University of Cincinnati men’s basketball coach John Brannen has stressed repeatedly this season that the key to victory for the Bearcats is having every player on the roster play within their respective roles.
"When we do things the right way within our roles and play for each other, we have a chance to be successful," he said.
Cincinnati freshman forward Tari Eason's role this season has been ever-changing. But that's OK. He embraces that.
"I'm a guy who gets it done on the court," he said. "Defensively, offensively, whatever you need. You need a bucket? You need a rebound? You need a stop? You need a block? Anything. I'm a guy who gets it done by any means necessary."
Eason started the season coming off the bench for Brannen and the Bearcats (3-7, 1-4 American Athletic Conference). The 6-foot-8, 215-pound Virginia native averaged just two points in 12 minutes through the first two games.
But Eason's role changed on Dec. 9, 2020, at home against Furman.
After Eason collected eight rebounds in 15 minutes against crosstown rival Xavier University, Brannen elected to start the former four-star recruit over graduate transfer Rapolas Ivanauskas against the Paladins.
Eason became the first freshman to start at power forward for UC since Gary Clark in 2014.
"His length and athleticism is just different than everybody else's on the floor," Brannen said.
Eason responded to Brannen's vote of confidence by scoring eight points on 4-of-7 shooting, grabbing two rebounds and adding two assists, two blocks and a steal.
"I feel like I'm really starting to do better and help the team," he said after the 78-73 win. "My goal is just to keep improving every single game."
Since Furman, Eason has started six of the Bearcats' seven games, averaging nine points and six rebounds. But his presence has been felt more on the defensive end.
Eason is averaging 1.2 steals per game, and his 1.2 blocks per contest rank fifth in the American.
"Obviously me coming in and starting as a freshman, that means a lot and that the coach has trust in me and faith in me to make the right plays and do the right things," he said
Eason had 13 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block at home on Dec. 16 against South Florida, his third career start. But it was on Jan. 7 in Dallas where it all came together for the Associated Press' 2019-20 Washington 3A State Player of the Year.
Brannen again asked Eason to play a different role at SMU. After the 6-foot-10 Ivanauskas opted out for the remainder of the season, Brannen moved 7-foot-1, 260-pound senior center Chris Vogt to the bench.
For the first time in his college career, Eason started at center – the "five."
"Nobody ever wants to be a five," Brannen said. "I told the guys, 'I'd be a six if you just leave me in the game.' I think guys are understanding that if you play the five, maybe you have a mismatch that you could take advantage of."
Eason finished with a season-high 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting, five rebounds and four blocks against the Mustangs. The effort helped lead Cincinnati to a 76-69 win, snapping the Bearcats' five-game losing streak, their longest since the 2007-08 season.
"He was tremendous today," Brannen said of Eason after the victory. "I mean, tremendous. Playing a new position, it showed his abilities."
Brannen went with the same starting lineup on Jan. 10 at Wichita State. The Bearcats haven't been able to take the court since. They have paused all team activities, as their last three games have been postponed due to positive COVID-19 cases and the ensuing contact tracing at Cincinnati. UC's scheduled game Saturday at No. 8 Houston also has been postponed, the AAC announced on Wednesday.
Eason has led the Bearcats in rebounding in five of their 10 games this season, and his 2.1 offensive rebounds per game rank eighth in the American.
Eason in the starting lineup makes Cincinnati smaller (6-foot-7, 205-pound Moeller High School product Jeremiah Davenport has moved into the starting power forward spot), but Eason provides a level of quickness and versatility that the Bearcats lacked near the rim with Vogt.
Eason still has a lot of room for improvement, but Brannen knows he and the Cincinnati program have an exceptional talent in Eason.
"Once he continues to learn how to take care of the basketball and make good decisions offensively," Brannen said, "he's going to continue to play minutes and be a special player here."