Depaul Game thread 12-29-2018

[bluegrass]

On welage,

I don’t know if you can just play him more. He is a huge defensive liability and is also probably the worst rebounder at his height I’ve ever seen.

However, I do feel that either welage, Elias, or Kennedy (if we’re calling him a shooter at this point?) need to be in the game at all times.

We seem to have 3-4 pretty good slashers on the court at any time but they have no one to kick to bc the defense doesn’t respect any of them as shooters. When one of them gets open they pretty much have to shoot and that’s when you end up with 1-7 Q.

If we at least had one shooter in the game (regardless of their liabilities) it at least opens up the middle some.

Harden hasn't shown anything since Maui.I'll take my chances with Welage considering how well he shoots 3's.This game shows how much we need Naji healthy and playing well.Best game he's had in a while.

[longliveskip]

I’m not sure what Xavier’s approach should be with this 3 point shooting at this point. If Naji and Q get open looks considering they’re two of our starting guards they kind of have to take them to keep the defense honest.

They’re just bad shooters plane and simple. This team has lots of decent slashers but no one to kick to and it makes defending them insanely easy.

The solution is playing Welage a lot more. His defense is poor, but he is a net positive in almost every other area. It's unfair to say he doesn't rebound much, because his job is to be on the perimeter. He also shouldn't get a lot of credit for having so few turnovers, because he doesn't create for others. Castlin is a nice role player, but X can ill afford to have him on the court since he can't stretch the D or get to the hole consistently. In no scenario should Marshall or Goodin be taking more than 5 treys cumulatively.

i agree with the last part as well. I just can't stand watching Goodin take zero pass possession 3's.......ya know, possessions where he comes down, comes off one ball screen at the top in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock, and then jacks a 3. those are NEVER good 3's, even if they go in. Goodin should never take a 3 off the dribble unless it's with less than 3 seconds on the shot clock. Same with Marshall. i'm fine with them spotting up and waiting for someone to drive it in and kick to them. those are the kind of 3's they should be taking. otherwise, they should be working to penetrate and finish or penetrate and kick (although i cringe every time Naji puts the ball on the deck and goes into traffic)

i was pretty impressed with how the team responded after being down 61-55. that's a huge step for this team, and the core 4 were the ones who stepped up. i did think that Naji had a different mentality towards rebounding this game, and we need him to keep doing that. Jones and Scruggs were the X factors late as the Scruggs 3 and the Jones "and 1" were the turning point plays in the comeback.

Seton Hall will be tough, even at home.

if we play like we did vs DePaul, we have a shot.

let's go X!

[skyhops]

Look for Hardin to transfer after this season. He was going to after year one, but he was told he would get more playing time of the transfer committed to Gonzaga. It is very concerning that James can see any playing time this year particularly since we are so thin at positions 3 to 5. Happy Amateur Night to all.

[mumuskie87]

On welage,

I don’t know if you can just play him more. He is a huge defensive liability and is also probably the worst rebounder at his height I’ve ever seen.

However, I do feel that either welage, Elias, or Kennedy (if we’re calling him a shooter at this point?) need to be in the game at all times.

We seem to have 3-4 pretty good slashers on the court at any time but they have no one to kick to bc the defense doesn’t respect any of them as shooters. When one of them gets open they pretty much have to shoot and that’s when you end up with 1-7 Q.

If we at least had one shooter in the game (regardless of their liabilities) it at least opens up the middle some.

Harden hasn't shown anything since Maui.I'll take my chances with Welage considering how well he shoots 3's.This game shows how much we need Naji healthy and playing well.Best game he's had in a while.

Kennedy, Hardin and James are X's Not Ready for Prime Time Players. I think Kennedy had 4 fouls in about 6 minutes of PT in the DePaul game. Hardin has been MIA since Maui. James has been MIA all season. This is essentially a 7 man team at this point. The NRPTP looks only to play if someone gets hurt.

[mumuskie87]

All this talk about defense (playing zone certainly helped) but we WON the game because we MADE some threes late - one by Welage, one by Naji, and one by Paul. Those nine points made the difference IMHO. If we make shots at the end of the game - we win. Go Xavier!

Bingo.
Welage hit the 1st 3 to get X back to within 1.
Marshall made a 3 to put X ahead and Scruggs hit the 3rd 3 to help seal the deal.
Plus Marshall and Welage went 4-4 from the line.
Jones made a post move bucket and drew the foul but missed the and one. The only shot X missed in the last 5 minutes.
And the he got a dunk on a steal.
All made 3's were on nice open looks on good passing.
Of course the passing is always good when the shots go in.

[mumuskie87]

Look for Hardin to transfer after this season. He was going to after year one, but he was told he would get more playing time of the transfer committed to Gonzaga. It is very concerning that James can see any playing time this year particularly since we are so thin at positions 3 to 5. Happy Amateur Night to all.

James has played a total of 36 minutes so far this season.
Maybe he will be a late bloomer like Big Game James Farr.
Farr only played 42 minutes in his freshman season and scored a total of 16 points.
And 22 of those minutes and 14 of his points came in the first game of the season against Farleigh Dickerson.
And X's bigs that years were Jeff Robinson and Travis Taylor plus Erik Stenger. I would put Hankins and Jones ahead of those guys.
But agree on Hardin. I would not be surprised if he left after this season.

[mumuskie87]

Coach put zone on and team turned it around

Might be their best defense - a zone.
But there are several BE teams that can light it up from 3.

[mumuskie87]

Q is 2nd on the team in 3 pt attempts - behind Welage.
At this point he has shot 63 3's - same number that he shot all of last year.
Last he was 19-63 from 3. This year to date he is 17-63.
He is averaging 5.25 attempts per game from 3 so far this year.
He has attempted 177 3's in his college career to date and has made 27.7%.
I don't see him magically improving his % much over his career %.

[oldhoopster]

Hardin had a wide open look Saturday and chose to pass. Wonder if he lost confidence or what. I said take that shot but alas, it must not have come through my TV.