TicketsCINCINNATI -- The 2022-23 Cincinnati men's basketball season took another step closer to Opening Night when head coach Wes Miller, newly-appointed associate head coach Chad Dollar and seniors John Newman III and Landers Nolley II met with the media on Tuesday afternoon.
The full press conference featuring all four speakers can be found here. Cincinnati opens its season Monday, Nov. 7 against Chaminade, the first of 18 home games.
INSTALLING THE SYSTEM
The Bearcats have welcomed seven newcomers (three freshmen, three transfers and a walk-on), while Miller enters his first true offseason after being hired in mid-April 2021. Compiling a roster and staff while handling a new campus and city in general is a taller task than meets the eye, no matter the expectation.
UC's defense last year was its greatest strength. In fact, its 31.3 percent three-point defense was its third-lowest dating back to the 1999-00 season. But, there's always work to be done.
"I've been doing it this way for, seven years, something like that: The first three days of practice, we just focus on defense," Miller said. "It doesn't mean we don't have a ball or rims or anything like that, but we just really focus on all our defensive principles trying to install situational defenses."
THE DOLLAR IS STRONG
Miller announced the promotion of assistant Chad Dollar to associate head coach on Monday. Dollar has built a national reputation at the highest levels of the game, and Miller said Dollar's ability to articulate his perspective and the things he's learned over the years were one of the leading factors in the move.
"He's been the guy whose counsel and advice has really helped me and part of it was, he's earned it," Miller said. "I want him to have the confidence to know that I want him to speak up more, whether it's with our players, whether it's on the court, whether it's in the locker room, or whether it's in staff meetings, or whether it's opening my door, when I need to hear something that maybe I don't want to hear, I want him to know that I have the confidence and I'm putting him in a role that I expected to do that."
NEWCOMERS, BUT VETERANS
All three of Cincinnati's transfers have high-level resumes. Guard Rob Phinisee (Indiana) played two years under UC assistant Mike Roberts with the Hoosiers, scoring 20 and 18 points in two games against the nation's No. 4 team while excelling defensively. Kalu Ezikpe, a big from Old Dominion, increased his scoring, rebounding and minutes each year of his career, culminating in 11.3 points and 7.1 boards per game (eighth in C-USA) this past season while serving as a team captain.
And then there is Nolley, a former Virginia Tech standout who excelled the last two years at AAC rival Memphis. Miller said it was a spring recruiting priority to bring in a go-to offensive player, particularly to take the load off David DeJulius creating his own shot and Jeremiah Davenport being the team's primary three-point threat.
"When we scouted Memphis last year, we were so concerned with the shooting, and his shooting is as advertised, he can really shoot the basketball," Miller said. "The thing that really surprised us this summer is we got into practices and man, he's pretty good at the ball in his hands. We think he's a guy that can handle at the open floor, you can put him in ball screen bat action or on ball action, and not just finish plays with the shooting, but we think he can create plays for our team too."
FRESHMAN FLAVOR
Miller's first true freshman class featured the November 2021 signings of Josh Reed, Daniel Skillings and Sage Tolentino. Miller remarked at how the staff and older players have been impressed by their immediate acumen and effort.
"These first few days of practice, they've been great," Miller said. "They're all three really gifted, they all have great positional size and length. They've all shown the ability to learn and handle coaching, which sometimes you don't know that you coach somebody, but you can explain something to them, show them something, whether it's out on the floor or the film, and they can go do it. That really bodes well for guys being able to grow quickly."
2022-23 SEASON TICKETS
Season tickets for the 2022-23 men's basketball campaign in Fifth Third Arena are on sale, with student packages opening Tuesday as well.
MAUI INVITATIONAL TRAVEL PACKAGES
Fans looking to spend Thanksgiving Week in Hawaii on one of the sport's best stages can purchase a travel package, which includes a spot on Cincinnati's charter flight, by contacting Bria McLaurin (mclaurba@ucmail.uc.edu) or a member of the sales team at 1-877-CATS-TIX. More information is available here.
The full press conference featuring all four speakers can be found here. Cincinnati opens its season Monday, Nov. 7 against Chaminade, the first of 18 home games.
INSTALLING THE SYSTEM
The Bearcats have welcomed seven newcomers (three freshmen, three transfers and a walk-on), while Miller enters his first true offseason after being hired in mid-April 2021. Compiling a roster and staff while handling a new campus and city in general is a taller task than meets the eye, no matter the expectation.
UC's defense last year was its greatest strength. In fact, its 31.3 percent three-point defense was its third-lowest dating back to the 1999-00 season. But, there's always work to be done.
"I've been doing it this way for, seven years, something like that: The first three days of practice, we just focus on defense," Miller said. "It doesn't mean we don't have a ball or rims or anything like that, but we just really focus on all our defensive principles trying to install situational defenses."
THE DOLLAR IS STRONG
Miller announced the promotion of assistant Chad Dollar to associate head coach on Monday. Dollar has built a national reputation at the highest levels of the game, and Miller said Dollar's ability to articulate his perspective and the things he's learned over the years were one of the leading factors in the move.
"He's been the guy whose counsel and advice has really helped me and part of it was, he's earned it," Miller said. "I want him to have the confidence to know that I want him to speak up more, whether it's with our players, whether it's on the court, whether it's in the locker room, or whether it's in staff meetings, or whether it's opening my door, when I need to hear something that maybe I don't want to hear, I want him to know that I have the confidence and I'm putting him in a role that I expected to do that."
NEWCOMERS, BUT VETERANS
All three of Cincinnati's transfers have high-level resumes. Guard Rob Phinisee (Indiana) played two years under UC assistant Mike Roberts with the Hoosiers, scoring 20 and 18 points in two games against the nation's No. 4 team while excelling defensively. Kalu Ezikpe, a big from Old Dominion, increased his scoring, rebounding and minutes each year of his career, culminating in 11.3 points and 7.1 boards per game (eighth in C-USA) this past season while serving as a team captain.
And then there is Nolley, a former Virginia Tech standout who excelled the last two years at AAC rival Memphis. Miller said it was a spring recruiting priority to bring in a go-to offensive player, particularly to take the load off David DeJulius creating his own shot and Jeremiah Davenport being the team's primary three-point threat.
"When we scouted Memphis last year, we were so concerned with the shooting, and his shooting is as advertised, he can really shoot the basketball," Miller said. "The thing that really surprised us this summer is we got into practices and man, he's pretty good at the ball in his hands. We think he's a guy that can handle at the open floor, you can put him in ball screen bat action or on ball action, and not just finish plays with the shooting, but we think he can create plays for our team too."
FRESHMAN FLAVOR
Miller's first true freshman class featured the November 2021 signings of Josh Reed, Daniel Skillings and Sage Tolentino. Miller remarked at how the staff and older players have been impressed by their immediate acumen and effort.
"These first few days of practice, they've been great," Miller said. "They're all three really gifted, they all have great positional size and length. They've all shown the ability to learn and handle coaching, which sometimes you don't know that you coach somebody, but you can explain something to them, show them something, whether it's out on the floor or the film, and they can go do it. That really bodes well for guys being able to grow quickly."
2022-23 SEASON TICKETS
Season tickets for the 2022-23 men's basketball campaign in Fifth Third Arena are on sale, with student packages opening Tuesday as well.
MAUI INVITATIONAL TRAVEL PACKAGES
Fans looking to spend Thanksgiving Week in Hawaii on one of the sport's best stages can purchase a travel package, which includes a spot on Cincinnati's charter flight, by contacting Bria McLaurin (mclaurba@ucmail.uc.edu) or a member of the sales team at 1-877-CATS-TIX. More information is available here.