West Virginia 2/2 2:00 ESPN+

[Bearcat1996]

The ironic thing about this night in particular, during the halftime of tonight's game Terry nelson was one one with Dan Skillings. DS said that he wouldn't play for anyone else, that he and Wes is on the same page, and that he could call Wes at any time of day or night. Meanwhile he himself is in a three game no show while his team crashes and burns.

That interview made me cringe.

[Lobot]

Well, if not the HC or AD, then it must be a player(s) or an Asst Coach. What is your theory?

I think we have a third party involved here with NIL, etc. and I hope it's not gambling related.

[leo from jersey]

I think we have a third party involved here with NIL, etc. and I hope it's not gambling related.

You know I wondered about that, but I don't want to mention anything like that. It could shut down the program.

[John P]

I think we have a third party involved here with NIL, etc. and I hope it's not gambling related.

I was wondering if the problems were NIL and/or donor related. What a shame, let's let the coaches do what they were hired to do without any interference.

[bearcated]

I hear that after the game Wes went outside, saw his own shadow and declared we would have 6 more weeks of crappy basketball.

[DesertFog]

Enquirer noted that Bob Huggins was at the game. For thise who attended, was there any kind of PA announcement?

[GoBearcats31]

Avoided Twitter during and after the game until now ... stumbled upon some posts from Sean Kilpatrick and Kevin Johnson critical of players. Johnson talked about coaches should play guys who want to play/players need to play with passion and heart regardless of results. SK talked about guys like Cashmere Wright playing through serious injuries and giving it all they had.

[Rufus]

The coaches all know who are just going through the motions, lethargic play, refusing to adhere to game plans, and who are just playing for paydays, let the walk ones , second steamers or any who want to win play instead of those who want to be stars.

[GoBearcats31]

Not sure if anyone has done this yet, but a comparison of some 2023-24 and 2024-25 numbers (apologies for any typos)

Dan Skillings
- Then: 27.9 minutes, 12.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.7 turnovers, 42.1% FG, 66.9% FT, 28.4% three
- Now: 25.3 minutes, 10.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.3 turnovers, 40.8% FG, 66.7% FT, 29.8% three

Simas Lukosius
- Then: 30.1 minutes, 11.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 2.0 turnovers, 39.2% FG, 82.5% FT, 38.5% three
- Now: 28.0 minutes, 12.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.5 turnovers, 41.3% FG, 82.1% FT, 37.2% three

Aziz Bandaogo
- Then: 23.9 minutes, 6.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, 1.0 turnover, 64.2% FG, 54.5% FT
- Now: 24.7 minutes, 7.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 1.0 turnover, 64.2% FG, 66.0% FT

Jizzle James
- Then: 19.3 minutes, 8.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.2 turnovers, 43.3% FG, 78.0% FT, 28.7% three
- Now: 25.8 minutes, 10.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.5 turnovers, 40.5% FG, 70.4% FT, 25.3% three

Day Day Thomas
- Then: 26.7 minutes, 10.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.7 steals, 2.1 turnovers, 38.8% FG, 81.1% FT, 28.0% three
- Now: 22.1 minutes, 7.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.4 turnovers, 35.1% FG, 78.3% FT, 36.5% three

Josh Reed
- Then: 10.9 minutes, 2.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 36.9% FG, 72.7% FT, 31.0% three
- Now: 11.8 minutes, 2.7 rebounds, 1.9 rebounds, 37.8% FG, 85.7% FT, 23.8% three

[longtimefan]

Not sure if anyone has done this yet, but a comparison of some 2023-24 and 2024-25 numbers (apologies for any typos)

Dan Skillings
- Then: 27.9 minutes, 12.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.7 turnovers, 42.1% FG, 66.9% FT, 28.4% three
- Now: 25.3 minutes, 10.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.3 turnovers, 40.8% FG, 66.7% FT, 29.8% three

Simas Lukosius
- Then: 30.1 minutes, 11.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 2.0 turnovers, 39.2% FG, 82.5% FT, 38.5% three
- Now: 28.0 minutes, 12.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.5 turnovers, 41.3% FG, 82.1% FT, 37.2% three

Aziz Bandaogo
- Then: 23.9 minutes, 6.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, 1.0 turnover, 64.2% FG, 54.5% FT
- Now: 24.7 minutes, 7.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 1.0 turnover, 64.2% FG, 66.0% FT

Jizzle James
- Then: 19.3 minutes, 8.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.2 turnovers, 43.3% FG, 78.0% FT, 28.7% three
- Now: 25.8 minutes, 10.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.5 turnovers, 40.5% FG, 70.4% FT, 25.3% three

Day Day Thomas
- Then: 26.7 minutes, 10.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.7 steals, 2.1 turnovers, 38.8% FG, 81.1% FT, 28.0% three
- Now: 22.1 minutes, 7.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.4 turnovers, 35.1% FG, 78.3% FT, 36.5% three

Josh Reed
- Then: 10.9 minutes, 2.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, 36.9% FG, 72.7% FT, 31.0% three
- Now: 11.8 minutes, 2.7 rebounds, 1.9 rebounds, 37.8% FG, 85.7% FT, 23.8% three

Looks like shooting percentages are down across the board. Whatever our shot doctor is prescribing seems the wrong medicine.

[longtimefan]

I think we have a third party involved here with NIL, etc. and I hope it's not gambling related.

If it is, that would explain a lot. I hope not.

[leeraymond]

"We have to find the right combination of guys that want to fight". Those are Miller's words. Miller has been trying to find the right combination of five guys for 4 years now. He has gone through this every year since he has become the UC coach. My guess is he will never find that combination of 5 guys because he is a poor evaluator of talent and team chemistry.

UC cannot win with Miller. I hate to say that because I really like the guy. I am rooting for him. However, the numbers don't lie. They have not been lying for 4 years.

UC cannot win with Miller.

[sedz]

Looks like shooting percentages are down across the board. Whatever our shot doctor is prescribing seems the wrong medicine.

2 players up, 3 down among those listed in FG% and three%. 2 up, 2 down, and 2 within 1% on FT. So shooting percentages are close to unchanged from last year. In fact, our effective field goal percentage is almost identical this year (50.4) to last year (50.3). We have been a bad shooting team both seasons. But we've seen a 10% drop in free throw attempts and offensive rebounds this year. If we're going to be a bad shooting team, we've got to manufacture offense in other ways, and we're doing a worse job of it this season.

[Rufus]

One of the things CWM consistently harps on is defense. And I know that statistically speaking we are a good defensive team, but against WVU I saw Miller do something I rarely see him do in going to a full court press. With all the guards or guard types that we can rotate in I don't know why we don't do that more often. We were down almost twenty points when he employed that the other night and as the announcers said was to inject some energy into the flow. As Sedz has said frequently Miller is stuck on an outdated bball philosophy and hesitant to change. Staying with the same tired game plan is not going to get us out of this. Remember when Huggins came out of the gate putting pressure on the opposition to just get the ball over mid court?

[sedz]

One of the things CWM consistently harps on is defense. And I know that statistically speaking we are a good defensive team, but against WVU I saw Miller do something I rarely see him do in going to a full court press. With all the guards or guard types that we can rotate in I don't know why we don't do that more often. We were down almost twenty points when he employed that the other night and as the announcers said was to inject some energy into the flow. As Sedz has said frequently Miller is stuck on an outdated bball philosophy and hesitant to change. Staying with the same tired game plan is not going to get us out of this. Remember when Huggins came out of the gate putting pressure on the opposition to just get the ball over mid court?

Yeah, I'm with you there. I have always thought coaches should go into every game with 3 distinct schemes on offense and defense. Start the game with the one you think will work best and stick with it until the opponent proves they can stop it. But as soon as they do, switch it up. We've only played a handful of possessions of trap and a handful of zone this year. We should be trying them out every game just to see if they work. Especially these days with traps and zones becoming more rare. Same on the offensive side. Try the PnR if you like it, but as soon as the defense stops that, switch to something different. We played an inverted offense for a bit against Colorado with Simas starting on the blocks. It worked great but we haven't tried it since. We've had success going small with Reed or Betsey at the 5.

Wes is afraid of giving up open threes and layups. Our defense is good at preventing those. But if you want to force turnovers, you gotta take some risks. And we need to take risks because our offense is so bad that we rely on transition opportunities. Our defense should look like Iowa St or UCLA. They give up lots of threes but they force a ton of turnovers. If Wes isn't up to the task of running a modern offense, he can start with a more aggressive defense. We might even give up more points but we need to kickstart the offense somehow. Skillings can be a menace at the top of a 1-3-1. Could be a way to get him out of his funk.

On offense we've got the pieces to be modern. We can run out 5 athletes who are 6'6 to 6'8. Skillings, Simas, Mitchell, Reed, Betsey, Rayvon. We don't have to play a traditional 5 who only sets screens or a traditional point guard who can't finish at the rim.