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  1. #1
    Administrator Muskie's Avatar
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    Is Nate Johnson the Key to Xavier's Season

    From our friends over at Banners on the Parkway

    When Nate Johnson was healthy, Xavier was hard to beat. For a long stretch of when Nate Johnson was healthy, Xavier was impossible to beat. Nate Johnson did not stay healthy all season. That is a very reductionist way of looking at Xavier’s basketball season, but it’s not entirely wrong.

    Nate Johnson suffered some sort of leg injury in late January. At that point in time Xavier was 11-2, Johnson was the best three point shooter in the nation, and the Musketeers were 46th in the KenPom rankings. Nate had shredded Oklahoma and Marquette from deep, punched it on UC in the Shootout, and was always handling Xavier’s toughest guard assignment on defense...


    "He's a little bit ball-dominant, he needs to have the ball in his hands, and he's not a good shooter." Ball-dominant … isn't that a nice way of calling someone a ball hog? Where is my Jay Bilas Thesaurus?

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  2. #2
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    The two worst things that happened last season to X: Johnson's injury and the Covid pause. Both were killers for the rest of the campaign.
    "He's a little bit ball-dominant, he needs to have the ball in his hands, and he's not a good shooter." Ball-dominant … isn't that a nice way of calling someone a ball hog? Where is my Jay Bilas Thesaurus?

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  3. #3
    The key to this season is Nunge. He was a utility player for Iowa. Steele is asking him to defend, score and rebound a ton more than he has ever done before.
    X guards are skilled and play defense. If Nunge can defend AND play strong offense, then X has a chance to be special.

  4. #4
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    I agree with other comments on here, it’s not a player, it’s Steele. If it’s the same lineup and roster management he has had the last three years, the players won’t be able to overcome the poor leadership.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Xville View Post
    I agree with other comments on here, it’s not a player, it’s Steele. If it’s the same lineup and roster management he has had the last three years, the players won’t be able to overcome the poor leadership.
    Don't break an ankle when you decide to jump on the bandwagon....

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by XU_Lou View Post
    Don't break an ankle when you decide to jump on the bandwagon....
    You’re a fucking idiot. I’m always a fan, I’m on a basketball message board. I’m a fan of Steele and the team. I’m not a fan of his decision making the past three years. Shut the fuck up and stay in your stupid conspiracy covid corner

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Xville View Post
    I agree with other comments on here, it’s not a player, it’s Steele. If it’s the same lineup and roster management he has had the last three years, the players won’t be able to overcome the poor leadership.
    Assuming guard play this year is consistent with guard play last year (which doesn't seem like a huge leap), I think our record comes down to Bigs (Nunge, Miles, ZFree) and Steele. It will not take much to upgrade our inside play. I expect to see an immediate noticeable improvement.

    The potential wild card, as you correctly identified, I think, is our coach. I'm having trouble defining exactly what I want to see from Steele this year but I think it is adopting a style of play that aligns with his (seemingly) abundance of talent along with his game management + bench leadership. Observing Steele over the last couple of years, his decisions sometimes seemed robotic + mechanical. I want to see decisions consistent with the flow of the game. I'm no coach and my expertise is only that I'm a long time hoops and X fan. But, I should (I think) feel like I understand most of his coaching decisions. They should make sense to me. I should be able to recognize the why behind his actions. Maybe not always but most of the time. Sometimes in the past, I haven't. Perhaps that's on me but others on this board have expressed the same thoughts.

    Today, heading into the season, I really do expect to see improvement in both play on the court and coaching decisions. I'm optimistic that Steele will show growth in his now fourth season. Like you, I want Steele to make believers out of all of us. Still, I'm a little nervous.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Xville View Post
    You’re a fucking idiot. I’m always a fan, I’m on a basketball message board. I’m a fan of Steele and the team. I’m not a fan of his decision making the past three years. Shut the fuck up and stay in your stupid conspiracy covid corner
    No, you're quite irrational in your assessment of Steele and the results over the past 3 years. You don't have a clue on how well the players did in practice, injuries they were dealing with, etc... Most importantly, to say that not playing games - and not practicing on four different occasions - wouldn't have an effect on team chemistry or fitness levels is about the dumbest, most absurd, most irrational thing a so-called fan could ever say.

    Good God, quit your bitching about Steele every time this topic comes up for crying out loud.

    Again, don't break an ankle when you decide to jump on the bandwagon - you know, when it's safe for you to jump back on....

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by XU_Lou View Post
    No, you're quite irrational in your assessment of Steele and the results over the past 3 years. You don't have a clue on how well the players did in practice, injuries they were dealing with, etc... Most importantly, to say that not playing games - and not practicing on four different occasions - wouldn't have an effect on team chemistry or fitness levels is about the dumbest, most absurd, most irrational thing a so-called fan could ever say.

    Good God, quit your bitching about Steele every time this topic comes up for crying out loud.

    Again, don't break an ankle when you decide to jump on the bandwagon - you know, when it's safe for you to jump back on....
    You have zero knowledge of basketball. Stay in your lane bitch, quit talking out your ass. You also have zero clue as to what I do or do not know surrounding the program nor the access I or others in my circle have around the program. It’s not just about last year. If it was, I’d give a pass, as I did previous years. Three years is a trend, one that hopefully is broken this year. If you want to actually talk basketball and maybe learn something, fine, otherwise get off my dick that you are so obsessed with.

    There is no bandwagon since I have and will always be a fan. You’re just a loser that is too busy looking up covid articles all day to know squat about the game.
    Last edited by Xville; 10-25-2021 at 05:46 PM.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Xville View Post
    I have no clue.
    I agree.

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