College Basketball Transfer Portal 2024-2025

[OTRMUSKIE]

Is Larry Blurred going to be available after the NIT?

[XUBison]

The guy is a below 50% free throw shooter in his college career. It’s pretty evident that his free throw shooting will always be a problem and will be exploited by other teams. These are the types of guys who cost you games because they can’t make free throws down the stretch. I have no idea how many forwards are out there that can rebound. Quite a few based on the portal. But whats the point when he gets fouled rebounding and you can bank on him missing the front end of a 1 on 1. Maybe a squad player at best but I doubt he would be brought in for that roll. I wouldn’t say his other stats aren’t crazy impressive either based on his competition at a lower level.

All I know is, we need more than one quality front court player from the portal.

[MHettel]

The guy is a below 50% free throw shooter in his college career. It’s pretty evident that his free throw shooting will always be a problem and will be exploited by other teams. These are the types of guys who cost you games because they can’t make free throws down the stretch. I have no idea how many forwards are out there that can rebound. Quite a few based on the portal. But whats the point when he gets fouled rebounding and you can bank on him missing the front end of a 1 on 1. Maybe a squad player at best but I doubt he would be brought in for that roll. I wouldn’t say his other stats aren’t crazy impressive either based on his competition at a lower level.

Our 3 headed monster at Center this year played 1319 minutes and took a grand total of 101 Free Throws. They made 49 (48.5%)

This guy Sam Alexis played 872 minutes and had 91 attempts and made 44 (48.4%).

He gets to the line 36% more often than our guys this year, and he shoots 55% from the field. Our guys shot 48% from the field.

I'm not comparing his "game" so much, but stats wise he seems like a slight upgrade over Abou defensively, and and a considerable upgrade offensively.

Probably not gonna ride this guy to an NCAA title, but add another sturdy big that can split minutes with him and that might work.

[XUBison]

Our 3 headed monster at Center this year played 1319 minutes and took a grand total of 101 Free Throws…

101? Can that be possible? My XU Calculus says that was like three per game. It is hard to wrap my mind around the total suck that was our front court.

[xuphan]

Our 3 headed monster at Center this year played 1319 minutes and took a grand total of 101 Free Throws. They made 49 (48.5%)

This guy Sam Alexis played 872 minutes and had 91 attempts and made 44 (48.4%).

He gets to the line 36% more often than our guys this year, and he shoots 55% from the field. Our guys shot 48% from the field.

I'm not comparing his "game" so much, but stats wise he seems like a slight upgrade over Abou defensively, and and a considerable upgrade offensively.

Probably not gonna ride this guy to an NCAA title, but add another sturdy big that can split minutes with him and that might work.

If this guy is a squad filler who plays 10-15 minutes a game. Ok, I can accept trying to get him here for depth. If he is the starting center or the 6th man come next year, we are in trouble. His number only go so far coming from a far inferior conference compared to the Big East. His free throw shooting % should have most on here scratching their heads. Do you really want to lose games because this guy can’t make free throws. At 48% a clip, he is going to lose us games. Close games that we will need to win to get back to the NCAA tournament. Hopefully Miller has other options ahead of this guy who will significantly improve the front court.

[XUGRAD80]

All I know is that Sean said that they needed to be a much better defensive and rebounding team……so I would assume that those are the qualities that he will be looking for foremost.

As fans we get caught up in offensive numbers but coaches sometimes look for things beyond that. How many games did X lose this year because they simply couldn’t get the defensive rebound and teams got 2nd chance points at a critical point in the game? In my opinion that happened way way too often, and it was a constant problem all year long. If X hadn’t given up so many extra possessions how much better would their defense have been? X is looking for rebounders! Especially defensive rebounders.

[Xville]

All I know is that Sean said that they needed to be a much better defensive and rebounding team……so I would assume that those are the qualities that he will be looking for foremost.

As fans we get caught up in offensive numbers but coaches sometimes look for things beyond that. How many games did X lose this year because they simply couldn’t get the defensive rebound and teams got 2nd chance points at a critical point in the game? In my opinion that happened way way too often, and it was a constant problem all year long. If X hadn’t given up so many extra possessions how much better would their defense have been? X is looking for rebounders! Especially defensive rebounders.

Yes from what has been stated by numerous sources, x is looking for two bigs… a tough rebounding type who will do some dirty work, and then a skilled big offensively. This guy would be a great fit for the first one with some upside athletically.

[XUBison]

Yes from what has been stated by numerous sources, x is looking for two bigs… a tough rebounding type who will do some dirty work, and then a skilled big offensively…

How about two of each?

[D-West & PO-Z]

If this guy is a squad filler who plays 10-15 minutes a game. Ok, I can accept trying to get him here for depth. If he is the starting center or the 6th man come next year, we are in trouble. His number only go so far coming from a far inferior conference compared to the Big East. His free throw shooting % should have most on here scratching their heads. Do you really want to lose games because this guy can’t make free throws. At 48% a clip, he is going to lose us games. Close games that we will need to win to get back to the NCAA tournament. Hopefully Miller has other options ahead of this guy who will significantly improve the front court.

I know nothing about this guy, so he might suck, but to pick out one stat and eliminate him as a serious contributor because of it is very shortsighted.

2 of the top 5 rebounders in college basketball this year shot below 50% from the FT line. 5 of the top 17 shot under 60%. We need guys who can rebound and play offensively in the post. To dismiss someone who can do that bc of FT% would not be smart.

[xuphan]

I know nothing about this guy, so he might suck, but to pick out one stat and eliminate him as a serious contributor because of it is very shortsighted.

2 of the top 5 rebounders in college basketball this year shot below 50% from the FT line. 5 of the top 17 shot under 60%. We need guys who can rebound and play offensively in the post. To dismiss someone who can do that bc of FT% would not be smart.

I don’t know much about this kid either but tell me some stats about this kid that should get me excited? He averaged nearly but not a double double in a very weak conference. We expected this to transfer to the Big East? He seems to have games with double double type stats and other games where he barely produced at all. Decent stats against Louisville and Auburn but 2 points 8 rebounds against ETSU and 5 points 6 rebounds against Samford. Seems like he disappeared at times during the season. The free throw shooting is a valid concern. This program seems to produce guys who can’t shoot free throws consistently. To win close games in this conference, you need to make your free throws. Something that this kid will struggle to do for the program. I guess you can’t teach height and athleticism so if he is a rotational squad player ok. If we are asking him to be a starter or 6th man type, we are going to struggle next season. Hopefully there are additional forwards Miller is trying to bring in as well.

[XUGRAD80]

Xavier has contacted this power forward candidate
https://247sports.com/Player/Keyshawn-Hall-46125439/

[XUGRAD80]

And this shooting guard from Northern KY University
https://247sports.com/Player/Marques-Warrick-46148580/

All time leading scorer for NKU

[Xuperman]

And this shooting guard from Northern KY University
https://247sports.com/Player/Marques-Warrick-46148580/

All time leading scorer for NKU



This is a prime "chess piece" type guy and a portal gambling chip. Look at Mark Sears out of OU....how did we miss out on him in our backyard? He was in no way a surefire stud at Ohio.

[X-band '01]

And this shooting guard from Northern KY University
https://247sports.com/Player/Marques-Warrick-46148580/

All time leading scorer for NKU

I think he also declared for the NBA Draft - there's no guarantee he'll even return for another season.

[D-West & PO-Z]

I don’t know much about this kid either but tell me some stats about this kid that should get me excited? He averaged nearly but not a double double in a very weak conference. We expected this to transfer to the Big East? He seems to have games with double double type stats and other games where he barely produced at all. Decent stats against Louisville and Auburn but 2 points 8 rebounds against ETSU and 5 points 6 rebounds against Samford. Seems like he disappeared at times during the season. The free throw shooting is a valid concern. This program seems to produce guys who can’t shoot free throws consistently. To win close games in this conference, you need to make your free throws. Something that this kid will struggle to do for the program. I guess you can’t teach height and athleticism so if he is a rotational squad player ok. If we are asking him to be a starter or 6th man type, we are going to struggle next season. Hopefully there are additional forwards Miller is trying to bring in as well.

Again, I know nothing about him.

I do know Quincy Olivari came from Rice into the Big East and had better numbers in the Big East, so it isn't like that improvement despite stepping up in conference isn't possible. I trust Miller to know what we need and identify the traits in players he sees that he believes will make them successful at Xavier and in the Big East.

[MHettel]

It’s occurring to me that we’re not just recruiting a player, but negotiating with them while also negotiating against the boogeyman. If it hasn’t happened already, I assume player will eventually retain an agent to get the best deal possible. I like this Smith kid….at the right NIL price. We can offer him maybe 200k of our 2-3M pool. Maybe a little more. Then his agent says he’s got a guaranteed starting job for 300k. He doesn’t have to show us the offer or maybe that offer doesn’t exist. But we want the guy and match the boogeyman for 300k. As a result, we have just a little leas for that #7 or #8 guy off the bench. Or the PF that could hit from outside.

The reality is that we are in a sellers market, and relying on a coach to make these deals work. Unless I’m wrong and we’ve got a deal guy working for us. Does anyone know?

The bottom line is that I would expect that most 18-21 year old kids would take more money to play on Mars if it came down to it.

[Cincypunk.org]

If Robby Avila is available from Indiana State would XU fans want him? Could get cut it in the Big East?

I say we give him $500,000 and call it a day.

McKnight
Claude
Swain
Freemantle
Avila

Hunter
Green
Djokovic

That is a solid 8

[XUGRAD80]

I think he also declared for the NBA Draft - there's no guarantee he'll even return for another season.

He’s not going to make the NBA. I’ve seen him play a couple of times. While he’s a good player, he’s not a great dominating player, and he’s not very tall. Listed as 6’2”, and that might be generous. I’m really kind of surprised that X has contacted him, but he is a proven scorer and he is close by. IMO would be a nice backup, good for 10-15 min. a night, but I don’t think he would be a starter.

Almost every one of them could declare for the draft and still say that they could still transfer. A negotiation ploy for 99% of them that do it.

[XUGRAD80]

If Robby Avila is available from Indiana State would XU fans want him? Could get cut it in the Big East?

I say we give him $500,000 and call it a day.

McKnight
Claude
Swain
Freemantle
Avila

Hunter
Green
Djokovic

That is a solid 8

He scored 22 points last night and showed good passing skills but at 6’10” and lots of weight he only had 4 rebounds. Not very mobile on defense either. I don’t think that is what Miller is looking for.

[D-West & PO-Z]

If Robby Avila is available from Indiana State would XU fans want him? Could get cut it in the Big East?

I say we give him $500,000 and call it a day.

McKnight
Claude
Swain
Freemantle
Avila

Hunter
Green
Djokovic

That is a solid 8

Not enough shooting. Need to add a Quincy type 3 point shooter.

[Xville]

Kind of a weird one since he stepped away for health reasons, but Logan Duncomb is in the portal. Maybe a Mac level or lower?

[A Fan]

It’s occurring to me that we’re not just recruiting a player, but negotiating with them while also negotiating against the boogeyman. If it hasn’t happened already, I assume player will eventually retain an agent to get the best deal possible. I like this Smith kid….at the right NIL price. We can offer him maybe 200k of our 2-3M pool. Maybe a little more. Then his agent says he’s got a guaranteed starting job for 300k. He doesn’t have to show us the offer or maybe that offer doesn’t exist. But we want the guy and match the boogeyman for 300k. As a result, we have just a little leas for that #7 or #8 guy off the bench. Or the PF that could hit from outside.

The reality is that we are in a sellers market, and relying on a coach to make these deals work. Unless I’m wrong and we’ve got a deal guy working for us. Does anyone know?

The bottom line is that I would expect that most 18-21 year old kids would take more money to play on Mars if it came down to it.


When a college basketball player enters the transfer portal seeking a new school, he weighs various factors: the financial offer, potential playing time, roster strength, NCAA tournament prospects, developmental opportunities, location (including proximity to family), and transferability of academic credits. I asked an agent/ friend about his clients' priorities . He said that playing time and team success take precedence over financial incentives, albeit up to a certain extent. He hasn't seen anyone accepting a 25 percent lower financial offer unless the higher offers came from schools with weak very prospects. He said outside the top 10 guys who are getting 250K to 500 K and above agent participation is minimal. By the time the player( and usually a family member) visit the schools they know what is being offered. If their number one choice is certain school who is light on the money the agent can call the person writing the check and work out the deal . In today’s market schools are not losing out on the money . They all have it or can find it for the player they need. He said generally if you look at the schools who got the player you wanted you will discern why you lost.
Again, this is just one guys assessment.

[XUGRAD80]

Kind of a weird one since he stepped away for health reasons, but Logan Duncomb is in the portal. Maybe a Mac level or lower?

I just saw that, very interesting to say the least. Makes me wonder if there was more to the story of him walking away for health reasons than was said publicly. For his sake I certainly hope that he is healthy and can play again, but it’s certainly a little strange.

[drudy23]

All of our portal interest seems to be mid major guys again. Can we do this every year and be successful?

[drudy23]

I just saw that, very interesting to say the least. Makes me wonder if there was more to the story of him walking away for health reasons than was said publicly. For his sake I certainly hope that he is healthy and can play again, but it’s certainly a little strange.

He should seek out a program like NKU, assuming he really wants to play. He's a mid-major talent.

[Xville]

sorry if this one was already posted but this dude has three visits set up...Xavier, Auburn and Texas Tech. Good company to be in. Looks like a rebounding machine...miller and staff certainly going after a certain type of player:

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4594111/dj-burns

I know its not Big East level, but those rebounding numbers the last 15 or so games is awesome. Never can have enough junkyard dogs.

[XUGRAD80]

All of our portal interest seems to be mid major guys again. Can we do this every year and be successful?

The players that have been entering the portal from power 6 schools mainly seem to be backups or players without very good numbers. So the question becomes, do you go after mid-majors with good numbers or power 6 with no history of production at the power 6 level?

[MHettel]

I just saw that, very interesting to say the least. Makes me wonder if there was more to the story of him walking away for health reasons than was said publicly. For his sake I certainly hope that he is healthy and can play again, but it’s certainly a little strange.

Yeah, wtf with that guy? Archie Miller coached him at IU and must have given Sean some inside scoop, right? was he just a rotation guy #7/8 at best when we brought him in as the first portal commit?

And then, was he just so bad that he felt it better to just walk away?

Now hes back and ready to play again?

Big miss, one way or the other, and probably part of last years debacle.

[D-West & PO-Z]

sorry if this one was already posted but this dude has three visits set up...Xavier, Auburn and Texas Tech. Good company to be in. Looks like a rebounding machine...miller and staff certainly going after a certain type of player:

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4594111/dj-burns

I know its not Big East level, but those rebounding numbers the last 15 or so games is awesome. Never can have enough junkyard dogs.

Only 6’7. Interesting. Can def rebound. Will also be his 6th year, looks like maybe his 2nd year was a medical redshirt year? Only played 6 games.

[Xavier]

All of our portal interest seems to be mid major guys again. Can we do this every year and be successful?

I don’t think there is much option. Good guard play is all around. Arguably the two best players from the past two years were mid major guards. Getting all conference type players from mid majors can work.

But like I said, the reality is- If you’re a wing or big transferring from a P5 school, the likelihood is you either A) weren’t good enough to play or B) were solid and the best of the best are coming after you. There are so many transfers I’d imagine there is a middle ground somewhere and examples of it- just think in general that will be the case.

I don’t think X will routinely compete with the best in the sport for the highest portal transfers, especially from P5 schools. They can snag someone every now and then I am sure, but more often than not will have to take some chances on guys who were all conference at a mid major and hope it translates.

[XUGRAD80]

I don’t think there is much option. Good guard play is all around. Arguably the two best players from the past two years were mid major guards. Getting all conference type players from mid majors can work.

But like I said, the reality is- If you’re a wing or big transferring from a P5 school, the likelihood is you either A) weren’t good enough to play or B) were solid and the best of the best are coming after you. There are so many transfers I’d imagine there is a middle ground somewhere and examples of it- just think in general that will be the case.

I don’t think X will routinely compete with the best in the sport for the highest portal transfers, especially from P5 schools. They can snag someone every now and then I am sure, but more often than not will have to take some chances on guys who were all conference at a mid major and hope it translates.

100% correct and realistic

[XUGRAD80]

I don’t think there is much option. Good guard play is all around. Arguably the two best players from the past two years were mid major guards. Getting all conference type players from mid majors can work.

But like I said, the reality is- If you’re a wing or big transferring from a P5 school, the likelihood is you either A) weren’t good enough to play or B) were solid and the best of the best are coming after you. There are so many transfers I’d imagine there is a middle ground somewhere and examples of it- just think in general that will be the case.

I don’t think X will routinely compete with the best in the sport for the highest portal transfers, especially from P5 schools. They can snag someone every now and then I am sure, but more often than not will have to take some chances on guys who were all conference at a mid major and hope it translates.

100% correct and realistic

[Xville]

I don’t think there is much option. Good guard play is all around. Arguably the two best players from the past two years were mid major guards. Getting all conference type players from mid majors can work.

But like I said, the reality is- If you’re a wing or big transferring from a P5 school, the likelihood is you either A) weren’t good enough to play or B) were solid and the best of the best are coming after you. There are so many transfers I’d imagine there is a middle ground somewhere and examples of it- just think in general that will be the case.

I don’t think X will routinely compete with the best in the sport for the highest portal transfers, especially from P5 schools. They can snag someone every now and then I am sure, but more often than not will have to take some chances on guys who were all conference at a mid major and hope it translates.

Yep 100% for right now. If x gets back to where they were pre Steele, I think that could change a bit.

[MHettel]

Only 6’7. Interesting. Can def rebound. Will also be his 6th year, looks like maybe his 2nd year was a medical redshirt year? Only played 6 games.

Very strange looking stats for this guy. Averaged about 3 Offensive rebounds per game the last 3 years. For defensive rebounds, he averaged about 3 per game the prior 2 years, then suddenly 8 per game this year? New team, so maybe a different role? Also, 96 of his career 105 3pt attempts came this year.

Kind of reminds me of Ben Stanley. Undersized guy that manhandled lower level teams. But Ben couldnt cut it in the Big East....

[drudy23]

I just saw that, very interesting to say the least. Makes me wonder if there was more to the story of him walking away for health reasons than was said publicly. For his sake I certainly hope that he is healthy and can play again, but it’s certainly a little strange.

He should seek out a program like NKU, assuming he really wants to play. He's a mid-major talent.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Yeah, wtf with that guy? Archie Miller coached him at IU and must have given Sean some inside scoop, right? was he just a rotation guy #7/8 at best when we brought him in as the first portal commit?

And then, was he just so bad that he felt it better to just walk away?

Now hes back and ready to play again?

Big miss, one way or the other, and probably part of last years debacle.

Archie may have recruited him but he last coached at IU 20-21 and Duncomb’s first year was 21-22.

[paulxu]

I looked at the portal link someone posted earlier, but could get to all the conferences.
The players listed all seemed to be high school seniors, who must have committed earlier to one school, and then entered the portal.
Is that possible? Before they even graduate from high school?

The other thing that struck me from some of the posts is the talk of a player having an "agent."
Seems like schools/players use to get in trouble if there was an agent involved with a player.
(It's possible I'm just dreaming that)

[Xville]

WHOA! Committed!

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4431953/marcus-foster

BOOM!

And yes I know people will nitpick and see the 3pt percentage this year, but 6'4 200 and rebounds well at this position.'

It's a good start. 3 more!

[muskiefan82]

Ducharme has entered the portal. Wonder if he will end up at Miami too

[drudy23]

WHOA! Committed!

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4431953/marcus-foster

BOOM!

And yes I know people will nitpick and see the 3pt percentage this year, but 6'4 200 and rebounds well at this position.'

It's a good start. 3 more!

This is what Big East guards look like.

[noteggs]

WHOA! Committed!

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4431953/marcus-foster

BOOM!

And yes I know people will nitpick and see the 3pt percentage this year, but 6'4 200 and rebounds well at this position.'

It's a good start. 3 more!

https://x.com/paulfritschner/status/1773059904493814170?s=42&t=U5TyKr_wshJKowj_nNzfHg

Welcome Mr Foster. Highlights attached

Has a BE frame

[ArizonaXUGrad]

WHOA! Committed!

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4431953/marcus-foster

BOOM!

And yes I know people will nitpick and see the 3pt percentage this year, but 6'4 200 and rebounds well at this position.'

It's a good start. 3 more!

Crazy, just assume the absolute best and Free/Hunter play all season. This would give us 4 players who are in their 5th year of college ball for the last year the Covid year applies.

[XUGRAD80]

Welcome Mr. Foster! Happy to have you here! Woohoo!

[A Fan]

https://x.com/paulfritschner/status/1773059904493814170?s=42&t=U5TyKr_wshJKowj_nNzfHg

Welcome Mr Foster. Highlights attached

Has a BE frame
Am I reading this right ? This site has him the 80 th best player in the portal and the 22nd best shooting guard?

https://247sports.com/season/2024-basketball/transferportaltop/

[XU-PA]

https://youtu.be/PjEFl5FieNg?si=hUZ1VcVn2Go96WVR

Some Marcus Foster hilites.
17 points, 7.5 boards this past season. Shoots 30% from 3

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

Crazy, just assume the absolute best and Free/Hunter play all season. This would give us 4 players who are in their 5th year of college ball for the last year the Covid year applies.

With Ducharme entering the portal, seems like we need some younger players too.

[Xville]

Am I reading this right ? This site has him the 80 th best player in the portal and the 22nd best shooting guard?

https://247sports.com/season/2024-basketball/transferportaltop/

yep..same rating number (89.0) as Quincy.

[muskiefan82]

https://youtu.be/PjEFl5FieNg?si=hUZ1VcVn2Go96WVR

Some Marcus Foster hilites.
17 points, 7.5 boards this past season. Shoots 30% from 3

I am just going to roll with Coach Millers ability to select guards in the Portal and be happy.

[XU-PA]

He scored 22 points last night and showed good passing skills but at 6’10” and lots of weight he only had 4 rebounds. Not very mobile on defense either. I don’t think that is what Miller is looking for.

Avila reminds me of another overweight slightly out of shape big that came from a mid major a few years back.
His ability to see the opening and pass out of the post brings back memories of Stain,!!

[ArizonaXUGrad]

With Ducharme in the portal, we have 4 open spots.

[MHettel]

Am I reading this right ? This site has him the 80 th best player in the portal and the 22nd best shooting guard?

https://247sports.com/season/2024-basketball/transferportaltop/

uhhg. 80th best player in the portal? and we know that not everyone that will enter has entered?

Nzeh is 91, Craft is 107, Abou is 114.

[XUGRAD80]

uhhg. 80th best player in the portal? and we know that not everyone that will enter has entered?

Nzeh is 91, Craft is 107, Abou is 114.

Ranks mean nothing Mr. Sunshine. The only opinion that matters is Mr. Miller’s, and if he’s OK with it so am I. He’s looking for players that fit his needs. He’s building a TEAM and not just trying to stockpile highly ranked bodies.

[MHettel]

https://x.com/paulfritschner/status/1773059904493814170?s=42&t=U5TyKr_wshJKowj_nNzfHg

Welcome Mr Foster. Highlights attached

Has a BE frame

What is the role for this guy? Is he the replacement for Quincy? I hope not. We had a problem with 3 point shooting this year, and this guy took half his shots from 3 and hit less than 30%. And, his career assist to TO ratio is exactly 1.0.

What kind of roster are we trying to build? We led the country in assists 2 years ago and had a great season. Can we not connect the dots on how we did so well?

I realize this guy rebounds well, but is that really a key thing we are looking for from our guards?

We need shooting (still).

Wonder if the lack of big men might cause us to load up on the bigger guards and some wings and just play at 110% speed with a ton of ball pressure and hope we can just run the opponents out of the gym with depth?

[ArizonaXUGrad]

His middle years were around 35%. Kid is a 5th year guy and should be ready day 1. Miller knows what he needs. I trust his expertise. The team is light in youth and bigs but there are 4 open spots to fill. Green/Djokovic are still on the roster as of now so that would give us 2 Sophomores and 1 Freshman.

[MHettel]

Ranks mean nothing Mr. Sunshine. The only opinion that matters is Mr. Miller’s, and if he’s OK with it so am I. He’s looking for players that fit his needs. He’s building a TEAM and not just trying to stockpile highly ranked bodies.

Allright, then. Mr. Miller also brought in Logan Duncolmb and Abou last year. And then the Euro guys. So with that knowledge, you're ok with whatever he does? he hasnt earned a little bit of scrutiny?

And how does a 5th year player do anything but kick this roster problem down the road an additional year? I heard like 2000 kids went in the portal last year, and of of the sites is reporting 598 this year so far. So we've seen maybe 40% of the inventory and we grab a shooting guard that cant hit from deep to join a team that cant hit from deep.

I said in another post that maybe his role will be as a rotation guy. That would work great, actually.

But this is underwhelming.

[MHettel]

His middle years were around 35%. Kid is a 5th year guy and should be ready day 1. Miller knows what he needs. I trust his expertise. The team is light in youth and bigs but there are 4 open spots to fill. Green/Djokovic are still on the roster as of now so that would give us 2 Sophomores and 1 Freshman.

Swain too, unless I missed something....

[BandAid]

His middle years were around 35%. Kid is a 5th year guy and should be ready day 1. Miller knows what he needs. I trust his expertise. The team is light in youth and bigs but there are 4 open spots to fill. Green/Djokovic are still on the roster as of now so that would give us 2 Sophomores and 1 Freshman.

What happened to Swain?

[A Fan]

Ranks mean nothing Mr. Sunshine. The only opinion that matters is Mr. Miller’s, and if he’s OK with it so am I. He’s looking for players that fit his needs. He’s building a TEAM and not just trying to stockpile highly ranked bodies.
I am with you on Sean Miller. I know one tenth about College basketball that he does. But it is ok to speculate on how Sean thinks he fits. You know the returning guards. You know we need a real 3 point shooter with Olivari leaving. Is this his replacement. If not , which of the other guys will sit when he is on the floor?

[LOLmickcronin]

Allright, then. Mr. Miller also brought in Logan Duncolmb and Abou last year. And then the Euro guys. So with that knowledge, you're ok with whatever he does? he hasnt earned a little bit of scrutiny?

And how does a 5th year player do anything but kick this roster problem down the road an additional year? I heard like 2000 kids went in the portal last year, and of of the sites is reporting 598 this year so far. So we've seen maybe 40% of the inventory and we grab a shooting guard that cant hit from deep to join a team that cant hit from deep.

I said in another post that maybe his role will be as a rotation guy. That would work great, actually.

But this is underwhelming.

I keep having this thought over and over. I know with free/hunter we were in an odd situation this year but miller keeps saying how the talent will never be like this again and how next year the roster will be different. Why would we expect to bring in better than abou or ciani, etc? If we could have we would have last year. I love miller the coach but I think clearly we have a cap on who we can afford in the portal. We’re going to be getting these mid tier guys. Even with Q and McKnight they were solid but not headline worthy.

[Xville]

Allright, then. Mr. Miller also brought in Logan Duncolmb and Abou last year. And then the Euro guys. So with that knowledge, you're ok with whatever he does? he hasnt earned a little bit of scrutiny?

And how does a 5th year player do anything but kick this roster problem down the road an additional year? I heard like 2000 kids went in the portal last year, and of of the sites is reporting 598 this year so far. So we've seen maybe 40% of the inventory and we grab a shooting guard that cant hit from deep to join a team that cant hit from deep.

I said in another post that maybe his role will be as a rotation guy. That would work great, actually.

But this is underwhelming.

Are you positive about anything Xavier, ever? Why are you a fan? Everything is doom and gloom with you constantly.

If you are so concerned about transfer ranking, his is the same number that Quincy's was at 89.0 .

He is one piece to the puzzle. Let's see who else they get.

[Xville]

I keep having this thought over and over. I know with free/hunter we were in an odd situation this year but miller keeps saying how the talent will never be like this again and how next year the roster will be different. Why would we expect to bring in better than abou or ciani, etc? If we could have we would have last year. I love miller the coach but I think clearly we have a cap on who we can afford in the portal. We’re going to be getting these mid tier guys. Even with Q and McKnight they were solid but not headline worthy.

good gawd. This has been repeated over and over and over and over. Free and Hunter went down very late. There was not enough time to find adequate replacements for them. They did the best they could with what time they had.

[Xavier]

What is the role for this guy? Is he the replacement for Quincy? I hope not. We had a problem with 3 point shooting this year, and this guy took half his shots from 3 and hit less than 30%. And, his career assist to TO ratio is exactly 1.0.

?

Meh. He has a season shooting 35% and 36%. He went 4/9 against Virginia from 3 in the opening round upset last year. But I don’t necessarily think X is counting on him as a starter yet. I’d guess a rotational piece. We will see.

I do think Sean values the older guys. Mentioned on his podcast how it felt like we played rosters full of 4 and 5th year seniors and how much of a difference that makes. If this is an experienced guy who can shoot 35% from 3, while being a good guard rebounder- I’ll take it.

[XUBison]

WHOA! Committed!

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4431953/marcus-foster

BOOM!

And yes I know people will nitpick and see the 3pt percentage this year, but 6'4 200 and rebounds well at this position.'

It's a good start. 3 more!

His physical stature and stats are similar to Claude’s. He doesn’t seem to be a good shooter (only 42.5% from the field), but he’s +80% from the line, and his 30% from three this past season was on seven APG. His 3-pt% was in the mid-30s the previous couple seasons, on fewer attempts. I suspect Sean will manage his 3-pt volume, so hopefully we’ll see his percentage back in the mid-30s. Still think we need a sharpshooter. ;)

[D-West & PO-Z]

I am just going to roll with Coach Millers ability to select guards in the Portal and be happy.

Seriously. People act like Miller is a moron.

[XUGRAD80]

Wow, who knew that after building X into a legitimate annual tournament team and then doing the same at Arizona that after 17 years as a head coach that Miller would have lost his touch so quickly? A few here keep bringing up the Euros and Abou, but do they also forget about Boum and Olivari? They aren’t happy about the one they got so far, but have they forgotten that there are still many more to come? Do they really expect EVERY player to be a home run? Recruiting is a crap shoot at best. There are a few McDonalds AA players in the portal that didn’t work out at their first stop and might not work out anywhere. There are also some players that nobody knew anything about and have become big parts of other BE rosters. Some people just need to relax and stop worrying.

[Xville]

Wow, who knew that after building X into a legitimate annual tournament team and then doing the same at Arizona that after 17 years as a head coach that Miller would have lost his touch so quickly? A few here keep bringing up the Euros and Abou, but do they also forget about Boum and Olivari? They aren’t happy about the one they got so far, but have they forgotten that there are still many more to come? Do they really expect EVERY player to be a home run? Recruiting is a crap shoot at best. There are a few McDonalds AA players in the portal that didn’t work out at their first stop and might not work out anywhere. There are also some players that nobody knew anything about and have become big parts of other BE rosters. Some people just need to relax and stop worrying about things they obviously know little or nothing about.

Oh you didn’t know? To some, Miller was only successful because it was easy in the a10 and at Arizona to build a roster and do well. And disregard that sweet 16 last year, apparently miller didn’t recruit Boum or coach that team either.

[MHettel]

Are you positive about anything Xavier, ever? Why are you a fan? Everything is doom and gloom with you constantly.

If you are so concerned about transfer ranking, his is the same number that Quincy's was at 89.0 .

He is one piece to the puzzle. Let's see who else they get.

Do you ever take the Blue Glasses off?

13-7. I'll bring it up again. there is absolutely nothing logical about that prediction. We were like 5-5 and you were sticking to that. Yeah, we were gonna finish 8-2. Your outlook is colored with your fandom. Its like these are your children, and they can do no wrong.

I thought Miller didnt have his best year this year. Does that mean I permanently think that Miller is a terrible coach? NO. But he had a crap roster this year that he put together. Own it and move on.

So moving on, I'm carefully watching the moves we make over the next several weeks. I think losing all 3 of our big guys is a problem. Maybe he wanted them to leave, or maybe he didnt. But we for sure now need a starting Center and a backup big from the portal from the portal that is sparce with quality bigs. Supply and demand basics will mean that we will need to overpay for average bigs, which will limit what else we can do in the portal. And we need shooting. Like, ALOT of shooting.

And I said, lets see what the role will be for this guy. If he's the replacement for Qunicy (who replaced Boum nicely), then i think we might be in trouble. Thats a "meh" pickup. But if hes a rotational guy then thats actually great.

And maybe I'm wrong and this guy goes from being a 30% shooter to a 40% shooter....but how often does that happen?

i thijnk the roster management has been iffy for the last 2 years. Sean inherited the team last year and really only added Boum to replace Scrugss. he did a GREAT job of tinkering the offense and we had versatile guys like Colby, Jack, Free, Kunk, etc. But we also kept Tandy, Ceasar, and Miles as dead weight. And that cost us, casue this year we had to try to make a run at it with a bunch of spare parts. and it didnt work, and we are in EXACTLY that spot again. We are not close to being competitive. We need a MAJOR talent influx. Adding a 5th year guy from a .500 Furman team doesnt excite me, especially for the long term.

[XUBison]

Meh. He has a season shooting 35% and 36%. He went 4/9 against Virginia from 3 in the opening round upset last year. But I don’t necessarily think X is counting on him as a starter yet. I’d guess a rotational piece. We will see.

I do think Sean values the older guys. Mentioned on his podcast how it felt like we played rosters full of 4 and 5th year seniors and how much of a difference that makes. If this is an experienced guy who can shoot 35% from 3, while being a good guard rebounder- I’ll take it.

I could be off base here, but you think a guy who averaged 17 PPG at a decent mid-major is coming in expecting to play 10 MPG, in his fifth and final year, for a program that’s made one tourney appearance the past six years?

[xu82]

I am just going to roll with Coach Millers ability to select guards in the Portal and be happy.

Amen!

[MHettel]

I could be off base here, but you think a guy who averaged 17 PPG at a decent mid-major is coming in expecting to play 10 MPG, in his fifth and final year, for a program that’s made one tourney appearance the past six years?

thats a really good question, but why are you being so NEGATIVE? why would you ask a logical question like that if it doesnt fit the "I'm the worlds biggest Xavier fan 100% of the time" narrative.

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

He is one piece to the puzzle. Let's see who else they get.

Let's not get too distraught yet. He's just one guy. Hettel, you can be extremely negative and it gets to be a pain in the ass, hearing your downbeat assessment over and over again. Give Miller a chance.

Step One is create the openings. Nobody is going to want to transfer here unless they believe minutes are available. So, first let Miller free up some minutes. Then he can go out and get players he (not you, not me) believes can help move this team forward. That's Step Two.

Give the negativity a rest. Please.

Let Miller do his job without all the back seat driving.

[Xville]

Do you ever take the Blue Glasses off?

13-7. I'll bring it up again. there is absolutely nothing logical about that prediction. We were like 5-5 and you were sticking to that. Yeah, we were gonna finish 8-2. Your outlook is colored with your fandom. Its like these are your children, and they can do no wrong.

I thought Miller didnt have his best year this year. Does that mean I permanently think that Miller is a terrible coach? NO. But he had a crap roster this year that he put together. Own it and move on.

So moving on, I'm carefully watching the moves we make over the next several weeks. I think losing all 3 of our big guys is a problem. Maybe he wanted them to leave, or maybe he didnt. But we for sure now need a starting Center and a backup big from the portal from the portal that is sparce with quality bigs. Supply and demand basics will mean that we will need to overpay for average bigs, which will limit what else we can do in the portal. And we need shooting. Like, ALOT of shooting.

And I said, lets see what the role will be for this guy. If he's the replacement for Qunicy (who replaced Boum nicely), then i think we might be in trouble. Thats a "meh" pickup. But if hes a rotational guy then thats actually great.

And maybe I'm wrong and this guy goes from being a 30% shooter to a 40% shooter....but how often does that happen?

i thijnk the roster management has been iffy for the last 2 years. Sean inherited the team last year and really only added Boum to replace Scrugss. he did a GREAT job of tinkering the offense and we had versatile guys like Colby, Jack, Free, Kunk, etc. But we also kept Tandy, Ceasar, and Miles as dead weight. And that cost us, casue this year we had to try to make a run at it with a bunch of spare parts. and it didnt work, and we are in EXACTLY that spot again. We are not close to being competitive. We need a MAJOR talent influx. Adding a 5th year guy from a .500 Furman team doesnt excite me, especially for the long term.

lol this is classic. In your opinion, Losing all 3 of the big guys is now a problem, when you complained about said 3 big guys and how miller did a poor job in the portal last year. You’re a catch 22.

[Xavier]

I could be off base here, but you think a guy who averaged 17 PPG at a decent mid-major is coming in expecting to play 10 MPG, in his fifth and final year, for a program that’s made one tourney appearance the past six years?

Well it was between X, Cal, and Indiana. So, I think going to the team that finished 2nd in the Big East and went to sweet 16 is probably the better option- even if it’s in a 15-18 minute role. Unless you think Cal and Indiana has had a better two year stretch (since Sean has been back).?

[GoMuskies]

But he's more coming to the school that finished 9th in the Big East. Let's not do that again, by the way. Did not enjoy.

[D-West & PO-Z]

I am with you on Sean Miller. I know one tenth about College basketball that he does. But it is ok to speculate on how Sean thinks he fits. You know the returning guards. You know we need a real 3 point shooter with Olivari leaving. Is this his replacement. If not , which of the other guys will sit when he is on the floor?

Why don't we let more than a week of the end of the season play out before we judge any portal additions. We are doing so with little/incomplete information, it makes no sense to try and guess what Miller has in store for this player at this time.

[UCGRAD4X]

I don't begrudge anyone who chooses to present questions about the moves Sean is making. In any year, but especially this year, we can certainly debate the moves without being overly critical, with blind acceptance or resignation.

We are probably (certainly) not going to get all the best players available. That doesn't mean we can't hope to get as many as possible or as close to the top a possible.

The first one does not seem to fit the category, so 0 for 1 so far. We are still at bat, but the odds of scoring aren't as good. Not bad, just not as good.

[D-West & PO-Z]

I could be off base here, but you think a guy who averaged 17 PPG at a decent mid-major is coming in expecting to play 10 MPG, in his fifth and final year, for a program that’s made one tourney appearance the past six years?

The is a big gap between starter and 10 mins per game friend.

[D-West & PO-Z]

The first one does not seem to fit the category, so 0 for 1 so far. We are still at bat, but the odds of scoring aren't as good. Not bad, just not as good.

Hilarious. Guy hasn't even put on a Xavier uniform and he is already a miss.

Send Sean and email and alert him, save him a roster spot.

[UCGRAD4X]

Hilarious. Guy hasn't even put on a Xavier uniform and he is already a miss.

Send Sean and email and alert him, save him a roster spot.

Get a grip.

If someone (not me, necessarily) has the opinion that this is not one of the top guys in the portal, why give him grief? Looking at the stats, there is at least room for someone to have an opinion. I might not agree with him either, but I'm not calling him out for it.

If you don't agree, make the argument. No need to make it personal.

[Xville]

Get a grip.

If someone (not me, necessarily) has the opinion that this is not one of the top guys in the portal, why give him grief? Looking at the stats, there is at least room for someone to have an opinion. I might not agree with him either, but I'm not calling him out for it.

If you don't agree, make the argument. No need to make it personal.

Because he has literally complained about every move miller has made for the last year.

Because he literally has an excuse for why miller was such a good coach at Xavier the first time, and at Arizona.

Complained all year about the frontcourt and now complains that they transferred.

It’s constant bitching.

Ugh! 80th ranked in the portal…


He’s an 89, same as Quincy last year.

Rankings mean little if anything anyways… you sir are the one who needs to get a grip. You’ve already declared him as a miss based on nothing.

[xuphan]

Hilarious. Guy hasn't even put on a Xavier uniform and he is already a miss.

Send Sean and email and alert him, save him a roster spot.

My question to this board after reading the comments today is what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Where do you think Xavier should finish next season? Do you expect this team to make the NCAA tournament? NIT? What are your bare minimum expectations?

We are coming off the worst season in recent memory. We have been misfortune due to injuries and poor front court recruiting. My expectations are for this team to compete near the top of the Big East and make the NCAA tournament. To do that, Miller needs to hit on most of his portal gets both in the backcourt and front court. Miller took care of the first part of business by clearing house and making spots available for new and hopefully improved roster additions. He got his first transfer who is the first piece of the puzzle. I really hope he is a good complement to our backcourt. I trust Miller but my trust will fade if we pick up flops in the portal. Another season like last season will be unacceptable and will erode trust in Miller by the fans. Hoping Miller gets this right.

[drudy23]

My question to this board after reading the comments today is what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Where do you think Xavier should finish next season? Do you expect this team to make the NCAA tournament? NIT? What are your bare minimum expectations?

We are coming off the worst season in recent memory. We have been misfortune due to injuries and poor front court recruiting. My expectations are for this team to compete near the top of the Big East and make the NCAA tournament. To do that, Miller needs to hit on most of his portal gets both in the backcourt and front court. Miller took care of the first part of business by clearing house and making spots available for new and hopefully improved roster additions. He got his first transfer who is the first piece of the puzzle. I really hope he is a good complement to our backcourt. I trust Miller but my trust will fade if we pick up flops in the portal. Another season like last season will be unacceptable and will erode trust in Miller by the fans. Hoping Miller gets this right.

Expectations never change. Tournament team, preferably with an at-large resume, but I'll take it any way I can get it. Xavier not making the tournament, in any year, is a huge disappointment for this program, and I'm guessing anyone affiliated with it agrees.

Can't make noise if you don't get there.

[Xville]

Expectations never change. Tournament team.

Can't make noise if you don't get there.

Correct.

[Xavier]

To me it was a tournament team with Freemantle and hunter healthy last year, but it’s up for debate. We are a far cry from Uconn right now. Similar to when Nova ran the league. But there’s a good chance Marquette and creighton (definitely) will lose huge pieces. Their season (like all of the big East, really) depends on the portal. I expect to be competing with everyone but Uconn.

Uconn could lose a shit ton, too. But Hurley I expect to reload easier than the rest.

[drudy23]

I just hope we can get 2 capable BE frontcourt players. This team will not reach its full capability without it in this league.

[ArizonaXUGrad]

Hilarious. Guy hasn't even put on a Xavier uniform and he is already a miss.

Send Sean and email and alert him, save him a roster spot.

I know right, I love this get. I trust Sean here. Miller hits more than he misses to be honest. The panic gets at the end of last post season were bound to mostly be misses. That is the nature of grabbing guys toward the end. You get what you can to fill out a roster so there is a body with at least some talent in there.

[MHettel]

lol this is classic. In your opinion, Losing all 3 of the big guys is now a problem, when you complained about said 3 big guys and how miller did a poor job in the portal last year. You’re a catch 22.

No, losing all 3 of the big guys was a problem when i first mentioned it about a week ago and said that i hope that we keep at least one of them. We dont need 3 of those guys, but we also dont need zero of them. I would have taken any of the 3 and installed them firmly in the backup Center role. Then i would have made starting Center my #1 portal priority. My #2 priority would be shooting guard that is deadly from deep. Then i'd go after a stretch 4, even if shooting is the primary thing that guy does well.

And just to Clarify, I never "complained about the 3 big guys." I saw Ciani as a serviceable backup in the Sean O'Mara mold. Plenty of posts about that. I called for Nzeh to get a shot to play EARLY during the Big East schedule when I called it a "lost season", while you and the other cheerleaders were insisting we'd be 13-7. NZeh turned out to show the exact potential I was hoping for and I hate to see him go. I also said that I think Abou is decent defensively and as a rebounder and would have been "hidden" offensively if we had Free available who is pretty much the opposite. i would have taken Abou back as well, but not as a starter and only for about 15 minutes a game.

[A Fan]

Let's not get too distraught yet. He's just one guy. Hettel, you can be extremely negative and it gets to be a pain in the ass, hearing your downbeat assessment over and over again. Give Miller a chance.

Step One is create the openings. Nobody is going to want to transfer here unless they believe minutes are available. So, first let Miller free up some minutes. Then he can go out and get players he (not you, not me) believes can help move this team forward. That's Step Two.

Give the negativity a rest. Please.

Let Miller do his job without all the back seat driving.

It sounds like some posters want Mhettel to go away because he is not currently a Sean Miller cheerleader. All boards need a Mhettel to keep us cheerleaders’ honest. . At the moment Mhettel has the upper hand and we , who currently remain confident in Sean , hope that 2024/25 will justify that confidence.
We have two narratives on 2023/24. The first is that our front court was a disaster because Sean got blindsided by Freemantle and Hunter’s preseason injuries and was forced to fish from the bottom of the barrel. A more balanced view would be Hunter’s injury was unforeseeable but Freemantle’s was not. Foot injuries to College basketball players can be career ending. He had left foot surgery in 2021, and re-injured it in early 2023. Both times he had a full set of hardware inserted into his foot.The foot is the most complex mechainical structure in the human body composed of 33 joints , 26 bones, and more than a hundred muscles , tendons and ligaments which is , when walking subject to the force of one’s weight, and when jumping two feet and landing on a wood floor , subject to 10 tens that weight. Now when the bones and tendons have been twice damaged and fractured , and then surgically repaired with plates and screws, jumping and landing on that foot is not generally orthopedically recommended.
In summary, it is fair to say :
(1). We all hope and pray Freemantle can return and play and has a long career .
(2). We need a sharp shooting 1 and a Big East ready 4 and 5.
(2) Each roster addition will receive intense scrutiny.
(3). Sean has a lot to accomplish and we are pulling for him.
( 4) We hope Mhettel is not prophetic.

[XUBison]

thats a really good question, but why are you being so NEGATIVE? why would you ask a logical question like that if it doesnt fit the "I'm the worlds biggest Xavier fan 100% of the time" narrative.

Well, we have been to one tourney in six years, and we’re coming off the worst season I’ve ever witnessed as an X fan. Look, Sean is my favorite X coach, and I even rooted for him at Arizona. I was over the moon upon his return, and still am. I can’t think of anything that would be more satisfying than to see him and X reach our first Final Four together.

That said, notwithstanding the relative aberration last season, our program is sort of in the pooper. I’m thankful we have Sean to fix it, and I believe he will, but we need more talent, period. That topic seems to be a sensitive one for a few of our (noisiest) posters. That’s fine, but it’s too bad others (myself included) feel it necessary to disclaim how much they like/trust Sean whenever offering any scrutiny, skepticism, or (God forbid) criticism. It’s just a conversation. Sean’s feelings aren’t going to be hurt.

[drudy23]

To me it was a tournament team with Freemantle and hunter healthy last year, but it’s up for debate. We are a far cry from Uconn right now. Similar to when Nova ran the league. But there’s a good chance Marquette and creighton (definitely) will lose huge pieces. Their season (like all of the big East, really) depends on the portal. I expect to be competing with everyone but Uconn.

Uconn could lose a shit ton, too. But Hurley I expect to reload easier than the rest.

Probably a tournament team with those 2 guys this year.

If we ever have the talent of what UConn has had these past two years, I will never complain again. I don't think that will ever happen unless we go on a magical "Duke in the 80s" run.

[drudy23]

Talent needs to come first. Then Sean will put the pieces together.

8-9 BE capable players can work wonders with a capable coach. They all don't have to be 4-5 stars when the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

But we need more talent, for sure. Hoping these next couple weeks land us some BE caliber players. There's really not anyone that has left that any one of us are going to miss. Lazar is worth the developmental time - but he may leave as well.

[MHettel]

To me it was a tournament team with Freemantle and hunter healthy last year, but it’s up for debate. We are a far cry from Uconn right now. Similar to when Nova ran the league. But there’s a good chance Marquette and creighton (definitely) will lose huge pieces. Their season (like all of the big East, really) depends on the portal. I expect to be competing with everyone but Uconn.

Uconn could lose a shit ton, too. But Hurley I expect to reload easier than the rest.

Well, i would have agreed that we were a tournament team with Free and Hunter, but seeing SHU get screwed out of a bid does give me a little pause. i figure we would have beaten Washington and Delaware. Maybe Oakland, but they actually turned out to be good. We ran the table on GT and DePaul. we split with SHU, Prov, SJU, Nova, and Butler. Maybe we win 2 more of those games? and we went 0-6 against UConn, Marquette, and Creighton. Possibly we steal 1 of those. 12-8 instead of 9-11. With 2 additional wins OOC. Net would be good. probably right side of teh bubble.

[Xavier]

.

And just to Clarify, I never "complained about the 3 big guys." I saw Ciani as a serviceable backup in the Sean O'Mara mold. Plenty of posts about that. I called for Nzeh to get a shot to play EARLY during the Big East schedule when I called it a "lost season", while you and the other cheerleaders were insisting we'd be 13-7. NZeh turned out to show the exact potential I was hoping for and I hate to see him go. I also said that I think Abou is decent defensively and as a rebounder and would have been "hidden" offensively if we had Free available who is pretty much the opposite. i would have taken Abou back as well, but not as a starter and only for about 15 minutes a game.

I saw small glimpses of potential In Ciani and Nzeh, too. As freshman they had expected ups and downs. Im not really sure Sean pushed both out, but probably pointed out we have Freemantle/Hunter coming back and will be looking for a starting center. PT seems hard to come by. I wouldn’t be surprised if there minutes would be less next year. In years past I would say both showed potential that in another couple years they could be solid enough. Just different era though.

Ousman was a senior, and frankly didn’t fit at all.

[Xville]

Well, we have been to one tourney in six years, and we’re coming off the worst season I’ve ever witnessed as an X fan. Look, Sean is my favorite X coach, and I even rooted for him at Arizona. I was over the moon upon his return, and still am. I can’t think of anything that would be more satisfying than to see him and X reach our first Final Four together.

That said, notwithstanding the relative aberration last season, our program is sort of in the pooper. I’m thankful we have Sean to fix it, and I believe he will, but we need more talent, period. That topic seems to be a sensitive one for a few of our (noisiest) posters. That’s fine, but it’s too bad others (myself included) feel it necessary to disclaim how much they like/trust Sean whenever offering any scrutiny, skepticism, or (God forbid) criticism. It’s just a conversation. Sean’s feelings aren’t going to be hurt.

This is a reasonable take. There is nothing wrong with questioning how things are proceeding. However, there are a few here it seems that no matter what happens, they feel the need to bitch about it, constantly.

I mean how about the take of complaining about the three forwards transferring after complaining all year about the lack of talent in the frontcourt? I mean ffs, that kind of shit gets real old.

We are what one week into the portal or so and miller already grabbed a guy for next year that is going to contribute. To what extent, who knows but maybe this isn’t pointed toward you but just in general, maybe let’s wait until the portal is over before complaining about roster construction already? Just an idea.

[MHettel]

It sounds like some posters want Mhettel to go away because he is not currently a Sean Miller cheerleader. All boards need a Mhettel to keep us cheerleaders’ honest. . At the moment Mhettel has the upper hand and we , who currently remain confident in Sean , hope that 2024/25 will justify that confidence.
We have two narratives on 2023/24. The first is that our front court was a disaster because Sean got blindsided by Freemantle and Hunter’s preseason injuries and was forced to fish from the bottom of the barrel. A more balanced view would be Hunter’s injury was unforeseeable but Freemantle’s was not. Foot injuries to College basketball players can be career ending. He had left foot surgery in 2021, and re-injured it in early 2023. Both times he had a full set of hardware inserted into his foot.The foot is the most complex mechainical structure in the human body composed of 33 joints , 26 bones, and more than a hundred muscles , tendons and ligaments which is , when walking subject to the force of one’s weight, and when jumping two feet and landing on a wood floor , subject to 10 tens that weight. Now when the bones and tendons have been twice damaged and fractured , and then surgically repaired with plates and screws, jumping and landing on that foot is not generally orthopedically recommended.
In summary, it is fair to say :
(1). We all hope and pray Freemantle can return and play and has a long career .
(2). We need a sharp shooting 1 and a Big East ready 4 and 5.
(2) Each roster addition will receive intense scrutiny.
(3). Sean has a lot to accomplish and we are pulling for him.
( 4) We hope Mhettel is not prophetic.

I agree with #4 for sure.

[drudy23]

Trey Green and Swain will shine with an improved roster.

Sophomore contributors that don't have the weight of the world on their performances coming off the bench. But this only happens with capable BE additions.

[XUBison]

Well it was between X, Cal, and Indiana. So, I think going to the team that finished 2nd in the Big East and went to sweet 16 is probably the better option- even if it’s in a 15-18 minute role. Unless you think Cal and Indiana has had a better two year stretch (since Sean has been back).?

I think it would be strange that he would want to play 15 minutes per game at any of those places. If X were offering him a limited role, while Indiana and Cal Were offering him a starting position, then yes, I would think he would’ve chosen Indiana or Cal.

[Xville]

Talent needs to come first. Then Sean will put the pieces together.

8-9 BE capable players can work wonders with a capable coach. They all don't have to be 4-5 stars when the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

But we need more talent, for sure. Hoping these next couple weeks land us some BE caliber players. There's really not anyone that has left that any one of us are going to miss. Lazar is worth the developmental time - but he may leave as well.

So let’s see where we stand assuming no one else leaves:


McKnight
Claude
Swain
Green
Powell
Djokovic
Foster

So… who knows about Powell.. can’t really expect anything from a freshman. That leaves 6 dudes who can play in the league. Grab two big men and one shooter and should be set.

[drudy23]

So let’s see where we stand assuming no one else leaves:


McKnight
Claude
Swain
Green
Powell
Djokovic
Foster

So… who knows about Powell.. can’t really expect anything from a freshman. That leaves 6 dudes who can play in the league. Grab two big men and one shooter and should be set.

I really hope Powell is good enough to play a reserve role right away. He can certainly shoot and has BE size. But you just never know with freshman.

[Xville]

I really hope Powell is good enough to play a reserve role right away. He can certainly shoot and has BE size. But you just never know with freshman.

Right. He’s a volume 3 pt shooter from what I understand? I’m guessing he’s a combo 2/3 backup is that right?

Maybe he contributes but as with free/hunter can’t count on it, which is why I didn’t even list them

[X-band '01]

WHOA! Committed!

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/4431953/marcus-foster

BOOM!

And yes I know people will nitpick and see the 3pt percentage this year, but 6'4 200 and rebounds well at this position.'

It's a good start. 3 more!

Not to be confused with former Creighton player Marcus Foster.

[waggy]

I watched some vids of Powell awhile back and looked rail thin to my eyes. Typical high schooler. I would think contributions similar to swain and green

[drudy23]

Sucks to have to part ways, but Gytis, Ciani, Nzeh, Duncomb weren't the answers, and pretty sure that's pretty obvious.

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

It sounds like some posters want Mhettel to go away because he is not currently a Sean Miller cheerleader. All boards need a Mhettel to keep us cheerleaders’ honest. . At the moment Mhettel has the upper hand and we , who currently remain confident in Sean , hope that 2024/25 will justify that confidence.
We have two narratives on 2023/24. The first is that our front court was a disaster because Sean got blindsided by Freemantle and Hunter’s preseason injuries and was forced to fish from the bottom of the barrel. A more balanced view would be Hunter’s injury was unforeseeable but Freemantle’s was not. Foot injuries to College basketball players can be career ending. He had left foot surgery in 2021, and re-injured it in early 2023. Both times he had a full set of hardware inserted into his foot.The foot is the most complex mechainical structure in the human body composed of 33 joints , 26 bones, and more than a hundred muscles , tendons and ligaments which is , when walking subject to the force of one’s weight, and when jumping two feet and landing on a wood floor , subject to 10 tens that weight. Now when the bones and tendons have been twice damaged and fractured , and then surgically repaired with plates and screws, jumping and landing on that foot is not generally orthopedically recommended.
In summary, it is fair to say :
(1). We all hope and pray Freemantle can return and play and has a long career .
(2). We need a sharp shooting 1 and a Big East ready 4 and 5.
(2) Each roster addition will receive intense scrutiny.
(3). Sean has a lot to accomplish and we are pulling for him.
( 4) We hope Mhettel is not prophetic.

In my case, not the slightest bit true. I always read what Hettel thinks and he has become the board's quant. Nor do I mind views contrary to my own. I'm just saying that we are only a week into the portal and already our first get is labeled a disappointment. We should all let this play out.

I expect Miller to bring in more from the portal but I also think he will add a young "big", somebody with talent and physical prowess who can assist in providing the continuity Miller believes the program needs.

[D-West & PO-Z]

I don't begrudge anyone who chooses to present questions about the moves Sean is making. In any year, but especially this year, we can certainly debate the moves without being overly critical, with blind acceptance or resignation.

We are probably (certainly) not going to get all the best players available. That doesn't mean we can't hope to get as many as possible or as close to the top a possible.

The first one does not seem to fit the category, so 0 for 1 so far. We are still at bat, but the odds of scoring aren't as good. Not bad, just not as good.

Where did I make anything personal? And I was giving you a hard time. You said we are 0-1 in the portal additions. That’s absurd to say at this point.

Just read Broering’s breakdown and seems to be a legit addition. More so bc Miller obviously targeted him early than anything I’ve read.

[Xville]

No, losing all 3 of the big guys was a problem when i first mentioned it about a week ago and said that i hope that we keep at least one of them. We dont need 3 of those guys, but we also dont need zero of them. I would have taken any of the 3 and installed them firmly in the backup Center role. Then i would have made starting Center my #1 portal priority. My #2 priority would be shooting guard that is deadly from deep. Then i'd go after a stretch 4, even if shooting is the primary thing that guy does well.

And just to Clarify, I never "complained about the 3 big guys." I saw Ciani as a serviceable backup in the Sean O'Mara mold. Plenty of posts about that. I called for Nzeh to get a shot to play EARLY during the Big East schedule when I called it a "lost season", while you and the other cheerleaders were insisting we'd be 13-7. NZeh turned out to show the exact potential I was hoping for and I hate to see him go. I also said that I think Abou is decent defensively and as a rebounder and would have been "hidden" offensively if we had Free available who is pretty much the opposite. i would have taken Abou back as well, but not as a starter and only for about 15 minutes a game.

Oh so you’re complaining about losing three backup frontcourt players. Glad we got that cleared up. Even more ridiculous

[MHettel]

Oh so you’re complaining about losing three backup frontcourt players. Glad we got that cleared up. Even more ridiculous

No I'm saying that any of the 3 could have been the role of backup Center next year. We have a bunch of holes to fill for next year. And all 3 of them leaving just creates one more hole to fill.

Do you think we're going to get a backup center that is any better than Ciani or NZeh or Abou would be? i think we'll just end up with another guy that is just about the same so why not just keep one of them and focus your portal activity a little more? I dont expect a huge upgrade here. Id be fine if one of the guys comes back from the portal.

[drudy23]

No I'm saying that any of the 3 could have been the role of backup Center next year. We have a bunch of holes to fill for next year. And all 3 of them leaving just creates one more hole to fill.

Do you think we're going to get a backup center that is any better than Ciani or NZeh or Abou would be? i think we'll just end up with another guy that is just about the same so why not just keep one of them and focus your portal activity a little more? I dont expect a huge upgrade here. Id be fine if one of the guys comes back from the portal.

Lazar is a more than capable front-court reserve.

If and when we don't get a front-court upgrade, you may have a point. But it's very, very, very early.

[drudy23]

No I'm saying that any of the 3 could have been the role of backup Center next year. We have a bunch of holes to fill for next year. And all 3 of them leaving just creates one more hole to fill.

Do you think we're going to get a backup center that is any better than Ciani or NZeh or Abou would be? i think we'll just end up with another guy that is just about the same so why not just keep one of them and focus your portal activity a little more? I dont expect a huge upgrade here. Id be fine if one of the guys comes back from the portal.

Lazar is a more than capable front-court reserve.

If and when we don't get a front-court upgrade, you may have a point. But it's very, very, very early.

[Xville]

Lazar is a more than capable front-court reserve.

If and when we don't get a front-court upgrade, you may have a point. But it's very, very, very early.

Yep. Lazar has the most potential out of any of them imo. Even if he leaves, which I doubt at this point and called, then I’m pretty sure backup center/forward is still not going to be a major concern.

[MHettel]

In my case, not the slightest bit true. I always read what Hettel thinks and he has become the board's quant. Nor do I mind views contrary to my own. I'm just saying that we are only a week into the portal and already our first get is labeled a disappointment. We should all let this play out.

I expect Miller to bring in more from the portal but I also think he will add a young "big", somebody with talent and physical prowess who can assist in providing the continuity Miller believes the program needs.

I said adding Foster was underwhelming. And i said "meh." I further said that if he's a rotation guy then its actually a really good pickup. Although it seems like these are individual moves, its all about the collection of moves and how the pieces fit.

Losing Q is the biggest piece we have to replace and he was our primary deep shooter. he made the most 3s ever in a season for Xavier, and took a disproportionate number of the attempts. Quincy took 66 more 3's than Boum did the prior year and played 3 less games. Q took more 3s than Trevon did as a Senior.

Quincy's deep shooting was the STRONGEST part of our team this year. So thats now the piece that is missing. So plug in a 30% shooter to take all of those shots, and thats 28 less made threes. 84 points.

Not a good shooting team. Lose you best shooter. replace with below average shooter. And I'm being negative because those 3 statements are true?

[MHettel]

Yep. Lazar has the most potential out of any of them imo. Even if he leaves, which I doubt at this point and called, then I’m pretty sure backup center/forward is still not going to be a major concern.

Lazar is a 4, and not a 5. And he didnt do anything well. Not one thing.

[Xville]

I said adding Foster was underwhelming. And i said "meh." I further said that if he's a rotation guy then its actually a really good pickup. Although it seems like these are individual moves, its all about the collection of moves and how the pieces fit.

Losing Q is the biggest piece we have to replace and he was our primary deep shooter. he made the most 3s ever in a season for Xavier, and took a disproportionate number of the attempts. Quincy took 66 more 3's than Boum did the prior year and played 3 less games. Q took more 3s than Trevon did as a Senior.

Quincy's deep shooting was the STRONGEST part of our team this year. So thats now the piece that is missing. So plug in a 30% shooter to take all of those shots, and thats 28 less made threes. 84 points.

Not a good shooting team. Lose you best shooter. replace with below average shooter. And I'm being negative because those 3 statements are true?

Yes, “collection of moves”… so heed your own advice and wait for the other moves before criticizing this one.

You also complained about his ranking as if that means something. He is an 89, same as Quincy was.

[Xville]

Lazar is a 4, and not a 5. And he didnt do anything well. Not one thing.

Sure bud. Lazar is 6’10 and about 240 with a very wide frame, and has plenty of skill to develop and backup a 5 if need be. He played that against Marquette and did a respectable job against oso considering he’s a potential 1st round, certainly 2nd round nba draft pick . Sorry you didn’t see the development the last 5-6 games, most did.

[XUGRAD80]

I said adding Foster was underwhelming. And i said "meh." I further said that if he's a rotation guy then its actually a really good pickup. Although it seems like these are individual moves, its all about the collection of moves and how the pieces fit.

Losing Q is the biggest piece we have to replace and he was our primary deep shooter. he made the most 3s ever in a season for Xavier, and took a disproportionate number of the attempts. Quincy took 66 more 3's than Boum did the prior year and played 3 less games. Q took more 3s than Trevon did as a Senior.

Quincy's deep shooting was the STRONGEST part of our team this year. So thats now the piece that is missing. So plug in a 30% shooter to take all of those shots, and thats 28 less made threes. 84 points.

Not a good shooting team. Lose you best shooter. replace with below average shooter. And I'm being negative because those 3 statements are true?

Another way to look at is to have several players that are capable of shooting well from the outside and not just one person. 24/7 has a breakdown on our newest player that shows that when taking set 3 pointers from the left and right wings he shot them at a 45-52% rate, and often got them when on a fast break. Where and when a player is effective is just as important as overall effectiveness, as he was less effective from other parts the floor and under other circumstances. Miller will do his best to put into places and times where he can be most effective. That’s all part of coaching and developing a game plan. As you point out, Olivari made the most 3 pointers in a season that any X player had ever done (including Tre whose jersey everyone wants retired). They’re going to be very hard pressed to find another single player that can do that. But they may find 2 that together can do it. Based on his numbers, he appears to be a very good wing shooter. You know who isn’t? Every other player on the current roster. Now they will try to land someone that can hit consistently from the top of the key and/or the corners. This is all about building a roster of players that complement each other and thus building a Team.

[XUBison]

My question to this board after reading the comments today is what are your expectations for the upcoming season? Where do you think Xavier should finish next season? Do you expect this team to make the NCAA tournament? NIT? What are your bare minimum expectations?

We are coming off the worst season in recent memory. We have been misfortune due to injuries and poor front court recruiting. My expectations are for this team to compete near the top of the Big East and make the NCAA tournament…

Normally, I would agree the minimum expectation is always to make the tournament. That’s how gross this season was. I would say I am hopefully optimistic we make the tournament next year, but I’m not expecting it. Despite our great season last year, I am afraid we are in complete rebuild mode from that Steele shit show. I think we all agree how fortunate we are to have Sean right now. Can you imagine if we were counting on Steele, or some new mid-major hire to clean up this mess? We should count our lucky star. I mean think about it, if Sean did not become available, and Steele made the tournament last year, we would be stuck with him in perpetuity.

Now, i’m tired of any chatter about *realistic* expectations of the kinds of guys we can compete for. That’s not why we brought Sean back. Time for him to flex some muscle, and bring in some goddamn talent!

[Xavier]

I think it would be strange that he would want to play 15 minutes per game at any of those places. If X were offering him a limited role, while Indiana and Cal Were offering him a starting position, then yes, I would think he would’ve chosen Indiana or Cal.

I’m also seeing Arkansas, Texas Tech and Gonzaga were in talks with him as well. You could be right, I’m just sort of seeing X is reaching out to a lot of guards and wings still, so I wouldn’t be surprised if someone else comes in as well. Someone that could be better. Who knows, we will see.

[MHettel]

Another way to look at is to have several players that are capable of shooting well from the outside and not just one person. 24/7 has a breakdown on our newest player that shows that when taking set 3 pointers from the left and right wings he shot them at a 45-52% rate, and often got them when on a fast break. Where and when a player is effective is just as important as overall effectiveness, as he was less effective from other parts the floor and under other circumstances. Miller will do his best to put into places and times where he can be most effective. That’s all part of coaching and developing a game plan. As you point out, Olivari made the most 3 pointers in a season that any X player had ever done (including Tre whose jersey everyone wants retired). They’re going to be very hard pressed to find another single player that can do that. But they may find 2 that together can do it. Based on his numbers, he appears to be a very good wing shooter. You know who isn’t? Every other player on the current roster. Now they will try to land someone that can hit consistently from the top of the key and/or the corners. This is all about building a roster of players that complement each other and thus building a Team.

We need a shooter that can create his own shot off the bounce. Green showed that he can do it, but his size and the presence of McKnight may keep him off the floor. You cant just have a shooter stand in the corner and wait until the ball finds him while he's open. Well actually you CAN have a guy like that, but he better not be one of your main ballhandlers.

BTW, the Furman TEAM took 988 three attempts this year. 5th in the country.

[xukeith]

I said adding Foster was underwhelming. And i said "meh." I further said that if he's a rotation guy then its actually a really good pickup. Although it seems like these are individual moves, its all about the collection of moves and how the pieces fit.

Losing Q is the biggest piece we have to replace and he was our primary deep shooter. he made the most 3s ever in a season for Xavier, and took a disproportionate number of the attempts. Quincy took 66 more 3's than Boum did the prior year and played 3 less games. Q took more 3s than Trevon did as a Senior.

Quincy's deep shooting was the STRONGEST part of our team this year. So thats now the piece that is missing. So plug in a 30% shooter to take all of those shots, and thats 28 less made threes. 84 points.

Not a good shooting team. Lose you best shooter. replace with below average shooter. And I'm being negative because those 3 statements are true?

X also has 4 more transfers to add. #1 Foster is a a good scorer but not an Olivari type shooter. Miller constatntly harped on poor rebounding. This Foster guard is pretty darn good at rebounding. He likely will make a ton of threes.
The production from the frontcourt will be hugely improved . That also helps shooters shooting #s.

[A Fan]

Normally, I would agree the minimum expectation is always to make the tournament. That’s how gross this season was. I would say I am hopefully optimistic we make the tournament next year, but I’m not expecting it. Despite our great season last year, I am afraid we are in complete rebuild mode from that Steele shit show. I think we all agree how fortunate we are to have Sean right now. Can you imagine if we were counting on Steele, or some new mid-major hire to clean up this mess? We should count our lucky star. I mean think about it, if Sean did not become available, and Steele made the tournament last year, we would be stuck with him in perpetuity.

Now, i’m tired of any chatter about *realistic* expectations of the kinds of guys we can compete for. That’s not why we brought Sean back. Time for him to flex some muscle, and bring in some goddamn talent!
We all anticipate some good additions to Sean’s roster. And in 30 days we can evaluate our completed lineup in comparison to other teams within the conference. But the impact of the 20-game schedule became evident when considering the NET-based NCAA
selection process this year, which only saw three teams from the Big East make the cut. If the NET continues to influence selection, it wouldn’t be surprising to witness a similar outcome next year, with the possibility of three or four teams making it. For those using reaching the NCAAs as their satisfaction benchmark, there’s a chance for disappointment, even if the season proves to be a successful rebuilding year. To me being a top 5 team in the Big East wil be a great achevement regardless of not making the tourney.

[Xville]

We all anticipate some good additions to Sean’s roster. And in 30 days we can evaluate our completed lineup in comparison to other teams within the conference. But the impact of the 20-game schedule became evident when considering the NET-based NCAA
selection process this year, which only saw three teams from the Big East make the cut. If the NET continues to influence selection, it wouldn’t be surprising to witness a similar outcome next year, with the possibility of three or four teams making it. For those using reaching the NCAAs as their satisfaction benchmark, there’s a chance for disappointment, even if the season proves to be a successful rebuilding year. To me being a top 5 team in the Big East wil be a great achevement regardless of not making the tourney.

One there has been discussion about tweaking the net.

Two, the net wasn’t a problem the year before when the big East got 5.

[MHettel]

Another wrinkle....just occurred to me.

This is the last year of the covid exemption where we see these guys playing 5 years.

So after this year, we will be seeing TWO YEARS WORTH of guys that have exhausted their eligibility. That means there will be alot more roster openings, and kind of a typical number of players available to fill those spots. I suddenly realize that its very important to avoid having big holes to fill at the end of next year. i hope the remaining transfers we bring in will have at least 2 years remaining. Gotta be ahead of this....

[MHettel]

Another wrinkle....just occurred to me.

This is the last year of the covid exemption where we see these guys playing 5 years.

So after this year, we will be seeing TWO YEARS WORTH of guys that have exhausted their eligibility. That means there will be alot more roster openings, and kind of a typical number of players available to fill those spots. I suddenly realize that its very important to avoid having big holes to fill at the end of next year. i hope the remaining transfers we bring in will have at least 2 years remaining. Gotta be ahead of this....

[ArizonaXUGrad]

A different item that I have been seeing as it pertains to the portal. I see varying types of players in it.

1 - the player shopping themselves to the highest bidder.
2 - pushed out player who wasn't good enough for the team they are currently on most likely moving down or out of the sport.
3 - mid-major player looking to increase competition.
4 - good player on the outs with their current coach.
5 - good player whose coach left/fired and looking for a new venue.

Some of these guys you may not want on your roster unless you absolutely have to have them. I am sure coaches look at the same thing.

[D-West & PO-Z]

I think it would be strange that he would want to play 15 minutes per game at any of those places. If X were offering him a limited role, while Indiana and Cal Were offering him a starting position, then yes, I would think he would’ve chosen Indiana or Cal.

I find it hard to believe Miller promised any set number of mins be it big or small. Miller obviously expressed interest, stated a role he thought the kid could play, probably stated his philosophy on what it takes to play in his system, while the Furman kid saw what Miller has done with/for other mid major transfer guards.

I mean Boum increased his previous career assist average by 2 assists per game under Miller compared to what he had done previously. Coaching, system, new expectations can all contribute to better play even when stepping up in competition.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Not a good shooting team. Lose you best shooter. replace with below average shooter. And I'm being negative because those 3 statements are true?

No you are doing two things seemingly purposely just to be negative.

1. Completely ignoring the two previous seasons where the player shot 36% from 3. Last season seems to be the aberration and we have seen how Miller can help with shot selection and %'s.

2. Assuming Foster is the replacement (or sole replacement) for Quincy when we are a week into portal season. Let it play out before complaining about the lack of shooting.

[D-West & PO-Z]

We all anticipate some good additions to Sean’s roster. And in 30 days we can evaluate our completed lineup in comparison to other teams within the conference. But the impact of the 20-game schedule became evident when considering the NET-based NCAA
selection process this year, which only saw three teams from the Big East make the cut. If the NET continues to influence selection, it wouldn’t be surprising to witness a similar outcome next year, with the possibility of three or four teams making it. For those using reaching the NCAAs as their satisfaction benchmark, there’s a chance for disappointment, even if the season proves to be a successful rebuilding year. To me being a top 5 team in the Big East wil be a great achevement regardless of not making the tourney.

No, the expectation is always to make the tournament. Obviously that wont always happen but it is the expectation at Xavier. It took a historic event of upsets for the BE to only get 3 teams and some down years from the middle teams. 3 teams is not going to be a regular occurrence in the BE.

[xukeith]

Foster per Xpectation:
His 24.2% Defensive Rebounding percentage (DR%) is truly elite, even for a beast 5 man.

Nunge's DR% was 18.8% in his last season at X. Edey is 25.3%.

[Xville]

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/stats/_/id/5075625/keyshawn-hall

This guy would be awesome. 2/3 spot… 6’7 230 with a decent stroke. Yes please.

Creighton and gtown also after him.

[MHettel]

No you are doing two things seemingly purposely just to be negative.

1. Completely ignoring the two previous seasons where the player shot 36% from 3. Last season seems to be the aberration and we have seen how Miller can help with shot selection and %'s.

2. Assuming Foster is the replacement (or sole replacement) for Quincy when we are a week into portal season. Let it play out before complaining about the lack of shooting.

Ok, I'll bite.

yes, Foster shot 36% as a soph and 35% as a junior. Thats it. end of story. No need to dig any further....


As a soph, Furman as a TEAM took 1054 3 pointers. 31 a game! Most in the Country. Foster was tied for 5th on the team with 81 total. he played 805 minutes of the teams 6950 total minutes (11.6%). But took only 81 of 1054 (7.7%) of the 3 pointers? Thats odd. In fact the TEAM collectively took .152 3 attempts per minutes played, and yet Foster took .101 attempts per minute. So he shot 3 pointers at a rate that was only 2/3rds the frequency of the rest of the team. Why is that? Was he not confident in his shot? Was the COACH not confident in his shot? Was he just never open? I dotn know the answer, but I DO KNOW that its interesting.

As a Junior.... He played 14.5% of the minutes and took....18.2% of the 3's. On a per minute rate, he was at .17 and the team was at .135. So last year he was taking his share of 3's and in fact was #2 on the team in attempts and makes. looking solid. To go a little further, 58% of his shots were from 3. I might have seen these stats and assumed we just recruited Nate Johnson.

And this last year..... he played 11.2% of the minutes and took 16.7% of the 3's. On a per minute rate, he was at .221 while the team was at .147. So now he's taking a dis proportionally high number of the shots. And he shot 29.7% while the rest of the team shot 32.9%.

So who knows? He certainly found the confidence to take more shots, but his percentage really suffered this year. If he was in the high 30s this year, I'd be singing a different tune. So which guy is he? The guy at 30% or the guy at 35%. Makes a huge difference.

btw, he led the team in total rebounds by 42 and only played in 24 of 33 games.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Ok, I'll bite.

yes, Foster shot 36% as a soph and 35% as a junior. Thats it. end of story. No need to dig any further....


As a soph, Furman as a TEAM took 1054 3 pointers. 31 a game! Most in the Country. Foster was tied for 5th on the team with 81 total. he played 805 minutes of the teams 6950 total minutes (11.6%). But took only 81 of 1054 (7.7%) of the 3 pointers? Thats odd. In fact the TEAM collectively took .152 3 attempts per minutes played, and yet Foster took .101 attempts per minute. So he shot 3 pointers at a rate that was only 2/3rds the frequency of the rest of the team. Why is that? Was he not confident in his shot? Was the COACH not confident in his shot? Was he just never open? I dotn know the answer, but I DO KNOW that its interesting.

As a Junior.... He played 14.5% of the minutes and took....18.2% of the 3's. On a per minute rate, he was at .17 and the team was at .135. So last year he was taking his share of 3's and in fact was #2 on the team in attempts and makes. looking solid. To go a little further, 58% of his shots were from 3. I might have seen these stats and assumed we just recruited Nate Johnson.

And this last year..... he played 11.2% of the minutes and took 16.7% of the 3's. On a per minute rate, he was at .221 while the team was at .147. So now he's taking a dis proportionally high number of the shots. And he shot 29.7% while the rest of the team shot 32.9%.

So who knows? He certainly found the confidence to take more shots, but his percentage really suffered this year. If he was in the high 30s this year, I'd be singing a different tune. So which guy is he? The guy at 30% or the guy at 35%. Makes a huge difference.

btw, he led the team in total rebounds by 42 and only played in 24 of 33 games.

Apparently his team ran a ton of action for him to shoot threes so the coach had confidence in his shooting ability.

I think Miller wants us to be more the team of last year than this year in terms of 3 point attempts, so maybe fewer attempts, more selective attempts, will help his %'s be more in the mid to high 30's than the high 29's to low 30's.

[MHettel]

Foster per Xpectation:
His 24.2% Defensive Rebounding percentage (DR%) is truly elite, even for a beast 5 man.

Nunge's DR% was 18.8% in his last season at X. Edey is 25.3%.

yeah, I was looking into that. In terms of most minutes played, their size was 6'1", 6'0", 6'4", 6'4" (Foster), 6'9", 6'5", 6'7", 6'6", 6'11, 6'6". So they ran a pretty small lineup out there and Foster probably had to defend a bigger guy most of the time....but yeah solid rebounding numbers.

[IM4X]

If we can all be a little patient, I think we’ll soon see things are going to look a lot better.

While Sean was right about this season’s team being deeper than the previous season’s team, he found out that deep bench was filled with talent talent more like Edwards and less like like the level Dez ans Hunter were last year (coming off the bench). To make matters worse, there were starters this season who were far worse than our 1st and 2nd player of the bench.

Let’s remember that had Free and Hunter been able to play this year - We’d have had 5 starters averaging between 12 and 20 points per game. Abou would be coming off the the bench for 12 to 17 minutes and he probably would have been very solid for those 17 minutes.

It is very possible that X- with a healthy Freemantle and Hunter - would have beaten every team that did not make the tournament as well as Houston, Connecticut (and home) and Creighton (at home). It is also VERY LIKELY that X would have made the tournament

Next season I am confident we will see a team with

- Free and Hunter back on it playing at a very high level.
- at least two bigs added from the portal with a higher upside than Abou had.
- at least on 3 point threat added from the portal (like he did with Boum and Quincy the previous two years).
- Foster playing better and scoring more points than any player who played season - not named Olivari, Claude or McNight.
- Enough quality new pieces together with its returning players to have X finish in the top half of the BE and get an at large bid for the NCAA tournament.

We just need to be patient.

[xuphan]

If we can all be a little patient, I think we’ll soon see things are going to look a lot better.

While Sean was right about this season’s team being deeper than the previous season’s team, he found out that deep bench was filled with talent talent more like Edwards and less like like the level Dez ans Hunter were last year (coming off the bench). To make matters worse, there were starters this season who were far worse than our 1st and 2nd player of the bench.

Let’s remember that had Free and Hunter been able to play this year - We’d have had 5 starters averaging between 12 and 20 points per game. Abou would be coming off the the bench for 12 to 17 minutes and he probably would have been very solid for those 17 minutes.

It is very possible that X- with a healthy Freemantle and Hunter - would have beaten every team that did not make the tournament as well as Houston, Connecticut (and home) and Creighton (at home). It is also VERY LIKELY that X would have made the tournament

Next season I am confident we will see a team with

- Free and Hunter back on it playing at a very high level.
- at least two bigs added from the portal with a higher upside than Abou had.
- at least on 3 point threat added from the portal (like he did with Boum and Quincy the previous two years).
- Foster playing better and scoring more points than any player who played season - not named Olivari, Claude or McNight.
- Enough quality new pieces together with its returning players to have X finish in the top half of the BE and get an at large bid for the NCAA tournament.

We just need to be patient.

Patients and fandom don’t seem to go over that well. Even after the portal closes, we won’t know about the impact these new transfers will bring until the beginning of next season. I keep telling myself it can’t be worse than last year so I am excited to see who we get from the ports. I actually think Foster is a good piece coming into the program after looking at his stats and watching some tape on him. However, no one knows how he will transition from a mid major to BiG East competition.

Losing Free and Hunter sucked and hurt our season but Miller didn’t not replace Nunge with a starting 5 last offseason. Abou wasn’t the answer as a starter and Free isn’t a 5. No idea why Miller didn’t bring in a starting 5 last season. Miller seems to do wonders bringing in guards but struggles to bring in impactful front court players. Is it his system because it’s a head scratcher for sure.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Patients and fandom don’t seem to go over that well. Even after the portal closes, we won’t know about the impact these new transfers will bring until the beginning of next season. I keep telling myself it can’t be worse than last year so I am excited to see who we get from the ports. I actually think Foster is a good piece coming into the program after looking at his stats and watching some tape on him. However, no one knows how he will transition from a mid major to BiG East competition.

Losing Free and Hunter sucked and hurt our season but Miller didn’t not replace Nunge with a starting 5 last offseason. Abou wasn’t the answer as a starter and Free isn’t a 5. No idea why Miller didn’t bring in a starting 5 last season. Miller seems to do wonders bringing in guards but struggles to bring in impactful front court players. Is it his system because it’s a head scratcher for sure.

It isn't his system as he had awesome 5's at Arizona.

There are just way fewer impact 5's than other positions. Just not as easy to find or get when you do find them. Hopefully he can find one this offseason.

[MHettel]

If we can all be a little patient, I think we’ll soon see things are going to look a lot better.

While Sean was right about this season’s team being deeper than the previous season’s team, he found out that deep bench was filled with talent talent more like Edwards and less like like the level Dez ans Hunter were last year (coming off the bench). To make matters worse, there were starters this season who were far worse than our 1st and 2nd player of the bench.

Let’s remember that had Free and Hunter been able to play this year - We’d have had 5 starters averaging between 12 and 20 points per game. Abou would be coming off the the bench for 12 to 17 minutes and he probably would have been very solid for those 17 minutes.

It is very possible that X- with a healthy Freemantle and Hunter - would have beaten every team that did not make the tournament as well as Houston, Connecticut (and home) and Creighton (at home). It is also VERY LIKELY that X would have made the tournament

Next season I am confident we will see a team with

- Free and Hunter back on it playing at a very high level.
- at least two bigs added from the portal with a higher upside than Abou had.
- at least on 3 point threat added from the portal (like he did with Boum and Quincy the previous two years).
- Foster playing better and scoring more points than any player who played season - not named Olivari, Claude or McNight.
- Enough quality new pieces together with its returning players to have X finish in the top half of the BE and get an at large bid for the NCAA tournament.

We just need to be patient.

I don’t see how we would have had 5 guys averaging 12-20 points with Free and Hunter. I don’t think either of them could start at the 5, because they would get murdered defensively. We would have been better, but just chalking up wins against Houston and UConn? Ok.

I also genuinely have no outlook for Hunter. He was cleared to play from the heart issue, but then he tore his Achilles, right? Isn’t that close to a year to recover from? He did that in what, January? Are we just assuming he will be available and playing like his old self? I seriously have no information either way, but wondering if people’s expectations are taking these facts into consideration

[JTG]

yeah, I was looking into that. In terms of most minutes played, their size was 6'1", 6'0", 6'4", 6'4" (Foster), 6'9", 6'5", 6'7", 6'6", 6'11, 6'6". So they ran a pretty small lineup out there and Foster probably had to defend a bigger guy most of the time....but yeah solid rebounding numbers.

Couple items:
1. Is everything with you stats?
2. Ever go with your gut, or hear of the eye test?
3. Should we tell Christopher to fire Sean and hire you because your numbers say Miller is barking up the wrong tree?
4. Did you only take 120 hrs of statistics to get your degree?

[MHettel]

Couple items:
1. Is everything with you stats?
2. Ever go with your gut, or hear of the eye test?
3. Should we tell Christopher to fire Sean and hire you because your numbers say Miller is barking up the wrong tree?
4. Did you only take 120 hrs of statistics to get your degree?

1. Yes
2. Yes, while also looking at the stats
3. No. We should keep Sean. I hope we rebound from this year and build a sustainable roster that keeps us in the top 25 into perpetuity and in the tournament annually. Within 5 years lets get a Final 4. Check back in a few years to assess where we are against these goals. I’ll share my perspective.
4. I’ve never taken a stats class.


You probably weren’t looking for literal answers, I suppose.

But how can you NOT look into this? He’s a 6’4” guard and he averaged 7.5 rebounds a game. Like you just assume the circumstances are normal and he’s just able to rebound better than most forwards and many centers? There is no explanation for this incredible performance? You HAVE to look into this. It’s like a QB that played for Mike Leach. Yeah, they approach 5000 yards passing because they throw 55 times a game. Or dudes that crush 40 home runs while playing for the Rockies.


It’s not a knock on him. But his performance was largely impacted by the circumstances. He probably guarded bigger guys and played close to the basket defensively, putting him in a position to get a lot of defensive rebounds.

[xudash]

FOSTER - 6'4" and 200 pounds

Player B - 6'5" and 190 pounds


FOSTER - Transferring in from Furman

Player B - Transferred in to his current team from East Carolina


FOSTER v Player B STATS: I mostly don't care, as they both came from lower level conferences under different coaches and with very different teams. Their stats were sufficient enough for each of their new coaches to zero in on them and pull them into their respective programs.


Player B is TRISTON NEWTON. Hurley didn't get Triston Newton from a blueblood or an upper tier P5 program. Hurley did his homework on the kid and determined that he could be an important piece of the UCONN team puzzle. Anyone care to argue that Newton has not been an integral part of UCONN's success the last two seasons?

PLAYER STATISTICS don't and can't always fully reflect a kid's heart and passion for the game and for his team, nor how he will fit into his new team, based on his new coach's designs for him. Prior stats do not automatically translate to what a kid's stats are going to be at his new location.

Oh, as I believe most level headed people here would agree, Sean Miller forgets in a day what any of us know about basketball at this level. I trust his judgement.

[MHettel]

FOSTER - 6'4" and 200 pounds

Player B - 6'5" and 190 pounds


FOSTER - Transferring in from Furman

Player B - Transferred in to his current team from East Carolina


FOSTER v Player B STATS: I mostly don't care, as they both came from lower level conferences under different coaches and with very different teams. Their stats were sufficient enough for each of their new coaches to zero in on them and pull them into their respective programs.


Player B is TRISTON NEWTON. Hurley didn't get Triston Newton from a blueblood or an upper tier P5 program. Hurley did his homework on the kid and determined that he could be an important piece of the UCONN team puzzle. Anyone care to argue that Newton has not been an integral part of UCONN's success the last two seasons?

PLAYER STATISTICS don't and can't always fully reflect a kid's heart and passion for the game and for his team, nor how he will fit into his new team, based on his new coach's designs for him. Prior stats do not automatically translate to what a kid's stats are going to be at his new location.

Oh, as I believe most level headed people here would agree, Sean Miller forgets in a day what any of us know about basketball at this level. I trust his judgement.

Ok. Tristan Newton is 1 inch taller and 10 pounds lighter than Foster. Also the margin of error for height and weight is at least 1 inch and 10 pounds.whats the point?

He averaged 17/5/5 at ECU. I was going to do a big analysis of his performance or ECU, but this is all that needs to be said. Newton was a stud. He went to UConn and might just win 2 rings.

There is no "homework" involved when deciding to recruit Newton. 17/5/5 as a soph, and adding him to a loaded roster with top Freshmen coming in.

Really? Really? Cmon. Im not looking at the transfer rankings, but Newton was a stud and a no-brainer.

and I never said, and actually to the contrary, do i believe the best transfers will come from the Blue Bloods or big six teams. The best transfers are the Brian Grants, Davids Wests, James Poseys and Tu holloways out there that are better than their current level.

Honestly, reading your post again is cringy. Heart, Passion and Fit? Homework for Hurley? yeah, he must have scrolled at least to the 5th best guy on the transfer list to "find" newton.

Comparing their size?

It’s actually about the stats in his case

[IM4X]

Patients and fandom don’t seem to go over that well. Even after the portal closes, we won’t know about the impact these new transfers will bring until the beginning of next season. I keep telling myself it can’t be worse than last year so I am excited to see who we get from the ports. I actually think Foster is a good piece coming into the program after looking at his stats and watching some tape on him. However, no one knows how he will transition from a mid major to BiG East competition.

Losing Free and Hunter sucked and hurt our season but Miller didn’t not replace Nunge with a starting 5 last offseason. Abou wasn’t the answer as a starter and Free isn’t a 5. No idea why Miller didn’t bring in a starting 5 last season. Miller seems to do wonders bringing in guards but struggles to bring in impactful front court players. Is it his system because it’s a head scratcher for sure.

I will say I was a bit perplexed when Sean wasn’t able to bring in a proven true center - someone 6’ 10” or bigger - that looksd capable of defending talented BE post opponents. I remember posting my concerns about it long before we knew about Free and Hunter being out.

I can’t remember the timing of when Nunge announced he wasn’t returning and I have no clue if that decision may delayed Sean and staff from going after bigs. I‘ve wonder if Sean and his staff lost out to other schools because they just didn’t know who they had coming back. When X finally land Abou (we still didn’t know the status of Free and Hunter) it did feel like we could be somewhat solid inside between Free, Hunter and Ousmane.. Still, there was always that feeling that Ousmane was not going to be big enough to step in and handle the center position in the BE.

Steele may be a tin man when it comes to coaching, but the recruiting side of him (at least at X) was a bit closer to titanium. Travis brought in Hankins, Nunge, Jones, Kunkel and Claude when he was the HC at X. Which of us can dare say any of those players were not great additions to X?

We can criticize Steele for not knowing how to properly assemble the good pieces he finds, but we have to give him credit for his ability to find good pieces and bring them in to be played with. Sean put those pieces together better and then added a perfect find and fit in Boum. Olivari and McNight are two more great finds - Now Sean knows he has to step it up and find a few legit bigs (and at least one gifted 3 point shooter) to complement what we have and allow us to play like a beast in the BE again.

[IM4X]

I don’t see how we would have had 5 guys averaging 12-20 points with Free and Hunter. I don’t think either of them could start at the 5, because they would get murdered defensively. We would have been better, but just chalking up wins against Houston and UConn? Ok.

I also genuinely have no outlook for Hunter. He was cleared to play from the heart issue, but then he tore his Achilles, right? Isn’t that close to a year to recover from? He did that in what, January? Are we just assuming he will be available and playing like his old self? I seriously have no information either way, but wondering if people’s expectations are taking these facts into consideration

Whether Freemantle and Hunter start together or not does not matter in terms of their individual scoring production. They would both be on the floor often and they’d probably play together quite a bit too.

Here is why X could have had 5 players scoring 12+ point players wirh a healthy Free and Hunter playing.

Zach was averaging over 15 points before his injury in the 2022-2023 season (and that was with Nunge in the line up averaging 14+ points). Zach’s numbers would likely have gone up this season as he would be a year more mature and there is no Nunge to eat up 14 points.

For the 18 games that Hunter was on the floor 20 or more minutes (during his last season), he averaged slightly over 11 points per game. Considering his continued growth and development (and again without Nunge in the lineup), it is likely Jerome would play more than 20 minutes each game and it is very plausible he would increase his scoring (if only a point or two). He would then be averaging over 12 points a game.

Olicari, Claude and McKnight already averaged more than 12 points per game this season. It’s reasonable to believe Quincy and Claude might end up with a few less points each due to Freemantle and Hunter making more buckets in the paint, it is still extremely plausible that they both (and McKnight) could remain averaging more than 12 points a game. Now it would be a little less likely that any of the players score 19 (like Olivari averaged this year), but 12+ per game for each of those 5 players on a team that didn’t have much other firepower seems quite possible.

Last season, 4 players averaged 14 or more points per game (Boum, Freemantle, Colby, and Numge). Their six leading scorer (Kunkel) averaged over 10 points per game.

Had Free and Hunter been in the lineup this year, I believe the scoring would have looked something close to the following

Olivari 15.7 (instead of 19.1)
Freemantle 15.5
Claude 13.7 (instead of 16.6)
Hunter 12.9
McKnight 12 (instead of 12.5)
Ousmane 4.5

All others 3 or less points per game.


I am not sure the prognosis of Hunter for this coming season- but I will remain hopeful (as it seemed Sean had hinted that they were going to be able to able to go next year.

As for the Houston and the UCONN (home) game- those games were close without much inside help- it is very reasonable to think both could have gone our way with a little more firepower and toughness inside from Zach and Jerome.

[Xville]

Newton was a 90, one point above foster and had no guarantee to be a stud. Just more rewriting of history. If you look at who was ranked at 90 in the transfer portal that year, there are some good players, there is also some mediocrity.

Ya know who was an 89 that year? Boum.

The point is xudash is 100% correct. Stats are good as a supplement to tell a story , but there is so
Much more to it. If there wasn’t than we might as well have an ai bot do the recruiting.

[xukeith]

I get the feeling that X is limited in the transfer portal due to NIL $ being less than ideal. Miller finds diamonds in the rough and X has been very fortunate in transfer guards.
X does not pursue the elite talent in the portal b/c X doesn't have the $600-1.2 million to throw at some top 30 portal athlete. Maybe it is being stingy and economical as X gets some good bargains.

[Xuperman]

CJ Wilcher in the portal. St. Johns?

[Xuperman]

Someone on "Madness" floating out a rumor that Des Claude is asking for $500K.

[Xville]

Someone on "Madness" floating out a rumor that Des Claude is asking for $500K.

There definitely is that rumor out there along with des wanting to play the 1 because that’s his ticket to the league. Who knows if true. Just saying though, even after the foster commit, x is still going after guards. Maybe foster is des replacement just in case and the other recruits are the olivari replacement. All hearsay just talking out loud.

Just saying it wouldn’t surprise me if des enters… he hasn’t said he’s coming back yet, it may be he’s waiting on a nil number from x who knows.

[XUGRAD80]

Hey y’all want to know who else is a transfer from a lower level school? How about Tyler Koleck! Transferred from George Mason, where he was A10 rookie of the year and average an outstanding 10pts per game. Wow! His sophomore year at Marquette that average actually Dropped to under 7ppg. What!? He was the Rhode Island player of the year his junior year in HS and that garnered offers from such big time programs as Elon, Holy Cross, and Vermont. Guess he was destined to be the Big East player of the year and an all-American as a junior in college.

“There are lies. There are damn lies. And then there are statistics.”

NONE of us that see any of these players in person, let alone watch as much film as the coaches do. And we certainly don’t get to meet and talk with the players and their coaches directly. The coaches don’t rely on rankings because they aren’t reliable. They don’t just watch film because film doesn’t tell all. And they certainly don’t look at just the stats.

[xuphan]

Someone on "Madness" floating out a rumor that Des Claude is asking for $500K.

Maybe someone can tweet or X Kenny Frease to see if this is accurate. If true, I have mixed feelings about it to be honest. He is the best player on the team by a wide margin so I get that side but putting himself first over the team rubs me the wrong way. Would hate to put all the money into one player and not be able to bring in other impact players from the portal. Maybe we have the NIL funds to do it. I don’t know but it’s a tricky situation for the program to be in.

[Xville]

Maybe someone can tweet or X Kenny Frease to see if this is accurate. If true, I have mixed feelings about it to be honest. He is the best player on the team by a wide margin so I get that side but putting himself first over the team rubs me the wrong way. Would hate to put all the money into one player and not be able to bring in other impact players from the portal. Maybe we have the NIL funds to do it. I don’t know but it’s a tricky situation for the program to be in.

I don't think Kenny knows anything more than we do.

[Xville]

Not sure X is a good fit for him now with Foster in the fold and he is not even in the portal yet, but man he will be a great piece for someone:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/college-basketball-coach-says-top-player-looking-at-250k-300k-in-nil-money-from-larger-schools-to-transfer/ar-BB1kGu2O?ocid=entnewsntp&pc=U531&cvid=9751013ac022450eacb7554757ce9ba7&ei=11

[Xavier]

I’m surprised so many people take the time to argue with MHettel. He’s a classic troll, I figured he was but knew after we went back and forth on if Sean can coach or not- he said he didn’t think he was because his teams were just so much more talented than other teams. Then a few posts later said he didn’t think Sean could build a good roster.

Once you start arguing against yourself it’s pretty clear.

[Xavier]

X continues to reach out to guards and wings, so I don’t think foster has been guaranteed anything at this point. Like drudy said, I think X is just getting as much talent as they can and then the pieces will fall into place.

They are going to visit a few bigs soon.

[GoMuskies]

Not sure X is a good fit for him now with Foster in the fold

You can't be serious. We need lots of good players. Who aren't afraid of competition.

[MHettel]

I’m surprised so many people take the time to argue with MHettel. He’s a classic troll, I figured he was but knew after we went back and forth on if Sean can coach or not- he said he didn’t think he was because his teams were just so much more talented than other teams. Then a few posts later said he didn’t think Sean could build a good roster.

Once you start arguing against yourself it’s pretty clear.

You probably should re-read some of those exchanges instead of trying to just spin them into this little hit piece.

Rookie-ish

[Xville]

You can't be serious. We need lots of good players. Who aren't afraid of competition.

I hear ya but let’s assume everyone else is back that hasn’t gone into the portal, where does Townsend fit and how do you sell it to him where he’s going to get a whole lot of offers?

Claude is there at the 3, foster is now as well being a 2/3. Assuming Free at the four, hunter at the 3/4 by conference play. Maybe backup free or go small with fee at the 5?

I’d love him but realistically would be a tough sell

[murray87]

Apologies if this has been posted already but this guy would be a great one to nab:

https://www.si.com/college/indiana/basketball/drexel-transfer-amari-williams-receives-interest-from-indiana-basketball

[D-West & PO-Z]

Lazar in the portal.

[Xville]

Damn, lazar in the portal. That’s one I wish we would have held onto.

A whole new frontcourt next year, a good thing but lots of work to be done.

[Xavier]

https://x.com/jamieshaw5/status/1773363983103172904?s=46&t=KSvFnm-Lpouy3B6BA2rQBg

Xavier Amos, a 4-star Transfer Portal PF, breaks down his recruitment and talks potential visits‼️

🗣️ Texas | Virginia | Xavier | Illinois

The 6-8 sophomore averaged 13.8 points, 1.3 blocks, and shot 38.5% 3P this season.

[muskiefan82]

https://x.com/jamieshaw5/status/1773363983103172904?s=46&t=KSvFnm-Lpouy3B6BA2rQBg

Xavier Amos, a 4-star Transfer Portal PF, breaks down his recruitment and talks potential visits‼️

��️ Texas | Virginia | Xavier | Illinois

The 6-8 sophomore averaged 13.8 points, 1.3 blocks, and shot 38.5% 3P this season.

X has always needed a player named Xavier just because

[muskiefan82]

https://x.com/jamieshaw5/status/1773363983103172904?s=46&t=KSvFnm-Lpouy3B6BA2rQBg

Xavier Amos, a 4-star Transfer Portal PF, breaks down his recruitment and talks potential visits‼️

🗣️ Texas | Virginia | Xavier | Illinois

The 6-8 sophomore averaged 13.8 points, 1.3 blocks, and shot 38.5% 3P this season.

X has always needed a player named Xavier just because

[MHettel]

Apologies if this has been posted already but this guy would be a great one to nab:

https://www.si.com/college/indiana/basketball/drexel-transfer-amari-williams-receives-interest-from-indiana-basketball

love to see an interor defender that has more blocks than fouls.

[MHettel]

X has always needed a player named Xavier just because

That guy looks solid. 6'8" stretch guy that shoots 38% from 3, and 57% from 2. A little high on TOs, and a little low on assists and FTA. But the stretch shooting is what does it for me

[MHettel]

X has always needed a player named Xavier just because

That guy looks solid. 6'8" stretch guy that shoots 38% from 3, and 57% from 2. A little high on TOs, and a little low on assists and FTA. But the stretch shooting is what does it for me

[Xville]

rumor is Trey is next unfortunately.

[muskieindent]

This is going to be the norm every year.You'll see a few guys stay but half the team will need to be replaced.I wonder how long Sean will want to deal with this garbage.

[xuphan]

rumor is Trey is next unfortunately.

This team was the worst in the modern era of Xavier basketball. Not surprised to see most of them go. I am however surprised that Miller only brought in 1 player in the class of 2024. Never thought this program would require this much surgery to get back on track but atleast Miller isn’t keeping dead weight.

[Xville]

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/5060631/adou-thiero

I don't know X's chances on a guy like this, but X offered him the first time around. An athletic freak and one of the UK players that could play D.

[HomerCecil]

This team was the worst in the modern era of Xavier basketball. Not surprised to see most of them go. I am however surprised that Miller only brought in 1 player in the class of 2024. Never thought this program would require this much surgery to get back on track but atleast Miller isn’t keeping dead weight.

I wouldn't necessarily assume Miller is happy about every single player who has left. Some/most: Sure. But it's a two-way street.

[noteggs]

Newton was a 90, one point above foster and had no guarantee to be a stud. Just more rewriting of history. If you look at who was ranked at 90 in the transfer portal that year, there are some good players, there is also some mediocrity.

Ya know who was an 89 that year? Boum.

The point is xudash is 100% correct. Stats are good as a supplement to tell a story , but there is so
Much more to it. If there wasn’t than we might as well have an ai bot do the recruiting.

Adding to your, Dash, and Grad80’s comments. Cam Spencer was ranked 118 last year. He turned out alright for UConn as well.

Villanova added players ranked (according to 247) 11, 29, and 30 to a team with Moore and Dixon. How’d that work out? Hell of an expense for preseason rankings.

Bottom line coaching matters the most. Number 2, finding the right pieces vs chasing rankings.

[MHettel]

Adding to your, Dash, and Grad80’s comments. Cam Spencer was ranked 118 last year. He turned out alright for UConn as well.

Villanova added players ranked (according to 247) 11, 29, and 30 to a team with Moore and Dixon. How’d that work out? Hell of an expense for preseason rankings.

Bottom line coaching matters the most. Number 2, finding the right pieces vs chasing rankings.

you wanna go there about coaching matters most? we just went 16-18

[A Fan]

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/_/id/5060631/adou-thiero

I don't know X's chances on a guy like this, but X offered him the first time around. An athletic freak and one of the UK players that could play D.
What are the chances on him?

https://www.on3.com/college/wisconsin-badgers/news/wisconsin-star-aj-storr-enters-ncaa-transfer-portal/

[Xville]

you wanna go there about coaching matters most? we just went 16-18

Xavier is right. You are a troll.

[MHettel]

Xavier is right. You are a troll.

13-7!

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

rumor is Trey is next unfortunately.

Green may be reacting to addition of Foster. Seems like it is going to be really hard for Miller to get the depth he wants. He adds somebody and an existing player walks. Like herding cats.

[XUGRAD80]

13-7!

465-184

[xukeith]

Only hope I have now is Miller and coaches know X has a NIL $ package of close to $3 million and plans on spending ,most of that $ on solid top 30 transfers.

I had hopes that Lazar could be the next great big for X. Pop! There goes that balloon.

You would think X learned a lesson this past year and getting 7-10 transfers in and out cannot be good.

[MHettel]

What are the chances on him?

https://www.on3.com/college/wisconsin-badgers/news/wisconsin-star-aj-storr-enters-ncaa-transfer-portal/

I saw that Storr entered the portal in a news story about and hour and a half ago. I checked the portal list, and he was ranked #1. And also that he was already committed to Illinois...

[xuphan]

Only hope I have now is Miller and coaches know X has a NIL $ package of close to $3 million and plans on spending ,most of that $ on solid top 30 transfers.

I had hopes that Lazar could be the next great big for X. Pop! There goes that balloon.

You would think X learned a lesson this past year and getting 7-10 transfers in and out cannot be good.

I don’t think X did after only bringing in 1 2024 recruit in. We will be bringing in a boat load of transfers in next year as well.

[XUGRAD80]

HS late signing period is April 17-May 15

I haven’t read of any HS players expected to sign with X during this period, but it would surprise me if there wasn’t at least one. I’d guess that many are waiting until they see what transfers end up where before they commit. I do know that according to the Verbal Commits site that they have a lot of offers out there. Also wouldn’t surprise me to see a JC player in the mix.

[Xavier]

Xavier is right. You are a troll.

Yep. Had fun making him fumble all over the place in our debates this year but thought it was too distracting to threads so stopped doing it. Maybe over summer when people are less interested in actual discussion I’ll do it again. But for now, people don’t want to read through a page and a half of nonsense.

[xuphan]

HS late signing period is April 17-May 15

I haven’t read of any HS players expected to sign with X during this period, but it would surprise me if there wasn’t at least one. I’d guess that many are waiting until they see what transfers end up where before they commit. I do know that according to the Verbal Commits site that they have a lot of offers out there. Also wouldn’t surprise me to see a JC player in the mix.

All I know is Miller has his work cut out for him if he is going to get this program back into the NCAA tournament next year. We will be lucky to get much production from Free or Hunter given their injuries and he is basically building a whole new squad minus a couple of hold overs. Not sure how the fans will react if this program misses two consecutive NCAA tournaments in a row. He has to hit on his portal gets this spring especially in the front court if we have any shot of dancing next March. I am glad Miller is at the helm of a second consecutive rebuild but building through the portal is risky business. Hope it works out for us.

[MHettel]

Yep. Had fun making him fumble all over the place in our debates this year but thought it was too distracting to threads so stopped doing it. Maybe over summer when people are less interested in actual discussion I’ll do it again. But for now, people don’t want to read through a page and a half of nonsense.

That wasnt a debate. that was like playing catch with a dog. You always come back with the ball and every now and then I fake it.

[A Fan]

I wouldn't necessarily assume Miller is happy about every single player who has left. Some/most: Sure. But it's a two-way street.

I can’t believe he did not want to keep Lazar. He had potential. . But Lazar probably wanted more minutes to ready himself for Europe.

[Section 200]

This team was the worst in the modern era of Xavier basketball. Not surprised to see most of them go. I am however surprised that Miller only brought in 1 player in the class of 2024. Never thought this program would require this much surgery to get back on track but atleast Miller isn’t keeping dead weight.

Why bring in Freshmen - most Freshmen don’t contribute but if you find a quick learner he will have a big value in the portal. I’m resigned to essentially an entirely new team every year until a salary cap or transfer limit is figured out.

[bjf123]

X has always needed a player named Xavier just because

But does he pronounce it correctly?


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[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

That wasnt a debate. that was like playing catch with a dog. You always come back with the ball and every now and then I fake it.

You waste people's time with your bullshit.

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

All I know is Miller has his work cut out for him if he is going to get this program back into the NCAA tournament next year. We will be lucky to get much production from Free or Hunter given their injuries and he is basically building a whole new squad minus a couple of hold overs. Not sure how the fans will react if this program misses two consecutive NCAA tournaments in a row. He has to hit on his portal gets this spring especially in the front court if we have any shot of dancing next March. I am glad Miller is at the helm of a second consecutive rebuild but building through the portal is risky business. Hope it works out for us.

I wonder if Miller and the coaching staff feel like all the old rules in recruiting have changed and the new rules are not yet clear. I think you're right and we have our work cut out for us. Will be interesting to watch.

[xuphan]

I wonder if Miller and the coaching staff feel like all the old rules in recruiting have changed and the new rules are not yet clear. I think you're right and we have our work cut out for us. Will be interesting to watch.

I think D1 college sports and college basketball in general are a complete mess. First, why would you open the transfer portal before the tournament season is over? Just dumb decision making. Just wait until a hot shot player at a mid-major leaves mid way through the NCAA tournament to secure a big NIL contract at a big school. Second, NIL from what I have read wasn’t created to force schools to create NIL collections to pay recruits and players to make and keep them within the program. I am all for players making money but not in the way that has created a MLB like free agency. Now you have programs like James Madison who did well this season being absolutely gutted by the all mighty dollar. Players can jump from program to program without penalty to chase the highest dollar. How is that helping the student athlete get and complete their education NCAA? I love Xavier basketball and still watch when I can with a young family but it is hard to support D1 sports in general based on the wild Wild West approach to the transfer portal and NIL. Thankfully I live near a D2 program that I got my masters from that I can support without all of this NIL nonsense and limited transfer portal stuff.

[MHettel]

You waste people's time with your bullshit.

I mean it’s a message board. Who’s not wasting their time?

[XUGRAD80]

I think D1 college sports and college basketball in general are a complete mess. First, why would you open the transfer portal before the tournament season is over? Just dumb decision making. Just wait until a hot shot player at a mid-major leaves mid way through the NCAA tournament to secure a big NIL contract at a big school. Second, NIL from what I have read wasn’t created to force schools to create NIL collections to pay recruits and players to make and keep them within the program. I am all for players making money but not in the way that has created a MLB like free agency. Now you have programs like James Madison who did well this season being absolutely gutted by the all mighty dollar. Players can jump from program to program without penalty to chase the highest dollar. How is that helping the student athlete get and complete their education NCAA? I love Xavier basketball and still watch when I can with a young family but it is hard to support D1 sports in general based on the wild Wild West approach to the transfer portal and NIL. Thankfully I live near a D2 program that I got my masters from that I can support without all of this NIL nonsense and limited transfer portal stuff.

It’s not like the NCAA or the schools volunteered for all this. The players, ex-players, and courts are responsible for it. The NCAA is hesitant to put a lot of rules out there because every time they do they get sued and they lose. Ultimately it’s probably going to take either some congressional involvement or the players forming a union and a collective bargaining agreement be agreed to. I don’t think that is going to be fixed easily or quickly.

[XUBison]

Only hope I have now is Miller and coaches know X has a NIL $ package of close to $3 million and plans on spending ,most of that $ on solid top 30 transfers…

Whether or not X has $3M for NIL, I can’t imagine the plan is to burn it all this offseason. I guess I don’t know, but it seems it would make sense to also be building the war chest for the future. I’m not sure how this is sustainable regardless, but to blow the wad each year? No way.

[D-West & PO-Z]

This is going to be the norm every year.You'll see a few guys stay but half the team will need to be replaced.I wonder how long Sean will want to deal with this garbage.

Are you kidding me? Sean wanted nothing to do with most of this roster for another year. I am having a hard time understanding the X fans feeling this turnover is a bad thing. Can someone explain that to me?

Also, Sean has a few million reasons per year to keep dealing with it.

[bjf123]

Maybe NIL deals need to start being contractual for multiple years? Sign up and you can’t leave for the term. Seems to work for the pros.


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[D-West & PO-Z]

It’s not like the NCAA or the schools volunteered for all this. The players, ex-players, and courts are responsible for it. The NCAA is hesitant to put a lot of rules out there because every time they do they get sued and they lose. Ultimately it’s probably going to take either some congressional involvement or the players forming a union and a collective bargaining agreement be agreed to. I don’t think that is going to be fixed easily or quickly.

The NCAA is responsible for it. If they agreed to reasonable allowances a long time ago it likely wouldn't have got to this point.

A restaurant in a college town couldn't comp a meal for a player who had a great tourney or game bc the school and player would be in big trouble. OSU players couldn't get free tattoos. The level of arrogance and lack of compromise by the NCAA led us to this point.

[xudash]

Are you kidding me? Sean wanted nothing to do with most of this roster for another year. I am having a hard time understanding the X fans feeling this turnover is a bad thing. Can someone explain that to me?

Also, Sean has a few million reasons per year to keep dealing with it.

Thank you for being a constant voice of reason here.

[Xavier]

Are you kidding me? Sean wanted nothing to do with most of this roster for another year. I am having a hard time understanding the X fans feeling this turnover is a bad thing. Can someone explain that to me?

Also, Sean has a few million reasons per year to keep dealing with it.

Yep. Said right after the season that the same people complaining about the team will be complaining that so much of the team will be going to portal. Sean has said you have to embrace change and it seems like he’s doing just that

[XUGRAD80]

Based on what I’ve heard said, and also read, my guess that Sean didn’t expect all of these transfers. But I also wasn’t privy to the one on one meetings between Sean and the players, nor was I were I could hear any of the discussions between the coaches. So I could be completely off base. No matter. The fact remains that no matter if it was expected, desired, or what, there are a lot of open roster spots to be filled. I’m confident that the staff will bring in the best players that they can. Lack of potential playing time shouldn’t be much of an issue for any of the players that X will be talking with.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Yep. Said right after the season that the same people complaining about the team will be complaining that so much of the team will be going to portal. Sean has said you have to embrace change and it seems like he’s doing just that

So true.

Sean promised to never have a roster this bad again. Has a lot of work to do in the portal but seems to me a good start to not having a roster this bad again is to not bring back the whole roster to run it back, lol.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Based on what I’ve heard said, and also read, my guess that Sean didn’t expect all of these transfers. But I also wasn’t privy to the one on one meetings between Sean and the players, nor was I were I could hear any of the discussions between the coaches. So I could be completely off base. No matter. The fact remains that no matter if it was expected, desired, or what, there are a lot of open roster spots to be filled. I’m confident that the staff will bring in the best players that they can. Lack of potential playing time shouldn’t be much of an issue for any of the players that X will be talking with.

I heard the opposite actually. I heard (from someone who usually knows, but you never really know when hearing things second and third hand) that everyone in the portal was basically told they should enter the portal.

[MHettel]

I heard the opposite actually. I heard (from someone who usually knows, but you never really know when hearing things second and third hand) that everyone in the portal was basically told they should enter the portal.

Even Lazar?

[Xuperman]

It took a couple of years, but this is now a complete shitshow. Mix in universal SPORTS BOOK, and the end of "AMATEUR" Major college sports is near.

There is no "Name on the front of the Jersey" anymore. It's ONLY about the name on the back.

How can traditional FAN PASSION continue to exist in this chaos? It's going to destroy team chemistry and make locker rooms chaotic as hell!

I personally, already have a looming disconnect.

[Xuperman]

I will subtlety nuance.

This current situation is NCAA suicide.....from a fan perspective. It allows for potential locker room toxicity annually. Basically....It's "One an Done's" for EVERYONE!

XAVIER BASKETBALL has always had a "Family" feel. How can that possibly continue?

[D-West & PO-Z]

I will subtlety nuance.

This current situation is NCAA suicide.....from a fan perspective. It allows for potential locker room toxicity annually. Basically....It's "One an Done's" for EVERYONE!

XAVIER BASKETBALL has always had a "Family" feel. How can that possibly continue?

The best and fan favorite player each of the last 2 years was a one and done transfer. Most fans havent seemed to have an issue accepting and connecting with them very quickly.

[Xuperman]

The best and fan favorite player each of the last 2 years was a one and done transfer. Most fans havent seemed to have an issue accepting and connecting with them very quickly.

I am going to assume you welcome this new "pay to play" reality in amateur sports. Possibility embrace.

However, the revolving door that has be allowed, especially for the STAR players.....could it possibly destroy the confidence a young fan hoping to see his favorite player the next year......for his favorite team?

[MHettel]

I am going to assume you welcome this new "pay to play" reality in amateur sports. Possibility embrace.

However, the revolving door that has be allowed, especially for the STAR players, totally destroys the confidence a young fan can dream of being the next XAVIER STAR?

What the hell are you NIL pros missing?

That’s a brick wall there man. I’ve been laying out this exact scenario for 3 years and just get met by “it won’t be a big deal.” Now, when what said would happen is actually happening the response is “it’s no big deal”.

Lost cause here

[D-West & PO-Z]

That’s a brick wall there man. I’ve been laying out this exact scenario for 3 years and just get met by “it won’t be a big deal.” Now, when what said would happen is actually happening the response is “it’s no big deal”.

Lost cause here

Yep, just two more programs in the Elite 8 this year who havent been there in 2 decades, fresh blood making deep tourney wins just as you predicted!

[D-West & PO-Z]

I am going to assume you welcome this new "pay to play" reality in amateur sports. Possibility embrace.

However, the revolving door that has be allowed, especially for the STAR players.....could it possibly destroy the confidence a young fan hoping to see his favorite player the next year......for his favorite team?

I favor what is happening now more than the previous ridiculous restrictions the players had before, however there are many ways what is currently happening could be improved upon. Hopefully some things can be agreed upon and tweaked in the future.

If only the NCAA wasn't so damn stubborn about some of this stuff for decades, we wouldn't be here right now.

As for the young fan? Maybe, but seems a little bit like a made up worry.

I have 4 year old and 7 year old boys who are obsessed with Xavier basketball. They were obsessed with Boum last year and (without skipping a beat) Olivari this year. Didn't dampen their enthusiasm for watching the games at all. Just my experience though.

[Xuperman]

That’s a brick wall there man. I’ve been laying out this exact scenario for 3 years and just get met by “it won’t be a big deal.” Now, when what said would happen is actually happening the response is “it’s no big deal”.

Lost cause here

This is just plan fact. Most "Traditional" college sports fans, will simply refuse to have the same passion for their schools. The money and revolving door rosters, is just unacceptable IMO.

[D-West & PO-Z]

That’s a brick wall there man. I’ve been laying out this exact scenario for 3 years and just get met by “it won’t be a big deal.” Now, when what said would happen is actually happening the response is “it’s no big deal”.

Lost cause here

I can count on 0 hands the amount of times I read from you how worried you were about the young fans missing their favorite player the next year, lmao.

But I thank you for being so worried for my children. God bless you.

[Xuperman]

I can count on 0 hands the amount of times I read from you how worried you were about the young fans missing their favorite player the next year, lmao.

But I thank you for being so worried for my children. God bless you.

Pete Rose was my idol for literally my entire early life, because I have ALWAYS been 110% Cincinnati.....especially West side.

When he left the Reds, he was dead to me.

That's how it works for some.

[xuphan]

Pete Rose was my idol for literally my entire early life, because I have ALWAYS been 110% Cincinnati.....especially West side.

When he left the Reds, he was dead to me

That's how it works for some.

Sounds like Xavier is expecting a visit this weekend from Josh Cohen. Big post player who would help bring value experience to a depleted front court.

[XUGRAD80]

I heard the opposite actually. I heard (from someone who usually knows, but you never really know when hearing things second and third hand) that everyone in the portal was basically told they should enter the portal.

I was thinking of the Euros specifically because I thought that Miller’s plan was to continue to recruit overseas. Having 3 come in, and all 3 only stay a year, before being shown the door is not a great look to put out to other possible European recruits. Not exactly the way that you establish a recruiting network.

However…..it certainly wouldn’t be shocking to find out what you’re saying is correct.

[XUGRAD80]

It took a couple of years, but this is now a complete shitshow. Mix in universal SPORTS BOOK, and the end of "AMATEUR" Major college sports is near.

There is no "Name on the front of the Jersey" anymore. It's ONLY about the name on the back.

How can traditional FAN PASSION continue to exist in this chaos? It's going to destroy team chemistry and make locker rooms chaotic as hell!

I personally, already have a looming disconnect.

I see your point, but I’m the complete opposite kind of fan. I root for the TEAMS and not the players. I have little or no desire to see a game just because a certain player is playing. But I’ll watch “my” teams no matter who is in the uniforms. I watched the Reds yesterday because I like baseball and the Reds are “my” team. I didn’t know some of the players but that didn’t change anything for me.

[Xville]

Sounds like Xavier is expecting a visit this weekend from Josh Cohen. Big post player who would help bring value experience to a depleted front court.

He'd be a nice get....first team A-10 center.

For those worried about where these guys are coming from...Alabama just got to the elite eight with 3 transfer guys from mid major programs.

[D-West & PO-Z]

He'd be a nice get....first team A-10 center.

For those worried about where these guys are coming from...Alabama just got to the elite eight with 3 transfer guys from mid major programs.

For the 2nd time ever in program history and the first time in 20 years.

[xuphan]

He'd be a nice get....first team A-10 center.

For those worried about where these guys are coming from...Alabama just got to the elite eight with 3 transfer guys from mid major programs.

Would be a nice get indeed. Will be interesting to see if Miller goes for a majority of 5th year type guys in the portal with 1 year of eligibility left or if he want to try to balance the class a bit with some younger transfers.

[Xville]

For the 2nd time ever in program history and the first time in 20 years.

Weird that what we have said all along about nil/transfer portal allowing more parity has become true yet again. Strange:)

And we all know that Clemson has that huge nil war chest, right? Oh actually no, just the opposite lol


Getting closer to 3 big East teams in the final four. That would be the ultimate f you to the rest of college bb. I’m here for it

[muskiefan82]

W

Getting closer to 3 big East teams in the final four. That would be the ultimate f you to the rest of college bb. I’m here for it

Yes. I think I could get over Creighton making it there before X even though X would then be the ONLY Big East team (current membership) to not play in a Final Four.

[paulxu]

Local radio here two weeks ago, they were bemoaning Brownell's performance and saying he would be gone after the season.
Sort of reminds me of the LBSU guy who was fired before the tournament.

[XUGRAD80]

Sounds like Xavier is expecting a visit this weekend from Josh Cohen. Big post player who would help bring value experience to a depleted front court.

Writer on 24/7 says that visit has been cancelled. :(

On the other hand the same writer says that they have reached out to at least 20 big prospects, have gained some early traction with some and have a couple of meetings already scheduled with others. They’re working on it!

[D-West & PO-Z]

Local radio here two weeks ago, they were bemoaning Brownell's performance and saying he would be gone after the season.
Sort of reminds me of the LBSU guy who was fired before the tournament.

Well timed run for him after quite a while of mediocrity at Clemson.

This was his 4th tourney appearance in 14 years and these are the only tourney wins besides a Sweet 16 appearance 6 years ago.

[xuphan]

Writer on 24/7 says that visit has been cancelled. :(

On the other hand the same writer says that they have reached out to at least 20 big prospects, have gained some early traction with some and have a couple of meetings already scheduled with others. They’re working on it!

Do we know if it is from the player side or the coaches side for the cancellation? Very disappointing news as we need several front court transfers for next season. We can’t afford to have a repeat of last years recruitment of the front court.

[XUGRAD80]

Do we know if it is from the player side or the coaches side for the cancellation? Very disappointing news as we need several front court transfers for next season. We can’t afford to have a repeat of last years recruitment of the front court.

Nope, didn’t say.

[XUBison]

For the 2nd time ever in program history and the first time in 20 years.

Alabama has been to the Sweet 16 11 times, three times in the last four years. Does the fact this is only their second time in the Elite Eight make them the Little Engine That Could, or, hear me out here, might this perhaps be a statistical oddity?

[Xville]

The rumor is that he took the visit to Notre Dame and thats where he is going to end up, but there has been no announcement to that end. Who knows...other fish in the sea.

[Xville]

Alabama has been to the Sweet 16 11 times, three times in the last four years. Does the fact this is only their second time in the Elite Eight make them the Little Engine That Could, or, hear me out here, might this perhaps be a statistical oddity?

I think the point is that there are some here who believe that nil/transfer portal will only go to a few select teams and that the bluebloods of basketball are going to be the only ones in the final four every single year, dominating the landscape and creating a bigger gap between the haves and have nots.

That didn't play out last year, and it won't play out this year either.

[xuphan]

The rumor is that he took the visit to Notre Dame and thats where he is going to end up, but there has been no announcement to that end. Who knows...other fish in the sea.

Limited Big fish in the sea. Especially considering we need atleast 3 front court players from the portal. So pivotal that Miller is able to pick up talented front court players early in the window before the big dogs start coming for them.

[paulxu]

Do you think these guys get their NIL $ number before they visit?

[JTG]

Sounds like Xavier is expecting a visit this weekend from Josh Cohen. Big post player who would help bring value experience to a depleted front court.

That visit was cancelled 2 days ago.

[Xville]

Limited Big fish in the sea. Especially considering we need atleast 3 front court players from the portal. So pivotal that Miller is able to pick up talented front court players early in the window before the big dogs start coming for them.

The big dogs have already come, just not for the ones that X is after. Gotta relax and not worry about every single recruit that says no. I understand some of the anxiety, but let things play out and see where we are at. The portal has been open for less than two weeks.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Alabama has been to the Sweet 16 11 times, three times in the last four years. Does the fact this is only their second time in the Elite Eight make them the Little Engine That Could, or, hear me out here, might this perhaps be a statistical oddity?

I wonder what the last 4 years coincides with? Hmmm? Oh yeah, NIL and immediate transfer rule.

So a team who had not been to the sweet 16 in about 20 years, and 13 years before that (so not a regular player in the ncaa tournament in terms of runs), has now become somewhat of a power house in terms of tourney success with the implementation of new rules in which some claimed only those who had been having success would have success and those who weren’t would get even further behind.

So thank you for pointing out the 3 in the last 4 years which completely highlights my point even more.

[Mrs. Garrett]

I wonder what the last 4 years coincides with? Hmmm? Oh yeah, NIL and immediate transfer rule.

So a team who had not been to the sweet 16 in about 20 years, and 13 years before that (so not a regular player in the ncaa tournament in terms of runs), has now become somewhat of a power house in terms of tourney success with the implementation of new rules in which some claimed only those who had been having success would have success and those who weren’t would get even further behind.

So thank you for pointing out the 3 in the last 4 years which completely highlights my point even more.

Probably has more to do with it being year 5 of Nate Oates.

[XUBison]

Weird that what we have said all along about nil/transfer portal allowing more parity has become true yet again. Strange:)

And we all know that Clemson has that huge nil war chest, right? Oh actually no, just the opposite lol


Getting closer to 3 big East teams in the final four. That would be the ultimate f you to the rest of college bb. I’m here for it

I thought this was interesting… Since seeding began in 1979, 50 teams have earned #1 seeds, and only 23 have done it more than twice. Parody has always been a part of college basketball. If you want to claim that parity still exists in spite of NIL/transfers, fine, although I don’t think we have a real clue how this will play out over time. Regardless, are we really trying to make the point that the current climate has *improved* parody, because programs like Alabama and Clemson have made the Elite Eight? I mean, I think Alabama is exactly the opposite kind of outcome some predict; a non-traditional power program thriving by throwing loads of cash at players and coaches.

Here’s a link to the info on seeding, by the way. It’s kind of a fun list to peruse:

https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2024-03-17/division-i-mens-basketball-teams-most-ncaa-tournament-no-1-seeds

[xuphan]

The big dogs have already come, just not for the ones that X is after. Gotta relax and not worry about every single recruit that says no. I understand some of the anxiety, but let things play out and see where we are at. The portal has been open for less than two weeks.

The Big Dogs have not already come or have only started. They are still determining who is staying and who is leaving their programs either through the draft or the portal. Some are also still in the tournament. The anxiety comes from last spring where it was pretty obvious we needed two front count players at the 5 when Nunge announced he was leaving. We brought in a backup in Abou and that was it. Free was also an uncertainty which later we found out he would miss the entire season. This lead Miller to scramble late and we all know how that panned out.

We need 3 impact Bigs to come in next season. That’s a lot for a position that is highly sought after. I think the anxiety with needing that many Bigs with last seasons misses on the front court should have everyone nervous. Especially when/if we start missing out on guys like Cohen during the portal. There is nothing we can really do except to ride it out so I get your point but it’s a daunting task to get 3 quality Bigs from the portal. Time will tell but this team will only go so far as the front court takes them. Which is why we didn’t go very far last season.

[Xville]

The Big Dogs have not already come or have only started. They are still determining who is staying and who is leaving their programs either through the draft or the portal. Some are also still in the tournament. The anxiety comes from last spring where it was pretty obvious we needed two front count players at the 5 when Nunge announced he was leaving. We brought in a backup in Abou and that was it. Free was also an uncertainty which later we found out he would miss the entire season. This lead Miller to scramble late and we all know how that panned out.

We need 3 impact Bigs to come in next season. That’s a lot for a position that is highly sought after. I think the anxiety with needing that many Bigs with last seasons misses on the front court should have everyone nervous. Especially when/if we start missing out on guys like Cohen during the portal. There is nothing we can really do except to ride it out so I get your point but it’s a daunting task to get 3 quality Bigs from the portal. Time will tell but this team will only go so far as the front court takes them. Which is why we didn’t go very far last season.

X isn't getting three quality bigs in the portal so if you believe that's what X needs, you're going to be disappointed. We already have Free, and Hunter should be ready by conference play. I know we can't "count on them," but guys in the portal want playing time whether it is starting minutes or a productive rotational amount. I think the best X can hope for is 2...one legitimate and one rotational dude.

[D-West & PO-Z]

The Big Dogs have not already come or have only started.

Huh? So Xavier has started but power programs have not?

Why in the world would you think not every program in the country, especially the best ones, aren't active in the portal right now?

Have we not seen how you don't need to definitively know how many spots you have open to recruit still? Schools, including Xavier, do it all the time. Very easy to get a guy without a spot and force another guy out. Not a new thing either. Not to mention many schools have a pretty good idea which guys are entering the draft or portal.

[D-West & PO-Z]

X isn't getting three quality bigs in the portal so if you believe that's what X needs, you're going to be disappointed. We already have Free, and Hunter should be ready by conference play. I know we can't "count on them," but guys in the portal want playing time whether it is starting minutes or a productive rotational amount. I think the best X can hope for is 2...one legitimate and one rotational dude.

Yeah if we get one legitimate 5 I will be happy. Then another big for depth.

Will be interesting to see if any of the X bigs who entered the portal monitor X's status and decide to come back (if Miller would have them). Seems like once you enter it's likely you are gone but if it is mutually beneficial to return then maybe. We have obviously seen Kyky return after entering the portal.

[Xavier]

Watching the Clemson bigs pass to each other so successfully made me miss the freemantle/Nunge connection. Wish we could’ve gotten to see what they’d do in March. That injury put a cap on the ceiling.

[D-West & PO-Z]

We are also guaranteed to have a team who makes their first final 4 again.

[XUBison]

Huh? So Xavier has started but power programs have not?

Why in the world would you think not every program in the country, especially the best ones, aren't active in the portal right now?

Because Dan Hurley said as much.

[ArizonaXUGrad]

Except AJ Storr just committed to a still playing Illinois.

[Xville]

Because Dan Hurley said as much.

Maybe Dan personally isn’t. But I’m gonna go ahead and assume some of his staff is. They have to, there is no choice.

There are also plenty of big dogs outside of UConn.

[MHettel]

Except AJ Storr just committed to a still playing Illinois.

Yeah, he was the #1 listed transfer and was in the portal less than an hour before he committed to Illiniois i can only imagine the overtime and extra hours the staff must have taken to win that Epic recruiting battle.

[D-West & PO-Z]

Except AJ Storr just committed to a still playing Illinois.

Impossible. Not only a power program but one still playing. Double whammy!

[MHettel]

Maybe Dan personally isn’t. But I’m gonna go ahead and assume some of his staff is. They have to, there is no choice.

There are also plenty of big dogs outside of UConn.

The head coach literally just said they aren't working the portal. And you come back with "but they are."

Ok. 13-7

[D-West & PO-Z]

Yeah, he was the #1 listed transfer and was in the portal less than an hour before he committed to Illiniois i can only imagine the overtime and extra hours the staff must have taken to win that Epic recruiting battle.

Yeah it's almost like he knew where he was going before he even entered the portal. I'm sure no Illinois coaches ever had any contact with him at any point except for that one hour. Man they are lucky. Damn those teams spending no time recruiting highly ranked transfers lucking into landing them with no effort!

[Xavier]

The head coach literally just said they aren't working the portal. And you come back with "but they are."

Ok. 13-7

https://www.on3.com/transfer-portal/news/florida-transfer-riley-kugel-trims-list-to-four-top-basketball-schools/

Yeah, this florida transfer is down to Kansas, Houston, Arizona…and Uconn.

Maybe he is just putting Uconn on the list to hope they reach out?

[MHettel]

Yeah it's almost like he knew where he was going before he even entered the portal. I'm sure no Illinois coaches ever had any contact with him at any point except for that one hour. Man they are lucky. Damn those teams spending no time recruiting highly ranked transfers lucking into landing them with no effort!

yeah, never mind Rick Pitino turning down the NIT and saying they need to shift their focus to next years roster. Why didn't you just tell him that he can do the normal game prep that his staff would do AND he could commit 100% of his effort to the portal? Either he's not as smart as you are, or he realizes that 100% of your time is actually capped at 100%.