Mid/Late Season Observation
Dan Skillings Jr.: 2nd year player, has progressed slightly since his Freshman Season.
Positive: One of the better rebounders on the team. One of the few players who tries to get to the rim. When in control, Dan is one of the more talented players on the team. Will be interesting to see how he’s used with the incoming Freshman next season.
Negative: Plays out of control way too much! More than any other player on the team. Will drive to the basket and put up a wild shot that has no chance of going in. Usually ricochet’s off the backboard 5/7ft. Looks to have taken a backstep in shooting Ft’s at .655%
Day Day Thomas: Juco Transfer in junior season. Starting PG for the Bearcats.
Positive: He’s the quickest player on the team and next to Skillings makes attempts to drive to the basket. He’s a good defensive player, has his mental lapses at times. Has made some Big shots for the Bearcats this year. He’s UC’s BEST Ft shooter at .813%
Negative: So far, he’s not the floor general I was hoping for. This team needs a floor LEADER! He’s coming from the Juco ranks, so maybe by next year he’ll progress into one. Biggest negative, turns the ball over way too much for being the starting PG.
Jizzle James: 1st year true Freshman PG. First off the bench to replace Thomas.
Positive: Shows great potential to be the starting PG of the future. Would not be surprised if James isn’t the starting PG next season. He’s one of the better players at pulling up and hitting the jump shot. He’s also UC’S 2nd BEST Ft shooter at .800%
Negative: He’s a freshman, and like all has his moments with defensive lapses and turnovers.
Rayvon Griffith: Loads of talent and decided to redshirt his freshman season. N/A
CJ Fredrick Jr. Grad Student
Positive: The teams only true 3pt shooter. Probably the team’s best passer as well. Has loads of talent and could be an impact player.
Negative: Injury Prone hie entire career! I’m guessing CJ was probably injury in HS, but I’m guessing! Had he played against Texas, Baylor, and Kansas, he probably would have been the difference in winning two of those 3 games.
Josh Reed: 2nd year player, has shown slight progress since his Freshman Season.
Positive: Decent 3pt shooter, has a high arching shot. IMO he deserves more playing time! Josh is a decent defensive player, better than some who are getting more time at his position. Again, needs more opportunities.
Negative: Has defensive lapses like everyone on the team.
CJ Anthony: Junior , plays sparingly in blowouts. N/A
Jamille Reynolds: Senoir, Transfer from Temple. Sat at the beginning of the year waiting to be cleared.
Positive: At 6’11” and 175lbs, he’s the Bearcats most physical player in the paint. Within 5ft of the rim, he slams the ball with authority. Appears to have pretty good hands and finishes around the basket. Also has a decent shot from 5-10ft out. IMO another player who deserves more time. Last night was a glaring example with Lakhin struggling.
Negative: Reynolds 1st game as a Bearcat was Dec 16th against Dayton. The only negative, he’s had a few turnovers like the rest of the team.
Landen Long: Grad Student, plays sparingly in blowouts. N/A
John Newman III: Grad Student, started his career at Clemson. John has shown progress since last season.
Positive: Hands down the best on the ball defender UC has. He’s also one of UC’s better Ft Shooters at .717%. John is also a decent rebounder at 5.2%. He’s really the only true leader on the floor. His scoring has also improved from last season at 9.6per game.
Negative: Like everyone else, has turned the ball way too much. Only other slight negative has had a few lapses scoring in critical games.
Chase Kirkwood: Junior, plays sparingly in blowouts. N/A
Viktor Lakhin: Redshirt Junior, the only hold over from the Brannen era. Has shown progress every year since his freshman season.
Positive: Has the best touch at shooting 7ft in, out of all the players on the team. At 6’11” Vik is a good rebounder and shot blocker. Again, around the rim he’s almost automatic in most games.
Negative: Turns the ball over way too much! Has not progressed as a Ft shooter, .544%! At 50% that’s bad, and it’s cost us in close games. Bilas was point on last night when he said Lakhin must score for UC to have a chance to Win! And he was right! We’ve watched this way too much throughout his career at UC! Some games Vik just appears to be uninterested in playing the game.
Ody Oguama: Grad Student, started his career at Wake Forest. Has shown little improvement in his 3yrs at UC.
Positive: Plays with passion on defense and is a decent rebounder. Since BYU Ody is avg 3mins a game. Why?
Negative: He’s not a scoring threat and in the Big 12 it shows! This is why Ody is avg 3min per game in Big 12 play. He’s also had his share of turnovers like everyone else.
Simas Lukošius: Junior, played previously at Butler.
Positive: Has had a couple dominant games for UC this season. Texas 19pts, & Oklahoma 17pts! He’s also one of UC’s better Ft shooters at .783%
Negative: A defensive liability and it showed last night. At 6’8” 225lbs, slow and clumsy. He cannot guard Quick Athletic players at his position. That was exploited last night! He also forces passes and has turned the ball over way too much!
Sage Tolentino: Redshirt Freshman, Project. N/A
Aziz Bandaogo: Senior, Previous school Utah Valley.
Positive: At times Aziz has shown he can be a dominate player. Avg 8.4Rbs per game, can redirect shots at times. Also, a decent shot blocker. If Aziz catches the ball at the rim, he’s a force.
Negative: Unless Aziz is within 3ft of the basket, he cannot score. Last night showed why he should not try to dribble and put the ball on the floor. Below Avg Ft shooter at .610%. Has not played a full year with UC, so I did not expect a lot.
Wes Miller: Head Coach, 3rd Season at UC.
Background: Coached UNCG from 2001-2021 ( 185-135)
Player: Started at James Madison before transferring to North Carolina. Played on the 2005 National Championship Team.
Positive: Wes is more of an Offensive Style Coach than what UC has been accustomed to in the past. We all know with Bob & Mick, it was all about the defense. Over his first two seasons with UC he’s progressed in wins:
2021-22: Cincinnati – Head Coach (18-15)
2022-23: Cincinnati – Head Coach (23-13)
At 13-6 right now, we have a chance to tie 23 wins or surpass. These last (12) regular season games will tell us a lot! Baylor, Texas, & Kansas were all winnable games. Losing by an avg of 3pts. 2yrs ago, we would have lost those games by 15-20pts! That’s a fact! So, the team has improved, and so has the talent. Wes appears to be more of a players’ coach, trying to stay positive instead of yelling at them.
Recruiting: I would give Wes and A! Throw the first year out, he has little to no time to recruit. We have (2) outstanding players on the way. Both “ McKinley & Betsy” appear to be forces in the paint. Betsy has a good shot at being named a McD AA. Add in Rayvon Grffith and scoring should get a boost.
Negative: Where do I begin? I guess one could nitpick at everything. So, I’m not going to do that. Because EVERY Coach makes mistakes. I’ll simply point out a few that are glaring to me.
Critical games with under 2mins to go, where games are on the line. I question his substitutions from time to time. Do we have the best Ft Shooters in the game when it’s on the line? No, we do not! Lakhin and Skillings missing front ends foul shots. Mind Blowing! Perfect example, the TCU Game should have never gone to overtime.
Multiple times when James was playing lights out, Wes would sub him for Thomas. In a few of those instances, it came back to bite him! Another example in the Texas game, we had a foul to give. Did we use it? No! The result was a loss. Would the foul have made a difference? We will never know! Those are a few examples. At this level, Wes is still learning. Huge jump in competition from Southern Conference to the Big 12.
These are just my opinions on what I’ve witnessed so far. At the end of the day, I have great admiration for all the players. Playing Division 1 BB, speaks volumes. I give Wes and his coaches a ton of credit. They are turning this program around, and I believe we are a year away from being a perennial Top 25 Team Again!
Maybe I made a few good points. Maybe I’m off on a few. You guys can decide. This is just my observation 19 games into the season. Looking forward to your comments. Thanks for taking the time to read.