Major pick-up by the Bearcats. If he can stay healthy, he has the potential to be the best shooter in the Big 12 next season. So far, the Bearcats are putting together a pretty solid roster for their inaugural Big 12 season. Will likely add one more wing in the portal.

(04-24-2023 05:31 PM)UCbball21 Wrote:  Major pick-up by the Bearcats. If he can stay healthy, he has the potential to be the best shooter in the Big 12 next season. So far, the Bearcats are putting together a pretty solid roster for their inaugural Big 12 season. Will likely add one more wing in the portal.

I think he can have 2 years of eligibility.

UCF is easily going to be the worst team in the B12 next year. Football team going to have more B12 wins than the basketball team lol

UC has also landed Butler transfer Simas Lukosius.....

(04-29-2023 10:57 AM)CincyBro Wrote:  UC has also landed Butler transfer Simas Lukosius.....

6-7 native of Lithuania averaged 11.6 points and shot 38 percent from 3 last season.

Lukosius is the third portal addition for Cincinnati this offseason, following Temple's Jamille Reynolds and Kentucky's CJ Fredrick. Lukosius and Fredrick should bring much-needed perimeter shooting to Miller's team. The Bearcats are also bringing in a pair of ESPN 100 recruits, Jizzle James and Rayvon Griffith. James, in particular, is coming off an impressive performance at the Iverson Classic practices this week.

We lost DeJulius, Davenport, Nolley, Hensley. Not sure if Newman is or can return.

(04-29-2023 11:01 AM)doss2 Wrote:  

(04-29-2023 10:57 AM)CincyBro Wrote:  UC has also landed Butler transfer Simas Lukosius.....

6-7 native of Lithuania averaged 11.6 points and shot 38 percent from 3 last season.

Lukosius is the third portal addition for Cincinnati this offseason, following Temple's Jamille Reynolds and Kentucky's CJ Fredrick. Lukosius and Fredrick should bring much-needed perimeter shooting to Miller's team. The Bearcats are also bringing in a pair of ESPN 100 recruits, Jizzle James and Rayvon Griffith. James, in particular, is coming off an impressive performance at the Iverson Classic practices this week.

We lost DeJulius, Davenport, Nolley, Hensley. Not sure if Newman is or can return.

Cincy Roster Musings
1. 6'2 Jr. Daveon Thomas (#4 JUCO prospect) / 6'1 Fr. Jizzle James (#53 prospect) / 6'3 Sr. Mika Adams Woods (Sr. 9.1 ppg, 3.2 apg) - No idea who wins the starting position here, this is the #1 battle to watch. Daveon and Jizzle have elite speed and athleticism while MAW has been a steady starter since he was a freshman. MAW can also play off-ball.

2. 6'3 Sr. CJ Frederick (UK transfer) / 6'6 So. Daniel Skillings (5.3 ppg) - Another fun battle to watch. CJ is a pure shooter and playmaker while Skillings is an ultra-athletic slasher with NBA potential. Both will play major minutes regardless of who starts. Skillings also can slide down to the 3 as well.

3. 6'7 Jr. Simas Lukosius (Butler transfer), 6'5 Sr. John Newman (OUT last season) / 6'7 Fr. Rayvon Griffith (#67 prospect) - I think Simas wins the job here but the Rayvon/Newman battle will be interesting. Newman is a defensive specialist while Rayvon brings elite length and athleticism.

4. 6'11 R-Jr. Viktor Lahkin (11.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg), 6'9 Sr. Ody Oguama (5.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg), 6'7 So. Josh Reed - Vik is the only guaranteed start on the roster IMO. He figures to be one of the better front-court players in the Big 12 next season. Ody is a strong depth piece who was a starter last season. Josh Reed is a hybrid Wing/Forward who was a former top 150 prospect. He flashed at times but figures to be in a reserve role again this season.

5. 6'10 Jr. Jamille Reynolds (Temple transfer), 7'1 R-Fr. Sage Tolentino - Jamille is a load to deal with in the paint on both ends of the court. Sage is another former top 150 prospect with great length and ability but this figures to be another developmental year for him.

Cincy is also in the hunt for 7'0 center and shot-blocking specialist Aziz Bandaogo so if they land Aziz the roster could change a bit since we are already at 13 scholarship players.

Replacing Nolley and DeJulius will have to be done by the committee. This will be a team that has 5-6 players capable of putting up double digits regularly but I don't see anyone on this roster averaging over 15 ppg. Overall, I'd guess this roster finishes middle of the pack in the Big 12 and gets somewhere between an 8-12 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Reynolds escaped in a balloon from Temple.

#1 ranked transfer prospect 7'2 C Hunter Dickinson commits to Kansas...and the rich get richer LOL

(05-04-2023 10:55 AM)UCbball21 Wrote:  #1 ranked transfer prospect 7'2 C Hunter Dickinson commits to Kansas...and the rich get richer LOL

As a followup:

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basket...ers-kansas

Good grief… Big12 basketball is gonna be so freaking awesome to watch.

(05-04-2023 05:06 PM)BigHouston Wrote:  Good grief… Big12 basketball is gonna be so freaking awesome to watch.

If you enjoy blood sports. Unless Wes Miller gets some last minute top recruit we will only be ahead of UCF, whose BB sucks.

Averaged 17ppg as a PG at UMKC. Good pickup for UCF. We needed some momentum.

Another big pickup for UCF, averaged 13.9ppg at Wichita State. Former top 100 player. Depending on how we use the last couple scholarships, we may not finish last after all.

Some smoke with Ernest Udeh from KU as well.

Glad to see UCF get a couple of potentially solid transfers. We will have a hell of a battle to get competitive in B12.

Utah Valley transfer Aziz Bandaogo, ESPN's No. 4 available player in the NCAA transfer portal, has committed to Cincinnati, he told ESPN on Saturday.

Bandaogo is considered one of the top defensive players returning to college basketball, providing head coach Wes Miller a huge boost as he guides the Bearcats into their first season in the Big 12.

Bandaogo, a 7-foot junior from Senegal, averaged 11.7 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.9 blocks, ranking as the third best shot-blocker in college basketball. He was named WAC defensive player of the year and helped Utah Valley make the NIT Final Four, where it lost to UAB.

An alumnus of the NBA Academy Africa, Bandaogo made huge strides in his junior season, playing just 14 total minutes as a freshman and then posting 2.7 points in 12 minutes as a sophomore at Akron, before emerging as one of the best big men in mid-major basketball as a junior.

His coach at Utah Valley last season, Mark Madsen, departed for Cal this offseason after his team's outstanding season, in which it went 28-9 (15-3 in conference).

Bandaogo's size, mobility, rebounding and shot-blocking prowess should help him make an immediate impact in the Big 12 next season.

"I feel that Cincinnati is the best place to be for my overall well being. I look forward to spending time with the friends and mentors I have near Cincinnati and to building strong relationships with my new teammates and coaches," he said. "I hope to be able to play during the upcoming season, and I will work with Cincinnati and the NCAA about the possibility."

Bandaogo is the fourth transfer portal addition for Cincinnati this offseason, following Temple's Jamille Reynolds, Kentucky's CJ Fredrick and Butler's Simas Lukosius. The Bearcats also secured two ESPN top-100 recruits in Jizzle James and Rayvon Griffith.

^^^^

Cincinnati is currently #28 in overall rankings [includes transfers] from 247 Sports. The addition of Aziz will bump us higher...

(05-10-2023 01:48 PM)doss2 Wrote:  

(05-04-2023 05:06 PM)BigHouston Wrote:  Good grief… Big12 basketball is gonna be so freaking awesome to watch.

If you enjoy blood sports. Unless Wes Miller gets some last minute top recruit we will only be ahead of UCF, whose BB sucks.

Cincinnati is currently projected as the #42 team assuming all players eligible according to Bart Torvik's roster cast. That would be the middle of the pack in the Big 12 and firmly on the NCAA bubble.

Current Rostercast rankings for the Big 12 next year
#1: Kansas
#6: Houston
#21: Texas
#22: WVU
#32: TCU
#34: Baylor
#37: Texas Tech
#41: Iowa St.
#42: Cincinnati
#44: BYU
#46: Kansas St.
#55: Oklahoma St.
#62: Oklahoma
#131: UCF

247 Overall ratings are:
KS 7
BU 8
ISU 12
OKS 14
UH 21
OK 26
KSU 27
UC 28 with Aziz Bandaoga I expect UC passes OK and KSU
TCU 31
WVU 35
TX 44
TT 57
UCF #75
BYU 96

Using overall rankings is most meaningful because of so many transfers these days.

Out of 247’s top 25 transfers, 8 of them are going to schools that will be in the Big 12 next year.

1. Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
4. Jesse Edwards, WVU
7. LJ Cryer, Houston
8. Jammer Nelson Jr, TCU
9. Max Abmas, Texas
11. Javion McCollum, Oklahoma
17. Aziz Bandaogo, Cincinnati
22. Kadin Shedrick, Texas

5 players in the Top 25 remain uncommitted. The SEC has 5. The Big Ten has 2. The ACC has 2. The Big East has 1. Gonzaga has 2.

So out of the top 25 transfers that have committed somewhere 40% of them are playing in the Big 12 next year as things stand today.

14ppg combo guard from Ball State. Shot 45% from 3. Our roster is going to be better than I thought, we just need to hit on our next few schollies. We desperately need good bigs, and maybe a true distributor point guard.