The Bearcats are in the thick of preseason preparations for the 2026-27 basketball season. Jerrod Calhoun’s first team in Cincinnati had another practice on Thursday, and he spoke to the media afterwards in a local media session leading into next week’s Caresource Invitational action against Ohio State at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.
Calhoun’s team is almost finalized as they just wait on the status of MJ Collins and his fight for a final year of eligibility. All in all, it’s going to be 14 or 15 new names for UC fans to get to know.
One of those key names is lead guard Tylen Riley, who is back to full practices after dealing with an offseason injury.
“It’s been a good journey so far. Obviously, getting those summer practices in, I think, really helps you. I think we’re at a point now with our guys. We need to go play somebody else,” Calhoun said to the media. “Guys have worked really, really hard,” Calhoun said after the practice. “We got a lot of things to clean up, but I enjoy developing a process to try to get there. So whatever we look like next Wednesday, obviously 30 days later, I think will be a lot better. So it’s just getting guys to understand their role. But we have good days and bad days. Nobody’s that good right now. We got a whole new team, so just trying to stay positive through those down moments of practice.”
Cincinnati is a top-40-rated team on both Bart Torvik (39th) and Evan Miyakawa’s (36th) rankings entering the season and should be a strong contender to get into the NCAA Tournament for the first time this decade if all those new pieces can come together fast.
UC is turning over every gelling-stone moment they can find, having already played some exhibitions in the Bahamas last month, with three more on deck before the season tips off in the first week of November.
They should be pretty familiar with how to play together in game moments by the time the season tips off against American on Nov. 2.
“Yeah, we need as many reps as possible,” Calhoun said about the exhibitions. “I mean sometimes we think we’re playing on two courts because we’re throwing the ball out of bounds within the lines. So we need as many game reps as possible.”
Check out the full comments from Calhoun, Trevian Carson and Akai Fleming below:
Bookmark Bearcats Talk for the latest news, breakdowns, and so much more. Be sure to check out our YouTube page as well, starting with the video below.
Also, don’t miss the podcast, Bearcat Blitz, wherever you get your shows!
Apple Â
Spotify Â
Be sure to keep it locked in on Bearcats Talk, as we cover the trials and tribulations of the Big 12!
Follow Bearcats Talk on Twitter: @BearcatsTalk
Like Bearcats Talk on Facebook: Bearcats Talk
Add us as a preferred source on GoogleÂ
