Late Season Observation
Just a few thoughts on my behalf in reagrds to the current state of this years team. The Bearcats are currently 12-7 compared to last years team who was 13-6 at this point in the season.
Just a quick look at the current roster. Players who are progressing under Miller, or taking a backwards step:
Aziz Bandaogo: IMO this is the only player who has progressed from last year. Points are up 1.3 (7.8) compared to finishing lasy year at 6.6pts. Rebounds are down from 7.4 to 6 this year. His FT% is the biggest leap IMO from 54.5% to 66.7% this year. Overall a good player IMO but needs HELP desperately in the paint. Aziz can not do it all himself.
Dillon Mitchell: IMO by far the most athleticaly gifted of all the players on the current roster. If Dillon ever puts it altogether, he would be UC's next All American Canidate. His pts are up this year at 10.7 compared to 9.6 last year at Texas. Biggest drop is FT% at 37.5% this year compared to 59.8% last year. A little over 22% and you would have to ask why?
Dan Skillings Jr.: IMO probably the second most gifted athlete compared to Mitchell. Stat wise he's takin a backwards step in every category compared to last year. Biggest eye opener to me is rebounds 3.9 compared to 6.4 last year. Dan was hurt ealier in the year, but he's healthy now and looks lost IMO.
Jizzle James: Compared to minutes last year 19.3mins to 25.9mins this year, stats are decieving. Points are up from 8.8 to 10.4 this year, and rbs 3.5 from 1.9 last year. Keep in my almost 6mins more a game. FT% is down from 78% last year, to 68.2% this year. Another big drop off IMO. Like Skillings looks lost the majority of the time on court.
Day Day Thomas: IMO a good solid player, who would be a backup PG on most teams. His minutes are down from last year 26.7 to 21.6 this year. He was also hurt (3) games earlier in the season. Rebounds and FT% are comparable from last year. Points however are down from 10.4 to 7.1 which is the biggest impact IMO.
Simas Lukosius: On paper identical in most stats, but still disappears at times in big games. Points last year, 11.8 to 12.3 this year. Rebounds and FT% slightly up from last year. Simas is playing aprox 2mins less per game from last year. Obviously more depth this year. Bottom line, looks lost or uninterested on the court at times.
Josh Reed: His stats are almost identical from last year at 11mins per game. Decent role player off the bench.
CJ Fredrick Jr.: Mintues have dropped by nearly 50% at 10.1 compared to 20.6 last year. He's a player who's been chronically injured his entire career wherever he's played. Gifted 3pt shooter coming out of Iowa, but you would never know it now! Has never lived up to his potential IMO
Arrinten Page: Transfer from USC! He was recruited heavily coming out of HS by UC. Eventually chose USC over UC, and a year later in Corryville. Stats are up in every category playing 2.7min more a game. Last year 3.1pts a game to 5.6pts this year. A young player who will only get better IMO. So, why isn't he getting more playing time?
Tyler Betsey: A gifted Player coming out of HS! A 5 Star Recruit, and could have played for Duke, Uconn etc... and chose UC. Tyler is playing roughly 11mins per game this year. Like ALL of Wes's Guards & Forwards, consistently wants to jackup 3s! I expected Tyler to be a scorer in the paint, driving to the basket. To this point, only a few small glimpses of that ability. Another young player who has the ability to be really good some day.
Connor Hickman: Again, another good role player coming off the bench. Stats cmpared to playing at Bradley are way down. 32mins compared to 19mins a game this year. Obviously Connor was a starter at Bradley compared to a bench player at UC. His PT total has taking a huge dive IMO from 14.5 to 4.3 this year. That to me is the biggest eye opener! Another player who looks completely lost at times.
Rayvon Griffith: Known as a big time scorer coming out of HS. Another fine Top 100 Recruit by most services. Can't even get on the floor! Why?? Doesn't practice hard enough? I'll SMH on this one until Rayvon decides to transfer. Which I would not be surprised if it's at the end of the year!!
Tyler McKinley: N/A! Was Tyler the X factor for this years team! A team that so DESPERATELY need a Big Man in the paint to HELP out Aziz. This would have been UC's wide body PF who could have pushed around other teams key players who scored in the paint. The first loss at Villanova showed how desperately Tyler could have HELPED. I guess will find out next year if he was the missing piece.
The above are the players who have Key Roles/Roles on this years team. On paper, we looked like a Top 25 team! I personally had high hopes this year. Finally returning to the NCAA Tournament. (19) Games into the season, you can forget about it! I said after the loss to Kansas this team would be lucky to win (3) more games. Looking at the remainder of the schedule, possibly a UTAH win at home and maybe TCU.
So what's the X Factor with the above players? Wes Miller!
Is Wes over his head? Defensivly we stink! The more talented teams we play, it shows! Offenively we're playing worse than last year! Last night was rock bottom at 52pts against BYU! I believe BYU allows 67pts per game. What happed to the other 15pts? This TEAM looks/appears to be lost under Wes Miller. So how does Wes fix it? Can Wes fix it? Will the incoming recruits be enough to get this team over the hump next year?
Wes is a really good recruiter IMO! Question I would ask, would Mick have been just as good if we were in the Big 12?
It's my understanding UC will not fire Wes becasue the buyout would be ahuge impact! So what's the plan going forward?
Just a quick look at the current roster. Players who are progressing under Miller, or taking a backwards step:
Aziz Bandaogo: IMO this is the only player who has progressed from last year. Points are up 1.3 (7.8) compared to finishing lasy year at 6.6pts. Rebounds are down from 7.4 to 6 this year. His FT% is the biggest leap IMO from 54.5% to 66.7% this year. Overall a good player IMO but needs HELP desperately in the paint. Aziz can not do it all himself.
Dillon Mitchell: IMO by far the most athleticaly gifted of all the players on the current roster. If Dillon ever puts it altogether, he would be UC's next All American Canidate. His pts are up this year at 10.7 compared to 9.6 last year at Texas. Biggest drop is FT% at 37.5% this year compared to 59.8% last year. A little over 22% and you would have to ask why?
Dan Skillings Jr.: IMO probably the second most gifted athlete compared to Mitchell. Stat wise he's takin a backwards step in every category compared to last year. Biggest eye opener to me is rebounds 3.9 compared to 6.4 last year. Dan was hurt ealier in the year, but he's healthy now and looks lost IMO.
Jizzle James: Compared to minutes last year 19.3mins to 25.9mins this year, stats are decieving. Points are up from 8.8 to 10.4 this year, and rbs 3.5 from 1.9 last year. Keep in my almost 6mins more a game. FT% is down from 78% last year, to 68.2% this year. Another big drop off IMO. Like Skillings looks lost the majority of the time on court.
Day Day Thomas: IMO a good solid player, who would be a backup PG on most teams. His minutes are down from last year 26.7 to 21.6 this year. He was also hurt (3) games earlier in the season. Rebounds and FT% are comparable from last year. Points however are down from 10.4 to 7.1 which is the biggest impact IMO.
Simas Lukosius: On paper identical in most stats, but still disappears at times in big games. Points last year, 11.8 to 12.3 this year. Rebounds and FT% slightly up from last year. Simas is playing aprox 2mins less per game from last year. Obviously more depth this year. Bottom line, looks lost or uninterested on the court at times.
Josh Reed: His stats are almost identical from last year at 11mins per game. Decent role player off the bench.
CJ Fredrick Jr.: Mintues have dropped by nearly 50% at 10.1 compared to 20.6 last year. He's a player who's been chronically injured his entire career wherever he's played. Gifted 3pt shooter coming out of Iowa, but you would never know it now! Has never lived up to his potential IMO
Arrinten Page: Transfer from USC! He was recruited heavily coming out of HS by UC. Eventually chose USC over UC, and a year later in Corryville. Stats are up in every category playing 2.7min more a game. Last year 3.1pts a game to 5.6pts this year. A young player who will only get better IMO. So, why isn't he getting more playing time?
Tyler Betsey: A gifted Player coming out of HS! A 5 Star Recruit, and could have played for Duke, Uconn etc... and chose UC. Tyler is playing roughly 11mins per game this year. Like ALL of Wes's Guards & Forwards, consistently wants to jackup 3s! I expected Tyler to be a scorer in the paint, driving to the basket. To this point, only a few small glimpses of that ability. Another young player who has the ability to be really good some day.
Connor Hickman: Again, another good role player coming off the bench. Stats cmpared to playing at Bradley are way down. 32mins compared to 19mins a game this year. Obviously Connor was a starter at Bradley compared to a bench player at UC. His PT total has taking a huge dive IMO from 14.5 to 4.3 this year. That to me is the biggest eye opener! Another player who looks completely lost at times.
Rayvon Griffith: Known as a big time scorer coming out of HS. Another fine Top 100 Recruit by most services. Can't even get on the floor! Why?? Doesn't practice hard enough? I'll SMH on this one until Rayvon decides to transfer. Which I would not be surprised if it's at the end of the year!!
Tyler McKinley: N/A! Was Tyler the X factor for this years team! A team that so DESPERATELY need a Big Man in the paint to HELP out Aziz. This would have been UC's wide body PF who could have pushed around other teams key players who scored in the paint. The first loss at Villanova showed how desperately Tyler could have HELPED. I guess will find out next year if he was the missing piece.
The above are the players who have Key Roles/Roles on this years team. On paper, we looked like a Top 25 team! I personally had high hopes this year. Finally returning to the NCAA Tournament. (19) Games into the season, you can forget about it! I said after the loss to Kansas this team would be lucky to win (3) more games. Looking at the remainder of the schedule, possibly a UTAH win at home and maybe TCU.
So what's the X Factor with the above players? Wes Miller!
Is Wes over his head? Defensivly we stink! The more talented teams we play, it shows! Offenively we're playing worse than last year! Last night was rock bottom at 52pts against BYU! I believe BYU allows 67pts per game. What happed to the other 15pts? This TEAM looks/appears to be lost under Wes Miller. So how does Wes fix it? Can Wes fix it? Will the incoming recruits be enough to get this team over the hump next year?
Wes is a really good recruiter IMO! Question I would ask, would Mick have been just as good if we were in the Big 12?
It's my understanding UC will not fire Wes becasue the buyout would be ahuge impact! So what's the plan going forward?