Replacing Free

[MHettel]

When Free got hurt, I posted that I thought we'd be a .500 team in his absence. We are currently 2-1, but I'm not feeling too excited about the remainder of the Big East Schedule.

We have 6 games left. 3 brutal road games (Marquette, Prov, and Seton Hall) 2 "should win" home games (DePaul and Butler, which of course have both already beaten us) and on toss-up home game against Nova.

at this point, I'd just take 3-3 in our last 6 if offered....

The reason why I was concerned then and remain concerned now is simply the lack of depth and the difficulty in replacing Freemantle.

Edwards has taken the bulk of the minutes. Here is a snapshot of what he has done in the 3 games (23:30 total playing time).

Overall we have outscored the Opponents 248-223. When Edwards plays, it's been 27-30.

Edwards Stats:
0-3 from the field (all 2pt attempts)
3-4 from the line
4 defensive rebounds
0 offensive rebounds
1 Assist
1 Block
1 Turnover
5 Fouls

Xavier Team Stats when he's playing
9-18 from 2
4-12 from 3
5-7 FT
16 Def Rebs
5 Off Rebs
1 Block
4 Asst
2 Stl
7 TOs
12 Fouls

Opponent Stats when Edwards Plays
10-23 from 2
3-10 from 3
9-13 FT
16 Def Rebs
9 Off Rebs
4 Blocks
7 Asst
5 Steals
3 TOs
8 Fouls

Not good at all. We need him to step up right now. The ball doesnt move when he's out there, and we are getting owned on the glass. We seem to be careless with the ball and more prone to getting blocked or picked. We foul more often.

Need him to step up, or need to switch up the style of play so we can play smaller. Trouble is, we dont have any depth in the backcourt either.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Edwards is not capable of doing anything more, or at least it seems that way to me. He looks stiff, confused, and seems unable to make solid decisions/have a positive impact. He is purely in there to buy a few mins for Hunter and/or Nunge. I have never seen anything from Miles that left me even remotely impressed, but he must just be a train wreck in practice, bc it's hard to imagine how he could be much worse that Edwards and he offers more height.

Edwards had a 3 seconds called on him last night. Which means he was probably in the lane for like 6 secs, seeing that is almost never called.

Wish we could play smaller as well, but, as you said we don't have depth in the backcourt either. Claude needs to be used to sub in for Boum/Jones/Kunkel, so it's hard to sub him consistently for Hunter or Nunge.

The people we need to step up are the 6 guys who are legit players. We can't have any of them have bad nights and expect to win at this point. And we need some of them to better than their best. Going to be a tough finish to the regular season. Have to win all the home games.

[xukeith]

I agree Edwards is far from steady. Maybe he will gain some confidence and rebound better. We don't really need him to average 10 points a game but We need to keep opponents honest.
Edwards is better than Miles but that isn't saying too much.

Nunge has very little ability to play tough defense. He gets tired too easily.

Hunter is better but he is limited. He can defend better that Freemantle. The offense really struggles without Zach.

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

Good topic. I agree with everything D West had to say. Plus I'll add that Edwards needs to improve beyond the incremental amount expected between one's sophomore and junior year to have any impact next year. Edwards is almost halfway through his hoops career at Xavier and really hasn't progressed much. He needs to become a different player---one not recognizable than who we see today.

He lacks strength and he lacks athleticism. If Miles could make a free throw and didn't have two left feet, he would get Edward's minutes. I think this topic touches on the question of Steele's recruiting abilities because neither Edwards or Miles appear, to me, to be Big East quality players. I'm sure they are solid young men and, in that sense, I hope they prove me wrong. But the eyeball test tells me X cannot be a contender (or anything close) next year if we must rely on significant contributions from these two players. Pretty sure Miller knows he needs to go to the portal next year to replace Free and Nunge (assuming they move on). Hopefully, Hunter stays for another year as I see him as the heir apparent to Colby's defensive stopper role. I would argue that we need a "5" (a wide body not a finesse player like Nunge) a "4" and somebody who can play either so we aren't forced to go small ball.

I just don't see a role for Edwards or Miles this year or next. Again, I hope I'm wrong on this.

[drudy23]

Grind it out until he returns, not alot of other options. Hopefully we can end the stretch 4-2.

Sean will have them ready tomorrow.

[paulxu]

What's concerning about Edwards is the apparent inability to improve over time.
Steele was supposedly a good recruiter, so potential was identified. Every day in practice he would be going up against Free and Nunge, who have won multiple BE awards. So Sean should have a good idea of what he can/cannot do.
If he plays Edwards instead of Miles, he is going with what he sees in practice.
I hope he does better. We're going to need him.

[UCGRAD4X]

I understand a coach wanting to only go six or seven deep. It is another thing when he really doesn't have any other choice.

[Masterofreality]

Steele was “supposedly” a good recruiter. Key word “supposedly”.
On Sean’s show last night, Joe asked him the question about what things did Cesare have to improve on to take the next step up.
Sean wasted no words and didn’t equivocate: “Everything!!!
The crowd laughed but it was clear that he was serious. The kid, just like Craft, looks overwhelmed and not BE caliber.

[Xville]

Yep, it’s Steele as to why this team has very little depth and quite frankly I think his recruiting prowess has been way overblown. I’ve detailed his recruiting when he was head man, and in the past detailed out his tenure when mack was coach. Yeah he got some good wins, but he had a ton of losses, and during macks tenure, recruiting as very up and down.

I’m sure Edwards is a great kid, but he’s not good enough at this level.

I’m glad to hear that miller had some answers about the butler game and doesn’t hmm or haw when questions are asked. Nice to have a guy in the head seat that has a clue.

[GoMuskies]

The kid, just like Craft, looks overwhelmed and not BE caliber.

I'm not sure why you'd include Craft in this statement. I don't think it's true at all of Craft. He's getting there, and i'd be surprised if he's not a key rotation player next year.

[Xville]

I'm not sure why you'd include Craft in this statement. I don't think it's true at all of Craft. He's getting there, and i'd be surprised if he's not a key rotation player next year.

Agree with this. I think he’s slowly coming along… he at least looks like he somewhat belongs—-Edwards does not, at all.

Only thing that worries me about craft at this level is that it seems to take him forever to get his shot off.

[drudy23]

I'm not sure why you'd include Craft in this statement. I don't think it's true at all of Craft. He's getting there, and i'd be surprised if he's not a key rotation player next year.

Agree - cannot give up on kids that can shoot that well. I have a feeling he's going to be very good when he finds that consistent confidence.

He's a 4 year kid, and I can see him getting better every year.