2020 Recruits

It's a perfect time to post something positive. All 3 of our 2020s are moving up with a lightning bolt in the updated Rivals 150. CoJo cracks the top 100. So how about we go easy on the vipered criticism of Coach Steele until his solid recruiting takes hold....looking at you Xville.

https://n.rivals.com/prospect_rankings/rivals150/2020

Also, according to a Brian Snow write up yesterday, X in on several Mid West 2021 prospects on the rise including 2 local kids....Lakota East SG Nate Johnson looks BEast ready and the Moel!er Big would be a nice fit for the frontcourt needs down the line.

https://247sports.com/college/basket...788/#1362747_1

https://www.wcpo.com/sports/high-sch...ime-since-2012

It's likely the "Core 4" era is coming to an end. If that's the case, there is clear separation because of the Mack lost class. With Carter, James, Hanson as the only returning upper classmen, we're basically in a legit rebuild. Just keep stacking up high quality talent and things get back to normal quickly.

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Originally Posted by Xuperman

It's a perfect time to post something positive. All 3 of our 2020s are moving up with a lightning bolt in the updated Rivals 150. CoJo cracks the top 100. So how about we go easy on the vipered criticism of Coach Steele until his solid recruiting takes hold....looking at you Xville.

https://n.rivals.com/prospect_rankings/rivals150/2020

Also, according to a Brian Snow write up yesterday, X in on several Mid West 2021 prospects on the rise including 2 local kids....Lakota East SG Nate Johnson looks BEast ready and the Moel!er Big would be a nice fit for the frontcourt needs down the line.

https://247sports.com/college/basket...788/#1362747_1

https://www.wcpo.com/sports/high-sch...ime-since-2012

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Steele deserves every ounce of criticism he received on the Marquette game. With that said,IBM excited for this class.

Only a proportional share and, maybe, less of an edge. How about somebody making a FT!

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Originally Posted by Xuperman

Only a proportional share and, maybe, less of an edge. How about somebody making a FT!

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Telling someone how to fan is about as dumb as expecting tyrique to suddenly start making a high percentage of fts

I said maybe, but let's not derail the thread.

I'm convinced of two things:

1. The mojo on this team is not good. Don't know why....sometimes it just ends up that way.

2. We hired a guy with no HC experience. NONE. Doesn't mean he's the wrong guy..........but we should have expected some of this. It sucks. We are spoiled. Just hoping Steele figures it out.........and we don't have to start over. That could be really painful for the program.

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Originally Posted by bleedXblue

I'm convinced of two things:

1. The mojo on this team is not good. Don't know why....sometimes it just ends up that way.

2. We hired a guy with no HC experience. NONE. Doesn't mean he's the wrong guy..........but we should have expected some of this. It sucks. We are spoiled. Just hoping Steele figures it out.........and we don't have to start over. That could be really painful for the program.

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Response to # 1

Agree about the mojo being no good, but I also think there are things Steel can do (that he is not currently doing) to get his players to find a more singular rhythm for them all to move to and feel more in sync with each other... and more

We have almost always hired a guy with no HC experience and it has worked out for us. To address your point, Mack and Miller went through some struggles as they adjusted to their new role as HC.

Coaches who are new at the HC position particularly struggle if they do not have talented assistants surrounding them whose skills compliment theirs. I am not sure how helpful most of Steele’s assistants are when it comes to game day situations and strategies. I don’t recall seeing Steele discussing much with any assistant other than Graves (who does have head coaching experience and has been part of a winning program). For my money, I want to have coaches who have been part of programs that are proven winners (whether that be as an assistant or a HC). Winners don’t just want to win, they have it in their blood and feel they ought to always be winning.

Which current assistants under Steele came from a program that is known for a having a winning tradition in college hoops? Not his first two hires. Those seem to be guys hired for their recruiting abilities. It makes sense why Travis went after Graves. Not only did he know him, but more importantly he was an assistant at Butler when the team went to back to back NCAA Championship games. I just don’t know what he did for that team and whether or not his skills compliment Steele’s or if they are the same (redundant) set of skills. Still, he was a coach that was pretty special, working closely with Brad Stevens. That’s gotta be worth something.

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Originally Posted by IM4X

Response to # 1

Agree about the mojo being no good, but I also think there are things Steel can do (that he is not currently doing) to get his players to find a more singular rhythm for them all to move to and feel more in sync with each other... and more

We have almost always hired a guy with no HC experience and it has worked out for us. To address your point, Mack and Miller went through some struggles as they adjusted to their new role as HC.

Coaches who are new at the HC position particularly struggle if they do not have talented assistants surrounding them whose skills compliment theirs. I am not sure how helpful most of Steele’s assistants are when it comes to game day situations and strategies. I don’t recall seeing Steele discussing much with any assistant other than Graves (who does have head coaching experience and has been part of a winning program). For my money, I want to have coaches who have been part of programs that are proven winners (whether that be as an assistant or a HC). Winners don’t just want to win, they have it in their blood and feel they ought to always be winning.

Which current assistants under Steele came from a program that is known for a having a winning tradition in college hoops? Not his first two hires. Those seem to be guys hired for their recruiting abilities. It makes sense why Travis went after Graves. Not only did he know him, but more importantly he was an assistant at Butler when the team went to back to back NCAA Championship games. I just don’t know what he did for that team and whether or not his skills compliment Steele’s or if they are the same (redundant) set of skills. Still, he was a coach that was pretty special, working closely with Brad Stevens. That’s gotta be worth something.

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Hayes and Johnson both played high-major college basketball for successful teams and were a part of high-major staffs that made the NCAA tournament.

Mack's final staff (which was universally seen as good to great) featured Luke Murray after two non-NCAA years at URI and a few more at Towson and Mike Pegues who came from Delaware. Pegues was a better college player than Hayes or Johnson (who both weren't too shabby themselves), but it's not like he came from some insane winning pedigree that these guys didn't.

I guess we're just not counting the fact that Dante literally grew up in probably the most consistently successful stretch at Xavier.

Say what you want about the staff (although IMO, no one posting here is really in any position to judge their in-game effectiveness), but this is kind of a non-point.

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Originally Posted by AviatorX

Hayes and Johnson both played high-major college basketball for successful teams and were a part of high-major staffs that made the NCAA tournament.

Mack's final staff (which was universally seen as good to great) featured Luke Murray after two non-NCAA years at URI and a few more at Towson and Mike Pegues who came from Delaware. Pegues was a better college player than Hayes or Johnson (who both weren't too shabby themselves), but it's not like he came from some insane winning pedigree that these guys didn't.

I guess we're just not counting the fact that Dante literally grew up in probably the most consistently successful stretch at Xavier.

Say what you want about the staff (although IMO, no one posting here is really in any position to judge their in-game effectiveness), but this is kind of a non-point.

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It's kind of our thing. Besides, it's about all we have at this point. Otherwise, we got nutin'!

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Originally Posted by AviatorX

Hayes and Johnson both played high-major college basketball for successful teams and were a part of high-major staffs.

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Yes, Hayes and Johnson were at high major basketball programs, but those high major programs aren’t known for have a consistent winning tradition in basketball like our program. I asked which of Steele’s first two hires came from a “Program with a winning tradition” My point was about the benefit of have coaches around who have a mindset for winning because they have been part of a program that wins year after year (and even wins in the NCAA Tournament).

Hayes was an assistant at Georgia- a team that went to 1 NCAA tournament time (which they lost in the first round)during his tenure there. In fact, Georgia has only been to the dance 3 times in the past 16 years and never got past the first round in any of those years.

Again, my point is not to say Hayes can’t be a good coach, just that he hasn’t been part of a consistent winning experience... and so while it is possibly that he could help Steele win more, he can’t actually offer Steele any “winning” insight or strategy because the Georgia teams he coached weren’t perennial winners during the regular season or a winner at all in the NCAA tournament.

Johnson has experienced a little more success as a assistant, but he too was at a high major program that was not nearly as accustomed to winning as X. He was on the staff at UNI when they made it to the Sweet Sixteen.

Both Hayes and Johnson have a good reputation for recruiting, so I get the appeal of wanting them. Yet, it also makes sense that Steele would also go after someone like Graves- an assistant who was part of a program with a winning tradition that also went to two NCAA championship titles.

I am not sure what you meant by “this is a non-point” I can only imagine it was somehow in reference to your opinion about posters here not being “in a position to judge (the assistants) in-game effectiveness.”

Hey- I’m just laying out some thoughts I had about the assistants other than Jackson (who we know a bit more about) based on what I’ve read about those assistants (and the level of success they were a part of in the past), heard from them (listening to radio shows and videos) and seen of them (by watching what they do or don’t do with players and coaches during games)... and how those thoughts of mine might play into the current situation.

This team has been struggling for a number of reasons and it makes sense (at least to me) that what the assistants have or haven’t been doing has played a role in the team’s struggles.