Wes Miller speaks on promising 2024-25 Cincinnati Bearcats basketball roster (2024)

After 45 wins and back-to-back trips to the National Invitation Tournament, the University of Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team could be on the threshold of something exciting with their 2024-25 roster.

UC's transfer portal haul included former five-star forward Dillon Mitchell from Texas, center Arrinten Page from USC and shooting guard Connor Hickman from Bradley. 247Sports.com rated the class as No. 25 in terms of incoming transfers. Coach Wes Miller's incoming freshmen, Tyler Betsey of Connecticut and Tyler McKinley of Winton Woods, put the Bearcats at No. 32 for high school players.

What's not measured or rated is retaining a roster. With the official announcement of 7-footer Aziz Bandaogo withdrawing from the NBA Draft, the Bearcats brought back eight scholarship players, including four starters. ji*zzle James started the last two games and returns along with Dan Skillings Jr., Day Day Thomas, Simas Lukošius, Bandaogo, C.J. Fredrick, Josh Reed and redshirt Ravyon Griffith.

"It was a priority to retain these guys," UC head coach Wes Miller said while previewing his roster Wednesday. "All the guys that came back from Day 1 it was, 'I want to be back in Cincinnati.'"

Putting together a starting lineup could be a challenge for Miller this season, but heading into his fourth year, he could have his most electric roster Bearcat fans have seen. Of the scholarship players, only Fredrick, Reed and Thomas were not rated at least a four-star. Thomas started in 35 of the 37 games he played last season and Fredrick has started 77 of 94 games between UC, Kentucky and Iowa.

"There's a ton of length and athleticism," Miller said. "There's a lot of versatility. I think we can play faster. I think we can get way more aggressive defensively. The different offensive options we're going to have is exciting. There's no reason to celebrate but to this point I'm proud of what's been created. Our returning players and our staff deserve the credit for that."

As he's out of scholarships, Miller says this class is complete.

You can't get a hit unless you swing

While Miller hasn't had the blue-chip luxury of some elite programs, he knows what it looks like having played for North Carolina and Roy Williams.

In the last two seasons, UC has hosted a dozen ESPN Top 100 recruits and the Bearcats have signed four.

"We see this as one the great programs in college basketball," Miller said. "The best players should want to play here. We're going to continue to go after the guys that fit the things that we value and the things this city, this community and this University value. We're not afraid to fail in recruiting. What I'm more proud of is we've got a number of great players to say yes and continue to say yes when they have options to leave here (via portal)."

A visit could lead to a second chance

The Bearcats have hosted from the 2024 ESPN 100, No. 17, Flory Bidunga (committed to Kansas), No. 24 Jase Richardson (Michigan State), No. 30 Labaron Philon (Kansas, then Alabama) and No. 74 Travis Perry (Kentucky).

From the 2023 class, they hosted No. 1 Isaiah Collier (USC) and Sean Stewart (Duke, then Ohio State). No. 40 Arrinten Page was a high school teammate of Collier's and visited and now is in the fold as a Bearcat. No. 83 in the 2023 class is Rayvon Griffith who redshirted last season after playing at Arizona Compass and Taft High School before that.

In addition to securing Page and Griffith, five-star Dillon Mitchell was No. 4 in the 2022 ESPN 100 and is now a Bearcat. He is UC's first McDonald's All-American since Lance Stephenson.

"Dillon's already done it at a really high level," Miller said. "He's had significant roles for two NCAA tournament teams. They (Texas) made a deep run his freshman year. I think they won the Big 12 tournament his freshman year. He's so versatile on both ends. He can do so many things, guard so many different positions, I think he really fits our style of play, the things that we value."

Page from USC may be the sleeper of the class.

"Grassroots recruiting is so important," Miller said. "If we hadn't recruited AP (Page) in high school. You could see his progression from a guy that wasn't even being recruited to a Top 50 player in his class. I was as sure about him in the high school recruiting process as anybody I've ever recruited."

That assurance led Miller to not look at Page's 3.1 scoring average or 2.1 rebounding average. Knowing the difficulties of being a Division I freshman plus his family helped. Plus, Miller found out Page was dealing with mononucleosis as a freshman.

"I think he has a chance to make one of the bigger freshman-to-sophom*ore jumps in college basketball because he's super gifted," Miller said.

Bearcats do land a couple of 2024 stars

UC was 2-for-6 among the 2024 ESPN 100, getting No. 59 Tyler Betsey of St. Thomas More in Connecticut and local No. 82 Tyler McKinley. Miller is still shooting for the stars as Jasper Johnson of Link Academy and Lexington (KY), No. 8 from the 2025 ESPN 100, has visited.

As for waiting on the likes of Mitchell, Page and Betsey, Miller has been known to celebrate but as Tom Petty once sang, "The Waiting" is the hardest part.

"It is kind of a nervous waiting game," he said. "As I get older, I get a little bit better. You don't sleep as well those nights because you're anticipating decisions and you know how big those decisions can be for your program. That's recruiting. Sweating out those decisions is what all coaches go through."

Injury updates

C.J. Fredrick has been cleared from his hamstring issues to begin work with the team, while Day Day Thomas, who missed the last two NIT games with a broken foot will be back later this summer.

Miller attended a recent doctor's appointment for Thomas in Charlotte, North Carolina and his progression will be initially limited. He expects him to be cleared by mid-to-late June.

Skillings swan song?

Dan Skillings Jr. said on a UC ESPN+ baseball broadcast that this would be his final year. Miller will be guiding the junior through what both hope to be a productive year.

"I think what he's saying is he wants to become a player the NBA chooses to draft," Miller said. "That should be his goal. The challenge now for Dan is to make sure his goals are matched by what his day-to-day habits are. He's got to have a work ethic and an approach that's second-to-none. Dan and I talk very openly. His goal should be to have an unbelievable year that results in a ton of winning. Dan and a bunch of our other guys have to spend this offseason obsessed with improvement."

Areas to improve

"I think the thing that's obvious is how many close games we lost," Miller said. "What can we do from here moving forward to close that gap? That's the thing that sticks out the most, just how small the margins are. We have to do everything in our power to close the gap in those margins with our work this offseason."

Though no schedule has been released, numerous reports have UC hosting Morehead State on Friday, Nov. 8 at Fifth Third Arena in its opener.