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Bearcats Men’s Basketball Will Surprise in 2021-2022

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: MAR 14 American Tournament - Cin v Hou Photo by George Walker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Forget about last winter.

Forget that the AAC has emerged as genuinely strong basketball league.

The Cincinnati Bearcats men’s basketball team is going to have an excellent season in 2021-2022.

They will be headed back to the NCAA Tournament.

New head coach Wes Miller is poised to bring the winning culture he cultivated at UNC-Greensboro over the past decade as well as a pedigree rooted in Roy Williams’ North Carolina Tarheels basketball program.

Some of the players that made Miller a winner in Greensboro have also made their way to Cincinnati. Seven-footer Hayden Koval is the most noteworthy among these additions, brining his 337 career blocked shots to the AAC. Cincinnati will have a genuinely dominant presence in the middle. Koval and 6’11 Mississippi State transfer Abdul Ado will make a strong low-post duo for the Bearcats. Here’s hoping Coach Miller goes twin towers with them sometimes.

Expect big things out of former Clemson and UNC-Greensboro winger John Newman III, who has been slowed throughout his career by knee injuries. Newman is an excellent shooter who will make significant contributions for the Bearcats on the offensive end.

Combine Newman with leading Bearcats returning scorer Jeremiah Davenport and you have a fearsome pair at the 2 and 3 positions.

More soon on your Cincinnati Bearcats basketball club. We’ll be doing a full preview of the team, position-by-position as well as opponent previews in the next few weeks.

Let’s get excited for this team and look forward to another run in March for your Cincinnati Bearcats.