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  1. #281
    Supporting Member XUGRAD80's Avatar
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    Hope that many people here had the chance to watch the SH-Nova game last night. It was a good one. I hope the Xavier players were watching it.

    Nova won by 2, even though they shot a lower overall %, got out rebounded by 2, committed 2 more fouls than SH, and had less assists. Where they did outperform SH was in turnovers and free throws. They had 5 less turnovers and made 7 more free throws. They shot 75% from the line as they went 15-20. They also only gave up FOUR offensive rebounds.

    I don’t think I saw Nova play with a low post offensive set the whole game. I don’t remember them throwing the ball down to a player in the low post even one time. Instead they forced the larger SH players to come out on the perimeter and guard the Nova players. The Nova players then drove the ball into the lane and either made it the rim for a layup, or got fouled and went to the line, or passed it to an open player. Neither team was credited with a blocked shot for the whole game. That indicates to me that the Nova players were under control and didn’t force shots against the much larger SH front line.

    SH did try to take advantage of their size inside a few times, but their 7’2” center only had 2 points for the whole game and only played 19 minutes. He simply couldn’t guard any of the Nova players away from the basket, and by not trying to take him down low they also prevented him from getting ANY rebounds. He was a total non-factor.

    I would expect X to follow a similar pattern when they play SH next time. The difference is, the Nova players are more experienced and simply seem to be better one on one players than the Xavier players. I’m not sure that is as much about pure talent as it is about their experience level and confidence. I would also think that when X plays Nova, we will see a similar game. X needs to improve defensively as individuals, and some of that is just going to be experience on the part of the freshman and transfers.
    Last edited by XUGRAD80; 01-20-2021 at 06:15 AM.

  2. #282
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    While I agree with some of this in terms of experience etc, the talent gap between Nova and X right now is pretty extraordinary. Of the 7 that are in Nova's rotation, 5 of them are top 57 recruits, another is a mcdonald all-american top 15 guy. The only one that isn't among those 6 is Gillespie and he is as steady a pg as they come.

    Compare that with X's 4 transfers in the rotation, 2 top 50 guys, 3 top 100 guys. Now I know, straight up talent isn't everything, but Villanova (as you noted) is also better experienced, better coached (not a knock on steele but i mean Wright is one of the best in the game), and doesn't make many mistakes at all.

    X probably will play the way again that you described , and maybe they will shoot lights out (like they did against Oklahoma), and win, but I just don't think X has the personnel yet to play the way that Steele wants them to play.

  3. #283
    Supporting Member XUGRAD80's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Xville View Post
    .........the talent gap between Nova and X right now is pretty extraordinary. Of the 7 that are in Nova's rotation, 5 of them are top 57 recruits, another is a mcdonald all-american top 15 guy. The only one that isn't among those 6 is Gillespie and he is as steady a pg as they come.

    Compare that with X's 4 transfers in the rotation, 2 top 50 guys, 3 top 100 guys. Now I know, straight up talent isn't everything, but Villanova (as you noted) is also better experienced, better coached (not a knock on steele but i mean Wright is one of the best in the game), and doesn't make many mistakes at all.
    No disagreement, but a question.....

    is the talent difference a matter of just being naturally better athletes? OR..is it they have developed better skills, are more experienced, and are better coached? (I agree with your assessment of Wright. He is a surefire HOF'er)

    I'm hoping it is the latter and that with time the Xavier players will be able to play at that same level of expertise, and do it on a consistent basis not just once in awhile. (Oklahoma) I mean 'c'mon, Gillespie shot 8-8 in his free throws, that takes dedication and practice, not great physical talent. He basically won the game for them by doing that. X has had players in the past that performed at that level and they weren't always top 50 recruits. So I'm hoping that either Free or one/two of the freshman develop into that player over the next year or two.

  4. #284
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    Quote Originally Posted by XUGRAD80 View Post
    No disagreement, but a question.....

    is the talent difference a matter of just being naturally better athletes? OR..is it they have developed better skills, are more experienced, and are better coached? (I agree with your assessment of Wright. He is a surefire HOF'er)

    I'm hoping it is the latter and that with time the Xavier players will be able to play at that same level of expertise, and do it on a consistent basis not just once in awhile. (Oklahoma) I mean 'c'mon, Gillespie shot 8-8 in his free throws, that takes dedication and practice, not great physical talent. He basically won the game for them by doing that. X has had players in the past that performed at that level and they weren't always top 50 recruits. So I'm hoping that either Free or one/two of the freshman develop into that player over the next year or two.
    I think both. There are parts of X's current roster that is just not going to be at the level that Steele needs to play the game he wants to play right now. Carter is one of them. Carter does a lot of little things well and is a good defender, but he is not a good shooter, and quite frankly is pretty awful on the offensive end. I bet Steele would love to have a good stretch four to go along with Free, but the roster is limited in that aspect. I think Steele has adjusted in that aspect, from what I can tell, since the Seton Hall game and started to pound the ball inside a bit when shots aren't falling, and I think Steele has recognized a few gaps in the roster.

    I'm rambling a bit, but I'll just sum it up as currently the roster is obviously less talented, less skilled and less experienced than Nova, which of course most teams are. I think Steele (and think he has done this a bit) needs to adjust his gameplan to reflect that a bit, in not going straight to the Nova gameplan that I think he wanted to at the beginning of the year.

  5. #285
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    kind of crazy....of the 45 games that were scheduled tonight....16 of them were postponed. Brutal

  6. #286
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    Quote Originally Posted by paulxu View Post
    Florida smacked Tenn.
    Maybe they're confused about their football team.
    And Florida was missing a handful of its top players.

  7. #287
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    Winthrop Kelseys now 14-0

  8. #288
    Supporting Member GoMuskies's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SM#24 View Post
    Winthrop Kelseys now 14-0
    This could finally be the year he takes (and sticks with) a bigger job. Perhaps he can follow the Gregg Marshall path from Winthrop to Wichita State?

  9. #289
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    Quote Originally Posted by xuwillie View Post
    Agree, Steele's bench management was very suspect his first two years. I could see if we had solid teams but no way Naji, Scruggs and goodin should have been playing as much as they where. Bishop will be a solid player and definitely should have seen the floor more last year. Would have probably been our best shooter
    Quote Originally Posted by XU 87 View Post
    Bishop played in 10 games for X, and a total of 120 minutes. In those 120 minutes, he shot 18% from the field, 12% from the three, and 31% from the free throw line. He had his chance, and he simply didn't perform well. Based on his horrendous stats, he probably received more chances than he should have received.
    Quote Originally Posted by AviatorX View Post
    Did you black out for the first 8 games of last season? Bishop played double digit minutes in 5 of them to the tune of 3-11 from 2, 2-17 from 3 and 4-13 from the FT line. Then he left the program a few weeks later. How should Steele have handled that?
    After a hot start, including 14 against both Auburn & Kansas and 20 against VCU where he went 12-23 from 3 in those 3 games, Bishop has cooled off over the past five games where he's 10/31 from the field including 3/18 from 3.

    Season Totals
    GS/G Min PTs/Reb/Ast/TO FG%/3%/FT%
    11/9 29 8.5/2.7/1.5/3.3 35.6%/31.0%/64.7%

    But he's playing in the A10 and in his hometown so good for him and best of luck.
    Last edited by SM#24; 01-20-2021 at 01:08 PM.

  10. #290
    Supporting Member XUGRAD80's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Xville View Post
    I think both. There are parts of X's current roster that is just not going to be at the level that Steele needs to play the game he wants to play right now. Carter is one of them. Carter does a lot of little things well and is a good defender, but he is not a good shooter, and quite frankly is pretty awful on the offensive end. I bet Steele would love to have a good stretch four to go along with Free, but the roster is limited in that aspect. I think Steele has adjusted in that aspect, from what I can tell, since the Seton Hall game and started to pound the ball inside a bit when shots aren't falling, and I think Steele has recognized a few gaps in the roster.

    I'm rambling a bit, but I'll just sum it up as currently the roster is obviously less talented, less skilled and less experienced than Nova, which of course most teams are. I think Steele (and think he has done this a bit) needs to adjust his gameplan to reflect that a bit, in not going straight to the Nova gameplan that I think he wanted to at the beginning of the year.
    I guess I’m more thinking about the younger players than someone like Carter or even Scruggs. I really think that with time and hard work that they can be just as good as anyone on the Nova roster. I expect Nova to continue to get top recruits for as long as Wright is there, but I hope that Xavier can get some to, and that with hard work and experience they will compete just fine. Steele wasn’t left with much to work with, but I’m happy with the first two recruiting classes.

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