As brutal as the Big XII is, it shows the need for depth. We beat one another up all season, then get to the tournament. There’s no breather games.
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Another reason to tank the Big 12 tournament. I mean unless we really need it. M’eh.
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I doubt it happens but UC just hosted Dillion Mitchell for an official visit.
If we could pull it off with him, UC is a sure fire top 20 because he adds small ball 5 man depth with Aziz. He’s a great rebounder, high level defender and scores well in the paint.
That said… the fear is that auburn jumps in late.
UC needs depth at the 5. While I think Arrinton Page can help and back up Aziz, I don’t feel great about it.
But dayday/Jizzle James could end up being a great 1-2 punch at the PG spot.
Dan Skillings is poised to break out even more
Simas found his stride at UC. Becoming a clutch shot making splasher & playmaker.
Hickman is a great shooter with sneaky athleticism. He made 2 crafty buckets over Aziz in the NIT. CJ Frederick is still on the roster as of now and if the guy stays healthy he can really shoot too.
And we have a group of newcomers that are poised to be great in Griffith, McKinley and top 50 player Tyler Betsey.
But it always come back to the 5 position. I don’t think Wes expected to lose both Jamile & Lahkin. We needed at least one to stay. Or he can maybe pull a late rabbit out of his hat. But regardless the future seems bright for next season.
Side note: Jizzle James is a Houston kinda PG. he would kill under Sampson. I’m so glad to have em because the dude is poised to be a killer real real soon
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BIG 12 is no joke.
By far the best conference in basketball.
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This been on here? Forgot 2 post.
Men (8%) and Women (111%)
Both exciting but 8% on an already big audience is sweet.
Iowa State had games over 500k viewers on ESPN2.
Dont think UH got that high on non regular ESPN.
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So did it go up 8% or 14x that?
14x for women’s Big12 BB.
Did any of the women play Iowa or LSU and get big bumps from that?
On a side note: I did not realize the NBA subsidized the WNBA. The reason salaries are so low is the teams do not make money. Women make more with NIL than WNBA.
They are lucky they have a league at all.
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Bearcats are set to make a big jump this year. If they aren’t a tournament team this time around, it’s time to seek a new coach.
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i dont think they’ll fire him,… but they probably should
if you go exclusively by how they were playing at the end of last year, cincy could be argued as a top 15 team
… under a more proven coach theyd be debated as a top 5 team
especially considering last year was the 1st year on the team for most of the players
Starters-
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Day Day Thomas - top juco pg in 2023 - had 29pt game in the Big 12 Tourney before injury
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Dan Skillings Jr. 6’6 G - last 8 games doing about 18 a game (a kevin mccullar clone) - a3pt shot from being top nba prospect
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Simas Lukosius 6’8 G- doing 22pts a game the last 6 games (3 of which were 26+)-
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Dillon Mitchell 6’8 F- 5star 2 year starter on tournament texas teams- versatile defender/ dominant rebounder - offense needs work
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Aziz Bandaogo - 7’0 former WAC DPOY/top 4 nationally in blocks that year- dropped some in the big 12 but still 2nd in the big 12 in blocks (top returning)
PROJECTED BENCH:
- Jizzle James- freshmen 4star pg - averaged 20 per game after day day’s injury- sampson called one of the best freshmen in the nation (some cincy fans calling for him to start)
- Connor Hickman - 15pts 40% from 3 transfer from NIT Bradley
- CJ Fredrick Jr. - former Kentucky and Iowa starter (battled injury last year) 42% career 3pt shooter
- Tyler Betsey- top 40 recruit (6’8 PF)
- Josh Reed- former top 150 entering 3rd year with Cincy /6’7 wing
- Arrinten Page- USC freshmen transfer, 6’11 former top 50 center
- Tyler McKinley - Top 80 recruit
- Rayvon Griffith - Top 70 recruit who redshirted last year
on paper they look really good…
side not, they defintely have NIL walkons , they have more than 14 “ship” players
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This conference is loaded
Wow. Was not expecting that.
Credit to Wes Miller.
But honestly not a great career move for Mitchell
Shouldve gone to St Johns
Simas Lukosius played well. What “pro” has Miller developed?
1 Like
my reaction as well, wonder how big the money bag was
Where do you see us over the limit ? We have 13 players now.
Wes is on the verge of developing Jizzle James and skillings as Pros. And top 40 Tyler Betsey could be next.
This is the most loaded UC roster since the Huggins era and I’m not even sure he had a 1-13 talent like this.
But everyone’s right, it’s the year of No excuses. We have the talent to win.
Side note:
I’d rather not start Aziz and instead start this lineup:
Jizzle
Hickman
Skillings
Simas
Mitchell
It’s a small ball lineup that Sampson has thrived on (lol with worse defense)
that lineup would get absolutely blitzed on the boards
mitchell is a great rebounder in the sense that he is athletic and energetic enough to get offball rebounds… not a great rebounder in the sense that he is a box out (he isnt strong) …that team would be eaten up on the boards by any big 12 caliber team especially putting simas as the 4…
i get that you are trying to maximize shooters on the floor but that wont work in the big 12… aziz is almost a virtual lock to start to start at the start of the season…
i could maybe see a mitchell/ betsey lineup by mid season, aziz is a proven commodity with no other proven commidty among your centers, he has to start
1 Like