5 storylines for University of Cincinnati men's basketball in 1st Big 12 campaign

Coach Wes Miller's third University of Cincinnati basketball team consists of 15 players this season. All were present in a Thursday afternoon team photo at Fifth Third Arena.

UC has four graduate students, two seniors, one redshirt junior, three juniors, two sophomores, a redshirt freshman and two true freshmen.

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Returners

Returning starters are 6-foot-9, 230-pound grad student Ody Oguama and 6-11, 240-pound redshirt junior Viktor Lakhin. Grad student John Newman III, a 6-5, 215-pound wing, returns after a medical redshirt. Sophomores Dan Skillings Jr., a 6-6, 215-pound guard, and 6-7, 220-pound shooter Josh Reed are back along with reserve junior 6-foot guard C.J. Anthony, 7-1, 240-pound redshirt freshman forward Sage Tolentino and 6-1, 190-pound junior guard Chase Kirkwood.

Portal additions

Senior twin towers Aziz Bandaogo, a 7-footer 235-pounder from Utah Valley University, and Jamille Reynolds, a 6-11, 275-pound post from Temple stand out from a physical standpoint. UC also added Covington Catholic grad C.J. Fredrick, a 6-3, 190-pound grad student who previously played at Kentucky and Iowa. Helping both in the post and perimeter is 6-8, 225-pound junior Simas Lukošius from Butler.

More new faces

From junior college, 6-foot junior guard DaVeon (Day Day) Thomas is a point guard along with 6-1,195-pound freshman Edgerrin "Jizzle" James Jr. Former Taft High standout Rayvon Griffith, a 6-7, 205-pound guard, returns to his hometown after a year playing at Arizona Compass. A new walk-on from Mason is 5-11 grad student guard Landen Long who played at Ohio Northern.

5 things to watch

1. Will transfer towers Bandaogo and Reynolds win their waiver appeals?

As of Thursday, UC had yet to hear back on the appeals of the two who have challenged the denial of their transfers. Both claimed a mental health exemption was stipulated as a guideline by the NCAA.

"My focus is on Aziz and Jamille's well-being," Miller said. "This is not a line. This has been extremely difficult for them. I thought the original waiver met the criteria for the standards that were laid out. The appeal only enhances those things. Hopefully, we're getting some news here soon so we can get those guys on the court."

2. How good will UC be with extra post players?

If anything, it would allow the Bearcats more fouls to distribute in the rough-and-tumble Big 12 and give established post players Oguama and Lakhin relief.

"I think everyone's on edge anticipating the answer," Oguama said of Bandaoga and Reynolds' possible eligibility. "Everyone's still looking forward to it, expecting that they will (be cleared)."

Said Lakhin, "Me, Sage (Tolentino) and Ody as bigs can all play harder. We won't have to save ourselves to stay out of foul trouble. Having them both, we can play with a free mind and do what we do best."

3. Who knocks down shots?

The best returning three-point marksman, albeit with four attempts, is Lakhin who went 2-for-4. However, if Bandaogo and Reynolds play, Lakhin can move outside where he's improved his shot from the arc.

Of the returning players, Josh Reed was 10-for-25 on threes for 40%, but help has come via the portal.

C.J. Fredrick before his injuries at Kentucky hit nearly 47% of his threes at Iowa. He dropped to 31.8% at UK but that included fighting through a hand injury.

Butler transfer Simas Lukošius was the best Bulldog last season hitting 37.8%. He's somewhat familiar with Cincinnati from visits to Xavier's Cintas Center and once scored 27 points against the Musketeers in the Big East tournament.

"December 9th, I know the date (of the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout)," Lukoŝius said. "I know you guys haven't gotten one at Cintas in a while. I'm ready to change that."

4. Is the roster Big 12 ready?

It's a broken record, but certainly, if the waivers for Bandaogo and Reynolds are approved, UC has an opportunity at the Top 25. The Big 12 strength of schedule and NET rankings speak for themselves.

UC's 23-13 team from last year finished with a No. 63 NCAA NET ranking which was only better than Oklahoma of last year's teams. In the AP preseason top 25, Kansas is ranked No. 1, Texas No. 18 and Baylor No. 20 with TCU and Kansas State getting votes.

"We were able to gel a lot better than a lot of people would have thought," Oguama said. "We've got a bunch of transfers, old guys, young guys. Everyone off the court is able to hang out with each other. It's a tight-knit group of guys."

Said a much-improved Skillings, "We look really good in practice. We're really fast. We really take defense very seriously. We take smart shots and we play together."

5. Can UC return to the NCAA tournament?

"We've learned a lot about this team the last month," Miller said. "That will happen throughout the course of November as well. We won't have it all figured out the first two weeks but that's part of learning your team as you start to see different opponents. We want to compete for championships at Cincinnati. That's what we're here to do. We want to help our guys leave here and go on to professional careers and educate our guys. Are we better today than we were yesterday? That's what it's all about."

UC's last tournament appearance was in 2019 when they lost to Iowa in Columbus in what was Mick Cronin's final game as coach. C.J. Fredrick was an Iowa redshirt that season.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 5 storylines to follow for UC Bearcat basketball in 1st Big 12 year