Dan Skillings Jr. Details Personal, Team Offseason Improvements By Bearcats

CINCINNATI — Dan Skillings Jr. and the Bearcats basketball team have worked hard to improve deficiencies from the 2023-24 season, including his shooting, plus, the team's free throw mark overall. He discussed all the improvements on the Lets Reign Podcast with Dan Hoard.

Skillings averaged a team-high 12.9 points per game last season with a 49.3% showing from two-point range and a 28.4% split from deep on 3.9 tries per game.

"I worked on repetition a lot with my shot," Skillings said on the show. "Like a lot. Every time I shoot the ball, it's the same shot and not a different shot. My follow-through, and my feet, and how I square off to the basket when I shoot my shot. Being shot ready and prepared for shots, as in, if Jizzle (James) or Day Day (Thomas) are coming off a screen, and I'm in the corner, wide open, I'm not going like this (arms up), because then you're not really ready for a shot, or I'm not just sitting there, like waiting for something. And so when he throws it, then I gotta get ready. But just shot preparation, like waiting for that ball, and if it comes to me, I'm ready to shoot it right away.

"So a lot of shot preparation and repetition with my shot shooting at the same time, and taking every rep seriously. Five great reps are better than 30 bad reps. So it's all about that, really. I've been working on getting on two feet more like bringing in defenders to kick it out to other players, because I know my drive is very effective to this league and to the game, and if I drive real hard, all 10 eyes will probably be on me when I'm driving because they're worried about me trying to go finish or go to the line. And so working on driving."

Skillings has said all the things a Bearcat fan could want to hear leading into the season. His shot was clearly the biggest weak spot in his game, and bringing that outside shooting mark up to just 33-35% would open up many other things in his offensive game.

One would be more chances to attack the basket and get fouled, where he and the Bearcats shot 68.8% at the line last season (299th nationally).

"The whole team worked on the free throws," Skillings noted about the offseason. "We had a lot of one-possession games that we wish we can get back. And it's nothing to really say, but just show this year that we've been working on it. Every week, we make sure every player gets 200 free throws made, and most of the players go beyond that and do 300 or 400 a week. So that's going to show this year for sure we're working on our free throws and that's about it."

Those freebies are low-hanging fruit for the best UC roster this decade to munch on a little more over the next 5-6 months.

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