Cincinnati Bearcats basketball transfer history. How have they done?

Yahoo

27-03-2025

Though NCAA college basketball players have been posting their availability shortly after their team's untimely demise from postseason tournaments, Monday marked the official opening of the transfer portal for men's college hoops.
Not surprisingly, names went into the hopper as rapidly as a free time-share drawing at the county fair. College athletics in 2025 involves the frequent switching of team colors all in the name of the most worshipped color of all: green.
As Jerry Seinfeld explained some years ago, "We root for laundry".
Who will suit up for Cincinnati Bearcats basketball in College Basketball Crown?
That was a question many had when it was announced UC would play in the inaugural College Basketball Crown. The NCAA tournament was missed with the loss to Iowa State in the second round of the Big 12 Championships With just three Quadrant 1 wins and the number of automatic bids involved in the field of 68, UC missed the tournament.
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"Our team will play," Miller said last week. "We gave the guys some time off after the conference tournament. We've spoken to the whole team as a staff. The guys I've interacted personally with are excited to play."
That said, it's conceivable a player could enter the portal and still play. There is a monetary incentive to play, should your team advance. Recent history would suggest some arrivals, as well as some departures. The Enquirer will update such information should it become available. This portal window closes April 22.
Rating Cincinnati Bearcats basketball top transfer portal additions under Wes Miller
Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Wes Miller gestures to players in their game at Fifth Third Arena against the Utah Utes. UC split with the Utes during the season.
1. Landers Nolley II
Nolley was UC's most prolific scorer since Jarron Cumberland if you're talking recent history. He averaged 16.8 points and 5.8 rebounds. This came after seasons at Memphis where he was at 13.1 points one year and a freshman campaign at Virginia Tech where he averaged 15.5 points per game.
2. John Newman III
The 6-foot-5 wing didn't necessarily post eye-opening numbers but did average 9.2 points and 5.4 rebounds in 2023-24 and provided a great deal of leadership. He missed most of the season just before his final year with an injury but came in initially averaging 6.9 points and 4.2 rebounds. As a sophomore at Clemson, he averaged 9.5 points per game.
Cincinnati Bearcats guard Day Day Thomas (1) has been efficient in his two seasons under Wes Miller.
3. Day Day Thomas
Thomas came via the junior college route, which will now lead to more eligibility as recent court rulings won't count the JUCO years on his clock. Thomas started all but the last two games of 2023-24 for the Bearcats averaging 10.4 points per game. This season, he came off the bench until February when he provided a spark starting with Jizzle James. Thomas finished at 9.8 points per game and has 108 steals in two seasons. His three-point shooting improved from 28% to 37%.
Key Cincinnati Bearcats pickups who helped, but needed more consistency
UC forward Dillon Mitchell (23) throws one down for the Bearcats in their Big 12 second-round game with Iowa State. The Cyclones won and UC will next play in the College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas.
4. Dillon Mitchell
The 6-foot-8 sky-walking forward came from Texas and stayed status quo with his scoring at 9.6 points per game. His rebounds dropped from 7.5 to 6.7 per game. His field goal and three-point percentages improved, but free throw shooting dropped. Mitchell still provided key blocks and steals and improved in both of those categories this season.
5. Simas Lukošius
Lukošius saw his scoring drop from 11.8 points per game to 10.3. He had 22 double-digit games as a junior and 16 as a senior. He began the season on fire from the perimeter but then dipped in Big 12 games. He finished at 34% from deep, down from 38% the previous season. Lukošius averaged 11.6 points per game at Butler playing in the Big East, so his production was about what was expected. He did battle injuries in both seasons. He was hit in a pedestrian accident just before the 2023 Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout, then suffered a shoulder injury at Iowa State this season that left him less than 100%.
6. Aziz Bandaogo
The 7-foot center increased his scoring to 7.4 points this season but dropped in rebounding from 7.4 to 6.1. His shooting percentages improved and he still blocked 99 shots in two seasons. However, many will tell you that the best game he ever played came against UC in the 2023 NIT tournament at Utah Valley when he had 15 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks while eliminating the Bearcats in the quarterfinals. He averaged 11.5 points and 10.4 rebounds that season with 106 blocks. Playing in the more physical Big 12, those numbers were hard to match.
7. Jamille Reynolds
You could argue UC missed the size of Reynolds (6-foot-11 and 275 pounds) and Viktor Lakhin (transferred to Clemson) when faced with the bulky behemoths of the Big 12 this season. But, Reynolds only averaged 5.4 points and four rebounds after scoring 10.1 points with 5.4 rebounds at Temple the year before. Neither cared to be role players as Reynolds joined Lakhin in the portal, eventually settling at USF in the AAC. He averaged 12.5 points and 7.7 rebounds this year, but the Bulls season is done at 13-19.
8. Ody Oguama
The 6-foot-9 Oguama came from Clemson where he averaged 4.2 points and 4.2 rebounds. He became a starter in his first season averaging a reliable 5.5 points and 5.4 rebounds with six double-figure games. In his last season, he became more of a role player and averaged 2.2 points and 2.3 rebounds.
9. Arrinten Page
Page came from USC where he averaged 3.1 points and 2.1 rebounds. In his first season at UC, the 6-foot-11, 240-pounder averaged 3.5 points and 2.3 rebounds and had two double-double games.
Cincinnati Bearcats transfers whose tenures were incomplete
Cincinnati Bearcats guard Connor Hickman (8) played in 13 games and started seven for UC this season before being injured.
10. Connor Hickman
The 6-foot-3 guard gets an incomplete grade as he was injured with a boot cast on his foot after Jan. 7. He averaged 4.3 points and 2.5 rebounds after coming from Bradley where he was a 14.5 points per game scorer. His injury first came in December and Hickman is pursuing a medical redshirt. He started seven of his 13 games after Dan Skillings Jr. was injured in the season-opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Hickman had 14 points at Georgia Tech.
11. C.J. Fredrick
Fredrick is also an incomplete as his two seasons were riddled with injuries. He averaged 1.3 points this season while missing 14 games. Previously he averaged 6.1 points and was a 43% marksman from the arc in 2023-24 when he started 10 of the 15 games he played. Fredrick also averaged 6.1 points at Kentucky and 10.2 and 7.5, respectively in his first two seasons at Iowa.
12. Abdul Ado
Ado started 130 games at Mississippi State and averaged in the range of six points and seven rebounds. As a grad player at UC he averaged 2.4 points and 4.5 rebounds.
13. Kalu Ezikpe
Ezikpe brought the 6-foot-8, 235-pound frame that UC struggles with, but averaged just 3.3 points and 2.2 rebounds in his one season. Before coming, he averaged 11.7 points and 7.1 rebounds at Old Dominion. Again, there's a clear difference in jumping to a Power Four league.
14. Hayden Koval
Koval was a tall target at 7-foot-1 but checked in at 3.1 points and three rebounds per game after averaging 7.1 points at UNC-Greensboro and 12.2 at Central Arkansas.
15. Rob Phinisee
The guard goes into the incomplete category as he played just 12 games before being injured. He spent the 2018-2022 seasons at Indiana.
16. A.J. McGinnis
After a season averaging 6.1 points at UNC-Greensboro, McGinnis was at 2.3 points and 0.5 rebounds in his one season.
17. Jarrett Hensley
Hensley also came from UNC-Greensboro. At UC his freshman numbers were 1.5 points/1.3 rebounds which went to 2.0 points and 0.9 rebounds the following season.
Jizzle James (2) topped the Cincinnati Bearcats in scoring this season at 12.8 points per game.
2024-25 Cincinnati Bearcats non-transfer ratings
Jizzle James – Stock up. James upped his scoring from 8.5 to 12.8 points per game. His shooting was roughly the same and he added 29 steals, up nine from last year.
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Dan Skillings Jr. – Stock down. After leading UC in scoring at 12.9 points per game and averaging 6.4 rebounds, he dropped out of the starting lineup and averaged 9.3 points and only 3.8 rebounds. He did improve his shooting but went from 25 double-digit games to 11. His stock goes as he chooses as there's no debating his potential.
Josh Reed – Stock up. Though he averaged just 4.5 points and 2.5 rebounds, he started seven games and was a 43% shooter from the field and 85% from the line. All six of his double-digit scoring efforts came from Feb. 8 to now.
Tyler Betsey, Rayvon Griffith, Halvine Dzellat – All incomplete as they are role players looking for their window to shine. Betsey can line up 3-pointers but will need to shoot better than 33%. Griffith is a great team guy waiting for his moment and the 6-foot-10 Dzellat is raw with much to learn.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: How has Cincinnati Bearcats basketball fared with transfer portal?