Wes Miller Discusses Jizzle James 2025-26 Season Debut Against Alabama State

James did not play in the first 10 games and was just reinstated to the roster.

Cincinnati Bearcats head coach Wes Miller looks on in the first half of the NCAA Basketball game between Louisville Cardinals and Cincinnati Bearcats at Heritage Bank Center in Cincinnati on Nov. 21, 2025. | Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CINCINNATI — Wes Miller spoke on a few key topics after Wednesday's SCORE win over the Alabama State Hornets, which featured Jizzle James return to the team and an unknown timeline on when fans might see Tyler McKinley back on the floor.

Miller didn't have an update on McKinley, but he did note some interesting nuggets on James' return, including that he's been practicing for the past few weeks and that he fully reconciled with teammates like Sencire Harris before returning.

"He was told he wasn't going to play this year, and he still wanted to come back and be a Bearcat and be a part of the team, and that, I thought that was really special," Miller said. "He's worked really hard to even be in the position that he could come back here. And then he made amends with the guys and worked out just in the facility. And then we did add him to the roster so he could practice weeks ago.

"He's been practicing now for a couple weeks. He's assimilated back within the team, which has been really neat to see, because it was a difficult summer, and he made some errors. He's owned those errors. He's done a lot of work, put himself in position to be here, and the guys have accepted him. And honestly, it just for a number of reasons, it just felt like the right thing to do.

As for Jame, Miller liked how he looked after nearly 10 months away from live game action. It was a good opponent to get him rolling against in Cincinnati's last Quad 4 game of the 2025-26 season.

Hear from Miller on the guard's return and more, plus comments from NAMES as they turn the page to the final tough test of non-conference play against Clemson on Sunday.

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