2021 Recruiting

[XUMIOH12]

Starting this thread for 2021 recruiting news and thoughts, since everyone seems to be posting in a thread about someone going to another school.

[xu82]

I am praying this becomes a very happy thread in time......

[IM4X]

Starting this thread for 2021 recruiting news and thoughts, since everyone seems to be posting in a thread about someone going to another school.

Glad we finally have one started. Thanks.

I noticed the other day that there had not been anything set up for “2021 Recruiting” in the Musketeer Recruiting section.

I don’t care if it lives here or there, but it’s good to have 2021 recruiting thread started.

[IM4X]

Can anyone list the bigs we are in on from the 2021 class?

I am only seeing one or two that some of the sites are mentioning. I would think it would be a priority to land one, since we didn’t get one in 2020.

[xavierj]

Can anyone list the bigs we are in on from the 2021 class?

I am only seeing one or two that some of the sites are mentioning. I would think it would be a priority to land one, since we didn’t get one in 2020.

https://247sports.com/college/xavier/Season/2021-Basketball/Targets/

[xavierj]

Can anyone list the bigs we are in on from the 2021 class?

I am only seeing one or two that some of the sites are mentioning. I would think it would be a priority to land one, since we didn’t get one in 2020.

I don’t know. They have Zach, Dieonte and Daniel, all bigs. I think the idea is play with more guards and less bigs. Colby can also play a forward spot.

[XUGRAD80]

https://www.verbalcommits.com/schools/xavier

[xavierj]

https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2021/jordan-hawkins-256579

[xuphan]

https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2021/jordan-hawkins-256579

How many recruits do you see us taking in the 2021 class? What positions as well. It would be nice not to have to take multiple transfer next year. Hoping Steele can load up on the 2021 class.

[sirthought]

Can we move this thread under the recruiting section?

I guess it's OCD, but you organize this crap for a reason, right?

[xavierj]

How many recruits do you see us taking in the 2021 class? What positions as well. It would be nice not to have to take multiple transfer next year. Hoping Steele can load up on the 2021 class.

I mean you always look at transfers, but just off what I hear Travis say is that guys have to be the right fit. He must have an idea of what he wants for players in his program so he will stick to that. Taking a grad transfer next year or a traditional transfer that won’t have to sit, that will be a senior, makes sense as well, since they won’t have any juniors this coming year.

I think after this coming season, he will have 7 scholarship guys so I am sure he will want to add 3 or 4 guys for the 2021 class. I would imagine he is being selective and won’t add guys just to fill scholarships. We have seen that with the 2018 class. My guess is that he adds some bigger combo guards who can shoot. Seems to be the kind of players he wants on his team. Guys who can do a little bit of everything. I think they will also try to add a bigger stretch 4. 10 or 11 scholarship players is plenty.

[XUMIOH12]

Pierre Brooks to Michigan St as expected

[xuphan]

Pierre Brooks to Michigan St as expected

Dagum! On to the next one I suppose.

[IM4X]

I don’t know. They have Zach, Dieonte and Daniel, all bigs. I think the idea is play with more guards and less bigs. Colby can also play a forward spot.

I was excited about Ramsey when we got him, but I guess I’ve just been wondering about this lingering injury of his and the possibility that it may never quite heal to the point where he can play at the same level. If I am wrong (and I hope that I am) I would feel better hearing from Steele a definitive “Daniel is completely healed and back at 100%, ready to be a big contributor next season.”

I think it is always good to have at least three very capable bigs plus a freshman big who may or may not be ready but would be available if needed. Right now we only have Freemantle and an unproven pair with Miles and Ramsey after next season.

One would think Travis would make it a priority to land at least one talented big in the 2021 class. Like I said, I am not seeing many we are in on. I was hoping someone knew of a a few serious targets in addition to the very few being reported on the usual sites.

[XUGRAD80]

VC has Xavier CURRENTLY with 10 offers out for 2021 players listed as either Center or Power Forward, that’s after 2 others committed elsewhere this week. That’s more than a few IMO. How serious are they? How interested are the players mentioned? That’s very hard to judge, especially in today’s situation. However, Rivals has a at least a couple of them as having done virtual visits to Xavier. How many have actually virtually or physically visited, how many have attended games, how often do the coaches reach out to these players, what kind of relationships do the players and coaches have? I don’t know anywhere that we can get that information.

[Juice]

VC has Xavier CURRENTLY with 10 offers out for 2021 players listed as either Center or Power Forward, that’s after 2 others committed elsewhere this week. That’s more than a few IMO. How serious are they? How interested are the players mentioned? That’s very hard to judge, especially in today’s situation. However, Rivals has a at least a couple of them as having done virtual visits to Xavier. How many have actually virtually or physically visited, how many have attended games, how often do the coaches reach out to these players, what kind of relationships do the players and coaches have? I don’t know anywhere that we can get that information.

247 - Musketeer Report

[XUGRAD80]

Yeah, but I’m not real sure just how much credence to give 24/7. They haven’t been real accurate in their predictions regarding X the last couple of years, so I’m not real sure how accurate any information from that site is. Especially under today’s conditions where the writers aren’t getting direct access to many of the players.

On the subject of today’s conditions, I think there are going to be a lot of players that fly under the radar this year and end up being very solid, but under recruited, college players. The loss of many of the evaluation periods, and the real probability of there being little or no summer basketball games, will result in a lot of players not being seen who otherwise may have been targets from some of the big programs.

[xavierj]

Yeah, but I’m not real sure just how much credence to give 24/7. They haven’t been real accurate in their predictions regarding X the last couple of years, so I’m not real sure how accurate any information from that site is. Especially under today’s conditions where the writers aren’t getting direct access to many of the players.

On the subject of today’s conditions, I think there are going to be a lot of players that fly under the radar this year and end up being very solid, but under recruited, college players. The loss of many of the evaluation periods, and the real probability of there being little or no summer basketball games, will result in a lot of players not being seen who otherwise may have been targets from some of the big programs.

No one is more connected to Xavier and Travis Steele, than Brian Snow. He probably keeps a lot close to the vest, but I think he was in Travis wedding. As a recruiting analyst, you don’t get any closer than that. Brian has like 100% crystal ball rating when he predicts Xavier. No other site has more info than those guys I would imagine. There isn’t even a Xavier Rivals page.

[IM4X]

VC has Xavier CURRENTLY with 10 offers out for 2021 players listed as either Center or Power Forward, that’s after 2 others committed elsewhere this week. That’s more than a few IMO. How serious are they? How interested are the players mentioned? That’s very hard to judge, especially in today’s situation. However, Rivals has a at least a couple of them as having done virtual visits to Xavier. How many have actually virtually or physically visited, how many have attended games, how often do the coaches reach out to these players, what kind of relationships do the players and coaches have? I don’t know anywhere that we can get that information.

Of those 10 prospects listed, only 3 are listed above 2star. Of those three listed at 3 or 4 star, one isn’t showing X as a potential school on his rivals and 24/7 profile page. That leaves two. One of those two has X listed as a school of interest but when discussing relationships he has, he mentions 5 or six schools and coaches, but no X or Steele. The final big of the three is a 3star (which I get he may blow up and be a 4star) who seems like he might be leaning towards UConn.

It is was after looking through sites like VC, Rivals and 24/7 (In addition to seeing a few prospects commit elsewhere) that got me wondering if Travis and his staff were not seriously pursuing bigs or maybe they were but just not finding as many legitimately talented bigs in the 2021 class who wanted to come to X or maybe Travis and his staff are in fact in on a few higher level bigs who actually have X at or near the top of their list and just not many know about it.

[XUGRAD80]

i guess I just don’t place as much faith in these recruiting “experts” as some of you do. I tend to believe that the coaches know what players they are interested in and feel can be solid players for X. So I’m more inclined to go with their ratings, than I am the ones of any recruiting sites. I figure that if X offers a scholarship, then they must feel they can help. Steele doesn’t appear to be the type of coach that just hands out scholarships just because he can. He’s often said that he isn’t interested in filling all 13 with highly ranked recruits because he knows he can’t keep them all happy with playing time. So I’m not going to worry about anyone’s stars. Like I said in a previous post, I think there is going to be quite a few players that in future years will be seen as under recruited, because of them missing the spring and summer tournaments this year and thus not being seen by as many staffs and recruiting sites. The top kids probably will be able to rely on past years performances. But we know that there are a lot of kids that grow, develop, and change their games from their sophomore to their senior years in HS. I think that many of those kids are going to turn out to be really good college players, but because they weren’t stars as freshman and sophomores, they will be overlooked by many programs.

[Juice]

i guess I just don’t place as much faith in these recruiting “experts” as some of you do. I tend to believe that the coaches know what players they are interested in and feel can be solid players for X. So I’m more inclined to go with their ratings, than I am the ones of any recruiting sites. I figure that if X offers a scholarship, then they must feel they can help. Steele doesn’t appear to be the type of coach that just hands out scholarships just because he can. He’s often said that he isn’t interested in filling all 13 with highly ranked recruits because he knows he can’t keep them all happy with playing time. So I’m not going to worry about anyone’s stars. Like I said in a previous post, I think there is going to be quite a few players that in future years will be seen as under recruited, because of them missing the spring and summer tournaments this year and thus not being seen by as many staffs and recruiting sites. The top kids probably will be able to rely on past years performances. But we know that there are a lot of kids that grow, develop, and change their games from their sophomore to their senior years in HS. I think that many of those kids are going to turn out to be really good college players, but because they weren’t stars as freshman and sophomores, they will be overlooked by many programs.

You do realize that teams offer scholarships and have like five kids on their list at that position who they prefer? So it’s not as simple as “ well if Steele offers a scholarship he must think they can help.” There is context.

[XUGRAD80]

You do realize that teams offer scholarships and have like five kids on their list at that position who they prefer? So it’s not as simple as “ well if Steele offers a scholarship he must think they can help.” There is context.

Of course they will have their top choices and will target certain kids over others, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t think the other kids have value too. That’s all I’m saying......that just because a recruiting site ranks one kid as a 2 star, and another as a 3 star, if X has offered both a scholarship then the coaching staff thinks both can help the team. Sure I’d love for X to always get their top targets, but that isn’t going to happen very often. That doesn’t mean their 2nd choice isn’t worth something....even if they are only ranked a 2 star by some recruiting site. Does anyone really think that X bases it’s priorities based on how the recruiting sites rank kids? How often have we seen a kid go from a 2 to a 3, or a 3 to a 4, as soon as someone like Uk or Duke offers the kid a scholarship? VC automatically ranks every kid a 2 star as soon as they take a D2 offer. I seen lots of times where they have a kid ranked lower on that site, then rivals does. It’s not exactly a science, they are just opinions. I just value the opinions of the X coaches over those of any recruiting “experts”.

[xavierj]

Of course they will have their top choices and will target certain kids over others, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t think the other kids have value too. That’s all I’m saying......that just because a recruiting site ranks one kid as a 2 star, and another as a 3 star, if X has offered both a scholarship then the coaching staff thinks both can help the team. Sure I’d love for X to always get their top targets, but that isn’t going to happen very often. That doesn’t mean their 2nd choice isn’t worth something....even if they are only ranked a 2 star by some recruiting site. Does anyone really think that X bases it’s priorities based on how the recruiting sites rank kids? How often have we seen a kid go from a 2 to a 3, or a 3 to a 4, as soon as someone like Uk or Duke offers the kid a scholarship? VC automatically ranks every kid a 2 star as soon as they take a D2 offer. I seen lots of times where they have a kid ranked lower on that site, then rivals does. It’s not exactly a science, they are just opinions. I just value the opinions of the X coaches over those of any recruiting “experts”.

Never have checked out verbal commits. I don’t get their ranking system because they have guys that will be pros listed as 2 stars.

[Juice]

Of course they will have their top choices and will target certain kids over others, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t think the other kids have value too. That’s all I’m saying......that just because a recruiting site ranks one kid as a 2 star, and another as a 3 star, if X has offered both a scholarship then the coaching staff thinks both can help the team. Sure I’d love for X to always get their top targets, but that isn’t going to happen very often. That doesn’t mean their 2nd choice isn’t worth something....even if they are only ranked a 2 star by some recruiting site. Does anyone really think that X bases it’s priorities based on how the recruiting sites rank kids? How often have we seen a kid go from a 2 to a 3, or a 3 to a 4, as soon as someone like Uk or Duke offers the kid a scholarship? VC automatically ranks every kid a 2 star as soon as they take a D2 offer. I seen lots of times where they have a kid ranked lower on that site, then rivals does. It’s not exactly a science, they are just opinions. I just value the opinions of the X coaches over those of any recruiting “experts”.

You're thinking about this too rigidly. Often the rankings coincide with what the coaches think. 247 may have one guy at 84 and another guy at 100. Steele may like the 100 ranked guy better but out of thousands of players, those 16 spots mean nothing.

The rankings are fun. The insight on 247 from Snow and Rick does tell who Steele is prioritizing and why. They tell you the skill set of each player and why it may fit in better with X over another guy who is ranked higher. Are they always right? Hell no, no one is. Hell, Mack had recruiting classes in which he missed on everyone.

If you don't like their info, great then don't subscribe. But you can't also say that there isn't information out there.

[XUGRAD80]

You're thinking about this too rigidly. Often the rankings coincide with what the coaches think. 247 may have one guy at 84 and another guy at 100. Steele may like the 100 ranked guy better but out of thousands of players, those 16 spots mean nothing.

The rankings are fun. The insight on 247 from Snow and Rick does tell who Steele is prioritizing and why. They tell you the skill set of each player and why it may fit in better with X over another guy who is ranked higher. Are they always right? Hell no, no one is. Hell, Mack had recruiting classes in which he missed on everyone.

If you don't like their info, great then don't subscribe. But you can't also say that there isn't information out there.

Never said there wasn’t information out there. But I do feel that much of the “information” we read on those sites is actually just speculation, and sometimes actually contradicts each other. Not thinking about it from a rigid point of view at all. I’m saying that just because one site may have a player as a 2-star player, and not a 3 or 4 doesn’t really matter to me. Or how one site lists a player’s interest (cool or warm) shouldn’t be relied on to be totally accurate. I just trust the coaches evaluations more than I do any recruiting “experts”. I still find it fun and interesting to read these sites though. But that’s all it is...just for fun.

[Masterofreality]

Never said there wasn’t information out there. But I do feel that much of the “information” we read on those sites is actually just speculation, and sometimes actually contradicts each other. Not thinking about it from a rigid point of view at all. I’m saying that just because one site may have a player as a 2-star player, and not a 3 or 4 doesn’t really matter to me. Or how one site lists a player’s interest (cool or warm) shouldn’t be relied on to be totally accurate. I just trust the coaches evaluations more than I do any recruiting “experts”. I still find it fun and interesting to read these sites though. But that’s all it is...just for fun.

I subscribed for a year, but dropped it. Snow and Broering act too much like know-it-alls to me. (I know, Ironic right?). But like 80 says. Lots of their stuff on there is speculation, with always the ending caveat, "things could change". So much of recruiting is fluid anyway and one can drive themselves crazy obsessing over every player that Xavier is linked to. I'd rather spend money subscribing to The Athletic and Shannon Russell than some pay site who is always trying to act like they're cutting edge.

[XU 87]

You're thinking about this too rigidly. Often the rankings coincide with what the coaches think. 247 may have one guy at 84 and another guy at 100. Steele may like the 100 ranked guy better but out of thousands of players, those 16 spots mean nothing.

The rankings are fun. The insight on 247 from Snow and Rick does tell who Steele is prioritizing and why. They tell you the skill set of each player and why it may fit in better with X over another guy who is ranked higher. Are they always right? Hell no, no one is. Hell, Mack had recruiting classes in which he missed on everyone.

If you don't like their info, great then don't subscribe. But you can't also say that there isn't information out there.

I think the 247 site has really good info, not just on recruiting but on pre and post game analysis and other things. My only complaint- Snow and Broering just don't like it when you disagree with them.

[94GRAD]

I think the 247 site has really good info, not just on recruiting but on pre and post game analysis and other things. My only complaint- Snow and Broering just don't like it when you disagree with them.

Nothing good becomes of telling the King(s) they are wearing no clothes!

[xuphan]

I think the 247 site has really good info, not just on recruiting but on pre and post game analysis and other things. My only complaint- Snow and Broering just don't like it when you disagree with them.

I totally agree. Snow and Broering didn’t like when I called out the 2018 class as being mediocre and weak. I also think the 247 recruiting player rankings are the best out of the other sites. They are not biased and are pretty accurate with their player rankings.

[XU 87]

I totally agree. Snow and Broering didn’t like when I called out the 2018 class as being mediocre and weak. I also think the 247 recruiting player rankings are the best out of the other sites. They are not biased and are pretty accurate with their player rankings.

I don't recall that, and think they would have agreed with you, along with everyone else who follows XU hoops.

[Muskie]

I've begun some individual players we have offers out to in the 2021 Profile section. I'll continue to update as I have time this week. That way if people want to talk about a specific player it doesn't get lost.

[XUGRAD80]

https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/news/four-star-junior-jordan-hawkins-fielding-more-interest

[IM4X]

I've begun some individual players we have offers out to in the 2021 Profile section. I'll continue to update as I have time this week. That way if people want to talk about a specific player it doesn't get lost.

Thank you!

[xuphan]

Thank you!

Ike Cornish trending towards Maryland at the moment. Posters on here thought he would commit to X. Wonder if this means we are a favorite to land another guard.

[Masterofreality]

Ike Cornish trending towards Maryland at the moment. Posters on here thought he would commit to X. Wonder if this means we are a favorite to land another guard.

Orrrrrrr, Master recruiter is losing his touch after two under-performing years?

[AviatorX]

Orrrrrrr, Master recruiter is losing his touch after two under-performing years?

I'd say this is a reasonable possibility after losing two recruits to Indiana and Michigan State.

[xavierj]

I'd say this is a reasonable possibility after losing two recruits to Indiana and Michigan State.

You are kidding right? If average seasons hurt recruiting, how do you explain DePaul and Oklahoma State’s recruiting the past couple of years? Xavier will land another top 25 class. Ike Cornish is all still in play but of course being from the Maryland area originally it could be tough I guess. Xavier is involved with a lot really good kids and they will land some and they will miss some. Travis like a lot of coaches miss kids they really like every year. We are not UK or Duke. I think the only reason the poster above stated that about Cornish is because the Maryland guy that runs the Maryland scout board put in a Crystal Ball to Maryland. The guy hits on about 6 out of 10 of his Maryland picks. Kids want to play in great conferences and they want to play right away. If a kid sees a quicker route to playing time, they will usually go that route.

I say Xavier lands Cornish, Robbie Armbrester, Jeremy Sochan and Jordan Hawkins. And if not all those guys, they will land other highly rated guys. They are involved with at least 12-14 3, 4 and one 5 star right now. It’s not like they can’t form relationships with kids. They are still in the top 2 or 3 with a lot of really good players.

[AviatorX]

You are kidding right? If average seasons hurt recruiting, how do you explain DePaul and Oklahoma State’s recruiting the past couple of years? Xavier will land another top 25 class. Ike Cornish is all still in play but of course being from the Maryland area originally it could be tough I guess. Xavier is involved with a lot really good kids and they will land some and they will miss some. Travis like a lot of coaches miss kids they really like every year. We are not UK or Duke. I think the only reason the poster above stated that about Cornish is because the Maryland guy that runs the Maryland scout board put in a Crystal Ball to Maryland. The guy hits on about 6 out of 10 of his Maryland picks. Kids want to play in great conferences and they want to play right away. If a kid sees a quicker route to playing time, they will usually go that route.

I say Xavier lands Cornish, Robbie Armbrester, Jeremy Sochan and Jordan Hawkins. And if not all those guys, they will land other highly rated guys. They are involved with at least 12-14 3, 4 and one 5 star right now. It’s not like they can’t form relationships with kids. They are still in the top 2 or 3 with a lot of really good players.

100% kidding. I’m not worried about the 2021 class at all. And it’s obvious Xavier is swinging for the fences, so will hear no” more than usual, and you should be hearing “no” a lot if you’re recruiting the right players.

[xavierj]

100% kidding. I’m not worried about the 2021 class at all. And it’s obvious Xavier is swinging for the fences, so will hear no” more than usual, and you should be hearing “no” a lot if you’re recruiting the right players.

👍

[xuphan]

You are kidding right? If average seasons hurt recruiting, how do you explain DePaul and Oklahoma State’s recruiting the past couple of years? Xavier will land another top 25 class. Ike Cornish is all still in play but of course being from the Maryland area originally it could be tough I guess. Xavier is involved with a lot really good kids and they will land some and they will miss some. Travis like a lot of coaches miss kids they really like every year. We are not UK or Duke. I think the only reason the poster above stated that about Cornish is because the Maryland guy that runs the Maryland scout board put in a Crystal Ball to Maryland. The guy hits on about 6 out of 10 of his Maryland picks. Kids want to play in great conferences and they want to play right away. If a kid sees a quicker route to playing time, they will usually go that route.

I say Xavier lands Cornish, Robbie Armbrester, Jeremy Sochan and Jordan Hawkins. And if not all those guys, they will land other highly rated guys. They are involved with at least 12-14 3, 4 and one 5 star right now. It’s not like they can’t form relationships with kids. They are still in the top 2 or 3 with a lot of really good players.

Interesting that he is being recruited by Maryland by former Xavier assistant Bino Ranson.

[Lamont Sanford]

Read that 5 star UCLA-commit Daishen Nix has decided to forgo college hoops for the G League instead. You really hate to read that for Lil Micky. YTG!!!

[xavierj]

Here is another that looks like Xavier has offered.

https://twitter.com/scoopmantv/status/1254482392913530882

https://247sports.com/player/dmarco-dunn-46085002/

[xuphan]

Here is another that looks like Xavier has offered.

https://twitter.com/scoopmantv/status/1254482392913530882

https://247sports.com/player/dmarco-dunn-46085002/

I wonder if this is in response to the recent news on Pierre Brooks and Ike Cornish. Jerry Meyer has Ike going to Maryland now. Is this a fall back option or a second guard for the class of 21? Surprised we are interested after looking at his offers. Trust in Steele

[xavierj]

I wonder if this is in response to the recent news on Pierre Brooks and Ike Cornish. Jerry Meyer has Ike going to Maryland now. Is this a fall back option or a second guard for the class of 21? Surprised we are interested after looking at his offers. Trust in Steele

I don’t know. Has offers from Houston, Marquette, Wichita State and Vandy right now. Are those not good?

[xuphan]

I don’t know. Has offers from Houston, Marquette, Wichita State and Vandy right now. Are those not good?

Marquette offer is the only one that stands out. Maybe he is blowing up but I was surprised by the lack of high major offers.

[xavierj]

Marquette offer is the only one that stands out. Maybe he is blowing up but I was surprised by the lack of high major offers.

Isn’t Houston supposed to be top 10 this year? They are pretty good. Any way looks like he has moved around. Who knows. Ike Cornish before Xavier offered had offers from Coastal Carolina, UMASS and GW.

[xuphan]

[QUOTE=xavierj;674865]Isn’t Houston supposed to be top 10 this year? They are pretty good. Any way looks like he has moved around. Who knows. Ike Cornish before Xavier offered had offers from Coastal Carolina, UMASS and GW.[/QUOTE

Just wondering why we are offering him now. He hasn’t been able to play in the past couple of months. What has he done over the past couple of months to warrant an offer from us. My fear is that we are slipping with our original set of sg we originally were after.

[AviatorX]

[QUOTE=xavierj;674865]Isn’t Houston supposed to be top 10 this year? They are pretty good. Any way looks like he has moved around. Who knows. Ike Cornish before Xavier offered had offers from Coastal Carolina, UMASS and GW.[/QUOTE

Just wondering why we are offering him now. He hasn’t been able to play in the past couple of months. What has he done over the past couple of months to warrant an offer from us. My fear is that we are slipping with our original set of sg we originally were after.

Not sure if you’ve heard about coronavirus, but it’s a whole big thing. The time coaches spend in the spring following the AAU circuit is being dedicated to watching HS film, talking to connections, etc. to evaluate guys. It’s not like you can’t extend new offers. That’s a good way to come up empty.

This is normally “moving time” in the recruiting rankings for prospects, so it will definitely be an interesting comparison for the 2021 class to see if there are more outliers than normal.

[XUGRAD80]

Check out this article from Cincinnati.com:

'It's a time war': Meet the staffer at the center of Xavier's digital recruiting operation

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/college/xavier/2020/05/06/depth-look-xavier-basketballs-digital-recruiting-operation/3084986001/

[Joel]

I wonder if this is in response to the recent news on Pierre Brooks and Ike Cornish. Jerry Meyer has Ike going to Maryland now. Is this a fall back option or a second guard for the class of 21? Surprised we are interested after looking at his offers. Trust in Steele

And he just added another offer from some garbage 14-win team from last year called North Carolina. Hopefully we aren't fishing in the kiddie pond on this one.

[XUGRAD80]

In the past few years when there where dozens of large AAU tournaments with hundreds of players and tons of coaches attending and watching, players could be seen by lots of different programs at the same time. Now, without those tournaments, the coaches are relying on word of mouth and tape to evaluate players. They then have to figure out how to contact the ones that they are interested in. Letters, phone calls, zoom calls, etc. There is probably going to be kids that turn out to be really good that fall through the cracks and are missed by the big programs. Even more than what has happened in the past. There is only so much time that a coach can spend watching tape and evaluating a player based it. It then takes more time to set up contacts and to make them. There just isn’t going to be enough time to make up for the access that they got through the tournaments. IMO, judging a kid based on who has offered them is going to be even less accurate now than it ever has been in the past.

[xavierj]

And he just added another offer from some garbage 14-win team from last year called North Carolina. Hopefully we aren't fishing in the kiddie pond on this one.

Louisville offered Dunn today. I think Mack is just seeing who Travis offers and that’s who he will offer as well. He is offering about every guy Xavier offers after Xavier offers.

[JTG]

Louisville offered Dunn today. I think Mack is just seeing who Travis offers and that’s who he will offer as well. He is offering about every guy Xavier offers after Xavier offers.

No surprise. Steele did all the legwork for Mack @X. Seems like something the slimy prick would do.

[Lamont Sanford]

Louisville offered Dunn today. I think Mack is just seeing who Travis offers and that’s who he will offer as well. He is offering about every guy Xavier offers after Xavier offers.

The bastard also offered Paul McMillan IV recently too.

[Xville]

When is it ok to start being concerned we dont have anyone verballed for this class yet?

[XUGRAD80]

When is it ok to start being concerned we dont have anyone verballed for this class yet?

You can get concerned any time you want.....or are you suggesting that because you’re concerned, others should be to?

But, since in person visits and communication have been almost impossible for the last few months, I don’t think that it’s shocking that many kids are waiting longer to make decisions.

[Xville]

You can get concerned any time you want.....or are you suggesting that because you’re concerned, others should be to?

But, since in person visits and communication have been almost impossible for the last few months, I don’t think that it’s shocking that many kids are waiting longer to make decisions.

26 of the top 100 are committed at this point, I wonder how that compares to previous years as of this date.

I'm simply wondering at what point should it be a worry.

[xavierj]

When is it ok to start being concerned we dont have anyone verballed for this class yet?

Here is when other guys committed.

Odom- July before his junior year -
Wilcher - June before his senior year
Ramsey, miles, Freemantle and Jones - August before senior year
Tandy - October of his senior year.

Plenty of time to fill the spots they want to.

[XUGRAD80]

26 of the top 100 are committed at this point, I wonder how that compares to previous years as of this date.

I'm simply wondering at what point should it be a worry.

Hard to say because we don’t even know what the HS basketball season around the country will look like this year. We don’t even know what the college BB season may look like. We don’t know exactly when visits may begin happening again, or when coaches can start doing in home visits. I won’t start to get concerned until the time comes that all of the top players that X is pinpointing are verbaled some place else and X is left out in the cold. I don’t see that happening, and I can’t even begin to say what the time frame for the future is.

[XUMIOH12]

When is it ok to start being concerned we dont have anyone verballed for this class yet?

In a typical year i'd say September.

[xavierj]

In a typical year i'd say September.

Yes or maybe even October. Right now, only 4 of 11 Big East teams have a player who has committed.

[xuphan]

Yes or maybe even October. Right now, only 4 of 11 Big East teams have a player who has committed.

Ike to Maryland. Very disappointed we missed on Ike Cornish. Hopefully we will get somebody from the class of 21 soon.

[Lamont Sanford]

Shit. Who's the next top wing recruit then???

[xuphan]

Shit. Who's the next top wing recruit then???

Brooks Barnhizer is the next option. Three star wing out of Indiana. Sounds like he is a heavy Butler lean but we will see I guess. Steele is suppose to have good connections in Indiana so we will see.

[XU 87]

Ike to Maryland. Very disappointed we missed on Ike Cornish. Hopefully we will get somebody from the class of 21 soon.

That has been expected for several weeks, if not longer.

[xuphan]

That has been expected for several weeks, if not longer.

Still hurts because the staff made him a high priority and we spent a lot of resources recruiting him. Was hoping he would commit and be the catalyst for others in the class of 21. This extended dead period has really hurt our 21 class. Hopefully we can get back to normal and Steele can still salvage a good class.

[Xville]

Still hurts because the staff made him a high priority and we spent a lot of resources recruiting him. Was hoping he would commit and be the catalyst for others in the class of 21. This extended dead period has really hurt our 21 class. Hopefully we can get back to normal and Steele can still salvage a good class.

I'm concerned about this class. I know people keep saying not to worry but not having at least 1 in the fold has me concerned at this point. Hall, nova, butler, creighton, depaul all have at least one.

[xavierj]

I'm concerned about this class. I know people keep saying not to worry but not having at least 1 in the fold has me concerned at this point. Hall, nova, butler, creighton, depaul all have at least one.

Surprised Nova doesn’t have more. They had zero last year. If no one by the end of August then maybe worry. Problem with this year is that kids can’t visit schools so a lot are waiting. Coaches are also being more deliberate because they didn’t have the luxury of AAU season to scout and evaluate and find some late bloomers. So now they are watching a ton of higH school tape, which is not what they usually do to find guys. At least 90 of the top 150 prospects in Scouts rankings have yet to commit to a school.

[XUGRAD80]

It’s not that the coaches aren’t working, they have over 40 offers out right now for 2021. But kids are taking their time and many are waiting until they can do some official visits. Right now they can walk around campus, but that’s about it. Can’t blame kids for wanting to make actual visits before committing.

[noteggs]

It’s not that the coaches aren’t working, they have over 40 offers out right now for 2021. But kids are taking their time and many are waiting until they can do some official visits. Right now they can walk around campus, but that’s about it. Can’t blame kids for wanting to make actual visits before committing.

Agree. 2018 is still in most minds on this board including mine.

[XUGRAD80]

Agree. 2018 is still in most minds on this board including mine.

NCAA has extended the dead period through July 31. It’s going to be next to impossible for all the kids to do all of their visits during the month of August. So while it wouldn’t surprise me to have a commit during that month, it’s also wouldn’t surprise me if there wasn’t.

[xuphan]

Brooks Barnhizer is the next option. Three star wing out of Indiana. Sounds like he is a heavy Butler lean but we will see I guess. Steele is suppose to have good connections in Indiana so we will see.

Brooks Barnhizer commits to Northwestern. This class is beginning to worry me now. Hope it doesn’t turn into the 2018 class.

[Lamont Sanford]

Brooks Barnhizer commits to Northwestern. This class is beginning to worry me now. Hope it doesn’t turn into the 2018 class.

Northwestern?!? Seriously WTF??? I assumed Barnhizer would ultimately commit to Butler, but seriously Northwestern?!?

Steele and staff are batting a crisp .000 for 2021 so far. Ugh.

[JTG]

I would hate to be a college coach right now. No face to face, no visits, no summer ball, welcome to recruiting with Covid.

[xuphan]

I would hate to be a college coach right now. No face to face, no visits, no summer ball, welcome to recruiting with Covid.

Really tired of hearing that as an excuse. People on here seems to think COVID-19 is only a Xavier thing. Every college program has to deal with COVID-19. It hasn’t stopped college programs from picking up commits over the past couple of months. Steele needs to adapt to the new climate of recruiting or we will have a class very similar to 2018 I am afraid.

[xavierj]

Really tired of hearing that as an excuse. People on here seems to think COVID-19 is only a Xavier thing. Every college program has to deal with COVID-19. It hasnÂ’t stopped college programs from picking up commits over the past couple of months. Steele needs to adapt to the new climate of recruiting or we will have a class very similar to 2018 I am afraid.

I donÂ’t think itÂ’s an excuse but Xavier not getting commitments prior to mid summer is nothing new. Wilcher, Jones, Tandy, Freemantle, Ramsey and Miles all committed after August prior to their senior year. Paul Scruggs committed in October and Marshall in late July. Currently over half of the kids rated in the top 150 are still open. Xavier still involved with a lot of good players. If nothing by end of August time to be concerned.

[XUGRAD80]

Yes there are players making commitments, but not necessarily in the numbers we have seen in some past years. I believe that a lot of kids are holding off, thinking that come August/September they will be able to make some visits and wanting to do that first.

While I am some what anxious, I’m not really concerned. Steele has had 2 real good years of recruiting, there is no reason to believe that the magic is gone so quickly. However, because of the last two recruiting classes, and because Xavier will be really young next year, some players that might have otherwise have considered X very strongly may decide to look elsewhere. Somewhere that the cupboard is more bare perhaps? I don’t see any of the current Xavier players as candidates to leave school early So while there may be several scholarships available for 2021, are those going to be filled with an eye toward depth or an eye toward immediate impact players?

[Mrs. Garrett]

Northwestern?!? Seriously WTF??? I assumed Barnhizer would ultimately commit to Butler, but seriously Northwestern?!?

Steele and staff are batting a crisp .000 for 2021 so far. Ugh.

Nothing looks worse on a resume than a degree from Northwestern.

[XU 87]

Really tired of hearing that as an excuse. People on here seems to think COVID-19 is only a Xavier thing. Every college program has to deal with COVID-19. It hasn’t stopped college programs from picking up commits over the past couple of months. Steele needs to adapt to the new climate of recruiting or we will have a class very similar to 2018 I am afraid.

Could you explain to us how Steele hasn't "adapted" to the "new climate of recruiting"?

And do you remember this gem you posted back in 2013 (the class which included Macura, Bluiett and O'Mara)?

"This has been a very disappointing recruiting class for Chris Mack. I did not expect Mack to get 5* recruits but I did expect the move to the big east to boost Xavier's recruiting overall. I am sure there will be posters who will say that there is a long ways to go but were getting closer to signing day and only have a three star point guard in the fold. We have missed on the majority of high level players we were in on (still waiting for the pf out of tennessee) and it looks like we will be settling for plan c and d guys."

[X-man]

Really tired of hearing that as an excuse. People on here seems to think COVID-19 is only a Xavier thing. Every college program has to deal with COVID-19. It hasn’t stopped college programs from picking up commits over the past couple of months. Steele needs to adapt to the new climate of recruiting or we will have a class very similar to 2018 I am afraid.

I wouldn't worry your little head too much, hon. The league as a whole has a total of 8 recruits committed in the 2021 class. Everything has slowed down, most likely due to the covid crisis. I understand your concern, you being such a "fan" of the Muskies, but this is impacting everyone.

[XMuskieFTW]

Only about 1/3rd of kids in 2021 have committed. We just had back to back loaded classes. Recruiting top talent is going to be difficult when you already have a large core of players set to take up a majority of minutes for the first two/three seasons of a 2021 kid's career. I would be very happy with a solid 2 man class, especially with how much more availability there is going to be on the transfer market going forward. No worries at all.

[xuphan]

Could you explain to us how Steele hasn't "adapted" to the "new climate of recruiting"?

And do you remember this gem you posted back in 2013 (the class which included Macura, Bluiett and O'Mara)?

"This has been a very disappointing recruiting class for Chris Mack. I did not expect Mack to get 5* recruits but I did expect the move to the big east to boost Xavier's recruiting overall. I am sure there will be posters who will say that there is a long ways to go but were getting closer to signing day and only have a three star point guard in the fold. We have missed on the majority of high level players we were in on (still waiting for the pf out of tennessee) and it looks like we will be settling for plan c and d guys."

Nice find XU87. Need more context to the post though. That was posted right after Bluiett commuted to UCLA and Macura was a heavy lean to Butler. We did miss on quite a few players on that class though.

[GIMMFD]

Only about 1/3rd of kids in 2021 have committed. We just had back to back loaded classes. Recruiting top talent is going to be difficult when you already have a large core of players set to take up a majority of minutes for the first two/three seasons of a 2021 kid's career. I would be very happy with a solid 2 man class, especially with how much more availability there is going to be on the transfer market going forward. No worries at all.

Ding. Ding. Ding.

[drudy23]

My thought was good classes as well. It's hard to get 3 in a row because of playing time issues. It's actually a good sign because recruits know Free, KyKy, and Odom are going to be studs. The development of this year's class outside of Odom can negate a poor class for 2021. This development piece is what has allowed Xavier to compete with the big boys for 40 years.

In saying that, it's a tad bit worrisome we keep missing top targets.

[xuphan]

My thought was good classes as well. It's hard to get 3 in a row because of playing time issues. It's actually a good sign because recruits know Free, KyKy, and Odom are going to be studs. The development of this year's class outside of Odom can negate a poor class for 2021. This development piece is what has allowed Xavier to compete with the big boys for 40 years.

In saying that, it's a tad bit worrisome we keep missing top targets.

I agree with most of what you are saying. I still think there is good amount of playing time at the 3 and 4 positions available for the class of 2021. I know recruiting is very fluid but the expert on 247 do not have us as favorites for any of the recruits we are after. Only time will tell but we need to keep the solid classes year in and year out. Especially with the amount of transfers leaving college programs these days.

[XMuskieFTW]

I know recruiting is very fluid but the expert on 247 do not have us as favorites for any of the recruits we are after.

This just isn't true at all...

[XUGRAD80]

Keep name Scoot Henderson in the back of your mind for a 2022 possible. 6’2” point guard out of Ga. a 4 Star. AND.....his cousin is Tu Holloway. Says X is one of 5 schools working him the hardest right now. Odom would be a junior when he comes in.

[xuphan]

This just isn't true at all...

Well please enlighten me because I do not see any crystal balls for Xavier for any recruit in the 2021 class on 247.

[xavierj]

Well please enlighten me because I do not see any crystal balls for Xavier for any recruit in the 2021 class on 247.

I don’t think I saw where someone said they had crystal balls, you said lead. They can lead for recruits or be at the top, and not yet have a crystal ball. They are in good shape with some guys and will have some guys commit. The good news is that you only really play 8 guys so they will have plenty of talent. It’s tough when guys are looking to play right away and you will have a young team. I would imagine they will eventually sign a few 4 stars and you most likely won’t have much to say. Seems like you only comment when a guy commits to another team that Xavier was recruiting, but I could be wrong.

[XU 87]

Nice find XU87. Need more context to the post though. That was posted right after Bluiett commuted to UCLA and Macura was a heavy lean to Butler. We did miss on quite a few players on that class though.

No context is needed. You freaked out, and X eventually got one of its best recruiting classes in school history. Learn from your mistakes.

I will add- X will miss out on a bunch of players EVERY single year. They offer many more scholarships than will be accepted.

[Xville]

No context is needed. You freaked out, and X eventually got one of its best recruiting classes in school history. Learn from your mistakes.

I will add- X will miss out on a bunch of players EVERY single year. They offer many more scholarships than will be accepted.

Or, it could be like 2018. None of us know at this point. I dont blame anyone for being concerned at this point. Yes it could turn into 2013, and we have one of the best recruiting classes maybe ever, but it could turn into 18 where x struck out on everyone, and x still has not fully recovered from that class.

Pulling something that someone said at one point in time without any context is disingenuous at best.

And the ones pointing to playing time as to why it's ok if our 21 class is not strong is really effing lame. At best, there will be 6 players after this coming year in the rotation and that's if everyone in 2020 plans out which history says it wont. Dont make excuses for recruiting misses if 21 ends up being a dud. I'm hopeful that it wont be, but none of us know at this point.

[XUGRAD80]

I will add- X will miss out on a bunch of players EVERY single year. They offer many more scholarships than will be accepted.

Last week was the first time that schools were allowed to officially contact players in the 2022 class. X made about a dozen scholarship offers over 2 days. Guess what?.....So did just about every other school. Schools are making offers to freshman. I’ve even heard of an 8th grader getting offered. It’s become the trend for schools to offer more and more scholarships to younger and younger players. The players seem to think it means the schools actually “care” about them. Xavier still has some offers out for 2020 kids, and they have 40+ offers out for 2021. It’s a game and you can drive yourselves nuts trying to guess what 16-17-18 year old kids are going to do a year or two from now. All the recruiting gurus are doing is making a guess. It might be based on conversations they have had with family, or it might be based on rumors. Personally, I don’t place much stock in what they predict and how they say a kid is leaning. I only know that X is working hard, hopefully within the boundaries of the rules, and that they will field a team. So I’m not going to worry myself over it.

[xuphan]

No context is needed. You freaked out, and X eventually got one of its best recruiting classes in school history. Learn from your mistakes.

I will add- X will miss out on a bunch of players EVERY single year. They offer many more scholarships than will be accepted.

Yes, context is needed. Also, we are not talking about every recruit that X has ever offered in 2021. IÂ’m not taking about recruits like Kuminga who we offered and had no shot at. IÂ’m talking about guys like Goode, Brooks, Cornish, Duncomb, Barnhitzer, Wiznitzer, Etc. Guys we put a lot of time and resources on who go other places. It is a cause for concern. Hopefully Steele can get two of Hawkins, Branham or Holt and IÂ’ll be happy. Hopefully that happens and we donÂ’t have to look at plan B and C guys. SteeleÂ’s last two classes have been pretty solid but we canÂ’t afford to have a weak class if we have aspirations of going to the final four in the near future.

[XU 87]

Yes, context is needed. Also, we are not talking about every recruit that X has ever offered in 2021. IÂ’m not taking about recruits like Kuminga who we offered and had no shot at. IÂ’m talking about guys like Goode, Brooks, Cornish, Duncomb, Barnhitzer, Wiznitzer, Etc. Guys we put a lot of time and resources on who go other places. It is a cause for concern. Hopefully Steele can get two of Hawkins, Branham or Holt and IÂ’ll be happy. Hopefully that happens and we donÂ’t have to look at plan B and C guys. SteeleÂ’s last two classes have been pretty solid but we canÂ’t afford to have a weak class if we have aspirations of going to the final four in the near future.

I can't figure out if you're just an irrational X fan or a troll.

What do other posters think?

[xuphan]

I am an irrational fan or a troll because I am concerned about the 2021 class?

[XU 87]

I am an irrational fan or a troll because I am concerned about the 2021 class?

You do a lot of irrational "worrying" and complaining, which is why I wonder if you're just a troll. There's a reason you have all those red dots under your name.

Heyyyyyy, you tried to neg rep me. Shame on you. But due to all your red dots, it has no effect.

[X-man]

I can't figure out if you're just an irrational X fan or a troll.

What do other posters think?

I vote "troll". That's why I have him/her on "Ignore". However this troll gets quoted so often in responding posts that unfortunately, I am unable to ignore most of his/her posts.

[XUMIOH12]

You do a lot of irrational "worrying" and complaining, which is why I wonder if you're just a troll. There's a reason you have all those red dots under your name.

he seems like a little of both. But i can't blame anyone for being concerned about the '21 class at this point, because they have missed on everyone they wanted so far. Still quite a few out there though. Hopefully Xavier can land 2 really good ones. Don't need quantity with this class, but always need quality.

I personally am not too concerned yet, but probably will be if we don't have anyone by the time late August/September comes around though.

[drudy23]

Let me re-phrase. I wish Xavier would have more than enough recruits and have them battle it out for playing time. That's the best case scenario. But that happens less and less - and less.

I will also admit that the lack of recruits worries me. We're not landing guys, but we're also not seeing a bunch that are very strongly leaning towards X. Most classes have 1-2 guys that we pretty much know are coming.

It just seems we don't land our priority 1A guy very often over the past 5 years.

[xuphan]

You do a lot of irrational "worrying" and complaining, which is why I wonder if you're just a troll. There's a reason you have all those red dots under your name.

Being concerned about the 2021 class isn’t irrational or being a troll. Hopefully Steele can land a quality commitment from Hawkins, Holt or Branham here soon so “irrational” fans, trolls, whatever you want to call me can stop worrying about this class.

[Smails]

I vote troll...pretty transparent IMO

[XUGRAD80]

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Alfred_E._Neumann.jpg/800px-Alfred_E._Neumann.jpg

[drudy23]

Recruiting dead period extended until end of August. This certainly won’t speed things up, but I guess everyone is in the same boat.

[xuphan]

Recruiting dead period extended until end of August. This certainly won’t speed things up, but I guess everyone is in the same boat.

Does the dead period mean they can’t have unofficial or official visits for recruits? They can still communicate with them right?

[xavierj]

Xavier lands first 2021 commitment. 6'10" forward with some guard skills it looks like. Another 4 star. Good start to the class.

https://twitter.com/cesare_edwards

https://www.hudl.com/video/3/10168180/5e762c1d688e3b0a283b0560

https://247sports.com/Player/Cesare-Edwards-46058956/

[bobbiemcgee]

Welcome Cesare!!

[JTG]

Hmmm, wonder why players suddenly pulling the trigger today. Butler got a commit today also. Welcome Cesare. Like the Rec-specs.

[xu82]

Welcome to the Xavier family Cesare!!!

[X Factor]

Love this kid's game. Miles and Cesare Edwards could be an excellent frontcourt in a couple of years.

Big time get for Xavier!

[Xville]

Great news! Just outside the top 100 and a big! Welcome Mr. Edwards!

[sirthought]

There should be little doubt this kid has pro potential. It surprises me that he's not ranked higher. I understand he had been more of a spot up shooter in the past, and this past season he really worked on strength and inside play.

Watching that highlight video, you can see he has the skills most teams would want, not to mention size.
He showed he could:
- handle the ball well (huge for anyone, but he's a 6'10" kid driving to the hoop with a crossover to beat his man)
- lead a fast break (again, ball control!)
- drove to the hoop through traffic and finished with a Euro step
- has a nice looking jump shot in the stop and pop
- works towards spacing the floor
- can hit from three
- isn't hesitant to go inside along the baseline
- already has a decent looking drop step
- has decent hands to catch near the rim and dunk with authority
- goes up and over people like a boss
- sets up on the interior with a strong base
- block shots without fouling (at least the ones they showed)

Now hopefully his teachers at Xavier can teach him to edit his major announcements for grammar and spelling!

We got Ramsey and Odom. Now Edwards. Coach Jonas is connecting with these impressive southern players. This kid will be a Xavier great.

[Xuperman]

Apparently this came as quite a shock to some in South Carolina hehehe��

https://www.goupstate.com/sports/20200626/edwards-headed-out-of-state-for-his-college-basketball-career

[xuphan]

Apparently this came as quite a shock to some in South Carolina hehehe��

https://www.goupstate.com/sports/20200626/edwards-headed-out-of-state-for-his-college-basketball-career

Great Job Xavier coaches! Hopefully the first piece in a quality class.

[XUGRAD80]

Welcome! Hopefully just the start of another great class!

[paulxu]

I appreciate you guys reading my local paper !!

[Lloyd Braun]

There should be little doubt this kid has pro potential. It surprises me that he's not ranked higher. I understand he had been more of a spot up shooter in the past, and this past season he really worked on strength and inside play.

Watching that highlight video, you can see he has the skills most teams would want, not to mention size.
He showed he could:
- handle the ball well (huge for anyone, but he's a 6'10" kid driving to the hoop with a crossover to beat his man)
- lead a fast break (again, ball control!)
- drove to the hoop through traffic and finished with a Euro step
- has a nice looking jump shot in the stop and pop
- works towards spacing the floor
- can hit from three
- isn't hesitant to go inside along the baseline
- already has a decent looking drop step
- has decent hands to catch near the rim and dunk with authority
- goes up and over people like a boss
- sets up on the interior with a strong base
- block shots without fouling (at least the ones they showed)

Now hopefully his teachers at Xavier can teach him to edit his major announcements for grammar and spelling!

We got Ramsey and Odom. Now Edwards. Coach Jonas is connecting with these impressive southern players. This kid will be a Xavier great.

While I don’t disagree with anything from a skill standpoint, highlight reels are exactly that: highlights. Check for some full games and you’ll see why he is not a top 25 recruit because the skill set is awesome for a guy that size. The things he needs to improve upon: strength (shouldn’t be a problem), defensive awareness, and assertiveness. He seems to pick and choose when to be assertive, perhaps still growing into his body. You would think he should stand out as the best player on the floor but he kind of blends in a lot. The raw talent is there and he is a great get IMO.... could be really special. Justin Patton perhaps?

[noteggs]

Great get for Xavier! I really loved Tyrique and what he brought to the team. However, potentially having two guys over 6’9” stretching the floor is going to be huge!

[94GRAD]

Great Job Xavier coaches! Hopefully the first piece in a quality class.

"Hopefully"

[XUGRAD80]

IMO, X really needs to get a couple of wings/small forwards in the 2021 class. They are well stocked at guard for the next couple of years, and also at center/ power forward, especially with this latest addition. I see where they have a lot of offers out in that area, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they land a couple this fall.

[D-West & PO-Z]

I dont follow recruiting a whole lot but I know we have a big decision coming up Wednesday with Malaki Branham. What are our chances? Seems like it is probably OSU, XU, or Louisville right? Some I saw have him a 5 star, some a 4 star. Would be a huge get. Do we have a chance?

[Xville]

I dont follow recruiting a whole lot but I know we have a big decision coming up Wednesday with Malaki Branham. What are our chances? Seems like it is probably OSU, XU, or Louisville right? Some I saw have him a 5 star, some a 4 star. Would be a huge get. Do we have a chance?

Hes going to ohio state

[D-West & PO-Z]

Hes going to ohio state

Well that's dumb.

[Xville]

Well that's dumb.

Agreed, and I will say it isnt 100% but when all crystal balls predict ohio state and that includes snow, I'd say it's as close to 100 as possible.

[xuphan]

Agreed, and I will say it isnt 100% but when all crystal balls predict ohio state and that includes snow, I'd say it's as close to 100 as possible.

Any idea on how many open scholarships we have open for the upcoming year? We are after the Alabama and Hampton transfer bigs and now Rick thinks we are going to go after the Belmont transfer as well. If I learned one thing, Steele likes to eat at the transfer portal.

[xuphan]

I dont follow recruiting a whole lot but I know we have a big decision coming up Wednesday with Malaki Branham. What are our chances? Seems like it is probably OSU, XU, or Louisville right? Some I saw have him a 5 star, some a 4 star. Would be a huge get. Do we have a chance?

It is decision day for Malaki Branham. He will be announcing at 2:22pm. This would be a huge pickup for Steele and be the highest rated player we have gotten in recent memory. This could be a big day for our program.

[Smails]

It is decision day for Malaki Branham. He will be announcing at 2:22pm. This would be a huge pickup for Steele and be the highest rated player we have gotten in recent memory. This could be a big day for our program.

He's not coming to XU.

[xuphan]

He's not coming to XU.

Hope this isn’t accurate. We have been recruiting him for several years and we were the first big school to offer him.

[Smails]

Hope this isn’t accurate. We have been recruiting him for several years and we were the first big school to offer him.

Why do you play this silly game? It's obvious that you get recruiting information from our 247 site, so you know exactly what's going on with Malaki.

[X-man]

Why do you play this silly game? It's obvious that you get recruiting information from our 247 site, so you know exactly what's going on with Malaki.

Could it be that xuphan is a troll???

[Smails]

Could it be that xuphan is a troll???

Is there a block feature?

[X-man]

Is there a block feature?

Yes. Go to "Settings" and there is a link down the left side of the page that lets you edit your Ignore list. I have had that troll on Ignore for some time, but still see his/her posts when they are quoted by other posters.

[xuphan]

Why do you play this silly game? It's obvious that you get recruiting information from our 247 site, so you know exactly what's going on with Malaki.

What silly games am I playing exactly? I can’t be disappointed that we missed out on a kid that we have been recruiting for several years?

[drudy23]

What silly games am I playing exactly? I can’t be disappointed that we missed out on a kid that we have been recruiting for several years?

I think you knew we had a very slim chance of landing this one. Basically you're looking for the "we missed another recruit" crowd to stir the pot.

[XU 87]

I think you knew we had a very slim chance of landing this one. Basically you're looking for the "we missed another recruit" crowd to stir the pot.

I can't believe a top 30 recruit from Columbus went to OSU. No one saw that happening.

[XU 87]

What silly games am I playing exactly? I can’t be disappointed that we missed out on a kid that we have been recruiting for several years?

I have said this before- I can't figure out if you're a troll or just an unrealistic goofy fan. I tend to go with troll. You are good at it though, since it's still not entirely clear.

[drudy23]

In other news, landing Adam Kunkel could be an intriguing pickup. Belmont is a quality mid major and he led them with almost 17 a game, with a season high of 35.

I saw him play multiple times when he played locally in NKY and he's the real deal. Probably wouldn't start, but would be a quality contributor, especially as he keeps getting better, and we had him for 2 years.

[xuphan]

I have said this before- I can't figure out if you're a troll or just an unrealistic goofy fan. I tend to go with troll. You are good at it though, since it's still not entirely clear.

A troll that has been here since 2008? I’ve been on this page for 12 years and I am a troll? I am a passionate Xavier fan who speaks his mind both positive and negative about the program. If it is unrealistic for us to land a top 30 player than why are we recruiting them for multiple years? I don’t expect us to land top 15 guys but I do get disappointed when we miss out on guys we spend a lot of time and energy recruiting. Maybe I should ask you what my expectations should be? 3 star players and transfers?

[XUGRAD80]

Based on history....yes, we should EXPECT quite a few 3 star players and transfers, with a few 4 stars in the mix from time to time. That has been the history of the program, even over the last decade or so. But, that doesn’t mean you stop stepping into the batters box and taking your hacks. They are going to keep talking with 4 stars, and even an occasional 5 star if the situation is right. But there’s no reason to expect X to land them on a regular basis. Not at this point. Hopefully that changes in the future, but it will only change if they keep trying to land those players. X has landed kids that were recruited by the big schools in the past, and they will again in the future.

[Xville]

Yep....in order to get to the Villanova stage of recruiting, our 3 star and occasional 4 star players are going to have to outperform their ranking and do it on a consistent basis for the next 5-7 years. I'm talking multiple sweet 16s, a few elite eights and a final four. That's the only way this team gets to the next level of recruiting..this team has been close multiple times. I think had miller stayed, they would have gotten there...

[xavierj]

Yep....in order to get to the Villanova stage of recruiting, our 3 star and occasional 4 star players are going to have to outperform their ranking and do it on a consistent basis for the next 5-7 years. I'm talking multiple sweet 16s, a few elite eights and a final four. That's the only way this team gets to the next level of recruiting..this team has been close multiple times. I think had miller stayed, they would have gotten there...

I wouldn’t call It occasional 4 stars, They sign them every year. This year they will have 5 four stars and 4 three stars. The lone 2021 commit is a 4 star. Now they are not getting any 5 stars but they are singing a lot of 4 stars. Have been for a while.

[Xville]

I wouldn’t call It occasional 4 stars, They sign them every year. This year they will have 5 four stars and 4 three stars. The lone 2021 commit is a 4 star. Now they are not getting any 5 stars but they are singing a lot of 4 stars. Have been for a while.

Ok fair...I should say our 75-150 guys with an occasional top 60ish guy...

[xavierj]

Ok fair...I should say our 75-150 guys with an occasional top 60ish guy...

That sounds about right. Have only had 5 top 60 players over the last 9 recruiting classes.

[XUGRAD80]

I’d put it that X has been getting a lot of players in the 75-125 range, and a few in the 40-75 range, but hasn’t yet broken into the top 40 range. Overall, they have been getting some top 25-35 classes, even without getting top 25-35 individuals. But, they have also had some classes that were filled with players that didn’t pan out at all. They will keep talking to top 25-40 talent, and I do believe that sooner or later they will land a top 25 player.

[Xuperman]

Based on history....yes, we should EXPECT quite a few 3 star players and transfers, with a few 4 stars in the mix from time to time. That has been the history of the program, even over the last decade or so. But, that doesn’t mean you stop stepping into the batters box and taking your hacks. They are going to keep talking with 4 stars, and even an occasional 5 star if the situation is right. But there’s no reason to expect X to land them on a regular basis. Not at this point. Hopefully that changes in the future, but it will only change if they keep trying to land those players. X has landed kids that were recruited by the big schools in the past, and they will again in the future.

Don't quite understand why this post is so out of touch. 6 of our last 8 were 4 Stars on at least one recruiting site or another. All 3 of our incoming were rising 4 Stars. Steele can recruit.

[XU 87]

A troll that has been here since 2008? I’ve been on this page for 12 years and I am a troll? I am a passionate Xavier fan who speaks his mind both positive and negative about the program. If it is unrealistic for us to land a top 30 player than why are we recruiting them for multiple years? I don’t expect us to land top 15 guys but I do get disappointed when we miss out on guys we spend a lot of time and energy recruiting. Maybe I should ask you what my expectations should be? 3 star players and transfers?

To answer your question, and assuming you're not a troll, don't flip out when X misses out on a recruit. We lose more than we get.

[XUGRAD80]

Don't quite understand why this post is so out of touch. 6 of our last 8 were 4 Stars on at least one recruiting site or another. All 3 of our incoming were rising 4 Stars. Steele can recruit.

I am looking at the HISTORY of the program and saying that getting mostly 3 Star players, with some 4 Star recruits mixed in, has been the overall trend the last decade. The last 2 recruiting classes not withstanding. Yes, I agree Steele can recruit. Which needs to be remembered when X does miss out on a highly ranked player.

I am saying that there is no reason to EXPECT Xavier to land 5 Star players at this point....because they haven’t......and there is no reason to get upset or disappointed when they don’t. You can substitute Top 40 for 5 Star if you wish. Xavier has gotten some 4 Star players or players in the top 50-100, but certainly not all of their players fall into that category. The sweet spot...based on history over the last 10 years or so....seems to be the 75-125 spots. That might have gotten better over the last 2 years, but I’d hesitate to call that a trend at this point. I’d have to give it more time first.

Of course this is all splitting hairs as it all depends on what site you look at as to where a kid is rated. How may stars and/or ranking number a player is given is pretty much just a matter of opinion and IMO really doesn’t guarantee anything anyway.

Recruiting is only half the battle. How the kids develop is equally, if not more, important to the teams ultimate success.

[bleedXblue]

I am looking at the HISTORY of the program and saying that getting mostly 3 Star players, with some 4 Star recruits mixed in, has been the overall trend the last decade. The last 2 recruiting classes not withstanding. Yes, I agree Steele can recruit. Which needs to be remembered when X does miss out on a highly ranked player.

I am saying that there is no reason to EXPECT Xavier to land 5 Star players at this point....because they haven’t......and there is no reason to get upset or disappointed when they don’t. You can substitute Top 40 for 5 Star if you wish. Xavier has gotten some 4 Star players or players in the top 50-100, but certainly not all of their players fall into that category. The sweet spot...based on history over the last 10 years or so....seems to be the 75-125 spots. That might have gotten better over the last 2 years, but I’d hesitate to call that a trend at this point. I’d have to give it more time first.

Of course this is all splitting hairs as it all depends on what site you look at as to where a kid is rated. How may stars and/or ranking number a player is given is pretty much just a matter of opinion and IMO really doesn’t guarantee anything anyway.

Recruiting is only half the battle. How the kids develop is equally, if not more, important to the teams ultimate success.

I thought Steele was going to really excel and take us to the next level with recruiting? Are we not in one of the best basketball conferences, have outstanding facilities and a great track record of success the last 30 years?

I'm not expecting him to haul in and bag multiple 5 stars every year.......but I do expect a step up and progress. How else do we continue to build and grow the program and compete at a high level?

[xavierj]

I am looking at the HISTORY of the program and saying that getting mostly 3 Star players, with some 4 Star recruits mixed in, has been the overall trend the last decade. The last 2 recruiting classes not withstanding. Yes, I agree Steele can recruit. Which needs to be remembered when X does miss out on a highly ranked player.

I am saying that there is no reason to EXPECT Xavier to land 5 Star players at this point....because they haven’t......and there is no reason to get upset or disappointed when they don’t. You can substitute Top 40 for 5 Star if you wish. Xavier has gotten some 4 Star players or players in the top 50-100, but certainly not all of their players fall into that category. The sweet spot...based on history over the last 10 years or so....seems to be the 75-125 spots. That might have gotten better over the last 2 years, but I’d hesitate to call that a trend at this point. I’d have to give it more time first.

Of course this is all splitting hairs as it all depends on what site you look at as to where a kid is rated. How may stars and/or ranking number a player is given is pretty much just a matter of opinion and IMO really doesn’t guarantee anything anyway.

Recruiting is only half the battle. How the kids develop is equally, if not more, important to the teams ultimate success.

Since the 2010 recruiting class Xavier has landed 18 four stars and 15 three stars.

[xavierj]

I thought Steele was going to really excel and take us to the next level with recruiting? Are we not in one of the best basketball conferences, have outstanding facilities and a great track record of success the last 30 years?

I'm not expecting him to haul in and bag multiple 5 stars every year.......but I do expect a step up and progress. How else do we continue to build and grow the program and compete at a high level?

His first two classes were ranked 2 and 3 in the Big East. That is progress. He starts winning big and it will only go up. Took a step back when Mack left and now have to grow it forward.

[XUGRAD80]

Are we not in one of the best basketball conferences, have outstanding facilities and a great track record of success the last 30 years?


The same can be said for 30-40 other schools in the country, and many of them have even better facilities and a longer track record, not to mention much larger enrollments, campuses, alumni base, and a much larger footprint in their local sports community than Xavier has. All things considered, Xavier has come so far over the last 30 years it’s almost a miracle. But this last little bit is going to be the most difficult part to accomplish because the competition at the top is so much tougher than it was. Getting into the BE means that X is no longer competing against schools like they used to, they are competing against the very best for the very best.

[XUGRAD80]

Since the 2010 recruiting class Xavier has landed 18 four stars and 15 three stars.

Whose ratings are you using?

[xuphan]

To answer your question, and assuming you're not a troll, don't flip out when X misses out on a recruit. We lose more than we get.

I know Xavier misses out on recruits all the time. Every school has that issue. However, I will be disappointed on missing out on priority recruits we have spent a lot of time and energy recruiting. We have missed on several recruits we have spent a lot of time recruiting. Luke Goode, Pierre Brooks, Logan Duncomb, Ike Cornish, Malaki Branham just time to name a few. For this program to grow and be on par with Villanova, we must continue to recruit at a high level. Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program. If you do not think this is realistic, then maybe we should go back to the A-10 and compete with mid-majors such as Dayton.

[bleedXblue]

The same can be said for 30-40 other schools in the country, and many of them have even better facilities and a longer track record, not to mention much larger enrollments, campuses, alumni base, and a much larger footprint in their local sports community than Xavier has. All things considered, Xavier has come so far over the last 30 years it’s almost a miracle. But this last little bit is going to be the most difficult part to accomplish because the competition at the top is so much tougher than it was. Getting into the BE means that X is no longer competing against schools like they used to, they are competing against the very best for the very best.

Gonzaga and Nova figured it out and emerged from that pack. I selfishly want us to do the same. Maybe not fair......but I don't think we should be become complacent and ok with where we are.

[xavierj]

Whose ratings are you using?

Scout, which I believe is a composite rating from several different services.

[xavierj]

Gonzaga and Nova figured it out and emerged from that pack. I selfishly want us to do the same. Maybe not fair......but I don't think we should be become complacent and ok with where we are.

For the record Nova hasn't landed many 5 stars. I don't know if they had any on their championship teams. Colin Gillespie and Saddiq Bey were both 3 stars on last years team and Bey will be a first round draft pick.

[Xuperman]

Gonzaga and Nova figured it out and emerged from that pack. I selfishly want us to do the same. Maybe not fair......but I don't think we should be become complacent and ok with where we are.

Agreed, there is nothing to indicate that X will not continue to get 2-3 top 100 guys each year going forward. That said, it's critical in today's landscape, KEEPING them rostered throughout their careers here. These youngsters are fickle and tend to bolt with even slight discomfort.

The real disaster for a program like X would be the elimination of the sit out transfer rule. I feel that we could be targeted by the blue bloods regularly for our best talant.

[Smails]

I know Xavier misses out on recruits all the time. Every school has that issue. However, I will be disappointed on missing out on priority recruits we have spent a lot of time and energy recruiting. We have missed on several recruits we have spent a lot of time recruiting. Luke Goode, Pierre Brooks, Logan Duncomb, Ike Cornish, Malaki Branham just time to name a few. For this program to grow and be on par with Villanova, we must continue to recruit at a high level. Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program. If you do not think this is realistic, then maybe we should go back to the A-10 and compete with mid-majors such as Dayton.

Good lord, I bet you're a blast at parties. On what planet is Steele not recruiting at a high-level? His first 2 classes are ranked 2nd and 3rd in the BE and the 2021 class is ranked 4th with only one recruit committed. The facts and data don't back up the dark cloud you are casting on the program's recruiting. Carry on

[bleedXblue]

For the record Nova hasn't landed many 5 stars. I don't know if they had any on their championship teams. Colin Gillespie and Saddiq Bey were both 3 stars on last years team and Bey will be a first round draft pick.

Really?

https://247sports.com/college/villanova/Season/2019-Basketball/Commits/

[xudash]

Gonzaga and Nova figured it out and emerged from that pack. I selfishly want us to do the same. Maybe not fair......but I don't think we should be become complacent and ok with where we are.

IMHO, they "figured it out" by being fortunate enough to attract particular guys who were able to envision achieving success at those institutions and who otherwise had sufficient life balance that allowed them to survive on a low seven-digit salary (obviously, Jay is doing much better in that category now).

Seriously, some of us here have pounded on a very simple truth for many years, especially here as Xavier fans: COACHING CONTINUITY. These guys become winning commodities. Players want to know, or be as sure as possible that the coach with whom they start their freshman year will still be there as they're finishing up their college career.

I guess I see things a little differently than some of you. I'm taking a long-lense view of this. I am totally impressed with what Travis has accomplished on the recruiting trail thus far. I loved reading the recent article in the Cincinnati paper about the way he recruits. I believe he will continue to recruit very successfully.

Importantly, I believe he'll turn out to be a great coach.

THEN, if we can keep him at Xavier, and he might just be the one we're able to keep on Victory Parkway, we'll get to the promised land. At least his wife is a Xavier person who isn't from Louisville.

It's "cute" to think about Xavier basketball as being a cradle of coaches, but that distinction and the disruption that it caused from the early 80's to Mack's tenure never became problematic, because the next guy up leading to Mack truly was a great hire. Still, the disruption along the way - the loss of continuity - had an impact on recruiting. It's not that we didn't do well in that area. It's about whether or not we could have done better had Xavier been seen as a stable platform capable of retaining a coach - - seen as a DESTINATION JOB.

As far as I'm concerned, it's all about Xavier on a pre-Big East and now Big East basis. There now are only a handful of programs that can offer a better coaching job and more money than X can provide. The earlier turnover was about Xavier being in the MCC or A10, and also about Xavier pre and post Cintas Center. Now it's about Xavier with the Cintas Center as an established venue. It's about Xavier in the Big East, which just got better with the addition of UCONN. It's about Xavier having more money.

All the program elements are in place. Xavier now offers a destination job. Someone who is hellbent on money and the status of a marquee program (e.g. Kentucky, Duke, Kansas) won't see it that way. But someone who appreciates the Big East, Xavier as an institution, Cincinnati, et al might just settle in for a while, suffering on $3 million per year for years to come.

I want to believe that we got our guy and will have him for a long time. I believe we'll hang a banner - the big one - with Steele within five years.

[XU 87]

I know Xavier misses out on recruits all the time. Every school has that issue. However, I will be disappointed on missing out on priority recruits we have spent a lot of time and energy recruiting. We have missed on several recruits we have spent a lot of time recruiting. Luke Goode, Pierre Brooks, Logan Duncomb, Ike Cornish, Malaki Branham just time to name a few.

I can't believe I'm responding to this, but here goes:

Get used to it! Every year, yes every year, X will lose out on recruits it spent a LOT of time on. The same is true for just about every other division 1 program not named Kentucky.

And if you're a troll, I begrudgingly congratulate you on a job well done.

[xuphan]

Good lord, I bet you're a blast at parties. On what planet is Steele not recruiting at a high-level? His first 2 classes are ranked 2nd and 3rd in the BE and the 2021 class is ranked 4th with only one recruit committed. The facts and data don't back up the dark cloud you are casting on the program's recruiting. Carry on

Good Lord can you not read? I said we must continue to recruit at a high level. Directly from my post. We must recruit high level players to compete with Villanova in the Big East and make big runs in the NCAA tournament. We ain’t in the A10 anymore. Start having some ambition on wanting the program to continue to strengthen as a power basketball school.

[XU 87]

Good Lord can you not read? I said we must continue to recruit at a high level. Directly from my post. We must recruit high level players to compete with Villanova in the Big East and make big runs in the NCAA tournament. We ain’t in the A10 anymore. Start having some ambition on wanting the program to continue to strengthen as a power basketball school.

You think X needs to recruit better than when in the A-10 and that X needs to get high level recruits? That is a great idea!! I wonder if any of the coaches have thought of this? Maybe you should send Steele an email.

[XUGRAD80]

Gonzaga and Nova figured it out and emerged from that pack. I selfishly want us to do the same. Maybe not fair......but I don't think we should be become complacent and ok with where we are.

I think we all WANT it.....but someone once sang...”you can’t always get what you want”. I’m certainly not complacent, but that doesn’t mean I can’t be be happy either. Can’t appreciate just how far X has come in a relatively short time. Sometimes one of the hardest things to realize is just how good you have it, and X has it pretty good. I do wish some of the people here would realize that, and appreciate it more than they seem to. Doesn’t mean we can’t want more in the future, but a little appreciation for what has been accomplished is a good thing to.

[xuphan]

I can't believe I'm responding to this, but here goes:

Get used to it! Every year, yes every year, X will lose out on recruits it spent a LOT of time on. The same is true for just about every other division 1 program not named Kentucky

And if you're a troll, I begrudgingly congratulate you on a job well done.

No, every school including Kentucky misses out on players they spent a lot of time recruiting. We seem to miss out on more than our fair share in this recruiting class and end up living in the transfer portal. I do have to ask, What are your ambitions for the Xavier program moving forward XU87? You seem very content on being a mid pack team in the big East each year and A bubble team for the tournament. Is that accurate because you keep calling me a troll and a delusional Xavier fan for wanting the program to continue to grow and develop. I am guessing your one of those fans that truly wished we would have stayed in the A10.

[Final4]

You think X needs to recruit better than when in the A-10 and that X needs to get high level recruits? That is a great idea!! I wonder if any of the coaches have thought of this? Maybe you should send Steele an email.

Jeez why don't you cut the guy a break and stop being such a condescending dick.

[XU 87]

Jeez why don't you cut the guy a break and stop being such a condescending dick.

Thanks for your input, champ.

[XU 87]

No, every school including Kentucky misses out on players they spent a lot of time recruiting. We seem to miss out on more than our fair share in this recruiting class and end up living in the transfer portal. I do have to ask, What are your ambitions for the Xavier program moving forward XU87? You seem very content on being a mid pack team in the big East each year and A bubble team for the tournament. Is that accurate because you keep calling me a troll and a delusional Xavier fan for wanting the program to continue to grow and develop. I am guessing your one of those fans that truly wished we would have stayed in the A10.

I want X to win a national championship. That's what I want. And I think the 2004 Elite 8 team that lost to Duke and the team that lost to Wisconsin in the second round a few years ago had a chance to do that.

But I don't lose sleep and worry that the program is going down the tubes because X missed out on a recruit.

[X-man]

Good Lord can you not read? I said we must continue to recruit at a high level. Directly from my post. We must recruit high level players to compete with Villanova in the Big East and make big runs in the NCAA tournament. We ain’t in the A10 anymore. Start having some ambition on wanting the program to continue to strengthen as a power basketball school.

Uh, I think we are continuing to recruit at a high level if Steele's first two classes count as continuing to recruit. Both were ranked in the top 20 classes in all of D-1 basketball. But thanks for playing.

[xuphan]

[QUOTE=XU 87;678302]I want X to win a national championship. That's what I want. And I think the 2004 Elite 8 team that lost to Duke and the team that lost to Wisconsin in the second round a few years ago had a chance to do that.

But I don't lose sleep and worry that the program is going down the tubes because X missed out on a recruit.

I am glad to hear that you also want Xavier to win a nation championship. I also agree that the 2004 Elite 8 team had a good shot at winning it. We were on such as great run and got screwed by the refs. My concern with recruiting for this class is the amount of misses we have had on the recruiting trail. It’s not one recruit but a number of recruits we have missed on. Yes, Steele has gotten some good recruits to sign which I am excited about but he has also missed on some which have required us to basically live in the transfer portal. We potentially may have 5 transfers on our roster next year. In my opinion, that tells me that there are issues with the roster. I don’t mind getting a transfer or two as it has been a major bonus for our teams in the past but they only have one year to make an impact. Living on transfers is not going to elevate the program to where we want it to be. Again, this is my opinion and you may not agree with it. That is totally fine but you need to stop with calling me a troll.

[xavierj]

Really?

https://247sports.com/college/villanova/Season/2019-Basketball/Commits/

Yes. Like I said, not many. I think they have had 3 or 4 but most after they started winning championships. Were usually 3 and 4 star guys. Obviously they have done well evaluating talent.

[xuphan]

Uh, I think we are continuing to recruit at a high level if Steele's first two classes count as continuing to recruit. Both were ranked in the top 20 classes in all of D-1 basketball. But thanks for playing.

Thanks for playing what? I have already praised Steele for the recruits he has brought in.

[Lloyd Braun]

Yes. Like I said, not many. I think they have had 3 or 4 but most after they started winning championships. Were usually 3 and 4 star guys. Obviously they have done well evaluating talent.

Brunson and Spellman were 5*’s somewhere in the top 20 range.

[nuts4xu]

Start having some ambition on wanting the program to continue to strengthen as a power basketball school.

What evidence to you have that shows Xavier doesn't intend to "continue to strengthen as a power basketball school"? I assume you are familiar with Travis Steele's pitch to Greg Christopher when he was interviewed to be the head coach? He literally sold Xavier on hiring him as head coach by professing his "ambition on wanting to continue to strengthen as a power basketball school".

Here is a quote from when his contract was extended: “I appreciate the support from everyone at Xavier, which is critical to taking our program that next two percent to where we want to go,”

[xuphan]

What evidence to you have that shows Xavier doesn't intend to "continue to strengthen as a power basketball school"? I assume you are familiar with Travis Steele's pitch to Greg Christopher when he was interviewed to be the head coach? He literally sold Xavier on hiring him as head coach by professing his "ambition on wanting to continue to strengthen as a power basketball school".

Here is a quote from when his contract was extended: “I appreciate the support from everyone at Xavier, which is critical to taking our program that next two percent to where we want to go,”


What evidence to you have that shows Xavier doesn't intend to "continue to strengthen as a power basketball school"? I assume you are familiar with Travis Steele's pitch to Greg Christopher when he was interviewed to be the head coach? He literally sold Xavier on hiring him as head coach by professing his "ambition on wanting to continue to strengthen as a power basketball school".

Here is a quote from when his contract was extended: “I appreciate the support from everyone at Xavier, which is critical to taking our program that next two percent to where we want to go,”

First, every coach that did or would have been interviewed for the position would have said that same thing to Christopher. I don’t see a coach saying that they will keep Xavier the same as it has always been and get the job. I would have said the same thing if I were Steele. I expect Steele to get us to that next 2 percent. I’ve never said that he didn’t want us to get to the next two percent. What I am saying is that there are concerns that I am afraid will inhibit this. First, his in game coaching ability had a lot to be desired last season. Maybe it was the players he has had the last two years but I scratched my head on several occasions on his coaching decisions during last two season. He has done a wonderful job in the class of 2019 and 2020. He has brought in solid recruits that will hopefully be impactful during their careers at Xavier. However, he seems to live in the transfer portal for some reason. We seem to contact every transfer including D2 transfers. I am all for having a transfer or two on our roster but we could have as many as 5 on our roster next year including a D2 player. Again, this is my opinion but I don’t see us getting to that next 2 percent with a quarter to half the roster being transfers. We should be using some of those scholarships on 4 year players who Steele can grow and develop during there time at Xavier. Not several transfer who only have a year to make a difference. I hope Steele proves me wrong and gets us to that next 2 percent. However, I currently have concerns of that happening. Again,these are my opinion. You don’t have to agree with them but I feel they are valid points to consider.

[nuts4xu]

I am all for having a transfer or two on our roster but we could have as many as 5 on our roster next year including a D2 player.

Questioning the in game decisions Steele has made is valid, and I think most of us would agree his in game coaching needs improvement. I quoted you saying we need to have ambition to get to the next level (I am paraphrasing). The ambition is there, and our best approach is to recruit and land the best possible players available.

I don't want to see us live and die with transfers, but I don't think Steele does either. If we didn't have Hankins, Castellin, and Wellage, we would have struggled to field a team his first season. Mack left us with an awful collection of recruits, which set us back a few years. With the recent pandemic, and possible waivers being issued to transfers this season, it is also a unique situation where we can consider adding a kid or two to help with class balance. The traditional kids we gained last season, and in the 2021 class will be the foundation of the program...not the 1 year transfers.

[xuphan]

Thank you for responding respectfully. I agree with a lot of what you are saying. We all want this program to get to the final four and ultimately win a national championship.

[Smails]

Good Lord can you not read? I said we must continue to recruit at a high level. Directly from my post. We must recruit high level players to compete with Villanova in the Big East and make big runs in the NCAA tournament. We ain’t in the A10 anymore. Start having some ambition on wanting the program to continue to strengthen as a power basketball school.

HUH?? What part of ANYTHING that I have ever said would lead you to believe that I don't have ambition about the betterment of the program? You question Steele's recruiting and play the 'world is ending' card every time we miss a recruit. That's such a tired, lazy approach and gives you the 'i told you so' position that you seem to love. I simply point out that Steele is and has consistently recruited at a high level and somehow that's lack of ambition? You really draw some very odd conclusions.

[Smails]

Jeez why don't you cut the guy a break and stop being such a condescending dick.

Yeah 87, grow up :homer:

[xuphan]

HUH?? What part of ANYTHING that I have ever said would lead you to believe that I don't have ambition about the betterment of the program? You question Steele's recruiting and play the 'world is ending' card every time we miss a recruit. That's such a tired, lazy approach and gives you the 'i told you so' position that you seem to love. I simply point out that Steele is and has consistently recruited at a high level and somehow that's lack of ambition? You really draw some very odd conclusions.

You are bashing me for having ambition and wanting this program to take the next leap? I have hardly said the world is over when we lose out on A specific recruit but I do show my disappointment when we miss out on priority recruits that we have spend a lot of time and energy on. I have also praised Steele on several occasions on his past two recruiting classes. You seem to think I just bash Steele 24/7 which is not true. So no, I don’t take the tired, lazy approach of being a Xavier fan. You however do take the tired, lazy, and rude approach of bashing fans who criticize any part of this program.

[drudy23]

If you’re going to criticize, criticize the areas that deserve it, like two seasons of horrendous offensive execution, rotations of players that made no sense, and a coaching staff that seemed to let certain players run the show. Recruiting under Steele has been his strong suit to date.

[Xuperman]

If you’re going to criticize, criticize the areas that deserve it, like two seasons of horrendous offensive execution, rotations of players that made no sense, and a coaching staff that seemed to let certain players run the show. Recruiting under Steele has been his strong suit to date.

Yeah, but there was some defense snafus as well. How Coach allowed McEwen to open a can of wupass on us, at HOME, in TWO overtimes, I'll never understand but I am hoping it will have that "touching a hot stove" effect on him. Could have easily cost us a tourney bid.

Now the reality is, there are only 2 of Steele's first 8 HS recruits that we know can produce at a high level in the BEast. More importantly, they are 2 of the top 5 in the entire conference class of 2019. Tandy and Free look destined to be All Conference, so the foundation is in place....2 starting positions covered for the foreseeable future. As for the other 5 (Bishop looked A10 anyway), one has to be EXTREMELY OPTIMISTIC that at least 2 more will end up sniffing All League status as well....I'm thinking sooner than later.

Man, IF Miles can be effective (Spain indicated he can), things start to fall in place quickly. I can't see how Odom becomes a bust and the 2 "CJ's" are as good looking prospects we've ever had. There is certainly a path to a very impressive starting 5 with what's already in place. I get that warm/fuzzy feeling thinking about Steele's first class as seniors! ������

[Smails]

You are bashing me for having ambition and wanting this program to take the next leap? I have hardly said the world is over when we lose out on A specific recruit but I do show my disappointment when we miss out on priority recruits that we have spend a lot of time and energy on. I have also praised Steele on several occasions on his past two recruiting classes. You seem to think I just bash Steele 24/7 which is not true. So no, I don’t take the tired, lazy approach of being a Xavier fan. You however do take the tired, lazy, and rude approach of bashing fans who criticize any part of this program.

LOL! Please re-read the question I asked you in my post and answer it. You accused me of not wanting this program to move forward and I'd like for you to prove it. Also BTW, when you call someone rude and then use the exact same insults that you feel makes them rude...it makes you rude. You're funny

[XU 87]

[QUOTE=Xuperman;678332]Yeah, but there was some defense snafus as well. QUOTE]

I think it's fair to say that Steele needs to be a better coach. My biggest concern the last two years was the lack of discipline his teams often showed, particularly on offense,- and I think that's reflective of coaching. That said, I have the impression that there were some internal issues with some former players who didn't totally buy into the team concept. I also think it can be tough for a former assistant coach to have the full respect from returning players. Miller had problems with Dedrick Finn. Mack had problems with Lyons.

If we see the lack of discipline again this year, then I'm going to get concerned.

[xavierj]

[QUOTE=Xuperman;678332]Yeah, but there was some defense snafus as well. QUOTE]

I think it's fair to say that Steele needs to be a better coach. My biggest concern the last two years was the lack of discipline his teams often showed, particularly on offense,- and I think that's reflective of coaching. That said, I have the impression that there were some internal issues with some former players who didn't totally buy into the team concept. I also think it can be tough for a former assistant coach to have the full respect from returning players. Miller had problems with Dedrick Finn. Mack had problems with Lyons.

If we see the lack of discipline again this year, then I'm going to get concerned.

I agree with this. Hopefully we see a more disciplined, cohesive team that can shoot the ball. Seems like they are all buying in from what I hear so hope everything else falls in place.

[XU 87]

[QUOTE=XU 87;678343]

Hopefully we see a more disciplined, cohesive team that can shoot the ball.

It's amazing how much better an offense looks when a team can actually put the ball through the basket.

[xuphan]

[QUOTE=Xuperman;678332]Yeah, but there was some defense snafus as well. QUOTE]

I think it's fair to say that Steele needs to be a better coach. My biggest concern the last two years was the lack of discipline his teams often showed, particularly on offense,- and I think that's reflective of coaching. That said, I have the impression that there were some internal issues with some former players who didn't totally buy into the team concept. I also think it can be tough for a former assistant coach to have the full respect from returning players. Miller had problems with Dedrick Finn. Mack had problems with Lyons.

If we see the lack of discipline again this year, then I'm going to get concerned.

I agree with this. I cringed every time Jones tried to do some post move shot that wasn’t a dunk. I do hope Steele can get the team playing team ball offensively instead of it being the Marshall show like it has been the last two years. This should help with better shooters on the roster. With Marshall gone, I hope Scruggs doesn’t try to fill the Marshall role. This is now Steele’s team so I expect more team ball this year.

[XU 87]

I agree with this. I cringed every time Jones tried to do some post move shot that wasn’t a dunk.

For as good as he was last year, it was remarkable how many relatively open three foot shots Jones missed last year. Someone told me there is some stat that shows he shot something like 32% from the field on contested shots inside 5 feet.

[Xville]

The annoying thing about Jones is that he never developed anything outside of 3 feet. He could have been nearly impossible to guard had he developed any semblance of a midrange game...I'm assuming he practiced it, but it just never happened.

[UCGRAD4X]

[QUOTE=xavierj;678344]

It's amazing how much better an offense looks when a team can actually put the ball through the basket.

I can't see any flaws in this line of thinking.

[xu82]

[QUOTE=XU 87;678345]

I can't see any flaws in this line of thinking.

Well....it does have to go thru in the right direction. Other than that, I think we are onto something!

[sirthought]

So now that Kunkel is on board, how do the scholarship priorities shift?

You still obviously want to go after the best talent you can get. Pandemic is still a barrier to building the relationship how they'd prefer. And we know we need taller wings.

[UCGRAD4X]

[QUOTE=UCGRAD4X;678424]

Well....it does have to go thru in the right direction. Other than that, I think we are onto something!

And into our own basket.

Boy, this theory is looking less and less full-proof all the time.

I guess this is why Steele gets the big bucks.

[xuphan]

So now that Kunkel is on board, how do the scholarship priorities shift?

You still obviously want to go after the best talent you can get. Pandemic is still a barrier to building the relationship how they'd prefer. And we know we need taller wings.

Jusaun Holt would be the sf the staff would like in this class. I believe we are the favorites to land him according to insiders.

[sirthought]

Lighting Strike from Steele's Twitter account. I wonder who they've closed on?

[Xville]

Lighting Strike from Steele's Twitter account. I wonder who they've closed on?

Stanley I think....he was on an awful Hampton team but hes got some length and scored 22 a game. Two years left after a sit out year.

I think Steele saw the writing on the wall with the 21 class and so he proactively nailed down these transfers which I certainly appreciate!

[sirthought]

I thought we were looking for shooters on the wing. Another guy who didn't get recruited to high majors out of high school.

[JTG]

I thought we were looking for shooters on the wing. Another guy who didn't get recruited to high majors out of high school. He had high majors after him when he decided to transfer. Also read he is applying to play right away.

[xudash]

Stanley I think....he was on an awful Hampton team but hes got some length and scored 22 a game. Two years left after a sit out year.

I think Steele saw the writing on the wall with the 21 class and so he proactively nailed down these transfers which I certainly appreciate!

Please elaborate. Striking out on key targets across the board or something else?

[sirthought]

He had high majors after him when he decided to transfer. Also read he is applying to play right away.

So did Uncle Kunlel, but that doesn't mean they'll succeed at this level. Should be interesting to see how it plays out.

[XUGRAD80]

So did Uncle Kunlel, but that doesn't mean they'll succeed at this level. Should be interesting to see how it plays out.

He dropped 20 on Illinois last year....how many HS recruits can say that? :cool:

Seriously though, there is almost no such thing as a “can’t miss” HS recruit or even college transfer. We’ve seen that many times with X players, and even more with recruits and transfers to other programs. I’ll take 22 and 7 against college competition over the same numbers against almost any HS competition. Stanley may not do that against the schools X will be playing, but how many freshman would we expect to do that either? If he can give X 10 and 4 consistently he will be a very good addition.

[sirthought]

He dropped 20 on Illinois last year....how many HS recruits can say that?

I'm sure there's been quite a few, since all of the competition UofI plays were in HS at one point.

[Xville]

Please elaborate. Striking out on key targets across the board or something else?

All I'm going by is what the recruiting services tell me and it looks like we missed on a few guys that we had been recruiting for a while, the rest that are highly interested in x are guys that are top 50ish which probably arent coming or guys in the 125-150ish range and my inclination is that Steele thought kunkel and stanley were better options. Again, all of this is just what the recruiting services tell me, but judging what has happened, what is left, and the actions of Steele nailing down these two guys, I think what I said before seems accurate.

I had been worried about this 21 recruiting class for months, it was starting to look similar to what 18 did sans Edwards coming into the mix, so I love what Steele did here to fill in the gaps.

[sirthought]

These transfers are certainly a better move than giving scholarships to walk-on players for a season. At least they will have some skills helping them provide tougher competition during practice, which is important. It's hard to play the full allotment of scholarship players normally, so these two don't hurt to have.

Still, it would still be nice to see some consistency within the standard recruiting routes.

[xavierj]

All I'm going by is what the recruiting services tell me and it looks like we missed on a few guys that we had been recruiting for a while, the rest that are highly interested in x are guys that are top 50ish which probably arent coming or guys in the 125-150ish range and my inclination is that Steele thought kunkel and stanley were better options. Again, all of this is just what the recruiting services tell me, but judging what has happened, what is left, and the actions of Steele nailing down these two guys, I think what I said before seems accurate.

I had been worried about this 21 recruiting class for months, it was starting to look similar to what 18 did sans Edwards coming into the mix, so I love what Steele did here to fill in the gaps.

This was a good move. Xavier will still land another 4 star wing soon and adding Stanley balances out the classes since we don’t have anyone that will be a junior next year since we struck out in 2018. Two 4 star players will be much better than what was produced in 2018 for 2021 and by all accounts Edwards has an extremely high ceiling. If not for not having AAU this year I am not sure Xavier would have landed him. He probably would have blown up.

[XUGRAD80]

One way to look at the addition of these two transfers is to look at who they are replacing in their class. Who, if they would have stayed would be entering their junior years? The answer is Keonte Kennedy and Dontarius James. I would consider both new players an upgrade over those two players, and both still have 2 years left to play.

Another thing to look at is that X will have 4 seniors on the squad next year...Scruggs, Carter, Johnson and Griffin.....which means they still have 3 open scholarships to offer for 2021.

[paulxu]

There is AAU ball here in the South, almost every weekend.

But I've looked everywhere, and can't find any box scores on the tournament here in Sptn. last weekend.
Don't think Edwards did all that good, but might be wrong. Don't see his name mentioned in all the twitter nonsense.

[xuphan]

One way to look at the addition of these two transfers is to look at who they are replacing in their class. Who, if they would have stayed would be entering their junior years? The answer is Keonte Kennedy and Dontarius James. I would consider both new players an upgrade over those two players, and both still have 2 years left to play.

Another thing to look at is that X will have 4 seniors on the squad next year...Scruggs, Carter, Johnson and Griffin.....which means they still have 3 open scholarships to offer for 2021.

Never thought I would see the day where almost half of Xaviers roster are transfers. You typically see this when a program has a brand new head coach but not when the coach has been there for several years. We missed out on a bunch of priority recruits in the 2021 class and with no AAU ball to recruit, I think Steele decided to go the transfers route instead. I am intrigued to see what each transfer is able to do at Xavier. They all made a big impact at their previous schools but can it translate to the Big East?

[xuphan]

This was a good move. Xavier will still land another 4 star wing soon and adding Stanley balances out the classes since we don’t have anyone that will be a junior next year since we struck out in 2018. Two 4 star players will be much better than what was produced in 2018 for 2021 and by all accounts Edwards has an extremely high ceiling. If not for not having AAU this year I am not sure Xavier would have landed him. He probably would have blown up.

Would you like to share who this might be? I haven’t heard any names that we are after looking to commit soon.

[Xville]

Never thought I would see the day where almost half of Xaviers roster are transfers. You typically see this when a program has a brand new head coach but not when the coach has been there for several years. We missed out on a bunch of priority recruits in the 2021 class and with no AAU ball to recruit, I think Steele decided to go the transfers route instead. I am intrigued to see what each transfer is able to do at Xavier. They all made a big impact at their previous schools but can it translate to the Big East?

7 guys on the roster are freshmen and sophomores, 1 senior...so 8 non transfers. Steele has done a fantastic job rebuilding this roster after mack left. Yeah the 21 recruiting class is light at this point, but get one more solid pickup and then work on 22. The transfers have helped balance out the classes after the trainwreck that was the 18 recruiting class and frankly the 17 class. Mack produced 2 players in two years worth of recruiting classes, 3 players worth a crap by the end of their tenure if you want to include the 16 class. If you want to blame someone, blame that douchebag.

[Xuperman]

WOW! Have we ever had a incoming D1 transfer that averaged 22 ppg?

[Xuperman]

I thought we were looking for shooters on the wing. Another guy who didn't get recruited to high majors out of high school.

The more pure shooters the better but this guy can flat out score, which is a hallelujah! I mean, scoring 40 points in any D1 game is pretty rare.

Unlike Kunkel, he comes in BEast ready from a physicality stand point and looks like he will have no problem competing athletically. I'm thinking he will be on par with Mahoney/Nze.....very physical low major transfers that do very well in our conference. Can't see any way this guy is another bust.

[XUGRAD80]

7 guys on the roster are freshmen and sophomores, 1 senior...so 8 non transfers. Steele has done a fantastic job rebuilding this roster after mack left. Yeah the 21 recruiting class is light at this point, but get one more solid pickup and then work on 22. The transfers have helped balance out the classes after the trainwreck that was the 18 recruiting class and frankly the 17 class. Mack produced 2 players in two years worth of recruiting classes, 3 players worth a crap by the end of their tenure if you want to include the 16 class. If you want to blame someone, blame that douchebag.

This^

The transfers are not replacements for the 2021 class. The 2021 class is not done and they still have 3 scholarships they can use for that class. These transfers are replacements for the misses made in years past and not the year to come.

[xuphan]

7 guys on the roster are freshmen and sophomores, 1 senior...so 8 non transfers. Steele has done a fantastic job rebuilding this roster after mack left. Yeah the 21 recruiting class is light at this point, but get one more solid pickup and then work on 22. The transfers have helped balance out the classes after the trainwreck that was the 18 recruiting class and frankly the 17 class. Mack produced 2 players in two years worth of recruiting classes, 3 players worth a crap by the end of their tenure if you want to include the 16 class. If you want to blame someone, blame that douchebag.

I really like the transfer pickups Steele has gotten during the summer. All of them put up impressive stats at their previous school. My only concern is developing chemistry with so many new faces. COVID 19 will make it that much harder to get everyone on the same page. I trust Steele but this is a big year for him and the programs development. I can’t wait to see how this team develops over the season. How many days until the first game?

[bleedXblue]

Feeling a little better with the last two pickups........but yes, more than a trend with Steele AND I think it brings more complexity around playing time (commitments) and chemistry.

[Xuperman]

The transfers are not replacements for the 2021 class. The 2021 class is not done and they still have 3 scholarships they can use for that class. These transfers are replacements for the misses made in years past and not the year to come.

Look at it from the angle of how many scholarship Seniors we will have after this season (IF we play).

2021-22
Ben Stanley

2022-23
Tandy
Fremantle
Kunkel

2023-24
Odom
Wilcher
Jones
Miles
Ramsey

2024-25
Edwards

So, the 2018 class (or lack thereof) continues to be a major weakness. Challenge 1- Coach will be forced to obtain quality senior leadership for 2021-22 thru the Transfer Portal, so that really puts an emphasis on not whiffing then.

Challenge 2- Landing the right HS prospects in addition to Edwards. More top 100 guys would be great, but not totally necessary. As long as he can get players that come with the physical/athletic tools needed for this league. Hopefully Steele can excel in developing talent but that is a solid question mark at this point.

[Xuperman]

Feeling a little better with the last two pickups........but yes, more than a trend with Steele AND I think it brings more complexity around playing time (commitments) and chemistry.

Yeah, that is an excellent point. If Stanley brings his A game, he will command significant PT. Additionally, if Kunkel shows his "All OVC" talent in practice, it certainly could effect confidence in Jones and/or Wilcher. ESPECIALLY WILCHER. From watching a lot of tape on him, I don't think he will be very patient waiting for game action.

[Xuperman]

https://www.zagsblog.com/2020/07/31/class-of-2021-shooting-guard-jordan-hawkins-plans-to-announce-soon/

AS of yesterday, X still in the mix for Jordan Hawkins along with a slew of BEast schools AND UofL. With Jonas Hayes as point man in his recruitment, anything is possible.

Announcement soon.

[xuphan]

https://www.zagsblog.com/2020/07/31/class-of-2021-shooting-guard-jordan-hawkins-plans-to-announce-soon/

AS of yesterday, X still in the mix for Jordan Hawkins along with a slew of BEast schools AND UofL. With Jonas Hayes as point man in his recruitment, anything is possible.

Announcement soon.

Gabe Dorsey announcement is tomorrow. I like our chances based on the teams left on his list. I think it is down to us and Vandy

[xavierj]

Gabe Dorsey announcement is tomorrow. I like our chances based on the teams left on his list. I think it is down to us and Vandy

I would bet on Vandy. Looks like he is one smart dude, plus would have more of an opportunity to play early, so Vandy would appear to be the pick.

[Xuperman]

Gabe Dorsey announcement is tomorrow. I like our chances based on the teams left on his list. I think it is down to us and Vandy

His brother is already a Penn St Nittany Lion, so depending on how that weighs he very well could join him. Going to Candy nearly assures he won't dance, so X has that as an edge.

[noteggs]

Dorsey has 6 crystal balls for Vandy with high confidence. Time to move on with this one.

[xuphan]

https://www.zagsblog.com/2020/07/31/class-of-2021-shooting-guard-jordan-hawkins-plans-to-announce-soon/

AS of yesterday, X still in the mix for Jordan Hawkins along with a slew of BEast schools AND UofL. With Jonas Hayes as point man in his recruitment, anything is possible.

Announcement soon.

Snow just CB Hawkins to UCONN who I believe just offered him a scholarship. I wonder if the kunkle commitment has any influence on Hawkins trending away from Xavier. Looks like another Strikeout on a priority recruit in the class of 21. If only Steele could recruit high school kids like he recruits transfers. I’m sure we will be fine but I was really hoping we were going to land him.

[xavierj]

Snow just CB Hawkins to UCONN who I believe just offered him a scholarship. I wonder if the kunkle commitment has any influence on Hawkins trending away from Xavier. Looks like another Strikeout on a priority recruit in the class of 21. If only Steele could recruit high school kids like he recruits transfers. IÂ’m sure we will be fine but I was really hoping we were going to land him.

If he could recruit high school kids? Do you pay attention? He had the #2 and #3 recruiting classes in the Big East with just high school kids in his first two classes. He will now have 7 kids on campus who are either a freshman or sophomore, who he signed out of high school. He will most likely again have a top 3 or 4 class in the Big East when the 2021 class is done. Just because he landed a couple of transfers, doesnÂ’t mean he canÂ’t land high school kids. KY has landed a couple of transfers as well. Everyone goes after transfers now.

[Xville]

Snow just CB Hawkins to UCONN who I believe just offered him a scholarship. I wonder if the kunkle commitment has any influence on Hawkins trending away from Xavier. Looks like another Strikeout on a priority recruit in the class of 21. If only Steele could recruit high school kids like he recruits transfers. I’m sure we will be fine but I was really hoping we were going to land him.

What in the h are you talking about? Hes a northeast kid being recruited by a ton of ne schools....it only makes sense he would stay in that region.

[xuphan]

What in the h are you talking about? Hes a northeast kid being recruited by a ton of ne schools....it only makes sense he would stay in that region.

What are you talking about? Why would we make him a priority recruit and spend all the time and resources recruiting him if he is just going to end up in the northeast anyways like you said? That doesn’t make sense at all. It just sucks that we have now missed out again on a priority recruit in the class of 21. Maybe it has something to do with the transfers. I like what he has done in the class of 19 and 20 but he has definitely laid a major egg when it comes to the class of 21. I’m not sure why he is having so much trouble in this class. Maybe someone can enlighten me.

[Xville]

What are you talking about? Why would we make him a priority recruit and spend all the time and resources recruiting him if he is just going to end up in the northeast anyways like you said? That doesn’t make sense at all. It just sucks that we have now missed out again on a priority recruit in the class of 21. Maybe it has something to do with the transfers. I like what he has done in the class of 19 and 20 but he has definitely laid a major egg when it comes to the class of 21. I’m not sure why he is having so much trouble in this class. Maybe someone can enlighten me.

Hes a top 50 guy in the northeast...chances are that he was going to stay in the region, that doesnt mean you dont come up to bat. Not sure how many times someone on here needs to tell you this for you to comprehend, but there are other programs out there just as good or better than x that are recruiting the same kids. X is going to lose more than they win...that's recruiting.

Steele has had 2 great classes in a row, just got two pretty high profile transfers that other programs wanted, and you complain every single time that a kid from the 21 class chooses a different school. The 21 class is lean at this point, but I bet Steele gets one more before all is said and done, and then has another fantastic 22 class.

[xufan02]

Xavier is looking to only take one more 2021 recruit now with Kunkel and Stanley in the fold. Preferably a wing who can shoot. Hawkins to Xavier was always going to be a long shot.

[xuphan]

Hes a top 50 guy in the northeast...chances are that he was going to stay in the region, that doesnt mean you dont come up to bat. Not sure how many times someone on here needs to tell you this for you to comprehend, but there are other programs out there just as good or better than x that are recruiting the same kids. X is going to lose more than they win...that's recruiting.

Steele has had 2 great classes in a row, just got two pretty high profile transfers that other programs wanted, and you complain every single time that a kid from the 21 class chooses a different school. The 21 class is lean at this point, but I bet Steele gets one more before all is said and done, and then has another fantastic 22 class.

The class of 21 is lean because we have missed on a bunch of 21 recruits. How many times do I have to tell you that I am not mad about missing one recruit but when a bunch of recruits who the program have made a priority, it is concerning. This class is starting to look like the last class Mack had before he left. Again, my ambitions are to get to a final four. To do that we need to recruit at a very high level especially with some of the weaknesses in Steele’s in game coaching.

[xu82]

Hes a top 50 guy in the northeast...chances are that he was going to stay in the region, that doesnt mean you dont come up to bat. Not sure how many times someone on here needs to tell you this for you to comprehend, but there are other programs out there just as good or better than x that are recruiting the same kids. X is going to lose more than they win...that's recruiting.

Steele has had 2 great classes in a row, just got two pretty high profile transfers that other programs wanted, and you complain every single time that a kid from the 21 class chooses a different school. The 21 class is lean at this point, but I bet Steele gets one more before all is said and done, and then has another fantastic 22 class.


You gotta earn those red dots every day!

[Xville]

The class of 21 is lean because we have missed on a bunch of 21 recruits. How many times do I have to tell you that I am not mad about missing one recruit but when a bunch of recruits who the program have made a priority, it is concerning. This class is starting to look like the last class Mack had before he left. Again, my ambitions are to get to a final four. To do that we need to recruit at a very high level especially with some of the weaknesses in Steele’s in game coaching.

Hes recruited at a high level his first two years on the job. Thia third year is lean but because he saw the writing on the wall, he proactively got two high profile transfers to fill in gaps. That is something mack didn't do (being proactive I mean). You do realize that the 21 recruits are also looking at playing time and not finding a lot at this point too right?

7 core guys who will be juniors and sophomores by the time they enter.

Now, if the 22 class starts to look like this one, ok I will start tounderstand the ad nauseam complaining every time a 18 year old kid chooses a different school

Oh btw we missed out on a bunch of priority recruits in the 19 and 20 classes too and those still turned out to be good ones..newsflash x is going to miss out on a lot of priority recruits every year.

[xuphan]

Hes recruited at a high level his first two years on the job. Thia third year is lean but because he saw the writing on the wall, he proactively got two high profile transfers to fill in gaps. That is something mack didn't do (being proactive I mean). You do realize that the 21 recruits are also looking at playing time and not finding a lot at this point too right?

7 core guys who will be juniors and sophomores by the time they enter.

Now, if the 22 class starts to look like this one, ok I will start tounderstand the ad nauseam complaining every time a 18 year old kid chooses a different school

Again, I did not start to complain until we started to miss on several high priority recruits. You keep bring this up for some reason but the truth is that we have missed on a high number of high priority recruits. Saying that there isn’t playing time available for these kids isn’t true. Kunkle and Stanley committed. Did Steele tell them there isn’t playing time available? If they are good enough, they will play regardless of who is on the team. We need to make every recruiting class count if we are going to seriously contend to make it to a final four in the near future. Steele’s in game coaching shows how important it is to have successful recruiting classes. That DePaul loss in the Big East tournament shows this.

[Xville]

Again, I did not start to complain until we started to miss on several high priority recruits. You keep bring this up for some reason but the truth is that we have missed on a high number of high priority recruits. Saying that there isn’t playing time available for these kids isn’t true. Kunkle and Stanley committed. Did Steele tell them there isn’t playing time available? If they are good enough, they will play regardless of who is on the team. We need to make every recruiting class count if we are going to seriously contend to make it to a final four in the near future. Steele’s in game coaching shows how important it is to have successful recruiting classes. That DePaul loss in the Big East tournament shows this.

I bring it up because you complain every time..even on kids we had very little chance at grabbing. Again newsflash, going to lose more than you win in recruiting. Steele did a fantastic job in the first 2 recruiting classes, building back a solid foundation..when he saw 21 may not be a 3 or 4 player class, he proactively sought out two high profile transfers who are used to d 1 basketball to fill in the gaps of not having a whole lot of upper classmen on the roster and to fill out the roster.

Even villanova loses out on high profile recruits year to year...it looks completely tone deaf when Steele has had two good recruiting classes in a row, got two high profile transfers, is building back a foundation to the roster, and you are shouting about losing out on a few recruits on 21.

[xuphan]

I bring it up because you complain every time..even on kids we had very little chance at grabbing. Again newsflash, going to lose more than you win in recruiting. Steele did a fantastic job in the first 2 recruiting classes, building back a solid foundation..when he saw 21 may not be a 3 or 4 player class, he proactively sought out two high profile transfers who are used to d 1 basketball to fill in the gaps of not having a whole lot of upper classmen on the roster and to fill out the roster.

Even villanova loses out on high profile recruits year to year...it looks completely tone deaf when Steele has had two good recruiting classes in a row, got two high profile transfers, is building back a foundation to the roster, and you are shouting about losing out on a few recruits on 21.

I am just not sure what you are not comprehending. Again, we have lost out on a bunch of high priority recruits in the 21 class. Not just any 5 star recruit that we offered just for fun but high priority recruits we have spent a lot of time and resources recruiting. I don’t expect us to get every high priority recruit because it’s not possible. However, when we miss out on a bunch of them like Mack did his final year, it is worrying. I can list them if that would help you comprehend the situation better. I am big on recruiting because it will be the main factor to increase our chances of us getting us to the final four. As a Xavier fan, that should be everyone’s goal and it all starts with recruiting. It is especially important based on Steele’s weaknesses with in game coaching. We need the talent to overcome these.

[Juice]

I am just not sure what you are not comprehending. Again, we have lost out on a bunch of high priority recruits in the 21 class. Not just any 5 star recruit that we offered just for fun but high priority recruits we have spent a lot of time and resources recruiting. I don’t expect us to get every high priority recruit because it’s not possible. However, when we miss out on a bunch of them like Mack did his final year, it is worrying. I can list them if that would help you comprehend the situation better. I am big on recruiting because it will be the main factor to increase our chances of us getting us to the final four. As a Xavier fan, that should be everyone’s goal and it all starts with recruiting. It is especially important based on Steele’s weaknesses with in game coaching. We need the talent to overcome these.

We missed on them in Mack's final year because everyone knew Mack was gone.

And Steele hasn't missed much in the two classes before this one. And in this one, he's taken in two pretty good transfers. Why would kids then come in to compete with upper classmen?

You're simply wrong. Everyone tells you that you're wrong and you still double down on being wrong. Your recruiting posts are insufferable.

[drudy23]

Yes, please list a comparison of the high quality recruits we got vs. the high priority recruits we missed. Go.

[Xville]

I am just not sure what you are not comprehending. Again, we have lost out on a bunch of high priority recruits in the 21 class. Not just any 5 star recruit that we offered just for fun but high priority recruits we have spent a lot of time and resources recruiting. I don’t expect us to get every high priority recruit because it’s not possible. However, when we miss out on a bunch of them like Mack did his final year, it is worrying. I can list them if that would help you comprehend the situation better. I am big on recruiting because it will be the main factor to increase our chances of us getting us to the final four. As a Xavier fan, that should be everyone’s goal and it all starts with recruiting. It is especially important based on Steele’s weaknesses with in game coaching. We need the talent to overcome these.

I comprehend what you are saying that's not in question...I'm saying the complaining isnt warranted based on all the reasons I have explained in numerous posts.

[xuphan]

Yes, please list a comparison of the high quality recruits we got vs. the high priority recruits we missed. Go.


Yes, please list a comparison of the high quality recruits we got vs. the high priority recruits we missed. Go.

2021 class
High Priority Recruit to Xavier: Caesar Edwards

High Priority Recruits going elsewhere: Luke Goode, Pierre Brooks, Malaki Branham, Ike Cornish, Brooks Barnhitzer, Logan Duncomb, Gabe Dorsey, Jordan Hawkins

[drudy23]

2021 class
High Priority Recruit to Xavier: Caesar Edwards

High Priority Recruits going elsewhere: Luke Goode, Pierre Brooks, Malaki Branham, Ike Cornish, Brooks Barnhitzer, Logan Duncomb, Gabe Dorsey, Jordan Hawkins

So you’re saying we should have a roster of 328 guys? You do realize only 5 can play at once?

Who are the guys that Xavier made their first priority that they missed on vs. the recruits they actually got. Some of what you listed weren’t first priority, long established relationship guys.

[xuphan]

So you’re saying we should have a roster of 328 guys? You do realize only 5 can play at once?

Who are the guys that Xavier made their first priority that they missed on vs. the recruits they actually got. Some of what you listed weren’t first priority, long established relationship guys.

Wow buddy. Never said I expected them to get everyone. Just trying to put words in my mouth I guess. Maybe you should make the list to show me that I am so wrong about the 2021 class.

[xufan02]

All the recruits you listed were priority recruits for Xavier and we will miss on everyone of them but Cesare Edwards. At the same time let's also put some of this in perspective.

Pierre Brooks Jr committed to Michigan State. The premiere program in his home state. This recruitment was, let's hope MSU doesn't offer, with Covid and recruits staying close to home he popped for MSU.

Branham was a pipedream, he was always a long shot and a Ohio State lean.

Brooks and Gabe had always said academics was a major part of the equation and so was early playing time. They will get both at Northwestern and Vanderbilt.

Cornish, Goode, and Duncomb are legit misses. Although Cesare Edwards looks to have more upside then Duncomb.

So that leaves with Hawkins. He was a priority recruit but his list kept getting bigger, so the staff had to move on to other guys.

In recruiting you are going to miss on more then you hit. I honestly think Kunkel is better right now then any of the 2021 recruits that we missed on by a wide margin, and he will be here for two seasons. Ben Stanley is a proven player and should be a roll player here, could some of the 2021 guys be stars? Perhaps, but we don't know. I will also say the 2021 class in general is weaker compared to 2020.

As of right now we will have 10 guys on the roster for the 2021-2022 season, with Xavier likely adding another 2021 wing. Our roster is going to be freakin loaded.

[xuphan]

All the recruits you listed were priority recruits for Xavier and we will miss on everyone of them but Cesare Edwards. At the same time let's also put some of this in perspective.

Pierre Brooks Jr committed to Michigan State. The premiere program in his home state. This recruitment was, let's hope MSU doesn't offer, with Covid and recruits staying close to home he popped for MSU.

Branham was a pipedream, he was always a long shot and a Ohio State lean.

Brooks and Gabe had always said academics was a major part of the equation and so was early playing time. They will get both at Northwestern and Vanderbilt.

Cornish, Goode, and Duncomb are legit misses. Although Cesare Edwards looks to have more upside then Duncomb.

So that leaves with Hawkins. He was a priority recruit but his list kept getting bigger, so the staff had to move on to other guys.

In recruiting you are going to miss on more then you hit. I honestly think Kunkel is better right now then any of the 2021 recruits that we missed on by a wide margin, and he will be here for two seasons. Ben Stanley is a proven player and should be a roll player here, could some of the 2021 guys be stars? Perhaps, but we don't know. I will also say the 2021 class in general is weaker compared to 2020.

As of right now we will have 10 guys on the roster for the 2021-2022 season, with Xavier likely adding another 2021 wing. Our roster is going to be freakin loaded.

Kunkle will be interesting to see what kind of an impact he will make. It’s all subjective but I believe Branham and Hawkins are better than Kunkle by a wide margin. Kunkle did very well in a low major conference but can he do it in the big east consistently against better competition? Branham and Hawkins are most likely stars where they are going. Kunkle looks like a role player to me. We can make assumptions on any Priority recruit that doesn’t pick Xavier but they are all misses nonetheless.

[XUGRAD80]

At this point the trio of Kentucky, Duke, and NC have gotten exactly TWO commitments for the 2021 class, between them. Only one of those two is a 5 STAR. A BIG departure from where they were last year at the same time when they had a combined TEN 5-Star players.

This is NOT business as usual in 2021. No sense in getting ones blood pressure up because things aren’t going as expected or hoped for.

[xu82]

At this point the trio of Kentucky, Duke, and NC have gotten exactly TWO commitments for the 2021 class, between them. Only one of those two is a 5 STAR. A BIG departure from where they were last year at the same time when they had a combined TEN 5-Star players.

This is NOT business as usual in 2021. No sense in getting ones blood pressure up because things aren’t going as expected or hoped for.

A big public thank you for some perspective!

[JTG]

Kunkle will be interesting to see what kind of an impact he will make. It’s all subjective but I believe Branham and Hawkins are better than Kunkle by a wide margin. Kunkle did very well in a low major conference but can he do it in the big east consistently against better competition? Branham and Hawkins are most likely stars where they are going. Kunkle looks like a role player to me. We can make assumptions on any Priority recruit that doesn’t pick Xavier but they are all misses nonetheless.

His kind of shooting translates whether he's at Shitsville College or Duke or X. Watch some of the tape, many of his shots are well behind the line. Plus he has a year to bulk up and practice with and against his teammates. And he'll have 3 years maturity on any 2021 recruit. More sniper than role player.

[xuphan]

His kind of shooting translates whether he's at Shitsville College or Duke or X. Watch some of the tape, many of his shots are well behind the line. Plus he has a year to bulk up and practice with and against his teammates. And he'll have 3 years maturity on any 2021 recruit. More sniper than role player.

Same could be said about Brad Redford. His strength and defense in the Big East will be a major factor on his role with the team. I am hopeful he can play a solid role within the team.

[bleedXblue]

Same could be said about Brad Redford. His strength and defense in the Big East will be a major factor on his role with the team. I am hopeful he can play a solid role within the team.

You can't compare Kunkel to Redford. Redford had virtually no speed or athleticism whatsoever. Redford was also 3 inches shorter.

[xufan02]

Kunkel lead a team to a 26-7 record and a OVC championship as a sophomore. He will not be a role player at Xavier. The dude has a lot of game. Watch the tape, he is not a one trick pony. Also Branham and Hawkins have some physical gifts, but don't have the basketball iq and shot making ability that Kunkel has now. Could they develop it overtime? Yes, but Kunkel has already done it at the college level.

https://youtu.be/cKxqy47mEOc

[xu82]

You can't compare Kunkel to Redford. Redford had virtually no speed or athleticism whatsoever. Redford was also 3 inches shorter.

Amen! The video I’ve seen says they are totally different players. Can he play BE defense? I have no idea but it’s not the same guy by any means.

[drudy23]

From here until eternity, every White Xavier guard will be compared to Brad Redford.

[xuphan]

Kunkel lead a team to a 26-7 record and a OVC championship as a sophomore. He will not be a role player at Xavier. The dude has a lot of game. Watch the tape, he is not a one trick pony. Also Branham and Hawkins have some physical gifts, but don't have the basketball iq and shot making ability that Kunkel has now. Could they develop it overtime? Yes, but Kunkel has already done it at the college level.

https://youtu.be/cKxqy47mEOc

A 17 minute pickup video with absolutely zero defense? Every recruit looks like an all star in those videos. I know he can shoot but there is more to it than just shooting. Hopefully his game translates into the Big East. We need all the players we can get after losing to DePaul in the Big East Tournament.