ST JOHNS GAME THREAD

[skyhops]

What does Xavier do well? I would like to know because I really don’t know. We are not athletic, can’t shoot, and our two BE first teamers would probably not start on most teams.

[bluegrass]

We've had a great run of hiring coaches going back to Staak. I always worried at some point we would have a miss.

[Anti-Homer]

What does Xavier do well? I would like to know because I really don’t know. We are not athletic, can’t shoot, and our two BE first teamers would probably not start on most teams.

They would if we had coaches coaching instead of recruiters coaching. I just pray that Steele's FIL doesn't have any influence over Louisville's BOT. They will rue the day if they come and poach another one of our coaches, I mean recruiters.

[X-lucidity]

I am honestly at a loss. Went to the game and witnessed this load of crap. All the prior comments critiquing this mess are spot on. Especially AH noting how many times Free was late or non-existent on his help D against a driving Johnnie in the lane. Even though he was right there a few feet away. (Lack of heart, lack of effort, lack of caring..? you tell me, my 8th grade girls CYO kids play better help D) Turnovers leading to breakouts & our inability to stop Champagnie was amazingly the prevailing theme all night long. Zero ability by Steele and staff to do anything about either. Our offense is just pathetic. I think the most glaring issue, and many have stated it eloquently earlier this season and on this thread, is our lack of overall player development and lack of team cohesive development as this season and past seasons have evolved.. Period, end of story. Any team can lose to just about any team on a given night. Yes, that is true – but the way a team loses and the way a team executes during bad losses can be very telling. The home losses to DePaul and St. J. are VERY telling in a myriad of devastating ways. This was bad. This was epically bad and foreboding. Only so many fingers left to stick in the rapidly multiplying holes in this dike. Easy to see a pathway to a 3rd straight year end collapse. (he gets a hall pass for yr one) Easy to see coming some key defections, easy to see a snowball effect towards the wrong side of perennial top 40 program. We are left now only with hope……..

[oldhoopster]

Promoting first time head coaches worked in lessor leagues, but not a great choice in the better leagues. I'd put the BE in that latter category even though I think it's not nearly as strong this year outside a couple of teams.

[Anti-Homer]

Post-game presser:

Steele said that St. John's does not defend the three well. So what does he do? Only gives the best three-point shooter on the team other than Johnson 24 minutes. He should have gotten the Bluiett treatment tonight and played 38. That allowed the Johnnies to play zone and compress the lane, and Steele was completely befuddled. He did bring him back in when the game was all but lost with a little over four minutes left. Meanwhile, Colby, who has not been good since league play, shooting almost as poorly as Free since it started from 3, played 36 minutes. He also got beat like a drum by Champagnie, which wasn't his fault, because Champ is three inches taller and more skilled. Another strategic gaffe by Steele.

Exciting news though. Steele said X needs to defend better. That's some insightful analysis there. He even said he is going to find five guys who defend. which means there is a 99.9% chance X rolls out the same lineup and predictable rotation schedule with UConn,

BTW, Happy to see the coveted Gold Jersey paid off in spades for Stanley. You just can't spell hack without Steal....I mean Steele.

[muskieman]

Pathetic effort…cant blame matchups again. You used that on DePaul already.

Do you think Colby's D on Champagnie was good? Colby was outmatched by 20 points. And he wasn't the only one

Great point Mman? Do you think someone more athletic with greater length guarding him may have been a good adjustment? Paging J Hunter! I know he already made two adjustments in the game and only had one more, as he used one by telling Free to move and position his body against a driving player as opposed to standing still like a traffic cone, but I think it would have been worth it.

I am not sure Hunter could have stopped him but worth a try, does that mean you sit Jones? I would liked to have seen Edwards and maybe Miles after Zach O-lay D happened. Zach scored a 2 but the problem is it happened twice so Zach scores 2 and lets St Johns score 4...the bright side is they were not two threes. (Dripping) SOmeone said they wished he then gave up 4.
The thing that ticked me was the points on TOs. X seemed to have more TOs than they did but SJ just took a rebound or TO and didn't stop till they hit the rim. I thought Adam started fast with 8 points in a row and then brick, brick, brick.

The big insult was at the end when Champagnie was lazy and his teammate yelled at him and he just waved him off like these guys don't deserve my best effort. All in all, I would say they stunk but that would be too nice.

[Cliff Clavin]

What does Xavier do well? I would like to know because I really don’t know. We are not athletic, can’t shoot, and our two BE first teamers would probably not start on most teams.

The correct answer is play Nunge. Everything else is done well every now and then but with zero consistency. Steele coaches like Mack but with less belief and control of the team. Team is built solely around momentum. If they make shots they play hard, when they miss shots Steele can’t get them to even get in a defensive stance, save for a couple players. This lets Xavier and the media defend Steele with the dumbass “Oh looks like Steele is employing the makes shot offense”, as if that is the sole difference in every win and loss. How about when X doesn’t shoot well (every 4/5 games) Steele gets into them or the bench for better defense, they find different ways to score (use this depth he has praised to press or get in transition more), maybe utilize a 20+ a game scorer in the MEAC or the most skilled offensive big to come to X since West, or anything besides take the open 25 footer with a 13% chance of making it.

I wanted Steele to succeed but I think it’s time to start looking at other options. For those that want him to stay and grow I just ask you help us understand how he has grown in the last four years? What players has he developed and taken to another level? What adjustments has he made during any season (outside of FINALLY getting Hankins more minutes year one in March)? It is easy to blame the players, and they all have considerable warts, but they are playing with an arm tied behind their back with this staff. They have no idea how to put these players in the best positions to succeed, let alone even in the game.

[Anti-Homer]

What does Xavier do well? I would like to know because I really don’t know. We are not athletic, can’t shoot, and our two BE first teamers would probably not start on most teams.

The correct answer is play Nunge. Everything else is done well every now and then but with zero consistency. Steele coaches like Mack but with less belief and control of the team. Team is built solely around momentum. If they make shots they play hard, when they miss shots Steele can’t get them to even get in a defensive stance, save for a couple players. This lets Xavier and the media defend Steele with the dumbass “Oh looks like Steele is employing the makes shot offense”, as if that is the sole difference in every win and loss. How about when X doesn’t shoot well (every 4/5 games) Steele gets into them or the bench for better defense, they find different ways to score (use this depth he has praised to press or get in transition more), maybe utilize a 20+ a game scorer in the MEAC or the most skilled offensive big to come to X since West, or anything besides take the open 25 footer with a 13% chance of making it.

I wanted Steele to succeed but I think it’s time to start looking at other options. For those that want him to stay and grow I just ask you help us understand how he has grown in the last four years? What players has he developed and taken to another level? What adjustments has he made during any season (outside of FINALLY getting Hankins more minutes year one in March)? It is easy to blame the players, and they all have considerable warts, but they are playing with an arm tied behind their back with this staff. They have no idea how to put these players in the best positions to succeed, let alone even in the game.

Good take!

Here is a hot take by SM on Goodman's podcast. Goodman thought X losing to an average St. John's team was the most alarming result of the night. X sycophant SM lamented on the lack of toughness and consistency.

Sean Miller, on @TheFieldOf68, talking about the current state of Xavier:

https://twitter.com/paulfritschner/stat ... 30465?s=11

What has been the constant here deep into year four? Travis Steele. Variable? The players. Result? CBI wannabe. There have been more boos heard in Cintas and people leaving the Tas' with more than 20 seconds on the clock in the last four years, than the previous 18. He is losing the fan base, as the passion in the program has a faint pulse. Cintas used to be known as a difficult environment to play in. Now, the NCAA is rumored to be considering allowing their wins there to be categorized as a neutral site now. We have seen four years of:

- Lack of player development. How many of these high-level recruits have improved dramatically in their time at X under his watch? Marshall made the NBA due to his potential rather than achievement. Being a career 30% three-point shooter while taking them at a Steph Curry-like clip is hardly an impressive stat. He also played with a low bball IQ (the norm with Steele's players rather than the exception) and passed on the tactic of dribbling under the basket into no man's land to Scruggs. All the players except for Odom (modest development with the ability to make a six foot jumper) have regressed, and he wastes high ranking transfers consistently:
- Hankins for 1/2 a yr.
-Welage
-Griffin
-Carter
-Stanley.
-Johnson (plus)

-Shot selection. His "shoot em if ya got it" mentality has resulted in X having one of the worst four-year three-point shooting percentages in cbb. This despite the fact that he has had two of the best three-point shooters on his roster in three of his four years in Welage and Johnson. Hunter and Free chucking up four treys again last night epitomizes Steele's AAU coaching style. All Christopher knows is his office isn't in a trailer 10 miles off BG's campus anymore, but in the beautiful Tas' probably.

He makes inane declarations like Miles is the best shooter on the team two years ago, and Bishop is going to be a major contributor. Nunge may leave next year, and he has failed to plan for that with a high-ranking big who has shown a good skillset. 8 points in less than 10 minutes the other night has bought him 1 minute in the last three. No wonder he has one foot out the door.

-No accountability.
-AAU culture and style of play.

Even if X runs the table and makes the tourney, I still think it will probably be in spite of instead of due to the coach. UC saw the future and cut bait after only two years. I am not suggesting that should happen now. Let us see how the year plays now, then send Steele's FIL to the Olympic games for a couple of weeks as they decide on the future of the program. As one of those old jazz singers said, "The Thrill is Gone" (at least as it relates to the state of X basketball).

[skyhops]

With one of the oldest teams in the country why do we continue to lack intensity and effort according to Travis? If we struggled on defense where are Miles and Edwards in lieu of Free? This is either on Steele or the leader/warrior Scruggs. If this continues to be true and we don't make the tourney then when do need to make a change. Remember Steele only turned down a few lower end D1 offers while an assistant and didn't really have the experience (never played either). Hiring within was bound to bite us sometime.