Game Thread: Xavier v. Towson (November 21, 2019) Charleston Classic

[GoMuskies]

You still get the sense from Naji if he hasn't bee involved in a couple of plays that once he gets the ball he's bound and determined to make something happen whether it's open or not. I wish he would let the game come to him and not force things so often (5 TOs yesterday to go along with a few questionable shots). The talent is just leaking out of the guy if he can more consistently harness it for good.

[American X]

This elite defense paired with a competent offense will result in a good season.

I will forgive a number of bad threes if they are paired with 12 defensive stops in a row.

Is Tyrique trying to rival Zack Hankins' hair? Because it is not going to work.

[IM4X]

Defense is the heart of this team, and the part of the game that they can most control. Once the offense gets untracked, and IMHO it will, this is going to be a very dangerous team.

Agree.

Nice to see Q finally slow down to a controlled pace, set his feet, square his shoulders and followed through with out rushing, when he made that 3 late in the game last night. Until then, Q Just always seemed a hair too anxious... trying to make something happen- he didn’t look like he was dialed in to a good rhythm or simple shooting fundamentals.

I love that Steele keeps telling them to slow down- which is already starting to pay dividends with Scruggs and some others, though harder for Naji and Q - they seem a little stuck in the old faster pace offense. They both need to avoid pushing hard to try to make a big play when it is not necessary or a favorable situation has not presented itself.

Hoping they work out a few more of the kinks on offense today. Would love to see them continue to slow it down, cut more often after making a pass and include more screens to catch defenders out of position. Think it would work wonders for Q, Naji and the team as a whole.

Even borrow the Wright philosophy on offense of being patient and be willing to pass up a potential good shot for a better one.

Finally... His approach in this video may seem a little elementary... but no one can deny that his players all seem to become better shooters from year to year.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FnSMStne-5A

[Final4]

10 minutes or less ahahahahahhaha. Some of you are just too much. If you don't think Naji is capable of initiating the offense and should just stick to working off the ball 10' from the basket, I seriously question if you actually watched Xavier much last season.

The 10 minutes were generous on my part. I think we're better when Q is NOT on the floor. He's shooting 26% from three, 44% from the line and his assist to turnover ratio is roughly 1.2 to 1. We're nearly 20% of the way through the season.......I've seen enough. Let Scruggs, Moore and KyKy handle the PG minutes by committee. And Naji, if you think that him driving the lane, dribbling above his waist, and blindly spinning into a double or triple team (and turning the ball over) is effective then we'll just have to agree to disagree. I'd much rather see Paul doing that and every time Naji does it it's one less opportunity for someone else.

[BigMoeMusketeer]

The 10 minutes were generous on my part. I think we're better when Q is NOT on the floor. He's shooting 26% from three, 44% from the line and his assist to turnover ratio is roughly 1.2 to 1. We're nearly 20% of the way through the season.......I've seen enough. Let Scruggs, Moore and KyKy handle the PG minutes by committee. And Naji, if you think that him driving the lane, dribbling above his waist, and blindly spinning into a double or triple team (and turning the ball over) is effective then we'll just have to agree to disagree. I'd much rather see Paul doing that and every time Naji does it it's one less opportunity for someone else.

I happen to like a lot of what Quentin brings, minus his three-point shooting (notably), but even I have to admit his turnover rate of 25.2% of his possessions is ridiculous. That puts him 61st out of the 66 qualifying players in the Big East. Really shocking and unfortunate, especially for a senior who has been getting plenty of minutes for four seasons.

[BigMoeMusketeer]

The 10 minutes were generous on my part. I think we're better when Q is NOT on the floor. He's shooting 26% from three, 44% from the line and his assist to turnover ratio is roughly 1.2 to 1. We're nearly 20% of the way through the season.......I've seen enough. Let Scruggs, Moore and KyKy handle the PG minutes by committee. And Naji, if you think that him driving the lane, dribbling above his waist, and blindly spinning into a double or triple team (and turning the ball over) is effective then we'll just have to agree to disagree. I'd much rather see Paul doing that and every time Naji does it it's one less opportunity for someone else.

I happen to like a lot of what Quentin brings, minus his three-point shooting (notably), but even I have to admit his turnover rate of 25.2% of his possessions is ridiculous. That puts him 61st out of the 66 qualifying players in the Big East. Really shocking and unfortunate, especially for a senior who has been getting plenty of minutes for four seasons.

[GIMMFD]

I happen to like a lot of what Quentin brings, minus his three-point shooting (notably), but even I have to admit his turnover rate of 25.2% of his possessions is ridiculous. That puts him 61st out of the 66 qualifying players in the Big East. Really shocking and unfortunate, especially for a senior who has been getting plenty of minutes for four seasons.

He didn't have any turnovers yesterday though which I think is really important. To echo the thoughts of other people in this thread, if he can just manage the game, play tough defense, and drive and kick, he's a great asset. His start to the season hasn't been great, but as Shannon mentioned in her article on The Athletic, Lionel Chalmers started his senior campaign off not so hot either, and then turned it on as a key piece to a Elite 8 run. There's still plenty of time, nobody wants to peak in November. I think last game is a good stepping stone into putting together better performances.