Guards= who will redshirt?

[Mr. Neutral]

<<Gary, the newspaper accounts that I have read say he was the tallest on his team.>>

I'm not saying he wasn't, Q. I'm just saying that X lists him at 6'0", as does Rivals.com.

[_LH]

When was XU 10 deep? Seriously, I am curious. I know they never were under Skip and have not been since he left. Last year's team was the deepest I can remember in the last 20 years.

XU will not be hurt in recruiting circles if one of five freshman are asked to redshirt. How ridiculous! How often does XU bring in five freshman?

Maybe math is not your strong suit Q because the shear number of new players dictate that someone will likely redshirt since not all will get the PT to warrant wasting their year on the bench.

[X Factor]

I completely agree with Q...again.

Some of you are assuming if someone redshirts, they will automatically see an increase in playing time the rest of their career. Redshirting is no gaurantee of future playing time and if a kid sits his freshman year, but still doesn't get to play his sophmore year, he really can't transfer because he has already redshirted.

Have you seen some of the shooting guards Sean is recruiting for '09? Guys like Omari Lawrence, Naji Hibbert, and Durand Scott are all 4 star/Top 75 players. I think Sean will hopefully land one of them for '09. Who's to say they won't be better than the current guards and get playing time right away.

Look at it this way?

Would Terrell Holloway have committed to Xavier after getting released from his LOI with IU if there was a possibility of a redshirt? NO WAY, when there were at least 8 other schools that wanted him to play for them.

Mark Lyons was and still is going to see a lot of time at PG and SG next year. Do you think just because Holloway signed that now Lyons will be asked to redshirt? No.

Redford won Michigan's Mr. Basketball award. He is one of the best shooters in the country and with the 3 pt. line moving back next year and his 97% free-throw percentage, he will be a valuable weapon, even if Sean only gets him 5-8 minutes a game.
(And Neutral, Brad has played AAU ball with the Michigan Mustangs, a darn good AAU team. He has played against the best players in the country every summer for probably the past 3 years. )

Brian Walsh, from all accounts, might be the most college-ready of all the incoming freshman gaurds. He reportedly plays excellent defense and can stroke it from deep. He had an offer on the table from Maryland and he didn't choose Xavier to come here and sit his freshman year.

If no one redshirts and one or two kids see very limited playing time, there is a chance someone might transfer, but that is a fact of college basketball.

I think Sean will give all the freshman a chance to perform in games early on and playing time will be deciding by practice, defense and early game performance. How can you pick the one kid out of five to redshirt before giving him a chance to perform in games when there really isn't a whole lot of talent or ability seperating them?

[madness31]

Holloway likely chose X partially because the point spot is wide open. I'm sure he wants to play and believes in himself enough to think he can take the spot immediately but it will go to the best player. I'm sure he also wants to play for Miller who understands the position better then most.

I don't believe anyone is suggesting the coaching staff will pressure someone to redshirt but the offer will likely be presented if someone seems to lag the other in their development and readiness for D1 play. There are no guarantees of it being better if someone chooses that path but if you are dependent on someone being injured to get PT you might as well save your elligibility. The transfer thing poses some questions but if you know you want to play at X then it seems better to sit out a year and develop your game. Maybe you stay behind the other 4 gaurds every year until they graduate and get passed by younger players in your 5th year or maybe you eventually work your way into the rotation. I know I would redshirt if the coach said he didn't think I was ready and would likely ride the pine.

If everyone is ready then Sean will likely keep the deep roster to have options for various game scenarios. Hopefully we don't see too many years where we graduate seniors from a position and have only incoming freshman to fill the spot. A Redshirt could help space this out but if everyone is ready I wouldn't redshirt anyone.

[Mr. Neutral]

This from Scout.com on Redford-

Scout.com Player Evaluation:
STRENGTHS
3-Point Range
Basketball IQ
Upside/Potential
AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT
Defensive Presence
Size for Position
Speed/Quickness


Heady guard with an absolutely terrific stroke. Gets his shot off and will pull it from anywhere. Runs a team. Size, speed will determine his level. Talented player who has a chance.

[xukeith]

Gary-your synopsis of rival's synopsis and the rival strengths/weaknesses reminds me of J. Wolf. Smart, team player, slow, do defense, good shooter.
I hope I am wrong. All I have seen is you tube clip and articles about his FT record.
If he could get speed and ball handling, that would be awesome especially w/ his scoring threat(Sato-ish)

[Mr. Neutral]

Just so we're clear, it wasn't my "synopsis". It was a word-for-word cut-and-paste from Rivals, so the analysis is theirs.

[X Factor]

And I'm pretty sure Rivals hasn't updated Redford's page in about two years.

At one time, Scout had Redford as the #9 PG in the country.

Redford can play, no doubt about it. He will have a big impact for Xavier.

[_LH]

When was XU 10 deep? Seriously, I am curious. I know they never were under Skip and have not been since he left. Last year's team was the deepest I can remember in the last 20 years.

XU will not be hurt in recruiting circles if one of five freshman are asked to redshirt. How ridiculous! How often does XU bring in five freshman?

Maybe math is not your strong suit Q because the shear number of new players dictate that someone will likely redshirt since not all will get the PT to warrant wasting their year on the bench.

[wkrq59]

As of right now, Xavier has how many guards?
BJ, a senior<
Adrion is a junior<
Dante, a sophomore<
Holloway, a freshman<
Redford, a Freshman<
Lyons, a freshman<
Walsh, a freshman<

Now, let's assume BJ, Adrion and Walsh also share the three.
Now let's assume Dante and Redford share the two.
Now, let's assume Dante, Holloway and Lyons also share the one.
And let's assume that in an emergency--fouls, illness, nicks and bruises that demand rest, BJ, Adrion, Walsh, Dante, Redford, Lyons and Holloway all share the 1-2-3.
What we have under those assumptions is one hell of a beautiful depth problem.
Seriously, the two players who will have to fight hardest for playing time are Adrion and Taylor (not a guard?). Dante, Holloway and Lyons will share the point to start and Holloway and Lyons will gradually control the point.
Dante, Redford and Walsh will compete for anf share the two. BJ, Adrion, Walsh and on occasion Dante will play the three.
As was said numerous times this past season by numerous players, "It doesn't matter who plays how many minutes at what position. What matters is that Xavier wins."
If you will notice on successful teams, depth matters. Duke had a serious depth problem this past season in addition to its lack of a true big man in the low post. West Virginia on the other hand had depth. Who won?
The depth at the 1-2-3 positions lets Sean do several things:
Find the hot hand and ride him.
Apply defensive pressure in short sustainable spurts.
Keep fresh bodies on the floor at all times.
Enable players to "go hard at the maximum" for short bursts and get relief.
Also, with seven guards or small forwards playing the 1-2-3, even with my LIMITED MATH SKILLS, I believe that's 35 fouls to give. On only a few occasions last season were more than 33 fouls called in a given game. Even if you take away BJ, Adrion and Walsh and play them at the 3 only, that leaves 20 fouls per game split among four players who play either the 1 or the two. I think.
This past season, an experienced point guard to back up Drew would have been a welcome asset. I even saw written the observation, "Wish Johnny Wolf were here." I realize to some that was heresy but true.
As a result of no experienced backup, Sean had to weaken the two and the defensive strength by using Stanley at point, or have the same thing happen with Dante.
From what I have observed over the past two seasons, few are the successful teams whose coaches have one or more players absorbing 40 minutes a game or even 35. That's assuming, since MATH IS NOT MY STRONG SUIT, a player would play both or most of both halves, which I think is 20 minutes per half. Not sure, though.
Theory: "You learn to play by playing." By playing as hard and as fast but not hurried as you can and resting on the bench when you are tired, you are more valuable to your team. If you split 40 minutes among four freshman players--I think with my weak math skills Lyons, Holloway, Redford and Walsh add up to four but maybe I'm wrong--each of the four would play 10 minutes AT HIS MAXIMUM in each game.
Similar theories would apply to the 3-4-5 positions, depending.
To apply the Pete Gillen principle, which says times change people change so I never say never, in any given basketball game situations and scenarios change depending on fouls, bad-hair days and injuries. Even with my weak math skills I can see math doesn't apply there. The fresher players are at the end of the game, the more likely they are to make shots, make free throws, play effective defense and rebound BECAUSE THEIR LEGS AREN'T TIRED.
In that scenario, if Xavier has fresher players, Xavier should win. Should, not must.
So, redshirting anybody seems --remember my weak math skills should taint my thinking--to be the dumbest damned assumption anyone could make at this point in the off-season.