This Week in Bearcats: Keith Williams, Jalen Tate and what it means for UC (2024)

CINCINNATI —Credit to Bearcats basketball for managing to keep things interesting through all of this.

The team had a directly and (at least for now) indirectly eventful day on Friday, starting with the news that Northern Kentucky’s Jalen Tate had entered the transfer portal as an immediately eligible graduate transfer, and ending with senior-to-be Keith Williams announcing that he will test the NBA Draft waters.

We’ll start with Williams, whose decision to enter his name in the draft was not a surprise —I touched on it a couple of weeks ago — but still caused a bit of a stir among Bearcats fans, in part because of how he phrased his “intent of hiring an agent.” That doesn’t change anything. Not only did Williams follow that by stating, “however, I will be keeping my options open,” but under the new rules for early entrants, hiring an agent does not prevent a player from returning to school. Remember, this is the same process Jarron Cumberland went through last offseason. Underclassmen (like Williams) can declare for the draft, sign with an agent and still retain their remaining college eligibility as long as the agent is certified, the player requests an evaluation from the NBA’s Undergraduate Advisory Committee (which Williams will do), and the player ends his relationship with his agent upon returning to school. The guidelines were put in place precisely for players like Williams to get some feedback from the professional level and make an informed decision about their future, without squandering an opportunity on either end of the equation. It might make Bearcats fans a little uneasy, but it’s exactly what he should do.

The initial sense I get after talking to sources with knowledge of the situation is that Williams is more likely to return to the Bearcats next season. He isn’t currently on any big boards or mock drafts, and also stands to be the most important player on a young UC roster next season, something he is well aware of.

Head coach John Brannen told myself and Bearcat Journal’s Chad Brendellast Thursday, “I fully expect (Keith) to take the next step (this season) because if he does take the next step, you’re dealing with a potential Player of the Year, first-team all-conference player.”

That comment came a day prior to Williams declaring, but from everything I’ve heard —and as Brannen’s own statement on the announcement suggested — the staff was well aware and supportive of the decision. Williams has also remained involved in all offseason team calls and text message threads over the past couple of weeks as well.

This is all similar to what Jarron experienced last year, with the obvious variables this time around. The NBA Draft and evaluation process is essentially a complete unknown at the moment. Under normal circ*mstances, there would be summits, combines, team workouts and pro days where an under-the-radar prospect like Williams would have a chance to show off (and provide tangible measurements) for his NBA-caliber athletic ability and compete against other players at his position. It’s unlikely any of that will happen now, at least for the next couple months, which puts someone like Williams at a disadvantage.

“Players who wish to get in front of teams in order to prove themselves away from their current college situation are unlikely to be able to do so,” The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie and John Hollinger wrote a couple of weeks ago as the coronavirus shutdown began. “Between the virus itself and the lack of workouts, prospects on the borderline this season are in a much more precarious position in regard to their decision-making than they have been in recent memory.”

There are obviously larger, far more significant societal issues involved in this pandemic, but in regard to this situation specifically, the longer it drags on, the more it hinders both Williams and the Bearcats (more on that in a bit). Regardless, with how often and quickly this continues to evolve, there is little sense in trying to predict how it will play out. The same could be said of Williams and his ultimate decision — who knows how the indefinite nature of all of this might impact it — but at least for the time being, none of this has been unexpected, and I’d shade toward Williams returning for a senior season in which he will be a vital piece for the Bearcats.

The other Friday development that caused some tremors in the UC community was Tate officially entering the portal. As the son of former Bearcat Jermaine Tate who was recruited to NKU by Brannen, there have been rumors swirling for months that Jalen was coming to UC as a grad transfer. There’s now a bit more flame to that smoke.

Tate portalling across the Ohio River doesn’t appear to be an automatic done-deal by any stretch, but for all the obvious reasons, Cincinnati is in the best position to land his services for the 2020-21 season. He spoke to Brannen and multiple UC assistant coaches on Friday. He’s already familiar with the majority of the staff, all the way down to some of the managers, as well as NKU transfer Chris Vogt. He knows the system and thrived in it as a redshirt sophom*ore under Brannen, averaging 13.7 points (53.9-percent FGs), 4.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists.

Tate also told 247Sports that wherever he winds up, he’d like the opportunity to play point guard, which, from my understanding, wouldn’t be an issue at UC. That’s the role Tate evolved into under Brannen, displaying a play-making knack with the ball in his hands (26.9-percent usage rate and a 31.1-percent assist rate). Brannen also showed again this past season how he can utilize a somewhat non-traditional point guard, as Jarron orchestrated the offense in conference play (29.2-percent usage, 36.7-percent assist) while also keeping another ball-handler in Mika Adams-Woods on the floor. Tate’s size and defensive versatility help there as well, as he can guard multiple positions on the opposite end.

Indications are that it could be as long as a couple of weeks before Tate makes a decision, and a player of his caliber should have plenty of suitors reaching out. But Cincinnati makes all kinds of sense here, and the Bearcats have to feel good about their chances.

Another name that’s made some waves is Radford grad transfer and Cincinnati native Carlik Jones. The Bearcats have shown interest, though based on those I’ve talked to, there’s a growing sentiment that he ends up outside his hometown, with Louisville as a strong possibility. As I wrote in the offseason outlook, UC likely has room for just one perimeter player via the transfer portal. Tate would fill that need. But because Williams declared for the draft, the staff will at least have to prepare for the possibility that he does not return, which would open another scholarship on the perimeter (and leave a massive hole on the roster). Meaning no matter what happens with Tate, we’re likely to see the staff continue its due diligence on guard transfers, even if it doesn’t lead to anything.

Business as usual

I spoke with UC Athletic Director John Cunningham last week, who is currently bunkering in with his family back home in Minnesota amid the coronavirus shutdown. The original plan, when Cunningham was hired in December, was for his wife and two sons to remain in Minnesota to finish out the school year while Cunningham crashed in an apartment in Cincinnati.

Like everything else, the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown that blueprint for a major loop, but Cunningham is still working hard to manage an athletic department forced to operate remotely.

“I’ve been sending out a daily email that’s almost become a blog, where I’m able to talk about things going on within the department, the university, even things going on in my family, because I know that there are similarities for people dealing with family issues at home, trying to teach their kids and balance work,” said Cunningham, who added that the staff has done its best to adhere to its normal meeting schedule, albeit virtually, in an attempt to maintain some sense of normalcy. “I don’t think I’ve changed my approach at all. Maybe more than anything, this situation allows you to be yourself even more so, and really show your staff who you are when you have a tough thing to go through.”

Cunningham acknowledged there are concerns over the financial impact the virus has already had and could continue to have on universities, Cincinnati included, noting that UC is already planning for a dip in revenue based on the basketball games and spring sports that won’t get played. The department will understandably avoid spending any additional substantial funds for the time, though Cunningham said negotiations on Luke Fickell’s contract extension would not be halted and that no longer-term projects had officially been scrapped or put on hold.

I’ll have a piece later this week that dives in on some other aspects of my conversation with the Bearcats AD.

ICYMI

The lack of live sports hasn’t slowed The Athletic or our UC coverage. I wrote last week about how the football and basketball staffs are navigating a unique offseason, as well as why the training room is the only aspect of Bearcats sports that remains up and running and why that’s so important. I also put out part one of a mailbag that touched on a multitude of subjects, including Fickell’s extension, the basketball transfer portal and Cunningham’s plan to grow the universities licensing and branding. Look for part two later this week.

Finally, with the tournament canceled, The Athletic is revisiting the best March Madness moments on each date. I tried to find a new angle on Christian Laettner, “The Shot,” and the 1992 Elite Eight masterpiece between Duke and Kentucky.

For those of you in search of an auditory Bearcats fix, Chad Brendel was kind enough to have me co-host an interview with John Brannen on the BCJ Podcast, which was a lot of fun. Brannen dropped a bunch of interesting nuggets on last season and next season, and even discussed his wife’s Twitter account.

Alex Meachem also had me on The Bearcat Basketball Podcast to talk about the Jordan Brand era at UC and the current state of the program.

(Photo: Michael Hickey / Getty Images)

Justin Williams covers college football and basketball for The Athletic. He was previously a beat reporter covering the Cincinnati Bearcats, and prior to that he worked as a senior editor for Cincinnati Magazine. Follow Justin on Twitter/X @williams_justin Follow Justin on Twitter @williams_justin