Where does Abaev stack up compared to recent top UC recruits?

Abaev has a five-star composite rating from 247Sports. If you were to compare recent recruits from the “math ranking” era, Abaev’s numbers are second only to former NBA player and one-year Bearcat Lance Stephenson (.9951 compounded to .9910). He is ahead of former five-star Jermaine Lawrence and center Yancy Gates. Gates had the longest UC career, with Lawrence averaging less than four points per game in one season at UC and one at Manhattan.

Obviously, the rating system wasn’t as prevalent for a bevy of Bearcats, including Naismith Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson and Jack Twyman, former Naismith Player of the Year Kenyon Martin, and NBA players Nick Van Exel and Corie Blount.

Last Friday, before the Cincinnati Bearcats faced Georgia Tech the next day, UC staffers were on hand to watch the talented swingman at the Overtime Elite arena in Atlanta. Abaev then attended some of UC’s 81-58 wins over the Yellowjackets before returning for an afternoon game where he scored 42 points.

In Abaev’s first four games this season, he averaged 30.5 points, 7 rebounds and 5.3 assists. It comes just weeks after UC secured point guard Keyshuan Tillery from the New Hampton School in New Hampshire, another four-star. He is a featured attraction when playing for Overtime Elite and often draws a lot of defensive and scouting attention. He had more than twenty offers.