From the Cin Enquirer....inside BB practice

[XUGRAD80]

Check out this article from Cincinnati.com:

First look at the 2020-21 Musketeers: A breakdown of Xavier's summer basketball practice

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/college/xavier/2020/08/06/look-inside-one-xaviers-summer-basketball-practices/3306855001/

[paulxu]

Thanks for the link. Would really be nice to have some Xavier basketball this fall.

[Xville]

Anyone else find it very odd for kyky tandy to be sitting out and that it was "just a day off?" I find that to be very suspicious...maybe I'm reading too much into it.

[XUGRAD80]

Anyone else find it very odd for kyky tandy to be sitting out and that it was "just a day off?" I find that to be very suspicious...maybe I'm reading too much into it.

You are.....they periodically give players a day off during this time. Nothing unusual.

[Xville]

You are.....they periodically give players a day off during this time. Nothing unusual.

Fair enough...just none of the coachs mentioned his name in the first article where they were praising basically everyone, and then this.

[noteggs]

You are.....they periodically give players a day off during this time. Nothing unusual.

Especially if season were to be delayed or we played a conference only schedule. Of course I’m just speculating and going off what some schools are doing for fall sports.

[XU 87]

After reading that article, I wonder if we will lose a game this year.

[American X]

After reading that article, I wonder if we will lose a game this year.

I am now convinced these freshmen will be the best freshmen in the history of freshmen.

[X-man]

After reading that article, I wonder if we will lose a game this year.

I'm guessing that we do go undefeated this season, sort of like Xavier's football team which hasn't lost a game in over 35 years.

[whopper]

What I want to see is a well played game enjoyable to watch. I loved the 70s Chicago Bulls(Lover/Walker) and the 90 Pacers(Miller/Smits) and was not gifted with a championship but even now on Youtube I can see why I like their style and personality. This team looks good enough to make the Dance and then we will see. We were spoiled for a few years damn. My daughters started with sweet 16(stain brook), a 2 seed(Wisc), Elie 8, and a 1 seed Big East champ and even I got carded away but they had a smiilar fan experience in their yeas as a Duke or Kansas fan. Would love to rerecreat the buzz

[XU 87]

I'm guessing that we do go undefeated this season, sort of like Xavier's football team which hasn't lost a game in over 35 years.

I think you're on to something here.

[xuphan]

After reading that article, I wonder if we will lose a game this year.

I kind of got the same feeling after reading that article. It definitely gets you excited for the upcoming season.

[xu82]

I kind of got the same feeling after reading that article. It definitely gets you excited for the upcoming season.

The next time we play, whenever that may be, has to be more enjoyable to watch than last season. That was a tough one for me, but I am optimistic about the future.

[XUGRAD80]

The next time we play, whenever that may be, has to be more enjoyable to watch than last season. That was a tough one for me, but I am optimistic about the future.

It was a tough one for everyone watching.

But I do caution everyone to temper your excitement with the realization that there A LOT of new parts that will need to be worked into the mix. Many of those parts are not very experienced too. It will be work in progress and X may well lose some games to teams that are as talented, but are more experienced. I especially expect this the earlier in the season (whenever or whatever that may be) more so than later in the season. I might be forgetting someone but as far as I can remember Scruggs is the only player on then roster that has played even one NCAA tournament game. This is an EXTREMELY young and inexperienced roster. They could well be a year away from jelling. A mid-pack BE finish and making the NCAA tourney would have to be considered a successful season for this group, at least in my opinion.

[xu82]

It was a tough one for everyone watching.

But I do caution everyone to temper your excitement with the realization that there A LOT of new parts that will need to be worked into the mix. Many of those parts are not very experienced too. It will be work in progress and X may well lose some games to teams that are as talented, but are more experienced. I especially expect this the earlier in the season (whenever or whatever that may be) more so than later in the season. I might be forgetting someone but as far as I can remember Scruggs is the only player on then roster that has played even one NCAA tournament game. This is an EXTREMELY young and inexperienced roster. They could well be a year away from jelling. A mid-pack BE finish and making the NCAA tourney would have to be considered a successful season for this group, at least in my opinion.

And I’m fine with all that. My pain was not as much in the results as in the angst I had when watching. I don’t want to lose, but I DO want to play better and smarter team basketball. I think we will do that.

[xuphan]

It was a tough one for everyone watching.

But I do caution everyone to temper your excitement with the realization that there A LOT of new parts that will need to be worked into the mix. Many of those parts are not very experienced too. It will be work in progress and X may well lose some games to teams that are as talented, but are more experienced. I especially expect this the earlier in the season (whenever or whatever that may be) more so than later in the season. I might be forgetting someone but as far as I can remember Scruggs is the only player on then roster that has played even one NCAA tournament game. This is an EXTREMELY young and inexperienced roster. They could well be a year away from jelling. A mid-pack BE finish and making the NCAA tourney would have to be considered a successful season for this group, at least in my opinion.

I respect your opinion but this is exactly what we were last year. We should have the talent to be a top 4 team in the big east.

[XUGRAD80]

I respect your opinion but this is exactly what we were last year. We should have the talent to be a top 4 team in the big east.


Top 2...Nova and Creighton

Bottom 3....DePaul, St. John, GT

That leaves everyone else fighting for the middle, including X. There is very little to separate any of the “pack” from each other and finishing anywhere from 3-8. A difference in a couple of places may come down to one game, one missed FT, one made defensive stop, one bad call by a ref. Forget about just relying on talent alone. Teamwork and smart play mean as much or even more, and X deficiencies in these areas must be taken into account until they prove otherwise.

[xuphan]

Top 2...Nova and Creighton

Bottom 3....DePaul, St. John, GT

That leaves everyone else fighting for the middle, including X. There is very little to separate any of the “pack” from each other and finishing anywhere from 3-8. A difference in a couple of places may come down to one game, one missed FT, one made defensive stop, one bad call by a ref. Forget about just relying on talent alone. Teamwork and smart play mean as much or even more, and X deficiencies in these areas must be taken into account until they prove otherwise.

I agee that Nova and Creighton are the top 2. That leaves the third and fourth spots. In my opinion, Xavier should be finishing in one of these spots. We have enough talent to do so and it will all come down to In game coaching decisions by Steele. This is his third full year in charge with his own players. We really shouldn’t be expecting a mid table finish this far into his coaching career. Players and coaching should be way better than they were last season.

[XUGRAD80]

I agee that Nova and Creighton are the top 2. That leaves the third and fourth spots. In my opinion, Xavier should be finishing in one of these spots. We have enough talent to do so and it will all come down to In game coaching decisions by Steele. This is his third full year in charge with his own players. We really shouldn’t be expecting a mid table finish this far into his coaching career. Players and coaching should be way better than they were last season.

It’s possible that they finish 3-4, but it’s just as likely in my mind that they could finish 7-8, and as I said in my post the difference could be on made or missed basket, one made or missed defensive stop, or one judgement call by a ref. I’m not the only one saying this either, this seems to be the consensus of all the “experts” that make a living writing about college basketball.

As far as the players being better?........Marshall and Jones were all league players. I certainly hope that the returning players are all improved over what they were last year, and I have high hopes for the freshman (including Miles in that group), but that’s all just potential at this time. They’ve got to show it during games, when it counts. Does X have any sure-fire guaranteed all league players on the roster right now? I’d have to say no. Fremantle might be a pretty safe bet to make an all-league team at some level, but he will have to be better than he was last year in order to do so. No guarantee that happens.

I try to make my expectations based on what it actually IS, and not just on what I WANT it to be.

[xuphan]

It’s possible that they finish 3-4, but it’s just as likely in my mind that they could finish 7-8, and as I said in my post the difference could be on made or missed basket, one made or missed defensive stop, or one judgement call by a ref. I’m not the only one saying this either, this seems to be the consensus of all the “experts” that make a living writing about college basketball.

As far as the players being better?........Marshall and Jones were all league players. I certainly hope that the returning players are all improved over what they were last year, and I have high hopes for the freshman (including Miles in that group), but that’s all just potential at this time. They’ve got to show it during games, when it counts. Does X have any sure-fire guaranteed all league players on the roster right now? I’d have to say no. Fremantle might be a pretty safe bet to make an all-league team at some level, but he will have to be better than he was last year in order to do so. No guarantee that happens.

I try to make my expectations based on what it actually IS, and not just on what I WANT it to be.

Let me ask you this question. If Xavier finished 7-8 in the Big East, would that meet your expectations and think the team had a successful season?

[GIMMFD]

It’s possible that they finish 3-4, but it’s just as likely in my mind that they could finish 7-8, and as I said in my post the difference could be on made or missed basket, one made or missed defensive stop, or one judgement call by a ref. I’m not the only one saying this either, this seems to be the consensus of all the “experts” that make a living writing about college basketball.

As far as the players being better?........Marshall and Jones were all league players. I certainly hope that the returning players are all improved over what they were last year, and I have high hopes for the freshman (including Miles in that group), but that’s all just potential at this time. They’ve got to show it during games, when it counts. Does X have any sure-fire guaranteed all league players on the roster right now? I’d have to say no. Fremantle might be a pretty safe bet to make an all-league team at some level, but he will have to be better than he was last year in order to do so. No guarantee that happens.

I try to make my expectations based on what it actually IS, and not just on what I WANT it to be.

I think Scruggs will make all-league to be fair, he had moments where he just looked absolutely incredible last year, I think he'll be more focused on scoring and could have a massive year, especially since Naji and Tyrique are gone. Definitely agree that we should temper expectations with a lot of moving parts, I think we'll have some periods of annoyance and pain like last season. I loved hearing about Odom's athleticism, and also really liked that Scruggs and Johnson have built up a decent relationship. I'm hoping Johnson can bring that perimeter threat, and hopefully Wilcher doesn't have a lot of Freshman growing pains from behind the arc. Because if we don't improve on our perimeter shooting, it's going to be a struggle like last year. Nova has a reasonable chance at being #1 in the country, so they're definitely the top, Creighton is very solid, but after that it's pretty open in my opinion. Just hoping to see some growth, and that we look like a better team towards the end of the season opposed to the beginning (if we have a season that is)..

[XUGRAD80]

I hope you’re right about Scruggs, and I certainly hope the freshman can shoot like they are said to be capable of doing. IF....BIG IF.....those thing happen, then yes it is certainly possible that X challenges for A top spot in the BE. We would ALL love to see that happen. But I certainly don’t think that it is reasonable to EXPECT those things to happen OR to we should be surprised if all those things don’t happen. Disappointed? Sure. I found last year to be a disappointment from beginning to end. But half way through the season I no longer found it to be surprising, nor did I find what happened at the end surprising. The team lacked shooting ability. Everyone could see it. Fans, opponents, commentators, everyone. Perhaps this years team will not have last years weakness, but for now that remains just a hope.

[94GRAD]

Let me ask you this question. If Xavier finished 7-8 in the Big East, would that meet your expectations and think the team had a successful season?

They will play 20 games if the full conference schedule is played. Also, they have played 18 Conference games every year since joining the Big East.

[bleedXblue]

I think this is a rebuild year. I would like to see:

1. An identity emerge
2. Sound basketball with much better discipline
3. Better perimeter shooting
4. More cohesiveness and teamwork and less individual play
5. Finish in the Top 5 of Big East
6. NCAA birth

[xuphan]

I think this is a rebuild year. I would like to see:

1. An identity emerge
2. Sound basketball with much better discipline
3. Better perimeter shooting
4. More cohesiveness and teamwork and less individual play
5. Finish in the Top 5 of Big East
6. NCAA birth

The last two seasons have been rebuilding years. This should not be another rebuilding season. I agree with everything on your list but we should be finishing top 4 in the Big East.

[Xavier]

What? The last two years was still "core-4" group. Not rebuilding at all...the problem was, the "core-4" just didn't mesh well at all. We are going to be led by a very good Sr- then two sophomores, a couple transfers and some freshman. Thats the definition of rebuilding

[bleedXblue]

What? The last two years was still "core-4" group. Not rebuilding at all...the problem was, the "core-4" just didn't mesh well at all. We are going to be led by a very good Sr- then two sophomores, a couple transfers and some freshman. Thats the definition of rebuilding

exactly, we have like 7-8 new players in the roster this year don't we?

Miles
3 frosh
Ramsey hasn't played....
2 or possibly 3 new transfers

[XUGRAD80]

The last two seasons have been rebuilding years. This should not be another rebuilding season. I agree with everything on your list but we should be finishing top 4 in the Big East.

“should” and “will” are 2 different things. Just because you think that in the 3rd year of a coaches tenure that his team “should” be doing something, is no reason to believe that it “will” happen. It doesn’t work that way. Reality doesn’t care what you want to happen, or what you think needs to be happening, it only cares what IS and what ISN’T. What this team IS, is young and inexperienced. What this team IS, is unproven. What this team ISN’T, is a favorite to finish in the top 4 of the BE by any preseason list that I have seen.

You keep saying that they “should” finish in the top 4.....but do you really believe they WILL? If so, why?

[XUGRAD80]

I think this is a rebuild year. I would like to see:

1. An identity emerge
2. Sound basketball with much better discipline
3. Better perimeter shooting
4. More cohesiveness and teamwork and less individual play
5. Finish in the Top 5 of Big East
6. NCAA birth


Couldn’t state it any better.

[X-man]

They will play 20 games if the full conference schedule is played. Also, they have played 18 Conference games every year since joining the Big East.

You would think that xuphan, such a big "fan" and one who claims to be a season ticketholder, would know how many league games are played in the BEast. Just more evidence that this "fan" is really just a pathetic troll.

[xuphan]

You would think that xuphan, such a big "fan" and one who claims to be a season ticketholder, would know how many league games are played in the BEast. Just more evidence that this "fan" is really just a pathetic troll.

What are you talking about x-troll? I didn’t say anything about how many games are played in the big east. X-troll just can’t help making a fool of himself or herself.

[Lloyd Braun]

Couldn’t state it any better.

Technically “berth” would have been better stated than “birth” but the concepts are spot on.

[Xavier]

What are you talking about x-troll? I didn’t say anything about how many games are played in the big east. X-troll just can’t help making a fool of himself or herself.

To be fair- your wording on that was horrible. Trolling or not, Saying a team finishes 7-8 and meaning they finish 7th or 8th is pretty confusing.

[xuphan]

To be fair- your wording on that was horrible. Trolling or not, Saying a team finishes 7-8 and meaning they finish 7th or 8th is pretty confusing.

All he had to do was ask. Not be a jerk about it.

[GIMMFD]

I hope you’re right about Scruggs, and I certainly hope the freshman can shoot like they are said to be capable of doing. IF....BIG IF.....those thing happen, then yes it is certainly possible that X challenges for A top spot in the BE. We would ALL love to see that happen. But I certainly don’t think that it is reasonable to EXPECT those things to happen OR to we should be surprised if all those things don’t happen. Disappointed? Sure. I found last year to be a disappointment from beginning to end. But half way through the season I no longer found it to be surprising, nor did I find what happened at the end surprising. The team lacked shooting ability. Everyone could see it. Fans, opponents, commentators, everyone. Perhaps this years team will not have last years weakness, but for now that remains just a hope.

Scruggs averaged 12.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg, and 3 apg while shooting around 37% from the three (at roughly 3-4 attempts per game), I think he kind of knows it's basically his team, I think I mentioned it a bit last year but it seemed like the times when Scruggs was on, Naji was off, and vice versa, I don't think they ever both had monster games together. I think he's going to be a bit more aggressive as the guy considering we lost a lot of scoring. Between Naji, Tyrique, and Q alone, that's 36 points per game, and our offense wasn't very smooth last year either. I think Scruggs has shown some flashes of his pure talent, and will thrive a bit more. Though I'm tempering expectations on the season as a whole, I think Paul being our second highest recruit (via 247 rankings) ever, I do kind of expect him to make an all-conference team (not saying it'll be first team, but definitely one of them.)

[XUGRAD80]

Scruggs averaged 12.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg, and 3 apg while shooting around 37% from the three (at roughly 3-4 attempts per game), I think he kind of knows it's basically his team, I think I mentioned it a bit last year but it seemed like the times when Scruggs was on, Naji was off, and vice versa, I don't think they ever both had monster games together. I think he's going to be a bit more aggressive as the guy considering we lost a lot of scoring. Between Naji, Tyrique, and Q alone, that's 36 points per game, and our offense wasn't very smooth last year either. I think Scruggs has shown some flashes of his pure talent, and will thrive a bit more. Though I'm tempering expectations on the season as a whole, I think Paul being our second highest recruit (via 247 rankings) ever, I do kind of expect him to make an all-conference team (not saying it'll be first team, but definitely one of them.)

I think Scruggs is a real warrior and I’m a big fan of his game. But I want him the thrive within the offense and not for it to become a situation where he is going one on one while the other players watch. I don’t him forcing things because he feels he needs to in order to carry the offense.

[atljar]

If Scruggs can limit the bad decisions and turnovers, then we will be OK!

[GIMMFD]

I think Scruggs is a real warrior and I’m a big fan of his game. But I want him the thrive within the offense and not for it to become a situation where he is going one on one while the other players watch. I don’t him forcing things because he feels he needs to in order to carry the offense.

Oh yeah, I completely agree with that too, as ATLJAR said, if he can cut down on bad decisions and turnovers, he'll be unreal (a lot easier said than done seeing as that was something that had a very common theme last season), I still do believe he's gonna have to shoulder a lot of the load though, obviously KyKy has some damn good talent, and showed that at times, and Freemantle was really coming into his own, I'm also hoping Carter will be much more comfortable next season, etc. but I think down the stretch, or whenever we need a bucket, it's going to be iso for Scruggs every time. I really really hope that's not the plan for the entire season, but that will require some guys to grow up rather quickly. There's a good amount of talent on this team, but there's also a lottt of questions that need answered on this team as well.

[bleedXblue]

I think Scruggs is a real warrior and I’m a big fan of his game. But I want him the thrive within the offense and not for it to become a situation where he is going one on one while the other players watch. I don’t him forcing things because he feels he needs to in order to carry the offense.

I personally like Scruggs a lot too, but he's not the kind of guy to take over a game and/or lead the team with 18 PPG IMHO. He's a really solid contributor. I almost feel at times that he just doesn't have that killer instinct that a Crawford, Lyons, Holloway had. NO knock on him......I just dont think hes going to explode and have a huge senior year. I see his production increasing a little over last year. Maybe 14-15 PPG which is still really damn good.

[xukeith]

I personally like Scruggs a lot too, but he's not the kind of guy to take over a game and/or lead the team with 18 PPG IMHO. He's a really solid contributor. I almost feel at times that he just doesn't have that killer instinct that a Crawford, Lyons, Holloway had. NO knock on him......I just dont think hes going to explode and have a huge senior year. I see his production increasing a little over last year. Maybe 14-15 PPG which is still really damn good.

Agree. He might be a stronger player for the 2nd half. He likes to drive and stop and pivot with that turn away jumper but he needs another 2-3 moves.
6 new guys and 2 sophomores who didn't play last year is a LOT of green players. Maybe they gel in last 25% of the season.
Unless a miracle happens between now and tip off with remarkable understanding of roles and rotations, this will be probably an inconsistent team.
Now the 2021-22 team will be positioned to win the BE with that talent and experience.
How did Huggins do it in 1992 with so many JUCO transfers? Lil luck in tourney vs. MSU?

[GIMMFD]

I personally like Scruggs a lot too, but he's not the kind of guy to take over a game and/or lead the team with 18 PPG IMHO. He's a really solid contributor. I almost feel at times that he just doesn't have that killer instinct that a Crawford, Lyons, Holloway had. NO knock on him......I just dont think hes going to explode and have a huge senior year. I see his production increasing a little over last year. Maybe 14-15 PPG which is still really damn good.

While I do agree with you that he doesn't have that killer instinct, I just don't see anybody else yet that has it. Maybe Freemantle? Small sample size, but I could *possibly* see him having some of it. I'm also wondering how much that attributes to Naji having that instinct, with all of the big shots he hit last year. UCONN in the early season tournament kind of set a tone (at least this is what I think), that Naji gets the ball in clutch situations. I'd be pretty happy with around 15ppg if other guys come along, if not we might be in a bit of trouble.

[drudy23]

Paul’s team - Free is his alpha dog. Free has leader written all over him and will be at the forefront of accountability and teamwork for 3 years. It’s what’s missing and he can fill the void.

The head coach has to mature too.