Team STATS

[Xuperman]

The early numbers are in and if you like balance, you got it.....with a decent sample size against good competition, we have 5 guys averaging double figures with Q leading the team with 75 points in only 5 games instead of 6. The Jones/Hankins tandum registered a cool 21.5/13.3 through the first 6. No reason to think these top 5 will not continue to score at this pace consistently. Marshall will probably end up our leading scorer because hopefully Q will focus on getting his assist #'s on par with last year. Scruggs could surprise and really start filling it, as he looks ready to be a star. We could see 3 guys score 400+ this year! The key to success will be production from the 4 other guys. No clear cut 5th starter has emerged. All seem to potentially be reliable scorers but more importantly, we need the intangibles from them. Rebounding has been average at 39 pg but that will go up. Ft% is horrid at .638 and it most certainly will end up 10 points higher. A/TO ratio is dismal with 14 pg of each, with our frontcourt being most of the problem. That has to change soon.

[Caf]

Every year I just make an excel sheet that takes ESPN's basic stats and then break them down per minute. I find it really helpful and it oftentimes leads to giving bench players an equal footing for comparison. I'm sure I can get this somewhere from some source online.

At this stage there are only two things I've found surprising. The first is just how good of a rebounder Tyrique is. Hankins is a good rebounder, but is about 65% as efficient as Jones. Jones has 0.4 rebounds per minute versus Hankins' 0.26. Meanwhile Hankins only slightly edges out Jones on scoring, 0.56 versus 0.5 PPM.

The second is just how bad of a passing team we are outside of Goodin, Naji and Paul. Hankins with 1 assist in 117 minutes is horrendous. Also while Goodin has a good volume of assists, it's not as rosy when you compare it to the amount of shots he has taken. His AST/FGA is 0.28 versus 0.39 for Naji and Paul. He needs to get a lot better at creating opportunities for teammates. Sometimes it seems he thinks his primary role as PG is just to bring the ball up the floor.

[Xuperman]

Yeah, Jones has crazy rebounding skills. He has more OFFR than DEFR! Obviously his problem is minutes.....when averaged out over 40 he's at 16 pg. Averaged nearly 13 per over 40 minutes last year for 2nd in the BE behind Delgado. Here's what surprises me, both Castlin and Kennedy are hitting 44% from distance....Harden is at 57%! Only 32 attempts as a group but still.

[MHettel]

Goodin, Scruggs and Naji have been horrible from 3. I believe they are all shooting between 25-30%. If those are the main guys you expect offense from, and they are taking deep 3's then we are in trouble. Those guys gotta be rim attackers first.

I think Harden is 2nd on the team in made 3's. thats great for him, but doesnt say much for some of the other guys that see alot more minutes.

[Xuperman]

Welage has now hit 20-50 triples at a cool 40% clip. Would like to see him get more attempts though. If he could average 8-9 from here on, he could sniff 100 made come tourney time. Scruggs is making 42% of his 3's and is just 7 points behind Marshall for team high. Looks like they both will score 400+ this year......not too bad for a couple of sophs.

[xuwin]

Xavier's offense is not their problem. Being lazy closing out on three point shooters on defense is what is killing them. They have to make the opponents hurry their shots more. If their is a weakness on offense it is the inability of the big men to score away from the basket. All of those dunks are not going to be available against the Big East opponents that have shot blockers. Posting up our big guards seems to be our best interior offense lately.

[paulxu]

I think what's making it hard is our TO's. So often (at least on TV) it appears we just get lazy/sloppy in our passing.
And it let's team get back in the game when we have a lead.
Current stats bear this out:

As a team we have 128 Assts/ 112 TO's. It's almost like it is a team feature, as last year our numbers weren't great.
Contrast that with VA who leads the ACC: 127/63

We currently have 5 players with more TO's than assists.
Would love to see us cut down on the errant passes.

[Xuperman]

We currently have 5 players with more TO's than assists.
Would love to see us cut down on the errant passes.

Jones and Hankins combined have a dismal 11/19 ratio through 9 games. Only 11 assisted buckets out of the paint is not gonna cut it. I'm thinking that almost all of the 19 turnovers are not from errant passes but either loosing the handle, getting blocked or poor footwork. Fact is both are not looking to pass much at all. They are aggressive taking it to the iron, which is good, but I would love to see them kick it out more to the perimeter or start hitting guys cutting to the basket.......especially once league play begins.

[XMuskieFTW]

Jones and Hankins combined have a dismal 11/19 ratio. Only 11 assisted buckets out of the paint is not gonna cut it. I'm thinking that almost all of the 19 turnovers are not from errant passes but either loosing the handle, getting blocked or poor footwork. Fact is neither seem to want to pass much after they get it low.

They're also shooting a combined 75-112(67%) from the floor. That's 1.34 points per possession on shots they get up(and would remain around 1.3 factoring in free throws) With numbers like that, they shouldn't be passing once they get it down low.

[Xuperman]

They're also shooting a combined 75-112(67%) from the floor. That's 1.34 points per possession on shots they get up(and would remain around 1.3 factoring in free throws) With numbers like that, they shouldn't be passing once they get it down low.

You have to consider the competition. Maintaining that percentage in the BEast will be a VERY tall order!!

[XMuskieFTW]

You have to consider the competition. Maintaining that percentage in the BEast will be a VERY tall order!!

I mean Tyrique and Hankins are shooting a combined 45-72(62.5%) in our 5 buy games and 30-40(75%) in the Wisconsin and Maui games. 1.35 probably isn't sustainable all season but 1.2+ should be easy given their skill. I'd take that every day.

[Xuperman]

Don't get me wrong, I love what they're doing. 21/12 per game at a 68% clip is outstanding. Would just like to see a little more versatility to keep teams honest.

[XUOHTX]

Every year I just make an excel sheet that takes ESPN's basic stats and then break them down per minute. I find it really helpful and it oftentimes leads to giving bench players an equal footing for comparison. I'm sure I can get this somewhere from some source online.

At this stage there are only two things I've found surprising. The first is just how good of a rebounder Tyrique is. Hankins is a good rebounder, but is about 65% as efficient as Jones. Jones has 0.4 rebounds per minute versus Hankins' 0.26. Meanwhile Hankins only slightly edges out Jones on scoring, 0.56 versus 0.5 PPM.

The second is just how bad of a passing team we are outside of Goodin, Naji and Paul. Hankins with 1 assist in 117 minutes is horrendous. Also while Goodin has a good volume of assists, it's not as rosy when you compare it to the amount of shots he has taken. His AST/FGA is 0.28 versus 0.39 for Naji and Paul. He needs to get a lot better at creating opportunities for teammates. Sometimes it seems he thinks his primary role as PG is just to bring the ball up the floor.

Reps if you make this a shared Google sheet and share with us all.

[XMuskieFTW]

Don't get me wrong, I love what they're doing. 21/12 per game at a 68% clip is outstanding. Would just like to see a little more versatility to keep teams honest.

We definitely don't have the passing bigs we used to have. Stainbrook and Sean were very high level passers out of the post and both had over 1 Assist/Turnover ratios. Generally bigs are around 0.6-0.8 in that ratio. I feel like Hankins has some ability there but definitely not to the level we've seen with Stain and Sean.

[GetUp5]

Paragraphs or bullets next time, OP. Thx.

[Xuperman]

We definitely don't have the passing bigs we used to have. Stainbrook and Sean were very high level passers out of the post and both had over 1 Assist/Turnover ratios. Generally bigs are around 0.6-0.8 in that ratio. I feel like Hankins has some ability there but definitely not to the level we've seen with Stain and Sean.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/stats/_/id/2752
This has gotten worse for the Ty/Zach combo and become a real reason for concern. The A/TO ratio now stands at a dismal 1:2....Only 6 assists vs FIFETEEN turnovers in the last five games!

[Xuperman]

With 1/3 of our BE schedule in the books, statistically, there really isn’t anything to get too excited about. Since the start of league play we have rebounded the ball well and have made noticeable improvement in team defense. We’ve cleaned up our turnover situation nicely but our scoring has dropped, so no net gain. One bright spot scoring wise, is that we are getting to the line more than anybody else and have made the most as well.

Here is an individual stat that is very concerning. Welage is officially in a slump.....just FOUR made 3’s in his last 20. Contrast that with Naji hitting only 4 out of his last TWENTY FIVE. Just when you think it can’t get any worse, Elias Harden posts an astounding TWO for his last 16!! Let that sink in a minute.

[xu82]

With 1/3 of our BE schedule in the books, statistically, there really isn’t anything to get too excited about. Since the start of league play we have rebounded the ball well and have made noticeable improvement in team defense. We’ve cleaned up our turnover situation nicely but our scoring has dropped, so no net gain. One bright spot scoring wise, is that we are getting to the line more than anybody else and have made the most as well.

Here is an individual stat that is very concerning. Welage is officially in a slump.....just FOUR made 3’s in his last 20. Contrast that with Naji hitting only 4 out of his last TWENTY FIVE. Just when you think it can’t get any worse, Elias Harden posts an astounding TWO for his last 16!! Let that sink in a minute.

I’d rather not......but that feels about right. Sadly.

[Xuperman]

Yeah, that’s a mind numbing 6 of 36 from our “3 point specialists”. But hey, on the bright side Q has made 9 of his last 22. Would be nice for that to continue!

[Caf]

Just looking over the stats again, the one thing I find striking are the minutes played. Hankins is 7th in minutes. Even behind Welage and Castlin. Meanwhile he leads the team in points per minute. Second is Tyrique Jones. Hats off to Snipe, we need to get those 2 as many minutes as possible.

[XUBison]

Yeah, that’s a mind numbing 6 of 36 from our “3 point specialists”. But hey, on the bright side Q has made 9 of his last 22. Would be nice for that to continue!


Well, no wonder Jones and Hankins never pass the ball.

[X Factor]

Anyone want to talk about defense?

Xavier is ranked 143rd overall in defensive efficiency. That is 84 spots WORSE than last year! They are allowing opposing teams to shoot the highest percentage from three in the last 14 years.

How is that possible? Why does Xavier's defense suck? You can't tell me it's a personel issue.

[MITTENMUSKIE16]

Anyone want to talk about defense?

Xavier is ranked 143rd overall in defensive efficiency. That is 84 spots WORSE than last year! They are allowing opposing teams to shoot the highest percentage from three in the last 14 years.

How is that possible? Why does Xavier's defense suck? You can't tell me it's a personel issue.

It is a personnel issue. While physically gifted with foot speed and length (sans Hankins and Welage), this team isn’t very good at all at being a 2nd or 3rd defender. They overrotate when they don’t need to, help off of guys that are one pass away, are terrible at switching screens, and don’t have their hands up until it’s too late. Most of them are decent on ball defenders, but are bad at everything else. Watch any game for 5 minutes, and you see these problems.

[X Factor]

It is a personnel issue. While physically gifted with foot speed and length (sans Hankins and Welage), this team isn’t very good at all at being a 2nd or 3rd defender. They overrotate when they don’t need to, help off of guys that are one pass away, are terrible at switching screens, and don’t have their hands up until it’s too late. Most of them are decent on ball defenders, but are bad at everything else. Watch any game for 5 minutes, and you see these problems.

That doesn't sound like a personnel issue. That sounds like a coaching issue.

When teams with lesser athletes who aren't as quick, tall, lengthy, and less foot speed play much better defense than Xavier, that leads me to believe it's coaching or philosophy.

How many years in a row now have we heard it's personnel with Xavier?

[MITTENMUSKIE16]

Idk, maybe 3 years? During the 2015-2016 season they were top 25 in defensive efficiency. Mack never emphasized defense, hopefully Steele will put more time and effort into it, but if you watch Q, Tyrique, and Naji, they get lost very easily in trying to effectively what I mention above. You can have the physical tools and still not be an above average defender. I’m sure both are to blame somewhat, but personnel is at least 3/4s of it, whether that means physically or mentally lacking.

[Caf]

How many years in a row now have we heard it's personnel with Xavier?

I don't think it's ever been personnel. If anything can be attributed to personnel it would be the 1 year Mitten mentioned when we were top 25. Mack and now Steele's defensive philosophy seems solely focused on not allowing points in the paint and not fouling.

[IM4X]

That doesn't sound like a personnel issue. That sounds like a coaching issue.

When teams with lesser athletes who aren't as quick, tall, lengthy, and less foot speed play much better defense than Xavier, that leads me to believe it's coaching or philosophy.

How many years in a row now have we heard it's personnel with Xavier?

Yes. This team may lack a little discipline, but they certainly have the skills to be much better on defense than they currently are... and that is on the coaches to get it fixed.

[XUBison]

I don't think it's ever been personnel. If anything can be attributed to personnel it would be the 1 year Mitten mentioned when we were top 25. Mack and now Steele's defensive philosophy seems solely focused on not allowing points in the paint and not fouling.


Agreed. I’m not sure what people expected. Steele has been with the program for a decade. If he were a defensive mastermind, was Mack’s ego just so big that he refused to integrate Steele’s defensive prowess? Come on people... almost all of Steele’s meaningful coaching experience has been as an understudy to Mack. Doesn’t mean Steele won’t be a heck of a coach, but you know the old saying... when a duck has a baby, you get another... duck. Errr, whatever.

[BandDad]

A large part of our issue is our lack of depth and too many minutes for too many guys. This causes them to be tired and to take possessions off to get a mini-rest while on the court. Very few players "rest" on the offensive end, so they give a little less effort on the defensive end. The second thing this does is make some of our players not willing to be more aggressive as they get worried about foul trouble (except Scruggs). Therefore, the play more passively as they don't feel like their are adequate replacements coming off the bench. It is great to have an ideal to make more free throws than the other team shoots, but there are times when I would like us to be more like UC and be in everyone's face the entire game and to hell with the fouls. If you look at KenPom's top 10 defensive teams from last year, all ten teams had no player average more than 35 minutes per game and all ten teams had nine players averaging 10 minutes or more.

That being said, we do have some players that pout and some that don't have a high defensive IQ to begin with.

[xuwin]

Yeah, that’s a mind numbing 6 of 36 from our “3 point specialists”. But hey, on the bright side Q has made 9 of his last 22. Would be nice for that to continue!

I think Scruggs should be shooting more 3's. He passes up a lot of open 3's to get it to guys for contested one's that are not nearly as proficient as he is.

[Xuperman]

The Big East stats have updated to include yesterday's game. Easy to see why we've started winning. These numbers are somewhat surprising as X has 3 players in the top 20 in scoring AND rebounding....we have THREE guys TOP TEN in assists and top 15 in A/TO ratio. NO other team in the league can say that. We are VERY BALANCED.

Naji is the TOP SOPHOMORE in the conference and Paul is not far behind. We're very dangerous now and will be a real force in the fall.

Team defense is on a meteoric rise and that is HUGE. On the negative side and quite disturbing, we are not getting to the line nearly enough and are dead last in % when we do. That's not something that we ever do. Gotta clean that up.