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  1. #1

    Early Assessemnt

    -5 games in.
    -3 seniors that never played for XU before.
    -HC in his first year.
    -4 Returning guys that played secondary roles so far in their careers.

    We gotta figure it out, for sure. a few keys....

    - Offensive tempo: we dont have a creator on offense. By that I mean a PG that can get others open while he has the ball, or a catch and shoot guy that gets open on his own. Trevon made Q, because of hustle and screens. The personnel is so different now, and yet we run plays like we have JP and Trevon. Turn it up a notch. The halfcourt offense is our weakness. Push offensively.

    - Defensive lack of awareness: This is a mix of issues. Prior recruiting priority of offense over defense. Transfers and D2 guys dont seem too aware about the basic defensive principles. This might be because they had lesser coaching at their previous levels....or maybe their relative talent could mask their deficiencies on defense. ..or maybe they could never play defense which is why they ended up at a lower level in the first place. Not what I expected at all. What is the defensive identity of the team?

    -3 pt shooting: We really dont have an elite shooter. Welage should be at 45% given the looks he's had all year. We can't give him 17-20 minutes in a game where he goes 0-3 and is a defensive liability. Its equally as bad that we might actually need him to win or close out games for us. He doesn't rebound or play defense. We need the uptempo offense to result in Welage going to a cormer to hit 3's. He's an outlet for a drive, not a guy that works off of screeens. Again! not the same personnel as last year. Welage needs 35% of the attempts when he is on the floor. Also, TAKE A FOUL!!!! Watch Justin Doellman get flattened on VHS to see what I'm taklking about. Go to the rack!

    -3 pt shooting pt. 2: Someone please tell Kaiser Gates to stop advising Quinton. WTF!!! Stop shooting. Or, be better at shooting. Please use your body to get to the rack and make contact instead of hoisting up ugly threes!.

    -3 pt shooting pt. 3: No explanation. Just pure slop. Some guys make alot of shots, and the ones they miss seem to just graze off.

    Honestly, if we are down 3, and need a guy to step up, I have absolutely no idea who I want taking that shot. We have about 5 guys that can make it, and zero guys i have confiedence in.

  2. #2
    Junior IM4X's Avatar
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    X continues to struggle in a number of areas.

    The good news is that this team has enough talent to end up in the top half of the BE (no BE team is looking overly imprsssive).

    They first just need to prove they have the ability to play smart and poised for two halves, pass better, guard better (especially against the 3), rebound better, get to the line more, shoot better from the line, stop taking so many quick shots... and they need to shoot better from the 3.

    Today Scruggs was 0-5 from 3. Marshall was 1-5. Wealage was 0-2.

  3. #3
    All-Conference
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    This team's main problem is at the defensive end. No clue how Steele thought this team would be off the charts defensively.

    The only player I've been impressed with defensively is Hankins, and even he has a learning curve. No one else sticks out AT ALL in terms of being a defensive stopper.

    Our only saving grace is that the Big East is down this year. And we can still beat UC.

  4. #4
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    I’m not sure where all this talent is that people are saying x has relative to high d1 basketball. Most of these guys wouldn’t be on the team had x not struck out so much on the recruiting trail. They can and will be better as the year goes along but this team isn’t oozing with be talent outside of a few players.

  5. #5
    Sophomore XURunner85's Avatar
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    At times this team looks really good, usually in first half. They have built some big leads, but then somehow they lose focus. The opponent starts hitting their shots and we go cold. we don't play a very good defense and teams seem to become great 3 point shooters against. On the defense of end we seem to grab a lot of rebounds but on offense we shoot the ball and everyone takes off down the floor and forgetting that the shot might not go in. I am not sure if we were to play slow would help or if we should just play fast tempo run in gun style. if we can get it together soon, we can still have a good year. If not could be long year. One thing for sure, us old guys need to see our cardiologist to make sure our hearts can take these games.
    Section 201 Proud member of the Loudmouths. Our motto: Cheer often and cheer loud. And at times cheer long.

  6. #6
    Sophomore XfansinKy's Avatar
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    It's like when this team tries to pick up the tempo, it results in Q or Naji shooting some kind of pull up jumper off the dribble that either bricks or bounces off hard, giving the opposition the exact shot we were looking for. What is it that the kid from Columbia is good at? I realize he's trying to fit in a new team/role, but what is he known to be good at?

  7. #7
    I know apples and oranges BUT remember concerns after last year Arizona St. blitzing X last year and we fans were very concerned about small fast guards?

    It is early.

    The team lacks a leader.

    This will NOT be the best defensive team in X history despite Coach Steele's prediction.

    It is an all offensive team running plays for JP and Trevon.

    I miss Kanter and OMara. Yikes!

    I say finish the non conference with only 1 more loss and I will be ecstatic.

    9-9 in BE conference-----I will be ect=static.

    X looks 2 years away from being good.
    No senior leadership or experience. Can't rely on 5 frosh to save the team next year.

    2020 is our next "awesome " X team.

  8. #8
    Sophomore
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    Kanter saved our season last year. I loved OMara and Tyrique but neither of them can face or put ball on floor which is a must these days. We are not a final four and probably not even a sweet 16 stretch(barring a miracle) but we must concentrate on the Big East as there will be no more 7 NCAA teams. Castin is fine, a "glue" guy who is not good at any one thing. One thing that annoys me is that I have seen Welage "looked off" by the returning players at times and a much worse shot was the result. He is confident (maybe too) but I would rather see him take a 22 footer off a pass then be a decoy for a drive. If you look at DVR a number of his Auburn 3s were from Castin and Hankins kicking it. We need a 3 pt threat so that Tyrique and Zach and Naj can confidently go to the offensive boards. The funny thing is that I have no idea how we were even IN the Auburn game and how we LOST the San Diego game (with a Q 3to go ahead with a minute and change.
    Last edited by whopper; 11-21-2018 at 10:39 AM.

  9. #9
    Sophomore Caf's Avatar
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    Outside of 2016, we've been a mediocre to sub-par defensive program since Mack's tenure started. So I can understand why Steele said this could be one of our best defensive teams on some level given our roster moves. Obviously our defense stinks like hot garbage at the moment though. I honestly don't see how that can change. It will probably improve a bit since it can't possibly get worse, but this team is just not that quick to close out on the perimeter. I really hope Steele overhauls it. I don't hate the packline as much as some, but this roster is just not suited for it.

    More importantly to our style of game play is the offense. I think this one is pretty simple. We lost almost 70% of our scoring from last year. It's going to take some time to figure out each player's role in the offense. It will probably take a little longer given that this is Steele's first year. Naji and Goodin are both taking twice as many shots as they took last year. Facilitating was easy for Goodin last year. He's going to have to do more than throw a swing pass this year given the scoring threats he lost. That will take some getting used to.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Caf View Post
    More importantly to our style of game play is the offense. I think this one is pretty simple. We lost almost 70% of our scoring from last year. It's going to take some time to figure out each player's role in the offense. It will probably take a little longer given that this is Steele's first year. Naji and Goodin are both taking twice as many shots as they took last year. Facilitating was easy for Goodin last year. He's going to have to do more than throw a swing pass this year given the scoring threats he lost. That will take some getting used to.
    Agree.
    I remember when X went 0-3 in a tournament. I believe that was a Miller team. How did that team end up?

    Also Mack's Elite 8 team beating Arizona was HORRIBLE in the regular season and a miracle saved that season throwing a piece of paper burnt in a trash can and carrying it around in February.

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