Film breakdown: Cincinnati transfer Dan Skillings Jr. offers defense, AAU-style athleticism

By Jackson Posey | Sports Writer

Baylor landed a big roster-building win earlier this month with the addition of Cincinnati transfer Dan Skillings Jr., an athletic two-way wing with a nearly 7-foot wingspan.

Skillings, a former four-star recruit, played 100 career games across three seasons at Cincinnati. He averaged 9.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game on underwhelming 41.7/28.1/64.4 shooting splits.

Above all else, Skillings is an athlete. The 6-foot-6, 210-pound wing made plenty of highlight-worthy plays for a Bearcat team that struggled to live up to preseason expectations. At his best, he has an AAU-style knack for changing the pace of the game and making nifty plays.

Skillings’ wingspan allows him to roam freely on the defensive end. He averaged just 1.2 steals per game as a junior, but has the potential to create more with an elevated intensity level. His instincts are good, but he too often finds himself out of the play.

The most glaring example of Skillings’ defensive positioning issues comes in the corners, where he frequently struggles to cover for backdoor cuts. While opponents rarely exploited that oversight, it wasn’t for lack of opportunity. It’s a simple fix, but one he’ll have to make to stay on the court in big moments.

Skillings is better on-ball, where he’s less prone to positionally wandering and can fully utilize his wingspan. While he’s generally a capable defender on straight-line drives, he occasionally struggles to keep up with quicker point guards due to inefficient footwork (i.e., crossing his feet instead of sliding them). Again, that’s a fixable issue, and his highlight moments give reason to believe he can improve.

Broadly, Skillings is a talented defender with great length and solid instincts. If he proves to be coachable, he should easily take a major step forward on that end. He has all the physical and mental capacity to make things work, but he’ll need to become more positionally consistent and mentally engaged.

Offensively, he thrives on off-ball cuts. Skillings’ combination of speed and change-of-direction ability gives him a leg up on most defenders, especially when they get caught ball-watching.

Skillings is also a solid driver and finisher, occasionally flashing highlight plays inside. He doesn’t have the prototypical playstyle to get consistent inside touches, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Scott Drew views him as the off-ball thunder to JJ White’s off-ball lightning.

The red flag comes on the outside: Skillings is not a good shooter. At 28.1% from three (3.0 attempts per game) and 64.4% from the line (2.1 attempts per game) with minimal year-to-year improvement, his career numbers fail to offer much hope for improvement. His base features a heavy lean, and his overall release, while cleaner than his freshman season, could seemingly use a revamp.

Skillings has the body type to be a successful rebounder, but he needs to identify and box out opposing players. As it stands, he mostly hangs around the perimeter or cherry-picks his own boards. If he buys into the broader team rebounding scheme, his rising tide could lift all boats.

Overall, Skillings is a talented — albeit raw — two-way wing with intriguing athleticism and defensive instincts. As it stands, he’s an interesting bench option who would probably get played off the floor in a tournament setting. But if he can make reasonable improvements to his defensive positioning, rebounding mentality and, at the very least, his free-throw shooting, he could play a significant role for the Bears.