Corie Blount Says He’s the Reason Pac & Dr. Dre Wore Bearcats Gear

Corie Blount #43... — Source: Vincent Laforet / Getty

A small moment on the UC’s Let’s Reign podcast unlocked a whole era for Bearcats fans.

Former UC big man Corie Blount popped up on the show and casually confirmed what a lot of people have believed for years: Cincinnati Bearcats basketball had real cultural pull in the ’90s, even in hip-hop.

During the conversation, Dan Hoard asked Blount if he was “responsible” for Tupac rocking the Bearcats “C paw” warmup pullover in one of the rapper’s most circulated photos. Blount said he didn’t personally hand Pac the jacket, but made it clear the connection wasn’t random either.

According to Blount, he was “the reason all those guys were wearing it,” crediting his California roots and the fact that he was always repping UC & the Raiders during the height of the N.W.A. era. Around that same time, Dr. Dre was also seen on Yo! MTV Raps wearing a Bearcats hat… Another blink-and-you-miss-it moment that tied UC basketball to hip-hop history.

Fans immediately flooded the comments reminiscing about that stretch of Bearcats basketball; it was an era when the program felt larger than the city and the gear was fly, fresh, and everywhere.

Blount was a big reason why. The 6’9” power forward/center helped lead Cincinnati to the Final Four in 1992 and the Elite Eight in 1993, becoming a key piece of one of the most respected runs in program history. He went on to be drafted 25th overall by the Chicago Bulls in 1993 and carved out an 11-year NBA career, playing everywhere from Chicago and L.A. to Phoenix, Philly and Toronto.

Long before NIL deals and tunnel fits, Bearcats hoops was already moving culture.