Travis Discussion

[XUGRAD80]

Sorry, but it’s not just a game or entertainment for Xavier.
When Xavier was horrible in sports, back in my day, the school was in huge financial peril. Mulligan tried to move the programs to Division 3. Thankfully great minds like Dr. Bill Daily stopped that iish and started the moves that have made Xavier great today. And if you think that Xavier would what it would be now, or even in existence, without all of the men’s basketball success of the last 40 years, you are certifiably insane. This is much more than just entertainment to this school.
We cannot afford long term failure and for 3 years Travis Steele has failed. I hope to Gawd he turns it around but nothing in 3 years gives me confidence. We are not some big state school propped up by $1.5 billion in state funding (SucKS). I and many others are still on the financial train, but continued failure will dry that up.
No more excuses. There are none now. Git ‘er done.
#DanceOrDie

Listen bud you do not have to tell ME about how things were, nor how your “great” Dr. Daily came to the rescue. I’m sure I had many more direct dealings than you did with both the athletic department and the departed Dr. Bill. But because I not only saw it, but lived it on a daily basis, I know exactly how much the coaches and players really care about things, AND have a really good idea of the time and effort they put into it.

IMO no matter what their level of success or failure when it comes to wins, losses, or championships, the mere fact that they are out there in the arena, representing the U, giving it their all, fighting through fatigue, pain, even injury just to compete...all of that should be worthy of RESPECT by itself. They have ALREADY earned respect. I respect the walk-on players, the managers, and all the other staff just as much as I respect the great players and the championship winning teams. I respect the athletes competing in the non-glamor sports just as much as I do the men’s basketball players.....really even more.

So you’re telling us that you will only support X financially if the BB team is successful and wins championships? If that’s the case...take your money and shove it. They don’t need it, nor do they need YOUR respect.

[Xville]

Maybe you two should just whip it out and measure

[UCGRAD4X]

Listen bud you do not have to tell ME about how things were, nor how your “great” Dr. Daily came to the rescue. I’m sure I had many more direct dealings than you did with both the athletic department and the departed Dr. Bill. But because I not only saw it, but lived it on a daily basis, I know exactly how much the coaches and players really care about things, AND have a really good idea of the time and effort they put into it.

IMO no matter what their level of success or failure when it comes to wins, losses, or championships, the mere fact that they are out there in the arena, representing the U, giving it their all, fighting through fatigue, pain, even injury just to compete...all of that should be worthy of RESPECT by itself. They have ALREADY earned respect. I respect the walk-on players, the managers, and all the other staff just as much as I respect the great players and the championship winning teams. I respect the athletes competing in the non-glamor sports just as much as I do the men’s basketball players.....really even more.

So you’re telling us that you will only support X financially if the BB team is successful and wins championships? If that’s the case...take your money and shove it. They don’t need it, nor do they need YOUR respect.

I fully understand your position. In fact I agree with most of it. Where I think some of us diverge - it is not with the players AT ALL! It is not with all the staff and many folks who make this possible.

However, there is one guy, who gets paid quite handsomely, using up a chunk of the financial benefits, that is deserving of criticism. I am not so sure it is all about wins and losses - although that would serve as an indication of the one man's deservedness of the big salary - and an indication of continued financial success of the brand - but competence and confidence of those who may not be blue blood contributors but avid and proud consumers of the product.

The players will come and go. The coaches will come and go. AD's will come and go. We are the ones who are here when those with whom we entrust our passions, our hopes, our fervent support are gone. We remain. We are in it for the long haul. We are the ones who live and die with the program. We want to know that those who hold our hearts in their hands are handling it with care.

[markchal]

If that’s the case...take your money and shove it. They don’t need it, nor do they need YOUR respect.

lol ok yeah don't do this, they 1000 percent need the money.

[XUGRAD80]

I’ve no problem with people criticizing the coaching staff or players for performance on the court. For these people, it is part of the whole picture. But there is a line between criticism and lack of respect. MOR has stated publicly his lack of respect for Steele and says that Steele needs to “earn” his respect. The man has given 13+ years of his life to the university as an assistant and head coach. Sure he’s been paid for this, well paid in fact. But anyone who has competed or coached on the college level understands the sacrifices that come with that. Those that haven’t, most likely don’t. Those that have competed at that level understand the disappointments that come from losing a game in front of family, friends, and thousands of fans. We all have successes and failures in our jobs, but how many have their failures shown on national TV and written up in magazines, newspapers, and rehashed on chat boards for months and years. We don’t need to label him as a great coach, we don’t need to love him as a coach. But I do feel that he has more than earned respect..after 13 years of having to deal with the s**t a college coach has to deal with, he has certainly earned respect, if nothing else.

I will publicly admit that I do NOT live and die with each Xavier win or lose. After following the program for 50 years I long ago stopped letting how the team did effect my moods, and letting how they did effect how I acted toward others. When the game is over win or lose, I move on. But I’ll guarantee that is NOT the case with the vast majority of the players and it’s not the same with every coach. They are still competing and every game is do or die for them. They wouldn’t be competitors if it wasn’t. I respect them for that. I know personally what that is like...as a competitor (for X) and as a coach (for high schools), when I was younger. But I can only imagine how much more difficult it is today for the Xavier players and coaches because of the increased publicity and expectations they deal with, that we didn’t. Just having to put up with that is worthy of respect.

I feel that Steele has NOT done a great job as the head coach. I am very disappointed in the lack of improvement I’ve seen in both players and team play. However, I still respect his efforts and respect him as a basketball coach. I feel he has earned that much at least for his 13 years as part of the Xavier family.

[paulxu]

In the 3 years before Coach K took over, the Dookies went to the NCAA's and in one year played for the National Championship.
In his first 3 years, Coach K had no winning conference records, one winning season, and zero NCAA bids.

Will Steele be coach K? That's almost an impossible goal.
But he deserves some more time to get things right.

[bleedXblue]

In the 3 years before Coach K took over, the Dookies went to the NCAA's and in one year played for the National Championship.
In his first 3 years, Coach K had no winning conference records, one winning season, and zero NCAA bids.

Will Steele be coach K? That's almost an impossible goal.
But he deserves some more time to get things right.

Ahhhh the old coach K analogy. Never seen that one used before.

[XUBison]

Ahhhh the old coach K analogy. Never seen that one used before.

But but but, maybe if we keep repeating it...

[MADXSTER]

I feel that Steele has NOT done a great job as the head coach. I am very disappointed in the lack of improvement I’ve seen in both players and team play. However, I still respect his efforts and respect him as a basketball coach. I feel he has earned that much at least for his 13 years as part of the Xavier family.

I'm in the opposite camp here. I'm not disappointed in Travis but I do think that this a Major Major year for him to show us what he is capable of doing as the Head Basketball coach of Xavier University.

Why am I not disappointed in him? Am I disappointed that X didn't do better, Hell yeah. However, After watching Xavier basketball for 35+ years, I have never seen a lower IQ team than in his first two seasons. You can't teach stupid. Period. If you disagree that they were an extremely low IQ team then I don't know what to tell you. Turnovers were outrageous until he put on the breaks. He did the exact thing a good coach should do in that situation and slowed the game down and called every play. He pulled a Mick Cronin. As a good coach he focused on defense because that's pretty much all he had in order to stay competitive.

In the meantime he has changed his roster over that looks nothing like the first two years of the worst X basketball I've ever seen. I will double down on my opinion that Coach ended with a better record than he should have because those teams were crap.

Then after that, basketball had the Covid crap in which Xavier had 1 practice and played 1 game in 30 days. Xavier also had two players go down with season ending injuries. At the beginning of last season fans complained about barely beating teams while going undefeated. Well at the beginning of every season there are even blue bloods that get upset by lower ranked teams. Hell Kentucky even lost to Evansville. Shit happens. But this Xavier team still was able to pull out wins. That's gotta count for something doesn't it?

I'm not all in on Travis being THE coach or anything like that. But I'm not going to just blindly look at the record and say he's a bad coach. And you can only improve stupid ass players so much. Well they're gone now so we/everyone can now finally get an idea of what kind of coach Xavier finally put in charge of the basketball team.

[XUGRAD80]

Madxster....I’m not going to argue you or try to change your perspective. I will only say that I am disappointed by the fact that they seem to be unable to win the games that they know are “must” wins. They DID play more intelligently this past year than in the last 2 years, they didn’t make as many stupid turnovers, and didn’t play as much hero ball as they had. But they still made some stupid fouls AND I still didn’t see where Steele made adjustments during games that resulted in better play. So I do still find fault. It was better in some ways, but I still didn’t see a team that was playing better at the end of the season, than they were in the beginning. If anything, they were playing worse....just my opinion.

[MADXSTER]

XUGRAD, Agree with the Steele lack of adjustments. Some players were on too long of a leash and others too short. In game adjustments when made took too long to be make IMO.

The team did not play as well as they did at the beginning of the season but I think that was two fold. One, X dealt with losing major players at the end of the season (Nate one year, and Scruggs another) Also in the Covid year X dealt with pauses while other teams were able to keep gelling and stay in shape which made Xavier look that much worse.

[xudash]

I'm in the opposite camp here. I'm not disappointed in Travis but I do think that this a Major Major year for him to show us what he is capable of doing as the Head Basketball coach of Xavier University.

Why am I not disappointed in him? Am I disappointed that X didn't do better, Hell yeah. However, After watching Xavier basketball for 35+ years, I have never seen a lower IQ team than in his first two seasons. You can't teach stupid. Period. If you disagree that they were an extremely low IQ team then I don't know what to tell you. Turnovers were outrageous until he put on the breaks. He did the exact thing a good coach should do in that situation and slowed the game down and called every play. He pulled a Mick Cronin. As a good coach he focused on defense because that's pretty much all he had in order to stay competitive.

In the meantime he has changed his roster over that looks nothing like the first two years of the worst X basketball I've ever seen. I will double down on my opinion that Coach ended with a better record than he should have because those teams were crap.

Then after that, basketball had the Covid crap in which Xavier had 1 practice and played 1 game in 30 days. Xavier also had two players go down with season ending injuries. At the beginning of last season fans complained about barely beating teams while going undefeated. Well at the beginning of every season there are even blue bloods that get upset by lower ranked teams. Hell Kentucky even lost to Evansville. Shit happens. But this Xavier team still was able to pull out wins. That's gotta count for something doesn't it?

I'm not all in on Travis being THE coach or anything like that. But I'm not going to just blindly look at the record and say he's a bad coach. And you can only improve stupid ass players so much. Well they're gone now so we/everyone can now finally get an idea of what kind of coach Xavier finally put in charge of the basketball team.

Excellent take, IMO.

Can he demonstrate a little more flexibility and better in-game adjustments where necessary moving forward? We will see.

We have been clamoring for him to focus on finding a legitimate big man for the roster. Same here we’re even wondering if he was capable of understanding that need. Assuming the young man can stay healthy, I would have to think that everyone agrees that Travis answered the bell on that one, and he did so by bringing in a kid from the Big Ten, not a smaller school.

He ran off KyKy! Well, no he didn’t. Regardless of the reasons and circumstances behind the portal experience, KyKy has decided to return to Xavier. At the end of the day, to the extent that it is a legitimate loss, we lost Wilcher. With all the transfer activity that is going on across the country, I’m not sure it’s right to hold that against Travis. Overall, with Paul and Nate returning, it is reasonable to believe that Travis at least has a strong culture developing with his players.

MOR’s financial concern is not unfounded. Continuing success in the men’s basketball program will feed positive benefits and results to the University moving forward. The good news is that the current foundation has been built on a half billion dollars worth of fundraising under Father Graham‘s tenure, with the Cintas Center firmly online now for 21 years and Xavier achieving membership in the Big East 8 years ago. Beginning with Staak when the right decisions were made, and regardless of the specific complaints anyone has against any one of them, Xavier went six for six when it came to hiring the right head coach for the program. Imagine-just imagine-if that chain had been broken after, say Prosser. Father Hoff may not have had enough institutional juice to gain the funding commitment for the Cintas Center.

Overall, we are where we are now: a solid, major program with very recent success and history and tradition. We haven’t been to the tournament for three years now, but no one went to the tournament for one of those three years. Last year was the ultimate cluster when it came to managing a program due to Covid. Yes, I know everyone went through it, but still. His first year was pure patchwork thanks to Mack.

Without question, to the casual observer, there are clear areas of improvement Travis must make. He now has his players. He now has some experience under him as a head coach. He’s had over a decade of experience in coaching otherwise.

Let’s see what he does in terms of hiring his new assistants.

We all want for X to achieve great success in every facet. And we want that done with integrity. I’m sure we all can agree on that.

[UCGRAD4X]

I agree that we can agree on that.

[Masterofreality]

Listen bud you do not have to tell ME about how things were, nor how your “great” Dr. Daily came to the rescue. I’m sure I had many more direct dealings than you did with both the athletic department and the departed Dr. Bill. But because I not only saw it, but lived it on a daily basis...
How comical are you? Are you wanting to compare penises? Your commentary is ridiculous. I was a scholarship athlete at Xavier and a Captain, since you seem to be in a challenging mood. I was inside Schmidt Fieldhouse nearly every day. I know exactly what kind of financial condition Xavier was in up to my graduation in 1972 and the year after. The school was in Horriffic shape.
And I hope you are not dissing Dr. Bill Daily. He along with Jim McCafferty saved the XU athletic program. He wasn’t “great”. He was courageous, smart, visionary and Truly Great.

If that’s the case...take your money and shove it. They don’t need it, nor do they need YOUR respect.
Nah. You really don’t want to happen...... BUD They DO need the money, and not just mine.

Get off your high horse about how “solid” you think Xavier is. You do know that Xavier has the lowest endowment in the Big East right? It’s 1/8 of what Georgetown’s is, for example. You do know that Xavier’s enrollment as are many private colleges is propped up by financial aid and that over 90% of Xavier students receive some type of financial aid? You do know that many, many private colleges are operating at a deficit now and that the financial pressure on these schools right now is enormous? You do know that some alumni are already teetering on their support? (There will be no Butler County Steak Fry this summer)

This school needs successful basketball as an intrinsic part of its brand. Years of failure under Steele are undermining that. That’s where the rubber meets the road.
He’d better turn it around.
#DanceOrDie

[XUGRAD80]

Get off your high horse about how “solid” you think Xavier is. You do know that Xavier has the lowest endowment in the Big East right? It’s 1/8 of what Georgetown’s is, for example. You do know that Xavier’s enrollment as are many private colleges is propped up by financial aid and that over 90% of Xavier students receive some type of financial aid? You do know that many, many private colleges are operating at a deficit now and that the financial pressure on these schools right now is enormous? You do know that some alumni are already teetering on their support? (There will be no Butler County Steak Fry this summer)

This school needs successful basketball as an intrinsic part of its brand. Years of failure under Steele are undermining that. That’s where the rubber meets the road.
He’d better turn it around.
#DanceOrDie

Well bud...I was a scholarship athlete at X too, and captain, and still hold the record for career victories. 42-17 in 3 years. NCAA tourney every year. 2X Olympic Trials participate. Over 400 Open and Senior victories over 3 decades of competition. Lots of medals and trophies in a box in my basement somewhere. 65 and I still train 3X a week. Coaching experience on the HS level and internationally on a volunteer basis. I graduated in 1980 and lived through that era just prior to Stack. So I might have some knowledge that you don’t. I won’t say anything bad about the departed Dr. but have my own reasons for not worshipping him, like you seem to. All of that and .50 will get me a senior coffee at Macdonald’s. In other words, it don’t mean jack. I’m old and wise enough to not dwell on the past. I’m proud of what I accomplished, I’m humble enough to know that it doesn’t make me an expert on how things are today with these coaches and players.

But enough about me and you. Can we just discuss the basketball PROGRAM and the UNIVERSITY?



It might just be that I don’t think that the Xavier Brand is as much reliant on the BB program being on top every year, as you seem to think it was. I think they have much more for going for them than just being a BB school. I don’t discount the effect the BB program has had on the growth of the university. But I think that a few relatively down years are not the end of that either. Nor do I think my opinion, or my money, has any weight in what the school administration is going to do. They are going to do what they feel is best for the university based on what THEY see, not what we say.

Steele has a contract through 2024. I fully expect them to honor that contract.

It’s not do or die for him last year because of that contract and because of the money concerns you yourself brought up. If the university is in such dire financial straights as you seem to think they are, just how do they pay that contract off? He has a winning record. Season ticket sales and attendance are still strong (and I suspect that demand for tickets next year will be very strong). The only way they get out of paying that contract is to find some reason to fire him with cause. With players returning, recruiting being solid, and no evidence of NCAA violations, I don’t see where they find that cause.

No amount of complaining here changes any of that.

[markchal]

[B][/B
It’s not do or die for him last year because of that contract and because of the money concerns you yourself brought up. If the university is in such dire financial straights as you seem to think they are, just how do they pay that contract off?

I don't think his buyout is actually all that bad from what I've heard, but I'd hate to think our program was at the point where we'd have to accept mediocrity because we just couldn't afford to move on from a coach that wasn't getting the job done.

[XUGRAD80]

I don't think his buyout is actually all that bad from what I've heard, but I'd hate to think our program was at the point where we'd have to accept mediocrity because we just couldn't afford to move on from a coach that wasn't getting the job done.

Since X is a private university they don’t have to release any details of his contract. I’ve not been able to find anything on the internet that states the value of his contract, or if there is a buyout clause, what it’s value might be, and when it might be allowed to kick in. If there is one, I’d assume that the longer in the current contract he stays, the less it might be. If it does exist, I sincerely hope that it does not ever need to be used.

[paulxu]

Since X is a private university they don’t have to release any details of his contract.

That reminds me of a discussion from a while ago. When the BE talk of expansion was going on for someone like UConn, there was a concern that the details of the BE meetings of the presidents would become public knowledge because a public school was involved (FOIA). Did anything ever come of that?

[Masterofreality]

Well bud...I was a scholarship athlete at X too, and captain, and still hold the record for career victories. 42-17 in 3 years.

1) YAAAAAAYY! Through your magnifying glass your Dick is bigger than mine, BUD!!! Congratulations on your self appointed endowment!!
2) Anyone who demeans or diminishes Dr. Bill Daily’s significant contributions to this University has zero credibility. ESPECIALLY if it is due to a personal vendetta. Zero.
Make the Tournament next year Steele. #DanceOrDie

[nuts4xu]

It’s not do or die for him last year because of that contract and because of the money concerns you yourself brought up. If the university is in such dire financial straights as you seem to think they are, just how do they pay that contract off? He has a winning record. Season ticket sales and attendance are still strong (and I suspect that demand for tickets next year will be very strong). The only way they get out of paying that contract is to find some reason to fire him with cause. With players returning, recruiting being solid, and no evidence of NCAA violations, I don’t see where they find that cause.



If Steele doesn't produce next season, with a full roster of seasoned veterans, then much about his coaching ability will be revealed. We have built our brand on winning basketball, and I am not as convinced Cintas Center will continue to sell out if the team is mired in a losing season. Schools relieve coaches of their duties in spite of the length of the contract. I am confident Xavier will do the same if that is in the best interest of the program.

The fact he has retained so much of this roster shows to me the players are loyal to him, and like playing for him. It is in everyone's best interest for Travis to capitalize on this, and get this team back into the NCAA tournament next year. If they fall short, it calls his ability to do his job as a coach into question. Travis sold Greg Christopher on the fact he can take the program to where it has never gone before...the next 2%. Those words have been hollow so far, and a 3rd season without the NCAA (I am not counting the season where NO ONE made the tournament) will likely be enough "cause" to fire him. He is paid to win games (among other duties), if he can't do that he isn't holding up his end of the bargain.

You rattled off all you did for and while at Xavier. I thank you for your service. Keep in mind there are a plethora of other posters on this board that have experienced as much/if not more than you have in this regard. You perspective is appreciated, but it is just YOUR perspective. No amount of you complaining will stop others from complaining on a message board designed for people to vent their frustrations. With all due respect...no matter how many career victories you have, not one of them is worth a squirt of piss in this discussion.

[bleedXblue]

If Steele doesn't produce next season, with a full roster of seasoned veterans, then much about his coaching ability will be revealed. We have built our brand on winning basketball, and I am not as convinced Cintas Center will continue to sell out if the team is mired in a losing season. Schools relieve coaches of their duties in spite of the length of the contract. I am confident Xavier will do the same if that is in the best interest of the program.

The fact he has retained so much of this roster shows to me the players are loyal to him, and like playing for him. It is in everyone's best interest for Travis to capitalize on this, and get this team back into the NCAA tournament next year. If they fall short, it calls his ability to do his job as a coach into question. Travis sold Greg Christopher on the fact he can take the program to where it has never gone before...the next 2%. Those words have been hollow so far, and a 3rd season without the NCAA (I am not counting the season where NO ONE made the tournament) will likely be enough "cause" to fire him. He is paid to win games (among other duties), if he can't do that he isn't holding up his end of the bargain.

You rattled off all you did for and while at Xavier. I thank you for your service. Keep in mind there are a plethora of other posters on this board that have experienced as much/if not more than you have in this regard. You perspective is appreciated, but it is just YOUR perspective. No amount of you complaining will stop others from complaining on a message board designed for people to vent their frustrations. With all due respect...no matter how many career victories you have, not one of them is worth a squirt of piss in this discussion.

well said...squirt of piss.....I'm gonna use that one in the future for sure

[Muskie]

When we have people comparing the amount of trophies accumulated at X and besmirching past administrators, it tells me it's time for this thread to close, and a new one to begin. Arise like like a Phoenix out of the ashes.