Game Thread: Xavier vs St John's University (1/22/2025)

[MHettel]

Claude is currently leading usc to 12-7, 63 in kenpom with (according to team rankings sheet) 20% chance of making the tournament.
Xavier is 12-8, 45th in kenpom. With a 30% chance of making tournament.

The only reason people think Claude is a difference maker or a guy who’s a good leader is bc he left.

Claude at the 3 would be phenomenal for this team. We would have 3 #1 option scorers. I like Foster ok, but I’d take Claude over him in a heart beat. Heck, I’d throw Maddox into that trade. Hugley too. Anderson too. How much money do we think we spent on combined NIL for those 3?

[Xville]

Good thing we don’t have Claude. Would be interesting to hear what Erik Musselman has to say about how he was able to land Claude. Rick Pitino had the courage to speak out

Yeah musselman could say that he gave him the lead guard position that miller denied him. Must see tv

[Xville]

Claude at the 3 would be phenomenal for this team. We would have 3 #1 option scorers. I like Foster ok, but I’d take Claude over him in a heart beat. Heck, I’d throw Maddox into that trade. Hugley too. Anderson too. How much money do we think we spent on combined NIL for those 3?

I’ll take conwell and swain. Had traore not been hurt, it would be swain at the 3. It’s not a foster vs Claude, foster was supposed to be a bench player. It’s really not even worth the discussion because Claude was not going to play the 3 here, that’s why he’s not here.

[Xville]

Claude is currently leading usc to 12-7, 63 in kenpom with (according to team rankings sheet) 20% chance of making the tournament.
Xavier is 12-8, 45th in kenpom. With a 30% chance of making tournament.

The only reason people think Claude is a difference maker or a guy who’s a good leader is bc he left. A good player, great 3td option. A top 2 guy and you’re in trouble just like we were last year.

I think people also forget how anti clutch he was as well. Do people just not remember the nova and providence games last year? He’s a good player, no doubt but he’s not a dog, and that’s what this team needs plus a legitimate 5.

[MHettel]

Yeah musselman could say that he gave him the lead guard position that miller denied him. Must see tv

I just looked up the definition of “lead guard”

- must take the most number of shots on the team. But not by a small amount. Must take 14% more shots than the next closest guy.
- must lead the team in Free Throw attempts. In fact must shoot 240% more Free throws than the next closest guy.
- must take no more than 8% of the teams 3 point attempts, while making no more than 32% of them.
- must lead the team in turnovers. In fact must have 23% more than the next guy.

- he’s averaging 4.1 assist and just recent took the team lead in that category. Frankly I find that to amazing, since it does t appear that anyone else ever gets to score.

“Lead guard”

[Xville]

I just looked up the definition of “lead guard”

- must take the most number of shots on the team. But not by a small amount. Must take 14% more shots than the next closest guy.
- must lead the team in Free Throw attempts. In fact must shoot 240% more Free throws than the next closest guy.
- must take no more than 8% of the teams 3 point attempts, while making no more than 32% of them.
- must lead the team in turnovers. In fact must have 23% more than the next guy.

- he’s averaging 4.1 assist and just recent took the team lead in that category. Frankly I find that to amazing, since it does t appear that anyone else ever gets to score.

“Lead guard”

So, you’re saying we aren’t missing him. Good to know you came around.

[Xville]

By the way if you want to actually understand what lead guard means, you can find it here:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball_positions

[Xavier]

Just don’t get the love for him. He was maddening to watch outside of the few really good games. It’s just a weird narrative. We saw what he was as the second best player. We sucked. Maybe it was just me, but he pissed me off so much throughout the season I didn’t care that he was leaving. If he was willing to stay and be a really good roll player then I’d be fine. His size would help if we changed to all defense approach.

He’s not a leader and USC is likely miss the tournament, too. It’s not like he is showing anything different at USC (in terms of how he impacts wins)