Bearcats came out slinging as they finished the first half shooting 71% from the field, along with 60% from behind the arc as they were looking to play the Bearcat basketball fans are used too. The Bearcats were also looking to attack downhill and get to the rack after spacing the floor and letting their playmakers like Nolley, DeJulius, and Adams-Woods get to the rack as those three combined for 33 of the teams 54 first half points.
2nd half takeaways- The Bearcats continued to dominate, and it all started with stellar guard play between guys like Nolley, Dejulius, Adams-Woods and Rob Phinisee. Phinesse may have not filled the stat sheet in terms of scoring, but he finished with a team high three steals and eight assists.
Daniel Skillings- Skillings is every bit of that 6-foot-6 frame, and his length is every bit of advertised and we saw that on display tonight on both ends of the floor. Skillings finished with nine points on 4-of-9 shooting, with four rebounds, and a team high two blocks including one that he took out in transition for a wide-open dunk. Skillings was rated as high as the 41st player ranked in the class of 2022, and he showed why he was Wes Millers most prized recruit in the class of 2022.
Bearcats’ guards Landers Nolley and David DeJulius gave a lot of praise to the freshman guard. “He has been incredible for us in practice, but a couple years ago, I made a statement about Tari Eason and we should enjoy him because he may not be here as long because he may get the opportunity to go to the NBA and I think Dan has the same ability. He is an amazing player and he’s going to continue to grow from here,” said DeJulius. “Enjoy him while you got him,” said Nolley on Daniel Skillings.
Overall, the Bearcats dominated from start to finish as they dominated the Chaminade Silverswords 98-55 behind stellar guard play as that has been something coach Miller has preached all offseason is that teams are very successful because of their guard play, and it was on full display tonight as the guards combined for 68 of the teams 98 points. The Bearcats were locked in on defense and it showed tonight that the Bearcats are back to playing Bearcat basketball after missing the NCAA Tournament for the last three seasons. The Bearcats were really staying true to the game plan as the full court press really gave the Silverswords a lot of trouble as they created 22 turnovers that resulted in 30 points for the Bearcats. The Bearcats team will be fun to watch and that is something that a lot of Bearcat fans should be excited about after the performance the team had tonight to kickoff their highly anticipated 2022-2023 season.
