Cincinnati Basketball: Bearcats land key 2024 commit in forward Tyler McKinley
Cincinnati Basketball lands its first commitment in the 2024 recruiting class in Tyler McKinley. What does the top-100 frontcourt player offer to the Bearcats?
It’s been a busy offseason for Cincinnati Basketball, having landed five transfers. As they make their move to the Big 12, it’s going to be important to have as much talent as possible in order to compete and avoid a long rebuilding process. And that starts with the 2024 class, landing Tyler McKinley.
He’s a consensus four-star frontcourt player, listed at 6’9 and around 220 pounds. He’s capable of playing both positions on the inside but right now is probably best at center. Although he played his high school basketball in the state of Missouri (Link Academy), McKinley is originally from Cincinnati. The big man is a good rebounder and a physical player with lots of energy.
The Bearcats beat out the likes of Alabama, Xavier, Ohio State, and Virginia Tech for his services. McKinley joins a new frontcourt that includes redshirt sophomore Victor Lakhinm as well as a couple of incoming transfers. Jamile Reynolds is a junior from Temple, while Aziz Bandaogo comes from Utah Valley and is last season’s WAC Defensive Player of the Year.
What’s interesting is that not only do all three of those veteran bigs named have up to two years left of eligibility but both Reynolds and Bandaogo need a waiver to play next season as two-time transfers or else have to sit out. That could affect the potential logjam for future bigs such as McKinley when it comes to future playing time.
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But that’s life in the Big 12 and minute allocation is something Coach Wes Miller will have to deal with going forward. Yet it’s a good thing for Cincinnati Basketball, as the new league is a big step up from the AAC. And with more additions such as McKinley, they’ll be able to compete sooner than later.