Cincy? Nah. They're not in the same orbit as Duke and Arizona talent wise. Clark is a stud who doesn't get the respect he deserves, but he also struggles big time with length. Evans shot 41% last year in conference play. He and Washington are borderline top 100 kids who are good players but maybe not talented enough for Cincinnati to make a leap to top 10 status. I'm not sold on Cane Broome as a starting point guard on a top 25 team. He's essentially a 6'0 two guard who can fill it up but isn't a great shooter and has trouble creating for others. His defensive metrics at Sacred Heart were really bad.
Cumberland is the one guy that could change the ceiling for them. He's got kind of an old-man's game and won't be appearing on many mock drafts, but I was really impressed last year. His composure and savvy with the ball in his hands was unusual for a college player, much less a freshman.
I 100% agree UC isn't close to the same level as Duke & Zona but disagree with a lot else in your post.
Clark does not struggle with length and that's very surprising coming from a UConn fan considering it seemed Clark took Brimah into the post and scored on him at will these past few years. Clark is a great player (as you mentioned) but kind of is what he is at this point. If he was more aggressive offensively he'd be a conference player of the year type, but he just doesn't seem to have that in his DNA. Still he's an exceptional player that does everything well and should have another great year.
You're right about Evans shooting 41% in conference play (regular season) but those #s don't include the conference tournament when he was very good. It is interesting to note that many on this board think Jalen Adams is a potential All American yet fail to recognize he shot 38% from the field, had below average offensive (98.5) and defensive ratings (103.4) in conference play. I love Adams' talent but I'd say at this point his reputation exceeds his production.
Washington is a solid player that seemed to hurt UC a lot in big games (UCLA, SMU, etc.). I expect Brooks to eat into his minutes this year.
It is fair to have questions about Broome, as none of us have seen him play at this level but word around the program is he is the best player on the team. I'm just really excited to see how his speed changes the team after watching Caupain walk the ball of the court and throw up bricks from 3 for 4 straight years.
Cumberland is going to be really good and a massive improvement over Kevin Johnson.
I expect a top 12-15 team next year as I think this will easily be Mick's best team. Hopefully success extends beyond the regular season though for the first time in a while.
Temple could be a pretty big surprise. They have the guards to get hot (underrated back court) and put together an unexpected run in the AAC. Temple coming in at 1000/1 (UConn cumulatively 100/1'ish odds to win the title @lvs) is interesting (Temple beat Florida State and West Virginia last year without starting PG).
