Jermaine Lawrence is UC's latest high expectations player

First there was Yancy Gates and Lance Stephenson. Now, Jermaine Lawrence steps into the fold. Lawrence is Mick Cronin's prize catch of the latest recruiting class, ranked 19th in the nation out of any high school prospect according to ESPN. Lawrence is 6'9, 190 pounds, and received offers from top schools in the nation such as Kansas, Syracuse, and UCLA.

Lawrence averaged 18.6 points, 13 rebounds, and 6.5 blocks per game his junior season for Pope John XXIII high school in New Jersey. That junior season put Lawrence on the map as an elite prospect. Lawrence is going to have to be a scorer for UC, who now is without Cashmere Wright and JaQuan Parker. Lawrence and Sean Kilpatrick will have to team up to form a combination similar to 2012, when Yancy Gates and Kilpatrick led the Bearcats to the Sweet 16. Gates was more of a punishing force in the paint for the Bearcats, but it looks like Lawrence is a more developed scorer right now than Gates was out of high school. Lawrence is more athletic than Gates, but he does need to add about 30 pounds of weight to compete with some of the post players he will see in NCAA competition.

Lawrence's statistical production decreased his senior season. He averaged 13.3 points per game and 7.5 rebounds. However, he shot over fifty percent from the field and showed solid shot selection against the competition. The Bearcats will almost assuredly start Lawrence in their opening game. He is the most highly touted player the program has landed in quite some time. The question is, can he gel with the rest of the starters to make the team a contender?

Lawrence, Shaquille Thomas, Kilpatrick, and Justin Jackson will all most likely be in Cronin's starting five, with the point guard position up for grabs between Jeremiah Davis III, Summit product Kevin Johnson, and Troy Caupain. Johnson and Caupain will be true freshman, and the point guard position is a lot for a freshman to handle. However, if UC wants to start a new foundation for rising talent, there will be 2 freshman starters next year. Kilpatrick will need to be the floor leader, but the Bearcats will rely on Lawrence to generate offense.