Play of Jarrett Hensley – Jarrett Hensley had arguably the best performance of his young Bearcat career as he finished with 11 points, three rebounds and two blocks. Hensley saw his opportunity and took advantage of it with Newman out with that knee injury, and the junior forward didn’t disappoint. He brought a huge spark on defense, but what I was really impressed with today was his ability to attack and finish at the rim and we saw it on quite a few occasions today. You can see Hensely’s confidence has gone up since the season started and its a great sight for Bearcats fans because he can affect the game in so many ways on both ends of the court. Hensley also saw his minutes increase after Dan Skillings went down with what appeared to be a rolled ankle and the Bearcats depth was tested early.
Dan Skillings injury- Freshman guard Dan Skillings appeared to roll his ankle about halfway through the second half and looked to be in a lot of pain as he was knocked out of the contest in one of the most crucial parts of the game as the Colonels had just started to make that late push as they were closing the gap on the Bearcats early lead. Skillings, like Hensely was also seeing his minutes increase now with John Newman out and is going to be a key player for the Bearcats while Newman recovers, but ankle injuries are always concerning in sports.
“The initial deal he rolled his ankle, but you know how that goes. They will do X-Rays and all of that, but let’s just hope it’s an ankle sprain and nothing long term,” said Wes Miller. “He is so gifted, he’s such a great kid, had great work ethic. He is going to be a terrific player and I want him to get these minutes early so we can bring him along quickly because these games are really important for him.”
Ody Oguama- Ody Oguama also had a big day and should see his role increase with Newman out and we saw that today as Ody dominated the glass and made a huge impact on the defensive end Ody dominated the glass as he finished with just two points, but had a game high 12 rebounds. We see the energy Oguama brings to this team, and he can really change the momentum of the game when he is on the floor with his ability to crash the boards and do the dirty work alongside Jarrett Hensley.
The Bearcats improved to 3-0 on the season and they will be back in action one Wednesday at 7 pm when they travel across the river to take on NKU.
