2023 College Basketball Transfer Portal

[xavierj]

for 6'6", he is a good rebounder. And, i cant see his defensive skills by looking at his "counting stats." Its really hard to conclude much when it comes to a guy that played in Mike Anderson's pressing style. Were the OReb numbers a result of him having a "nose" for the ball and having good position, or did Anderson just tag him as the designated guy that was supposed to crash the boards on every shot that was put up? I mentioned the fouls and TOs, but again maybe that just a byproduct of the style. i see the 45% 2-pt shooting and not getting to the line very often as a problem. add in the sub 30% 3 pt shooting... I just dont want a guy that is offensively inefficient but scores 13 a game in 26 minutes. thats ALOT of offense running through one guy.

Frankly, he reminds me of Jerome Hunter a little bit. And I LIKE (last years version of ) Hunter, but we already HAVE Hunter.

But as I look across this roster, I dont see NEARLY enough shooting. I'd really rather us pursue a more capable deep shooter.

I'm sure Jones is a nice player, and would have a nice role on many teams. I'm not seeing the fit though on next years XU team.

That’s interesting. I don’t see any similarities between his game and hunters. Jones likes to have the ball in his hands a lot more than Hunter. He is also lefty and built completely different. More of an open floor kind of guy. He is more of a guard to be honest.

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

That’s interesting. I don’t see any similarities between his game and hunters. Jones likes to have the ball in his hands a lot more than Hunter. He is also lefty and built completely different. More of an open floor kind of guy. He is more of a guard to be honest.

Would I take Jones? Sure. But I agree with Hettel. He seems to need the ball in his hands a lot and although he's athletic and fun to watch, he's not a great shooter, particularly from outside the arc. I just don't know whose minutes he would take. The UC Riverside guy identified by MOR seems a better fit. Still, as an earlier poster said, I'll trust Miller whatever he does.

[Xville]

Would I take Jones? Sure. But I agree with Hettel. He seems to need the ball in his hands a lot and although he's athletic and fun to watch, he's not a great shooter, particularly from outside the arc. I just don't know whose minutes he would take. The UC Riverside guy identified by MOR seems a better fit. Still, as an earlier poster said, I'll trust Miller whatever he does.

I like the athleticism he brings, it is something the roster needs.. we got a little more athletic in the transfer portal with the guards but x is still pretty behind other teams in that department. He’d probably be a backup three/four. I’m not sold that craft is going to be anything more than a role player, and he’d be an instant upgrade over him. The others in that position are freshmen.

I do agree though that shooting may also be a concern. Lots of unknowns for next year, but I’m excited to see a team that miller has started to put together on his own.

[xavierj]

Would I take Jones? Sure. But I agree with Hettel. He seems to need the ball in his hands a lot and although he's athletic and fun to watch, he's not a great shooter, particularly from outside the arc. I just don't know whose minutes he would take. The UC Riverside guy identified by MOR seems a better fit. Still, as an earlier poster said, I'll trust Miller whatever he does.

I understand what you are saying but Jones averaged over 3 years around 12 pts 6 boards in the Big East. The other guy from UC Riverside has played poor competition and when he has played good teams, his stats show he has struggled. He is also a guard and and I am not sure Xavier needs another guard. Xavier needs someone who can play the three and guard Big East caliber players. Jones hasn’t been a great three point shooter but he seems to be able to do everything else and he is a scorer. At this point you are not getting a guy who can do it all. Any way, Xavier wants him as does Kentucky, but it sounds like he may end up at Memphis.

[MHettel]

I understand what you are saying but Jones averaged over 3 years around 12 pts 6 boards in the Big East. The other guy from UC Riverside has played poor competition and when he has played good teams, his stats show he has struggled. He is also a guard and and I am not sure Xavier needs another guard. Xavier needs someone who can play the three and guard Big East caliber players. Jones hasn’t been a great three point shooter but he seems to be able to do everything else and he is a scorer. At this point you are not getting a guy who can do it all. Any way, Xavier wants him as does Kentucky, but it sounds like he may end up at Memphis.

I started a deep math analysis of SJU with Jones on the floor vs when he wasn't. the takeaway is that his per minute scoring was much higher than the team, and that SJU scored more when he was playing than when he was not. But I dont think that proved much., Most teams have a guy like that.

Then I was going to compare him to Souley Boum, and found that Jones actually scored MORE points per minute (by a long shot .512 vs .463)) than Boum and took WAY more shots per minute (.505 vs .324) than Boum did to accomplish it.

Boum took 20 more shots than Jones. Boum played 507 more minutes.

Xu played 4 more games than SJU last year and had 155 more assists. SJU as a team averaged .075 Assists per minute. Xu as a team averaged .088 per minute.

Jones averaged .061 per minute.

So obviously, when Jones was on the court they scored more, and just as obvious is taht fact that it was HIM that was scoring more.

Whats also obvious is that XU was in the top 5 in the country in assist last year and had a "share the ball" mentality. The defense was horrible, and yet the offense carried us to a 27-10 record. on paper, our backcourt transfers seem to fit the mold of the guys we lost, except we lost more shooting than we have brought in. Jones hurts us in the shooting department. Sean seemed to crack the code offensively last year., I ASSUME he's like more of the same, but with some better defense. I'm left assuming that Miller thinks he can reshape Jones offensively (like he did with Hunter) and exploit his athleticism to improve the defense. But even if so, I still see a shortage of deep shooting.

[IM4X]

Stats can be helpful in determining a players worth, but sometimes they can be a little deceiving. Who coached the player? Was he in a system that allowed him to be the best version of himself? I thought St John’s had some special players that at times weren’t put in the best position to succeed. If a player can prove he can find ways to score under that kind of coach, I can’t help but wonder how much better he might be in a system that helps him be the best version of himself.

Personally, I was very impressed with Jones last year- especially in games versus X. I circled him as one of my favorite options in the transfer portal out of all portal players coming from another BE team. I believe he has legit talent and a much higher ceiling - similar to what we’ve seen from many of the Steele recruits who later got a chance to be in Miller’s system. We now know in Sean’s system, players learn how to pass better, move better, take smarter shots and they stick to what they can do best for the team. I could see Jones becoming pretty special under Sean. I would also imagine we’d see his 3 pt % go up a bit too (like other X players did) under Sean.

One last thought: Sean would be getting a proven Big East player in Jones, if they land him. It’s something that can not be underestimated. We only have three players on the current roster who have played significant minutes in the BE. Maybe Olivari and McNight will end up shining, but adding another talented, battle tested BE player to our roster would be huge.

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

I understand what you are saying but Jones averaged over 3 years around 12 pts 6 boards in the Big East. The other guy from UC Riverside has played poor competition and when he has played good teams, his stats show he has struggled. He is also a guard and and I am not sure Xavier needs another guard. Xavier needs someone who can play the three and guard Big East caliber players. Jones hasn’t been a great three point shooter but he seems to be able to do everything else and he is a scorer. At this point you are not getting a guy who can do it all. Any way, Xavier wants him as does Kentucky, but it sounds like he may end up at Memphis.

Then I was going to compare him to Souley Boum, and found that Jones actually scored MORE points per minute (by a long shot .512 vs .463)) than Boum and took WAY more shots per minute (.505 vs .324) than Boum did to accomplish it.

Boum took 20 more shots than Jones. Boum played 507 more minutes.

Whats also obvious is that XU was in the top 5 in the country in assist last year and had a "share the ball" mentality. The defense was horrible, and yet the offense carried us to a 27-10 record. on paper, our backcourt transfers seem to fit the mold of the guys we lost, except we lost more shooting than we have brought in. Jones hurts us in the shooting department. Sean seemed to crack the code offensively last year., I ASSUME he's like more of the same, but with some better defense. I'm left assuming that Miller thinks he can reshape Jones offensively (like he did with Hunter) and exploit his athleticism to improve the defense. But even if so, I still see a shortage of deep shooting.

Interesting points on both sides. I concede he is athletic and a proven performer and also wonder if Miller sees defensive potential that we haven't considered. Maybe the most important point in regard to Jones comes from IM4X regarding how his use and performance might be completely different under Miller than under Mike Anderson. That is completely possible.

[MHettel]

Stats can be helpful in determining a players worth, but sometimes they can be a little deceiving. Who coached the player? Was he in a system that allowed him to be the best version of himself? I thought St John’s had some special players that at times weren’t put in the best position to succeed. If a player can prove he can find ways to score under that kind of coach, I can’t help but wonder how much better he might be in a system that helps him be the best version of himself.

Personally, I was very impressed with Jones last year- especially in games versus X. I circled him as one of my favorite options in the transfer portal out of all portal players coming from another BE team. I believe he has legit talent and a much higher ceiling - similar to what we’ve seen from many of the Steele recruits who later got a chance to be in Miller’s system. We now know in Sean’s system, players learn how to pass better, move better, take smarter shots and they stick to what they can do best for the team. I could see Jones becoming pretty special under Sean. I would also imagine we’d see his 3 pt % go up a bit too (like other X players did) under Sean.

One last thought: Sean would be getting a proven Big East player in Jones, if they land him. It’s something that can not be underestimated. We only have three players on the current roster who have played significant minutes in the BE. Maybe Olivari and McNight will end up shining, but adding another talented, battle tested BE player to our roster would be huge.

Well, Rick Pitino is a really good coach and asked him ( and everyone else besides Soriano) to leave.

[Xville]

Well, Rick Pitino is a really good coach and asked him ( and everyone else besides Soriano) to leave.

You keep saying that as if it’s gospel. Maybe it was jones that didn’t want to play for pitino? I like pitino a lot… think he is one of the best college coaches ever but he’s not infallible and I have seen him run practices. He’s not for everyone.

[xukeith]

You keep saying that as if it’s gospel. Maybe it was jones that didn’t want to play for pitino? I like pitino a lot… think he is one of the best college coaches ever but he’s not infallible and I have seen him run practices. He’s not for everyone.

Miller struggled to improve X defensively this past season. They did get better but bottom line, X was easy to score on and not easy to stop. Next year on paper, X is going to not have many quality 3 point shooters. vs Kunkel, Boum, Nunge...
One theme from last to this upcoming season is improved defense and lots of ft shooting.
X likely will share the ball and not turnover a ton. Good defense(in the kenpom 30-40 range) is expected. Not sure what X can get out of Ousmane and Duncomb. Hoping Zach's foot stays 100% healthy.