Jimmy Farr

[X-man]

Below is taken from a post in MUScoop's thread on the Xavier game. One more reason I'm gonna miss Farr big time when he graduates.

"Farr is a really, really nice guy. Almost two years ago to the day (some here may remember) Greg Von Rueden, a freshman from Marquette High, passed away from osteosarcoma at 15 years old. My sister had gone to Xavier (and brother currently goes there) and the weekend before he passed away Xavier played at DePaul, so she went to the game and there was a pregame mass somewhere that Farr spoke at about losing a family member (can't remember if it was a parent or aunt/uncle) to cancer. My sister approached him after the mass and told him about Greg's battle and he asked if he could send Greg a message, having her take a video of him saying he heard about Greg's battle and that he was praying for him and supporting him and telling him to keep fighting. Pretty cool of him.

I remember someone here saying he was soft a year ago, and arguing that he was just sitting behind a very good front line but his per 40 rebounding numbers were through the roof. Evidently he's not so soft."

[UCGRAD4X]

It is so nice to hear about the good that the men of X do out of the spotlight. It doesn't surprise me at all about James. Just the way he carries himself on and off the court, the way he rallies his teammates.

Oh, and it was nice to see him dominate a basketball game again.

[Emp]

Men for others. Nice post, great guy.

[Masterofreality]

Trust me. Big Game James is awesome. He's worked his ass off to get where he is now.
I can only hope that he gets a shot to do whatever his dreams are.

[X-man]

In addition to elevating his game this year, he has assumed the mantle of leadership. And watch him on the court after making good plays. It is clear that he plays with real joy. I will miss the guy when he graduates, but he will be a great ambassador for the X-men.

[gladdenguy]

I see a bunch of comparisons to Jason Love.....because he was an example of a guy whose feet were stuck in quicksand and barely had an offensive game.
His senior year he is an animal on the glass and almost singlehandedly in every offensive way was responsible for that 21-0 run. He has a mid range game, a repertoire of back to the basket post moves, and he dominates the glass. Simply unreal. Kudos to Jimmy, coach Pegues, and CMack.

I'm going even more drastic than Love's improvement. Farr has made THE greatest improvement of any Xavier player from freshman to senior year (Love, Raymond, etc). I typed it. Have at me.

[bleedXblue]

Great story. James will go down as yet another Xavier big man who stuck with it, worked hard and persevered. Incredibly happy for him........and us.

Without his stellar play this year, where would X be? Not 16-1 for sure.

[bleedXblue]

I see a bunch of comparisons to Jason Love.....because he was an example of a guy whose feet were stuck in quicksand and barely had an offensive game.
His senior year he is an animal on the glass and almost singlehandedly in every offensive way was responsible for that 21-0 run. He has a mid range game, a repertoire of back to the basket post moves, and he dominates the glass. Simply unreal. Kudos to Jimmy, coach Pegues, and CMack.

I'm going even more drastic than Love's improvement. Farr has made THE greatest improvement of any Xavier player from freshman to senior year (Love, Raymond, etc). I typed it. Have at me.

Agree.....he should get some NBA looks.

[Strange Brew]

Farr has made THE greatest improvement of any Xavier player from freshman to senior year (Love, Raymond, etc). I typed it. Have at me.

James Rodman er, Farr may be tied with Tyrone Hill as the most improved X player of all time.

[Drew's Crew]

I'm going even more drastic than Love's improvement. Farr has made THE greatest improvement of any Xavier player from freshman to senior year (Love, Raymond, etc). I typed it. Have at me.

I know you expected hate, but it is pretty tough to improve more than Jimmy has. He came in as a lanky, clunky, perimeter shooter who only spotted up for 3s and hit them at a reasonable rate. He is now an efficient scorer in the post, a great defender, and one of the nation's best (if not the best) rebounders. That alone will get him NBA looks, just ask Kenneth Faried.

He came in as a borderline A10 contributor and will be leaving a borderline NBA player......I'd say that's an amazing improvement in 4 years.

[zanesxu]

love reading about XU creating quality human beings...

Stats to support the Farr progression conversation...
-Gone are his days of attempting cringeworthy threes... only attempted 5 this season vs. 1-2 per game last two seasons
-Free throws from 47% last year to 77% this year
-He's the best rebounder in the BE (#1 offensive rate, #3 defensive rate), and very close to the top nationally (#4, and #15)
-Farr's doing all this while going from a starter last year, to a sixth man this year - maturity and leadership

[xu82]

love reading about XU creating quality human beings...



Stats to support the Farr progression conversation...
-Gone are his days of attempting cringeworthy threes... only attempted 5 this season vs. 1-2 per game last two seasons
-Free throws from 47% last year to 77% this year
-He's the best rebounder in the BE (#1 offensive rate, #3 defensive rate), and very close to the top nationally (#4, and #15)
-Farr's doing all this while going from a starter last year, to a sixth man this year - maturity and leadership

That's a huge jump! Is this just small sample size, hours of practice or was he closing his eyes last year?

[XUFan09]

That's a huge jump! Is this just small sample size, hours of practice or was he closing his eyes last year?
I really think James had a big case of nerves last year with any shot. His FT% this year is more reflective of his accuracy in practice.

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[GoMuskies]

James Rodman er, Farr may be tied with Tyrone Hill as the most improved X player of all time.

Hill is exactly who came to mind for me. Maybe Brian Grant.

Just refreshed any memories I might have had about Grant's freshman year....and he was already pretty good. So I'll stick with Hill.

[XUBBall644]

I don't know who the most improved is, but I would toss in Reggie Butler as a candidate.

[Masterofreality]

I believe the "James Farr Experiment" is over.....with a Successful result!

[THRILLHOUSE]

Hill is exactly who came to mind for me. Maybe Brian Grant.

Just refreshed any memories I might have had about Grant's freshman year....and he was already pretty good. So I'll stick with Hill.

Tyrone was pretty good early in his X career though. Averaged 8 rebounds a game as a freshman, 10 rpg as a Soph (along with 15 points per game that season). So I'll agree with Gladden with the Love comparison, and right now Jimmy is probably the most improved of all time just ahead of Love.

[vee4xu]

I see a bunch of comparisons to Jason Love.....because he was an example of a guy whose feet were stuck in quicksand and barely had an offensive game.
His senior year he is an animal on the glass and almost singlehandedly in every offensive way was responsible for that 21-0 run. He has a mid range game, a repertoire of back to the basket post moves, and he dominates the glass. Simply unreal. Kudos to Jimmy, coach Pegues, and CMack.

I'm going even more drastic than Love's improvement. Farr has made THE greatest improvement of any Xavier player from freshman to senior year (Love, Raymond, etc). I typed it. Have at me.

I agree with you gg as it relates to guys who came in as projects, Farr has done a great job maximizing his talent by working very hard. One person who i think made a great transition, in a different sense, was Stan Burrell. The kid was a scoring machine, but his defense was suspect. During his senior year, with Sato gone, X needed a new defensive stopper and Stan became that guy. He put his pistol in his holster and sacrificed scoring for keeping the best player on the other team from scoring. A bit of a different twist on the transformation question, but one that I would offer up.

[XUFan09]

Sato and Burrell never overlapped, so it's kind of odd to describe the need for a new defensive stopper with Sato gone. That would make Burrell three years late in response. Now, if you meant Justin Cage, that makes more sense, as Cage graduated just the year before Burrell.

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[Muskeagle]

I love Farr. He has definitely become my favorite player on this year's roster....and I really like the whole team. I mentioned early how I loved that we have 7 players on this team that are a threat to go for 15 on any given night. One poster made a point of saying that that statement was a stretch for Farr....that no coaches would be game planning for Farr.

Through 17 games, Xavier players have scored 15+ points 26 times. This is the list of players, and how many times each has done it:

Blueitt--10
Farr--4
Davis--3
Reynolds--3
Sumner--2
Macura--2
Abell--2

Farr has continued the tradition of Seniors stepping up: Love, Raymond, Burrell (in changing his focus), Taylor, Butler, Caudle.....the list goes on. I love this guy. Follow him on twitter, too--he is truly awesome!

[markchal]

As good as he's been on the court, you can't say enough about his leadership and attitude. So many seniors would sulk if they weren't starting, but Farr has been the ultimate team-first player. It's such a good example to have on a team of talented guys. No one is going to be griping about not getting their shots when you have a senior bringing it like Farr and setting the tone.

Every interview I read with him only leaves me more impressed. Great representative for the program.

[XUGRAD80]

.......and I think this sets the tone for others on the team as well. X has certainly had some players in the recent past that seemed to be more about themselves, then they were about the team. I don't see that with any of the players now.

[Snipe]

What a great personal story. It is fun watching boys become men and James has a great story.

What I wouldn't give to have redshirted him as a frosh and have him coming back another year.

I love the way he plays and leads by example. Great attitude, doesn't complain coming off the bench or whatever, just stays positive and produces results.

Is he our MVP if the season ended today? Our back up big man off of the bench very well might get my vote for MVP.

Xavier Seniors have an awesome tradition of bringing it and leaving it all on the court. I love this program.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Farr on SC:

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=14636662

[Masterofreality]

What a great personal story. It is fun watching boys become men and James has a great story.

What I wouldn't give to have redshirted him as a frosh and have him coming back another year.

I love the way he plays and leads by example. Great attitude, doesn't complain coming off the bench or whatever, just stays positive and produces results.

Is he our MVP if the season ended today? Our back up big man off of the bench very well might get my vote for MVP.

Xavier Seniors have an awesome tradition of bringing it and leaving it all on the court. I love this program.


Farr on SC:

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=14636662

What the Great Sniper said...and that interview is just another example of how our Seniors grow, develop and learn to lead through their 4 years here.

[Muskie1000]

Another honor for the big man.

http://goxavier.com/news/2016/1/25/MBB_0125165531.aspx

[ArizonaXUGrad]

What I wouldn't give to have redshirted him as a frosh and have him coming back another year.

Farr did 4 years in High School and a prep year, a year of red-shirt and he would have been Myles and Jalen a 24 year old Senior in college. Not many 24 year old players want to play ball with 18/21 year old kids.

[XMuskieFTW]

Anybody know anything more on his injury or if he has been in practice?

[smileyy]

Farr did 4 years in High School and a prep year, a year of red-shirt and he would have been Myles and Jalen a 24 year old Senior in college. Not many 24 year old players want to play ball with 18/21 year old kids.

If only X could get its players to stick around till their athletic peaks in their ages 25-28 seasons.

[GoMuskies]

If only X could get its players to stick around till their athletic peaks in their ages 25-28 seasons.

That's why BYU is so fun.

[smileyy]

Let's see...player graduates from high school at 19, prep school for a year, 2 year mission, redshirt/ineligible for a year, finishing up school at 27?

[nasdadjr]

Just read a report on cbs that Farr got hurt and will probably miss tomorrow's game. When and how did it happen and what has anyone else heard?

[Caveat]

He probably couldn't have picked a better home game to miss, at least.

[X-band '01]

Apparently he hurt his knee against DePaul in the 2nd half on Saturday.

[GoMuskies]

He probably couldn't have picked a better home game to miss, at least.

I suspect if we were playing Villanova tomorrow, Big Game Jimmy would be suiting up.

[blueblob06]

Still makes me nervous to not have a full team (and hopefully won't hurt our momentum). Really would want him healthy and ready to play vs MARQ Saturday as their big guys will cause us problems without Farr in the paint.

[XUMIOH12]

looked like he was sitting on the bench with an ice pack against DePaul. Hopefully missing tomorrow would just be a precaution and is good to go for Saturday.

[IM4X]

I see a bunch of comparisons to Jason Love.....because he was an example of a guy whose feet were stuck in quicksand and barely had an offensive game.
His senior year he is an animal on the glass and almost singlehandedly in every offensive way was responsible for that 21-0 run. He has a mid range game, a repertoire of back to the basket post moves, and he dominates the glass. Simply unreal. Kudos to Jimmy, coach Pegues, and CMack.

I'm going even more drastic than Love's improvement. Farr has made THE greatest improvement of any Xavier player from freshman to senior year (Love, Raymond, etc). I typed it. Have at me.

Well said. agreed.

I've mentioned in a post before how unreal, how wonderfully unexpected Farr's transformation has been from last season to this one.

We all saw where the ceiling was for James. Accept we were all dead wrong. He is an inspiration to any player who feels fans or the media or coaches are selling him short. Instead of pouting about it, he showed everyone by working his tail off and proving he could in fact be much, much better in every area of his game. He is a class act too. What a great player, leader and role model for the other players he has become.

[THRILLHOUSE]

Just read a report on cbs that Farr got hurt and will probably miss tomorrow's game. When and how did it happen and what has anyone else heard?

Do you have a link? Not seeing that he's been ruled out tomorrow anywhere.

[THRILLHOUSE]

and right on queue, the latest from Shannon:

Shannon Russell ‏@slrussell 1m1 minute ago
#Xavier's @JFarr2 left the DePaul game early to ice his left knee/hamstring and had yesterday off. Is back practicing today.

Shannon Russell ‏@slrussell 47s47 seconds ago
@CoachChrisMack: "We feel like we’ll judge how he is in practice today. If he has no complaints and feels OK, then we’ll play him tomorrow."

[xu82]

I trust them to do what is best.

Lots of rest in the near future is fine with me. Better that than long term lingering issues.

[bourbonman]

I recall coach talking about this in his post game comments. Hamstring was the thought then.

[Juice]

He practiced today.

[GreatWhiteNorth]

If he is not 100%, we should rest him tomorrow. Better to save him for tougher games ahead.

[nasdadjr]

Do you have a link? Not seeing that he's been ruled out tomorrow anywhere.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/gametracker/preview/NCAAB_20160203_STJOHN@XAVIER/st-johns-xavier-preview

Shared via CBS Sports
http://cbssportsapp.com


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[nasdadjr]

It says may miss and I believe I said that in original post as well

[ArizonaXUGrad]

Hopefully he is fine and can play, if not I hope he can rest and we blow them out.


It says may miss and I believe I said that in original post as well

[vee4xu]

If X is so fragile that they can't beat a team at home that's 0-9 in the conference without Jimmy Farr, then they have more problems that anyone can imagine.

[GoMuskies]

Well, we're 24 point favorites even with this news.

[XUFan09]

Well, we're 24 point favorites even with this news.
Don't get overconfident!

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[xu82]

Don't get overconfident!

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Ah, you jest, but in '68 when Joe Namath and the Jets shocked the world by beating the Colts in the Super Bowl, they also gave the Buffalo Bills their only win of the year. Shit happens. (These are the things that formed my warped psyche.) :wacko:

[bobbiemcgee]

Looks like he will play:

'Farr, too, is expected to play after injuring his left leg at the end of Saturday’s victory at DePaul. Farr took off Monday as a precautionary measure and returned to practice Tuesday. If the forward “has no complaints and feels OK,” Mack said he’ll play against St. John's.

-Shannon

[XUMIOH12]

Looks like he will play:

'Farr, too, is expected to play after injuring his left leg at the end of Saturday’s victory at DePaul. Farr took off Monday as a precautionary measure and returned to practice Tuesday. If the forward “has no complaints and feels OK,” Mack said he’ll play against St. John's.

-Shannon

thats good news. Sounds like he will be good to go, even if he doesnt play today.

[X-man]

Bump.

[UCGRAD4X]

Which one is the official "WE LOVE JAMES FARR" thread?

[X-man]

Which one is the official "WE LOVE JAMES FARR" thread?

All of them. Plus there was a poll, after the OOC portion of the schedule, on who was the Xavier MVP where Mr. Farr was named by several of us.

[UCGRAD4X]

All of them. Plus there was a poll, after the OOC portion of the schedule, on who was the Xavier MVP where Mr. Farr was named by several of us.

I proudly count myself among those wise and learned individuals.