Really again???

[nasdadjr]

Not bringing this up as a homer or a guy that wants X higher in a meaningless preseason prediction but Villanova and Georgetown 1 and 2 again in preseason prediction????

I bring this up because the predicted order by the media is always villanova, georgetown then everyone else. That has yet to be the top 2 any year (I don't count last year since georgetown was not 2 seed in conference tournament). Is it just a matter of the media not really understanding the other programs in the conference so they just pick the 2 highest name recognized schools then go from there? Of course I understand preseason honors mean absolutely zero but until we tip it off in a month we need something pointless to talk about.

[GoMuskies]

Well, Villanova has been the clear favorite the last two years both in perception AND in reality. Not sure why it's a problem for them to be preseason #1.

[XU 87]

And Georgetown finished tied for second last year.

[X-band '01]

Georgetown was the 2 seed last year.

Besides, if we're going purely by name recognition, St. John's would not have been picked to finish last (even if they're in the midst of a complete rebuild).

[nasdadjr]

I got no problem with villanova the problem is with georgetown. First year they finished in bottom half of league and I may be wrong but I thought georgetown was the 3 seed. Of course wouldn't be first time I'm wrong but I just don't see georgetown as the second best team this year in this conference.

[wkrq59]

Doesn't make any difference. We still beat 'em. Didn't we? And that was last season. We are a different team with different ways. Heck with the preseason crap.

[X-Fan]

Doesn't make any difference. We still beat 'em. Didn't we? And that was last season. We are a different team with different ways. Heck with the preseason crap.

I don't believe X has beaten Nova since joining the Big East (0-5). This has to happen at least once this year for X to have a chance at winning the league, and for others to take notice when considering BE Honors.

[MuskieXU]

What order would you rank the teams in?

I would probably put Butler over GT by a hair, but I dont see a big enough difference to complain. Nova, GT, and Butler are the only 3 teams who have proven they can take care of business against the lower half of the BE and all 3 also return 1st Team All BE players, so I find it hard to justify ranking anyone else in the top 3.

[bleedXblue]

Only issue I have is Kellen Dunham on the 1st team? He's a nice player, but not 1st team worthy IMHO.

[X-band '01]

Here's the thing regarding Georgetown. They were swept by Xavier and Providence last year and split with Villanova. They were 11-1 against everyone else.

Xavier was more inconsistent last season - they were capable of beating almost anyone but also capable of losing to anyone on any given night. Losses to Creighton, DePaul and Seton Hall put Xavier in a very bubblish position going into the Big East tournament.

[Muskie]

Only issue I have is Kellen Dunham on the 1st team? He's a nice player, but not 1st team worthy IMHO.

Who would you have put in his place?

[SpectorJersey]

Who would you have put in his place?

Josh Hart maybe, Dunham is overrated, he cant create his own shot very well. Of course he is deadly if you leave him wide open. He takes a ton of shots, so his average is always high.

[Xville]

Who would you have put in his place?

This league doesn't really have that much firepower right now outside of Kris Dunn. We have some good solid players like Dunham, Reynolds, DSR etc etc but no real name brand guys that fans outside of this conference would really know. A lot of these guys need to make major steps forward this year for the betterment of the league.

[xukeith]

As Farr stated in the media, X was predicted 4th last year but finished 6th. It is much ado about nothing.

[bleedXblue]

Who would you have put in his place?

Good question.

If he improves his defense, shares the ball a little more and isn't so one dimensional....he may prove me wrong.

[NY44]

Josh Hart maybe, Dunham is overrated, he cant create his own shot very well. Of course he is deadly if you leave him wide open. He takes a ton of shots, so his average is always high.

He's a flopper!

[X-Fan]

Who would you have put in his place?


This league doesn't really have that much firepower right now outside of Kris Dunn. We have some good solid players like Dunham, Reynolds, DSR etc etc but no real name brand guys that fans outside of this conference would really know. A lot of these guys need to make major steps forward this year for the betterment of the league.

Myles Davis

[XUFan09]

Dunham is overrated, he cant create his own shot very well. Of course he is deadly if you leave him wide open. He takes a ton of shots, so his average is always high.

The only part of this that is true is that Dunham can't create his own shot very well; he doesn't have a good first step to create space. He's the type of guy that you run off screens to get him his looks. He doesn't need to be wide open, though; he needs just a sliver of space once he has the ball. He does take a ton of shots, but there were still 400 players in the nation last season who took a larger percentage of their teams' shots when on the court (Dunham was 402nd). Also, he's not just a high-volume, low-efficiency shooter. His offensive rating of 117.0 is really good, top 10 in the Big East with only Matt Stainbrook beating him out from Xavier, and he shot 41.0% from three. That's also when he was often the bail-out guy for Butler's mediocre offense at the end of shot clocks.

I'm not a huge fan of Dunham's game, and maybe first team is a bit much, but it would be foolish to not acknowledge him as one of the better players in the league. I think Xavier fans are biased because they've seen how much Dee Davis and Remy Abell have locked him down in recent years. No one else has consistently been able to do that. It's an anomaly that we enjoy.

[SpectorJersey]

The only part of this that is true is that Dunham can't create his own shot very well; he doesn't have a good first step to create space. He's the type of guy that you run off screens to get him his looks. He doesn't need to be wide open, though; he needs just a sliver of space once he has the ball. He does take a ton of shots, but there were still 400 players in the nation last season who took a larger percentage of their teams' shots when on the court (Dunham was 402nd). Also, he's not just a high-volume, low-efficiency shooter. His offensive rating of 117.0 is really good, top 10 in the Big East with only Matt Stainbrook beating him out from Xavier, and he shot 41.0% from three. That's also when he was often the bail-out guy for Butler's mediocre offense at the end of shot clocks.

I'm not a huge fan of Dunham's game, and maybe first team is a bit much, but it would be foolish to not acknowledge him as one of the better players in the league. I think Xavier fans are biased because they've seen how much Dee Davis and Remy Abell have locked him down in recent years. No one else has consistently been able to do that. It's an anomaly that we enjoy.

I didnt look up the numbers but thanks for posting, he is basically a one trick pony bc like you said he doesnt have a quick first step and not a threat to drive the lane and make something happen. If he does put it on the ground its usually a few dribble then either a fade away or pump fake to try and draw a foul. Agree that Xavier has shut him down, but he just really doesn't scare me when you play Butler if you have someone who can stay in front of him which we do.

Barlow was much more effective against Xavier than Dunham

[gladdenguy]

I could care less if we finish 1st or 4th in the Big East.....as long as we are the last team standing in the Big Dance.......that is all that matters to me.

Nothing worse than being a Nova fan and having a 1 or 2 seed and going out in the 2nd round. That is pathetic.

[XUFan09]

I didnt look up the numbers but thanks for posting, he is basically a one trick pony bc like you said he doesnt have a quick first step and not a threat to drive the lane and make something happen. If he does put it on the ground its usually a few dribble then either a fade away or pump fake to try and draw a foul. Agree that Xavier has shut him down, but he just really doesn't scare me when you play Butler if you have someone who can stay in front of him which we do.

Barlow was much more effective against Xavier than Dunham
Brad Redford was a one-trick pony. Dunham is just limited in certain aspects. He can still get into the lane because defenders play him so closely behind the arc. Sometimes that leads to fadeaway jumpers (that he often makes) when the defender stays with him, but often the defender is a step behind after over-committing behind the arc and Dunham gets in for a layup or foul. That's why he had more two-point attempts than three-point attempts this past season to go with a good rate at getting to the line. Yes, he flails to draw some of those fouls, but 1) it still works pretty well and 2) he just isn't as good of an actor as guys like Tu Holloway.

[D-West & PO-Z]

I think Xavier fans are biased because they've seen how much Dee Davis and Remy Abell have locked him down in recent years. No one else has consistently been able to do that. It's an anomaly that we enjoy.

This exactly. Xavier fans have a very skewed view of Dunham bc we have done such a good job of shutting him down. He has terrorized other teams.

[ArizonaXUGrad]

For whatever reason, 'Nova is just not built for success in the tournament, but kills the regular season. This year will be fun for us. I see a team like Butler being consistent like 'Nova, but just not as good. For whatever reason, XU just has Georgetown's number.

[Xavier]

This exactly. Xavier fans have a very skewed view of Dunham bc we have done such a good job of shutting him down. He has terrorized other teams.

Agreed. I would happily have him over Davis. Not a knock on Davis, I just think Dunham is a lot better.

[Xville]

For whatever reason, 'Nova is just not built for success in the tournament, but kills the regular season. This year will be fun for us. I see a team like Butler being consistent like 'Nova, but just not as good. For whatever reason, XU just has Georgetown's number.

its because Villanova haven't had a clutch hair is on fire i'm willing this team to win type player since Cunningham which is what you need in the tournament. Brunson might be that guy though...

[XUMIOH12]

pre season rankings mean next to nothing

[American X]

Brad Redford was a one-trick pony.

Hey! He also shot the technical foul free throws!

[paulxu]

Good lord. 3 years later and we're still beating up on Redford.

Who I think is hosting some event, maybe the all for one deal.

[XUFan09]

Good lord. 3 years later and we're still beating up on Redford.

Who I think is hosting some event, maybe the all for one deal.
I didn't intend to beat up on him. His one trick was fantastic. Someone put it nicely back then: All basketball players can be rated on their various skills from 1 to 10, but rarely do you have a player who is a 10 in an individual skill. Brad was one of those rare few.

Dunham, though, is not that same type of player, a one-trick pony.

[Olsingledigit]

One of the reasons we dominated GT is that Matt S seemed to play very well against them. Without him I expect much tougher games.