Jerome Hunter is Xavier’s Best Sixth Man Since….

[MauriceX]

I know he started a fair number of games (16 of 37 his senior year), but I compare Jerome to Josh Duncan. Both big men that Sean could turn to off the bench that would give great interior offense and some grit at both ends.

Duncan's senior year: 12.4 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.3 APG
Jerome's last 9 games: 9.8 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.3 APG

[Roach]

This is probably going to be an unpopular take, but I always viewed Posey's reputation as a "super 6th man" skeptically. My sense was that he was only a 6th man because keeping him on the bench at the start of games was part and parcel of Skip instilling discipline in him. Under most any other coach, then or now, Posey would have been a starter from day 1. A few things to note -

- James Posey was a top 100 recruit out of Twinsburg High School, the highest rated recruit in the same class as Lenny Brown, Gary Lumpkin, and Darnell Williams (sigh, Darnell, what could have been ).

- He was a prop-48 who needed a fair amount of structure and guidance in his first year to make him eligible as a sophomore.

- When ruminating on Posey's athletic, academic, and personal development during his senior year, Skip mentioned that at the outset of his redshirt year, his lackadaisical effort and attitude initially had Skip thinking he might never see the floor.

In short, I think Posey was only ever a 6th man because Skip was practicing tough love. I think very, very few college coaches nowadays would adopt such an approach for a player of Posey's talent, which is a clear reflection of the type of man we all know Skip was. It also clearly worked wonders with James Posey, the legacy of which can still be seen today. Since his retirement, he's had a lengthy coaching career himself as an assistant in the NBA, paying it forward. Also, not sure how many of you are aware, but his son, Jace, is a 4-star guard at Strake Jesuit in Houston, and recently committed to TCU. James is also a family man, a husband and clearly a very proud father, frequently bragging about Jace and his other kids on his podcast and on Instagram. I like to think that Skip is looking down on them with a fiercely proud smile on his face.

This all raises an important question - Why isn't #41 hanging from the Cintas rafters yet?

[Masterofreality]

I know he started a fair number of games (16 of 37 his senior year), but I compare Jerome to Josh Duncan. Both big men that Sean could turn to off the bench that would give great interior offense and some grit at both ends.

Duncan's senior year: 12.4 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.3 APG
Jerome's last 9 games: 9.8 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.3 APG

Except that Josh can REALLY shoot it from outside and he wasn’t as much of an inside guy as I recall.
Maybe Jerome can still develop that outside shot, but we saw what happens when he had free range out there before.

[joe titan]

This is probably going to be an unpopular take, but I always viewed Posey's reputation as a "super 6th man" skeptically. My sense was that he was only a 6th man because keeping him on the bench at the start of games was part and parcel of Skip instilling discipline in him. Under most any other coach, then or now, Posey would have been a starter from day 1. A few things to note -

- James Posey was a top 100 recruit out of Twinsburg High School, the highest rated recruit in the same class as Lenny Brown, Gary Lumpkin, and Darnell Williams (sigh, Darnell, what could have been ).

- He was a prop-48 who needed a fair amount of structure and guidance in his first year to make him eligible as a sophomore.

- When ruminating on Posey's athletic, academic, and personal development during his senior year, Skip mentioned that at the outset of his redshirt year, his lackadaisical effort and attitude initially had Skip thinking he might never see the floor.

In short, I think Posey was only ever a 6th man because Skip was practicing tough love. I think very, very few college coaches nowadays would adopt such an approach for a player of Posey's talent, which is a clear reflection of the type of man we all know Skip was. It also clearly worked wonders with James Posey, the legacy of which can still be seen today. Since his retirement, he's had a lengthy coaching career himself as an assistant in the NBA, paying it forward. Also, not sure how many of you are aware, but his son, Jace, is a 4-star guard at Strake Jesuit in Houston, and recently committed to TCU. James is also a family man, a husband and clearly a very proud father, frequently bragging about Jace and his other kids on his podcast and on Instagram. I like to think that Skip is looking down on them with a fiercely proud smile on his face.

Not really IMO; Posey did not start b/c he essentially played same spot as Darnell. As you state those guys came in together and instantly started while Posey sat out; Skip knew he could not break up the team chemistry by having Posey vs Darnell compete for starting role. Interestingly still Skip had all 6 in final huddles etc before game time.

[joe titan]

Aaron Williams pre-dates Posey but was 6th man in underclass years; Jason Love came off the bench for awhile too.

[kane79]

james posey was #1 6th man, no doubt. but this says he's the best 6th man since...... and we've had a few since posey. 1 i will mention is Josh Duncan. moving him to the bench motivated him and he became a force. He and Posey are only XU players to win 6th man of the year honors in teh A-10