40 fewer practices than last year at this point.

[94GRAD]

On Travis' virtual Chalk Talk this afternoon, he noted they have had 40 fewer practices by this point last year. Throw in the lack of cardio associated with this, 3 freshmen, and 4 newcomers in Johnson/Kunkel/Griffen/Stanley, I'm willing to give the coaching staff A LOT of leeway this season.

[markchal]

It's fair to give some leeway, but how much? Every other program had to deal with the pandemic, it didn't just hit Norwood.

Not to say X is alone in struggling (I mean look at Duke and UK this year), but we're also coming off a few years of struggle and some are quickly losing optimism for the direction of the program.

[94GRAD]

It's fair to give some leeway, but how much? Every other program had to deal with the pandemic, it didn't just hit Norwood.

Not to say X is alone in struggling (I mean look at Duke and UK this year), but we're also coming off a few years of struggle and some are quickly losing optimism for the direction of the program.

Agreed, I would like to know how many practices other teams have missed. That would give us a barometer with which to measure.

[Xuperman]

On Travis' virtual Chalk Talk this afternoon, he noted they have had 40 fewer practices by this point last year. Throw in the lack of cardio associated with this, 3 freshmen, and 4 newcomers in Johnson/Kunkel/Griffen/Stanley, I'm willing to give the coaching staff A LOT of leeway this season.

And so should everyone but they don't....it's considered an excuse. In reality it's an obvious detriment but if you want to call it an excuse, with no regards to the fact, it's a damn good one!

[Xuperman]

Agreed, I would like to know how many practices other teams have missed. That would give us a barometer with which to measure.

One can assume that practice/conditioning time is directly associated with games played.

[Xville]

Lack of practices has nothing to do with his terrible lineup management, game plans, and slow to in game adjustments that have cost the team games

[boozehound]

I think some of the problems can be attributed to lack of practice. Some to bad luck (Stanley's knee and Griffin getting COVID and sitting out for a month). Some of the substitution pattern stuff definitely seems to be coaching. His annoying comments after every game about 'effort' are 100% coaching :)

[xavierj]

Lack of practices has nothing to do with his terrible lineup management, game plans, and slow to in game adjustments that have cost the team games

I agree with this. Yes the not practicing has a lot to do with some issues but the fact remains that the lineups leave a lot to be desired. I mean he wants to play a certain way but can’t because the lineups he puts out on the floor. You want to have ball movement and shoot the three then you better put your best athletes, passers and shooters on the floor. In my opinion he needs to stick with a 4 out offense and rotate the bigs to give free a little rest. Make the other team play your style instead of playing their’s.

[xukeith]

I agree with this. Yes the not practicing has a lot to do with some issues but the fact remains that the lineups leave a lot to be desired. I mean he wants to play a certain way but can’t because the lineups he puts out on the floor. You want to have ball movement and shoot the three then you better put your best athletes, passers and shooters on the floor. In my opinion he needs to stick with a 4 out offense and rotate the bigs to give free a little rest. Make the other team play your style instead of playing their’s.

Sounds so simple. Anybody could do it!

[xudash]

I think some of the problems can be attributed to lack of practice. Some to bad luck (Stanley's knee and Griffin getting COVID and sitting out for a month). Some of the substitution pattern stuff definitely seems to be coaching. His annoying comments after every game about 'effort' are 100% coaching :)

And the loss of Johnson for the season.

[xuphan]

On Travis' virtual Chalk Talk this afternoon, he noted they have had 40 fewer practices by this point last year. Throw in the lack of cardio associated with this, 3 freshmen, and 4 newcomers in Johnson/Kunkel/Griffen/Stanley, I'm willing to give the coaching staff A LOT of leeway this season.

Not a big fan of this excuse as all of the programs have had fewer practices than last season. I have more sympathy for Steele that he has lost both Stanley and Johnson for the season. The lack of practices also do not account for the bizarre play calling and roster rotation we have seen this year under Steele.

[Masterofreality]

Covid excuses are bull at this point. Did the lack of 40 practices cause Xavier to out score GTown by 9 points in the second half last night?
Or was it garbage Coaching strategy in the first half vs better strategy (out of desperation only) in the second half.
High Expectations/No Excuses!

[xudash]

On Travis' virtual Chalk Talk this afternoon, he noted they have had 40 fewer practices by this point last year. Throw in the lack of cardio associated with this, 3 freshmen, and 4 newcomers in Johnson/Kunkel/Griffen/Stanley, I'm willing to give the coaching staff A LOT of leeway this season.

This. And Xup's post on the other thread.

I suppose the difference between valid reasons and excuses is razor thin.

Still:

Season 1: 2018–19 Xavier 19–16 9–9 T–3rd NIT Second Round
Season 2: 2019–20 Xavier 19–13 8–10 T–6th
Season 3: 2020–21 Xavier 13–6 6–6

Season 1 was all about patchwork. Yes, the NIT has become worthless, but had Gooden made his FT's, they would have made it to New York that year.

Season 2 was all about, no, it was a lot about losing Paul Scruggs for the last three games, while that team otherwise put up with boneheaded play and chemistry issues. A healthy Scruggs probably would have meant a victory against Butler at home and a win against DePaul in New York. Hard to see it otherwise, given how close those games turned out, and how fortunate Butler was to win at the buzzer and with the way they won at the buzzer.

Season 3 has us mad about "his terrible lineup management, game plans, and slow to in game adjustments that have cost the team games." I have to agree. Jason Carter is a fine young man and appears to work his butt off for this team. But he is a MAC caliber player who is getting obliterated most of the time in the Big East. Steele has played him too much. There is no other way to look at it from the viewpoint of the casual observer, especially after watching last night's storm back with the future of Xavier basketball - if they all decide to stay on Victory Parkway. I'm not sure about his "Cronin tendencies" because I haven't bothered to watch any of the pressers. Nonetheless, the idea of gaining a little humility and practicing praise in the public while pursuing coaching and correction in private would be a good path for him to consider.

Two last overarching points:

1. Comparing Travis to previous coaches is a waste of time, because the Big East IS that much better than the A10. Beyond comparative data is a hard reality; there are no nights off in the Big East. None. You can't catch your breath during the conference season in the Big East. This is the first time we have had to make a coaching transition while being a part of a major conference.

2. I don't care that "every team in America" has had to deal with COVID. It has impacted each team in different ways and to varying degrees. I care and look at how it has specifically impacted Xavier. We have played - what - 5 games since January 1st or something to that effect? 40 fewer practices by this time last year? It is simply not fair to brush that off like it is an easily surmountable issue. It isn't. Seriously, simply look at the number of bids to the NCAAT the BE averages to this point. Look at the seeds. And consider the number of national championships achieved between the two (point being that NC's can happen from the BE; they aren't going to come from the A10).

We'll see how this ends up. Frankly, I won't get it if I see Carter take the floor in Milwaukee to open the game. I understand him getting minutes in a back-up roll, but not as a starter. Having noted that, I expect to see him start the game. Free will is a bitch, Travis.

We know one thing that will take place when this season is all said and done: Greg Christopher will hold a performance review meeting with Travis Steele. Between the two of them, an honest, candid assessment of what is going right and what is going wrong must take place. And yes, the clock is ticking, as he'll move towards his 4th season.

[AviatorX]

Being committed to the no excuses no matter what line is pretty dumb, especially this season. But if it makes you feel better go for it. Now that doesn’t mean Steele’s performance is excused entirely, but you have to be sticking your head in the sand to not acknowledge he’s had a handful of pretty tough breaks in his tenure so far that have had an impact on the trajectory.

[Masterofreality]

40 less practices means way less Xavier Way Practice Points to accumulate-like airline miles.
Jason Carter’s record is not in jeopardy!
To bad we can’t redeem those things for wins.

[noteggs]

There are some concerns with Steele’s coaching, but probably can say that about any new coach to one degree or another. I too share some concerns about Steele at this point.

Now back to BJ’s original point, 7 new players wearing a X uniform for the first time who were expected to be contributors. We’ve had 3 pauses during conference play over the last 2 months with so many new members. How many other BE teams can say the same? Villanova, Creighton, Seton Hall, UConn. Nope.

So missing this much practice time over the last 2 months makes a huge difference. Not only for the players playing together, but also for a coach who is trying to figure out game time situations during practice.

What do we work on during the limited practice time? Walk through, rebounding, defense, or other stuff you normally tweak during the season. Heck it’s just nice for us to have so many playing combinations this year as opposed to the last two years.

Not advocating one way or the other for Steele, just trying to give some perspective. Or as others have suggested, making excuses.

[Strange Brew]

Fewer practices.....:)

[noteggs]

Fewer practices.....:)

Ummmm.......yes :)

[xu82]

Ummmm.......yes :)

Allen Iverson doesn’t think much of practice.

But then, he made north of $150 mil and is now broke and on a budget. Not sure how much his allowance is, but maybe he should have PRACTICED more restraint.

I absolutely think this crazy year without practice hurt us more than most teams. Not an excuse, but a solid explanation. Not sure how much difference it made, and we will never know.

[noteggs]

Allen Iverson doesn’t think much of practice.

But then, he made north of $150 mil and is now broke and on a budget. Not sure how much his allowance is, but maybe he should have PRACTICED more restraint.

I absolutely think this crazy year without practice hurt us more than most teams. Not an excuse, but a solid explanation. Not sure how much difference it made, and we will never know.

Agree completely on all!

[whopper]

I can't believe the plan for this year was to have Carter as almost the center, I am sure he knows that it is a bit of a stretch for him. I look at he and Griffin as similar to backups on other teams, worthy of 10-20 min depending on foul trouble at most and I bet they would agree. I remember talk of grad transfer centers and Miles development (heck he played a lot in Spain 20 months ago!) but to play Carter and Freemantle(Griffin seems a little tougher) is a big ask. I am sure that Cooley, Ewing, Richardson, Willard bench any player who does not attempt to take it to the hoop first and don't worry about big men crashing the offensive boards in lieu of transition defense as it is fruitful for them. I think that lack of practice hurts Carter(and Griffin) more as they seem to have little touch and that comes from practice(esp Carter on 3's he was near 30% last year and now just clangs (many LOOK good to me on release but rim out)

[94GRAD]

Fewer practices.....:)

Dammit!

[xeus]

On Travis' virtual Chalk Talk this afternoon, he noted they have had 40 fewer practices by this point last year. Throw in the lack of cardio associated with this, 3 freshmen, and 4 newcomers in Johnson/Kunkel/Griffen/Stanley, I'm willing to give the coaching staff A LOT of leeway this season.

Question on the cardio. Are the players not doing any of their own workouts, especially cardio?

Not sure what restrictions there are on accessing the facilities, but when we hear “no practice” I think of “no organized team practice.” Are they not allowed to access the weight room, the cardio equipment, etc? And if not, are they not working out (strength, cardio, shooting) on their own?

[boozehound]

Question on the cardio. Are the players not doing any of their own workouts, especially cardio?

Not sure what restrictions there are on accessing the facilities, but when we hear “no practice” I think of “no organized team practice.” Are they not allowed to access the weight room, the cardio equipment, etc? And if not, are they not working out (strength, cardio, shooting) on their own?

I also would bet that it's hard to condition as effectively as you would through practice and games. The same dynamic exists at the beginning of the season. It's a very fair point RE: the conditioning. I would think / hope that Xavier's depth would offset that to a degree, although most of our depth is at the 2/3 vs the 4/5.

[94GRAD]

Question on the cardio. Are the players not doing any of their own workouts, especially cardio?

Not sure what restrictions there are on accessing the facilities, but when we hear “no practice” I think of “no organized team practice.” Are they not allowed to access the weight room, the cardio equipment, etc? And if not, are they not working out (strength, cardio, shooting) on their own?

I don't know if it was for all the shutdowns, but they were not allowed to leave their apartments during quarantines.

[Strange Brew]

I don't know if it was for all the shutdowns, but they were not allowed to leave their apartments during quarantines.

I hope you know this not because of a dip in revenue....:)

[94GRAD]

I hope you know this not because of a dip in revenue....:)

We're allowed to sell booze to-go now...

[MADXSTER]

40 practices is not 40 days. NCAA mandates 1off day per week even after the season starts. Also add in two games during the week and you have even fewer practices. 40 is like two months worth of practices.

[xuphan]

40 practices is not 40 days. NCAA mandates 1off day per week even after the season starts. Also add in two games during the week and you have even fewer practices. 40 is like two months worth of practices.

All teams are going through this. More practices wouldn’t fix playing Carter so much when it is obviously not working and not making in game adjustments when they are needed. The only excuse I have for Steele is losing 2 players to injury however I personally expected more of him as an in game coach by this stage in his career.

[noteggs]

Funny watching the Texas and OU game, announcer and graphic said Texas only played 9 games over the last 45 days because of covid (including coach). Sounds like a dream for us. Just saying.

[XUBison]

I don't know if it was for all the shutdowns, but they were not allowed to leave their apartments during quarantines.

Couldnt they flip on the P90X and hit the deck?

[basket]

Funny watching the Texas and OU game, announcer and graphic said Texas only played 9 games over the last 45 days because of covid (including coach). Sounds like a dream for us. Just saying.

I wouldnt want to play Texas!