Three Man Weave: UC Dominates Chaminade 98-55 in Season Opener

Cincinnati got off to a nice start in the 2022-23 season.

Author:
Russ Heltman
Updated:
Nov 8, 2022 9:29 AM EST

CINCINNATI — A smooth start to the 2022-23 season for UC men's basketball. The Bearcats hammered Chaminade 98-55 on Monday night to kickstart their campaign.

“We've really stressed sharing the ball," Wes Miller said about his team "Making this simple play, playing together from the first day of summer until now, and the guys have really embraced that. It was really good to see us share the ball at times tonight, and there was sometimes I thought we got a little stagnant or tried to maybe make the difficult pass instead of the easy pass. But 24 assists listen, anytime your coach and then you get 24 assists you're going to feel pretty good."

Players from up and down the roster saw time as newcomers like Landers Nolley ( 19 points, four rebounds, four assists), showed a newfound versatility for this program. While old heads like David Dejulius (team-high 24 points, 9-of-15 shooting, three assists) matched the hot start.

The crowd got plenty to cheer about as Cincinnati started 5-of-5 from deep to put the result in stone early.

UC has now won three-straight season openers after dropping back-to-back against Ohio State in 2018 and 2019.

Versatility Injection

A blowout win against a Division II opponent is the minimum expectation for UC. Still, it was good to see the scaffolding of a dynamic UC game plan this season.

Kalu Ezikpe and Rob Phinisee didn't get the start on Monday, but UC's lead transfer did, and Nolley was fantastic from the jump. He hit his first shot, a three from the right wing, and never looked back.

"He's getting better at this crazy rate," Miller said about Nolley. "Whether it's his decision making in the open floor, his decision making when he's penetrating, and attacking to close out, or his decision making in a ball screen. And I think that's going to be important to our team as the year goes on. But he's embedded with the ball in his hands at a really high rate. And then over the last two, two and a half weeks, he's really started defending at a much higher level."

Any position 1-5, there was strong production throughout. The wings were dynamic with ball pressure, the bigs showed more athleticism than last year, and there was no weak link in the backcourt.

Cincinnati checked the top box you want to see coming out of camp: a hunger to compete and dominate.

UC's offense got bogged down with too much dribbling and a lack of movement over the past year. Now, they have five players (Lakhin give or take) on the floor at all times that can create space and facilitate.

Nine different Bearcats logged an assist on Monday, led by Phinisee (three points, eight assists).

"Yeah, I feel like we got a lot of guys who can play this year," Dejulius said. "So I don't really have to force as much, I can kind of let the game come to me. You know when the points get evenly spread around the defense can kind of relax and I was able to get things going down the stretch."

The ball pinged well all night in the halfcourt, especially on middle dribble penetration. Having wings that can distribute and a selfless team mantra made for a nice debut at Fifth Third Arena.

Landers Love

The Memphis transfer has bounced around over the past few years, but he looked more comfortable than ever against Chaminade. The redshirt senior was in full control from his opening shot and a big catalyst for UC's successful kick-out game.

The scoring is great, but Nolley is a complete player on both ends, and that all-around game is a big reason I think he'll return to First Team All-AAC. He led the team with an eye-popping +40 +/- and was strong with a 92.4 defensive rating.

The shooting confidence is the top thing to take away from this Division II outing. Nolley (8-of-13 FGs) played with joy and direction that oozed onto his teammates. Cincinnati's fast-break success usually started with him threading an outlet pass or taking one to the hoop.

He and Davenport (14 points, four rebounds) shared an identifiable fire throughout the game. They both hit their first two shots of the game.

"It's crazy because we were talking in the locker room before the game," Nolley said. "Usually when I hit my first shot, I don't play good. So honestly, for the second one to go in, and a couple more to go in, it felt good. My teammates provided for me and I took advantage of what the defense offered."

That duo's energy could drive a lot of success this season, and Nolley looks like he's influencing Davenport's game for the better. The senior passed into open shots more often and melded into the flow of the offense.

Fastbreak Fiesta

The Bearcats dominated this game in transition, showing off all the aforementioned versatility against a blunt Silverswords team. Nolley was a big part of that—throwing down multiple dunks in a game where UC posted 14 of them.

Chaminade entered the 513 outmatched athletically, and it showed throughout the forty minutes. UC looked connected on fastbreak drills at practice over the last few weeks. That hard work paid off with 38-0 transition advantage.

Last season, so many of those quick chances hit a skid near the rim—UC now has players in every lineup that can gather and finish through punishment. They scored 28 points on layups good for 29% of their team scoring.

Freshman Dan Skillings (nine points, four rebounds) had a dunk on his first NCAA basket and looked like a top-tier athlete all night.

"A couple years ago, I had made a statement about Tari Eason (UC forward in 2020-21), that I feel like we should enjoy him because he might not be here long because he might get an opportunity to go to the NBA," DeJulius declared. "I think Dan has the same ability. He's an amazing player and will continue to grow from here."

"Enjoy him while you got him," Nolley said to close the point.

Cincinnati welcomes Cleveland State to Fifth Third Arena on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET. The Vikings lost to the Notre Dame College Falcons 72-68 to open the 2022-23 season, a Division II school picked to finish fifth in its conference.

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