Best Xavier team ever?

[muskieman]

This is like saying the NE Patriots were the best NE Patriot team ever. First I think it is too soon, just like I said about this year's Patriot team. Second, while X has played a tougher schedule, if they don't go to the at least the Elite Eight, are they better than a team that did go?

Ask me at the basketball banquet and I hope my answer is a BIG YES.

[bluegrass]

This is the deepest team I think X has ever had.There are no superstars like the'90 team or the DWest teams.This team has so many ways to beat you.Ultimately what they do in March will determine if they are the best ever.Need at least a sweet 16 appearance.

[madness31]

This is the most successful team thus far in the season but I wouldn't say the best team ever. They are talented and deep with great senior leadership but last year's team also had that. The elite 8 team also had great senior leadership and talent but lacked the depth of this year. XU has had many teams that underachieved. I believe coaching was a big part of that. Some of our previous coaches were successful but mainly because of excellent recruiting. This year's team should go to the elite 8 at a minimum and could win it all. There is no team that they can't beat but they will have to play well.

Confidence (swagger) could be huge for this team in the tourney. They are playing as if they expect to win instead of falling apart when they are down (happened earlier in the season with Temple and ASU) or playing scared with the lead against a strong opponent late in the game. It was the latter that caused them to give the game away against OSU last year. Yes the flagrant would have sealed it but it was fear that let OSU back in it. The elite 8 team was also stacked with confidence once they got rolling late in the year but had a tough shooting game and fell short after losing Myles to fouls.

It is tough to say this year's team is better then last year's when you consider what was lost and what was gained. Of course many of the players from last year improved this season - Brown adding range to his shot, Burrell's shooting and D, etc. The big difference between the success of last year's team and this years as of this point in the season is Lavender needing time to get into the flow of the team after transfering. Once he picked up his game the team excelled. I'm sticking with this team being the most successful as of this point in the season and a great team but I'll stay neutral on the best ever.

[wkrq59]

First, it's still to early to hand out laurel wreaths; to crown anybody or say this is best.
I said after the Virginia game that this was the best defensive team I have ever seen in more than 50 years of watching Xavier baskerball.
It was way too early then to make a statement like that, but during this latest winning streak, I'll stand by that assessment.
I had the privilege of covering the 88-89 team with Byron and the 89-90 team with Tyrone, Derek, Jamaal, Michael Davenport and the A-Train. That team however was woefully deficient in both depth and guard play.
That was evident when Jerome Holmes, a very talented player quit before Christmas and Sydney Raeford left after the break because he wanted more playing time instead of backing up Jamaal. The loss of both players hurt XU in the tournament because when Michael Davenport went down with a bad ankle injury against Dayton in the MCC tournament, Xavier lacked a scoring threat at #2. And when Jamall fouled out in the Texas game, Xavier had no backup point guard. A-Train and Colin Parker, a good shooter only, were much of the depth and Williams played more than Colin.
The David West teams, especially as a senior, did not have the guard experience that this team has. And try as he might--see Creighton game and Dayton game-- West couldn't do it all.
Now, what makes this team best at this point? Well:
*Senior leadership. Enough has been written about it.
*A defensive commitment by nine of the 10 players who see the most action.
*Depth. Not only does this team have six players averaging double figures, there doesn't seem to be a selfish bone in the body of any one of the 10.
*Sheer guts and determination. Drew playing lately on one leg. Stanley playing with that elbow and Josh, bounding back from the emotional damage of being benched and recovering from that push he received in the UC game that sent him to the locker room and limited his participation in the next two games.
*Finally, the coaching. But that's for another time.
No I haven't forgotten Chalmers, Myles and Sato. Matta's last Xavier team put together an incredible run, but despite the Elite 8 appearance and near miss of the Final Four, I don't believe that team had the depth nor --and get readdy to howl--the head coaching that this current team has. I'll cite the failure to get Myles out of the game when he picked up his fourth foul.

[madness31]

While I agree that Miller is a better coach I don't blame Thad for leaving Myles in considering he was the only X player playing well at that point in the game. It was also a cheap call and was immediately followed up with another suspect call to foul him out. If the first foul was caused by exhaustion then he should have been pulled but since it wasn't it is only necessary to ensure the player knows to be cautious. Fouling out was neither the player's nor the coaches fault as the call was questionable, especially when you consider the previous call wasn't much of anything. Maybe they were both fouls but I'm fairly confident the same calls wouldn't have been made against Duke.

This year's team is deeper but they both had great senior leadership, as did last year's team.