Is The Post A Priority?

[drudy23]

Yes, I know injuries are the elephant in the room when it comes to our post players, but...

...after Mack left, there has been little emphasis on building a dominant frontcourt. You need capable bigs in the Big East. And you need depth at the position as well. Outside of Free, we haven't had an impactful big man since Mack left. Do we balance the recruiting portal a bit more to focus less on guards - I'm sure Miller gets amped at getting great guards, but cmon man, we need some beef! All of the guys below were DAWGS!!!

Jalen Reynolds
David West
Jimmy Farr
Matt Stainbrook
Tyrone Hill
Derek Strong
Aaron Williams
Tyrique Jones
Torraye Braggs
CJ Anderson
Zach Hankins
Brian Grant

I'm sure I've missed some...and yes, I know all of these players didn't play for Mack, or in the Big East. What happened to our big man pipeline????????

[Xavier]

You’ve been saying it for a long time. I disagreed early on but am totally on board now. It’s not the same as what you’re looking for, but two good/capable front court players on offense is a game changer. Freemantle/Nunge presented so many opportunities for mismatches in the paint. I specifically remember UConn bringing in Clingan, X getting a mismatch for him to guard Freemantle and free blew right by him. Clingan immediately subbed out.

Again, I know it’s not exactly what you’re saying but still. Go with a talented offensive front court or defensive/rebounding bigs- it changes the game. I do think there’s been a few attempts at recruiting project bigs that just didn’t pan out. But it needs to be figured out and is a big piece in a successful future IMO.

[drudy23]

You’ve been saying it for a long time. I disagreed early on but am totally on board now. It’s not the same as what you’re looking for, but two good/capable front court players on offense is a game changer. Freemantle/Nunge presented so many opportunities for mismatches in the paint. I specifically remember UConn bringing in Clingan, X getting a mismatch for him to guard Freemantle and free blew right by him. Clingan immediately subbed out.

Again, I know it’s not exactly what you’re saying but still. Go with a talented offensive front court or defensive/rebounding bigs- it changes the game. I do think there’s been a few attempts at recruiting project bigs that just didn’t pan out. But it needs to be figured out and is a big piece in a successful future IMO.

It's extra puzzling seeing what Free and Nunge did together, and the mismatches it provided for us. Not to mention rim protection, which has been glaringly missing for some time.

Playing Hankins and Tyrique together almost saved a season under Steele.

[Xville]

I know for a fact we tried to get Ike who is at Gonzaga. That guy would have been a monster for us. We got outbid.

Outside of that I’m sure there are others. Traore would have been great in the defensive side of things which would have been a good compliment to free.

I don’t know beyond that. I just think money needs to be allocated a little better. Going to need to spend big bucks on frontcourt guys because there is a limited number and everyone wants them. Guards are a dime a dozen

[MHettel]

I think if you target a big guy, you just accept that they probably won’t be a “5 tool player”. Decide what you want / need and find a guy that has a strength in that area. If you are looking for a tough rebounder and post defense guy, then maybe he just is gonna suck at Free Throws and 3s. But grab him. Same with a rim protector. Maybe he can’t finish well….but grab him.

Nzeh comes to mind. He seemed like a guy that could be that tough dude we always had. Did we expect more from him than that?

Edwards is a head scratcher. What exactly was he supposed to be? Average at everything? That’s what we were looking for? Or Miles for that matter. He was huge. Got it. That’s it? He didn’t have a single element of his game that was high D1 level. And we waited on tha dude for 4 years.

Xavier just isnt gonna get the all around big men. There are too few, and we had trouble getting them in the past. We generally relied on guys that were either under the radar (some worked, some didn’t) or we developed them for a couple years.

[drudy23]

I think if you target a big guy, you just accept that they probably won’t be a “5 tool player”. Decide what you want / need and find a guy that has a strength in that area. If you are looking for a tough rebounder and post defense guy, then maybe he just is gonna suck at Free Throws and 3s. But grab him. Same with a rim protector. Maybe he can’t finish well….but grab him.

Nzeh comes to mind. He seemed like a guy that could be that tough dude we always had. Did we expect more from him than that?

Edwards is a head scratcher. What exactly was he supposed to be? Average at everything? That’s what we were looking for? Or Miles for that matter. He was huge. Got it. That’s it? He didn’t have a single element of his game that was high D1 level. And we waited on tha dude for 4 years.

Xavier just isnt gonna get the all around big men. There are too few, and we had trouble getting them in the past. We generally relied on guys that were either under the radar (some worked, some didn’t) or we developed them for a couple years.

Well if it's never gonna happen, how can we expect better?

I have no clue why people think we can navigate this conference successfully playing 4.5 guards. We need at least 3 big men that can play at this level. I'm not saying they need to be David West, but you can't just cast aside big men as "nice to have". They are a damn necessity.

[Three Point Pete]

Well if it's never gonna happen, how can we expect better?

I have no clue why people think we can navigate this conference successfully playing 4.5 guards. We need at least 3 big men that can play at this level. I'm not saying they need to be David West, but you can't just cast aside big men as "nice to have". They are a damn necessity.

Well, 3 big men at the Hall, Okorafor Erheriene and Yalden managed to "hold" Georgetown's Sorber to 19 points!

Sent from my SM-A326U using Tapatalk

[xukeith]

Joe Tipton on Twitter tweeted "Brown grad transfer forward Nana Owusu-Anane has heard from Xavier since entering the portal this morning, per his agent"
Nana is 220 pounds 6'8 and played a lot at center for Brown.
He is atttracting attention

[bigdiggins]

Joe Tipton on Twitter tweeted "Brown grad transfer forward Nana Owusu-Anane has heard from Xavier since entering the portal this morning, per his agent"
Nana is 220 pounds 6'8 and played a lot at center for Brown.
He is atttracting attention

Does getting a C the size of Swain answer the post struggles in the Big East? Granted he'd be better than Hugley

[JTG]

Send one of the coaches to Europe, Asia, and Africa and tell him not to come back without TWO 6'10" bigs that can both play. Even if he has to stay there till February.

[webxu]

The funny thing is at AZ Miller always had good/competent big men.. why is he struggling here with it?

[Xavier]

Does getting a C the size of Swain answer the post struggles in the Big East? Granted he'd be better than Hugley

Baylor, Kansas, Louisville, and Texas are all interested in him (among a very large list, but those were the top teams).

[Xville]

Don’t love the size and frankly know nothing about him, but stats would suggest he can play some d. 14 and 8 with a block and steal a game would be nice to have. The more post players the better. If those teams are interested though, chances of getting him are extremely low. And getting yet another guy coming off an injury doesn’t exactly thrill me