What does Shon Abaev Bring to Cincinnati Basketball?

Shon Abaev is a highly touted wing prospect who signed with Wes Miller and Cincinnati for the 2025-26 season, adding a legitimate scoring threat on top of high potential as a rebounder and defender to the Bearcats roster. A McDonald's All-American, Abaev is Cincinnati's second-highest rated recruit in program history, behind only 10-year NBA veteran Lance Stephenson.

Abaev is a four-star recruit by Rivals Industry Ranking, the 27th-best recruit in the country garnering a 96.72 score out of 100. He is considered the No. 8 small forward in the nation, and the No. 7 player out of the state of Florida for 2025, playing his prep basketball at Cavalry Christian Academy, where he won a state championship his senior year.

He also competed in Overtime Elite, further adding to his pedigree, which was only underlined by the amount of scholarship offers he received: Auburn, Tennessee, USC, Syracuse, Florida, Oregon, Michigan, Kansas, Illinois, and St. John's, amongst several others.

Standing at 6-foot-8, Abaev has excellent positional size for a wing, and very good ballhandling skills considering his frame. He is a very talented isolation scorer that can create his own shot off of the bounce, drive the rack to score, and finish through defenders given his size and ability to get downhill. His primary skill is his scoring acumen, and will very likely be one of the Bearcats' leaders in this category, even playing alongside someone as talented as point guard Jizzle James.

A very physical and aggressive player on both ends of the floor, Abaev invites contact, both when driving and when bodying up an opposing offensive player. He makes use of his athletic ability by rising above defenders on drives and in transition to throw down dunks, further adding to his offensive repertoire, as he is very adept at scoring in the paint using different types of shots. The physicality also allows him to be a very effective rebounder for his position.

Where he can improve is the facilitation aspect of his game – as previously mentioned, he is mostly known for being a scoring threat, but in the dribble-drive motion offense employed by Wes Miller, making reads from the perimeter will be of the utmost importance. This offensive philosophy lends itself to success for a player like Abaev who likes to get to the rim, and the fact that most sets are four-out clears up space in the lane for him to get good looks.

He can also improve his shot diet. Often, Abaev's offensive talent put him in positions where he would force attempts. If he can increase the quality of his looks, he can be an extremely efficient scorer given his overall versatility on that end of the floor. Combine this potential improvement with his defensive ability, and scouts may be looking at a two-way player that can create his own shot at the wing position – in other words, a possible lottery pick in 2026.