Seton Hall game thread 01/02/19

[mumuskie87]

Running out of gas is on the coach. Get Hardin and Kennedy a few minutes to spell the starters if even for a couple minutes. Jones may see less minutes in the future if Hankins continues to be a scorer. Jones may be a bit better defensively but doesn’t bring much offense in most games.

Hardin and Kennedy have shown absolutely nothing when they do play. I remember in the spring many were worried Hardin was going to transfer. Oh, that would have been a big loss.. I don’t disagree that starters get exhausted. This is just a very bad team including the bench. Lots of boos from the crowd tonight. Maybe well deserved because of such bad decisions. Not sure whether we will be 8th or 9th in Big East this year. I know Travis is in his first year so the jury is still out? But it seems we were in a position we could have hired a proven coach. Could be several years before this team is straightened out. I’m 82 y o and can’t wait that long. Are we the team that has been in The Dance the most times without ever being to a final 4? Seems at one time it was between Missouri, Brigham Young and us ????

Most tournament appearances without a Final 4 -
BYU -29
X - 28
Mizzou - 26

[X-Expert]

Running out of gas is on the coach. Get Hardin and Kennedy a few minutes to spell the starters if even for a couple minutes. Jones may see less minutes in the future if Hankins continues to be a scorer. Jones may be a bit better defensively but doesn’t bring much offense in most games.

Hardin and Kennedy have shown absolutely nothing when they do play. I remember in the spring many were worried Hardin was going to transfer. Oh, that would have been a big loss.. I don’t disagree that starters get exhausted. This is just a very bad team including the bench. Lots of boos from the crowd tonight. Maybe well deserved because of such bad decisions. Not sure whether we will be 8th or 9th in Big East this year. I know Travis is in his first year so the jury is still out? But it seems we were in a position we could have hired a proven coach. Could be several years before this team is straightened out. I’m 82 y o and can’t wait that long. Are we the team that has been in The Dance the most times without ever being to a final 4? Seems at one time it was between Missouri, Brigham Young and us ????

Most tournament appearances without a Final 4 -
BYU -29
X - 28
Mizzou - 26

Agree that Hardin/Kennedy haven't shown much but they are Freshmen and must develop them. I think Steele has zero confidence in hardin as Kennedy typically plays more. Remember, Goodin was not good as a Freshman until Sumner got hurt. Given how badly Marshall/goodin play in spurts, Kennedy can spell them a little more

[longliveskip]

10 minute mark: X is up 58-53, then the Q Goodin, who has deluded himself into believing he’s this year’s Trae Young, fuels SH’s comeback.

-9:20 Goodin t.o.
-9:08 Goodin misses jumpoer. Putting “missing” in front of jumper for Goodin is redundant.
-8:52 Goodin turnover.
-8:39 G rebound
-5:37 Goodin foul
-2:47 Goodin missed layup
-2:23 G misses free throw
-1:14 G hits 2 free throws.
-.52 G turnover
.33 G turnover
.26 Goodin’s caps off another low I.Q. game with an airball three. I though he was throwing the ball to a fan.

Of course, when Welage chrged on a short jumper in the lane, Steele yelled at him. However, Goodin and Marshall can shoot it between their legs from half court, and Steele would tell them “Good shot.” Once again he demonstrated that he ain’t ready for prime time. I couldn’t stomach listening to his drivel after the game. His Marvin Lewisesque post game interviews makes Cronin sound like Tony Bennett. Banners (after reading my commentaries no doubt) has been brutal on his coaching decisions since day one. No one in the league is happier than Dave Laito (sp?), that Steele became X’s coach, because he may not been voted the worst coach in the league for the 5th year in a row. Steele is a length ahead. At least X may have one All League honor, albeit a dubious one. Props to Scruggs, Hankins, and Welage for having good games. Unfortunately, once again, they didn’t have company. Here’s hoping talent overcomes other glaring deficits next year.

Tandy was in the stands tonight. Hopefully Q noticed. He must be licking his chops. Thank God his L.O.I. is in! Here's hoping Odom, our stud pg for 2020, was watching a delightful Sandra Bullock movie instead of the game tonight. It's like opting to be directed by David Hasselhoff in a movie instead of Steven Speilberg.

Seacrest out.

maybe AH, and this is just a suggestion for your sanity, you should wait 24 hours until a game's conclusion before posting on here.

just a thought.

but let me summarize all of your posts for you: i'm glad Mack is gone because i hated him. Steele sucks and so do all of our players. can't wait until next year. blah blah blah.

it must be hard to be a Xavier fan like you - one that expects perfection and if he doesn't get it every game, everyone is the worst coach/player in the league/on the team.

[muskieman]

Running out of gas is on the coach. Get Hardin and Kennedy a few minutes to spell the starters if even for a couple minutes. Jones may see less minutes in the future if Hankins continues to be a scorer. Jones may be a bit better defensively but doesn’t bring much offense in most games.

remind me of what Kennedy has done that has been significant in the games he has played in to date? We all think Q's percent from the three is bad yet Kennedy's is .003 difference from Q's and he is 1-5 from the line. I heard an announcer mention in the last game that he was in for his D but immediately he was scored on. In the DePaul game he played 6 minutes and had only 4 fouls on his stat line. I would love to see them play but only if they show some productivity added. Looking over their stat sheet both players best game appeared to be Illinois but in the last few games they did play in they disappeared and had no impact that was good.

Maybe Travis is trying to put them into situations they can have success and recently there have been none.

[bluegrass]

Running out of gas is on the coach. Get Hardin and Kennedy a few minutes to spell the starters if even for a couple minutes. Jones may see less minutes in the future if Hankins continues to be a scorer. Jones may be a bit better defensively but doesn’t bring much offense in most games.

Hardin and Kennedy have shown absolutely nothing when they do play. I remember in the spring many were worried Hardin was going to transfer. Oh, that would have been a big loss.. I don’t disagree that starters get exhausted. This is just a very bad team including the bench. Lots of boos from the crowd tonight. Maybe well deserved because of such bad decisions. Not sure whether we will be 8th or 9th in Big East this year. I know Travis is in his first year so the jury is still out? But it seems we were in a position we could have hired a proven coach. Could be several years before this team is straightened out. I’m 82 y o and can’t wait that long. Are we the team that has been in The Dance the most times without ever being to a final 4? Seems at one time it was between Missouri, Brigham Young and us ????

The classless idiots who boo should stay home.To me that is unacceptable at a college game.. Honestly the crowd was pretty lame last night. I know the students are on break but there was zero energy there last night .I know people will say that's a product of the team being down but to me that means that crowd has to get behind them even more.

[oldhoopster]

I'm not suggesting Kennedy and Hardin get lots of minutes and agree they may not have shown much. But Q can't go 40 minutes and others go 35 or so without being exhausted and that leads to poor decisions, turnovers, weak shots and losing the hustle plays. I'm just saying, if players can't last 35-40 minutes, it's on the coach to get them a couple minutes rest. X had 9 or 10 point leads 3 times during the game. Why not spell Q at that time. Hardin and Kennedy aren't that awful that they couldn't mostly hold down a position or two for a couple minutes for players to get breathers. And yes Hardin is not a great defender, but he's not a bad shooter and would not be a total offensive liability. Even Castlin could have been a relief for Q and Scruggs at times. That's coaching that Steele will learn as he grows hopefully.

[muskieman]

Running out of gas is on the coach. Get Hardin and Kennedy a few minutes to spell the starters if even for a couple minutes. Jones may see less minutes in the future if Hankins continues to be a scorer. Jones may be a bit better defensively but doesn’t bring much offense in most games.

Hardin and Kennedy have shown absolutely nothing when they do play. I remember in the spring many were worried Hardin was going to transfer. Oh, that would have been a big loss.. I don’t disagree that starters get exhausted. This is just a very bad team including the bench. Lots of boos from the crowd tonight. Maybe well deserved because of such bad decisions. Not sure whether we will be 8th or 9th in Big East this year. I know Travis is in his first year so the jury is still out? But it seems we were in a position we could have hired a proven coach. Could be several years before this team is straightened out. I’m 82 y o and can’t wait that long. Are we the team that has been in The Dance the most times without ever being to a final 4? Seems at one time it was between Missouri, Brigham Young and us ????

The classless idiots who boo should stay home.To me that is unacceptable at a college game.. Honestly the crowd was pretty lame last night. I know the students are on break but there was zero energy there last night .I know people will say that's a product of the team being down but to me that means that crowd has to get behind them even more.

The lame crowd is more a product of Xavier management and their loyalty to their long term fans. Booing will happen but I agree that in college it is stupid and infantile. To the boo birds I say understand what is going on out on the floor before you act stupid and let everyone know you are stupid.

[muskieman]

I'm not suggesting Kennedy and Hardin get lots of minutes and agree they may not have shown much. But Q can't go 40 minutes and others go 35 or so without being exhausted and that leads to poor decisions, turnovers, weak shots and losing the hustle plays. I'm just saying, if players can't last 35-40 minutes, it's on the coach to get them a couple minutes rest. X had 9 or 10 point leads 3 times during the game. Why not spell Q at that time. Hardin and Kennedy aren't that awful that they couldn't mostly hold down a position or two for a couple minutes for players to get breathers. And yes Hardin is not a great defender, but he's not a bad shooter and would not be a total offensive liability. Even Castlin could have been a relief for Q and Scruggs at times. That's coaching that Steele will learn as he grows hopefully.

1) Hardin needs to get on the same page as others, including the coach. 2) Kennedy needs to get some beef and his 6'7" is generous at best and his ball handling skills are suspect. On the other hand he likes to jack up the 3s. Against SH he played 6 minutes and had a rebound and turn over. He didn't shoot the ball which might mean he is trying not to be a black hole. 3) Castlin could be a body but he needs to believe he can do something on the floor and not look like he is scared to play, and even if he does he is only one man.

Against a team like SH or other BE schools these four guys.... at least the 3 younger guys look overwhelmed.

[X-lucidity]

out-coached last eve. Plain & simple, which is to be expected in Coach Steele's first season. (AntiHomer has made similar points) I agree with many other comments made prior especially Muskieman's take on some of our kids looking "overwhelmed". But Coach Steele seems overwhelmed at times as well. Seton Hall was able to 'speed up' the Muskies with about 7 minutes remaining in the game. X made zero adjustments and it killed us. Now there are times when X can field a group capable of playing fast, but at that stage of the game, SH had a better group on the floor to handle transition scenarios. Q & Naji took the bait and failed to work for ideal shots. When we got down, the same old trend emerged of forcing action as if searching for that ever-so-elusive 5 point play. Instead of staying composed and valuing each end game possession. Now granted Paul, (who i thought played well), took a perfectly timed and positioned "3' that rimmed in then out, which would have cut the deficit to one and changed the equation. That sucked. But his was just about the only high quality shot I noticed in crunch time. Steele should have slowed the game down once SH first grabbed the late momentum under the 8 minute mark. How about running the offense through Zach, working the post area, at least a few times? Puzzled as to how he could completely disappear the entire 2nd half. This is just my opinion, and this board is ripe for other opinions which are just as valid as mine, but I have watched or coached a zillion grade school / junior high and aau games. You can tell when one team is prepared for end game pressures versus those that are not. This is not an indictment of Coach Steele or the players. Last night's game was entirely "winnable" yet we witnessed far more panic than composure during those key minutes from approx the 6 min mark down to the 2 min mark when the game had ultimately been decided.

[mumuskie87]

out-coached last eve. Plain & simple, which is to be expected in Coach Steele's first season. (AntiHomer has made similar points) I agree with many other comments made prior especially Muskieman's take on some of our kids looking "overwhelmed". But Coach Steele seems overwhelmed at times as well. Seton Hall was able to 'speed up' the Muskies with about 7 minutes remaining in the game. X made zero adjustments and it killed us. Now there are times when X can field a group capable of playing fast, but at that stage of the game, SH had a better group on the floor to handle transition scenarios. Q & Naji took the bait and failed to work for ideal shots. When we got down, the same old trend emerged of forcing action as if searching for that ever-so-elusive 5 point play. Instead of staying composed and valuing each end game possession. Now granted Paul, (who i thought played well), took a perfectly timed and positioned "3' that rimmed in then out, which would have cut the deficit to one and changed the equation. That sucked. But his was just about the only high quality shot I noticed in crunch time. Steele should have slowed the game down once SH first grabbed the late momentum under the 8 minute mark. How about running the offense through Zach, working the post area, at least a few times? Puzzled as to how he could completely disappear the entire 2nd half. This is just my opinion, and this board is ripe for other opinions which are just as valid as mine, but I have watched or coached a zillion grade school / junior high and aau games. You can tell when one team is prepared for end game pressures versus those that are not. This is not an indictment of Coach Steele or the players. Last night's game was entirely "winnable" yet we witnessed far more panic than composure during those key minutes from approx the 6 min mark down to the 2 min mark when the game had ultimately been decided.

At one point there was a mike on X's huddle in the last 7 minutes. And Coach Steele was telling his guys to slow down in the huddle but obviously the players didn't play to what their coach was telling them to do.
Back to the low basketball IQ of the players, particularly Q and Marshall.