent carried the day.

No. 5 Jack Twyman defeats No. 12 Louis Banks

History was well appreciated here, as Twyman, the third member of the retired number club dominated with nearly 93 percent of the vote. The win was made that much more impressive by the fact that Banks was a back-to-back first-team All-Metro performer.

No. 2 DerMarr Johnson defeats No. 15 Bobby Austin

This was another vote that was run away with. Johnson got 92.9 percent of the ballots cast. Just imagine how much more imposing he would be in this tournament if he had played more than one season for the Bearcats. Austin was really the opposite of Johnson, in that he played four solid seasons, but was never a standout.

No. 10 Leonard Stokes defeats No. 7 Ron Bonham

Upset alert! Stokes played at the turn of the century and scored 1,318 points during his career. Bonham won a national championship and was a first-team All-American, but accolades don’t always equate to favorite player status, as Stokes got 71.4 percent of the votes in his favor.

No. 3 Darnell Burton defeats No. 14 Don Ogletree

We’ve seen that players from the 90s to the present have gotten some more favorable treatment in the first round. Burton was the Conference USA Sixth Man of the Year in 1996 and 1997 while Ogletree was an All-Missouri Valley talent in 1970. Burton won out with 81.4 percent of the vote.

No. 6 Yancy Gates defeats No. 11 Lance Stephenson

Like with Johnson, it would be interesting to discuss this matchup if Stephenson had played multiple seasons for the Bearcats. As it stands, Gates and his play for the 2012 Sweet 16 team looms much larger than Stephenson’s solid 2009-10 campaign, with a 79.1 percent to 20.9 percent split in the voting.

There seemed to be consensus throughout this portion of the bracket, even with the one upset that was mixed in. Now the bracket looks like this.

Now to take a deeper dive into the second round matchups.

No. 1 Kenyon Martin vs. No. 8 Justin Jackson

Jackson was the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year in 2014 and blocked shots as well as just about anybody in program history. Martin has more hardware and is UC’s all-time leader in blocked shots. Advantage: Martin.

No. 4 Kenny Satterfield vs. No. 5 Jack Twyman

Now we’ll see just how much Satterfield love runs through the veins of UC fans. He had a fine career for the Bearcats during the Bob Huggins era, easily one of the best parts of UC basketball history. But Twyman has his number retired and is a pillar of the program along with K-Mart and the Big O.

No. 2 DerMarr Johnson vs. No. 10 Leonard Stokes

Stokes and Johnson are both players who are beloved even if they weren’t the best players in program history. That’s not to diminish them, they were certainly strong contributors, especially Johnson, who was named a freshman All-American by The Sporting News in 2000.

No. 3 Darnell Burton vs. No. 6 Yancy Gates

As one of the most formidable players in terms of my own UC fanhood, Gates is who I’d vote for here. But I won’t blame anyone for sticking with Burton as he was one of the best spark plugs off the bench in team history.

Now that the second round is set in this region, its time to have your voice heard.