Game Thread: Xavier v. Siena (November 8, 2019) Non-Conference

[D-West & PO-Z]

I'm sorry, but Schrand is not a Xavier level player. Not even close. Once KyKy is fully healthy, I doubt Schrand sees the court again unless it's a blowout.

Agreed. Its cute now but he is going to screw up when guarded and having to guard better competition.

I am sure Steele is sending a message, one that is hopefully received quickly as he wont have the luxury of doing so pretty soon.

[xukeith]

Andy Taylor wasn't a Xavier player either but he played and contributed in a loss to Marquette in the NCAA Tourney in Cleveland.
Steele is playing a lot of guys now but soon, he will be playing 8. (Core 4, Carter, Moore, Freemantle, and Bishop)

[scoscox]

Naji is at his best when he is driving and facilitating. If he focuses on that the majority of the time we will be really good. I hope he really picks his spots shooting from outside. He should almost never take 7 3's in a game like he did tonight.

Naji was taking 7ish threes a game in that 6 game winning streak last year. I know what you're trying to say, but Naji did it with great success during our best stretch last year

[scoscox]

Agreed. Its cute now but he is going to screw up when guarded and having to guard better competition.

I am sure Steele is sending a message, one that is hopefully received quickly as he wont have the luxury of doing so pretty soon.

Kyky and Scruggs are hurt and Bishop and Moore are new. I don't think he's planning on Schrand being a part of the rotation

[IM4X]

Naji is at his best when he is driving and facilitating. If he focuses on that the majority of the time we will be really good. I hope he really picks his spots shooting from outside. He should almost never take 7 3's in a game like he did tonight.

You know that... I know that...the coaches know that... the whole world knows that...except Naji. IÂ’m pretty sure he still believes he’s the best 3 point shooter on the team and that his shots will (as he said after the previous game) eventually start dropping.

Don’t know if anyone pointed it out yet: Naji was 1-7 today from 3 and 0-4 against Jacksonville... so he is shooting 1-11 (or less than 10%) from 3 through his first two games.

Steele said it best yesterday that the players will get a lot better shooting 3s when they start being much more selective with the shots they take. I just don’t get the disconnect with Marshall. Play smart every minute on the court and stick to what he does best and Naji will be a superstar - He should never shoot more than 4 threes in a game (unless he is sinking most of them) and Steele needs to get on him more not just about his 3s, but those lazy and careless passes early in the game.

Fix those things and he is as good as almost any player (just not from 3).

[D-West & PO-Z]

Naji was taking 7ish threes a game in that 6 game winning streak last year. I know what you're trying to say, but Naji did it with great success during our best stretch last year

Yeah he got hot for a stretch. But he was 27% for the season.

And the last 3 games of last season he was 5/26, including 1/12 last two games.

He will have a string where he gets hot again probably but three point shooting should not be a major staple in his game imo. Driving and facilitating. He was great at both of those today.

[IM4X]

Naji was taking 7ish threes a game in that 6 game winning streak last year. I know what you're trying to say, but Naji did it with great success during our best stretch last year

if he is taking good shots (which hasn’t been often this year) and he is feeling it (hitting them) then by all means... have at it. But he’s only made 1 of the 11 3s he’s taken. He’s taken some bad shot and then (possibly through frustration) followed it up with some more bad shots.

His shots will start dropping, but not just by shooting more.

[scoscox]

Yeah he got hot for a stretch. But he was 27% for the season.

And the last 3 games of last season he was 5/26, including 1/12 last two games.

He will have a string where he gets hot again probably but three point shooting should not be a major staple in his game imo. Driving and facilitating. He was great at both of those today.

well he got hurt and two of those games were at the further distance too. i think he's adjusting to the deeper line. i mostly agree with you that his game is about slashing, but it's also true that some of our best wins were on the back of naji shooting 7+ threes

[scoscox]

if he is taking good shots (which hasn’t been often this year) and he is feeling it (hitting them) then by all means... have at it. But he’s only made 1 of the 11 3s he’s taken. He’s taken some bad shot and then (possibly through frustration) followed it up with some more bad shots.

His shots will start dropping, but not just by shooting more.

i agree. i think some of it is adjusting to the deeper line. he definitely looks uncomfortable from further out.

[D-West & PO-Z]

well he got hurt and two of those games were at the further distance too. i think he's adjusting to the deeper line. i mostly agree with you that his game is about slashing, but it's also true that some of our best wins were on the back of naji shooting 7+ threes

The last two I was referencing were regular season, not NIT.

The two NIT games was 4/12.

He can hit them when he is being more selective for sure. And there were times last year where we literally had to have Naji take over games to win. That wont be the case this year, at least not to the extent it was last year. We have a lot more players and depth. I still dont think most games Naji should be taking 7 threes a game.