We made it. It’s officially basketball season. I was lucky enough to visit the best on-campus arena in the city Monday night to watch Cincinnati dismantle Chaminade 98-55. I’m going to attempt (keyword: attempt) to do this after every UC basketball game this year.

First of all, how did Louisville almost lose to this team? It’s going to be a long year for the fellas down I-71 if they had struggles with that Chaminade team.

Let’s break down the noteworthy players and moments:

Landers Nolley is a flat-out bucket. He drained the first triple of the season for the Bearcats and didn’t look back, scoring 19 on 8-of-13 shooting. I knew Nolley was gifted but he is precisely what this team was missing last year.

David DeJulius is the easiest player to root for not just because he’s an angel of a human, but because I swear he shoots 95 percent on step-back jumpers. Just a ho-hum 24 points for DeJulius.

Daniel Skillings has ridiculously long arms. I was impressed with his athleticism. DeJulius warned us that he might not be around for long and I wouldn’t doubt him.

Mika Adams-Woods or “Shoey” was steady. He had a quiet 13, but this is a good role for him. He’s probably the 4th or 5th option and that’s exactly what he’s built for.

Kalu Ezikpe feels like a Bearcat. He’s bigger than you think and I think he’s going to rebound exceptionally well. A solid six-point and six rebound showing for the Old Dominion transfer.

I really like Jeremiah Davenport as the third option on this team. He shouldn’t have to force long threes and with Nolley on the floor, he should get more open looks. He banged home a couple of threes and had an awesome alley-oop dunk.

Viktor Lakhin stole my heart last year. And he did it again tonight. His upside is incredibly high and Wes Miller was very complimentary of him. He might be the biggest X-factor for this team. It was a solid start tonight for the Russian and that behind-the-back pass to Shoey made my heart melt.

It’s nice to have Rob Phinisee as well. He led the team with eight assists. He also had three steals which is unsurprising because I’m expecting “Big shot” Rob to be one of the better defenders in the league. I’m curious to see the minutes distribution between him and Shoey.

It was a fantastic start for Cincinnati. And I know it’s Chaminade, but it’s hard not to get excited about this team, especially offensively. A night like tonight gets you excited for the next one (Cleveland St. on Thursday night).

(Featured Image: Kareem Elgazzar/The Cincinnati Enquirer)