TicketsWESTERN CAROLINA (0-1) at No. 12/13 CINCINNATI (1-0)
SERIES INFO: Fourth meeting; Cincinnati leads 3-0 overall; UC leads 3-0 at home
LAST MEETING: Cincinnati won 97-72 on Nov. 13, 2015 at Fifth Third Arena
STREAK: Cincinnati - 3
COACHES: Mick Cronin is in his 12th season at Cincinnati (238-135); 15th season overall (307-159)
Larry Hunter is in his 13th season at Western Carolina (180-211); 25th season overall in Division I (384-359)
AP/USA TODAY RANKINGS (PRESEASON): Cincinnati (12/13); Western Carolina (--/--)
RADIO: 700 WLW; Dan Hoard provides play-by-play with color analyst Terry Nelson
TV: ESPN3 (WATCHESPN); Jim Barbar provides play-by-play with color analyst Mark Adams
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TICKETS: Start at $20; Available on BB&T Arena Website; TicketMaster by calling 1-800-745-3000; Sold at BB&T Arena box office two hours prior to the start (depending on availability)
By Bill Koch
GoBearcats.com
CINCINNATI – Like the rest of his University of Cincinnati teammates, senior forward Kyle Washington was itching to start the regular season last Friday against Savannah State.
The 6-foot-9, 230-pound Washington is coming off a season in which he averaged 12.9 points and 6.8 rebounds with 42 blocked shots. He shot 51 percent from the floor and 71.1 percent from the free throw line. He was a big reason why the Bearcats went 30-6 to become only the second team in school history to win 30 games.
But things didn't go so well for Washington in the Bearcats' season-opening 107-77 win over Savannah State. While Gary Clark reached the 1,000-point milestone while posting his 19th career double-double, Jacob Evans III dropped in 19 points and Justin Jenifer scored a career 15, Washington played only 16 minutes due to foul trouble. He took only three shots and scored five points.
It wasn't the way he had hoped to begin his senior year, a season with high hopes for both Washington and the 12th-ranked Bearcats.
He'll get a chance to start all over at 7 p.m. Monday when UC (1-0) takes on Western Carolina (0-1) at BB&T Arena. The Catamounts, from the Southern Conference, opened their season Friday with an 85-57 loss at Clemson. They trailed by only two points with 7:13 left in the first half when Clemson went on a 22-2 run to pull away for the win.
Senior guard Haboubacar Mutombo, who averaged 11.7 points last year, led the Catamounts with 10 points. Western Carolina was 9-23 last year, 4-14 in its conference. Guard Devin Peterson averaged 10.5 points last season on a team that had only two double-figure scorers.
The outgoing Washington is the emotional leader for the Bearcats. He's quick to praise his teammates and talk in terms of team goals. But his ultimate goal is a very personal one. He's driven to play in the NBA next season. It's one reason he transferred to UC from North Carolina State.
"Kyle's got a world of talent and he came to Cincinnati to help us win games," said UC coach Mick Cronin. "He cares. Kyle really wants to make that run in March. It matters to him. Personally, I want Kyle to play professionally and for Kyle to play professionally his floor game has to be better, being in the right spot, his defense, his rebounding, his deflections, because he's going to score. Everybody knows he can score, so he's got to evolve in other areas and he's got to unlock his brain to accept that."
Some of the shots that Washington gets off around the basket are unorthodox to say the least, but more often than not they go in. He's provided the Bearcats with a consistent scoring presence around the basket that they lacked before he arrived.
"We wouldn't have been where we were last year without him," Cronin said, "so it's my job to help him. I'm not worried about Kyle. He's going to be there when we need him."
On the flip side Friday was the point guard play the Bearcats received from Cane Broome and Justin Jenifer. Both are juniors. Broome is a transfer from Sacred Heart, where he was the eighth-leading scorer in the country two years ago with 23.1 points per game. Jenifer signed with UC out of Milford Mill Academy in Baltimore and has struggled to find playing during his first two years with the Bearcats. He started his junior year with a 2.6-point career average.
Both players performed well against Savannah State, Broome with 17 points and four assists (also six turnovers) and Jenifer with a career-high 15 points and five assists. He committed only one turnover in 21 minutes.
Broome's production was expected given what he did at Sacred Heart. With the 5-foot-10 Jenifer, it was something his teammates have seen in practice over the past two years and have been waiting for him to do in games.
"When I was out this summer when I had my (ankle) surgery," Clark said, "I was watching a documentary on (Cleveland Cavaliers guard) Isaiah Thomas and I sent it to him. I was like, this is you. You are a little killer and we need you to do that this year. So to see him out there performing the way he is, he's just going to get better, controlling the team."
Bill Koch covered UC athletics for 27 years – 15 at The Cincinnati Post and 12 at The Cincinnati Enquirer – before joining the staff of GoBearcats.com in January 2015.