Poll: Would XU be better with Semaj at Point?

[Masterofreality]

There was some speculation (unfounded) that Semaj would have come back if he was assured that he'd be the chief Point Guard this year.

For funsies sake, Do you think that Xavier's team and record would be better if Semaj started at Poing Guard?

[GoMuskies]

Does a bear shit in the woods?

[Xavier]

The record now would absolutely be better. But Semaj would still play a lot of hero ball-he never lead us to much of anything. Balanced scoring is better recipe for long term success, IMO. (I. E. Getting to and advancing in the tournament).

[BMoreX]

Absolutely. If anything he gives the team another good defender.

Him, Dee and Abe would really lock down the other teams guards.

[vee4xu]

I'm not big on positing about hypotheticals. Semaj is gone and we'll never know. But, for the sake of fun speculation, I am not sure. Semaj had a tendency to try and take over games with dribbling down the shot clock and trying to make things happen at the expense of overall offensive flow. He also started showing some frustration with teammates near the end of the season. That could have been a function of his knowing that he was leaving for the NBA draft, but either way it wasn't always productive. I do think the team has a higher growth ceiling with Dee running point and playing these very talented freshmen. So, in summary: Maybe X isn't as good in January 2015 as they would be if Semaj was at point. But, I do think that by March the team will be much better than if he had stayed due to realizing the higher potential. Also, so many freshmen playing this many minutes in 2015 will return great dividends next season.

[danaandvictory]

Yes. That's a no-brainer.

[XUFan09]

It's hard to improve much on a top 15 offense, but the defense would be much better.

[D-West & PO-Z]

We would be in a much better position in all respects. Semaj took over games because he had to. Better offensively, defensively, and would have no affect on player development.

[DC Muskie]

Can I say no, just to prove how annoying I can be?

[xeus]

Can I say no, just to prove how annoying I can be?

That's a clown question bro.

[XfansinKy]

Considering Trevon is the only freshman that plays much, I think Semaj absolutely would fit right in as an experienced pg.

[bleedXblue]

Considering Trevon is the only freshman that plays much, I think Semaj absolutely would fit right in as an experienced pg.

His 6'3' frame and ability to guard on the perimeter make this a no brainer.

[xeus]

We are better off with Dee Davis as our point guard this year.

[LA Muskie]

Absent a major attitude problem (and I never heard a complaint about that with respect to Semaj), I go with talent. And he wouldn't just be an addition of talent -- he'd be the best player on the team. So yes, I think we would be better in all respects with him on the team. Perhaps a few younger guys wouldn't be seeing as many minutes, but I still think they would develop playing with a talent the likes of Semaj.

[casualfan]

This is an interesting question and I think a lot of it has to do with how you're asking the question.

The thing about Semaj is that even though he has all of the tools to be a high-level PG he is not one currently, or at least he wasn't one to end the year last year (I really haven't paid his NBA career any attention so I'm not sure how he's developed since I last saw him consistently).

He was basically a wing player in college. He played the role Remy occupies right now. Wing slasher. He was the guy Mack would leak out to the wing on a miss in the hope of getting him the ball quickly to beat the d down the floor for an easy basket.

On the other hand Dee Davis is the consummate college PG. Gets everyone in the right spot, high assist to turnover ratio (~ 2.4), can knock down an occasional and seems to be a leader.

The reason I think this question is so interesting and depends on how you're answering the question is because I think Dee would have been far and away the better player for this team to start the year. In fact I'm not sure how many lead guards out there I would have chosen for this team over Dee to start the year. Everything he brings to the table lined up with what this team needed. We have a lot of scorers and he is a distributor. We have some young guys and he is a calming veteran presence.

Having said that though the team's ceiling is lower with Dee at the point (and that is not a knock on Dee, but more of a compliment to how good of a college lead guard I think semaj might have developed into).

Semaj has all the physical tools. Which is to say that while there may have been some growing pains early as he tried to learn to balance being a great scorer with being a lead guard distributor I think that long term we could have been better if things clicked for him.

I guess long story short Dee is the safe pick, especially for what we needed early. You knew what you were going to get. Semaj would have been a bit of a boom or bust guy at the PG spot for us (although bust is likely too strong a word).

The thing I don't think you can discount is the idea Dee might have left if Semaj was given the keys. I seem to remember him being a guy who was rumored to be in the market to transfer and I can't imagine Semaj being given the pg spot would have helped there.

Then if Semaj struggled at that spot for some reason you'd be looking at either Randolph or a freshman to run the team.

Ultimately I think Chris made the safe play. Whether it was the right one or not is up for debate I guess.

[Masterofreality]

Casual, that is exactly why I asked this question and polled it.

I don't think it is so cut and dry. On one hand, could Semaj defer enough to foster team development? On the other hand, could he have been that "alpha dog" leader that this team obviously needs at crunch time while making everyone else on the floor better?

There would have been a lot of learning going on and sometimes having all scorers on the floor at once doesn't work.

We, of course will never know the real answer, but it is debatable either way.

[casualfan]

Casual, that is exactly why I asked this question and polled it.

I don't think it is so cut and dry. On one hand, could Semaj defer enough to foster team development? On the other hand, could he have been that "alpha dog" leader that this team obviously needs at crunch time while making everyone else on the floor better?

There would have been a lot of learning going on and sometimes having all scorers on the floor at once doesn't work.

We, of course will never know the real answer, but it is debatable either way.

No doubt. I think it's a great question. I don't typically like hypotheticals and thinking about what could have been, but I think the fact this one cuts both ways is very interesting.

I'll be interested to see how the offense continues down the stretch as other teams develop defensively and as the schedule continues to get tougher.

We've scored 73 or less in three of our 4 losses (the exception being auburn where we scored 73 in regulation and then got 15 more in the two OT periods).

We've scored 74 or more in 7 of our 10 wins.

This is a team that has to score to win IMHO. Should be interesting to watch how and if that changes as the year goes on.

[SC in DC]

Is the Pope Catholic? (Well, ok maybe not this Pope!) When SC drove--look out, when Dee drives--LOOK OUT!

[boozehound]

This is an interesting question. In general I would say yes, we would be better off, although I'm not sure that Semaj is the kind of 'floor general' leader that this team needs. If we had a Tu Holloway type of player on this team we would be undefeated. None of those close losses would have happened.

[Xville]

To me, this is a no-brainer. Semaj didn't seem to be a selfish player, but he did have the ball in his hands the majority of the time because he absolutely had to last year. We had zero shooters on last year's team because the only shooter we did have, Myles, went into some weird kind of slump. With this team, I believe that Semaj would have been an absolute rock star with the number of shooters that are now on this team. Semaj, with his length and driving ability, can actually collapse a defense, and with the shooters that we now have, he would have had an incredible year. That is why I thought it was an absolute mistake for him to leave early (but we have already rehashed that a million times) Dee on the other hand, does not have the length or the driving ability that teams fear..one 6'8 or 6'9 guy can take care of him easily.

[gladdenguy]

I would absolutely say yes because that would entail less time that Dee Davis has the ball in his hands. Dee would be forced to his everlasting role of a backup point guard and nothing more. I guess that would also mean no Larry Austin Jr. but I would accept that.

[bleedXblue]

To me, this is a no-brainer. Semaj didn't seem to be a selfish player, but he did have the ball in his hands the majority of the time because he absolutely had to last year. We had zero shooters on last year's team because the only shooter we did have, Myles, went into some weird kind of slump. With this team, I believe that Semaj would have been an absolute rock star with the number of shooters that are now on this team. Semaj, with his length and driving ability, can actually collapse a defense, and with the shooters that we now have, he would have had an incredible year. That is why I thought it was an absolute mistake for him to leave early (but we have already rehashed that a million times) Dee on the other hand, does not have the length or the driving ability that teams fear..one 6'8 or 6'9 guy can take care of him easily.

Yes this with the exception that you omitted Justin Martin as a shooter. But yes, he would have flourished with this team and really would have been able to be more of a true PG to showcase his skills. SC fd'up.

[Xville]

I'm not sure what I am more shocked by, the fact that we lost to Depaul or the fact that this is even being debated.

[GoMuskies]

I'm not sure what I am more shocked by, the fact that we lost to Depaul or the fact that this is even being debated.

Agreed. Would we be better if we had added a guy who would be the best player on the team and as far as I'm aware is not a risk from a chemistry perspective (never heard anything bad about Semaj from that standpoint)? Hmm....

[Emp]

Masochist thread. What if we had DSR at point? Drew Lavendar? Jamal? Ralph Lee?

Why so many want to undermine DD is incredible. He's our guy... Buck him up, don't tear him down.

[Masterofreality]

No, it's not a cut on Dee. It's just an intriguing question.

Semaj never played point at any level. He was a combo guard. He would have to learn the position on the fly just like he is in the D League, although I think it's harder in college. Remember when Dante had to play point out of necessity? Other guys like Brandon Randolph would be stunted and who is the future PG after this year- although we still don't know that answer anyway.

I really don't know if overall it would be better. Maybe we win the Auburn and DePaul games with Alpha Dog out there, or maybe we don't because Semaj misses free throws? Maybe Semaj defense isn't all that, and not as good as Dee's, because it never was perfect. He shut down Bryce Cotton at Cintas last year, but, honestly, he took plays off too.

[bigdiggins]

Masochist thread. What if we had DSR at point? Drew Lavendar? Jamal? Ralph Lee?

Why so many want to undermine DD is incredible. He's our guy... Buck him up, don't tear him down.

Have you seen them lately? Jamal and Ralph are extremely out of shape. If either were the starting point guard this year X would be winless.

[PMI]

I'm not sure what I am more shocked by, the fact that we lost to Depaul or the fact that this is even being debated.

To act like it isn't even a debate is extremely narrow-minded. I'm not really sure one way or another (just like the rest of you all) but there is certainly a case to be made that, even with Semaj, we would not be as good right now. Semaj was a really talented player at Xavier and very well could've been one of the best players in the conference this year. But there were also some common themes that hung over our team during his career, such as his counter-productive ball dominance he showed at times, and his inability to hit free throws down the stretch, among other things. The argument that he needed to have the ball in his hands due to the cast around him does hold weight, but on the flip side, we are a much more efficient offense when the ball moves, and the ball stopped a lot under Semaj. It's easy to say that he would've played differently with a different surrounding cast, but how do we know? Semaj had a lot of habits as a player, some of which we almost always saw in the crunch time part of games. He looked to get to the rack by going to his right any time we needed a late bucket. It what extremely effective, but it could also result in him committing a charge, or drawing a foul and missing the free throws. How the hell are we supposed to know what would've happened had he had the ball in his hands late in the Auburn or DePaul games? How are we supposed to know that, when he reverted back to some of his habits, the rest of the offense wouldn't flow as well and other players might get out of sync? How do we know that one of the current players on our roster won't step up and turn into a go-to guy this year? And if that happens, how can we argue that it would have had Semaj been here?

There are a LOT of legitimate questions as to whether the team would overall be better with Semaj. I tend to think we probably would be. I think it's more likely than not. But it's by no means a no-brainer, and anyone who thinks it is should go ahead and google the Patrick Ewing affect. Would the 2004 team have still made The Run had they had David West? Would Chalmers have had the opportunity to turn into the hottest player in the country? It's not just as simple as saying that having your best player from the year before would automatically yield better results, even if it seems more likely. We don't know. We will never know. We might as well live in the present, or just go all the way with the hypotheticals. I think a rotation of Semaj, DSR, Dez, Jalen, Stainbrook, Dee, Remy and Bluiett could probably get us to the Final Four!

[casualfan]

Those are great points PMI and it reminded me of a point I thought about earlier relative to his ball dominance that I forgot to make.

I get the idea that this year's supporting cast is better than last year's but let's not pretend like he didn't have guys to pass to last year.

We still had Stain last year. We still had Myles Davis. We also had J-Mart.

So while this year's supporting cast is better and is unquestionably deeper it's not like it was 'Maj and a bunch of turds last year when he was get "ball dominant" (as they call ball hogs these days).


The interesting case for me is Myles. You can look at Myles and say, "well yeah, but he wasn't the same shooter he is this year last year so it's not really the same".

To me this is a bit of a chicken or the egg scenario. Was he not as involved last year because he wasn't as good OR might he have not been as good last year because he wasn't as involved?

We'll obviously never know which is why these conversations are fun.

[GoMuskies]

Would the 2004 team have still made The Run had they had David West?

No, because we wouldn't have called it "The Run" if we were 18-1 after 19 games instead of 10-9.

[RealDeal]

Probably, but imo semaj is not the stud some on this board like to make him out to be. Re watch the ncaa tournament game from last year, Tyler Lewis blew by him at will for 8 assists, and semaj had 7 TO. His D was suspect in big games. And then there's the cramps, and the ft shooting.

I was a semaj fan, but he's not in the top 10 guys ever to play here.

I guess what I'm saying is he was no Johnny wolf.

[GoMuskies]

I was a semaj fan, but he's not in the top 10 guys ever to play here.


True, but he would be the best player on this year's team.

[Masterofreality]

Probably, but imo semaj is not the stud some on this board like to make him out to be. Re watch the ncaa tournament game from last year, Tyler Lewis blew by him at will for 8 assists, and semaj had 7 TO. His D was suspect in big games. And then there's the cramps, and the ft shooting.

I was a semaj fan, but he's not in the top 10 guys ever to play here.

I guess what I'm saying is he was no Johnny wolf.


True, but he would be the best player on this year's team.

And so the debate rages.....

[PMI]

The point about the chicken and the egg scenario with Myles is a good one, and I think it could be applicable to other players/areas of our system as well. When a player knows his role is bigger and is challenged to step up accordingly, a lot of times you see more production out of him. I'm sure some people will point to coaching or say there are no excuses, but it's just the reality for a lot of guys. In some of our close games this year, Myles has gotten the ball. He and some others have made some clutch free throws and shots. I know we don't have the record we'd like to have in close games right now, but would anyone here rather have Semaj at the line with the game on the line than Myles Davis? Just one example, but I think it's a valid thought.

It's still too early to take too much away from it, and we haven't played our best defensive opponents yet, but our offense has been much more efficient this year than it ever was with Semaj, and I think balance has a lot to do with that. In a perfect world, Semaj would've been a part of that balance (and the best piece at that) and he would've played within himself and been a great creator for our bigs and shooters. Hell, that could be a seriously elite offense if it worked out. But it also may not have panned out that way. There may have been too much ball-dominance, less confidence among the rest of the guys, and hell, some bad cramps and missed free throws at the worst times. I'm don't mean to come across as a Semaj hater. I loved having him and would've been stoked to have him back. But the other side of the equation is possible. Again, if you google the Patrick Ewing effect or theory or whatever it is, you will find several great examples of TEAMS that got better after losing their best respective individuals players. There may be more examples to the contrary, but it is not some unheard of thing by any means.

[xeus]

This is the stupidest thread in a long time. Ridiculous hypothetical, clearly aimed as a shot at Dee Davis, who (like it or not) is our starting point guard. I happen to believe Dee has what it takes. I'm sure in someone's alternative fantasy universe things could be different - but I miss the point of this entire thread. Help me understand what we're talking about. Please.

[Xville]

The point about the chicken and the egg scenario with Myles is a good one, and I think it could be applicable to other players/areas of our system as well. When a player knows his role is bigger and is challenged to step up accordingly, a lot of times you see more production out of him. I'm sure some people will point to coaching or say there are no excuses, but it's just the reality for a lot of guys. In some of our close games this year, Myles has gotten the ball. He and some others have made some clutch free throws and shots. I know we don't have the record we'd like to have in close games right now, but would anyone here rather have Semaj at the line with the game on the line than Myles Davis? Just one example, but I think it's a valid thought.

It's still too early to take too much away from it, and we haven't played our best defensive opponents yet, but our offense has been much more efficient this year than it ever was with Semaj, and I think balance has a lot to do with that. In a perfect world, Semaj would've been a part of that balance (and the best piece at that) and he would've played within himself and been a great creator for our bigs and shooters. Hell, that could be a seriously elite offense if it worked out. But it also may not have panned out that way. There may have been too much ball-dominance, less confidence among the rest of the guys, and hell, some bad cramps and missed free throws at the worst times. I'm don't mean to come across as a Semaj hater. I loved having him and would've been stoked to have him back. But the other side of the equation is possible. Again, if you google the Patrick Ewing effect or theory or whatever it is, you will find several great examples of TEAMS that got better after losing their best respective individuals players. There may be more examples to the contrary, but it is not some unheard of thing by any means.

Clutch free throws and shots? What games have you been watching? There has been nothing clutch about this team so far this season that's part of the problem. Myles had ample opportunities last year, Semaj had nothing to do with the fact that myles couldn't hit shots last year. Anyways, I understand your points but respectfully disagree. If I had a choice between semaj and dee as our starting point guard, I'll take semaj any single day of the week and twice on sundays.

[xavierj]

Considering Trevon is the only freshman that plays much, I think Semaj absolutely would fit right in as an experienced pg.

What year is Macura? I think he is a freshman that might play a bit.

[PMI]

Clutch free throws and shots? What games have you been watching? There has been nothing clutch about this team so far this season that's part of the problem. Myles had ample opportunities last year, Semaj had nothing to do with the fact that myles couldn't hit shots last year. Anyways, I understand your points but respectfully disagree. If I had a choice between semaj and dee as our starting point guard, I'll take semaj any single day of the week and twice on sundays.

You can disagree, but I'm pretty sure you don't understand my points. My point, to sum it up, is that you simply cannot make assumptions about this with any real certainty, even though I do think, gun to my head, we'd be better with Semaj. I never compared Semaj to Dee, and frankly, unlike some people, that's never how I looked at this. I mean the two of them never even played the same position at Xavier, and are usually both on the floor at the same time. Nobody can say what either of their full roles would exactly be on this year's team if Semaj were here. But none of that matters.

You can choose to focus on the final results only, and skip out on the whole road toward this team's development, but even in our close losses, there were clutch shots and free throws made to extend games. Myles and Remy have each had their moments in that regard, multiple times this year, and it's reasonable to suggest the possibility that if Semaj were here, he'd have been more likely to get the bulk of those opportunities. While he certainly could've been a stud this year, we have seen several displays where he was very much absent in the clutch, at the line and otherwise. His last game is one example. This is one of an infinite number of examples of things one could look at and conclude that none of us have a chance of accurately predicting the hypothetical state of this year's team with Semaj on it. We could guess that we'd be better, which both you and I would, but we don't know. The fact that you would disagree with that means you either have a means of seeing into alternate universes, in which case I'm terribly jealous, or you actually believe your assumptions to be fact, in which case I'm not.

Cliffs Note Version: I was not disagreeing with your notion that we'd be better with Semaj. I was disagreeing with and disproving your notion that there is no legitimacy to a debate about it.

[GoMuskies]

I think I'd be more persuaded that there's a plausible argument that we're better off without Semaj if we hadn't sort of kind of sucked so far.

[Emp]

[QUOTE=Masterofreality;476012]No, it's not a cut on Dee. It's just an intriguing question.

Semaj never played point at any level. He was a combo guard. He would have to learn the position on the fly just like he is in the D League, although I think it's harder in college. Remember when Dante had to play point out of necessity? Other guys like Brandon Randolph would be stunted and who is the future PG after this year- although we still don't know that answer anyway.

I really don't know if overall it would be better. Maybe we win the Auburn and DePaul games with Alpha Dog out there, or maybe we don't because Semaj misses free throws? Maybe Semaj defense isn't all that, and not as good as Dee's, because it never was perfect. He shut down Bryce Cotton at Cintas last year, but, honestly, he took plays off too.[/QUOTE

Sorry, it's as clear a cut on Dee as can be, MOR. AND it's an open invitation for others to cut on Dee, as the responses to the thread confirm in spades. Why are we even talking about a theoretical point guard vs a real one with the season a third over?? That's mastering reality???

I could see the nattering nabobs of negativity starting this thread, but you?

The only reality being mastered is the separation of supporters from fans. Next poll: would we be better off with Miller as coach?

[xuwin]

I think the real question is would you rather have Dee and Semaj available to run the point this year or Dee and Randolf to run the point. The answer is obvious. The 10 man rotation that Mack was trying to use earlier in the season would have worked much better.