Cincinnati Game Thread 12.08.18

[thecoach]

I’ll say it first and everyone can get pissed at me, Travis out coached by Mick ——how sad.

I got to see much of the game from a neighbor's box, and about half up close. Steele had some bad moments, but overall they're not likely to lose a ot of game not to mention at home if the defend that well.

-Jones looked more effective down low with the added pounds on him. I'm not sure that experiment has worked in his favor. He struggled against Uc's big kid off the bench underneath, but to be fair the kid is very strong down low going after the ball.
-Stelee would be have been well advised to burn a time out to get Welage off Cumberland. That was like throwing a kid into a pit with a snake. He can't guard a guy like that on the perimeter, and it happened several possessions in a row. Game really got away from them at that point.
-Grad transfers have offensive skills, but it's clear why they were not at bigger programs when you see them on the defensive end, pretty self explanatory
-Need more quickness and depth in the backcourt unless they can add some consistent offensive presence inside. Just not a lot of playmakers who can consistently beat guys off the dribble. Surprised as i did not recall seeing Harden. Maybe he was sick.

Onward.

[XavierRunningMan]

Give Travis a break...first year coach who had to build a roster as quickly as possible. If he didn’t get get the grad transfers we’d be playing walk-ons.

I have no problem with the technical on him either. Players played with little to no emotion..he was probably just trying to get them fired up. Coaches do it all the time.

I wonder if the stomach bug + possible concussion didn’t play a bigger role than we think. Jones seemed a bit out of it...Goodin was absolutely gassed.

Long season ahead...yes I hate losing to UC but we have a top 20 class coming in. Give Trav a few years to recruit and I see no reason why we aren’t a top 10 program again. Well ran dry...give it time to refill.

[joeabe]

I agree we are lacking scorers and it makes it difficult for players to continue being up beat when the ball will not go through the hoop. Its going to be a long season for our players as well as our rookie coach. Teams are going to want to run us out of the gym much lick UC did today. We have been beating our league opponents up the past three or four years. I just hope we can keep our spirit up as we go through league play. Basketball Jones did not look himself today. Good solid defensive teams will give us fits. The zone killed us as they dared us to shoot from outside and would not let us in the paint. Can you imagine if we were not able to attract the transfers???? I want to give Travis a chance he deserves. But, I gotta say I think our program considering our tradition of winning and doing very well in the BE could have attracted a sitting head coach on the rise. I realize traditionally we reached to our assistants to take over and we succeeded with this approach. But, I believe the challenge of playing in the BE and competing for championships is a huge challenge bigger than any of our former assistant coaches faced when taking over. For a newbie coach its almost impossible. There is a huge learning curve. Now, we need to be patient with this young man and give him the chance he deserves. If it fails then blame the AD.

[Anti-Homer]

After a good night’s rest, AH believes a mea culpa is in order. Though I agree with a lot of the sentiments expressed, being spoiled by the last 15 years of following a program who has excelled along with the second tier of elite teams in the country, caused an overreaction. It’s the same thing that happens every year with the Tony Awards as well when Nathan Lane doesn’t sweep. He’s so talented. Part of this is related to the fact that Steele came out of the gates hitting homers, by bringing in three quality transfer, and also a stellar class for next year, despite inheriting the disservice done by Mack, who didn’t pay forward the full cupboard which awaited him in his first year.

However, the team definitely has talent, though I think it’s grossly mismanaged. Banners consistently agrees, based on their tweets and articles. The inability to adjust to the skillset is the most glaring example. Unlike most, I don’t believe this team lacks shooters. They lack volume shooters. Unlike last year, X doesn’t have two guys who you can count on for 40 points a game. However, Welage, Scruggs, and Harden have shown they are very good shooters. Castlin is decent as well, though his sample size is more limited from deep. His reluctance or timidity to reign in two guys who every team in the country can see can’t consistently score outside of 8 feet is also perplexing. The Shootout was a microcosm of the year to date.

X shot 36% from the field. This includes 50% from 2-point land, but only 20% from 3’s. The two worst shooters took half the shots in the game. Of the 25 they took, 15 were 3’s, of which they each made 2, both of which were made in the first few minutes of the game. The biggest difference is UC only had 5 turnovers, while X had 25. 10 were traditional ones, and the other 15 were the treys taken by Goodin and Marshall. Once again, Goodin and Marshall were responsible for 80% of the t.o.s, having 20 between them.

X has been spoiled by the three+ decades by bringing in coaches who elevated or maintained the trajectory of their predecessors, so the law of averages says we will make a misstep sometime soon. Hopefully, this isn’t the case with Steele. 10 games are way too early to make that assumption. As is my charge as a board moderator, I welcome this chance to bring a moment of clarity for the board.

[Anti-Homer]

I’ll say it first and everyone can get pissed at me, Travis out coached by Mick ——how sad.

I got to see much of the game from a neighbor's box, and about half up close. Steele had some bad moments, but overall they're not likely to lose a ot of game not to mention at home if the defend that well.

-Jones looked more effective down low with the added pounds on him. I'm not sure that experiment has worked in his favor. He struggled against Uc's big kid off the bench underneath, but to be fair the kid is very strong down low going after the ball.
-Stelee would be have been well advised to burn a time out to get Welage off Cumberland. That was like throwing a kid into a pit with a snake. He can't guard a guy like that on the perimeter, and it happened several possessions in a row. Game really got away from them at that point.
-Grad transfers have offensive skills, but it's clear why they were not at bigger programs when you see them on the defensive end, pretty self explanatory
-Need more quickness and depth in the backcourt unless they can add some consistent offensive presence inside. Just not a lot of playmakers who can consistently beat guys off the dribble. Surprised as i did not recall seeing Harden. Maybe he was sick.

Onward.

Horse manure. UC is the same paper tiger they have been each and every year in the Cronin era, including last year, when they had a very high seed and folded in spectacular fashion. X did the same obviously but has an embarrassment of E-8s and Sw 16s during the same time that Cronin has amassed a paltry 4 or 5 total wins during his tenure. Archie Miller equaled that in 3 years at Dayton, with inferior talent.

X is decent, and UC us a hair better. Their poor schedule and conference are what gets them in the tourney every year. Netiher team is a barometer for any team with aspirations to make a run in the tournament. I do agree with the notion that the Welage on Cumberland matchup was one of many missteps.

[X-lucidity]

One of the more pathetic shootouts ever. Strength of each program will ebb & flow but no matter, going forward, it would be wise to get the hell away from ESPN. they simply do not care much about this rivalry. To them, it is pretty much just another game. At least FS1, when there is a big game, has a 30 minute buffer college b-ball recap show on to make sure the opening tip is seen. To have to watch that horrid last 6 minutes of the WVU/Pitt game, which in real time took 25 minutes, was pure torture. X fans missed the only stretch of the game where we played well. I am sure others have bemoaned this same aspect. F-you ESPN. As for the game, not much good, plenty of bad, and even some ugly for X. But pretty much what I anticipated. I told a UC fan friend I doubted we could score 60. Little did I know I could have dropped it by ten... Not much else to say that many of you have already noted. When your two worst shooters are hoisting 15+ three's, not a recipe for success. Coach Steele needs to access Wikipedia and research the definition of "insanity". OH well, can't be a contender every year. We can always hold out hope for a magical mid-season transformation such as the glorious Chalmers led "run". Other than that, Bengals mathematically eliminated today, the Reds are hopeless for at least another decade, forecast is for a severe winter and my fantasy football team is about to get bounced in the 1st round of playoffs having been Derrick Henry'd....

[skyhops]

At least we have the Reds