Cincinnati Bearcats basketball coach Wes Miller previews his team for Jon Rothstein of CBS

The NCAA men’s college basketball season is near and the University of Cincinnati Bearcats will be on display in their first exhibition with Ohio State in about three weeks.

The CareSource Exhibition Game for Mental Health featuring the Bearcats and Buckeyes will be the first meeting between the schools since the beginning of the 2019 season.

Preseason, CBS basketball insider Jon Rothstein has Ohio State at No. 19 and UC at No. 21 with Xavier sandwiched between at No. 20. On CollegeHoopsToday.net Rothstein lists Dan Skillings Jr. of the Bearcats among 15 players who will be stars and guard Jizzle James as one of 20 breakout players for the season.

Rothstein recently spoke to UC Bearcats coach Wes Miller on the College Hoops Today podcast. Here are some highlights of the interview.

Wes Miller on his initial run as a Big 12 team

“It was awesome!” Miller said. “Everyone talked about before we entered of how the Big 12 has been the best league from top to bottom in college basketball. It’s not taking away from other leagues, but from the very top all the way through it, it’s been the best league in recent memory. Going through it, you felt that to be the reality. There are no nights off.”

Miller on addition of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Utah and more league games

“The travel for us in Cincinnati, those are long trips,” Miller said. “We did that BYU and Texas Tech is pretty long if you think about it. That’s for everybody in the league, not just us. We’re adding really quality basketball programs, great coaches and programs recruiting at the highest possible level. The quality of basketball continues to improve.”

Miller on close losses and returning 5 of top 7 scorers (75%)

“I hope it’s a positive,” Miller said. “It used to be that was just the way it was. Now, that’s unique. We’re proud of that. We’re proud guys have stayed in our program. We can’t just expect things to happen, we have to make it happen.”

How will this Cincinnati Bearcats team be different?

“We’ll be faster,” Miller said. “In the second half (of last season) we were playing more four perimeter-oriented lineups. I think we’ll be exclusively that way this year. I think that opens up the floor a little bit. I think will be more disruptive defensively, adding guys like Dillon Mitchell (Texas), Arrinten Page (USC) and having our young players get a little bolder.”

Miller on most improved returning player

“It’s not even fair to single somebody out because I’d be doing somebody a disservice,” Miller said. “They’ve all improved. People are going to talk a lot about Jizzle (James) and he deserves that. He’s taken a tremendous step. So has DaVeon Thomas, so has Dan Skillings, so has Josh Reed. Aziz Bandaogo has so much more awareness of what we’re doing and how we do it. Simas Lukošius is defending at a much higher level. All the returning players have done a nice job for us this offseason.”

Which newcomer will stand out for Cincinnati Bearcats?

“We think Arrinten Page has got a chance to really make an impact,” Miller said. “He’s improving at a really fast rate. Dillon Mitchell was an impact player in a great league already. Connor Hickman (Bradley) was one of the best guards in the Missouri Valley last year. Tyler Betsey and Tyler McKinley look like guys that can walk in and play as freshmen. I think all of those guys have a chance.”

How deep is Cincinnati Bearcats rotation?

“If we get to a point where we’re playing nine or 10 into January and hopefully into March, that will be great for our team,” Miller said. “Some people like to play seven or eight. I really believe in playing nine or 10 guys.”

What about the Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout?

“We’ve haven’t had success there,” Miller said. “The hardest thing about it is you play the game and you’ve got to wait 12 more months to play again and you hear about it every day. We’ve have to live with that for 12 months. The Duke/(North)Carolina game, you at least got to play that twice a year, so if you had some failure you didn’t have to stew on it all year long.”

Miller on making NCAA tournament

“To coach at a place like this, those are the standards, to make the NCAA tournament and be competitive,” Miller said. “I embrace that. My concern every day is trying to get better. I don’t get on a roller coaster of things I can’t control. It’s Cincinnati basketball. The expectation is to compete at the highest level every day.”

Winning close games will be key for Cincinnati Bearcats

“We lost a number of games by one or two possessions,” Miller said. “There were plenty of times we looked like one of the top 30 teams, but the fact of the matter is, we weren’t. We didn’t win those one or two possessions that could have gotten us in. We have to make sure we’re not having this same conversation a year from now.”

Miller on non-conference schedule with Villanova, Dayton, Xavier

“When we reach conference play, hopefully, we’ve seen that growth and improvement so we’re prepared for those 20 (Big 12) games,” Miller said. “You better improve throughout your non-conference, but you also better become a really tight-knit group to deal with challenges and adversity that’s inevitable in our league play. You can play great basketball (in Big 12) and lose five or six in a row. That’s how good the dang league is.

Should another Cincinnati Bearcats number hang in the rafters as Xavier retires another jersey?

Xavier announced this week the retirement of Tu Holoway’s jersey No. 52. That puts him in the same company with Byron Larkin’s No. 23, David West’s No. 30, Brian Grant’s No. 33, Tyrone Hill’s No. 42 and Trevon Bluiett’s No. 5.

First, the Musketeers are entitled to retire any number they choose, and Holloway scored 1,833 career points. He may be more famous for his “Zip’em up!” comments during the infamous UC/XU Cintas Center brawl of 2011 when the Muskies decisively routed the Bearcats and benches were cleared.

Former UC coach Mick Cronin believes the Bearcats should retire more numbers and maybe he is right. Holloway’s 1,833 puts him seventh on Xavier’s all-time scoring list. Sean Kilpatrick scored 2,145, Steve Logan 1,985, Deonta Vaughn 1,885 and Danny Fortson 1,881 if you use scoring as a barometer. To date only Naismith Basketball Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson (12) and Jack Twyman (27) along with a Naismith Player of the Year, Kenyon Martin (4) are displayed for men’s basketball at Fifth Third Arena.

“When you’re the only guy ever to score 2,000 points (2,145) except for the great Oscar Robertson (2,973), how is your number not in the rafters?” Cronin said. “In baseball, they have first-ballot Hall of Famers, he’s a first-ballot have-your-number-retired-guy. You score 2,000 points, help your team to four NCAA tournaments and graduate, and you do it with class, hopefully, it’s going to happen.”

Miller took Kilpatrick to eat prior to his James P. Kelly UC Athletic Hall of Fame induction and made sure his players got to meet one of the most clutch Bearcats of all time. Miller and Cronin spoke before the ceremony and appear to be on the same page as far as Kilpatrick.

“Sean is one of our greatest and that makes it extra special,” Miller said. “He’s the second all-time leading scorer in the history of one of the greatest programs in college basketball history.”

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Wes Miller previews Cincinnati Bearcats basketball with Jon Rothstein