CINCINNATI — Wes Miller hasn’t been sleeping well of late.
It’s not because his team isn’t making progress and winning games.
Dan Skillings Jr. poured in a career-high 25 points and added nine rebounds to help keep the Cincinnati Bearcats (4-0) unbeaten on the early season with a 90-66 win over the visiting Northern Kentucky Norse (1-3) Sunday afternoon.
Day Day Thomas added 20 on 8-of-11 shooting while Viktor Lakhin chipped in with a double-double, scoring 14 and grabbing 14 rebounds to help the Bearcats avenge last season’s 64-51 loss at Northern Kentucky.
Marques Warrick led the Norse with 19 points while Sam Vinson added 15 as Northern Kentucky fell for the third time in four games to open the season. Keeyan Itejere was the only other Norse in double figures with 10.
NKU showed fight early on, taking a 12-9 lead on a pair of free throws from Vinson with 13:50 left in the first half.
But Skillings tied the game with a three 18 seconds later, sparking an 8-0 run that put UC up to stay, 17-12.
Skillings beats everyone to the rack! 🔨#Bearcats | @DanielSkillin11 pic.twitter.com/tz9qmx1nka
— Cincinnati Men’s Hoops (@GoBearcatsMBB) November 19, 2023
The Norse drew to within one, 24-23, on a three from Vinson with 6:27 left in the first half.
The Bearcats closed the half on a 21-8 spurt to take a 45-31 lead to the locker room. Last year, the Bearcats led at halftime, 40-36, but were outscored 28-11 in suffering their first loss in eight meetings in the series between the two schools separated by just five miles across the Ohio River.
This time, the Bearcats would not suffer any such collapse. After allowing NKU to score the first four points of the second half to cut the margin to 10, 45-35, UC opened the lead to as many as 25 to cruise to victory.
UC held NKU to just 4-of-20 shooting from three-point range, outscored the Norse 48-38 in the paint, and held a commanding 45-30 rebounding advantage to stay perfect on the season.
But for the second time in three games, Miller, the Bearcats head coach lashed out at the NCAA for not communicating with him or UC about the fate of transfers Aziz Bandaogo and Jamille Reynolds. Specifically, the NCAA has refused to expedite the appeal cases of the two transfers, leaving them and the school and their coach to twist in the wind.
Miller related a story before Sunday’s game that impacted him throughout the day.
“I’m in there, writing on the board while the guys are out warming up in Aziz was was getting at by his locker getting ready. Bob Mangine, our trainer walks in, I told Bob I haven’t been sleeping real well, and Bob Mangine who is the greatest trainer. He cares more about everybody’s well-being than any human being I’ve ever been around.
Wes Miller after a win that improves Bearcats to 4-0, makes another impassioned plea for Aziz Bandaogo and Jamille Reynolds and is fed up with not hearing from NCAA. "It's why everything is so bittersweet right now." pic.twitter.com/yEV9Kk4GpS
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) November 19, 2023
“I don’t know what we’d do without him. He takes care of all of us. So he walks in and (says), ‘How’d you sleep last night?’ And I went, ‘Man I didn’t sleep real well and Aziz heard it. Coach, you struggling to sleep? I said just recently I said I’m angry about your situation and it keeps me up at night and he said, ‘Coach, I haven’t slept since games started. He said, ‘I wake up every night and I can’t go back to sleep.’
And it’s like
“That kills me.”
Miller was just getting warmed up.
“I got a couple things to talk about. Jamille Reynolds has still not received (notice). We have still not heard back from the NCAA about his waiver appeal. We submitted his waiver in August. August,” Miller repeated for effect.
“We submitted this appeal in October. I think it was the last week of October. We’re four games in, two weeks in and he hasn’t heard. So we call the NCAA. I don’t have a contact. I do not know who is the (contact). They don’t talk to me. I have no ability to talk to them. But our compliance calls the NCAA and they said, ‘Oh, yeah, we don’t think we’ll be able to get to that waiver until December.”
“And these are kids’ lives.”
Then Miller pulls out a piece of paper with the NCAA mission statement written down.
“The NCAA’s mission statement: Provide a world-class athletics and academic experience for student-athletes that fosters lifelong well-being. I wish they’d apply that admission to our two kids.”
Ouch.
“I’ll hold my tongue, but it it’s not right,” Miller said. “It’s not right. So it’s a wish we do the right thing here. I don’t know what we’re holding them accountable for we’ve taken away the most one of the most precious not the most precious thing in their life their family their faith.
“You know their education like there’s things that are more precious than basketball, but you’re taking away one of the most important things their identity you’re taking it away from them. You’re punishing them and I don’t know why I don’t know what purpose that serving. I don’t understand they’ve made no mistakes. All they’ve done is follow a piece of paper.
“That was released last year that said, ‘seven standards to meet this waiver.’ They meet them. They consulted with people that said they meet them that are supposed to experts in here. We are. So every time I get a chance, I’m not going away. It’s not right.”
Then Miller made a promise to Bandaogo and Reynolds.
“I will continue to stand up for our kids,” Miller said. “I’m not going away. I’ll talk about it till I’m blue in the face, but Foster’s lifelong well-being that is not happening for these two guys again, I am Not sitting here saying we should let kids do whatever they want to do if we make mistakes as adults we should be held accountable if kids makes mistakes hold them accountable. They haven’t done anything wrong and we’re holding them accountable to the highest degree. I don’t understand it and it’s affecting our team as well.”
