2024-25 Roster, Rotation & Stats Prediction

[MHettel]

We're getting closer. I think of it as the season being weeks away, not months away. looking forward to it. I think this roster is stacked.

What can we expect?

First of all, there are 200 available minutes in a college basketball game. Our top 10 guys (McKnight, Swain, Green, Foster, Hugley, Traore, Hunter, Free, Conwell, & Maddux) have all been starters or contributors before. In fact if you just add up the minutes played per game for each of them their last healthy season you get 256. Thats 28% more minutes than what will be available....

So lets take everyone's production and scale it back by 28% and then do some weighted averages and calculate what this group of guys would do together. This is just math, it's not an assessment of whether its possible or not. But is should reveal where we need to make adjustments to our predictions. And the last thing I'll do is compare the the outcome to teh performance of our 2022-23 Team which was on offensive juggernaut.

PPG- 88.6 vs 80.9. WOW. We played about as fast as we could play in 22-23, so this squad will either need to play faster or every game goes to double OT. This isnt achievable unless you have some gimmick offense. This is the byproduct of having 3 new guys (Conwell, Maddux, and Foster) that were "the man" at their prior school. They cant all be the man here. Gonna have to give some haircuts to the scoring stat predictions.

Overeall Shooting per game- 31.6 makes on 65.2 Attempts (48.5%) vs 30.0 on 61.0 (49.2%). Percentage wise, this team is a little less effective than 22-23 XU (thanks, Nunge), but it's close.

3Pt Shooting per game- 8.2 on 19.8 attempts (41.5%!!!) vs 7.4 on 19.1 (39.0%). That 22-23 team could SHOOT. I dont think we'll really see a team taking 20 attempts, but if you're shooting 41.5%....let er rip! Both teams were right around 30-31% of their total shots coming from 3.

Free Throw Shooting- Ok, this is huge. 17.1 on 22.0 attempts (77.7%) vs 13.6 on 19.1 (71%). Ok, if we can get to the line at this rate and and shoot nearly 78%, we are GOLD. The thing is, only 1 guy would project to take more than 3.5 (right AT 3.5) attempts per game. but SEVEN guys would take more than 2 per game. Alot of times just 2-3 guys are taking a huge percentage of the free throws. Causing opponent foul trouble can be HUGE and of course closing out games often comes down to being ice cold at the line.

Rebounding- 8.7 OReb & 31.3 DReb vs 10.3 OReb & 27.5 DReb. Overall, it's 39.9 vs 37.7 per game. I think offensive rebounding might be a weakness of this team. Traore is a fantastic O Rebounder and Hunter and Free are decent. The new guards (Foster & Conwell) rebound a little bit but its really on the defensive end. I'll take a deficiency in O Rebounding if we can own the defensive glass.

Assists per game- 15.9 vs 19.0. Remeber that 22-23 team was first or second in the country in assists. There was an assist on 63.8% of the made shots. This years team would project out at 50.3%. This just seems misaligned. Miller isnt going to run an offense where guys are creating their own shots half the time. I personally think McKnight is gonna be an all league facilitator. None of the guys that came in put up decent assist numbers. Last years frontcourt was AWFUL in this area (and moist of the other areas). Free had a great year in 22-23, and I think we will be key. I think all of the guys will kind of exceed their career norms in assists.

Blocks- 2.6 vs 3.2. I cant recall any recent XU teams where I felt rim protecting was a strength. And I think I might have to continue to wait. I think Swain will get some blocks, but not the rim protecting type. Definite area of concern. Lets just alter teh shots and let the D-rebounding take over.

Steals- 7.0 vs 6.4. Neither a real strength or weakness and a fair amount of balance across the roster.

Nothing notable in the turnover or foul stats.

So, to get some player level stats, I need to try to predict Millers rotation and game play philosophy. First of all, I expect a breakneck pace. Like the prior 2 years push in transition if you can, but I think the halfcourt game will be MUCH better. The defensive rebounding should result in MORE transition opportunities, so maybe we can score more than 80 a game...

Starters- Traore, Free, Conwell, Maddux, McKnight (Free and Traore will be on the court together alot)

Hunter and Hugley will play together alot as the "2nd line" up front.

McKnight will play alot, even though we are so deep. Green seems like the obvious backup PG, but i think you play him off the ball so we can take advantage of his key strength. Maddux and Conwell will pick up the PG duties when Dayvion is out.

Minutes Prediction: Mc Knight (32), Conwell (27), Maddux (25), Traore (22), Free (22), Foster (18), Hugley (15), Hunter (15), Swain (15), Green (9).

PPG Prediction (83.5 total): Maddux (12.0), Conwell (10.7), Free (10.5), Foster (8.9), McKnight (8.5), Hugley (7.9), Swain (7.5), Hunter (6.5), Swain (6.0), Green (5.0)

RPG Prediction (39.5 total): Traore (7.0), Hunter (5.2) ,Free (5.0), Foster (4.0), Conwell (4.0), Swain (3.8), Hugley (3.5), McKnight (3.5) Maddux (2.5), Green (.5)

Shooting predictions: I dont think we will take as many 3's as the above projections...nor will we hit 41.5%. But we will put up about 18 a game and hit above 38%. Conwell and Maddux will do most of the damage. Foster will take some, but not at the rate he's done in the past. Green will FIRE AWAY when he's out there (thats WHY hes out there, afterall).

I do think the offensive rebounding and interior defense is gonna be an issue. Getting to the line will be a strength.

McKnight will be all BE 1st team and lead the league in Assists. Team will finish top 3.

[profson]

Interesting analysis. Only major comment is that if Free is truly back his minutes will be minimum high 20s. Of course the inevitable injuries will scramble the situation. Secondary comment is that Conwell will score more than Maddux and the high scorer will be more than 12.
Free and Conwell are probably the best players but I would posit that McNight is the most important given his ability to run Miller’s system and play solid D.

[xukeith]

I love this breakdown. I doubt the scoring will be spread out from high of 12 to low of 5. Traore is probably the best rebounder and has a ton of hustle but I think Free, Swain, Hunter, and Hugley will be seeing the lionshare of post minutes in BE play. It wil be fun seeing McKnight have some wonderful abundant assist games of 8-13 per game. That is a very good sign.

Barring injuries, I think battle for minutes will lead to an 8 man rotation in BE play vs. the upper half of the league.

[Cincypunk.org]

Thank you for posting this in-depth look. We appreciate it!

How much do you will Traore score a game and what kind of scorer is he?

Heck, for anyone that knows off hand… remind us of the schools each of these guys came from, their strengths, and if the teams they came from were any good.

I remember when all those guys committed I saw a lot of 12-15 PPG guys and was thinking the offense could be insane this year.

Who are the odd men out?

[Xavier]

The depth of this team, on paper, looks very good. Especially IF Free is same old guy and Hunter is solid. I’m not sure Hunter will be close to where he was.

Regardless, I always forget a name or two. Swain is in a great spot to have a huge impact. Think Conwell is the best guard/wing player we have but agree McKnight will have a field day as PG. I also always forget we lost Claude and frankly, it might be a good thing. Just feels like we have weapons all over the floor.

It’s going to be a fun year. It does remind me of Sean’s first year, we will have to just outscore everyone.

[paulxu]

From an article in the Athletic, ranking us 3rd in the BE:


Xavier is the most experienced high-major team in college basketball going strictly by minutes played

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5743501/2024/09/06/big-east-basketball-rankings-uconn-marquette-preseason/

[Xville]

If everyone stays healthy, this is going to be a special year. There is just so much plug and play with the first ten guys, that I don't see a lot of drop off when guys sub in and out.

Swain
Mcknight
Conwell
Free
Hugley
Traore
Maddox
Hunter
Foster
Green

I'll put those ten guys up against pretty much anyone in the college game if everyone stays healthy and Free/Hunter are what they were or at least close to it. There is a whole lot of scoring, and if they can just play adequately defensively, we are going to be special. I believe Miller is going to be harping about defense more this year, he pointed out on one of the podcasts that even that first year, the defense was pretty medicore (not sure of his actual wording), and he wanted to get back to a good defensive structure.

All in all, I'm very excited.

[MHettel]

From an article in the Athletic, ranking us 3rd in the BE:



https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/5743501/2024/09/06/big-east-basketball-rankings-uconn-marquette-preseason/

I speculated about this previously and I even took it one step further. I would bet that we are the most experienced team EVER. And that there will never be a more experienced team than this.

It’s the 5th year guys that put us over the top. Free, Hunter and Foster. It just will never happen again.

[MHettel]

I love this breakdown. I doubt the scoring will be spread out from high of 12 to low of 5. Traore is probably the best rebounder and has a ton of hustle but I think Free, Swain, Hunter, and Hugley will be seeing the lionshare of post minutes in BE play. It wil be fun seeing McKnight have some wonderful abundant assist games of 8-13 per game. That is a very good sign.

Barring injuries, I think battle for minutes will lead to an 8 man rotation in BE play vs. the upper half of the league.

I dont disagree, in isolation. But taken in the whole, if you think one of these guys will score more points than I predict, then someone else will have to score less. I’m already predicting almost 85 per game.

Think about what we saw the last 2 years. Boum and Olivari were awesome. They came in with big scoring numbers and met or exceeded those at X. But the key was that they played so many minutes. Was that because we wanted them out there or simply the lack of depth required that we just leave them out there? We ran Boum into the ground, but we had a short bench, so what choice was there?

Up front, I see Free and Traore as complimenting each other well. Free does the scoring and Traore does the defending. Perfect. Hugely and Hunter have the Sam dynamic, with Hunter as the D focused guy. 4 guys for 2 spots.

Swain will play a little bit of 4 when we need a defensive look (with Traore).

At 2/3, we’re loaded. Conwell, Maddux and Foster. Each of those guys could play 32+ minutes a game and put up 18….but why would you do that? Don’t wear these guys out (Boum at the end was running on fumes). You can give them 24-28 per game. It may not be perfectly even, but it’s basically gonna come down to 3 guys splitting 80 minutes.

PG is a little different. McKnight will be a workhorse. Maddux and Connell will take a few minutes a night each to run the Point. Green’s minutes will come at the 2, and often when one of the 3 above shift over.

We have small lineups (McKnight, Maddux, Connell, Swain, Hunter), big lineups (Conwell, Foster, Swain, Hunter, Traore). Speed it up lineups….you get the point.

I think the one guy that I’m not sure about is Hugley. From a number point of view he seems like much more of an offensive player than defensive. Rebounding is just ok, and really no rim protection. Maybe he’s a guy that just plays the kind of defense that does t show up in the box score. But my other concern is that he may not be able to play at our tempo. He’s a big boy and has has some injuries and maybe some “mental fatigue” was a factor at one point. He will need to really work on his body (Love, Stain) and gut through the pain. But that where a limited role could help him flourish. 15 pounding minutes a night with a change of pace lineup might be just what we need and he can deliver

[Xville]

It was reported that Hugley came in about 315, but is already now down in the 270s. Sounds like he is extremely motivated and Sean is working his magic with him. Injuries of course a concern, but sounds like he is back to the right frame of mind

[MHettel]

It was reported that Hugley came in about 315, but is already now down in the 270s. Sounds like he is extremely motivated and Sean is working his magic with him. Injuries of course a concern, but sounds like he is back to the right frame of mind

Yeah, thats good news. We probably want him in the 250-255 range. Certain matchups in the BE will require that we just bang away or we'll get mauled. We just need him to give us 3 or 4 stretches a night of 3-5 minutes. He will put up big scoring numbers during his stretches.

[MADXSTER]

No need to worry about O Rebounding when the ball is going through the hoop. :)

[ArizonaXUGrad]

For Hugley, that is a lot of weight to lose in a very truncated amount of time. I hope it was done well monitored.

Co-worker of mine has a son who is being recruited high D1 who played in the EYBL Vegas event. He actually got a chance to speak with Sean about both this upcoming season and his son. Sean told him they will be just fine and he doesn't have any concern. My co-worker told me Sean was being diplomatic, his face told a different (more positive) story. He and Sean have a history going back to a previous family member's recruitment.

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

A buddy just texted me that Traore blew out his ACL in practice. If true, rotation just got smaller.

[Final4]

Heard that as well. That SUCKS!!!

[noteggs]

A buddy just texted me that Traore blew out his ACL in practice. If true, rotation just got smaller.

Definitely a blow to this year’s roster if true (like you said and heard similar). Since I’m normally a half full kinda guy, sounds like our roster got better next year? That’s all I got.

[nuts4xu]

He went down in a heap at practice yesterday. It didn't look good.

[MHettel]

Oh, we're gonna get destroyed in the interior this year.

I already had stated that interior defense and offensive rebounding will be our weakness. And now, our best guy at both of those things is likely out.

Teams will attack Freemantle relentlessly. He's awful on defense and its gonna be a bucket or a foul.

The response to this injury is to play faster. Fast break on everything and see if we can get more transition buckets than they can score in the halfcourt. Hugley is not suited for that pace. Swain just saw his minutes double.

If you asked me which injury would set us back the most this year I'd have said McKnight is #1A, with Traore as #1B.

We just dont have another guy that offers what Traore does.

[Final4]

Has anyone heard anything definitive regarding Traore's injury. I had heard that it was an ACL but based on the Blue/Grey scrimmage report in today's Enquirer it didn't sound as ominous. After the injury walked to the locker room on his own and returned a little later with ice on his knee (no mention of crutches). I recognize that ACL's can vary from person to person.......holding out hope my info was incorrect.

[drudy23]

Oh, we're gonna get destroyed in the interior this year.

I already had stated that interior defense and offensive rebounding will be our weakness. And now, our best guy at both of those things is likely out.

Teams will attack Freemantle relentlessly. He's awful on defense and its gonna be a bucket or a foul.

The response to this injury is to play faster. Fast break on everything and see if we can get more transition buckets than they can score in the halfcourt. Hugley is not suited for that pace. Swain just saw his minutes double.

If you asked me which injury would set us back the most this year I'd have said McKnight is #1A, with Traore as #1B.

We just dont have another guy that offers what Traore does.

Everyone knocks Free's defense, and it's warranted, but he's also a match-up nightmare for the opposition. On a team like this, let him eat on offense! We can't expect him to be an All-American defender. He will score more than he gives up.

Also more opportunity for Swain to develop quicker. It sucks, but the roster is much better this year.

Hoping the injury is less severe.

[MHettel]

Everyone knocks Free's defense, and it's warranted, but he's also a match-up nightmare for the opposition. On a team like this, let him eat on offense! We can't expect him to be an All-American defender. He will score more than he gives up.

Also more opportunity for Swain to develop quicker. It sucks, but the roster is much better this year.

Hoping the injury is less severe.

I AGREE with you. But you are missing the point.

The opposing coach will realize that a) He's terrible on defense, and b) he cant score if he's on the bench in foul trouble.

My game plan would be to spread out and post against Free on the first 10 possessions. You'll get 7 buckets or fouls out of 10. If we dont take out Free for one reason (fouls) or another (cant get a stop), then you just keep feeding there.

They are going to go after Freemantle. With or without Traore. But with Traore in the game you get a little more help defense and weak side rim protection. And in the event of a miss, Traore has rebounding responsibilities.

First of all, I really do hope his injury is not as serious as initially described. But if so, I really think this sets us back 2-3 spots in the BE rankings.

[MHettel]

I AGREE with you. But you are missing the point.

The opposing coach will realize that a) He's terrible on defense, and b) he cant score if he's on the bench in foul trouble.

My game plan would be to spread out and post against Free on the first 10 possessions. You'll get 7 buckets or fouls out of 10. If we dont take out Free for one reason (fouls) or another (cant get a stop), then you just keep feeding there.

They are going to go after Freemantle. With or without Traore. But with Traore in the game you get a little more help defense and weak side rim protection. And in the event of a miss, Traore has rebounding responsibilities.

First of all, I really do hope his injury is not as serious as initially described. But if so, I really think this sets us back 2-3 spots in the BE rankings.

Actually, in thinking about it a little further, if we dont have Traore I would expect alot more double teams (which means an open guy somewhere) or.....zone. Our pace on offense doesnt align well to a zone defense. We wanna run teams out of the gym and a zone slows everything down to a halt.

[drudy23]

Just make the damn tournament. This shouldn't jeopardize that.

[GreatWhiteNorth]

Hope his injury is not too serious. Maybe no surgery!?

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

I AGREE with you. But you are missing the point.

The opposing coach will realize that a) He's terrible on defense, and b) he cant score if he's on the bench in foul trouble.

My game plan would be to spread out and post against Free on the first 10 possessions. You'll get 7 buckets or fouls out of 10. If we dont take out Free for one reason (fouls) or another (cant get a stop), then you just keep feeding there.

They are going to go after Freemantle. With or without Traore. But with Traore in the game you get a little more help defense and weak side rim protection. And in the event of a miss, Traore has rebounding responsibilities.

First of all, I really do hope his injury is not as serious as initially described. But if so, I really think this sets us back 2-3 spots in the BE rankings.

Everything I have heard about Traore's injury is through a "friend of a friend" and we all know how unreliable news like that can be. But my understanding is that he originally felt O.K. after the injury but had the ACL tear confirmed the next day via an MRI. Again, all of this is rumor so I cannot confirm any of it.

If true, it does carry significant implications. I agree with your earlier statement that Swain (who was going to see plenty of minutes anyway) takes on a more important role. He is a solid defensive player but obviously not a "5". Free is, I also agree, not a whirlwind on defense but he has had a couple of years to develop and mature. So, maybe he will be an improved version of his former self. I doubt we will see Free and Hugley on the floor together for substantial minutes. I haven't heard much about Hunter. Clearly, he's just getting back to full strength, and I have to believe, at best, Miller will have him on a pitch count. But, if he returns to his old self by the time the conference season starts, he can be a big help defensively.

Everybody I have spoken with about this team raves (including some of the staff), just raves about the guard play----not just the depth but the scoring ability and athleticism. We will score a bunch of points as long as we can rebound.

It is the most obvious statement in the world, but any additional front court injuries will obliterate our season. Maybe we have had our quota of these over the last couple of seasons. I hope. I hope. I hope.

[Xuperman]

Has Miller changed his mind about Fletcher playing this year? The early word was a redshirt, but now it appears he will play in the opener. That Is BIG!

[Xuperman]

What is going on here?

https://www.bannersontheparkway.com/2024/10/31/24284631/2024-25-season-preview-cam-fletcher-xavier-basketball

Was he suited up last night?

[Muskeagle]

My understanding is that Roddie Anderson is a definite red shirt. Fletcher was always "available" to play this year, but that they were going to treat his recovery "slowly." I'm pretty sure we will see Fletcher play this season....and potentially by conference season, play substantially (if he's productive). He has two years left of eligibility. The hope is he is full go Jerome type player next year and potentially some assistance this year.

[American X]

Five games in, I wonder if this starting lineup is set in stone. As he continues to progress, I will not be surprised to see Hugley start at the five and Freemantle move to his more natural four spot. Foster seems like a classic sixth man who can sub in at any spot.

[bjf123]

Five games in, I wonder if this starting lineup is set in stone. As he continues to progress, I will not be surprised to see Hugley start at the five and Freemantle move to his more natural four spot. Foster seems like a classic sixth man who can sub in at any spot.

Guess that benches Swain? Might depend on the matchup.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Xville]

Just my assumption but I bet that miller hopes hugely progresses enough to be able to start around the time of conference play. I don’t think he’s excited about free playing out of position but right now it’s a necessity. I’d think the ideal lineup would be hugley, free, foster/swain, dayvion and conwell. That gives us a lot more beef and height that is needed in conference.

[American X]

Guess that benches Swain? Might depend on the matchup.

It would move Foster to first off the bench, still playing starter minutes. No one in their right mind would move Swain to the bench right now.

[Three Point Pete]

I think if Foster can get enough minutes to build confidence, then we should see continuing improvement. He looked more polished in the Siena game.

Also, I liked the combination play of Rome and Free together. Maybe have both start?

Sent from my SM-A326U using Tapatalk

[X-band '01]

If Sean Miller is saying Marcus Foster is Xavier's best defender, he ain't starting on the bench.

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

Just my assumption but I bet that miller hopes hugely progresses enough to be able to start around the time of conference play. I don’t think he’s excited about free playing out of position but right now it’s a necessity. I’d think the ideal lineup would be hugley, free, foster/swain, dayvion and conwell. That gives us a lot more beef and height that is needed in conference.

Hugley's minutes against Sienna don't portend more minutes without changes. He took some horrific shots when he came into the game early in first half. Miller sent him straight to the bench soon thereafter. In fact, I think Miller's postgame comments might have been directed toward Hugley. He talked about lack of effort on defense and, looking back at the recording, I did not see lack of hustle from either Green or Maddox although both took a terrible shot or two.

[Xuperman]

Can we all agree selection Sunday is everything for X every year. If our Musketeers are not in the conversation....it's a lost season for just about everyone here.

Let's hope Michigan will be/or gets close to a B10 Championship, so the committee can make an excuse for that debacle. However, my fear is that others are inevitable.

There is enough personnel data to make a fair evaluation on this roster. Hugely and Maddox are going to have a very difficult time making any consistent production going forward. Hugely is borderline useless to this point. Green is becoming even MORE one dimensional and Swain shows no hurry in getting to that expected "next level". Hunter looks like he is just not close to 100% for obvious reasons.

This frontcourt is more thin and vulnerable than any X roster since before Pete Gillen.

[Xville]

Can we all agree selection Sunday is everything for X every year. If our Musketeers are not in the conversation....it's a lost season for just about everyone here.

Let's hope Michigan will be/or gets close to a B10 Championship, so the committee can make an excuse for that debacle. However, my fear is that others are inevitable.

There is enough personnel data to make a fair evaluation on this roster. Hugely and Maddox are going to have a very difficult time making any consistent production going forward. Hugely is borderline useless to this point. Green is becoming even MORE one dimensional and Swain shows no hurry in getting to that expected "next level". Hunter looks like he is just not close to 100% for obvious reasons.

This frontcourt is more thin and vulnerable than any X roster since before Pete Gillen.

Huh? How soon you forget, Last year the frontcourt was far worse.

With that said, I wish we had Djokovic and nzeh just for a couple of bigger bodies.

[Xuperman]

Far worse? How? Just add up the minutes of the pieces and compare the average stats of both frontcourts. Yeah, Freemantle is the only thing that makes it close, but not good enough at present.

If/when Swain can get some damn consistent traction and quit being last year with MORE minutes and Hunter can get his deserved "karma", this conversation goes away. Miller will simply not tolerate the Hugely we've seen thus far.

[Xavier]

It was for sure worse last year. Freemantle being able to get buckets inside makes it better than last year already. Agreed I wouldn’t mind a couple of those bodies this year which is saying something

[Xville]

Far worse? How? Just add up the minutes of the pieces and compare the average stats of both frontcourts. Yeah, Freemantle is the only thing that makes it close, but not good enough at present.

If/when Swain can get some damn consistent traction and quit being last year with MORE minutes and Hunter can get his deserved "karma", this conversation goes away. Miller will simply not tolerate the Hugely we've seen thus far.

It’s not a conversation. This years frontcourt isn’t good but to think last years was better is fucking retarded.

[xuwillie]

It’s not a conversation. This years frontcourt isn’t good but to think last years was better is fucking retarded.

I’m tired of watching X have shitty frontcourts. When was our last good one? Reynolds and Farr? .

[Xavier]

Freemantle and Nunge 2 years ago IMO. Somewhat spoiled because they were so great at the big to big pass as well as sealing the lane. Great flow with them

But point still stands, it’s been a weak spot for awhile.

[xukeith]

Miller planned this season's roster. He recruited Green and believed Green could be a good guard.
Yes, Traore is out but Freementle, Hunter, Swain and Hugley are supposed to be reliable and provide a mid to average BE frontcourt.
Then a strong backcourt is "supposed" to help X be in top 4 of BE.

[Xavier]

I think X is still very much in the mix to be a top 4 BE team…

[bleedXblue]

I think X is still very much in the mix to be a top 4 BE team…

Agreed. But guys like Swain, Hunter and Maddox need to be consistent contributors for us to be a really good team. I have 100% faith in Free, Conwell and McKnight to do that........I feel really good about Foster being a solid peice. Hugley doesn't even need to be good. He just needs to be better and a guy that can play 10 decent minutes a game.

[MHettel]

Agreed. But guys like Swain, Hunter and Maddox need to be consistent contributors for us to be a really good team. I have 100% faith in Free, Conwell and McKnight to do that........I feel really good about Foster being a solid peice. Hugley doesn't even need to be good. He just needs to be better and a guy that can play 10 decent minutes a game.

The McFreeCon trio could be enough to keep this squad in the top half of the BE standings, with a good chance to dance. In theory a team with a Post scorer and perimeter scorer with a veteran PG really only does need some supporting cast around them.

Swain is really still limited offensively. His buckets come off the break or when the man defense breaks down because of missed rotations and he gets a seam to drive to the basket. He's not a catch and shoot guy and you wouldnt run plays for him. But he CAN be the defensive force we need. Some games he is, and some not so much. But thats a KEY role on a team and he's a great guy for teh role. Just need a little more consistency.

I think Green is gonna be the exact guy we've been seeing. If he keeps his minutes. He might even win us a game or 2 by getting red hot from deep. I know his drive attempts against Michigan ended badly, but I gotta say at least he TRIED. the rest of the team just wilted at the prospect of attacking the height. Im not disappointed much in Green because what he is doing is pretty much what I figured we would be capable of.

Disappointment comes in the form of Hunter and Maddox. Hunter was such a good "glue guy" 2 years ago and was really productive as an offensive rebounder and getting scraps inside. But now hes kinda looking for his shot more and its been off....badly. He needs a reset. he dopesnt need to get better at what he's doing, he needs to be doing what he's better at. I dont know what Maddox story is. He put up some decent numbers across the board last year (16/4/3) in 33 minutes per game, and this years everything is down and he's taking more 3's. he's 4 for 13 from 2. Maybe he's gonna heat up. His career % from 3 is 40%. If he can shoot like that from here on out and maybe be a little more aggressive going to the rim he can get "fixed" very quickly.

Foster has been solid. Hes in a smaller offensive role in less minutes on a team that plays slower than Furman did (beleive it or not). His rebounding numbers have been decent. His assist numbers are way up and he's not prone to TOs or fouling. He's hitting 47% from 3, and we should be prepared for a correction there (career 34%). Solid player and i think there will be some big moments for him.

Hugley. i have several posts already about him. he may be to light now to play the style that best fits his skills. or maybe hes just pressing. I'd like to see him get some extended PT just so we can see if more minutes helps him get into a rhythm and he's pressing less. If it doesnt work, then at least we know....

As has been said over and over, not having Traore is likely having a huge impact of the potential of this team. The obvious exposure we have against a team with size was hammered home by Michigan. Interior defense was our weakness BEFORE Traore went down. Free and Hugley are "legit" bigs and Swain and Hunter are guys with length. Foul trouble or minor injuries for this group of guys will cost us some games.

Still see a tournament team with S16 potential. Maybe a bit further if we can avoid difficult tourney matchups ( or not as far if we catch a BIG team early).

[MHettel]

Is Maddox gonna be on this team after the Christmas break?

[Xville]

Is Maddox gonna be on this team after the Christmas break?

Dunno specifics but if he keeps going the way he is going I’d be surprised. Just like I’d be surprised if green is on the team next year. At least green tries to do what miller asks of him. From what I can gather, Maddox is fighting it. Not the best move imo.

A lot of teams wanted him and he was thought highly enough that he could have been a starter. wtf has happened with him? It’s almost like there is something personal going on with him and he’s not in the best head space? I don’t know anything about him, but he’s just no where near the players that others indicated we were getting.

[MHettel]

Dunno specifics but if he keeps going the way he is going I’d be surprised. Just like I’d be surprised if green is on the team next year. At least green tries to do what miller asks of him. From what I can gather, Maddox is fighting it. Not the best move imo.

A lot of teams wanted him and he was thought highly enough that he could have been a starter. wtf has happened with him? It’s almost like there is something personal going on with him and he’s not in the best head space? I don’t know anything about him, but he’s just no where near the players that others indicated we were getting.

Yeah, i dont know. Conwell fouled out and we needed some shooting. We put in Hunter. Where was Maddox or Green? Something is obviously going on with the bench.

I dont know much about the NIL. How much it is or how much we are spending. But if we arent going to play the depth we have, then we should dump it all into one guy and let it rip.

Maddox was 2nd team ALL MAC last year and he played about 1 minute tonight. REALLY? We were that good that a guy on a team that was 14-4 last year cant see the court?

i get it. The Coach has to be right all the time. the coach will break the will of the player always. But we almost lost tonight, to a team, that is 4-4 with wins against: Morris????, Voorhees????, Alabama A&M, and IU Indy. They lost by 22 to to South Carolina. They lost to Jacksonville. They Lost to Bethune. They lost to Marshall by 29.

Miller needs to understand that its essential that our bench has confidence. He's lucky as shit that Green didnt shit the bed on his 4 FT attempts after getting 1 or 2 minutes of PT in the game.

DEVELOP THE BENCH, MILLER. RIGHT NOW. If it means a few mistakes, then so be it. McKnight didnt get yanked when he fouled a 3 point shooter. Swain did a dumbass behind the back pass to nobody. Free still gets worked on defense. It happens.

Players make mistakes. Its a coaching mistake to let this team, with this level of experienced talent, to not meet its full potential.

Ill take the Michigan loss. It shouldn't have been that one-sided, but fine.

But having to foul a guy on a team that has never beaten a ranked team...at HOME.....at the end of the game so he doesn't get a 3 point shot attempt off is on EVERYONE. COACH INCLUDED.

[bjf123]

I’m very concerned that we’ll go 2-4 between now and New Year’s Day.

Are the students already on Christmas break? Not many in attendance the last two games.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[noteggs]

Obviously Maddox is in the doghouse. Pretty sure Sean’s comments a few games ago was pointed at him. Maddox came into the game and gave up an uncontested 3. Think his lack of understanding on what Sean is trying to do on D. After the 3 went, Maddox committed a TO on the next possession on the offensive side. Hopefully he just needs the Hunter tough coaching.

[paulxu]

If we only use 6 guys, they'll be shot by January 1st.

[Xville]

If we only use 6 guys, they'll be shot by January 1st.

I’d have to check and maybe I’m not remembering correctly but I feel like during one of nova’s champ teams they had mostly 6 playing with a 7 and 8 sprinkled in here or there. It’s not ideal but it can be done. If the bench doesn’t get their act together that’s what is going to happen regardless. They just can’t be trusted at this point. Still just December, but the bench needs to figure it out quickly.

[Xville]

Ok I looked. The first nova championship it was mostly 6 with a 7 getting a little time. The 18 team was
More 7 with an 8th sprinkled in.

So hunter seems to have solidified the 6th man need 1-2 out of hugley, Maddox and green to get their act together and with no more injuries x would be fine.

[Xavier]

I mean, wasn’t the 2022 X team a 7 man roster that turned into a 6 man roster once Free got hurt?

[Xville]

I mean, wasn’t the 2022 X team a 7 man roster that turned into a 6 man roster once Free got hurt?

Yeah and to Paul’s point, Boum was dead at the end.

[Xavier]

Meh, he was fine up until Texas. Which was just a bad match up for him more than him being tired IMO.

Regardless, if it’s a 6 man rotation most of them have to be damn good and that’s not the case with this team. Going to have to get more out of bench guys.

[Xville]

Meh, he was fine up until Texas. Which was just a bad match up for him more than him being tired IMO.

Regardless, if it’s a 6 man rotation most of them have to be damn good and that’s not the case with this team. Going to have to get more out of bench guys.

Agreed with six man rotation, but it may have to come to that...maybe not six but seven. Still time but buy games are almost over, you'd hope 1-2 guys would start stepping up (Hugley, Green and Maddox)

Boum was also awful against Marquette (whole team was) and not great against Pitt either. Certainly matchups played a part i agree.

[Xuperman]

I’m very concerned that we’ll go 2-4 between now and New Year’s Day.

Are the students already on Christmas break? Not many in attendance the last two games.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We've seen enough. 2-4 is highly likely.....even worse is in question.

IMO, The only hope for a NCAA invite is for Freemantle and Conwell to stay VERY HEALTHY and the proverbial "light bulb" turns on above Swain's head!

I can not believe how terrible Hugely has been thus far. He plays like Dieonte Miles.

[Xville]

We've seen enough. 2-4 is highly likely.....even worse is in question.

IMO, The only hope for a NCAA invite is for Freemantle and Conwell to stay VERY HEALTHY and the proverbial "light bulb" turns on above Swain's head!

I can not believe how terrible Hugely has been thus far. He plays like Dieonte Miles.

It's astonishing how bad he's been. Not like this guy is making a big step up in competition and getting used to the speed or physicality. I know hes adjusting to his new body, but he looks so so bad.

[Xville]

Listened to Miller's press conference. He doesn't seem too concerned which makes me feel better. One thing he mentioned was the possibility of Hunter starting soon. I think that'd be nice to have...Swain slides over to his natural position and Foster comes off the bench as an energy guy. Couldn't hurt imo.

[Xuperman]

Absolutely! Based on what has transpired to this point.....I would say it will be an achievement to "sweep" 3 teams in Big East play.

Results have to start heading more north in a BIG way.

[bleedXblue]

Listened to Miller's press conference. He doesn't seem too concerned which makes me feel better. One thing he mentioned was the possibility of Hunter starting soon. I think that'd be nice to have...Swain slides over to his natural position and Foster comes off the bench as an energy guy. Couldn't hurt imo.

What presser? Dante was on with Byron and Joe post game. His comments were very pointed....saying essentially that there were "players" who need to start coming around quickly and that we're not playing to the level that we need to. Tough stretch coming and we need to figure it out quickly. He sounded concerned to say the least which is EXACTLY what I would expect Miller to say.

[Xville]

What presser? Dante was on with Byron and Joe post game. His comments were very pointed....saying essentially that there were "players" who need to start coming around quickly and that we're not playing to the level that we need to. Tough stretch coming and we need to figure it out quickly. He sounded concerned to say the least which is EXACTLY what I would expect Miller to say.

The full media presser after the game. Not sure which one is first but maybe he had time to cool off? He definitely made it known that expectations were not being met by the bench but gave praise to green for coming in and knocking down freee throws.

Not saying he’s thrilled by any stretch of the imagination, but wasn’t spitting blood or making very pointed comments like he did whenever that was before ft myers

[bleedXblue]

The full media presser after the game…

Interesting to say the least. 26 point favorites and coming off a really bad loss......

This team hasnt looked GOOD yet

[Xville]

Interesting to say the least. 26 point favorites and coming off a really bad loss......

This team hasnt looked GOOD yet

I dunno they have here and there, but not for a full 40 minutes. Second half of sc was good but I agree that other than that it’s not been good for a few weeks.

[bleedXblue]

I dunno they have here and there, but not for a full 40 minutes. Second half of sc was good but I agree that other than that it’s not been good for a few weeks.

I'm guessing Sean has been tough on some of the guys like (Maddox) and it isnt working out yet.......he knows its early so its hard to say....

This is a veteran group of players. Ive yet to see a real floor leader emerge.........I expected that would have come sooner

[Xavier]

I like the idea of starting Hunter and moving swain to his natural position. I think he’s got to be more aggressive on offense, even if he’s just cutting a lot. The motion offense really kinda stalls when you have inefficient offensive players. Swain needs to be able to provide something in the half court offense.

It’s not just his fault. But the half court offense is rough.

[Xville]

I like the idea of starting Hunter and moving swain to his natural position. I think he’s got to be more aggressive on offense, even if he’s just cutting a lot. The motion offense really kinda stalls when you have inefficient offensive players. Swain needs to be able to provide something in the half court offense.

It’s not just his fault. But the half court offense is rough.

Agreed. I like the idea of Hunter there too. I think Miller probably wanted Hugley to progress enough to put him at 5 but hes been awful. Swain is playing out of position, like you said not his fault, but he hasn't been great there. I think he'd flourish a bit in his more natural spot.

I wonder if we will see the switch in the lineup on Thursday.

[bleedXblue]

[QUOTE=Xville;791699]Agreed. I like the idea of Hunter there too. I think Miller probably wanted Hugley to progress enough to put him at 5 but hes been awful. Swain is playing out of position, like you said not his fault, but he hasn't been great there. I think he'd flourish a bit in his more natural spot.

I wonder if we will see the switch in the lineup on Thursday.[/QUOT


Didnt Swain take like 30,000 3's this offseason? Hes earned the right to shoot some. Otherwise you can see that they're playing way off him cloggin up the lane for everyone else

[Xville]

[QUOTE=Xville;791699]Agreed. I like the idea of Hunter there too. I think Miller probably wanted Hugley to progress enough to put him at 5 but hes been awful. Swain is playing out of position, like you said not his fault, but he hasn't been great there. I think he'd flourish a bit in his more natural spot.

I wonder if we will see the switch in the lineup on Thursday.[/QUOT


Didnt Swain take like 30,000 3's this offseason? Hes earned the right to shoot some. Otherwise you can see that they're playing way off him cloggin up the lane for everyone else

I think Miller said something about this the other day that he is hoping Swain starts to take some more shots when he has them. He mentioned that Swain just doesn't have the confidence yet to really let it fly, but he needs to shoot it.

[bleedXblue]

[QUOTE=bleedXblue;791702]

I think Miller said something about this the other day that he is hoping Swain starts to take some more shots when he has them. He mentioned that Swain just doesn't have the confidence yet to really let it fly, but he needs to shoot it.

He did take the ball to the basket 3-4 times yesterday which was good to see........

[bigdiggins]

[QUOTE=bleedXblue;791702]

I think Miller said something about this the other day that he is hoping Swain starts to take some more shots when he has them. He mentioned that Swain just doesn't have the confidence yet to really let it fly, but he needs to shoot it.

The 3 he took yesterday he airballed by roughly 9 ft.

[MHettel]

I like the idea of starting Hunter and moving swain to his natural position. I think he’s got to be more aggressive on offense, even if he’s just cutting a lot. The motion offense really kinda stalls when you have inefficient offensive players. Swain needs to be able to provide something in the half court offense.

It’s not just his fault. But the half court offense is rough.

Our offense was pretty amazing 2 years ago. It's the same "scheme" as this year, but the personnel makes the difference. Freemantle is playing well and hes the one consistent piece. I think people may have underestimated how high Kunkel's basketball IQ was. He was a good passes and just had a knack to be where he needed to be. Nunge was also an EXCELLENT passes in the post. Dishing both inside passes and out to shooters when the double team would come. And then of course Colby. A do-it-all guy with high IQ.

We dont have that this year. Conwell has been great, but He doesnt have that Boum handle that gets him to the rim. Swain has no offensive instinct. He gets the ball and immediately is looking to get rid of it. Foster has been solid, but he's also part of this stalled offense.

We need more movement and cutting and frankly better passing to put guys in spots where the defense has to rotate. THIS is how open shots and driving lanes become available. We just do some weave bullshit at the top of the key and then we have to jack up some deep 3.

We're not in the same position as last year, where our front court was fully lacking ANY offensive skills, but we're not who we were 2 years ago either.

Not sure what the answer is. Miller seems unwilling to try different things. I'm not sure what starting Hunter will do.

What about Cam Fletcher? And Roddy Anderson. I know Anderson is a redshirt....until he isnt. If we though he could help, hed get activated, right?

[Xville]

Our offense was pretty amazing 2 years ago. It's the same "scheme" as this year, but the personnel makes the difference. Freemantle is playing well and hes the one consistent piece. I think people may have underestimated how high Kunkel's basketball IQ was. He was a good passes and just had a knack to be where he needed to be. Nunge was also an EXCELLENT passes in the post. Dishing both inside passes and out to shooters when the double team would come. And then of course Colby. A do-it-all guy with high IQ.

We dont have that this year. Conwell has been great, but He doesnt have that Boum handle that gets him to the rim. Swain has no offensive instinct. He gets the ball and immediately is looking to get rid of it. Foster has been solid, but he's also part of this stalled offense.

We need more movement and cutting and frankly better passing to put guys in spots where the defense has to rotate. THIS is how open shots and driving lanes become available. We just do some weave bullshit at the top of the key and then we have to jack up some deep 3.

We're not in the same position as last year, where our front court was fully lacking ANY offensive skills, but we're not who we were 2 years ago either.

Not sure what the answer is. Miller seems unwilling to try different things. I'm not sure what starting Hunter will do.

What about Cam Fletcher? And Roddy Anderson. I know Anderson is a redshirt....until he isnt. If we though he could help, hed get activated, right?

Cam is still trying to get fully healthy. I dunno how many surgeries he has had over the last 3-4 but that’s it a lot.

Roddie was always going to redshirt. He’s not going to burn a year just to backup. It was a mutual decision per miller. All indications is that he is the starting pg next year unless something changes or he doesn’t progress the way everyone thinks he will. Outside of injuries to the backcourt, he’s not playing this year

[MHettel]

Cam is still trying to get fully healthy. I dunno how many surgeries he has had over the last 3-4 but that’s it a lot.

Roddie was always going to redshirt. He’s not going to burn a year just to backup. It was a mutual decision per miller. All indications is that he is the starting pg next year unless something changes or he doesn’t progress the way everyone thinks he will. Outside of injuries to the backcourt, he’s not playing this year

I guess I understand your point, but its a walking contradiction. We're wasting a year of Fletcher's eligibility, but we wouldnt burn a year of Andersons?

And I know that Anderson came here with that plan. He had to know that there wasn't going to be any room for PT this year. But lets be honest. He wasnt that good last year. I'd be shocked it we picked him up with the idea of handing him the starting PG job a year from now. I think he's insurance for this year and then we'll see after that. And I'm wondering if it's time to make and insurance claim....Maddox appears out of the picture and Green is not playing much and isnt effective when he is.

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

[QUOTE=Xville;791704]

The 3 he took yesterday he airballed by roughly 9 ft.

Almost landed that shot in the student section. Seems like he needs another 30,000.


Our offense was pretty amazing 2 years ago. It's the same "scheme" as this year, but the personnel makes the difference. Freemantle is playing well and hes the one consistent piece. I think people may have underestimated how high Kunkel's basketball IQ was. He was a good passes and just had a knack to be where he needed to be. Nunge was also an EXCELLENT passes in the post. Dishing both inside passes and out to shooters when the double team would come. And then of course Colby. A do-it-all guy with high IQ.

Funny you mention Kunkel. I was at Cintas watching the game yesterday and wondering when a true leader was going to emerge and Kunkel came to mind.

Thank you for not employing the hated "Swiss Army Knife" cliche in referencing Colby. For a while I thought that was his last name as Colby Jones Swiss Army Knife. I thought it would never go away. I am hopeful that "high basketball IQ" will soon disappear as well.

[GoMuskies]

Colby would look pretty good in a Xavier uniform about now. He's in the NBA making that minimum salary, so I'm sure he doesn't regret leaving, but it's not going particularly great for him there.

[Xville]

I guess I understand your point, but its a walking contradiction. We're wasting a year of Fletcher's eligibility, but we wouldnt burn a year of Andersons?

And I know that Anderson came here with that plan. He had to know that there wasn't going to be any room for PT this year. But lets be honest. He wasnt that good last year. I'd be shocked it we picked him up with the idea of handing him the starting PG job a year from now. I think he's insurance for this year and then we'll see after that. And I'm wondering if it's time to make and insurance claim....Maddox appears out of the picture and Green is not playing much and isnt effective when he is.

This symbolizes when I say sometimes you just look at stats to spin a narrative that’s often incorrect. You’ve looked at Anderson stats and just say he didn’t have a good year last year. Well yes stats why he wasn’t great but you often miss the most important part which is the why. But he played in a system that was very slow, not a system for him, and that hurt his offensive production. If you want to say well why did he go to a school and system that didn’t fit his game? That’s fair and I don’t know. He is fully expected to be the starter next year. He and miller have both said he plays faster than Dayvion, he’s a great fit for the system that milller wants to run. He’s sitting to get stronger but also to get a year of practice against be competition and have a bit of a reset. Handed the job? Of course not, no one is ever just handed a starting position, but the plan is for him to be the starting pg position if he progresses the way Miller wants and expects. Nyk will presumably be the backup with conwell as the starting 2 and whoever backing him up.

Cam is a different animal. His injuries have gotten him to a place where he isn’t nearly as good as he used to be. If he ever starts, x is probably in a bad injury situation. He is a rotational piece. Completely different situations.


Maddox won’t be here next year and I really doubt green will be.

[MHettel]

This symbolizes when I say sometimes you just look at stats to spin a narrative that’s often incorrect. You’ve looked at Anderson stats and just say he didn’t have a good year last year. Well yes stats why he wasn’t great but you often miss the most important part which is the why. But he played in a system that was very slow, not a system for him, and that hurt his offensive production. If you want to say well why did he go to a school and system that didn’t fit his game? That’s fair and I don’t know. He is fully expected to be the starter next year. He and miller have both said he plays faster than Dayvion, he’s a great fit for the system that milller wants to run. He’s sitting to get stronger but also to get a year of practice against be competition and have a bit of a reset. Handed the job? Of course not, no one is ever just handed a starting position, but the plan is for him to be the starting pg position if he progresses the way Miller wants and expects. Nyk will presumably be the backup with conwell as the starting 2 and whoever backing him up.

Cam is a different animal. His injuries have gotten him to a place where he isn’t nearly as good as he used to be. If he ever starts, x is probably in a bad injury situation. He is a rotational piece. Completely different situations.


Maddox won’t be here next year and I really doubt green will be.

What are you talking about? You've now got special insight into Roddie Anderson? Stuff that doesnt show up in the stats?

Boise State is not a slow system. They scored 75 PPG last year, which ranked 128th out of about 375 teams. He played at a much slower system the prior year (ranked 261) and scored twice as many points. Go figure!

Anderson has played in 63 games, started 54 of them and has played 1800+ minutes. He's a career 28% shooter from 3. Hes a 42% shooter from 2. He takes about 2.5 FTs a game and makes about 1.7. He averages 2.9 APG. He averages 2.5 TOPG. 2 years worth of stats in the books for this guy and you believe we brought him in to run our offense in 2 years?

How is this guy any different than Dwon Odom, who transferred out already due to his lack of shooting?

I dont mind one bit that we took him. Maybe he will get much better and become a starter. But to think that Miller would commit to this dude as a starter before he sets foot on campus is laughable. He's insurance.

[Xville]

What are you talking about? You've now got special insight into Roddie Anderson? Stuff that doesnt show up in the stats?

Boise State is not a slow system. They scored 75 PPG last year, which ranked 128th out of about 375 teams. He played at a much slower system the prior year (ranked 261) and scored twice as many points. Go figure!

Anderson has played in 63 games, started 54 of them and has played 1800+ minutes. He's a career 28% shooter from 3. Hes a 42% shooter from 2. He takes about 2.5 FTs a game and makes about 1.7. He averages 2.9 APG. He averages 2.5 TOPG. 2 years worth of stats in the books for this guy and you believe we brought him in to run our offense in 2 years?

How is this guy any different than Dwon Odom, who transferred out already due to his lack of shooting?

I dont mind one bit that we took him. Maybe he will get much better and become a starter. But to think that Miller would commit to this dude as a starter before he sets foot on campus is laughable. He's insurance.

No i watched the Sean Miller podcast with Roddie Anderson. Maybe you should.

Funny you mentioned shooting, that's another thing he is working to improve upon in practice and another reason he is sitting this year.

Like, maybe think before you post sometimes? Your last two sentences are factually wrong. You have zero insight and you act like it's a fact.

[MHettel]

No i watched the Sean Miller podcast with Roddie Anderson. Maybe you should.

Oh, Miller said something nice about his guest on his Podcast. My bad.

[Xville]

Oh, Miller said something nice about his guest on his Podcast. My bad.

so, once again you are proven wrong from what you think, and instead of just being like "yeah i should watch the episode and learn something", you come back with a smart-ass response? Mature.

Here's some facts for you....I said Boise State was slow and you said no they weren't they scored 75 points a game last year. That has zero to do with the speed of their game. They were 243 in tempo...that's incredibly slow. Please stop trying to act like you're the smartest person in the room with every post and realize others know more than you in some cases. UC San Diego was also incredibly slow the year before, but its not just about being slow, it's just one part of it. For one UC San Diego plays in a low major league, Boise State was a big step up for him. He not only mentioned tempo, but their system was just not a good fit, and he wasn't ready for the step up yet.

You also acted like Miller said on the podcast that Anderson is going to be the starter next year. He'd never say something like that. However, its inferred, and with some common sense, its easy to read between the lines. Is it guaranteed? Of course not.

[MHettel]

so, once again you are proven wrong from what you think, and instead of just being like "yeah i should watch the episode and learn something", you come back with a smart-ass response? Mature.

Here's some facts for you....I said Boise State was slow and you said no they weren't they scored 75 points a game last year. That has zero to do with the speed of their game. They were 243 in tempo...that's incredibly slow. Please stop trying to act like you're the smartest person in the room with every post and realize others know more than you in some cases. UC San Diego was also incredibly slow the year before, but its not just about being slow, it's just one part of it. For one UC San Diego plays in a low major league, Boise State was a big step up for him. He not only mentioned tempo, but their system was just not a good fit, and he wasn't ready for the step up yet.

Im fine with the concept that certain players have a fit in some systems and not others. But he hasn't played in a fast system. And he put up pretty bad stats in the systems he did play in. So what exactly was Miller looking for and how would he know if he found it? There is nothing at all that the guy has done to suggest that Millers gonna just hand over the reigns next year. he a ZERO risk add for this year. If someone gets injured, then throw him in there. If he develops alot in his redshirt year and has a role the following year, then thats gravy. If he doesnt develop, then he transfers again.

Try before you buy. I'm in favor of that.

[Xville]

Im fine with the concept that certain players have a fit in some systems and not others. But he hasn't played in a fast system. And he put up pretty bad stats in the systems he did play in. So what exactly was Miller looking for and how would he know if he found it? There is nothing at all that the guy has done to suggest that Millers gonna just hand over the reigns next year. he a ZERO risk add for this year. If someone gets injured, then throw him in there. If he develops alot in his redshirt year and has a role the following year, then thats gravy. If he doesnt develop, then he transfers again.

Try before you buy. I'm in favor of that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jd498TkBs-Y

When you have time, just watch the episode.

Nothing is ever just handed to someone in NCAA High D1 basketball. I never suggested that. That is the plan, sometimes plans change. Regardless, the plan is for him to start next year.

This all started with why not try Anderson? I answered because presumably you wanted an answer. I gave you the answer, you didn't agree or didn't like it or just wanted to argue and went off on a tangent. It's peculiar.

[xukeith]

The Anderson pick up always baffled me. Maybe Miller is aiming for a diamond in the roough. 6'0 point guards/shooting guards are extremely plentiful in d1 basketball.
Anderson in his highlights and stats don't wow anyone but maybe coaches see something I don't.
What type of guard does X need? A scorer, defender and an athletic guard all with a high iq would be ideal.
Who knew this type of guard with unknown talent and pedigree matches all Miller's requirements.

[nuts4xu]

The season is a lifetime...

[Xavier]

We need more movement and cutting and frankly better passing to put guys in spots where the defense has to rotate. THIS is how open shots and driving lanes become available. We just do some weave bullshit at the top of the key and then we have to jack up some deep 3.

We're not in the same position as last year, where our front court was fully lacking ANY offensive skills, but we're not who we were 2 years ago either.


yep. It must be a tough offense to run/understand. Bc last years team never had it, and this year isn’t looking promising (in half court offense).

It requires everyone to have high IQ and a solid offensive skill set. Maybe that team was just the perfect set of guys to run it, because it was beautiful to watch them do so. For the past two teams it doesn’t even look like much of an offense. According to some of the podcasts, swain drains it at practice. IF that starts to translate I can see the offense opening up slightly.

But when one guy stops the whole flow the offense gets stuck. Right now, swain stops it. Looks to pass immediately or the D sags off so much it clogs lain and ruins spacing. I don’t think he’s the only issue though, just most glaring. Our guys don’t consistently beat one on one defense to create for themselves and take advantage of spacing like the team two years ago could.

Kunkel/colby/boum could all turn corner fast enough on screens to force defensive help and create open shots. I think both McKnight and conwell have shown they can but it isn’t as easy. And with d being able to sag off swain, it’s even more difficult.


It’s a long way to say when the players fit, it’s a great offense. I don’t know what the fix is, but we’ve been easy to stop in the half court this year.

[GoMuskies]

The season is a lifetime...

This thread has taken a year off my lifetime.

[bleedXblue]

yep. It must be a tough offense to run/understand. Bc last years team never had it, and this year isn’t looking promising (in half court offense).

It requires everyone to have high IQ and a solid offensive skill set. Maybe that team was just the perfect set of guys to run it, because it was beautiful to watch them do so. For the past two teams it doesn’t even look like much of an offense. According to some of the podcasts, swain drains it at practice. IF that starts to translate I can see the offense opening up slightly.

But when one guy stops the whole flow the offense gets stuck. Right now, swain stops it. Looks to pass immediately or the D sags off so much it clogs lain and ruins spacing. I don’t think he’s the only issue though, just most glaring. Our guys don’t consistently beat one on one defense to create for themselves and take advantage of spacing like the team two years ago could.

Kunkel/colby/boum could all turn corner fast enough on screens to force defensive help and create open shots. I think both McKnight and conwell have shown they can but it isn’t as easy. And with d being able to sag off swain, it’s even more difficult.


It’s a long way to say when the players fit, it’s a great offense. I don’t know what the fix is, but we’ve been easy to stop in the half court this year.

BINGO

Swain is really hurting us the way hes being utilized right now. He basically stands in the corner and watches most of the offensive possession. His defender plays about 5 feet off of him and plays help defense and clogs the lane making it more difficult for everyone else.....

If he has to play, then we have to get him in some better spots to free other guys up. Or, making 1 out of 3 open 3's would help a hell of a lot too......

[Jumpin_Jamal_Forever]

This thread has taken a year off my lifetime.

:biggrin::biggrin:

[MHettel]

yep. It must be a tough offense to run/understand. Bc last years team never had it, and this year isn’t looking promising (in half court offense).

It requires everyone to have high IQ and a solid offensive skill set. Maybe that team was just the perfect set of guys to run it, because it was beautiful to watch them do so. For the past two teams it doesn’t even look like much of an offense. According to some of the podcasts, swain drains it at practice. IF that starts to translate I can see the offense opening up slightly.

But when one guy stops the whole flow the offense gets stuck. Right now, swain stops it. Looks to pass immediately or the D sags off so much it clogs lain and ruins spacing. I don’t think he’s the only issue though, just most glaring. Our guys don’t consistently beat one on one defense to create for themselves and take advantage of spacing like the team two years ago could.

Kunkel/colby/boum could all turn corner fast enough on screens to force defensive help and create open shots. I think both McKnight and conwell have shown they can but it isn’t as easy. And with d being able to sag off swain, it’s even more difficult.


It’s a long way to say when the players fit, it’s a great offense. I don’t know what the fix is, but we’ve been easy to stop in the half court this year.

There is an undertone here.

Miller has his offense and it worked really well 2 years ago. perfect personnel to run it.

Last year, it didnt work. At all. Didnt have the right personnel with the right skills. It appeared that the tweak Miller made was to just run more, even doing so on made baskets. But in the halfcourt it was still non-working and then Claude would just go one-on-one.

I dont see this year being either version of those prior years. The personnel is what it is. Now Miller needs to find a system for the personnel. Not teh other way around. too late for that.

[drudy23]

BINGO

Swain is really hurting us the way hes being utilized right now. He basically stands in the corner and watches most of the offensive possession. His defender plays about 5 feet off of him and plays help defense and clogs the lane making it more difficult for everyone else.....

If he has to play, then we have to get him in some better spots to free other guys up. Or, making 1 out of 3 open 3's would help a hell of a lot too......

I've said it for years - a return to a true 2 big line-up could work wonders for this program. But coaches simply don't want to do it in this day and age.

Have some more perimeter and paint balance. Having two capable bigs (e.g. Free and Nunge) is so hard to guard, especially if both are threats from the outside.

You can tell 100% the defensive gameplan is to disrupt our perimeter. We have to be able to counter-attack that, and so far, we haven't, because of the lack of post scoring. Free can't do it alone.

Everyone thinks they can be Jay Wright's Villanova.

[Xville]

I've said it for years - a return to a true 2 big line-up could work wonders for this program. But coaches simply don't want to do it in this day and age.

Have some more perimeter and paint balance. Having two capable bigs (e.g. Free and Nunge) is so hard to guard, especially if both are threats from the outside.

You can tell 100% the defensive gameplan is to disrupt our perimeter. We have to be able to counter-attack that, and so far, we haven't, because of the lack of post scoring. Free can't do it alone.

Everyone thinks they can be Jay Wright's Villanova.

To your point, I'm hoping to see Hunter in the starting lineup tomorrow night. I know that isn't like having two true post 6'10 guys in there, but I think it will help in a lot of ways. Free and Hunter should be able to execute more of what the offense is supposed to be, and probably what they had practiced all summer with Free and Traore. For some reason, it just hasn't worked with Swain and Free...probably mostly Swain's fault but hes playing out of position. To that end, it should slide Swain over to his more natural position, and give him the opportunity to cut and slash, opening up perimeter shooters. Or, at least that's the idea.

If this lineup change doesn't happen, I get it, but the offense looks awful lately. Either Swain really needs to step up at that 4 position, or X needs a lineup change.

[Xuperman]

Guys....Freemantle can not be expected to play the 5...with positive results... In the BEast. Hugley is the laser focus. If he continues to be the guy we've seen.....no possible chance to come close to where we want to be.

[Xville]

Guys....Freemantle can not be expected to play the 5...with positive results... In the BEast. Hugley is the laser focus. If he continues to be the guy we've seen.....no possible chance to come close to where we want to be.

I am sure that Sean and staff would like for him to progress to the point where Hugley would start there, but obviously with his play, that can't happen. It's certainly not ideal to have Free play the 5, everyone knows it. However, I'd think Hunter in there would at least help somewhat due to Swain not executing from the 4 spot.

[drudy23]

16 and 10 Hugley would be nice - didn't he avg close to that at OK or did I misread that?

Alot of problems solved if he gets to half that honestly.

[Xville]

16 and 10 Hugley would be nice - didn't he avg close to that at OK or did I misread that?

Alot of problems solved if he gets to half that honestly.

15/8 his last year at Pitt. Heck even at Oklahoma he was 8 and 4 which is better than hes been here so far. It's hard to fathom what he has become...don't know if its just his new body or lost confidence or what

[bleedXblue]

15/8 his last year at Pitt. Heck even at Oklahoma he was 8 and 4 which is better than hes been here so far. It's hard to fathom what he has become...don't know if its just his new body or lost confidence or what

yes, yes and yes LOL I think he'll figure it out..........hopefully sooner rather than too late

[xukeith]

Didn't Sean say in October or November that Hugley should turn the corner and show his stuff aroumd January?

[Xavier]

He did. I don’t take anything he says in that regard seriously. He spent all year last year saying how “the best is yet to come” I think he’s trying to install confidence in him more than anything, just like last year

[Xville]

Yeah after last year, I don’t believe Sean when he says stuff like that.