Wes Miller Passionate in Defense of Jamille Reynolds, Aziz Bandaogo's Eligibility Following UIC Win: 'It's Bittersweet'

Cincinnati is still waiting for a decision on the appeal submissions for both players.

CINCINNATI — UC hoops took out University of Illinois-Chicago 69-58 on Monday night as The team started the season without Aziz Bandaogo and Jamille Reynolds on the floor. The two big fellas are dealing with eligibility limbo.

Head coach Wes Miller was happy about 69-58 the win but noted how bittersweet it is to not have those players.

"It's bittersweet when you win and two kids that deserve to play are sitting in street clothes," Miller said. "I feel like hell. I feel bad for those two kids. Those two dudes deserve to be playing basketball. I cannot see what it serves to keep them from playing basketball. That was a really hard night for those two kids. What point's trying to be made here? Seven guidelines. They meet all seven. I can tell you emphatically, it's seven for seven. I'm trying to hold my tongue while we wait on this appeal, but what are we waiting on?"

Cincinnati submitted its appeal a couple of weeks back and is waiting on the final decision before making a new plan of action. The Bearcats missed both of them on Monday, especially on defense.

The team (obviously) did not get built thinking both couldn't take the floor this season, and the two-point defense suffered to start with UIC (235th in adjusted offense) shooting 24-of-44 inside the arc, including 40 paint points.

Cincinnati awaits the decisions as a three-game opening week continues with multi-team event matchups against Detroit Mercy on Friday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at noon.

After Cincinnati won their season opener Head Coach Wes Miller shared serious frustrations about Aziz Bandaogo and Jamille Reynolds pending eligibility waiver appeal to the NCAA: “Those kids are struggling and it ain’t right. I’m going to keep fighting for them.” @WCPO pic.twitter.com/dTwdh1CWjl

— Marshall Kramsky (@marshallkramsky) November 7, 2023

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