The Dontarius James Effect

[Xuperman]

The 1st Big East win of the season kinda served as DJ's coming out party. It was his first real game time minutes other than mop up and they were significant. These 25 minutes came out of no where having patiently waited for a year and a half. Some here never expected much from him and became pretty much an afterthought but ever since the 2018 Madness, others have wondered.

This was an important game folks. No buy game BS here. The Johnnies came to play, bringing some big time intensity. Don was thrown straight to the fire and he was up for the challenge. The Storm forced 19 TOs with TWELVE STEALS, but DJ remained cool and had only 1 but he got that back with a block and added 2 assists as well.

So here's to perseverance and preparation. He looked really good out there and doesn't have to do much to improve offensively. Tandy was in reality but, how about we say Big Don was the difference in this one.....give em' the game ball. He can help us. We got us a sword fight comin' vs some Pirates!
:sword:

[xukeith]

Agree 100%.
He (DJ) came in and looked aggressive and ready to make plays. He showed no fear and 100% confidence. Every human witnessed that lesson of a strong work ethic and not giving up.
I do wonder if X played him because SJU was running bodies all over the court and Steele perhaps wanted fresh legs.

I hope he plays more. His rebounding was amazing with great defense too. He played deserved minutes and Carter had to bow out. Steele says he is a better shooter than what we saw yesterday.

Boy, his play was awesome.

[Xuperman]

I would love to know where he's been and WHY. Guy didn't get 10 spot minutes in relief, he got 25 big ones in the rotation, IN a must win conference home opener, and looked like he totally belonged!

[Xuperman]

Here's a concern if there is one. Naj played 38 minutes, so he didn't take any of his minutes, but Zach has been building some very impressive momentum and only saw 15. DJ most certainly grabbed some of his but the biggest loser is clearly Carter. Only 15 as a starter after logging 34+ in the last 4. Hate to see any signs of him getting disgruntled.

BTW, can somebody start a KYKY thread.
:popcorn:

[bleedXblue]

Here's a concern if there is one. Naj played 38 minutes, so he didn't take any of his minutes, but Z has been building some very impressive momentum and only seen 15. DJ most certainly grabbed some of his but the biggest loser is clearly Carter. Only 15 as a starter after logging 34+ in the last 4. Hate to see any signs of him getting disgruntled.

BTW, can somebody start a KYKY thread.
:popcorn:

Who is Z?

Also, there isn't a conspiracy theory with everything........DJ wasn't playing b/c Steele thought Carter was the right guy. I think he was overly patient with him to be honest. Sometimes a player needs a message sent or a kick in the a**. Carter certainly got one of the two yesterday.

[Xuperman]

Guilty of being lazy using an intial but he's the only "Z" we have.

I think most everyone here wants more Zachary Freemantle, not less. The effort he gives is off the chart, so if yesterday was any indication of the production Dontarius James can add, it's bittersweet that he'll inevitably get some of Zachery Freemantle's minutes. Nothing but positives going forward regardless.

[IM4X]

Also, there isn't a conspiracy theory with everything........DJ wasn't playing b/c Steele thought Carter was the right guy. I think he was overly patient with him to be honest. Sometimes a player needs a message sent or a kick in the a**. Carter certainly got one of the two yesterday.

Yup... yesterday James looked like he belonged out on the floor... Carter didn’t.

Carter only took two shots (both 3s) and missed them. Hoping he turns it on, but unfortunately right now he fumbles and even loses the ball way too much for a big, he is often hesitant when he gets the ball and he even looks a step slow at times. It is almost like he is out of sync because he’s being asked to play in a way that is very different from what he was used to at Ohio... or he is sinply just too soft now for the BE and Steele, Jonss and Freemantle need to teach him how to be nasty.

[IM4X]

Nice job Dontariois!!!

[bleedXblue]

Yup... yesterday James looked like he belonged out on the floor... Carter didn’t.

Carter only took two shots (both 3s) and missed them. Hoping he turns it on, but unfortunately right now he fumbles and even loses the ball way too much for a big, he is often hesitant when he gets the ball and he even looks a step slow at times. It is almost like he is out of sync because he’s being asked to play in a way that is very different from what he was used to at Ohio... or he is sinply just too soft now for the BE and Steele, Jonss and Freemantle need to teach him how to be nasty.

I think the issue is that he is trying to do everything the right way, make no mistakes and contribute as much as he can. I dont see a lack of effort at all. I think he just needs to go out and play and not worry so much.........

[muskiefan82]

I think the frenetic play of St. Johns and their speed finally showed that, although he has played REALLY well, Zach is still a freshman and a step slow right now for fast, experienced Big East players and so James got more minutes. Just my opinion. Love Freemantle though. He will be fun for four years.

[XUGRAD80]

I think the frenetic play of St. Johns and their speed finally showed that, although he has played REALLY well, Zach is still a freshman and a step slow right now for fast, experienced Big East players and so James got more minutes. Just my opinion. Love Freemantle though. He will be fun for four years.

Agreed....the rebound matchup was better with James on the floor. James did a better job of blocking out on the defensive rebound. ZFree is still learning how to do that against more mobile players and gave up to many offensive rebounds by SJU players. Also Zack was not able to stay in front of the SJU players when he was isolated at the top of the key, after a switch. But he will learn and is going to be a great player for X over his career.

[Caf]

Hats off to James - great performance!

I find the timing of Steele dramatically increasing his minutes the same week he loses Bishop to be less than coincidental.

[bleedXblue]

Hats off to James - great performance!

I find the timing of Steele dramatically increasing his minutes the same week he loses Bishop to be less than coincidental.

he took Carters minutes?

[Muskie]

Hats off to James - great performance!

I find the timing of Steele dramatically increasing his minutes the same week he loses Bishop to be less than coincidental.

Maybe he earned it in practice...

[Caf]

It must have been a hell of week to triple his average minutes after not playing the last two games. Steele even mentioned how difficult it is for guys not to get playing time.


“Each one of our guys were highly recruited. They were all the stars wherever they were in high school. They played all the minutes. A lot of them got a lot of the shots. And it’s difficult (to not play),” Steele said.

Maybe I'm reading too far into it, but in any case I'm happy to seem him potentially entering an expanded role.

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

Hats off to James - great performance!

I find the timing of Steele dramatically increasing his minutes the same week he loses Bishop to be less than coincidental.

Maybe. But, Carter hasn't played well the last couple of games. Last night he took an early three+ missed everything. Had a couple of fouls, I think, too. Perhaps Steele had Bishop in the back of his mind but I think he's subbed James for Carter previously so it feels like it was just a case of Next Man Up. Congrats to James for doing his job.

I concur with the earlier comments that Carter just seems to be tentative. Perhaps his confidence is a bit shaken and he's over-thinking. I still think he'll be fine. It just seems to take a half season (or so) for transfers to get comfortable. And, having James play well may also push Carter, a bit, to think less and be more aggressive.

It was still an ugly first half last night, the turnover stats drive me nuts and SJU, while athletic, isn't the strongest B.E. opponent. That said, I think it was important to be able to win ugly and have solid bench performances from Tandy, Zach + DJ on the heels of a four star recruit quitting the team.

I'm anxious to see how we handle S.H. on Weds.

[noteggs]

he took Carters minutes?

Yes he did. Actually Carter took Carter’s minutes by picking up his second foul in the first half.

[whopper]

I feel for Carter and know he will contribute..I remember that people said "sit Castlin" and "sit Welage" last year for Hardin and Kennedy. We did need more legitimate depth with size and now we have it. It does not really matter who starts and I know that Carter will improve and give us a solid 15 -20 min a game instead of a mediocre 30 minutes and that is how it should be.

[Fireball]

I feel for Carter and know he will contribute..I remember that people said "sit Castlin" and "sit Welage" last year for Hardin and Kennedy. We did need more legitimate depth with size and now we have it. It does not really matter who starts and I know that Carter will improve and give us a solid 15 -20 min a game instead of a mediocre 30 minutes and that is how it should be.

I agree that I think Carter will get it. I think he's just playing too tentatively right now, and the contrast of James yesterday was that he got in and just played his heart out. He had that performance because of it, and hopefully that means that James is becoming another reliable piece.

[xukeith]

I agree that I think Carter will get it. I think he's just playing too tentatively right now, and the contrast of James yesterday was that he got in and just played his heart out. He had that performance because of it, and hopefully that means that James is becoming another reliable piece.

Exactly.

[XU 87]

Everything I heard and read about Carter preseason was that he is a guy who would really help the team. He obviously hasn't shown that on offense, and he appears to be timid and unsure of himself on offense, and also appears to be playing with no confidence out there (See badly missed wide open threes yesterday).

Maybe this is Travis Taylor part 2- a good transfer who just took a year to get comfortable playing at a higher level.

[noteggs]

Really like the fact that DJ (James) had a good coming out party. Crowd was fantastic (behind bench and somewhat throughout arena) when he came out with standing O.

Realistically to this point, his performance may give us a nice backup at the 4 and at a limited times the 5.

[Muskie in dayton]

Really like the fact that DJ (James) had a good coming out party. Crowd was fantastic (behind bench and somewhat throughout arena) when he came out with standing O.

I thought that was really cool. I love how our fans recognize that he could have quit when things were tough (like so many others do!), but has put in his work and remained patient. Now it’s starting to payoff. Hopefully he will continue to improve and be mentioned in the same breath as Love, Raymond, Farr.

[UCGRAD4X]

With Bishop gone and Moore gimpy, that can account for more minutes to James.

I think the game is too fast for Carter. The Big East is a step up in talent and speed and Carter just hasn't caught up. Since you can't teach speed, I wonder if he ever will.

[IM4X]

Hats off to James - great performance!

I find the timing of Steele dramatically increasing his minutes the same week he loses Bishop to be less than coincidental.

I find the decision to be brilliant... perfect timing for a coach who is trying to find a that spark to get his team playing better together.

I want to be on record as saying... I LOVE THE MOVE TRAVIS! This feels a bit like a different team now. He now knows James and Kyky being on the court at the same time is viable option. In fact, I would argue that playing James so much, helped Kyky’s situation too- who seemed more comfortable than when he was stuck on the court in the past with a bunch of veterans. I think the whole team loosened up a bit with this bold move. I have a feeling Naji and Kyky are going to be a bit of an electric combination moving forward. There was a stiffness with this team before this game. Individual players playing well but no truly great chemistry for long stretches.

I am really excited to watch the next game and see if the bold decisions in the SJ’s game are what finally help get this team on it’s way to playing like a well oiled, humming machine. Let’s Go X!

[IM4X]

I think the issue is that he is trying to do everything the right way, make no mistakes and contribute as much as he can. I dont see a lack of effort at all. I think he just needs to go out and play and not worry so much.........

Yes. I agree with your trying to do every thing “The right way” assessment... like a grade schooler who is trying to really please his teacher... but it causes him
to ne nervous and on edge while doing it... so he isn’t his natural self... and that is not an issue with effort... but it does cause the issues that I mentioned above in my post. He plays like he is not quite worthy... which is weird because many of his problems on the court do seem like small things that are easily fixable. I do think he will get there, but the kid is simply too polite right now... honestly, he needs to just relax and play with more tenacity... more nastiness.

[X Factor]

With Bishop gone and Moore gimpy, that can account for more minutes to James.

I think the game is too fast for Carter. The Big East is a step up in talent and speed and Carter just hasn't caught up. Since you can't teach speed, I wonder if he ever will.

Well we've only played one BE game. He hasn't looked great against bad competition either this year. Hopefully he gets some confidence and starts playing like the real Jason Carter from Ohio U.

[mid major]

Maybe. But, Carter hasn't played well the last couple of games. Last night he took an early three+ missed everything. Had a couple of fouls, I think, too. Perhaps Steele had Bishop in the back of his mind but I think he's subbed James for Carter previously so it feels like it was just a case of Next Man Up. Congrats to James for doing his job.

I concur with the earlier comments that Carter just seems to be tentative. Perhaps his confidence is a bit shaken and he's over-thinking. I still think he'll be fine. It just seems to take a half season (or so) for transfers to get comfortable. And, having James play well may also push Carter, a bit, to think less and be more aggressive.

It was still an ugly first half last night, the turnover stats drive me nuts and SJU, while athletic, isn't the strongest B.E. opponent. That said, I think it was important to be able to win ugly and have solid bench performances from Tandy, Zach + DJ on the heels of a four star recruit quitting the team.

I'm anxious to see how we handle S.H. on Weds.

Something tells me SH won't go 1/16 from 3 point land so that worries me. Committing less turnovers would help as well.

[XUGRAD80]

SJU opponents are averaging 15.6 turnovers a game. SHU opponents are averaging 15.8. A lot of the turnovers that X commits are stupid ones and be corrected by a little better teamwork and communication among the players. I’m encouraged that they cut them down so well in the 2nd half, but a lot of turnovers in the 1st of games seems to be a trend.

[mid major]

We laid some bricks on the free throw line in the first half as well. I think we were 4/11. The turnovers are mind-boggling. It makes me think we're a team blessed with talent but with a very low basketball I.Q.

[sirthought]

To be honest, when James came in for Carter (due to fouls) I was thinking we might drop off a bit, but then after a while I had forgotten that Carter was even an option on the bench and didn't miss him at all. James was blocking out, rebounding, and he's not a great scorer but at least he was making them foul and trying at the line, which hasn't been a hallmark of this team.

I asked this when Carter was announced...what other Big East team would start Carter? I don't think any of them would because he might not be physical enough to hold up well. There's obviously a lot of basketball to play and he hasn't been the worst player because he does show true effort out there. I just want a little more dominance, or the attempt to dominate your defender.

That's what James was trying to do out there and it's fun to watch him grow in that way.

[X-man]

To be honest, when James came in for Carter (due to fouls) I was thinking we might drop off a bit, but then after a while I had forgotten that Carter was even an option on the bench and didn't miss him at all. James was blocking out, rebounding, and he's not a great scorer but at least he was making them foul and trying at the line, which hasn't been a hallmark of this team.

I asked this when Carter was announced...what other Big East team would start Carter? I don't think any of them would because he might not be physical enough to hold up well. There's obviously a lot of basketball to play and he hasn't been the worst player because he does show true effort out there. I just want a little more dominance, or the attempt to dominate your defender.

That's what James was trying to do out there and it's fun to watch him grow in that way.

James has a great stroke, and can score from the 3. I look for that aspect of his game to come around now that he's gotten some confidence, some PT, and the confidence of his team mates.

[xcellentx]

To be honest, when James came in for Carter (due to fouls) I was thinking we might drop off a bit, but then after a while I had forgotten that Carter was even an option on the bench and didn't miss him at all. James was blocking out, rebounding, and he's not a great scorer but at least he was making them foul and trying at the line, which hasn't been a hallmark of this team.

I asked this when Carter was announced...what other Big East team would start Carter? I don't think any of them would because he might not be physical enough to hold up well. There's obviously a lot of basketball to play and he hasn't been the worst player because he does show true effort out there. I just want a little more dominance, or the attempt to dominate your defender.

That's what James was trying to do out there and it's fun to watch him grow in that way.

Without looking at everyone's rosters, I don't know if he would start or not, but he was a high value transfer. I don't know that I would say he is not physical overall but he hasn't gone to the basket with authority enough. If he just did that 2 times more a game I think people would have a different view of him.

I wonder how much of that is lack of big man depth we have had with the injuries. He was the only real 4 that was ready to play on day one. I hope that James picks up where he left off in the last game. If he can give us 10+ solid minutes a game that would be huge. Maybe Carter can/will play more aggressively getting 25-30 min a game as opposed to 35-40 min a game.

I do wonder how much of Carter's tentativeness has been changing from the main scorer on the team to the 4-5th option. He doesn't seem to be making bad shot choices, if anything he defers too much. I just wonder if he is questioning too much whether it should be him shooting of if it should be someone else and that is messing up his game.

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

Without looking at everyone's rosters, I don't know if he would start or not, but he was a high value transfer. I don't know that I would say he is not physical overall but he hasn't gone to the basket with authority enough. If he just did that 2 times more a game I think people would have a different view of him.

I wonder how much of that is lack of big man depth we have had with the injuries. He was the only real 4 that was ready to play on day one. I hope that James picks up where he left off in the last game. If he can give us 10+ solid minutes a game that would be huge. Maybe Carter can/will play more aggressively getting 25-30 min a game as opposed to 35-40 min a game.

I do wonder how much of Carter's tentativeness has been changing from the main scorer on the team to the 4-5th option. He doesn't seem to be making bad shot choices, if anything he defers too much. I just wonder if he is questioning too much whether it should be him shooting of if it should be someone else and that is messing up his game.

I don't think I'm too far out in left field to compare Carter's game with that of Max Strus (DePaul) last year. I recall that Strus was quicker, a better ball handler and an excellent three point shooter. But he also wasn't the best athlete on his team and Carter came to us with the reputation of being able to hit the three ball. In fact, Carter. as all of us recall, did just that against us last year. The big difference between them, as I recall now, is that Strus was very, very assertive on the offensive end----he was always looking for his shot. And, he was the first option while, as you noted, Carter is further down the line in terms of priority. So, I'm happy to have Carter and we have him for another year after this one. He's not a great creator but that's O.K. He just needs, as you pointed out, to play hard, to assert himself more and think less. I believe he will be fine and I also believe having James pushing him will be good for both of them.

[xuwin]

Guilty of being lazy using an intial but he's the only "Z" we have.

I think most everyone here wants more Zachary Freemantle, not less. The effort he gives is off the chart, so if yesterday was any indication of the production Dontarius James can add, it's bittersweet that he'll inevitably get some of Zachery Freemantle's minutes. Nothing but positives going forward regardless.

Freemantle got less time in the game because Xavier needed more ballhandlers in the game to try to curb the turnover tide and it was effective in the 2nd half. With all the athletes and experience that Xavier has I just don't understand why this is the worst ball handling team that Xavier has had in all the years that I've been watching them. At least half of them are unforced due to lackadaisical play. They can't seem to learn.

[xudash]

Freemantle got less time in the game because Xavier needed more ballhandlers in the game to try to curb the turnover tide and it was effective in the 2nd half. With all the athletes and experience that Xavier has I just don't understand why this is the worst ball handling team that Xavier has had in all the years that I've been watching them. At least half of them are unforced due to lackadaisical play. They can't seem to learn.

Answer, with an echo: At least half of them are unforced due to lackadaisical play. They can't seem to learn.

[bleedXblue]

I don't think I'm too far out in left field to compare Carter's game with that of Max Strus (DePaul) last year. I recall that Strus was quicker, a better ball handler and an excellent three point shooter. But he also wasn't the best athlete on his team and Carter came to us with the reputation of being able to hit the three ball. In fact, Carter. as all of us recall, did just that against us last year. The big difference between them, as I recall now, is that Strus was very, very assertive on the offensive end----he was always looking for his shot. And, he was the first option while, as you noted, Carter is further down the line in terms of priority. So, I'm happy to have Carter and we have him for another year after this one. He's not a great creator but that's O.K. He just needs, as you pointed out, to play hard, to assert himself more and think less. I believe he will be fine and I also believe having James pushing him will be good for both of them.

Yeah no........Dont see the similarity at all. I think Strus loved the perimeter and I think Carter goes there b/c he can. Carter much more prefers to play closer to the basket, but hes struggling more with his role and better competition.

Strus shot 311 3's last year........at a 36% clip.

Carter shot 67 3's last year. Only 15% of his shots cam e from deep.

[whopper]

Struss was actually a freakish athlete too..a poor man's Divencenzo (ironically Divencenzo and Struss were the best "athletes" on their team regardless of race. He actually played this year with Bulls and produced a little but tore ACL(https://pippenainteasy.com/2019/12/24/chicago-bulls-promising-wing-max-strus-out-for-season-with-torn-acl/).. Carter is a good player(not the athlete) but unfortunately since we never blew anyone out in the easy games he was never is a situation to take chances and experiment with his game. We did need more depth and they both can play the 40 minutes and more or less split the minutes depending on the situation and there will be a time when Naj or Zach is out and we will need both I remember people said "bench Castlin" and "bench Welage" yet when we needed to beat St Johns and Chreighton they both had incredible efficient games that saved our season (Welage with Naj out won St Johns game which was worth 2, and he Castlin and Zach had the last 19 points of a game that was 61-59 with 7 min to go

[UCGRAD4X]

We laid some bricks on the free throw line in the first half as well. I think we were 4/11. The turnovers are mind-boggling. It makes me think we're a team blessed with talent but with a very low basketball I.Q.

This has pretty much been the conclusion of many of the Xavier fans I have talked with, including me.

[noteggs]

Freemantle got less time in the game because Xavier needed more ballhandlers in the game to try to curb the turnover tide and it was effective in the 2nd half. With all the athletes and experience that Xavier has I just don't understand why this is the worst ball handling team that Xavier has had in all the years that I've been watching them. At least half of them are unforced due to lackadaisical play. They can't seem to learn.

Agree with turnovers and part of your comments on Zach. For sure, St John’s press contributed to keeping Zach off the floor. If you listen to Travis’ show yesterday, he said Zach was blown by 7 times on perimeter switches where he shouldn’t have. Not sure he was overstating that number, but sure that had an influence on his minutes as well. Good experience for him and still love his game.

[XUGRAD80]

It’s not that Zack is a bad athlete either. IMO it’s more that he is not an experienced athlete. He will need some time to get to a point where he can actually anticipate what the opponents are going to do and how quickly they can do it. I don’t how to describe it other than as an extra sense, but there were times when I actually knew what my opponent was going to do before they did it and there were times when I could see what was going to happen 2-3 moves ahead. That only came with experience and gaining experience takes time. It’s something that almost every freshman deals with. With how good he already is I have no doubt that by the end of the season he will be able to hang with those SJU players much better than he did then. He will be fine.