Cincinnati Personnel

* Probable starters

*#0 Dan Skillings Jr. 6’6″ So. – 12ppg, 6rpg

vs. UH 2/10/24 – 13 points, 3 rebounds

• Has replaced Viktor Lakhin in the starting lineup;
• Very athletic wing;
• Solid at attacking the rim;
• Capable three-point shooter;
• They love to get him basket cuts:
  

*#1 Day Day Thomas 6’0″ Jr. – 10ppg, 2rpg (Kilgore JC)

vs. UH 2/10/24 – 7 points, 2 rebounds

• Smaller point guard;
• Capable three-level scorer;
• Decent three-point shooter;
• Solid pull-up jumper;
• Can get to the basket:
  

*#15 John Newman III 6’5″ Gr. – 9ppg, 5rpg (Clemson)

vs. UH 2/10/24 – 10 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists

• LEFTY;
• Solid at driving to the basket;
• Capable three-point shooter;
• Hit the offensive boards hard last outing vs UH:
  

*#41 Simas Lukosius 6’8″ Jr. – 10ppg, 3rpg (Butler)

vs. UH 2/10/24 – 6 points, 5 rebounds

• Tall three-level scoring guard;
• Outstanding three-point shooter; Can shoot from DEEP;
• Solid pull-up jumper;
• Capable of getting to the basket;
• Will post up vs a mismatch:
  

*#55 Aziz Bandaogo (Pronounced: Ban-Day-Go) 7’0″ Sr. – 7ppg, 8rpg (Utah Valley)

vs. UH 2/10/24 – 8 points, 1 rebound

• Long very athletic post player;
• Highly coveted transfer;
• Terrific shot blocker;
• Solid in the pick and roll;
• Not overly skilled on offense; Scores mainly off of lobs and put-backs; DO NOT FOUL HIM WHEN HE’S MAKING A POST MOVE…it’s ok if he scores a couple of baskets…he’s going to miss a lot more than he makes:
  

#2 Jizzle James 6’1″ Fr. – 7ppg, 2rpg

vs. UH 2/10/24 – 10 points, 3 rebounds

• Talented freshman guard;
• Son of NFL HOF’er Edgerrin James;
• Solid three-point shooter;
• Good shooter off the bounce;
• Capable of getting to the rim:
  

#13 Jamille Reynolds 6’11” Sr. – 6ppg, 4rpg (Temple)

vs. UH 2/10/24 – 8 points, 4 rebounds

• BIG body/post player;
• I really liked him at Temple;
• Solid in the post; They look for him often when he’s in;
• Good shot blocker;
• Sneaky athletic:
  

#30 Viktor Lakhin 6’11” RS Jr. – 10ppg, 6rpg

vs. UH 2/10/24 – 0 points, 3 rebounds

• Has been coming off the bench since the last time they played UH;
• Multi-scoring big man;
• Capable of making the three-pointer;
• Solid in the post;
• Has not played well since January; I believe he is banged up. His minutes have dropped significantly. I think they’ll try to get him going, as they need him to play well to have a chance to make the NCAA Tournament.

#5 CJ Fredrick 6’3″ Gr. – 6ppg, 1rpg (Kentucky)

vs. UH 2/10/24 – No Stats in 2 minutes played

• Returned from injury vs UH in limited minutes;
• Hasn’t played a ton since returning from injury;
• Outstanding three-point shooter;

#33 Ody Oguama 6’9″ Gr. – 3ppg, 3rpg (Wake Forest)

vs. UH 2/10/24 – No stats in 2 minutes played

• Long post player;
• Best around the rim.

#10 Josh Reed 6’7″ So. – 2ppg, 2rpg

vs. UH 2/10/24 – No stats in 1 minute played

• Long defensive specialist;
• LEFTY.

Keys to Victory

1. Defensive Rebounding. The Coogs must own the defensive glass to win this game. Cincinnati is a phenomenal offensive-rebounding team and, like the Coogs, loves to slap the ball out when they can’t grab the rebound. It will take all five Coogs squad members on the floor to rebound in this one.
2. Solid defense. They don’t have an elite offense. If the Coogs can focus on slowing down anyone who gets hot for them, I love their chances. The goal should be to hold them in the 50’s.
3. Get the ball in the paint! Cincinnati proved last game that they could not stop the Coog guards from attacking the paint, nor could they stop the post feeds for easy buckets around the rim. The Coogs should look to attack until Cincinnati proves they can slow them down.
4. You can get a bucket back…You can’t get a foul back. The bench is shorter, with Ramon Walker Jr. out for the season. There is no need to commit bad fouls against Cincinnati. You want to challenge their shots and keep them off the boards, but they don’t have an offense explosive enough to get into foul trouble over and put your team at risk by not being available to be on the floor. You can get a bucket back on the other end, but you can’t get a foul back. Availability is key for our main guys for the rest of the season.

Jayme Hollingsworth’s Cincinnati Bearcats scouting report