College Hoops Top 50

Last Year: 22-15; 7-11, Eleventh in the Big 12 Conference, lost in the quarterfinals of the NIT

Head Coach: Wes Miller (Fourth Year; 63-43 at Cincinnati, with no NCAA Tournament appearances)

Projected Starting Lineup

PG Day Day Thomas – 6’1″, 190 Senior

G Dan Skillings, Jr – 6’6″, 210 Junior

W Simas Lukošius – 6’8″, 225 Senior

F Dillon Mitchell – 6’8″, 210 Junior

C Aziz Bandaogo – 7’0″, 235 5th-year Senior

Experienced Reserves

G Jizzle James – 6’3″, 205 Sophomore

G CJ Fredrick, Jr – 6’3″, 185 5th-year Senior

G Connor Hickman – 6’3″, 200 Senior

W Josh Reed – 6’7″, 220 Junior

F/C Arrinten Page – 6’11”, 240 Sophomore

Freshmen

F Tyler Betsey – 6’8″, 225 / Top 50 recruit

F/C Tyler McKinley – 6’9″, 240 / Top 100 recruit

F/C Halvine Dzellat – 6’10”, 225 Freshman

Given the amount of change and uncertainty that Cincinnati endured a season ago, you could almost call the 2024-25 offseason a period of stability in the Queen City. 

Cincy is a program which has seen tremendous consistency for most of the past couple of decades. The Bearcats have stayed very competitive since the beginning of the 2020’s, but things have been significantly more interesting roster-wise, and even the coaches began turning over a couple years back. Everyone needs a deep breath at times, and it looks like Cincy has gotten a moment to collect themselves. Which could be dangerous for everyone else.

Heading into the 2024-25 campaign, there will be more new faces, but not as many as the past couple of years. What’s likely more enjoyable than fun new toys, Cincinnati already knows that all of the players on the roster will be able to start the season together this time around. Last fall, and well into December, head coach Wes Miller had to coach a team that was short two centers. Things started out fine, though, and the team was 8-1 on the morning of December 13th. Following the landmark court decision to allow non-graduate players who had transferred multiple times to play, the Bearcats had to incorporate Aziz Bandaogo and Jamille Reynolds into their rotation on the fly. It didn’t all go exactly according to plan. 

An 8-11 stretch followed, setting Cincinnati well behind the 8-ball for NCAA Tournament consideration. All was not lost, as the Bearcats won a couple of games – including a cathartic, 20-point romp over Kansas – during the Big 12 Conference tournament, and followed it up with a pair of victories in the NIT. It wasn’t the Big Dance, but it was a solid finish, and confirmed that the core Miller and his staff worked to assemble has real potential. Now, augmented by careful upgrades rather than sweeping changes, Cincy is ready to pick up where they left off in March. 

The top returnees are a duo of multi-skilled wings who, together, can just about do it all. Simas Lukošius and Dan Skillings, Jr, are bookend rising stars, and their experience, playmaking, and varied approaches to scoring the ball make the Bearcats dangerous. 

Once a consensus Top 100 recruit and then a precocious sophomore discovering his world of talent, Skillings is now Cincy’s leading scorer and likely the star of Miller’s ensemble cast. As such, expectations for the third-year guard are Skyline Chili-high. With great size and length plus quickness going towards the rim or laterally on defense, Skillings can more than hang in the Big 12 from an athletic standpoint. He proved it in Cincinnati’s conference debut last winter. From mid-January onward, Skillings averaged 14.4 points against the best competition in the country. Once the postseason began, Skillings cranked things up yet another notch. Over the Bearcats’ six tournament contests, Skillings put up 16.8 points per game. Against KU, Skillings shone, potting 25 points and seven boards to go along with a flurry of defensive plays – the sophomore seemed to be everywhere. Projecting such capability over a full season, especially following a summer of diligent work on his jumper, one begins to understand why the folks in Cincy are excited. 

The next frontier for Skillings is the land of trey. Not exactly an artist of the mid-range game, Skillings tends to drive all the way to the cup or launch from deep. Unfortunately, his jumper has remained a bit suspect, and to take full advantage of his skills off the bounce, Skillings must make opponents fear him from the outside. Around the lane, Skillings uses his explosiveness well to create looks, though he could really benefit from developing a go-to move. He’s also a quality defender who uses his frame and growing anticipation to get his hands on lots of balls. Really, Skillings is just a bit of polish and a consistent jumper away from becoming one of the Big 12’s best players. Given his trajectory so far, that potential may soon be realized. 

A former Butler transfer, Lukošius plays the type of smart, reliable, unselfish game that coaches love. For a Cincy team that consistently struggled from downtown, the production Lukošius provided was like water in the desert. In his first season in the Big 12, Lukošius ranked fourth in the league with 90 made triples at a steady 38.5% clip. Those 90 makes accounted for nearly a third of the 280 deep balls that Cincinnati made as a team. None was bigger than the eighth and final heave he sank in the NIT against San Francisco, as Lukošius beat the Dons in overtime on a twisting triple with just seconds left on the clock. 

Beyond his marksmanship, Lukošius is a clever, composed ballhandler whose combination of size and awareness in the halfcourt make him a standout passer.

Beyond his marksmanship, Lukošius is a clever, composed ballhandler whose combination of size and awareness in the halfcourt make him a standout passer. He handed out at least four assists in 13 different games last season, and Lukošius provides a patient, aesthetically pleasing contrast to Miller’s smaller, more drive-oriented playmakers. Buoyed by his 28-point game against the Dons, Lukošius finished last season by averaging 15.4 points on 41.8% shooting from downtown over Cincinnati’s final 14 games. If the law firm of post-new year Skillings & Lukošius are ready to roll, Cincinnati will have genuine star power. 

Miller has an exciting, go-go pair at the point, as well. In fact, Cincinnati just may have the nation’s fastest pair of playmakers. A former junior college star, DaVeon ‘Day Day’ Thomas took the reins for the Bearcats last year and didn’t look back. The speedy junior proved to be a playmaker at both ends of the floor, putting pressure on the opponent and forcing mistakes. Sure, he made a few thousand-miles-per-hour miscues of his own, but Miller has been pleased overall with the high-octane direction in which Thomas is guiding the Bearcat offense. 

Fearless on the drive and capable of getting to his spots before the defense can set up, Thomas has the pieces of a full three-level scoring repertoire. His jumper has remained hot-and-cold, and he’ll need to raise his rate from deep up from 28.0%. Fortunately, Thomas has always been a reliable free throw shooter and the stroke is there. Sometimes Thomas seems a bit more worried about getting a shot up against a disordered defense rather than working through it for a higher-quality look, and this year will hope to strike a cleaner balance. He is great at attacking the teeth of a defense and lobbing a feed to his bigger buddies, and at times Thomas can dazzle as a passer. With more familiarity with his surroundings, the league, and his teammates’ abilities, Thomas should be even better as a senior. 

The heir to Thomas at the point is already on hand, as Edgerrin ‘Jizzle’ James, Jr, acquitted himself quite well as co-captain last year. Now a sophomore, James will bring even more of his own, more powerful brand of pizzazz to bear. Surely one of the most often-stamped squares on Cincy fans’ media bingo cards, Jizzle is the son of longtime NFL star Edgerrin James, Sr, and his style can be reminiscent of a running back charging through the lane. On the subject of football, Jizzle had former Bengals star Chad Ochocinco announce that he’d be back for his sophomore season, and Bearcat fans are hyped to see what’s next. 

Like his veteran teammates, James finished last season strong. The freshman averaged 13.1 points over Cincy’s final nine contests, including back-to-back performances of 25 and 21 points against Bradley and then Indiana State in the NIT. He was at his best as a rookie on pull-up jumpers and runners after getting into the lane. James knows how to use the backboard and put some English on the ball, and he posted a strong 46.9 mark on 130 mid-range attempts, per Bart Torvik. This year, Miller is hoping to see James lean into his playmaking skill, and between Lukošius, Thomas, and James, the Bearcats’ shooters should get plenty of opportunities. 

In keeping with the theme of pairs, Cincy fans will be entertained this winter by a couple of rim-rattling superfreaks up front. Some coaches like a big man who can shoot; some like passing out of the post. Without putting his philosophy into too tight a box, Miller likes big guys who do the main things big guys have always been counted on to do: set granite screens, protect the rim, and if, within arm’s reach of the rim with ball in hand, to hammer home two points and bring the people out of their seats. This year’s combination of Bandaogo and Texas transfer Dillon Mitchell can do all of that. 

The return of Bandaogo gives Cincinnati one of the nation’s most fearsome shot blockers, and his go-go-Gadget play around the lane is a real advantage. After gaining clearance to play last season, Bandaogo immediately upgraded the Bearcats’ interior defense, and he racked up the fourth-most rejections in the Big 12 despite missing more than a month of the season. Quick and wiry-strong with great anticipation, Bandaogo also has bounce to burn. He’s a top-notch lob option for Cincinnati’s guards on their way towards the rim, and Bandaogo doesn’t leave things to chance deep in the post. Of the 68 field goals Bandaogo made last year, 53 of them were dunks, leading to an excellent 64.2% rate from the floor. He can make jumpers – Bandaogo has rattled home a half dozen triples in his career, and during his breakout two years ago at Utah Valley, he made 63.6% of his freebies. For the full upcoming season, Cincinnati needs Bandaogo to bring the noise, his best at the charity stripe, and keep up his excellent work defensively. 

Adding Mitchell’s talents to the mix offers boisterous possibilities. The former Longhorn has elite athleticism and has already proven himself as one of the Big 12’s other best defenders. Capable of guarding wings, forwards, and even much bigger players, Mitchell is a stopper, playmaker, and potential intimidator anywhere in the halfcourt. Offensively, he’s worked hard to become more than just a dunker, and Mitchell is making progress. After being almost exclusively a dunk-and-putback guy who made barely more than 40% of his foul shots as a rookie, Mitchell raised his free throw rate to 59.8% as a sophomore and showed the first glimmers of a face-up game. He also found a way to throw down 55 dunks and tip 28 putback stabs, too – and Mitchell converted 82.6% of his extra tries near the rim, per Hoop-Math. With another expansion of his game this winter, Mitchell could approach the star status that scouts have expected for the former 5-star prospect to become since first seeing him play. 

Five Stats Which Tell The Tale (with national ranks)

+6.6 – Average Score Margin (45th)

68.8% – Team FT Percentage (297th)

75.2% – Opponent FT Percentage (339th)

46.3% – Opponent 2FG Percentage (27th)

35.1% – Offensive Rebounding Rate (14th)

When the Bearcats beat his Bradley squad in the NIT back in March, Connor Hickman saw up close how good Cincy could be when they hit their three’s. So, a few weeks later, Hickman hit the transfer portal and landed in Cincinnati. The Bloomington, IN, native owns 156 made triples and a 37.3% career average from distance to begin his fourth year, and will be an important upgrade to the Bearcats’ arsenal. Despite missing a couple of weeks due to injury last season, Hickman enjoyed a breakout which saw him emerge as one of the Missouri Valley‘s purest shooters. When he was out, Hickman’s absence contributed significantly to a five-game skid for Bradley, and despite missing four games, he finished sixth in the Valley in made triples. If he can match last year’s 40.2% rate from the land of trey, Hickman will go a long way towards spacing out the floor for Cincy’s other guys. 

There will be Perry Ellis-style memes aplenty for the Bearcats this winter, because CJ Fredrick, another experienced guard, is back for his alleged final season. It will be the well-traveled Fredrick’s sixth season of college ball, because of redshirts and injuries. When he’s been good to go, Fredrick has earned his own reputation as a sharpshooter and crafty, creative passer. It’s just that Fredrick has missed chunks of every one of his previous seasons, and Cincy won’t be sure what he can give them until it’s happening. The sort of guy who can help virtually any lineup due to his good size on the outside and great feel offensively, if Fredrick is able to play this winter, he will. Josh Reed and Rayvon Griffith are even bigger perimeter guys who will also be on the hunt for regular playing time, too. A Cincy native, Griffith took a redshirt last winter but will now bring 4-star bounce and length to the lineup. If his jumper and handle have improved during the year off, Griffith could make an instant impact. Reed averaged almost 11 minutes last season but couldn’t get his jumper to drop regularly. He’ll need to show more this season in order to hold off the new guys for that same role. 

Miller tends to utilize his whole rotation, so there will be opportunities for some other young guys to grow into impact players. Arrinten Page has brought his 4-star talent east from Southern Cal to shore up the post. Though a bit raw still, the sophomore grew up playing alongside Isaiah Collier and definitely knows his way around the pick-and-roll. As a guy who can set a screen and then acrobatically finish tough looks inside, Page offers intriguing possibilities but must show consistency. He’ll be among Cincy’s biggest players, and if Page can throw his weight around a bit more, it will give Miller a strong 1-2 punch at three pivot. Page will need to show some refinement, too, because he will get a big challenge for minutes off the bench from some talented freshmen. 

Five Out-of-Conference Games to Keep an Eye on

vs Xavier – December 14

N Dayton – December 20

@ Villanova – December 3

@ Georgia Tech – November 23

@ Northern Kentucky – November 19

Rated a Top 50 recruit by a few different sources, Tyler Betsey has a whole bunch of the things scouts look for in a modern forward. With clean form on his jumper, range out to the three-point arc, and a solidly-built frame which should help him fit in quickly, Betsey has serious potential as a scoring forward. His quick feet and awareness away from the basket only seem to enhance his profile, as Betsey can get to the rim and hit the boards, too. While he’s naturally more of a finesse guy right now, Betsey is big enough to keep adding strength and has shown an aggressive streak which will be needed to reach his full stature and potential in the Big 12. The second highly-anticipated rookie coming aboard is another Cincy local and another Tyler. Rambunctious 6’9″ forward Tyler McKinney brings even more quality to the Bearcat post, and looks a lot like the sort of big guy who will succeed in the Big 12. He’s long, strong, and difficult to move away from the basket once he’s established good position. It’s likely that McKinley will do his best work as a rim runner and rebounder to start, but he’s got legit 4-star skills of his own to polish up. French import Halvine Dzellat is a bit more of a mystery as a late signee, but he’s got size, skill, and international experience on his side.

For a team that has more than a few attack-mode guys, Cincy earned surprisingly few free throws…and the Bearcats shot a poor percentage on the tries they got. Meanwhile, their opponents shot very well time and time again. It made for plenty of frustration given all the close games that they were in, and everyone on the roster understands that Cincy needs to collect more free points this winter. If they can do that, and tighten things up overall on offense, good things will be theirs.

“Cincinnati basketball plays basketball in March,” Skillings decreed this summer. “So I’m going to just keep going with my team and keep working every day and keep getting better with my skill set every day and keep trying to get better as a team.”

Now that they know what life is like in the Big 12, the league will have to deal with the adaptations and adjustments Miller and his staff have made. The approach this crew full of new faces is taking should have them ready, because the understanding is clear: the Bearcats are headed into a year with plenty of expectations. The near-misses on Selection Sunday have been painfully felt, and this season, Cincy is out to leave no doubt in March.