TicketsCINCINNATI -- Cincinnati head men's basketball coach Wes Miller has announced the signing of two four-star prospects in Rayvon Griffith (Cincinnati) and Jizzle James (Orlando, Fla.) during the fall period.
Rayvon Griffith (SF, 6-7, 180, Cincinnati, Ohio, Compass Prep (Arizona))
Griffith was UC's first commit of the class. He originally attended Cincinnati's Taft High School before enrolling at Compass Prep in Chandler, Ariz., in the summer. Griffin's 247Sports composite ranking had him as high as No. 54 nationally, including the nation's 11th-best small forward. Griffith led Taft to the Division III state title in Dayton as a junior, and AZ Compass Prep enters this season atop MaxPrep's Independent School Basketball rankings.. As a junior he was rated the No. 10 shooting guard in the 2023 class and was a Division III First-Team All-State selection, averaging 19 points, six rebounds and two assists to help Taft to its second state title.
"Ray was the first guy we started recruiting when we got the job here at UC. He's a Cincinnati native and a state champion from Taft High, right here in our city. Ray's verbal commitment has really set a tone for us in recruiting for the caliber of player we want to recruit nationally and locally. He's such a big recruit for us in more ways than who he is as a player, and he's a great one. He's competitive and edgy. He has supportive people in his life, and it's overdue to talk about him publicly, but it's great to finally welcome Rayvon to Cincinnati basketball."
Jizzle James (PG, 6-1, 180, Orlando, Fla., Olympia HS)
James was ranked as high as the No. 52 prospect in his class, including the ninth-best point guard. He also earned MVP honors at the Nike EYBL's fourth and final circuit in Kansas City, averaging 20 ppg (on 56 percent shooting) with 3.7 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. As a junior, he even averaged 25.8 ppg to claim ITG Next Florida Male Athlete of the Month honors. James, called the hardest-working member of the program by head coach Rob Gordon, chose the Bearcats over finalists Florida and Georgia, among others.
James, whose birth name is Edgerrin, is the son of 11-year NFL running back and Pro Football Hall of Famer of the same name. His brother, Eden, is a freshman running back at Howard.
"We're so excited to announce that Jizzle James has signed his letter-of-intent to join our program. He's a winner. First and foremost, we saw him when he was playing with the Florida Rebels, where he was coached by Cincinnati native Steve Reese with one of the best AAU programs in the country. The first thing we saw was how much of a competitive and winner he is. He's a throwback Bearcat point guard who plays with edge on defense, makes plays on offense, makes teammates better and can score the ball at that position. We're so thrilled he's joining our program. He comes from a great family and has people around him who have instilled great qualities and work ethic. He's gonna have a great career at Cincinnati."
Rayvon Griffith (SF, 6-7, 180, Cincinnati, Ohio, Compass Prep (Arizona))
Griffith was UC's first commit of the class. He originally attended Cincinnati's Taft High School before enrolling at Compass Prep in Chandler, Ariz., in the summer. Griffin's 247Sports composite ranking had him as high as No. 54 nationally, including the nation's 11th-best small forward. Griffith led Taft to the Division III state title in Dayton as a junior, and AZ Compass Prep enters this season atop MaxPrep's Independent School Basketball rankings.. As a junior he was rated the No. 10 shooting guard in the 2023 class and was a Division III First-Team All-State selection, averaging 19 points, six rebounds and two assists to help Taft to its second state title.
"Ray was the first guy we started recruiting when we got the job here at UC. He's a Cincinnati native and a state champion from Taft High, right here in our city. Ray's verbal commitment has really set a tone for us in recruiting for the caliber of player we want to recruit nationally and locally. He's such a big recruit for us in more ways than who he is as a player, and he's a great one. He's competitive and edgy. He has supportive people in his life, and it's overdue to talk about him publicly, but it's great to finally welcome Rayvon to Cincinnati basketball."
"Ray was he first guy that we started recruiting when we got the job here at UC. He's a Cincinnati native. He's a state champion from Taft High School right here in our city."@CoachWesMiller introduces @GriffithRayvon to Cincinnati. 🔥#Bearcats | #TheMovement pic.twitter.com/FKxWkPbxDf
— Cincinnati Men's Hoops (@GoBearcatsMBB) November 28, 2022
Jizzle James (PG, 6-1, 180, Orlando, Fla., Olympia HS)
James was ranked as high as the No. 52 prospect in his class, including the ninth-best point guard. He also earned MVP honors at the Nike EYBL's fourth and final circuit in Kansas City, averaging 20 ppg (on 56 percent shooting) with 3.7 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. As a junior, he even averaged 25.8 ppg to claim ITG Next Florida Male Athlete of the Month honors. James, called the hardest-working member of the program by head coach Rob Gordon, chose the Bearcats over finalists Florida and Georgia, among others.
James, whose birth name is Edgerrin, is the son of 11-year NFL running back and Pro Football Hall of Famer of the same name. His brother, Eden, is a freshman running back at Howard.
"We're so excited to announce that Jizzle James has signed his letter-of-intent to join our program. He's a winner. First and foremost, we saw him when he was playing with the Florida Rebels, where he was coached by Cincinnati native Steve Reese with one of the best AAU programs in the country. The first thing we saw was how much of a competitive and winner he is. He's a throwback Bearcat point guard who plays with edge on defense, makes plays on offense, makes teammates better and can score the ball at that position. We're so thrilled he's joining our program. He comes from a great family and has people around him who have instilled great qualities and work ethic. He's gonna have a great career at Cincinnati."
"He's a throwback Bearcat point guard. He plays with edge on defense. He makes plays on offense. He can make his teammates better."@CoachWesMiller introduces @thejizzlejames to Cincinnati. 🔥 #Bearcats | #TheMovement pic.twitter.com/CxfhvidHrM
— Cincinnati Men's Hoops (@GoBearcatsMBB) November 10, 2022