Cincinnati Adds Michigan Transfer David DeJulius to Men’s Basketball Team

Cincinnati Bearcats have added another transfer to their men’s basketball roster, receiving a commitment Wednesday from former Michigan guard David DeJulius. This is Cincinnati’s second commitment this week, after Rapolas Ivanauskas transferred to UC from Colgate.

Cincinnati was one of four finalists along with Iowa State, Marquette and Missouri. He has two years of eligibility remaining but it’s unclear when that eligibility will resume.

He technically should be subject to the NCAA’s transfer rules and sit out 2020-21, but with the rules up for discussion to change and seemingly everyone nowadays being granted a waiver, there’s no way of knowing how this will play out. Remember, no one really expected, nor was there a real reason Chris Vogt to be eligible in 2019-20, yet he was. Perhaps the same will happen with DeJulius.

Coming out of high school in 2018, the 6’0 point guard was a 4-star prospect ranked #107 nationally by 247Sports, ranked 5th in Michigan and the 19th overall point guard. Being from Detroit, he committed to Michigan early in the process, during his junior year in December 2016. He also visited Michigan State and garnered interested from Kentucky and Butler but didn’t have official offers from those schools and was only interested in staying home and going to Michigan.

He played sparingly as a freshman, averaging just 3.8 minutes per game in 25 games. In 2019-20, he played all but one game (30 games, 2 starts), averaging 20.9 mpg. He averaged 7.0 ppg, 1.5 apg, 2.4 rpg, 0.6 turnovers per game. His scoring percentages were 41.7 FG %, 36.1 3P %, and 72.5 FT %.

You wonder if and how the coaching transition at Michigan may have impacted his play or even his mental psyche. DeJulius committed to play for John Beilein, who left after DeJulius’s freshman year to coach in the NBA. He was replaced by Juwan Howard, whose style and system were vastly different.

DeJulius joins a team in year two of a coaching transition. John Brannen’s squad should be much more settled and comfortable in an up-tempo, movement offense that should really benefit his game.

His last game at Michigan was his best game. Even though the Wolverines lost on the road to regular season champ Maryland, DeJulius scored a career-high 20 points on a career-high 6 made field goals (6-10) and 3-6 from three. He shot 5-5 on free throws, which is notable given Cincinnati’s struggles in that area.

He also had a strong, notable game at Northwestern on 2/12, scoring 7 points and a career-high 7 assists, plus 6 rebounds (2 shy of career high).

Cincinnati’s remaining scholarship situation is up in the air. Prince Toyambi did not play in 2019-20 due to a heart condition and his status for the future is unknown. Should he be forced tor retire (a possibility if he cannot be medically cleared), that would free up an open roster spot. Keith Williams is currently going through the NBA Draft process and his decision will determine if there is another open spot and scholarship. It’s a fluid situation that includes having 0, 1 or 2 available scholarships for 2020.

With DeJulius on board, Cincinnati is in a great spot moving forward. He is one of 6 key additions on top of some notable returnees.

More on the Cincinnati Bearcats roster situation in 2020-21.