Travis Steele Is My Coach

[bleedXblue]

Never should have been hired in the first place. Having a fil on the board is bs

Agreed. It was a reach but you had Christopher follow the previous hiring pattern that Bobinski created and I can certainly understand why he got the job. Now, if Steele doesn't pull off a miracle we will have to look outside for the first time in many years.

[bjf123]

I suspect that Steele will be back next year, but I also suspect that there will be changes to the assistant coaches staff. That’s not what I’d like to see, but I think it’s what we will get.

I want Steele to succeed here. I think he’d stick around long term and not use X as a stepping stone to bigger and better things.

Having said that, he’s got to get his shit together. At the moment, we’re heading down the same path to a late season collapse like we’ve seen before. If he’s back next year, I think he needs to clean house on the coaching staff and get experienced assistants. At a minimum, replace one with a seasoned coach.

One thing I’ve noticed is at every timeout, Travis and the rest of the coaching staff spend the first half of the timeout off to the side away from the players talking among themselves before joining the players in the huddle. I don’t seem to see the opposing coaching staff doing the same thing. That doesn’t seem to fill me with confidence that the coaching staff knows what they’re doing. I can envision the conversation being along the lines of “How do we stop what’s going on? What do you think? Beats me. What do you think? I dunno. What do you think?”


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[Masterofreality]

EXACTLY what I said......

And I said he needs more tactical experienced coaches on the sideline 2 YEARS ago.

One last thing.

I THINK Steele is way too nice and way too accepting of a coach. The next player that takes a bad shot early in the shot clock should sit the rest of the game. The next guy who doesn't box out, sits the rest of the game. The next guy who doesn't give maximum effort sits the rest of the game. I don't give a F who it is. Play your walk on's. Set a F'ing example and standard Steele!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Agree. Look, if your starting 5 stink it up and unfocused, call a TO at 2-3 minutes ream them one then sit all 5 for a visit with Mr. Pine. Then Miles at the 5, Hunter, 4, Cesare Edwards 3, Kunk at 2 and Dwon at 1. Show the starters you aren’t putting up with that iish. 1 point in the first 6 minutes??
Dwon was the only consistently effective one yesterday and STEELE KEPT PULLING HIM OUT! Even Byron on the radio disagreed with that

[xukeith]

Agree. Look, if your starting 5 stink it up and unfocused, call a TO at 2-3 minutes ream them one then sit all 5 for a visit with Mr. Pine. Then Miles at the 5, Hunter, 4, Cesare Edwards 3, Kunk at 2 and Dwon at 1. Show the starters you aren’t putting up with that iish. 1 point in the first 6 minutes??
Dwon was the only consistently effective one yesterday and STEELE KEPT PULLING HIM OUT! Even Byron on the radio disagreed with that

Odom was rewarded with the most pt at guard.
Edwards i believe is wearing a boot.
I get your point.
I watched Steele's post game on youtube. I am trying to think if it is Freemantle who he believes took poor shots or was it someone else. He comes across as a nice kind coach who often says, "that was bad. That is on me. Our players played tough. "

[xukeith]

Agreed. It was a reach but you had Christopher follow the previous hiring pattern that Bobinski created and I can certainly understand why he got the job. Now, if Steele doesn't pull off a miracle we will have to look outside for the first time in many years.

Won't Sean Miller be a candidate? HE knows X. Speaks highly of X. HAs a good record and NCAA success.

[xukeith]

I suspect that Steele will be back next year, but I also suspect that there will be changes to the assistant coaches staff. That’s not what I’d like to see, but I think it’s what we will get.

Why would administration want a change in assistants? Would admin fire assistants and hire new assistants? Why? We assume admin has a consequence for less than acceptable performance?

[xukeith]

If he misses the Tournament?

Probably not this year. I imagine the administration understands how Steele got top 15 frosh to come in and change things. Last chance is next year probably in Christopher's mind.
I will jump back on the Steele wagon IF X wins their next 3 games.

[xuphan]

Probably not this year. I imagine the administration understands how Steele got top 15 frosh to come in and change things. Last chance is next year probably in Christopher's mind.
I will jump back on the Steele wagon IF X wins their next 3 games.

Why not wait until the end of the year before jumping on or off bandwagons? As Steele said in his post game interview, don’t get to high on wins and don’t get to low on losses. Just get ready for the next game.

[xukeith]

Why not wait until the end of the year before jumping on or off bandwagons? As Steele said in his post game interview, don’t get to high on wins and don’t get to low on losses. Just get ready for the next game.

He promised "We will finish really strong."


We have seen the promises. Is this year any different?
Last year, Steele made some promises during the poor performances. Before Providence game (loss) last year, Steele promised no more getting outrebounded and no longer weak on defense. Then Providence smacked X around. Then out of nowhere X did beat Creighton who went to sweet 16.

He better understand that this time X has to play a ton differently or they might squeak in the tourney as a 11-12 seed.

If X does not finish "really strong" who holds the coach accountable. Is it lip service/coach speak?

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

~Tonight, he looked at his cup, and to his horror— it was half empty.

With our program on the precipice of dissolving into a hot mess, levity becomes important. THIS is funny.

[UCGRAD4X]

From Travis's last presser:

"It's been bad quick shots that have cost us That was better tonight, but we gotta finish a lot better. That's on me. We will watch a ton of tape and this type of thing will never happen again!!"

[UCGRAD4X]

From Travis's last presser:

"It's been bad quick shots that have cost us That was better tonight, but we gotta finish a lot better. That's on me. We will watch a ton of tape and this type of thing will never happen again!!"

This time:

The goal is to create a great shot every trip for Xavier. We have to get this figured out."

man

[drudy23]

He says this all the time and every game we shoot quick shots that probably aren’t good shots.

Every game. Repeat.

[xuphan]

He promised "We will finish really strong."


We have seen the promises. Is this year any different?
Last year, Steele made some promises during the poor performances. Before Providence game (loss) last year, Steele promised no more getting outrebounded and no longer weak on defense. Then Providence smacked X around. Then out of nowhere X did beat Creighton who went to sweet 16.

He better understand that this time X has to play a ton differently or they might squeak in the tourney as a 11-12 seed.

If X does not finish "really strong" who holds the coach accountable. Is it lip service/coach speak?

We are not at the finish line yet. Let’s let the season play out first to see how we finish. The loss to DePaul is difficult to take but the season is not over. We can still finish strong and have a good season.

[XUGRAD80]

Why would administration want a change in assistants? Would admin fire assistants and hire new assistants? Why? We assume admin has a consequence for less than acceptable performance?

I think that the administration will NOT fire him, even if they finish poorly. I’m not in favor of him returning, but I do believe that he will. Xavier does not have a history of firing coaches or of admitting that they made a mistake. I don’t think that the administration will push to fire assistants either. I think that as a way of deflecting blame from himself, there will be some changes made in the assistant ranks. That could mean just reassigning some of them to different roles and bringing in additional assistants, or it could mean wholesale changes to the personal. Guess we will just wait and see.

[XUGRAD80]

He promised "We will finish really strong."


We have seen the promises. Is this year any different?
Last year, Steele made some promises during the poor performances. Before Providence game (loss) last year, Steele promised no more getting outrebounded and no longer weak on defense. Then Providence smacked X around. Then out of nowhere X did beat Creighton who went to sweet 16.

He better understand that this time X has to play a ton differently or they might squeak in the tourney as a 11-12 seed.

If X does not finish "really strong" who holds the coach accountable. Is it lip service/coach speak?

Answer…..yes! (To your LAST question)

[xubrew]

I can't think of an example of a program who fired a coach after a season where they made the NCAA Tournament that actually ended up better off for it. In fact the only two examples I can think of are programs that haven't been any good since they did it. (Wake and Minnesota).

Xavier is better now than they were at this point of the season in two of their three Elite Eight runs. I'm not predicting an Elite Eight run. I'm just saying that while yesterday was a game that made you want to head-butt the sidewalk, let the season play all the way out.

[xuphan]

I can't think of an example of a program who fired a coach after a season where they made the NCAA Tournament that actually ended up better off for it. In fact the only two examples I can think of are programs that haven't been any good since they did it. (Wake and Minnesota).

Xavier is better now than they were at this point of the season in two of their three Elite Eight runs. I'm not predicting an Elite Eight run. I'm just saying that while yesterday was a game that made you want to head-butt the sidewalk, let the season play all the way out.

Yes Sir! We really need to let the season play out. We can have this discussion in the off-season. As long as he is still in charge, Steele is our coach! All For One!

[XUBANDGRAD]

I can't think of an example of a program who fired a coach after a season where they made the NCAA Tournament that actually ended up better off for it. In fact the only two examples I can think of are programs that haven't been any good since they did it. (Wake and Minnesota).

Xavier is better now than they were at this point of the season in two of their three Elite Eight runs. I'm not predicting an Elite Eight run. I'm just saying that while yesterday was a game that made you want to head-butt the sidewalk, let the season play all the way out.

You’re crazy if you think our regular seasons played any part in our elite 8s. We had DOGS on those teams. Guys who NEVER took plays off or let people push them around.

[Xville]

You’re crazy if you think our regular seasons played any part in our elite 8s. We had DOGS on those teams. Guys who NEVER took plays off or let people push them around.

And it’s not even true…the 2017 team was 18-6 before going on a slide, the 2008 team hardly ever lost.. the 04 team was the only one worse than right now.

[D-West & PO-Z]

I want Steele to succeed here. I think he’d stick around long term and not use X as a stepping stone to bigger and better things.

Having said that, he’s got to get his shit together. At the moment, we’re heading down the same path to a late season collapse like we’ve seen before. If he’s back next year, I think he needs to clean house on the coaching staff and get experienced assistants. At a minimum, replace one with a seasoned coach.

One thing I’ve noticed is at every timeout, Travis and the rest of the coaching staff spend the first half of the timeout off to the side away from the players talking among themselves before joining the players in the huddle. I don’t seem to see the opposing coaching staff doing the same thing. That doesn’t seem to fill me with confidence that the coaching staff knows what they’re doing. I can envision the conversation being along the lines of “How do we stop what’s going on? What do you think? Beats me. What do you think? I dunno. What do you think?”


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This feels like a reach. I feel like a see coaches everywhere do this in college basketball. I could be wrong but seems common to me.

[xubrew]

And it’s not even true…the 2017 team was 18-6 before going on a slide, the 2008 team hardly ever lost.. the 04 team was the only one worse than right now.

In Febuary 6th 2017 Xavier was ranked 24th in the AP poll after having fallen out of the poll the week before. They fell out of the poll the following week as well and never re-entered it. 24th is lower than 21st (albeit barely).

But setting that aside, I think you COMPLETELY missed the point, which was things were not good during the 2016-2017 season prior to the Elite Eight run.

The AP Poll Summary is at the top of the page....

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/xavier/2017-schedule.html

[xubrew]

You’re crazy if you think our regular seasons played any part in our elite 8s. We had DOGS on those teams. Guys who NEVER took plays off or let people push them around.

The 2017 Elite Eight team took pretty much all of February off, and the 2004 team took the first two and a half months of the season off.

[xuphan]

The 2017 Elite Eight team took pretty much all of February off, and the 2004 team took the first two and a half months of the season off.

Exactly. Let’s see what this team can do to finish off the season.

[Xville]

In Febuary 6th 2017 Xavier was ranked 24th in the AP poll after having fallen out of the poll the week before. They fell out of the poll the following week as well and never re-entered it. 24th is lower than 21st (albeit barely).

But setting that aside, I think you COMPLETELY missed the point, which was things were not good during the 2016-2017 season prior to the Elite Eight run.

The AP Poll Summary is at the top of the page....

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/xavier/2017-schedule.html

I understood the point just fine. You said that two of those elite eight teams were in worse positions at this point in time which is untrue. If you want to justify your statement even though it was wrong by some nonsense ap ranking, be my guest.

Xavier won’t be ranked tomorrow anyways.

With that said, the 17 team did take February off, and I see nothing that’s says this team won’t do the same thing especially given what the schedule is. The difference is Bernard isn’t walking thru that door, and I don’t trust the “leaders” in that locker room. I don’t think Scruggs is a leader, I don’t think Nate is either. I think they have taken on the characteristics of their coach who don’t necessarily enjoy losing, but don’t see it as life or death either. Yeah it’s just a game, but alphas don’t see it that way when they are in the battle. You all know the coaches and players I’m talking about that had those characteristics. Prove me wrong Paul and Nate.

[xubrew]

I understood the point just fine. You said that two of those elite eight teams were in worse positions at this point in time which is untrue. If you want to justify your statement even though it was wrong by some nonsense ap ranking, be my guest.

Xavier won’t be ranked tomorrow anyways.

With that said, the 17 team did take February off, and I see nothing that’s says this team won’t do the same thing especially given what the schedule is. The difference is Bernard isn’t walking thru that door, and I don’t trust the “leaders” in that locker room. I don’t think Scruggs is a leader, I don’t think Nate is either. I think they have taken on the characteristics of their coach who don’t necessarily enjoy losing, but don’t see it as life or death either. Yeah it’s just a game, but alphas don’t see it that way when they are in the battle. You all know the coaches and players I’m talking about that had those characteristics. Prove me wrong Paul and Nate.

Okay, I'll rephrase for clarity, accuracy, and to make the point more clear...

In two of our three Elite Eight years, things were worse after the first week of February than they are right now for this team. In fact neither the 2004 or the 2017 team was being projected into the NCAA Tournament prior to the start of the conference tournament.

You say you don't trust the leaders in the locker room. If you go back and look at the posts from February and early March from 2017 I don't think you'll find too many that are praising the leadership in the locker room then either.

[Tim]

Okay, I'll rephrase for clarity, accuracy, and to make the point more clear...

In two of our three Elite Eight years, things were worse after the first week of February than they are right now for this team. In fact neither the 2004 or the 2017 team was being projected into the NCAA Tournament prior to the start of the conference tournament.

You say you don't trust the leaders in the locker room. If you go back and look at the posts from February and early March from 2017 I don't think you'll find too many that are praising the leadership in the locker room then either.
And those teams had coaches who had previous ncaa tourney invites and success, unlike this year's team. Big difference.

[XUBison]

Okay, I'll rephrase for clarity, accuracy, and to make the point more clear...

In two of our three Elite Eight years, things were worse after the first week of February than they are right now for this team. In fact neither the 2004 or the 2017 team was being projected into the NCAA Tournament prior to the start of the conference tournament.

You say you don't trust the leaders in the locker room. If you go back and look at the posts from February and early March from 2017 I don't think you'll find too many that are praising the leadership in the locker room then either.

Oh, I distinctly remember people demanding Chalmers be benched halfway through the season— he was of no use any longer and was only stunting Dedrick Finn’s development.

That said, you’re not honestly making the case that the ‘04 and ‘17 seasons are somehow predictors of what’s to come this season?

[xubrew]

Oh, I distinctly remember people demanding Chalmers be benched halfway through the season— he was of no use any longer and was only stunting Dedrick Finn’s development.

That said, you’re not honestly making the case that the ‘04 and ‘17 seasons are somehow predictors of what’s to come this season?

Not at all. I said earlier that I wasn’t predicting an Elite Eight run. I’m saying let the season play all the way out. Two of the three best runs X ever had had times in February where they were in worse shape than this, and those runs wouldn’t have happened had they just pulled the plug.

[Xavier]

Oh, I distinctly remember people demanding Chalmers be benched halfway through the season— he was of no use any longer and was only stunting Dedrick Finn’s development.

That said, you’re not honestly making the case that the ‘04 and ‘17 seasons are somehow predictors of what’s to come this season?

Similarly, people were calling for both Mack And Miller to be fired at some point throughout X career. It’s why I try to let the season play out. Just never know what can happen.

At least in the A10 you could have a crap ass season and know it’s extremely realistic to improve and win the A10 tournament. There were certain advantages for new coaches in the A10. But when you move to the Big East, expectations rise and you have to deliver.

[XUBison]

Not at all. I said earlier that I wasn’t predicting an Elite Eight run. I’m saying let the season play all the way out. Two of the three best runs X ever had had times in February where they were in worse shape than this, and those runs wouldn’t have happened had they just pulled the plug.

Yep, you did. So the point then is just that anything can happen? I think we all understand that.

X fans know about catching lightning in a bottle as well as anyone, but we also know the reason those runs were so exciting is because they were so improbable. Those teams were amazing (flukish) outliers. I don’t really think many here believe the plug should be pulled now, but it’s pretty defeating to think we still have to hang our hopes on lightning.

I’m sure I’ve triggered Eyore for another lecture on expectations, so I’ll end by saying I HOPE like crazy it happens. But…

[OTRMUSKIE]

If they do catch lighting in a bottle send it to a lab bc we still will suck.

[Masterofreality]

Odom was rewarded with the most pt at guard.
Edwards i believe is wearing a boot.
I get your point.
I watched Steele's post game on youtube. I am trying to think if it is Freemantle who he believes took poor shots or was it someone else. He comes across as a nice kind coach who often says, "that was bad. That is on me. Our players played tough. "

Odom didn’t start and he wasn’t in for the early mess.
And Per Adam Baum on an answer to a question on Twitter:

“ Edwards is healthy, Steele said on the last radio show that he’s been playing much better in practice. The boot was a couple of weeks ago.”

[xubrew]

Yep, you did. So the point then is just that anything can happen? I think we all understand that.

X fans know about catching lightning in a bottle as well as anyone, but we also know the reason those runs were so exciting is because they were so improbable. Those teams were amazing (flukish) outliers. I don’t really think many here believe the plug should be pulled now, but it’s pretty defeating to think we still have to hang our hopes on lightning.

I’m sure I’ve triggered Eyore for another lecture on expectations, so I’ll end by saying I HOPE like crazy it happens. But…

In a way. Pretty much no one stays the same throughout the season. A lot of teams don't even stay the same from week to week. A few weeks ago people were talking about how LSU might be a Final Four team and many felt Kentucky didn't even belong in the Top 25. Teams will go into tailspins and pull out of them. Teams will go on hot streaks and then fall back into mediocrity. Some teams will continue to tailspin and crash into a mountain, while others will stay hot and go on a run.

And I disagree that "we all understand that." I think very few people really do understand that. Not just Xavier fans, but ALL fans. I don't think they really understand how much things change every week or two, and that in two weeks things will seem entirely different than they are now with some teams no one is talking about or thinking about becoming huge, and others who appear to be solidly in the top 25 disappearing. I only brought up the Elite Eight runs as an example of that. If today were Selection Sunday, Xavier would go in on the first ballot. No question about it. I think it's a little too early to start talking about shitcanning everyone like many on here are.

...and I also find it comical...like it actually makes me laugh...about how so many on here are like "Well, those Elite Eight teams were different!!" as if they weren't panicking and yelling for blood back then. Uhh...yeah...they were. Fans everywhere have a tendency to remember how the season ended in March, and then develop this impression/false memory of the whole season being like that.

[BigMoeMusketeer]

This may have been shared elsewhere in this thread (or others), but I thought it was interesting. Since Travis has become our head coach, here is his record in February and March:

* 2018-19: February 5-2 // March 3-3
* 2019-20: February 5-2 // March 1-3
* 2020-21: February 2-3 // March 0-3

Totals: February 12-7 // March 4-9 = 16-16

That is suboptimal.

[xubrew]

This may have been shared elsewhere in this thread (or others), but I thought it was interesting. Since Travis has become our head coach, here is his record in February and March:

* 2018-19: February 5-2 // March 3-3
* 2019-20: February 5-2 // March 1-3
* 2020-21: February 2-3 // March 0-3

Totals: February 12-7 // March 4-9 = 16-16

That is suboptimal.

Well...I gotta admit....that's not very good!

[SM#24]

This may have been shared elsewhere in this thread (or others), but I thought it was interesting. Since Travis has become our head coach, here is his record in February and March:

* 2018-19: February 5-2 // March 3-3
* 2019-20: February 5-2 // March 1-3
* 2020-21: February 2-3 // March 0-3

Totals: February 12-7 // March 4-9 = 16-16

That is suboptimal.

Even the 12-7 is sub-optimal.

[IM4X]

I don’t think that the administration will push to fire assistants either. I think that as a way of deflecting blame from himself, there will be some changes made in the assistant ranks. That could mean just reassigning some of them to different roles and bringing in additional assistants, or it could mean wholesale changes to the personal. Guess we will just wait and see.

When you see assistants being fired it is a sign of the beginning of the end. A sort of probation that says you are not cutting it and are now on notice. You likely will be dismissed unless you really turn things around quickly. It’s what happened with Mack at Louisville. I don‘t think Steele is cutting it right now. He has brought in some nice players who at this point, together should consistently be playing at a higher level.

We all have all become quite a bit frustrated questionable approach Steele has dealt with issues his teams have had during his tenure as the HC here. It’s the same old crap: “We need to keep shooting. We’ve had some good looks that just aren’t falling right now. Eventually they will fall” often not addressing the fact that the players who keep taking the shots often either aren’t the best shooters or not the ones who are hot in the game.

Then when he does confess at some point in the season “We are taking some bad shots” he won’t go into detail about when those shots occurred and he doesn’t show that he has made any headway in teaching his players what a good shot is by the next game. They are back out there taking more quick/lazy/bad shots.

[IM4X]

These players can be really good at times but they are incredibly undisciplined. Players continue to make the same damn mistakes play after play and game after game. We have a team that is all about finesse. They’s much rather pop the quick 3 or take the lazy 10 footer than drive and draw contact. They need JP or Trevon or D Brown or Tu or Farr or Jaylen or D West or Strong or Walker or Kimbrough or Hill or some former tough X player to explain to them the significance of playing aggressive and drawing a foul.

[IM4X]

TOO OFTEN OUR PLAYERS SETTLE FOR THE TYPES OF SHOTS THAT ARE LIKELY TO YEILD LESS FRUIT: They’re less likely to go in, less likely to be rebounded by themself or a teammate, less likely to result in them shooting free throws. THIS IS A MAJOR ISSUE THAT STEELE DOES NOT SEEM TO ADDRESS OR EVEN RECOGNIZE AS A PROBLEM. We used to have players who always found a way to draw the foul and get to the line. We had players who wanted to show they could power through and finish at the rim -often throwing down a dunk. I don’t like that we are about 90% finesse - we need to be closer to 50% power and 50% finesse.

[Masterofreality]

I’d like to hear if Steele thinks an 18% 3 point shooter (Freemantle) taking 3’s is “a good shot”?
Perhaps someone could ask him that on the Coach’s Show from Dilly Bistro tonight.

[BigMoeMusketeer]

I’d like to hear if Steele thinks an 18% 3 point shooter (Freemantle) taking 3’s is “a good shot”?
Perhaps someone could ask him that on the Coach’s Show from Dilly Bistro tonight.

Serious question: do people still attend that? Certainly not, right?

[Masterofreality]

Serious question: do people still attend that? Certainly not, right?

Yup they do

[xuphan]

I’d like to hear if Steele thinks an 18% 3 point shooter (Freemantle) taking 3’s is “a good shot”?
Perhaps someone could ask him that on the Coach’s Show from Dilly Bistro tonight.

I was thinking about this as well when Steele said we need to get the best shot for Xavier during his post game interview. Is the best shot for Xavier an 18-20% 3 point shooting Freemantle? If so, we are in trouble.

[Xavier]

Serious question: do people still attend that? Certainly not, right?

Years ago I went. I think first year it was at current spot. I think I can see it being a good excuse to meet up with some friends, grab a beer and talk Xavier basketball. I didn’t think this place offered a good atmosphere for it though.

[xukeith]

Yup they do

I thought it was moved due to covid and Joe and Byron did pre-recorded interviews at Cintas.

[xukeith]

Why not wait until the end of the year before jumping on or off bandwagons? As Steele said in his post game interview, don’t get to high on wins and don’t get to low on losses. Just get ready for the next game.

How do you think this philosophy is helping X?

[XUBison]

In a way. Pretty much no one stays the same throughout the season. A lot of teams don't even stay the same from week to week. A few weeks ago people were talking about how LSU might be a Final Four team and many felt Kentucky didn't even belong in the Top 25. Teams will go into tailspins and pull out of them. Teams will go on hot streaks and then fall back into mediocrity. Some teams will continue to tailspin and crash into a mountain, while others will stay hot and go on a run.

And I disagree that "we all understand that." I think very few people really do understand that. Not just Xavier fans, but ALL fans. I don't think they really understand how much things change every week or two, and that in two weeks things will seem entirely different than they are now with some teams no one is talking about or thinking about becoming huge, and others who appear to be solidly in the top 25 disappearing. I only brought up the Elite Eight runs as an example of that. If today were Selection Sunday, Xavier would go in on the first ballot. No question about it. I think it's a little too early to start talking about shitcanning everyone like many on here are.

...and I also find it comical...like it actually makes me laugh...about how so many on here are like "Well, those Elite Eight teams were different!!" as if they weren't panicking and yelling for blood back then. Uhh...yeah...they were. Fans everywhere have a tendency to remember how the season ended in March, and then develop this impression/false memory of the whole season being like that.

To your point about fans melting down in ‘04 and ‘17, I agree and alluded to as much in a previous post. But people here understand teams go through ups and downs. You may not like some people’s opinions here, or you may not like how some express them, but the vast majority here are not stupid. I mean, the turbulence and heartache of sports are what make winning so much fun and gratifying. People are not ignorant to this.

I don’t see many here saying Steele should be fired mid season. Many may be arguing it should be a foregone conclusion at season’s end, sans a big time turn-around. From what I’m reading, most here seem to understand a run is a real possibility, hence the common reference to this same caveat.

Look, I appreciate the perspective, and I even sort of agree with it. There is one severe difference when comparing this team to ‘04 and ‘17, however. Both of those teams were underperforming during their regular season swoons, but the coaches and players were proven, having experienced recent success. It was easy after those runs to rationalize that the underperformance was the outlier in both cases. This team’s -players and coaches are not proven and have not experienced any real success.

I don’t think any of us here really know why this team has sputtered the past 4 seasons, otherwise we would give up our careers to become D-1 coaches. But the fact is, it has. It is sort of stunning to be witnessing such a similar pattern of results as each of the previous three seasons, notwithstanding the changes in personnel. It seems reasonable to be skeptical of a big time run at this point, but I guess you never know.

[xuphan]

How do you think this philosophy is helping X?

Not sure the bashing of the coach on a message board is helping either. Unless you are also sending the messages to Christopher as well.

[Xville]

Not sure the bashing of the coach on a message board is helping either. Unless you are also sending the messages to Christopher as well.

Considering the boos, the empty seats, and the murmuring in the Cintas that was occurring on Saturday, I’m pretty sure Christopher got the message.

Long way to go but if this team doesn’t make the tourney, and Steele is retained, that would be a huge financial mistake in my opinion. People are going to check out. I’m not even sure a limp into the tourney is going to help. Seeing THAT in person was extremely eye opening, I’m not sure it can be fixed.

Maybe the fans and the team were bored since it was DePaul and things will look a lot different when I go back in a few weeks, but I kind of doubt it.

[xuphan]

Considering the boos, the empty seats, and the murmuring in the Cintas that was occurring on Saturday, I’m pretty sure Christopher got the message.

Long way to go but if this team doesn’t make the tourney, and Steele is retained, that would be a huge financial mistake in my opinion. People are going to check out. I’m not even sure a limp into the tourney is going to help. Seeing THAT in person was extremely eye opening, I’m not sure it can be fixed.

Maybe the fans and the team were bored since it was DePaul and things will look a lot different when I go back in a few weeks, but I kind of doubt it.

Are you sure he got it or is getting the message? When I went to the Villanova game at the Cintas, the talk was the Travis was going to get an extension. Heard that from multiple season ticket holders. Maybe that will change but I doubt it. Travis will be here for a good while in my opinion.

[xukeith]

Steele, Christopher, Mecurio, and other X staff do get and reply to emails. We all want X bball to be better. Enough of the learning curve, and excuses.

[xukeith]

Remember postgame, Steele said this X team will be a lot better. We will see Wednesday if actions speak louder than words.

[Xville]

Are you sure he got it or is getting the message? When I went to the Villanova game at the Cintas, the talk was the Travis was going to get an extension. Heard that from multiple season ticket holders. Maybe that will change but I doubt it. Travis will be here for a good while in my opinion.

Considering Christopher’s track record I wouldn’t expect him to make a good decision on anything related to revenue generating sports.

With that said, Villanova was a long time ago. The team had lost 2 games before that game

[Xavier]

Maybe the fans and the team were bored since it was DePaul and things will look a lot different when I go back in a few weeks, but I kind of doubt it.

Being DePaul was the bigger factor. Xavier fans are spoiled and rightfully so, playing DePaul at noon on Saturday is as boring as any game. The groan is more built upon itself game after game, for sure. But if it was a top team in conference it’s crowded and fans are still into it

[Xville]

Remember postgame, Steele said this X team will be a lot better. We will see Wednesday if actions speak louder than words.

Feb 9th to end of game feb 23rd I think determines where this goes. Do our guys sack up these next five games, or wilt. Here’s the thing, they could play better and still come out of it 1-4.

[sgarcia]

Remember postgame, Steele said this X team will be a lot better. We will see Wednesday if actions speak louder than words.

How are we going to get better? Did we just get a couple guys who could drive past their defenders? Did we get a couple other guys who could shoot 3's? How about a post presence on the defensive end? I have low expectations for the rest of the season that I hope I'm wrong about. Unfortunately, we're trending down quickly which is something we've seen in the past.

[xuphan]

How are we going to get better? Did we just get a couple guys who could drive past their defenders? Did we get a couple other guys who could shoot 3's? How about a post presence on the defensive end? I have low expectations for the rest of the season that I hope I'm wrong about. Unfortunately, we're trending down quickly which is something we've seen in the past.

We get better by finding the best shot for Xavier!

[drudy23]

I rarely, if ever, listen to the weekly coach's show. I was in the car tonight and ran across it. It was a little awkward, to be honest.

Byron was trying to dip a little deeper on how our offense operates, and why we can't seem to find the best shot for the best shooters. You could tell he was trying to dig, but also wanted to stay relatively diplomatic at the same time. Based on his questioning, I think he thinks much the same way most of us on here do - why do we shoot so many quick shots, why can't we get good looks for our best shooters, and why are we missing so many bunnies. And to his credit, he asked those questions in his round about way.

Steele gave some decent insight (not anything we don't know), but also had a sense of "yeah, we're telling these guys the same thing and they're just not making the right decisions". Toeing the line between blame and reasoning. At least that's how I took it. It wasn't good or bad, it was just kind of strange the interaction between the three of them.

I also remember Mack in these situations, and he could really wow you with these answers on the expertise of Xs and Os, and you got a glimpse of his depth of basketball acumen. Not saying Steele doesn't have that, but Steele did nothing to wow you with his answers. Basically, it was the kind of talk we type on here.

And another thing, never let audience members ask questions - I was in the car and felt uneasy for Steele and Byron/Joe. Fans are dumb.

[Xville]

Anyone with any kind of basketball knowledge at all, or played the game at some level can tell that Steele doesn’t have a good grasp of X’s and O’s. I know some on here may believe that’s nonsense but to those I would ask to please watch off the ball on Wednesday and tell me what “system” is actually being run. Hint: there isn’t one. I see more movement off the ball in my five year old’s game and they are taught to stand on an x and not move.

[Masterofreality]

Anyone with any kind of basketball knowledge at all, or played the game at some level can tell that Steele doesn’t have a good grasp of X’s and O’s. I know some on here may believe that’s nonsense but to those I would ask to please watch off the ball on Wednesday and tell me what “system” is actually being run. Hint: there isn’t one. I see more movement off the ball in my five year old’s game and they are taught to stand on an x and not move.

Unfortunately I didn’t hear the whole show last night but this one Steele comment I did hear bothered the heck out of me and backed up again what I’ve been saying for years.
Steele in answer to a Byron question: “In the first half it’s a lot harder to run offense because I can’t control it. They’re away from the bench. It’s a lot easier to call set plays in the second half cause they’re right there”.
Then Byron followed up with, so what needs to be fixed? Steele says “Player decisions”.

Uh, Coach. IF YOU HAD A ORGANIZED SYSTEM, SCHEME and SETS, there would be no need for you to “control it”. Your players would be drilled and not have
to worry about making snap “decisions” and they’d instinctively know what to do.

This guy…..(eye roll)

[Xville]

He’s trying to be calipari without nba talent. that answer should tell you something coach. The more he talks, the dumber he sounds I’m sorry.

I’d be interested to hear what the players think is the issue… have the players been asked and quoted recently?

[Xavier]

It’s crazy. Wherever I watch other top 25 games the offensive flow is night and day. I have no clue how X is Kenpom top 35 in offense and defense. (Before DePaul, at least) There are only 10-12 teams that can make that claim, but it feels like offense would be 75 and defense gives up more easy looks than any X team I have Ever watched. How is it 35.

*after DePaul it’s 44th offense 41st defense.

[drudy23]

Unfortunately I didn’t hear the whole show last night but this one Steele comment I did hear bothered the heck out of me and backed up again what I’ve been saying for years.
Steele in answer to a Byron question: “In the first half it’s a lot harder to run offense because I can’t control it. They’re away from the bench. It’s a lot easier to call set plays in the second half cause they’re right there”.
Then Byron followed up with, so what needs to be fixed? Steele says “Player decisions”.

Uh, Coach. IF YOU HAD A ORGANIZED SYSTEM, SCHEME and SETS, there would be no need for you to “control it”. Your players would be drilled and not have
to worry about making snap “decisions” and they’d instinctively know what to do.

This guy…..(eye roll)

Exactly - basically took the Cronin approach and passive aggressively blamed the players, as if he has no control. Very little accountability.

We also have a relatively experienced team - he's talking like we have 4 freshman out there that need the coach to make every decision for them. He's setting up the "it's them, not me" excuse.

I found the exchange very awkward and sometimes contradictory. Like he was searching for the political answer to Byron's questions without putting the bullseye on himself.

[drudy23]

It’s crazy. Wherever I watch other top 25 games the offensive flow is night and day. I have no clue how X is Kenpom top 35 in offense and defense. (Before DePaul, at least) There are only 10-12 teams that can make that claim, but it feels like offense would be 75 and defense gives up more easy looks than any X team I have Ever watched. How is it 35.

*after DePaul it’s 44th offense 41st defense.

The answer is Jack Nunge. He's that important to this team. If he wasn't on this roster, those metrics would be garbage.

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

Then Byron followed up with, so what needs to be fixed? Steele says “Player decisions”.

Uh, Coach. IF YOU HAD A ORGANIZED SYSTEM, SCHEME and SETS, there would be no need for you to “control it”. Your players would be drilled and not have
to worry about making snap “decisions” and they’d instinctively know what to do.

This guy…..(eye roll)

Context of the conversation is important here. Since I didn't listen to the show, I may have this wrong. But, we have a veteran team with two fifth year players. With or without a system, decision making should be pretty good. Of course, in the heat of the game, sometimes we make quick decisions we regret---Nate's early forced three ball that hit the side of the backboard, Hunter's save right to Depaul. That stuff happens.
But, I don't think there's a faster, more effective way to lose a team than throw them under the bus, so I hope we are misinterpreting what Steele said.

[JTG]

The answer is Jack Nunge. He's that important to this team. If he wasn't on this roster, those metrics would be garbage.
This. Without Nunge i doubt we'd have won 10 games. And certainly not against any good teams.

[EastCoastXman]

Spot on as usual MOR! Most AAU and high school teams run various versions of the Flex Offense. Down screens and cross screens and everyone in motion. Watch Providence, they run flex cuts most of the game. This is so easy to build into a suystem, even a 5th grader can catch on after 2-3 practices. This way you can control the movement of your players and still give them some freedom of decision making. Maybe run that in the first half when he can't call out plays to the other end of the court (HAHA!). This would have been much better in the Providence game then waiting for Scruggs to dribble the clock away, throw up a flyer and give PRovidence a chance to come down and win with a 3. FYI, the last play what not to do was described perfectly by announcer Bob Wenzel prior to us even coming back on the court (and he coached at Rutgers)!

[drudy23]

Context of the conversation is important here. Since I didn't listen to the show, I may have this wrong. But, we have a veteran team with two fifth year players. With or without a system, decision making should be pretty good. Of course, in the heat of the game, sometimes we make quick decisions we regret---Nate's early forced three ball that hit the side of the backboard, Hunter's save right to Depaul. That stuff happens.
But, I don't think there's a faster, more effective way to lose a team than throw them under the bus, so I hope we are misinterpreting what Steele said.

It wasn't overt like that - since he was dancing around the answer, it went a couple different directions. It was basically "how do I answer this without completely throwing my players under the bus but also not saying it's my fault either."

[xudash]

From the Cincy paper:

"Not the urgency piece, not the play-hard piece. I don't know if there's been one game this year where I would say, man, our guys weren't ready to play or they didn't play hard, didn't have energy. I don't really think that's been the case for this team. But we have to have urgency with the details, the execution, the decision-making. The little things matter."

I thought there were times this year where "playing for all 40 minutes" was cited as being an issue.

[Xville]

From the Cincy paper:

"Not the urgency piece, not the play-hard piece. I don't know if there's been one game this year where I would say, man, our guys weren't ready to play or they didn't play hard, didn't have energy. I don't really think that's been the case for this team. But we have to have urgency with the details, the execution, the decision-making. The little things matter."

I thought there were times this year where "playing for all 40 minutes" was cited as being an issue.

He’s in complete denial or watching a completely different game than I have the last few weeks.

[xukeith]

He’s in complete denial or watching a completely different game than I have the last few weeks.

I didn’t catch the coach’s show 550 krc
Anything of interest hear any updates?

[Xville]

I didn’t catch the coach’s show 550 krc
Anything of interest hear any updates?

My comment was based off the cincy paper quote.

There are plenty of comments regarding the coach’s show this week a few posts up in this thread

[xucub]

Re. coaches contracts: In the very last Dana & Victory podcast, I think it was Rick Broering that said that everybody in the administration was aware that a number of fans felt that Steele needed to understand that he was on the hot seat this year. He went on to say that the big donors understand the situation better and do not share that sentiment. He also felt that Xavier administrators did not concur with that feeling. Thus, i think we are stuck (in neutral) with Steee for several more years.

[Masterofreality]

Re. coaches contracts: In the very last Dana & Victory podcast, I think it was Rick Broering that said that everybody in the administration was aware that a number of fans felt that Steele needed to understand that he was on the hot seat this year. He went on to say that the big donors understand the situation better and do not share that sentiment. He also felt that Xavier administrators did not concur with that feeling. Thus, i think we are stuck (in neutral) with Steee for several more years.

That tune will change if season tix and donations start to bail in large numbers

[D-West & PO-Z]

I just stumbled across a couple threads on twitter that are people defending Steele based on his teams Kenpom rankings compared to Miller and Mack's kenpom rankings in the first 4 years. Man it is a doozy. That Banners on the Parkway is one of the accounts defending Steele in that regard too, saying basically random circumstances have dictated Steele's lack of postseason appearances or success. He sees Steele on equal footing thus far into his career with Miller and Mack after 4 years.

Ugh, what?

He also argued the whole 2020 Steele and X would have been in thing bc 53% of bracket matrix had X in. At the same time he argues Mack missed the tournament twice bc 2014 appearance doesnt count since it was the first four.

I don't read much from banners really so I am not sure if that is kind of in line with the type of stuff they usually say but the defending of Steele compared to Miller and Mack was astonishing to me.

[Masterofreality]

Banners has lost all credibility. They criticized (legitimately) Q Goodin his senior year, and when Goodin called them out on it, rather than engaging him on the facts, they wimped out and basically apologized for a truly legitimate take. Since then they've took to kowtowing to the "party line". I suppose not to lose any access? Who knows, but they are as soft as marshmallow fluff on any solid criticism now.

[xudash]

An old saying from Woody Hayes comes to mind that is relatable to all of this: there are three things that can happen with a forward pass, and two of them are bad.

In this case, if you are considering the relative position of a coach in terms of the level of success he is realizing, can that be broken down into three general categories:

1. Clearly Successful - strong win/loss percentage; solid rankings; strong recruiting with players that buy into the program; and cohesive play on offense and defense with good metrics.

2. “Jury is Out” - The above mix is a mixed bag, and it is clear that not everything is right, even though some things are going well.

3. Failing Trend - The above mix is heavily weighted towards a mediocre or losing campaign that leads to zero opportunity for postseason success.

By our standards, two of the above three are unacceptable, if not bad. We clearly are sitting at #2.

By any measure, this season should be the critical year for Travis Steele. I am tired of hearing and reading about his first year with a shored up roster and his COVID year as being nothing more than excuses. They represented legitimate problems. Beyond that, key injuries managed to trip us up as well over the course of the last three seasons.

Nonetheless, this year is different. We all know what we have written here 100 times over and more: it’s his fourth year, it is his players, they are deep (at least on paper), and there have been no injuries. It is clearly on Travis if they do not make the tournament this year. Frankly, it is a failure if the preseason third ranked team in the Big East doesn’t make it to the second weekend of the NCAAT.

We certainly will see what these guys are made of over the next two games.

[Xville]

Re. coaches contracts: In the very last Dana & Victory podcast, I think it was Rick Broering that said that everybody in the administration was aware that a number of fans felt that Steele needed to understand that he was on the hot seat this year. He went on to say that the big donors understand the situation better and do not share that sentiment. He also felt that Xavier administrators did not concur with that feeling. Thus, i think we are stuck (in neutral) with Steee for several more years.

That’s what happens when one of the big donors is your father in law along with that father in laws buddies. That’s why this was a dumb hire in the first place.

And I’ll say this, when it happened, I thought it was a risk but a good hire based on x’s past success in going to that well. I thought why not until it doesn’t work. I didn’t know at the time that his fil was a big donor at the time..otherwise I would have been against it from that start. And Well, now it’s not working.

Im hoping I am completely wrong, x finishes the year strong and we go far in March. If so, I’ll admit I was wrong, eat all kinds of crow, and hop on the Steele bandwagon.

[Xville]

I just stumbled across a couple threads on twitter that are people defending Steele based on his teams Kenpom rankings compared to Miller and Mack's kenpom rankings in the first 4 years. Man it is a doozy. That Banners on the Parkway is one of the accounts defending Steele in that regard too, saying basically random circumstances have dictated Steele's lack of postseason appearances or success. He sees Steele on equal footing thus far into his career with Miller and Mack after 4 years.

Ugh, what?

He also argued the whole 2020 Steele and X would have been in thing bc 53% of bracket matrix had X in. At the same time he argues Mack missed the tournament twice bc 2014 appearance doesnt count since it was the first four.

I don't read much from banners really so I am not sure if that is kind of in line with the type of stuff they usually say but the defending of Steele compared to Miller and Mack was astonishing to me.

I guess people just think the fans are stupid…miller in his fourth year had arguably x’s best team ever and Mack (can’t believe I’m defending him) had a horrible fourth year but had three trips to the dance as some stable footing behind it.

This is the kind of bs that has permeated sports that I despise as well..analytic bullshit. Not saying having some numbers at your disposal aren’t good, but don’t use numbers to back up a stupid argument that anyone with a brain knows doesn’t compute. It figures though “analytics” has destroyed baseball, and is starting to permeate the nfl. hopefully people see thru the bullshit,

[BigMoeMusketeer]

He went on to say that the big donors understand the situation better and do not share that sentiment.

Rick is about as impartial as a parent watching his kid play, that is, NOT at all.

There are plenty of "big donors" that are NOT happy with the situation, or with Travis (and the staff), so that is misleading. However, until Bob Kohlhepp jumps off the Trav wagon, Travis is going to get every opportunity to turn this around. When he is off the wagon, the deal will be over, but not until then. He has been the "Phil Knight" of Xavier basketball for a LONG time.

[BigMoeMusketeer]

Banners is in Mario's pocket, he is only going to disseminate the propaganda that the program wants put out there. These dudes (Banners & Rick) are NOT journalists. They are dudes who want and need access to the program to keep their 'lofty' perch as insiders (tongue planted firmly in cheek), so the last thing they are going to do is be critical of Travis or anyone else on staff.

[Final4]

There are plenty of "big donors" that are NOT happy with the situation, or with Travis (and the staff), so that is misleading.

Like who?

[Xville]

Like who?

You really think he’s just going to start naming names? What’s more believable..:. Everyone thinks Steele is swell or that there is some discontent?

[xuphan]

Rick is about as impartial as a parent watching his kid play, that is, NOT at all.

There are plenty of "big donors" that are NOT happy with the situation, or with Travis (and the staff), so that is misleading. However, until Bob Kohlhepp jumps off the Trav wagon, Travis is going to get every opportunity to turn this around. When he is off the wagon, the deal will be over, but not until then. He has been the "Phil Knight" of Xavier basketball for a LONG time.

Most of these reporters aren’t going to risk their business by speaking out against the program. If they lose access to the program, their business is done.

[xavierj]

Rick will be critical but he has to be careful. There are some connected people I think that communicate to him and monitor his board. If you get too critical you risk getting banned. As for Travis you have to let the season play out. My expectations are still the same. He has to make the tourney and advance. Still it won’t get him fired but that his where I am as a fan. One thing about Travis that may be more concerning than anything is that he is 17-14 at the Cintas Center and that most likely cost him two tourney bids. You have to protect home court. The big East is tough and road games are tougher. You need to win 75% of your home games in the big east to set your team up for Success and you can’t lose games to bottom feeders.

[boozehound]

We certainly will see what these guys are made of over the next two games.

Agree. My opinion doesn't matter, of course, but I really want to see this team put together a strong finish if I'm going to feel good about going into next year with Steele at the help. Not just making the tournament by the skin of our teeth. I want to see us win the games we are supposed to win and steal a game or two that we aren't.

Feels like a lifetime ago we were picked to finish 3rd in the Big East. No excuses this year.

[Final4]

You really think he’s just going to start naming names? What’s more believable..:. Everyone thinks Steele is swell or that there is some discontent?

He's the one that made the claim. I think it's bullshit........unless of course you're the "big donor".

[STL_XUfan]

I guess people just think the fans are stupid

I mean that is kind of the definition of a fan. We are passionate, not objective, and way too emotionally attached. Exhibit 1, a post a 2:13am on a message board that is the equivalent of yelling into the void.

So lets strap on our stupid helmet and enjoy the ride.

[xubrew]

If Xavier loses tonight will this site make it through the night??

[Xville]

He's the one that made the claim. I think it's bullshit........unless of course you're the "big donor".

You are free to have that opinion, but based on his posting history, I don’t think he is, and do you really believe he is going to name names?

[Xville]

I mean that is kind of the definition of a fan. We are passionate, not objective, and way too emotionally attached. Exhibit 1, a post a 2:13am on a message board that is the equivalent of yelling into the void.

So lets strap on our stupid helmet and enjoy the ride.

Don’t sleep much after I had twins and was working, then got bored lol.

[American X]

If Xavier loses tonight will this site make it through the night??

Zero expectation of winning on the road against a tournament-ish team, so no reason to be more aggravated than normal.

[Masterofreality]

Zero expectation of winning on the road against a tournament-ish team, so no reason to be more aggravated than normal.

Zero Expectations…..High Excuses!!!!

[D-West & PO-Z]

If Xavier loses tonight will this site make it through the night??

Who cares if we lose? Winning isn't important. All that matters is Kenpom ranking. Didn't you get the memo?

[xubrew]

Zero expectation of winning on the road against a tournament-ish team, so no reason to be more aggravated than normal.

The amount of space between X's ceiling and X's floor is quite large. Just before the loss at home to DePaul, they played a terrible first half and an amazing second half against a Creighton team that's admittedly currently on NCAAT life support and who's in worse shape than X right now, but that's still very tough to beat on the road, especially when you spot them 15+ points. In the last 80mins of basketball, X has shown their full range.

They may blow Seton Hall off the floor, or they may get blown off the floor. They may fall behind by 20 and win, or they may blow a 20pt lead. Every year there are a few teams that are like that, and this year Xavier appears to be one of them.

[xubrew]

Who cares if we lose? Winning isn't important. All that matters is Kenpom ranking. Didn't you get the memo?

I forgot. I get so many memos that some get lost in the shuffle. Thanks for the reminder.

[drudy23]

If Xavier loses tonight will this site make it through the night??

The sun will come up tomorrow regardless; however, it won't be as pretty.

[muskieindent]

I know that the salary for Xavier coaches is not public information but I've heard people say Steele makes more than Mack ever did.They say Steele is around $1.1 million. I always thought Mack was making close to $2 million when he left If he wasn't, then I'm surpirsed he didn't leave sooner.

[boozehound]

The amount of space between X's ceiling and X's floor is quite large. Just before the loss at home to DePaul, they played a terrible first half and an amazing second half against a Creighton team that's admittedly currently on NCAAT life support and who's in worse shape than X right now, but that's still very tough to beat on the road, especially when you spot them 15+ points. In the last 80mins of basketball, X has shown their full range.

They may blow Seton Hall off the floor, or they may get blown off the floor. They may fall behind by 20 and win, or they may blow a 20pt lead. Every year there are a few teams that are like that, and this year Xavier appears to be one of them.

I feel like last year we were one of those teams too. Didn't we absolutely destroy a ranked Oklahoma team before ultimately completely shitting down our leg in BE play? Seems to be becoming part of our brand.

[Masterofreality]

I know that the salary for Xavier coaches is not public information but I've heard people say Steele makes more than Mack ever did.They say Steele is around $1.1 million. I always thought Mack was making close to $2 million when he left If he wasn't, then I'm surpirsed he didn't leave sooner.

This is total Bullshit. (Except for the part about Mack’s ending salary plus bonus)
It’s maybe not you, but the fact that you are quoting this makes you complicit.
I have zero idea what people you are quoting, but they are dead wrong

[Final4]

This is total Bullshit. (Except for the part about Mack’s ending salary plus bonus)
It’s maybe not you, but the fact that you are quoting this makes you complicit.
I have zero idea what people you are quoting, but they are dead wrong

I believe you were the one who stated unequivocally that the X offer and the UL offer to Mack was $3.0m and $3.8m respectively, which is also inaccurate, so don't be too hard on Dent.

[Masterofreality]

I believe you were the one who stated unequivocally that the X offer and the UL offer to Mack was $3.0m and $3.8m respectively, which is also inaccurate, so don't be too hard on Dent.

Uh, they are both true.
Mack’s salary was published in the Courier Journal in Louisville.
My Xavier Authority is impeccable

[JTG]

If Xavier loses tonight will this site make it through the night??

Yeah it will survive. Id imagine this board is 50-50 on X winning tonight.

[ArizonaXUGrad]

Another nice L, get used to them. We are finishing 3-5 in conference. No way this team beats UConn and will be lucky to split St. John’s. That leaves one bad matchup in New York away from no ncaa again. Damn, I never thought it would be bad this year. We swapped out Carter and got Nunge and this team still looks like garbage. This was as close to a just don’t screw it up situation as it could get and Steele and company are doing just that.

[XUGRAD80]

Another nice L, get used to them. We are finishing 3-5 in conference. No way this team beats UConn and will be lucky to split St. John’s. That leaves one bad matchup in New York away from no ncaa again. Damn, I never thought it would be bad this year. We swapped out Carter and got Nunge and this team still looks like garbage. This was as close to a just don’t screw it up situation as it could get and Steele and company are doing just that.


Almost everyone expected Free to play at an all-league level and for Scruggs to have that great senior year that everyone dreams about. They also expected Jones and Odom to take a leap forward, and for Miles to be a real contributor. Almost none of that has happened.

Thus my biggest complaint about Steele and the rest of the staff….player development hasn’t happened to nearly the level that it’s going to take for X to be the team we want them to be. The only real improvement I see in anyones game is that Odom is now a very relatable free throw shooter. Otherwise, many players have actually regressed IMO. I have t seen players getting bigger and stronger or developing reliable outside shots. I don’t see players boxing out on rebounds. I don’t see the inside players being able to make shots through contact and finish at the rim. They take these little fadeaway half hook shots instead. They play soft. They don’t play the style of ball that X was known for and was successful with. That style of play will not be successful in the BE.

Steele and the staff need to go.

[Xville]

Agree with everything you said 80…to add, I’d like to know if anyone besides Scruggs and Odom have ever seen the inside of a weight room, or what our strength coach actually does? Every big East game we look like freshman high schoolers playing against the varsity.

[boozehound]

Almost everyone expected Free to play at an all-league level and for Scruggs to have that great senior year that everyone dreams about. They also expected Jones and Odom to take a leap forward, and for Miles to be a real contributor. Almost none of that has happened.

Thus my biggest complaint about Steele and the rest of the staff….player development hasn’t happened to nearly the level that it’s going to take for X to be the team we want them to be. The only real improvement I see in anyones game is that Odom is now a very relatable free throw shooter. Otherwise, many players have actually regressed IMO. I have t seen players getting bigger and stronger or developing reliable outside shots. I don’t see players boxing out on rebounds. I don’t see the inside players being able to make shots through contact and finish at the rim. They take these little fadeaway half hook shots instead. They play soft. They don’t play the style of ball that X was known for and was successful with. That style of play will not be successful in the BE.

Steele and the staff need to go.

Spot on. Our guys are getting banged around in the paint by the bigger forwards in this league, it's translating to us getting outrebounded badly on the defensive end and not finishing through contact on the offensive end. The only way that can work is if you have multiple guys hitting 3's, but we are (once again) a fairly poor 3pt shooting team.

[Final4]

Uh, they are both true.
Mack’s salary was published in the Courier Journal in Louisville.
My Xavier Authority is impeccable

The only thing true about this statement is the fact that Mack's contract was published in Courier Journal. I guess you didn't bother to read it tho'.

[Xville]

The only thing true about this statement is the fact that Mack's contract was published in Courier Journal. I guess you didn't bother to read it tho'.

So he was off by 200k when all was said and done. Not that I’m a fan of offering someone like mack 3 mil to stay at Xavier, I really doubt the administration was short of that. If they were, again what is this team doing in the big East? And considering I know in laws of mack, I tend to believe Mor on this.

[muskieindent]

This is total Bullshit. (Except for the part about Mack’s ending salary plus bonus)
It’s maybe not you, but the fact that you are quoting this makes you complicit.
I have zero idea what people you are quoting, but they are dead wrong

Oh No! I'm complicit.Shoot me! Why don't you enlighten me then. Do you know what our coaches make? I did see on another site someone said Mack never made more than$700,000 and that Steele is at $1.1 million.

[Xville]

Oh No! I'm complicit.Shoot me! Why don't you enlighten me then. Do you know what our coaches make? I did see on another site someone said Mack never made more than$700,000 and that Steele is at $1.1 million.

If you honestly believe that mack never made over 700k while at x I have a bridge to sell you!

[xubrew]

Uh, they are both true.
Mack’s salary was published in the Courier Journal in Louisville.
My Xavier Authority is impeccable

It might be best to just shrug and move on.

I do not say that as a lecture. I say that as someone who knows a few things (not really about Xavier in particular), and who stupidly let myself get sucked into message board bickering and then really wished I'd have stayed quiet and been content with knowing what I knew for myself. Just sayin'. If someone within X's important inner circle has let you see part of that inner circle, then maybe just let that be enough.

[Masterofreality]

It might be best to just shrug and move on.

I do not say that as a lecture. I say that as someone who knows a few things (not really about Xavier in particular), and who stupidly let myself get sucked into message board bickering and then really wished I'd have stayed quiet and been content with knowing what I knew for myself. Just sayin'. If someone within X's important inner circle has let you see part of that inner circle, then maybe just let that be enough.

And I am.
The guy quoting that Mack never made more than $700k while at Xavier just showed his colors.
Nothing more need be said.

[muskieindent]

If you honestly believe that mack never made over 700k while at x I have a bridge to sell you!

I do not. Just sharing some stupidity from #1 Xavier Musketeer Fans page.

[xavierj]

I do not. Just sharing some stupidity from #1 Xavier Musketeer Fans page.

You can find what Xavier reports relatively easy. That’s what they report so expect the actual comp to be higher. I think they report Travis at $1.5 and Chris was like reported maybe $1.8 his last year. I would imagine you can add $500k to that with other comp the university doesn’t have to report but the coaches probably do on their personal taxes. I think this link shows what Xavier reports. Think it was Travis first year because Mack still shows comp. also believe Travis took less so he would have more room to pay assistants.

https://nonprofitlight.com/oh/cincinnati/xavier-university

[muskieindent]

You can find what Xavier reports relatively easy. That’s what they report so expect the actual comp to be higher. I think they report Travis at $1.5 and Chris was like reported maybe $1.8 his last year. I would imagine you can add $500k to that with other comp the university doesn’t have to report but the coaches probably do on their personal taxes. I think this link shows what Xavier reports. Think it was Travis first year because Mack still shows comp. also believe Travis took less so he would have more room to pay assistants.

https://nonprofitlight.com/oh/cincinnati/xavier-university

Thanks Xavierj.

[Final4]

So he was off by 200k when all was said and done. Not that I’m a fan of offering someone like mack 3 mil to stay at Xavier, I really doubt the administration was short of that. If they were, again what is this team doing in the big East? And considering I know in laws of mack, I tend to believe Mor on this.

Forget the delta, the point is he states everything as a FACT and then doubles down when it’s shown to be inaccurate. He jumps all over someone who simply stated what they had heard. I suspect he was trying to advance a narrative that Mack left for a rather “insignificant” amount of money and misrepresented the two end points ($3.0m at X and $3.8m at UL) to prove his point. My “source”, whom I’ve always considered credible, told me that X got to $2.6m in an attempt to get Chris to stay. I don’t know how to post a link but there is a 3/27/2018 WasPo article (that I’m sure you can find if interested) that states Chris was making slightly less than $1.7m when UL came calling.

[Xville]

Forget the delta, the point is he states everything as a FACT and then doubles down when it’s shown to be inaccurate. He jumps all over someone who simply stated what they had heard. I suspect he was trying to advance a narrative that Mack left for a rather “insignificant” amount of money and misrepresented the two end points ($3.0m at X and $3.8m at UL) to prove his point. My “source”, whom I’ve always considered credible, told me that X got to $2.6m in an attempt to get Chris to stay. I don’t know how to post a link but there is a 3/27/2018 WasPo article (that I’m sure you can find if interested) that states Chris was making slightly less than $1.7m when UL came calling.

you also stated that what he said was inaccurate as if it was fact and you don't know that either. You are relying on a source the same as him.

I will say though I get it...you are absolutely right when it comes to him and being right. He won't ever admit he is wrong about anything.

[xudash]

A quote from Steele from the paper:

"I thought our guys fought, I thought our guys played really, really hard," said Steele. "We did a much better job in the second half taking care of the ball. We had three turnovers in the second half. We didn't give up nearly as many offensive rebounds in the second half, and I thought that led to us getting to a big run there, got us back in the game. But really proud of our group for fighting, unfortunately, we didn't come out on the right side of things tonight."

Honest question: does anyone here believe the team played with equal amounts of focus and intensity in the both halves?

My lord, what a quote.

[Xville]

A quote from Steele from the paper:

"I thought our guys fought, I thought our guys played really, really hard," said Steele. "We did a much better job in the second half taking care of the ball. We had three turnovers in the second half. We didn't give up nearly as many offensive rebounds in the second half, and I thought that led to us getting to a big run there, got us back in the game. But really proud of our group for fighting, unfortunately, we didn't come out on the right side of things tonight."

Honest question: does anyone here believe the team played with equal amounts of focus and intensity in the both halves?

My lord, what a quote.

Which game was that quote from? Could have been most of them since big East play

[xudash]

Which game was that quote from? Could have been most of them since big East play

The one we just LOST in New Jersey. And I agree with you.

[whopper]

From Connecticut paper today(i live in Conn)
And if you think Hurley caught heat from UConn Twitter and other outlets after the Huskies’ recent two-game losing streak, it’s nothing compared to the criticism Steele has received from Xavier fans over the past few seasons.

“They’re in the same position we were just in,” Hurley pointed out. “We’re desperately trying to avoid going back into that position. It’s not a fun feeling, it’s pretty dire and dark when you’ve lost a game. That feeling stays with you until you win a game. It’s not too distant a memory of what it felt like coming off of losses. So, we desperately want to avoid that feeling coming out of here (Friday) night.”

[xavierj]

From Connecticut paper today(i live in Conn)
And if you think Hurley caught heat from UConn Twitter and other outlets after the Huskies’ recent two-game losing streak, it’s nothing compared to the criticism Steele has received from Xavier fans over the past few seasons.

“They’re in the same position we were just in,” Hurley pointed out. “We’re desperately trying to avoid going back into that position. It’s not a fun feeling, it’s pretty dire and dark when you’ve lost a game. That feeling stays with you until you win a game. It’s not too distant a memory of what it felt like coming off of losses. So, we desperately want to avoid that feeling coming out of here (Friday) night.”

Fans are fans. With you win or win which is fine. Coaches are paid to win games. Just don’t take it out on the players. Last game there was a lot of booing. Need to squash that. Regardless of it’s the coach, the players think they are getting booed. Everyone thinks Hurley is great, well what has he done? Sucked in the AAC and has been coaching for 12 years with three tourney appearances and 2 wins, both at Rhode Island. He loses a ton after this year so will be interesting to see what he does next year.

[Xville]

Fans are fans. With you win or win which is fine. Coaches are paid to win games. Just don’t take it out on the players. Last game there was a lot of booing. Need to squash that. Regardless of it’s the coach, the players think they are getting booed. Everyone thinks Hurley is great, well what has he done? Sucked in the AAC and has been coaching for 12 years with three tourney appearances and 2 wins, both at Rhode Island. He loses a ton after this year so will be interesting to see what he does next year.

Hurley has won at every single place he’s ever been at. He turned a high school to a powerhouse, turned around Wagner in two seasons, turned a Rhode Island team that was in the toilet into a tourney team and a uconn team that was facing sanctions back to a tourney team. He’s a hell of a coach and I’d love to have him at x.

Also had a top 5 recruiting last year, has a 7 foot top 50 guy coming in next year and all those people he might lose? They all have the chance to come back because of the Covid year. UConn is going to be a perennial powerhouse in the big East just like they were before.

[whopper]

I have never booed any time I rooted for or abandoned a team. I live in Conn where Uconn women, Tom Brady/Patriots, Yankees, Giants(w/Manning and Simms) made it easy to be a front runner but I disliked all of these teams and experienced a bit of angst. I will wear my Xavier Basketball hoodie to the local Irish club (a big hoops hangout) in Conn and lead with my chin. It is a great feeling to go against the crowd (in a good natured way) and I am hopeful. Coaching is kind of another issue and I have my issues as many have pointed out but hope to be rewarded tonight anyway..we shall see. I have never seen a coach complain like Hurley and I go back to the late 60

[XUGRAD80]

I will only boo HS and College players for the lack of effort, but even then I don’t really boo. I just leave. I can only remember doing that one time at a Xavier game. That was the year that the MCC tourney was held in Cincy and X got blown out by someone, I don’t remember who. When I saw the X players jogging down the court on defense after an opposing player had stollen the ball and was driving toward the basket, I got up and left. There is absolutely no reason to criticize a player “personally”, as we really don’t know what they are going through on that level. It’s OK to criticize a players performance on the court. It’s OK to criticize their efforts on the court. It’s OK to question their abilities, talents, and even their preparation and attitude. That comes with the territory when you’re a big time D1 athlete at a school like X. But I won’t boo. I also won’t criticize those that feel differently.

[xavierj]

Hurley has won at every single place he’s ever been at. He turned a high school to a powerhouse, turned around Wagner in two seasons, turned a Rhode Island team that was in the toilet into a tourney team and a uconn team that was facing sanctions back to a tourney team. He’s a hell of a coach and I’d love to have him at x.

Also had a top 5 recruiting last year, has a 7 foot top 50 guy coming in next year and all those people he might lose? They all have the chance to come back because of the Covid year. UConn is going to be a perennial powerhouse in the big East just like they were before.

They have a couple of 5th year guys and Cole I guess could come back for his 6th year since he transferred. Hurley’s last year in the AAC he had 7 4 star players on his roster and 5 top 100 guys and finished 5th in the AAC and went 19-12. I am not as sold on him as others.

[xavierj]

This UCONN team has 9 top 100 players on its roster, Xavier has two, well three if you count KyKy. UCONN is 16-6, 7-4 in league play.

[xuphan]

I will only boo HS and College players for the lack of effort, but even then I don’t really boo. I just leave. I can only remember doing that one time at a Xavier game. That was the year that the MCC tourney was held in Cincy and X got blown out by someone, I don’t remember who. When I saw the X players jogging down the court on defense after an opposing player had stollen the ball and was driving toward the basket, I got up and left. There is absolutely no reason to criticize a player “personally”, as we really don’t know what they are going through on that level. It’s OK to criticize a players performance on the court. It’s OK to criticize their efforts on the court. It’s OK to question their abilities, talents, and even their preparation and attitude. That comes with the territory when you’re a big time D1 athlete at a school like X. But I won’t boo. I also won’t criticize those that feel differently.

I don’t know if you are going to the game tonight but would you boo Steele when he is introduced by the announcer during pregame staring lineups?

[XUBison]

This UCONN team has 9 top 100 players on its roster, Xavier has two, well three if you count KyKy. UCONN is 16-6, 7-4 in league play.

You keep pointing out how few good recruits Xavier has. I thought that was supposed to be Steele’s strength?

[paulxu]

I have never seen a coach complain like Hurley and I go back to the late 60

I think Mick can give him a good run for this honor.

[boozehound]

Fans are fans. With you win or win which is fine. Coaches are paid to win games. Just don’t take it out on the players. Last game there was a lot of booing. Need to squash that. Regardless of it’s the coach, the players think they are getting booed. Everyone thinks Hurley is great, well what has he done? Sucked in the AAC and has been coaching for 12 years with three tourney appearances and 2 wins, both at Rhode Island. He loses a ton after this year so will be interesting to see what he does next year.

I agree that we should not be booing players, regardless of play, effort, etc. It's just not a good look. Having said that, if you want to show up to the Dilly Cafe and boo Travis during his coaches show, have at it!

[xavierj]

You keep pointing out how few good recruits Xavier has. I thought that was supposed to be Steele’s strength?

I think it is. Next year it ramps up. But Xavier is not the most attractive place to come play in my opinion. Next year Xavier will have 5 top 100 players on its roster. The most ever at one time. I think the last few classes people were getting a little over the top because they were like top 25 recruiting classes, but they were not all super highly rated. Sometimes the more guys you sign the higher you are in the recruiting rankings. If Travis can follow up in 23 with 2 or 3 more top 100 guys, we may be in business. Need NBA types. This team currently is missing that. Jay Wright is great but he always seems to have NBA guys. It helps.

[xuphan]

I think it is. Next year it ramps up. But Xavier is not the most attractive place to come play in my opinion. Next year Xavier will have 5 top 100 players on its roster. The most ever at one time. I think the last few classes people were getting a little over the top because they were like top 25 recruiting classes, but they were not all super highly rated. Sometimes the more guys you sign the higher you are in the recruiting rankings. If Travis can follow up in 23 with 2 or 3 more top 100 guys, we may be in business. Need NBA types. This team currently is missing that. Jay Wright is great but he always seems to have NBA guys. It helps.

Jay Wright develops these guys into NBA type players. A lot of the players Villanova send to the NBA are not NBA type of players coming into college. Wright is able to maximize their potential. That’s why I value Wright way higher than Coach K and Callipari because he doesn’t just get NBA ready type players on his team coming into college.

[XUBison]

I think it is. Next year it ramps up. But Xavier is not the most attractive place to come play in my opinion. Next year Xavier will have 5 top 100 players on its roster. The most ever at one time. I think the last few classes people were getting a little over the top because they were like top 25 recruiting classes, but they were not all super highly rated. Sometimes the more guys you sign the higher you are in the recruiting rankings. If Travis can follow up in 23 with 2 or 3 more top 100 guys, we may be in business. Need NBA types. This team currently is missing that. Jay Wright is great but he always seems to have NBA guys. It helps.

Well, I agree with this. I got into a debate a while back with another poster about this same thing. I said Xavier needed to take that next step up in recruiting to essentially what you’ve described. I got a lot of pushback that Xavier would never recruit at that level. Whatever.

I will say though, Hunter was also top 100, so that’s four on the roster this year. Also, it’s not like our guys were only top 500 recruits. Most of the rest of them were fringe top 100 guys, sans the transfers.

[CP05XU08CU13]

Need someone that can energize the program. As long as Travis is around, we can expect mediocre results. I thought Mack said it best on his way out at Louisville...it ultimately comes down to wins and losses. Obviously there were other issues at Louisville, but the fans and boosters were not willing to accept mediocrity. Its not personal, its business. Basketball is the biggest moneymaker for Xavier. It is time for Christopher to start putting out feelers if he is not already doing so. Plain and simple.

[Xville]

Need someone that can energize the program. As long as Travis is around, we can expect mediocre results. I thought Mack said it best on his way out at Louisville...it ultimately comes down to wins and losses. Obviously there were other issues at Louisville, but the fans and boosters were not willing to accept mediocrity. Its not personal, its business. Basketball is the biggest moneymaker for Xavier. It is time for Christopher to start putting out feelers if he is not already doing so. Plain and simple.

Yep. I just want to reiterate that anything I say regarding Steele (because it has been negative admittedly on this board) is only about his coaching ability and being in the big seat. He seems like a really good human being which is more important than a basketball game, and I’m sure he is as a man of integrity and kindness. And of course he wants to win probably more than anyone. However, this is big business and at some point, you have to produce..absolutely nothing personal.

[XUGRAD80]

I don’t know if you are going to the game tonight but would you boo Steele when he is introduced by the announcer during pregame staring lineups?

No

[xavierj]

Jay Wright develops these guys into NBA type players. A lot of the players Villanova send to the NBA are not NBA type of players coming into college. Wright is able to maximize their potential. That’s why I value Wright way higher than Coach K and Callipari because he doesn’t just get NBA ready type players on his team coming into college.

That is actually wrong but agree that he does a good job getting them in position to succeed. Wright has had 4 top 20 five star players go to the nba last 8 years. He has another 4 top 100 players in that same time span make the nba. He sent two more NBA that were 4 stars but not top 100. Bey and DiVincenzo. His current roster has 8 top 100 players. Jay Wright is a good coach. He also usually has the best talent in the league.

[Xville]

That is actually wrong but agree that he does a good job getting them in position to succeed. Wright has had 4 top 20 five star players go to the nba last 8 years. He has another 4 top 100 players in that same time span make the nba. He sent two more NBA that were 4 stars but not top 100. Bey and DiVincenzo. His current roster has 8 top 100 players. Jay Wright is a good coach. He also usually has the best talent in the league.

You are both right. He gets top talent and develops them. Top 100 and below guys should not be making the nba but he made them into nba players. Anyone can take a top 20 guy and have them be a draft pick.

[CP05XU08CU13]

Yep. I just want to reiterate that anything I say regarding Steele (because it has been negative admittedly on this board) is only about his coaching ability and being in the big seat. He seems like a really good human being which is more important than a basketball game, and I’m sure he is as a man of integrity and kindness. And of course he wants to win probably more than anyone. However, this is big business and at some point, you have to produce..absolutely nothing personal.

I 100% agree that Travis seems like a good person. Admittedly, I do not know him personally or how he conducts himself behind closed doors. Again, it is all about producing and putting a product on the floor that attracts recruits to the University. Moreover, it is a big draw for high school students when considering where to go to college. Xavier will be relegated to another Jesuit regional university in the minds of a lot of prospective students if the basketball program continues to be mediocre. Basketball has done wonders for small Catholic colleges that produce on a national stage.

[BigMoeMusketeer]

They have a couple of 5th year guys and Cole I guess could come back for his 6th year since he transferred. Hurley’s last year in the AAC he had 7 4 star players on his roster and 5 top 100 guys and finished 5th in the AAC and went 19-12. I am not as sold on him as others.

Hurley loves the Bengals.

Travis loves the Colts.

*mic drop*

[xuphan]

I think it is. Next year it ramps up. But Xavier is not the most attractive place to come play in my opinion. Next year Xavier will have 5 top 100 players on its roster. The most ever at one time. I think the last few classes people were getting a little over the top because they were like top 25 recruiting classes, but they were not all super highly rated. Sometimes the more guys you sign the higher you are in the recruiting rankings. If Travis can follow up in 23 with 2 or 3 more top 100 guys, we may be in business. Need NBA types. This team currently is missing that. Jay Wright is great but he always seems to have NBA guys. It helps.

I 100% disagree with this. Xavier has wonderful facilities and is a school that supports its basketball program financially. No, we dont and never will have the resources of the blue bloods but we do have the support and funding to have at worst a perennial NCAA tournament team. This excuse has been used repeated to try to justify mediocre performance of coaches and this program. What sets Xavier apart from Villanova? The coach and the prestige that coach has brought to the program. ThatÂ’s it. ItÂ’s not the education and it is definitely not the facilities.

[xukeith]

I 100% disagree with this. Xavier has wonderful facilities and is a school that supports its basketball program financially. No, we dont and never will have the resources of the blue bloods but we do have the support and funding to have at worst a perennial NCAA tournament team. This excuse has been used repeated to try to justify mediocre performance of coaches and this program. What sets Xavier apart from Villanova? The coach and the prestige that coach has brought to the program. ThatÂ’s it. ItÂ’s not the education and it is definitely not the facilities.

Choosing not to acknowledge Nova's top 50/100 recruits each year for roughly 10-12 years ?
It wasn't always a perennial power until the 100% basketball universities united in current BE. Wright got some special talent, mixed in some intelligent basketball practices and now are top 10 each year.
It does take some luck to lay down a foundation of top talent, top facilities and most importantly- top TV .

If Mack did NOT have Holloway, Crawford and solid transfers, then I doubt X would have been in the tourney each year.

[XUGRAD80]

I 100% disagree with this. Xavier has wonderful facilities and is a school that supports its basketball program financially. No, we dont and never will have the resources of the blue bloods but we do have the support and funding to have at worst a perennial NCAA tournament team. This excuse has been used repeated to try to justify mediocre performance of coaches and this program. What sets Xavier apart from Villanova? The coach and the prestige that coach has brought to the program. ThatÂ’s it. ItÂ’s not the education and it is definitely not the facilities.

A few things to consider…

While I love Cincinnati, it’s nowhere near the size of Philadelphia and many other cities. Nor does it have the entertainment and business opportunities that larger cities have.

I also have very fond memories of Xavier and am pleased with the education I got there. However, it doesn’t have near the variety of courses and majors that most larger state universities have. Many of these BB players ARE serious students, and while playing professional is everyone’s dream, most realize it’s just a dream and that an education is important.

There’s also the weather, the travel opportunities, and the geographic location of BE schools to consider. There are schools that exist and travel to better winter locations.

Also unless things have changed Xavier is a Catholic university and religion classes are mandatory. That could be a problem for some recruits.

None of these things are an excuse or a reason that Xavier can’t be a perennial tourney team. But they are things that could potentially effect the decisions made by recruits.

[MHettel]

A few things to consider…

While I love Cincinnati, it’s nowhere near the size of Philadelphia and many other cities. Nor does it have the entertainment and business opportunities that larger cities have.

I also have very fond memories of Xavier and am pleased with the education I got there. However, it doesn’t have near the variety of courses and majors that most larger state universities have. Many of these BB players ARE serious students, and while playing professional is everyone’s dream, most realize it’s just a dream and that an education is important.

There’s also the weather, the travel opportunities, and the geographic location of BE schools to consider. There are schools that exist and travel to better winter locations.

Also unless things have changed Xavier is a Catholic university and religion classes are mandatory. That could be a problem for some recruits.

None of these things are an excuse or a reason that Xavier can’t be a perennial tourney team. But they are things that could potentially effect the decisions made by recruits.

Maybe you should check out Gonzaga.

[XUGRAD80]

Maybe you should check out Gonzaga.

Maybe there’s a reason they recruit so many foreign players?

I get that these same things could be said for many universities, but the original comment by X-J was that in his opinion Xavier wasn’t the most attractive place to come play. I agree that could be true for many recruits. Obviously, since X doesn’t land each and every recruit it goes after, it is true for many. I was just pointing out what are some things that some other universities may have that make them more attractive than X. It’s not just about the arena or the practice facilities when a recruit chooses a school. Often it’s about their relationships with the coaches, or what they see as their chances of making the NBA from a certain school. But there are other things too. Heck, even the size of Xavier could be a deciding factor against X for someone that wants to go to a large university.

[Muskie]

I have seen X's basketball facilities first hand including the basketball weight room, locker room, and academic/training table area. All of them have been updated or founded in the past five to six years. They are all very nice considering what our endowment is at. I doubt they are turning recruits off by themselves. I'm sure Hoya and Nova have better facilities because they have more money to spend and bigger endowments. The Big East is an Arms race in terms of facilities. It's important to not only have the team competitive and making advances but the facilities for all our sports as well.

[OTRMUSKIE]

On my am way home Steele said Cesar gave us good minutes. I was like when did he play? Turns out he did play! 1 min. The students wanted him hard. Steele had no intentions of playing him.

[UCGRAD4X]

"Caesar gave us a good minute, man! An the only reason he got that is because I was afraid the student section was going to be mad at me, man. That and I'm an idiot, man."

[xucub]

Two years ago, in a rare Ben Stanley sighting, the young man scored six points in the final 90 seconds in the first half. That stellar performance earned him ZERO minutes in the second half. I guess practice metrics don't lie.

[Xuperman]

On my am way home Steele said Cesar gave us good minutes. I was like when did he play? Turns out he did play! 1 min. The students wanted him hard. Steele had no intentions of playing him.

Classic OTR....give the student section what they want. There is no way, zero reason, to give a end of the bench freshman more than a box score mention in a season defining game like last night. Regardless of his effort Wednesday.

[Backyard Champ]

I’m not sure why people wanted Edwards in anyway. He’s an emergency option at this point. We didn’t need him offensively and he isn’t necessarily the bruiser defensively we needed. I think the only real benefit is he isn’t afraid to foul instead of giving up easy buckets like some other players. I thought Hunter was playing a good defensive game against some of their quicker players.

On that note, I’m not sure how they were so efficient at getting Freemantle on their quicker players. He was getting abused in the first half.

[D West]

A few things to consider…

While I love Cincinnati, it’s nowhere near the size of Philadelphia and many other cities. Nor does it have the entertainment and business opportunities that larger cities have.

I also have very fond memories of Xavier and am pleased with the education I got there. However, it doesn’t have near the variety of courses and majors that most larger state universities have. Many of these BB players ARE serious students, and while playing professional is everyone’s dream, most realize it’s just a dream and that an education is important.

There’s also the weather, the travel opportunities, and the geographic location of BE schools to consider. There are schools that exist and travel to better winter locations.

Also unless things have changed Xavier is a Catholic university and religion classes are mandatory. That could be a problem for some recruits.

None of these things are an excuse or a reason that Xavier can’t be a perennial tourney team. But they are things that could potentially affect the decisions made by recruits.

So, we need to relocate the university to say.......Louisville. Become a state school...........and then add a law or medical school and we will be all set? Got it. How about we remain on the path that we ventured on in 1980 and continue to get better at it? In Steele I trust! The three top 80 recruits coming in next year is a clear indication that we can't recruit top kids because of these limitations.

[Backyard Champ]

Classic OTR....give the student section what they want. There is no way, zero reason, to give a end of the bench freshman more than a box score mention in a season defining game like last night. Regardless of his effort Wednesday.

Bingo. Classically, many Xavier fans Overreacted to his effort on Wednesday. We absolutely don’t need to force him into the games.

[Xville]

Classic OTR....give the student section what they want. There is no way, zero reason, to give a end of the bench freshman more than a box score mention in a season defining game like last night. Regardless of his effort Wednesday.

Did you watch the first half? I think there was plenty of reason to give Edwards some minutes during that half (he got one) free wasn’t good that half, and think could have benefited from Edwards playing a few high energy minutes. Otherwise, why hasn’t he been redshirted?

To me, I think a player should be rewarded for his gameplay especially for a freshman for experience.

We won, guys played a tremendous effort last night and Steele clearly got thru to Nate so it’s all good.

[Xuperman]

Did you watch the first half? I think there was plenty of reason to give Edwards some minutes during that half (he got one) free wasn’t good that half, and think could have benefited from Edwards playing a few high energy minutes. Otherwise, why hasn’t he been redshirted?

To me, I think a player should be rewarded for his gameplay especially for a freshman for experience.

We won, guys played a tremendous effort last night and Steele clearly got thru to Nate so it’s all good.

Watched and re-watched. The answer is no, the stakes were too high and to suggest experimentation at this time is ludicrous.

[Xville]

Watched and re-watched. The answer is no, the stakes were too high and to suggest experimentation at this time is ludicrous.

It’s not experimentation. Since you rewatched, explain to me what free or hunter did in the first half that Edwards could not have done in five minutes of play. I think it’s ludicrous that you come on here after wins and try to call out other posters, but here we are.

[Xuperman]

It’s not experimentation. Since you rewatched, explain to me what free or hunter did in the first half that Edwards could not have done in five minutes of play. I think it’s ludicrous that you come on here after wins and try to call out other posters, but here we are.

God man, It would be experimentation by DEFINITION.....he is a Freshman with no playing time. It's February and getting where we want to go is very precarious. Your ability to keep your narrative as a moving target is very annoying....Stop hedging and get onboard or off.

[XUGRAD80]

So, we need to relocate the university to say.......Louisville. Become a state school...........and then add a law or medical school and we will be all set? Got it. How about we remain on the path that we ventured on in 1980 and continue to get better at it? In Steele I trust! The three top 80 recruits coming in next year is a clear indication that we can't recruit top kids because of these limitations.

X-J made the comment that in his opinion Xavier was not the most attractive place to come play. He was talent to task by another poster because of the level of Xavier’s arena and facilities. I was merely pointing out that the arena and facilities are not the be all to every recruit. That there are many things besides the facilities and arena that will effect why someone chooses a school. In addition, there are some differences between where Xavier is and where Villanova is, geographically and logistically. I was not insulting Xavier or saying that they needed to change anything. The things that make it different from others are the same things that make it appealing to many.

[Xuperman]

Since you rewatched, explain to me what free or hunter did in the first half that Edwards could not have done in five minutes of play.

Explain? No need, they both have significant D1 success. Stop posting ridiculous questions.

[Xville]

God man, It would be experimentation by DEFINITION.....he is a Freshman with no playing time. It's February and getting where we want to go is very precarious. Your ability to keep your narrative as a moving target is very annoying....Stop hedging and get onboard or off.

My “narrative.” Who is we? Are you on the team? Very aware of where the calendar is..

How about you answer my question regarding the first half since you are so sure of yourself and your position.

[Xville]

Explain? No need, they both have significant D1 success. Stop posting ridiculous questions.

So you don’t know. Ok fair enough and thank you for proving my point.

[Xville]

My “narrative.” Who is we? Are you on the team? Very aware of where the calendar is..

How about you answer my question regarding the first half since you are so sure of yourself and your position.

My narrative is calling out your bs in attacking other posters every time xavier wins…that’s what is extremely old.

[JTG]

I’m not sure why people wanted Edwards in anyway. He’s an emergency option at this point. We didn’t need him offensively and he isn’t necessarily the bruiser defensively we needed. I think the only real benefit is he isn’t afraid to foul instead of giving up easy buckets like some other players. I thought Hunter was playing a good defensive game against some of their quicker players.

On that note, I’m not sure how they were so efficient at getting Freemantle on their quicker players. He was getting abused in the first half.

Having a big hedge at the arc on a talented guard is lunacy. Free is going to get abused every time. Keep him closer to the basket, where he can help, or at least maybe get a rebound.

[MADXSTER]

It’s not experimentation. Since you rewatched, explain to me what free or hunter did in the first half that Edwards could not have done in five minutes of play. I think it’s ludicrous that you come on here after wins and try to call out other posters, but here we are.

And if Travis put in Edwards and Edwards screwed up you'd be bitching about how terrible of a coach Travis was and he should have known the importance of the game, etc. You're not the glass half empty guy, you're the glass is empty guy.

[JTG]

Bingo. Classically, many Xavier fans Overreacted to his effort on Wednesday. We absolutely don’t need to force him into the games.

Don't need to force it, but there is no reason he can't give Jack or Free a blow for a couple minutes. The kid seems fearless.

[Xville]

And if Travis put in Edwards and Edwards screwed up you'd be bitching about how terrible of a coach Travis was and he should have known the importance of the game, etc. You're not the glass half empty guy, you're the glass is empty guy.

Negative.

[Xuperman]

So you don’t know. Ok fair enough and thank you for proving my point.

Ville, NO HC, at any level, can roll the dice on a Wednesday spurt by a freshman with the entire season in the balance. Seeing what happens, before it happens, is not something humans are capable of. Edwards is doing exactly what he needs.....watch and learn.

[Xuperman]

Don't need to force it, but there is no reason he can't give Jack or Free a blow for a couple minutes. The kid seems fearless.

Up!

[Xuperman]

Negative.

You are desperate to keep your Steele narrative alive. Maybe you win, but where is your feel good satisfaction?

[Xville]

You are desperate to keep your Steele narrative alive. Maybe you win, but where is your feel good satisfaction?

What’s my Steele “narrative?” I go by results, since this is a results oriented business. The results have not been good for three plus years and it had been looking ugly in conference for a few games now. Last night was the first time in a very long time that was something resembling Xavier basketball. That i have already mentioned and gave praise to Steele for it especially for what he did with Nate. So again what’s my narrative?

[Xuperman]

My narrative is calling out your bs in attacking other posters every time xavier wins…that’s what is extremely old.

Why wouldn't I? Are you trying to organize a group of posters here that celebrate loses? OTR, XUBANDGRAD can eagerly vie for top positions in your twisted "anti-Steele" club.

[N67ER]

A few things to consider…

While I love Cincinnati, it’s nowhere near the size of Philadelphia and many other cities. Nor does it have the entertainment and business opportunities that larger cities have.

I also have very fond memories of Xavier and am pleased with the education I got there. However, it doesn’t have near the variety of courses and majors that most larger state universities have. Many of these BB players ARE serious students, and while playing professional is everyone’s dream, most realize it’s just a dream and that an education is important.

There’s also the weather, the travel opportunities, and the geographic location of BE schools to consider. There are schools that exist and travel to better winter locations.

Also unless things have changed Xavier is a Catholic university and religion classes are mandatory. That could be a problem for some recruits.

None of these things are an excuse or a reason that Xavier can’t be a perennial tourney team. But they are things that could potentially effect the decisions made by recruits.

Gonzaga is same size catholic Jesuit school in Spokane WA. Spokane is 1/3rd smaller than Cincinnati in a metropolitan area that is 75% smaller. No pro baseball. No pro football. Gonzaga does not seem to have a recruiting problem. And Xavier does not require students to study religion. It requires theology and philosophy.

[Xville]

Why wouldn't I? Are you trying to organize a group of posters here that celebrate loses? OTR, XUBANDGRAD can eagerly vie for top positions in your twisted "anti-Steele" club.

No one here celebrates losses. You celebrate wins by calling out other posters. Talk about sick

[Xuperman]

No one here celebrates losses. You celebrate wins by calling out other posters. Talk about sick

At least you know were I stand.

[Strange Brew]

Gonzaga is same size catholic Jesuit school in Spokane WA. Spokane is 1/3rd smaller than Cincinnati in a metropolitan area that is 75% smaller. No pro baseball. No pro football. Gonzaga does not seem to have a recruiting problem. And Xavier does not require students to study religion. It requires theology and philosophy.

And no Dana’s.

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

Watched and re-watched. The answer is no, the stakes were too high and to suggest experimentation at this time is ludicrous.

Edwards needs to work on his body in the off season. He just isn't strong enough to handle some of the Bigs we see in the B.E. While I've been critical of Free, last night he played the game we need him to play. Free isn't ever going to be an athletic stretch four and so I'm glad he stayed away from the arc. His defensive effort was way more focused than in prior games---he has trouble covering athletic players and that isn't going to change. But, he was playing hard, not trash talking, hustling and even though his first half shots were not dropping, they were coming from the paint and all of them were contested. He nearly had a double-double and I would take that from him every game. Edwards, I don't believe, can do the things Free did last night, perhaps in the future. So, yes, mop up duty for now. Work hard on your game and your strength, get better, wait your turn.

Free definitely had an attitude adjustment last night and so good for him to recognize he needed to change and do what was required.

[xavierj]

What’s my Steele “narrative?” I go by results, since this is a results oriented business. The results have not been good for three plus years and it had been looking ugly in conference for a few games now. Last night was the first time in a very long time that was something resembling Xavier basketball. That i have already mentioned and gave praise to Steele for it especially for what he did with Nate. So again what’s my narrative?

I think we have seen some good and bad Xavier over the past few weeks. Bad against Butler even in a win, bad a against DePaul the entire game. Great 2nd half against Creighton and Seton Hall and very good against Uconn. I think Xavier can do more in March than anyone in the league with the exception of Nova. I think once Xavier plays against teams that don’t know everything they will do, will make the offense look much better. Excited to see what will happen in the NCAA tourney. Think Nate will be able to get a little more freedom and not down shots.

[XUGRAD80]

Gonzaga is same size catholic Jesuit school in Spokane WA. Spokane is 1/3rd smaller than Cincinnati in a metropolitan area that is 75% smaller. No pro baseball. No pro football. Gonzaga does not seem to have a recruiting problem. And Xavier does not require students to study religion. It requires theology and philosophy.

Look this isn’t a contest to say why X can’t recruit at the highest level, like a Gonzaga or a Villanova.(you could start with the coaches and go on from there). My post is to show that there are MANY reasons why a recruit might NOT choose X and would choose another school. It’s not just about the practice and training facilities, or where they play their games for every recruit.

I’ve got buddies that can’t see why someone would choose X over UC, or over Ohio State. My niece can’t understand why someone wouldn’t go to UK. I know people that don’t understand why a kid wouldn’t go to a school in their own town, and others that can’t understand why a kid would stay home and not go to a school away from home. There are as many different reasons for choosing a school as there are kids. Heck, if it was all about the arena and facilities then X would never lose a kid to Butler, right? But it has happened. (Maybe they don’t require philosophy? Or theology?) (aren’t theology and religion the same thing?)

Obviously X doesn’t get to just pick and choose which kids it will “allow” to play for it because every kid thinks it’s heaven on earth. There have been hundreds of kids that agree with X-J that it’s not particularly the best place for them to go to school. So they end up somewhere else. Like I said in my post, I’m happy I went to X. But I also have attended other schools, so I know that there are also other good schools out there.

[X-man]

So, we need to relocate the university to say.......Louisville. Become a state school...........and then add a law or medical school and we will be all set? Got it. How about we remain on the path that we ventured on in 1980 and continue to get better at it? In Steele I trust! The three top 80 recruits coming in next year is a clear indication that we can't recruit top kids because of these limitations.

And Ward had just been moved up to #26, and a five-star ranking, in Rivals' new 2022 rankings.

[bjf123]

And Xavier does not require students to study religion. It requires theology and philosophy.

My wife and I still quote Fr. Tillman from a philosophy class we had back in the late 70s!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[bleedXblue]

Bingo. Classically, many Xavier fans Overreacted to his effort on Wednesday. We absolutely don’t need to force him into the games.

But when he was forced into a game, he performed? I don't get this logic at all. The kid earned some time and should get some minutes.

[paulxu]

In an away game, Edwards scored 8 pts in 9 minutes on 4-5 shooting, and came in when we were down 10 I think.
I would think he could be used to give other bigs a quick rest without too much worry.

[bleedXblue]

In an away game, Edwards scored 8 pts in 9 minutes on 4-5 shooting, and came in when we were down 10 I think.
I would think he could be used to give other bigs a quick rest without too much worry.

Agreed We're talking 4-5 MPG to get them some time and development

[MHettel]

And no Dana’s.

But they don have Jack & Dans and the Bulldog....

[Strange Brew]

But they don have Jack & Dans and the Bulldog....

How dare you compare those dumps to America’s finest watering hole! :)

[xuphan]

In an away game, Edwards scored 8 pts in 9 minutes on 4-5 shooting, and came in when we were down 10 I think.
I would think he could be used to give other bigs a quick rest without too much worry.

Ya, we are also not currently losing any bigs next year who contribute any meaningful minutes. Will Edwards ride the pine again next year?

[ArizonaXUGrad]

Ya, we are also not currently losing any bigs next year who contribute any meaningful minutes. Will Edwards ride the pine again next year?

I have no inside info but Nunge will make money at some level next year if he wants it. Guy can hit a three now and play inside. He would be a good add in a top level Euro league. I hope he doesn’t.

Say what you want about Steele and I think we should move on, but the guy can recruit right now. We have a top 30 who is labeled as a guy who plays with an edge in all his games, a top 60 who can hit a three, and a top 80 point guard. He needs to win but if he solves that he could be a force.

[Masterofreality]

Agreed We're talking 4-5 MPG to get them some time and development

If you go back and watch past games, like I do, you would see that Pete, Skip, Matta, Sean, and even Mack to some extent always made time to get one of their young, prime kids in the game for a few minutes, usually in the first half around TV time outs or late in the first half.
We'd see guys like Kenny Harvey, Tyrice Walker, Reggie Butler, Brandon Cole, Dwayne Wilson, Larry Austin, Jr., Tyson Brit and Makinde London all got their freshman experience that way. Sometimes, if they were playing well, they got extended minutes. Remember Dontarius James against St. Johns a few years ago? (then James never saw the court again).

[JTG]

I have no inside info but Nunge will make money at some level next year if he wants it. Guy can hit a three now and play inside. He would be a good add in a top level Euro league. I hope he doesn’t.

Say what you want about Steele and I think we should move on, but the guy can recruit right now. We have a top 30 who is labeled as a guy who plays with an edge in all his games, a top 60 who can hit a three, and a top 80 point guard. He needs to win but if he solves that he could be a force.

If we lose Jack we are screwed. He's probably the reason for 10 of our wins.

[Xavier]

I have no inside info but Nunge will make money at some level next year if he wants it. Guy can hit a three now and play inside. He would be a good add in a top level Euro league. I hope he doesn’t.

Say what you want about Steele and I think we should move on, but the guy can recruit right now. We have a top 30 who is labeled as a guy who plays with an edge in all his games, a top 60 who can hit a three, and a top 80 point guard. He needs to win but if he solves that he could be a force.

…yeah, agreed. At any level and any sport- if a coach can figure out how To win he will succeed…

[Cornbread1190]

rumour mill:
Brad Stevens is eyeballing the X to return to college coaching.

[Xville]

rumour mill:
Brad Stevens is eyeballing the X to return to college coaching.

Lol

[Mrs. Garrett]

I saw all I needed to see of the Travis Steele era last night. Had the ball at the end of regulation and the first overtime and could not put together a play to come up with a decent shot. Really think it is time to move on and find a coach who wins big games when we need them the most.

[XU 23]

rumour mill:
Brad Stevens is eyeballing the X to return to college coaching.

:lol:

[xuphan]

I saw all I needed to see of the Travis Steele era last night. Had the ball at the end of regulation and the first overtime and could not put together a play to come up with a decent shot. Really think it is time to move on and find a coach who wins big games when we need them the most.

Please let Greg Christopher know how you feel.

[94GRAD]

Please let Greg Christopher know how you feel.

That's weird, when people tell you how they feel, you call it harassment.

[xubrew]

I saw all I needed to see of the Travis Steele era last night. Had the ball at the end of regulation and the first overtime and could not put together a play to come up with a decent shot. Really think it is time to move on and find a coach who wins big games when we need them the most.

Really?? I thought the shot at the end of regulation was a decent shot. It didn't go in, but in that situation it was a good shot opportunity. The shot that Providence hit to tie the game on the previous possession didn't strike me as being any better of a shot than the one X missed other than that it went in. It was a contested fade-away shot about five feet from the basket.

I thought X did a good job defending Providence's last shot at the end of the first overtime. They knew Providence wasn't going to have any time to make an extra pass, they collapsed on the shooter, they didn't foul, and they made it so all Providence could get up was a bunch of junk. That was out of a timeout.

I thought the shot Xavier hit to force the third overtime was mostly luck. It was a much lower percentage and way less decent shot than the one they missed at the end of regulation.


I do blame Steale for one thing. It was his responsibility to make sure the roof wouldn't leak. I thought that worked against us because it allowed them to regroup. Had the game not been halted for 15 minutes the result is probably different. He should have been up there patching the roof to ensure that wouldn't happen!!

[Masterofreality]

Fouling out Jack Nunge wasn’t a problem?

[xuphan]

That's weird, when people tell you how they feel, you call it harassment.

Telling Christopher you don’t think Steele is the right guy for the job anymore is different than getting harassed because you are not paying for a free site.

[xubrew]

I'm sure Greg Christopher will give you all the time and attention you deserve. Not necessarily what you feel you deserve, but what you actually deserve.

[xuwillie]

I'm sure Greg Christopher will give you all the time and attention you deserve. Not necessarily what you feel you deserve, but what you actually deserve.

while we are at it, Cristopher sucks as well. Seems like the whole athletic department is going down hill

[GoMuskies]

I'm sure Greg Christopher will give you all the time and attention you deserve. Not necessarily what you feel you deserve, but what you actually deserve.

I feel like Christopher might soon find himself with a lot more free time to give attention to things he didn't expect to.

[X Factor]

I'm sick of watching Steele constantly clapping on the sidelines.

He's a coach by numbers guy. Cookie cutter coach.

[Xville]

Really?? I thought the shot at the end of regulation was a decent shot. It didn't go in, but in that situation it was a good shot opportunity. The shot that Providence hit to tie the game on the previous possession didn't strike me as being any better of a shot than the one X missed other than that it went in. It was a contested fade-away shot about five feet from the basket.

I thought X did a good job defending Providence's last shot at the end of the first overtime. They knew Providence wasn't going to have any time to make an extra pass, they collapsed on the shooter, they didn't foul, and they made it so all Providence could get up was a bunch of junk. That was out of a timeout.

I thought the shot Xavier hit to force the third overtime was mostly luck. It was a much lower percentage and way less decent shot than the one they missed at the end of regulation.


I do blame Steale for one thing. It was his responsibility to make sure the roof wouldn't leak. I thought that worked against us because it allowed them to regroup. Had the game not been halted for 15 minutes the result is probably different. He should have been up there patching the roof to ensure that wouldn't happen!!

You think a decent shot coming out of a timeout and off a set play was a fadeaway by kunkel over a 7 footer in Watson?

[JTG]

I feel like Christopher might soon find himself with a lot more free time to give attention to things he didn't expect to.

Curious, who do you think instigates that move, a fed-up board member, the new Prez, a big booster? That would seriously complicate things, but if it gets us turned around, I'm all for it. It's times like this when I really miss Bobinski. There's a reason Purdue's football has been resurrected and their basketball team is having a great year. I've seen here in Indiana, IU, with it's mountains of BIG money, has been struggling thru 3 different coaches to try and be the IU of old. They look like X in alot of ways. Close but no cigar, in their league games, after a usually successful pre conference.
Anyway back to X, I hope someone is seriously considering some housecleaning.

[Xavier]

You think a decent shot coming out of a timeout and off a set play was a fadeaway by kunkel over a 7 footer in Watson?

I think that was the second option. Maybe I saw it wrong or just am making it up but I think after Nunge got the ball, scruggs was going to the hoop- at least it looked like Nunge was looking for that pass Similar to what got an easy layup earlier. It was a great pass the first time from Nunge.

I still think it was a bad call and they got into it too late.

[GoMuskies]

I have no idea who/how the move gets instigated, but I'm just not aware of any part of the athletic department that is better for Christopher's presence (perhaps women's soccer?). At some point, that tends to be a problem for the guy in charge of the department. Particularly when your high profie, cash cow program is struggling. For some reason, Christopher is also a part-time AD as he has other responsibilities in the university. Perhaps it's best that he keeps that other job and turns the AD over to someone whose job it is to devote his or her full time and attention to athletics. It seems to need someone's full time and attention.

[Masterofreality]

I have no idea who/how the move gets instigated, but I'm just not aware of any part of the athletic department that is better for Christopher's presence (perhaps women's soccer?). At some point, that tends to be a problem for the guy in charge of the department. Particularly when your high profie, cash cow program is struggling. For some reason, Christopher is also a part-time AD as he has other responsibilities in the university. Perhaps it's best that he keeps that other job and turns the AD over to someone whose job it is to devote his or her full time and attention to athletics. It seems to need someone's full time and attention.

In one of the old threads I was going over from last year, someone, I believe BigMoeMusketeer, made the point that Christopher's hires for revenue sports at Bowling Green were all failures.
The track record is not good. As the Bobinski hires fade away, we are declining severely.

[Xavier]

Overall he sucks- but he is a fundraiser. I thought he was known to be a guy that brings in money- and the Cintas renovation under Greg has been pretty damn impressive. I don’t trust him to fire or hire the right guy though- and isn’t he second in command at the university now? The new president would have to fire him? I can’t see that happening

[JTG]

Overall he sucks- but he is a fundraiser. I thought he was known to be a guy that brings in money- and the Cintas renovation under Greg has been pretty damn impressive. I don’t trust him to fire or hire the right guy though- and isn’t he second in command at the university now? The new president would have to fire him? I can’t see that happening

If true, that's scary. I know I'm a grumpy old, and old school guy, but the idea of a lifetime female academic being in charge of the fate of our basketball program gives me pause, to say the least.

[Masterofreality]

Overall he sucks- but he is a fundraiser. I thought he was known to be a guy that brings in money- and the Cintas renovation under Greg has been pretty damn impressive. I don’t trust him to fire or hire the right guy though- and isn’t he second in command at the university now? The new president would have to fire him? I can’t see that happening

That money will dry up very quickly without success. This economy (thanks Brandon) is not gonna help.

[Mrs. Garrett]

You think a decent shot coming out of a timeout and off a set play was a fadeaway by kunkel over a 7 footer in Watson?

Exactly

[xuphan]

That money will dry up very quickly without success. This economy (thanks Brandon) is not gonna help.

Don’t forget Putin

[xubrew]

You think a decent shot coming out of a timeout and off a set play was a fadeaway by kunkel over a 7 footer in Watson?

Yes. The keyword being "decent." What you often see is a team spread the floor and then try and drive the basket. That probably wouldn't have worked given how good their frontcourt is, and how predictable and easy to identify that would have been to identify. I thought trying to set screen at the top of the key where their big man was drawn away from the basket, and had to switch off the screen, gave us a much better chance at getting a good shot. And, despite how well Providence switched off the screen, it still created a little bit of space to where he could fade away and get it up. (I THINK they were hoping to drive the basket off of the screen, but that Providence switched so fast he just got cut off, but I don’t know. I wasn’t in the huddle) I would call that a decent play to run with less than ten seconds to go. Now had there been more time, it would have been better to kick it back out and draw them out again. But, there wasn't. It's hard to get a "good shot" in ten seconds when your first option is pretty much your only option. Given the situation, I thought what X did was "decent."

[drudy23]

In Steele's defense, Freemantle was WIDE open on one of those time-out plays, they just didn't find him.

I also thought Colby's drive was decent as well, he just missed it.

To be honest, I thought Steele coached a good game yesterday. I liked giving some other guys some minutes. They are going to need to do it more because guys are gassed, especially Nunge. Like most of you, I didn't like Hunter being in in the 3rd OT - I would have gone with Edwards, but he was at the scorer's table.

It was a great game and we traded punches with the 11 team in the nation on their home floor. Sadly, prior circumstances don't make it a moral victory, it's just another loss.

[xubrew]

You think a decent shot coming out of a timeout and off a set play was a fadeaway by kunkel over a 7 footer in Watson?


Exactly

Okay, i gotta ask. What would you have run??

[Xville]

Okay, i gotta ask. What would you have run??

First, Odom would have had the ball in his hands..run a screen up top with one of our bigs (nunge probably) forcing a switch with odom against a big guy...preferably Watson, who doesnt have the quickness to keep up with odom on a drive....let odom get to the damn rim which he had been successful doing all game when given the chance. If for some reason that was covered up, or d collapsed, he would have kick outs available at the wings with kunkel and either jones/scruggs at the three line to shoot an open 3....

Then again though, I don't get paid 2 million or whatever a year to coach big time d 1 basketball

[Strange Brew]

Okay, i gotta ask. What would you have run??

Easy. The Picket Fence.

[basket]

Is there any truth that Coach Steele recently signed a 2 year deal? Meaning within the last month or so.

[xukeith]

If it were true, I am sure XU would announce it. So I doubt it is true.

[boozehound]

If it were true, I am sure XU would announce it. So I doubt it is true.

I might not announce it right now if I'm Xavier...

[Masterofreality]

I might not announce it right now if I'm Xavier...

At least until the next recruiting season