How exciting is this...

[nasdadjr]

At one point today our 5 on the court was Sumner, Gates, Macura, Omara, and Abell. Abell aside that is all underclass players who put up productive minutes. This season is special and I don't see any drop off in the foreseeable future. Been a great journey watching this program grow to what it has become because this day and age that just doesn't happen very often

[UCGRAD4X]

12

[Masterofreality]

And just wait until Makinde London finds his full footing.

[XUGRAD80]

That last year's team got some NCAA 2nd weekend experience may prove to be very valuable. Talent is necessary, but there is no substitute for experience. Not only is this team very talented, but they are also expereienced....not something you find in many relatively YOUNG (years playing college BB, not age) teams.

[xukeith]

At one point today our 5 on the court was Sumner, Gates, Macura, Omara, and Abell. Abell aside that is all underclass players who put up productive minutes. This season is special and I don't see any drop off in the foreseeable future. Been a great journey watching this program grow to what it has become because this day and age that just doesn't happen very often

I agree we have a bright future but Farr and Reynolds' post presense(experience) and Abell's defense will be missed.
There will be a drop in rebounding.
I think London will fill out and be dominant in a couple years.
O'Mara is a role player like Will Caudle.
Rashid Gaston might surprise us.

[markchal]

I agree we have a bright future but Farr and Reynolds' post presense(experience) and Abell's defense will be missed.
There will be a drop in rebounding.
I think London will fill out and be dominant in a couple years.
O'Mara is a role player like Will Caudle.
Rashid Gaston might surprise us.

I think you're underselling O'Mara a little bit. I think he has the best post-moves on the team, which helps make up for his lack of athleticism a bit. We are gonna lose our rebounding edge and you can't say enough about what Farr brings. When your center can flash out and knock down that 10-15 jumper with ease, but also bang away inside and eat up every rebound...that will be very tough to replace. But, I'm hoping it will be offset by another offseason of improvement for Tre, Ed and JP, as well as some of the role players. I do think Gaston will surprise us too.

I'm a little more concerned about Abell, and largely our ability to play m2m going forward, but those are trivial concerns when you look at how much experience/scoring/etc we bring back.

[Xtemporaneous]

Folks don't forget about Eddie E. who is spending a semester learning what it takes to be a Xavier player. I've seen him in practice and once he gets a summer with Matt Jennings he'll be holding his own very well. He's learning from Farr and Reynolds now and is in good hands with Mike Pegues when it comes to working on his post game. Things will be fine.

[ballyhoohoo]

O'mara will prove to be a steel and surprise people even more then he has.

[Xtemporaneous]

O'mara will prove to be a steel and surprise people even more then he has.

Agreed. He is showing what he can do now in his limited time. Just wait until he gets to assert himself. Man we're really, really deep.

EDIT: And I think we're doing it with an available scholly.

[THRILLHOUSE]

O'mara will prove to be a steel and surprise people even more then he has.

Yep. One could even argue he should get more PT right now than he currently gets.

[Xavier]

Im nitpicking because obviously Sean will be a really good contributer for years to come but at the moment whenever he touches the ball down low it's going up. Sometimes wish he would pass it but he may have been told to just go up with it whenever he gets it down low. Again, nitpicking, he has been a pleasant surprise this year.

[Dmartin]

I think Jalen may come back. I sure hope so, it's my opinion that he's overshadowed by some of the talen this year and misses Stain (Matt) the most. Never the less He brings a toughness and competitiveness that's contagious and really gets the team going (intangibles). He also is capable of a double double in every game if he gets the minutes. I think with the youth of this team and the development of Gates, London and Omara this team could be better next year than they are this year. & remember the "heartbeat" of the team Davis will be a Senior next year.. J.P. Tre just Juniors!

[MauriceX]

Im nitpicking because obviously Sean will be a really good contributer for years to come but at the moment whenever he touches the ball down low it's going up. Sometimes wish he would pass it but he may have been told to just go up with it whenever he gets it down low. Again, nitpicking, he has been a pleasant surprise this year.

While I agree that he usually shoots, he is impressively effective (63.5% from the field leads the team. Second place is Farr at 53.8%... nearly a 10% gap between first and second). Whenever he gets the ball, I want him to shoot it.

[XUFan09]

While I agree that he usually shoots, he is impressively effective (63.5% from the field leads the team. Second place is Farr at 53.8%... nearly a 10% gap between first and second). Whenever he gets the ball, I want him to shoot it.
And his FT rate is the best on the team (a ratio of 73 FTAs for every 100 FGAs). Even if he's not shooting well at the stripe (57.9%), that's still an average of 1.15 points per possession when he goes to the line.

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[D-West & PO-Z]

O'mara will prove to be a steel and surprise people even more then he has.

Yeah Keith selling O'mara way short. He will be much better than a Will Caudle. Best footwork/post moves on the team as a soph.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Im nitpicking because obviously Sean will be a really good contributer for years to come but at the moment whenever he touches the ball down low it's going up. Sometimes wish he would pass it but he may have been told to just go up with it whenever he gets it down low. Again, nitpicking, he has been a pleasant surprise this year.

When you shoot 63.5% from the field, almost all of your touches should go up.

[D-West & PO-Z]

While I agree that he usually shoots, he is impressively effective (63.5% from the field leads the team. Second place is Farr at 53.8%... nearly a 10% gap between first and second). Whenever he gets the ball, I want him to shoot it.

Didnt see this before I posted, agree 100%

[XU 87]

O'mara will prove to be a steel and surprise people even more then he has.

when I fist saw O'Mara last year I was impressed by his overall size but due to his athleticism I wondered if he would ever see much if any PT at X. I'm not wondering that anymore. The guy has great footwork and uses his body well to position himself to get good shots.

Kudos for the staff on working with him to get so much better in the past year.

[nasdadjr]

Im nitpicking because obviously Sean will be a really good contributer for years to come but at the moment whenever he touches the ball down low it's going up. Sometimes wish he would pass it but he may have been told to just go up with it whenever he gets it down low. Again, nitpicking, he has been a pleasant surprise this year.

It's cause he is the strongest player on the court and no one can physically keep him from the rim

[nasdadjr]

He has low min but I think London and gates replace farrs rebounds easily. In his time on the court he is tenacious going after the ball.

[XUFan09]

He has low min but I think London and gates replace farrs rebounds easily. In his time on the court he is tenacious going after the ball.
I seriously doubt they will. Farr's rebounding rate is number one in the Big East going back to 2008, when they first started tracking that stat. I think they'll be good, but we will have to accept a letdown rebounding next year. They do have positives that make it up, though.

Edit: Just to reiterate the relative letdown Xavier is due on the rebounding front, Jalen checks in at #4 "all-time" in the Big East (once again, in the 8 seasons it's been tracked).

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[nasdadjr]

I seriously doubt they will. Farr's rebounding rate is number one in the Big East going back to 2008, when they first started tracking that stat. I think they'll be good, but we will have to accept a letdown rebounding next year. They do have positives that make it up, though.

Edit: Just to reiterate the relative letdown Xavier is due on the rebounding front, Jalen checks in at #4 "all-time" in the Big East (once again, in the 8 seasons it's been tracked).

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Allow me to rephrase. I think London and gates taking farrs time won't be a very big drop off

[xu82]

No one guy will make up for the loss of Farr next year. But with the growth of O'Mara, Gates and London, plus the addition of Gaston and the freshman, we will be fine with Mack at the helm. (Cue "pay the man" talk.) It's more than one guy, it's a culture and a man with a plan.

[markchal]

I don't think anyone doubts that. We're hoping gains made in other areas will just help offset the clear step back in rebounding. Even Sean O is nowhere near Farr in rebounding ability, and I think Gates and London have some work to do in this area (understandable of course, they are freshmen). We take Farr's rebounding for granted, no question.

[nasdadjr]

I don't think anyone doubts that. We're hoping gains made in other areas will just help offset the clear step back in rebounding. Even Sean O is nowhere near Farr in rebounding ability, and I think Gates and London have some work to do in this area (understandable of course, they are freshmen). We take Farr's rebounding for granted, no question.

I wouldn't go that far cause I think we all know Farr is the difference between X being top 5 as compared to a fringe top 25 team. Sure other factors play in but he is definitely the guy making it happen. Who would have imagined saying that about him 4 years ago

[smileyy]

This morning, I realized that Makinde London is the "worst" eligible scholarship player on the bench.

[smileyy]

O'Mara is a role player like Will Caudle.


O'Mara would eat Will Caudle for lunch. O'Mara will be playing like Farr (maybe not with the 15' jumper) in a year or two.

[Xtemporaneous]

At one point today our 5 on the court was Sumner, Gates, Macura, Omara, and Abell. Abell aside that is all underclass players who put up productive minutes. This season is special and I don't see any drop off in the foreseeable future. Been a great journey watching this program grow to what it has become because this day and age that just doesn't happen very often

I went back and rewatched the game after reading this. And there was a point where we had all freshmen and sophomores out there. Sumner, O'Mara, JP, Tre, Kaiser. And they were holding their own. So pumped for the present and the future!

[smileyy]

Its a little bit ridiculously awesome to have freshman Kaiser Gates as a backup to sophomore Trevon Bluiett. I know their games aren't exactly the same, but they can both defend PFs and stretch the floor.

[xuwin]

This morning, I realized that Makinde London is the "worst" eligible scholarship player on the bench.

I don't think that is necessarily true. I think he just happens to be playing behind a Senior and a 5th year Junior who happen to have spent lots more time in the weight room. I think his playing time will escalate considerably next year because I think he can be a big time shot blocker around the basket next year.

[XUFan09]

I don't think that is necessarily true. I think he just happens to be playing behind a Senior and a 5th year Junior who happen to have spent lots more time in the weight room. I think his playing time will escalate considerably next year because I think he can be a big time shot blocker around the basket next year.

I'd still say he's the "worst" scholarship player. He's the one left out of the bigs rotation, and among guards and wings, only Larry Austin might rank lower. Since LAJ does a good job running the offense and is really good on defense, I'd still rank Makinde lower, though.

He definitely looks promising long-term, all the same, and would play notable freshman minutes on most Xavier teams.

[smileyy]

I don't think that is necessarily true. I think he just happens to be playing behind a Senior and a 5th year Junior who happen to have spent lots more time in the weight room. I think his playing time will escalate considerably next year because I think he can be a big time shot blocker around the basket next year.

I didn't make my point well; I didn't mean it as a knock on London, though its coming off as a backhanded compliment.

It's not often that a team can say that *every single one* of their eligible scholarship players can go out and give quality minutes on the floor. That a guy with London's talent and effectiveness now is the "worst" scholarship player that you have means you've got one hell of a deep team.

[smileyy]

It's cause he is the strongest player on the court and no one can physically keep him from the rim

I'm looking forward to a lot of opposing players being really worn down at the end of games after being run through Sean O'Mara screens.

[mid major]

Reloading not Rebuilding