a year ago, Wes Miller He admitted that he was in an “absolute whirlwind,” and felt as if he was figuratively trying to drink water from a powerful fire hose.
Everything was quickly approaching him.
A year later, Miller, entering his second season as a men’s basketball coach at the University of Cincinnati, began taking his sips more comfortably.
Next steps for Cincinnati Bearcats: “Now, you’re trying to decompress the year.”
“I hate the word ‘comfortable,'” Miller told The Enquirer on Thursday. “I think the moment we feel comfortable, we’re in trouble, because then you’re not really pushing the envelope to get better. So, we still feel uncomfortable, and I mean that in a really healthy and positive way. We’re going to try to make sure we’re uncomfortable every day with a crazy sense of urgency to improve.
“But in the past seven to 10 days, it has been the first time since we arrived in Cincinnati that we can kind of take a deep breath, and really process and plan and prepare the way we need to for this summer and the coming season.
“It was a good feeling.”
In an in-depth conversation with The Enquirer, Miller talked about his debut season up and down at the helm of the Bearcats, his past few weeks on the enlistment track, the departure of head quarterback Mike Saunders Jr., and what fans can expect from the new-look Cincinnati team during the 2022 season. -23.
new beerkats
After leading Cincinnati to the record 18-15 (7-11 AAC) last season and following his team’s campaign First seeded Houston stopped him On the second day of the American Athletic Conference Championships, Miller quickly reloaded.
Over the past two months, Miller has received pledges of returning 7 feet forward Victor Lachin2021-22 All-AAC 3rd Team Guard David de Juliusmove forward Kalo Ezekbe (Old Dominion), carriage guard Rob Venetian (Indiana) and former Memphis Landers Noli II.
Miller will associate these commitments with the arrival of a new student and four-star staff Daniel Skillings Three-star newcomers Josh Reed And Sage Tolentino To form a team that hopes to achieve more victories than the team last season.
“I feel really good about the new players,” Miller said. “Whether it’s our three transfers this spring or the three new ones, I feel we’re getting more time, getting more diverse, getting more offensive dynamics, getting guys that fit the things we value and the mindset we’re trying to build every day.
“I think it will help the returning players. In the past year, at times, offensively, I felt like we were putting a lot of pressure on David and Jeremiah (Davenport) to create our squad. The way other teams – especially in the extended period – were able to prepare to put them away, has made It’s tough for them and our team.I think we’ll have a dynamic attacking team now that should free them up to have better chances and better attacking efficiency.
“So, yeah, I think the additions will help us in a number of ways.”
“I am Berkat to death”: Victor Lachin pledges allegiance to the Cincinnati Program
more:David DeJulius will be back for ‘One Last’ Dance with the Cincinnati Bearcats
Rayvon Griffith stays at home
Probably The most prominent commitment Miller received in recent weeks came from Taft High School four-star guard Ravon Griffiths. After leading the senators to the third-tier state championship, Ohio’s first inductee for the 2023 class announced on May 1 his intent to play college ball for Miller and the Bearkats.
The 6-foot-7-inch Griffith chose to stay home in Cincinnati across shows from Alabama, Kansas, Ohio State, UCLA, and more.
Although Miller was not allowed to speak publicly about Griffith’s or Griffith’s commitment until Miller received the National Griffith Letter of Intent (as per NCAA regulations), Miller did share some of his philosophy on hiring, including the importance of building his program with nearby talent.
“It’s Cincinnati. Traditionally who we are as a basketball program and where we’re going, we have to attract players in this area, and I don’t think you can do that if you don’t attract the best players from this community,” Miller said. “It was like priority #1 in hiring when we got here, and it will remain a priority. So yeah, we want to make this area a priority and we want to make this community here a priority for the right people who fit into our program. We will continue to do that.”
The new Jeremiah Davenport?
Speaking of local talent, Miller said he hopes the new additions to the roster will free up space and open up the floor for top guard Jeremiah Davenport.
After being the only Bearcats player to earn a place on the 2021 AAC All-Tournament Team and receive an All-AAC selection for the second team prior to last season, the previous season at Moeller High School saw shot-down percentages drop from two-point range, three-point range and off-line Free throw in his junior campaign.
Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said after ousting Cincinnati at the AFC in March that his team knew Davenport was limited offensively and wouldn’t “create a chance for themselves.”
Miller said Davenport is well aware of Sampson’s words and how the teams will try to protect him going forward.
“I think Jeremiah has a real opportunity this off the season to improve as a player. I think he can improve as much as everyone else on our list,” Miller said. “It’s something that I and I talked about and talked about in depth when the season ended and it’s something we talk about every day.
“Sometimes we have to realize the situation we are in as players change. Last year was the first time Jeremiah was at the top of the scouting report. This is completely different. After doing that for years, I was only at the top of the scouting report once as a player and that’s when I played Professionally in England I will always remember that experience because I learned really quickly how hard it was.
“Every player wants to be a starting attacking option, but it’s really difficult when the other team designs their defense to take you out. I thought Jeremiah handled that well sometimes. I thought at times that was difficult. But I think it was really important to his growth and development, And I think he’s really excited about the things he’s learned, especially in playing the league last year.
“He has a few things he needs to tackle and work on, and I think he’s excited to do that. I think this is a really important off season for Jeremiah, and I think he’ll add to his game. I think he’ll become a lot more dynamic physically with the work he’s doing with coach Rehfeldt ( Mike Reifeldt, associate athletic director at UCSD Sports Performance.) I’m excited to see the result of what he’s put together from now until we start training in October.”
The passing of Mike Saunders Jr
One notable drop off Miller’s roster this coming season will be 6-foot-tall defender Mike Saunders Jr., who has played for two different coaches’ teams in his two seasons in Cincinnati, Elect to enter the transportation portal After a conversation with Miller at the end of last season.
After averaging 3.5 points and 1.4 assists in 15.5 minutes per game as a freshman under then-Cincinnati coach John Brannan, Saunders scored 7.3 points and 2.7 assists in 20.2 minutes on the bench under Miller.
Saunders will play his junior season under a third coach (Craig Smith) in Utah.
Miller said, “I really enjoyed coaching Mike Saunders. I think a lot of it was youth and as a player. I don’t want to put words in Mike’s mouth, but I think he had a similar feeling about being a part of our program here. I think he had a great experience and he believed In the direction we are going.
“Mike wants to be in a certain role at the base. I think we sat down and talked about the future here, which was neat because both of us were really honest, it wasn’t a negative thing. I think he felt it was a tough decision. But maybe his best opportunity was research Elsewhere, good luck.
“Again, I think the world of Mike, I think the realm of his ability and I think he’s going to have a great career in Utah.
“College basketball has changed. Sometimes that makes sense. In this particular situation, I think we saw it that way.”
What’s next for Wes Miller?
As in Miller’s first season as a Cincinnati coach, Miller said his goal this off-season will be to build camaraderie. Between rehearsals, rehearsals, and studying movies, Miller said he wants to continue to have some fun once his new roster members arrive on campus in June.
“We say this all the time, ‘We’re going to work really hard, we’re going to be really looking forward, but we’re also going to have a lot of fun,'” Miller said. So we’re going to have some fun activities as a team this summer and this off season. We will try to do a better job of documenting this on social media and social media so that fans can see us in a different light.”