When the off-season began in 2023, Bearcat fans thought the point guard position would have the depth of Mika Adams-Woods a super senior with a lot of experience, DaVeon “Day Day” Thomas a JuCo transfer and Edgerrin “Jizzle” James Jr. a true freshman. Heading into the Big 12, it gave one steady hand and two huge potential guys, but once Adams-Woods entered the portal and eventually transferring to St. Bonaventure, it left the position very raw and inexperienced. The growth of these two players are key if the Bearcats want to make some noise in the best conference in basketball.
Early in the season, it has been easy to see positives and negatives in both players. Thomas has an innate ability to create his own shot and deter others from getting shots they like on the defensive end. James has a great ability to create for himself and others in tough environments (i.e. Howard, Xavier and BYU). Thomas can get to the hole, but at times misses easy layups and can be a little careless with his passes setting up teammates, over shooting alley oops or not putting enough air on post entry passes. James while super solid on offense, his challenges right now are on the defensive side of the ball, while he’s doing a better job at initial on ball defense, he can get caught sleeping on back door cuts or being a step behind when the ball is moving side to side.
With the positives and negatives, their have been games where, one outplays the other and Bearcat fans are calling for the others head per se. The rollercoaster is apart of the season and it will warrant more or less time for said player if the other is playing well, we can’t lose sight of the long term goal. Both are super important to the Bearcats chances at dancing in March. Their are games where they both play good and that’s when the Bearcats are at their best.
Before the last two games, the momentum was swinging James’ way, but Thomas has done a great job to get things going in the right direction. He scored a career high 21 points against TCU on Tuesday, four rebounds, six assists and three steals, making key plays throughout the game. On the road against Baylor he had 15 points, the last two games he’s averaging 18 points, after starting off the Big 12 slate ice cold. James had a great game on the road against BYU scoring 12 points making key plays in his time on the court, he didn’t play as well against Baylor, but he was very solid against TCU having four assists and no turnovers.
“We got two rookie point guards, their rookies, it is what it is. Their about everything that Cincinnati Bearcats are about, they represent what this program is about, but they are rookies, they are learning what this takes in the best league in college basketball,” said Wes Miller when talking about his points guards after the overtime win against TCU.
Both of these young men can play and will get better each game, but the positive is the other seems to pick up the slack if the other isn’t on their A game. Fans must be patient which can be hard, but just look at how the first four Big 12 games have gone, they’ve competed at a high level and these guards are a key reason.
