No Point Guard Next Season

[BillyX]

Johnny Wolf we hardly knew you.

You could have been the man at PG for X your senior season, instead you opted out for one extra year.

Dante Jackson will have to be the man, but hopefully Lyons is up for the task midway through his freshman campaign.

[Mr. Neutral]

I still don't know if JW, even as a senior, was the answer at PG. I saw nothing to indicate that JW could hold his own for 35 minutes against the likes of a Tennessee, or any other high Div. I school with athletic, quick guards.

[MADXSTER]

Smails, Lyons has the highest point average on his team that includes two Div 1 players. He's at the shooting guard position because he not only can handle the ball, he can score.

He's a PG moved to a SG postion which is better than the opposite.

[CarlosTheJackal]

Lumpkin played more minutes at point than any Xavier guard in history. OK, I made that up, have not verified. But I believe it is true, and believe it is the most physically taxing job on the floor, and the one that grinds a player down over the course of a season. Lumpkin would run out of legs and shots in February his first three years because he was playing 36 min a game. No one even bothered guarding him his senior year because he had completely lost his shooting legs.

Drew had the advantage, if you can call it that, of sitting out a year in the middle of his career. Yet I still worry about him, as a fifth year senior, playing 35 min a game. I hope he still has the same energy 6 and 7 weeks from now.

Dante has been a disappointment to me at point. When he and Stan are in the game, Stan is really the one running the show, not Dante. Dante is a matchup problem at 6-5 and the great hops, but I am not sure he can get down on D against a smaller, quicker jitterbug guard...like Drew, Lofton...

So for these reasons I look at the present crew and the recruits, I agree I don't see ONE true point there, let alone two. And we are going to need TWO new point guards, or we are going to run someone into the ground very quickly. We cannot realistically expect a frosh or soph to step in and play 35 minutes a game next year. We will need a 25-15 pair from among this group.

Is the Bronson line of discussion in this thread leading to thoughts of a Juco find?

[MADXSTER]

Dante has been a disappointment to me at point.

Carlos, Dante was not recruited as a point guard. He was recruited as a shooting guard and was the best option available to help out at the point. Anything he does at the PG position this year should be considered a bonus.

We have two point guards coming in next year, both of whom can shoot. Lyons will probably get the nod to start since he'll probably be the better defender and he is playing with/against some D-1 players. Then Redford, then Dante.

It will be a learning curve. Freshman are freshman. Period. But we'll be okay.

[Justin Cage]

I like Dante. He provides energy off the bench and is always ready to play. He reminds me of Stanley, in the sense that he plays hard on defense, and is always the first one off the bench to give the team high-fives. There is no doubt that he is a team player. I think he will be able to provide some solid minutes next year.

[THill42]

I still don't know if JW, even as a senior, was the answer at PG. I saw nothing to indicate that JW could hold his own for 35 minutes against the likes of a Tennessee, or any other high Div. I school with athletic, quick guards.

I disagree with your analysis on Wolf's potential as starting point guard. Wolf could have been just as good, if not better than Tennessee's starting point guard Jordan Howell. They are very similar players: smart, under control, very few turnovers. Along with this, John would have probably been a better scorer if he ever found the confidence to start shooting. He would have been a valuable asset next year.

[Mr. Neutral]

We'll have to disagree, T. I don't dislike JW, I'm glad he came to X, and I think he would have been a very valuable backup PG. But all the smarts in the world don't make up for lack of foot speed, and to be honest, I never saw him show that he was that good a ballhandler. When teams pressed him, my memory (which could be wrong) was that he was in a heap of trouble.

[muskieman]

I still don't know if JW, even as a senior, was the answer at PG. I saw nothing to indicate that JW could hold his own for 35 minutes against the likes of a Tennessee, or any other high Div. I school with athletic, quick guards.

I disagree with your analysis on Wolf's potential as starting point guard. Wolf could have been just as good, if not better than Tennessee's starting point guard Jordan Howell. They are very similar players: smart, under control, very few turnovers. Along with this, John would have probably been a better scorer if he ever found the confidence to start shooting. He would have been a valuable asset next year.

Johnny didn't give it much of a chance now did he. I like John and hope he turns out to have a great career but he bailed out for a better scene in his mind and that is his right but it is past history. If we had (fill in the blank) we would have a (fill in the blank) team. I chose to dwell in the reality of the situation and figure Sean knows more about the point position then anyone...even Drew says that.

[xuhuh!]

i like dante jackson next year at point. he is as intense a competitor as there is on the roster. a warrior. when he's not on the floor he's still in the game, very receptive to what he and anyone else on the team is being coached. he's done well at point when given minutes there. he gets the ball where it's supposed to go. he won't be drew lavender, who is? i'd say he's learned a lot from 2 great X guards and hope we'll see some great moments before this season ends. it will be a different style. senior point guards aren't always there. jackson has showed signs of scoring outside and inside. he's physical. j wolfe was a good guard and a smart player, but if he decided to move on he knew what was best for him. IN SEAN WE TRUST! especially at the 1......jackson will be working hard in the off season. we'll all be another year older by then