James Farr

[GoMuskies]

With the James Farr sighting we had Tuesday night, it got me wondering about this forgotten member of the squad: is there a chance that he is going the way of Canty and Latham and is to be ushered out of the program after year 1? Or is the view that he has some promise and will be a productive member of the program over the next three years?

[MADXSTER]

I've heard some very positve things about Farr. Have never really heard what he needs to work on in order to really get more playing time.

[DC Muskie]

I remember last summer people were praising his ability, something I never recall hearing about Canty or Latham.

[MADXSTER]

Last summer everyone was talking about his rebounding ability. Something this team desparately needed.

[GoMuskies]

I remember last summer people were praising his ability, something I never recall hearing about Canty or Latham.

I don't know. I remember hearing a lot of good things about Canty (and his numbers at Appy probably validate some of that talk).

[XUFan09]

I don't know. I remember hearing a lot of good things about Canty (and his numbers at Appy probably validate some of that talk).

Yeah, Canty had promise. He was just at the wrong position, because after he was committed, we got commits from Martin and then Wells. If it had just been Martin, it probably would have been okay, because Martin is able to slide to the 4 at times, but he wasn't stealing any minutes from Wells.

[Cheesehead]

If you ever watch him on the bench,he is really into the games and always encouraging his teammates. He doesn't seem unhappy to me with his body language. I would guess with Trav gone next year, his PT will go way up.

[danaandvictory]

Farr is apparently an incredibly "stiff" athlete - he doesn't bend or stretch very well. He defends too high. This may have to do with the fact that he went from being a 6-5 beanpole to a 6-10 monster relatively late in his prep career. I'm sure that the S & C guys are working on that.

I don't think there's much chance he'll leave, unless he absolutely wants to. There's no numbers crunch for X with regard to scholarships and there will be substantial minutes available at the 4 and 5 next year with Taylor gone and the only established guys being Stain and Philmore. Because he can shoot, I think he's more "college ready" than either Canty or Latham.

Jury's still out on whether he'll ever be a big-time contributor but I wouldn't read too much into this season. He'll need to make some impact next year though.

[BandAid]

Canty got squeezed out by Dez, and Latham was a tree.

It was expected Farr would take a year or two, but from what I've heard he should be productive. At worst he will be a backup next year getting significant minutes. Our bigs are: Stainbrook, Philmore, Farr, Reynolds, and Stenger. I expect at least 15 minutes a game for the first four.

My guess as to why he has been on the pine most of the year is defensive awareness.

[blueblob06]

Yep, Mack has mentioned a few times two main reasons why Farr isn't getting playing time. He needs to learn and get better on the defensive end. And the guys in front of him are Philmore and Trav and those guys are playing too well for him to get past on the depth chart.

[PMI]

I think it's a little bit different than the Canty situation and way different than the Latham situation. Latham simply couldn't adjust to any aspect of college life and it wasn't even that close. Farr has some good skill and some serious size, but he's as stiff and raw as they come. I remember (probably to a lesser extent) Josh Duncan being very stiff and raw when he first came in. Same with Jason Love. From all accounts though, Farr is a really hard worker and I think there is a nice future for him here.

[mistabeecee41]

I think it's a little bit different than the Canty situation and way different than the Latham situation. Latham simply couldn't adjust to any aspect of college life and it wasn't even that close. Farr has some good skill and some serious size, but he's as stiff and raw as they come. I remember (probably to a lesser extent) Josh Duncan being very stiff and raw when he first came in. Same with Jason Love. From all accounts though, Farr is a really hard worker and I think there is a nice future for him here.

Farr's got an awesome looking jumper and has shown he can board. Looks EXTREMELY slow footed on the defensive end though. Got called for a foul on one possession against Memphis. Even on the play where he got a block, he got beat pretty easily.

[ArizonaXUGrad]

Kid is a freshman, remember when freshman rarely saw the court? Not every 18-19 year old first year guy needs to get 10 minutes a game. Canty got recruited over and Latham/Mckenzie didn't pan out. Farr is huge, and when he learns how to defend he is going to be big in the middle. I would expect that to come his Junior/Senior year.

[XU 87]

If Reynolds was eligible, I think they would have red-shirted Farr. I don't expect to see him play next game- he went in only after Philmore went out with a bloody nose and Taylor had two fouls.

[LA Muskie]

Farr is a true freshman big man. Not surprising at all to see him spend a year on the bench. If our bench wasn't so shallow, we probably would have red-shirted him. I'm still somewhat surprised that he wasn't held out of garbage time with the hope of red-shirting (since there is no "declaration" requirement), although that became moot when he had to play against Memphis anyway.

[GoMuskies]

Farr is a true freshman big man. Not surprising at all to see him spend a year on the bench. If our bench wasn't so shallow, we probably would have red-shirted him. I'm still somewhat surprised that he wasn't held out of garbage time with the hope of red-shirting (since there is no "declaration" requirement), although that became moot when he had to play against Memphis anyway.

I don't think that's true in basketball. I don't think you can dress for games and redshirt in basketball.

In any event, Farr played a bunch of meaningful minutes in the Tennessee game when Robinson was being punished for blowing the Wofford game.

[LA Muskie]

I don't think that's true in basketball. I don't think you can dress for games and redshirt in basketball.

In any event, Farr played a bunch of meaningful minutes in the Tennessee game when Robinson was being punished for blowing the Wofford game.
Basketball doesn't have a different rule. A redshirt year is one in which a player does not play (at all) in any official games. Redshirted players can practice, travel and even dress for games as long as they do not take the floor (for even a second) in competition. They can even play in exhibition games.

All of that said, for practical reasons teams typically "designate" redshirted players before the season starts. This is mainly done for morale purposes.

[GoMuskies]

I'm not sure that's right. In any event, it's irrelevant because Farr was called upon in non-garbage time situations a number of times earlier in the year.

[LA Muskie]

I'm not sure that's right. In any event, it's irrelevant because Farr was called upon in non-garbage time situations a number of times earlier in the year.
I'm right. It just doesn't play out that way in practice very often.

[THill42]

Our bigs are: Stainbrook, Philmore, Farr, Reynolds, and Stenger. I expect at least 15 minutes a game for the first four.


With this James Farr and next year talk, it got me thinking about Chris Cantino. It looks like Cantino has some good size and seems to be pretty into the games from the bench, but I don't know anything about his skill.

There isn't much YouTube footage on him either. Anybody know how good he is and if he will push for much playing time next year?

[kyxu]

With this James Farr and next year talk, it got me thinking about Chris Cantino. It looks like Cantino has some good size and seems to be pretty into the games from the bench, but I don't know anything about his skill.

There isn't much YouTube footage on him either. Anybody know how good he is and if he will push for much playing time next year?

Word in practice is that he has Dez Wells' athleticism, Redford's shooting touch, Crawford's confidence, with Justin Cage's humility. I've heard that he basically owns everyone in practice and is reportedly the best player to ever play at Xavier.

At least that's what I'm hearing.

[ArizonaXUGrad]

Word in practice is that he has Dez Wells' athleticism, Redford's shooting touch, Crawford's confidence, with Justin Cage's humility. I've heard that he basically owns everyone in practice and is reportedly the best player to ever play at Xavier.

At least that's what I'm hearing.

Hah, I hope but this board says otherwise. He is a practice body and will have just one year to adjust because of a stupid NCAA rule.

Edit: Farr will be fine, kid needs to learn how to defend and move in a much bigger frame. He has a great jumper that we have seen and has the size you need to play the 4 or the 5 in college. I think he will be a good stretch 4 as a Junior and Senior and probably a starter in his Senior year.

[xu95]

Am I the only one who thinks Chris Cantino looks like Lawrence Fishbourne?

[PMI]

With this James Farr and next year talk, it got me thinking about Chris Cantino. It looks like Cantino has some good size and seems to be pretty into the games from the bench, but I don't know anything about his skill.

There isn't much YouTube footage on him either. Anybody know how good he is and if he will push for much playing time next year?

I'm not picking on you, but it seems after every few games or so, somebody brings up this idea that Cantino could help this team. By all accounts from people who have seen him practice, Chris Cantino is basically a glorified walk-on. I would guess his ceiling is somewhere between Andrew Taylor's and Erik Stenger's.

As for Farr and redshirting, I agree that had Reynolds been eligible, he probably would have. He did score in the double digits in the first game I think, which was more a result of us blowing out a JV girl's high school team, so he showed a little bit of what the staff was talking about with his offensive skill set. Like most young bigs, particularly ones who grow a lot really fast late in high school, it's a process that lasts more than one college season.

[xufan2020]

Oh yeah, that James Farr. He turned out alright!
God bless you James.

[xufan2020]

Thank you, James.
Thank you too, Remy.
You were both warriors that I won't forget.

[SkyWalker]

Thank you, James.
Thank you too, Remy.
You were both warriors that I won't forget.

I with ya.

[xudash]

Thank you, James.
Thank you too, Remy.
You were both warriors that I won't forget.

I'm with you, too. Thanks gents.

Stuff happens in the NCAA Tournament. They didn't seem comfortable all night. I don't want to fall into "if this" and "if that" so I'll just move on, knowing that we have much to look forward to moving forward.

[Strange Brew]

Thank you, James.
Thank you too, Remy.
You were both warriors that I won't forget.

Man, I'm going to miss big game James and lock down Remy. Thank you both for your efforts in the classroom and on the court.

[XfansinKy]

Remy played great and Big Game James didn't really have the opportunity to go down swinging. Both have made me proud to be a Xavier fan and Remy represented Kentucky high school basketball very well. I feel bad for these guys.

[Snipe]

13 minutes of PT. Goodnight and goodbye Big Game James.

[XUMIOH12]

13 minutes of PT. Goodnight and goodbye Big Game James.

he barely played the 2nd half.

[OTRMUSKIE]

Did we get an explanation as to why Farr basically sat on the bench?

[xukeith]

Did we get an explanation as to why Farr basically sat on the bench?

None. I assume he was cramping or has an injury.
That explains all the O'Mara playing time(sadly)

[Billy]

This was my question all night. Wisconsin is not quick...and at times, they were dominant on the boards. The need (especially early in the game) seemed to be for size and beef. I mean maybe there's a really good answer for this...Chris isn't a nitwit. I just didn't get it, personally.

Also, I've never seen a player improve so much between junior and senior season. It will be interesting to see if he has any more improvement left in this sharp upward trajectory, and if he might be a D-League project for someone. He's going to make money playing basketball somewhere in the world for sure.

Good to read some of you today...it's been a while. I needed some message board therapy after last night.

p.s. The RPI is still a steaming pile of dog shit.

[muskieindent]

Shannon Russell and Byron and Joe both said something about the pace of the game but that just doesn't make sense to me at all.Granted Jalen played well but I can't believe Farr would not have been a huge plus .We couldn't grab an offensive rebound to save our life.Hated to see him on the bench as his career ended

[GoMuskies]

Billy?!? What the fuck? Are we going to see DC Muskie, PMI and ATL (Nashville) Muskie posts next?!?

Good to see the blast from the past.

[X-band '01]

Joebba, Svo-bot and Stonebreaker can't be far behind.

[GoMuskies]

Jimmy2X

[XUMIOH12]

only thing i can think of is Reynolds was playing really well and Mack was only going to play 1 true big at a time

[Masterofreality]

Jimmy was the player in the post game press conference with Coach. All class. I'm really going to miss that kid. He is what Xavier is all about---Growth and Transformation.

[MADXSTER]

only thing i can think of is Reynolds was playing really well and Mack was only going to play 1 true big at a time

This was my thought as well.

[xukeith]

This was my thought as well.

How any times this year did X play without James and instead played OMara?
None.
He is (was) the BEST rebounded.

Maybe he was easily getting pushed around and out rebounded.

[MADXSTER]

How any times this year did X play without James and instead played OMara?
None.
He is (was) the BEST rebounded.

Maybe he was easily getting pushed around and out rebounded.

First of all we are talking about 6 minutes that O'Mara played. O'Mara was 2for2 from the field with 2 rebounds. Farr had 13 minutes, was 0for1 with 1 rebound. Both Farr and O'Mara were getting killed inside on defense. Farr had an incredible game against Weber, but even he would tell you that this wasn't his best game. And if you think that Xavier lost because O'Mara took 6 minutes away from Farr then you're just coaching after the game.

[XUFan09]

First of all we are talking about 6 minutes that O'Mara played. O'Mara was 2for2 from the field with 2 rebounds. Farr had 13 minutes, was 0for1 with 1 rebound. Both Farr and O'Mara were getting killed inside on defense. Farr had an incredible game against Weber, but even he would tell you that this wasn't his best game. And if you think that Xavier lost because O'Mara took 6 minutes away from Farr then you're just coaching after the game.
I wonder if Mack saw that no one was really able to guard Happ well, so he put O'Mara in because Happ really wouldn't be able to guard him either. In his short stint, O'Mara repeatedly scored and drew at least one foul on Happ, maybe two.

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[drudy23]

There is ZERO chance Jimmy Farr only played 13 minutes because of his defense. I don't recall any of our big guys "getting killed" on defense. I can think of on instance where O'Mara looked overmatched against their freshman big guy (names escapes me). But don't tell me Jimmy Farr couldn't have pushed around and guarded that guy. He had 45 lbs on him.

He's our best big man and you're telling me coach pulled him for bad defense in our most important game of the year. No way I buy that.

I don't know if Jimmy Farr gets tired really easily, or if there was something medically wrong all year....but he deserved way more minutes that he got all season. He was our damn MVP and usually only played half the game. I never understood it, and still don't.

Jimmy looked like a shell of himself compared to the Weber State game. And it was like that all year. He would absolutely dominate one game, and then would play limited minutes the next.

I'm convinced he had something medically going on...it's the only thing that makes sense.