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Its a concern, but a small one imo. Stock pile as much talent as you can, and let the chips fall where they may.Quote:
Originally Posted by Xville
Olivari only has one year, but McKnight I am almost positive has 2 years remaining if he wants to use 2. Same with Shulga from Utah State.
Ousmane (not a guard, I know) also has 2 years remaining.
What 3 guys can play the 5?Quote:
Originally Posted by Jumpin_Jamal_Forever
I don't know how any Xavier fan can feel confident on any freshmen coming into the program being immediate contributors. I mean I guess that hopefully changes under Miller but we don't have a great track record of immediate contributors right out of high school lately. I think the hope is one guy is ready to significantly contribute right away.
People were probably talking about Kam Craft and how much he was going to contribute next year, at this time last year. We had major depth issues and he couldn't get on the floor (even before injury).
There is just such an adjustment for those guys that if you can bring in proven college commodities, you have to do it.
Miller knows what he's doing. He knows what he has and what he doesnt, and what he wants.
And I am sure he doesn't want another season that has great potential, get derailed by injury and depth issues.
Yeah, agree with that. It was big. For Miller to be able to show his track record at X the first time, then his success at Arizona, and then to say hey, this program (with all their past success) missed 4 straight tourneys, I came back and instantly got them back in the sweet 16, is a powerful message to be able to tell recruits.Quote:
Originally Posted by Xavier
Get the roster depth as loaded as you can!
Better practice competition leads to earning more floor time that is truly deserved.
And these transfers have played on squads that aren't so loaded. They know that one or two key injuries can really slow everyone down. Might as well get enough players to keep forward momentum.
But the entire makeup is going to be so different this season. It's good coach is trying to up the competition. These guys haven't played in the Big East yet. There will be a notable difference for them over the long haul.
The returning players have a good advantage. Craft and Claude will make a jump, as long as they are healthy over the summer. Hunter and Freemantle will be looking to solidify and even out their play. I don't know if it's so important that the transfers start as much as we have strong options on the bench.
Yes… We defiantly could use another sharp shooter. That’ll do indeed.Quote:
Originally Posted by D-West & PO-Z
I do feel like you can get in a vicious cycle where young guys don’t develop because we keep bringing in older free agents to take all the minutes. Rince and repeat forever. How do you break that cycle?
I also have little concern about proven transfers being able to contribute at this level. XU has had probably 20 transfer players in the last 15 years. Pretty much every last one of them did exactly what they did at their old school. I’ve observed that there is a much lower degree of uncertainty with transfers.
I think a key is just playing a longer rotation. There isn’t any need to run a guy for 35-36 minutes a game. Boum wore down a little towards the end. Jack wore down during games. If you can let your freshmen develop and also fill foster holes with transfers it can work.
Final thought. The 5th year Covid rule will end after next season. That will slow things down a little. There is currently a big glut of older guys with eligibility. For every guy that plays a 5th year, it means a would be freshman wasn’t able to play. So in theory, the “worst” potential D1 guys over the last 3 years never even got to D1 at all. That will unwind next year.
I think Sean is making sure to protect the unknown. Next years roster will have 4 freshman and two guys that we don’t know if they will be healthy, Craft and Freemantle. That’s half of the roster. The best players will play the most, regardless of who they are.Quote:
Originally Posted by D-West & PO-Z
I’ve no doubt that if X last year had a larger backup roster with players of a higher quality and more potential for improvement, that Miller would have played them a lot more. Unfortunately, the people that are all transferring out were not high quality players and likely never will be. There are (hopefully) going to be more Colby Jones type players at X in the near future, and less players that just can’t cut it at the BE/national contender level of competition. If X becomes a place where early entry players are common, there will be no need to worry much about younger players transferring out because of seeing no future here. X will never be a KY like school with tons of one and done players. But I don’t see it becoming a place where players stay 3 years without playing and then become starters as seniors, either. X is going to bring in freshman that play right away and it is going to bring in freshman that need a year of growth and improvement before playing as regulars. I don’t see X continuing to lose 50-75% of its roster every year either. This year is unique for sure.
Hett hits the target here. This Covid year has really bastardized recruiting, but it sure seems to have helped the little guys be more competitive for *reasons. I also think it means that more potential freshmen will wait a year and go to prep school for a year thereby making them more college ready. I doubt you’ll see too many 17 year olds on rosters until the Covid year stuff ends.Quote:
Originally Posted by MHettel
I for one will be glad when it expires.
Was Xavier ever interested in Nkamhoua from Tennessee? He seems like the right fit for this team next year.