Xavier Review

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Xavier Review

Postby OmahaGuy » Mon Mar 19, 2018 2:52 am

Ouch. That was a lousy end to the year. Anyways, let's review:

OUT
*Trevon Blueitt
*JP Macura
*Sean O'Mara
*Kerem Kanter

STAY
*Quentin Goodin
*Kaiser Gates
*Tyrique Jones
*Naji Marshall
*Paul Scruggs

IN
*Jake Walter
*Dontarius James
*Keonte Kennedy
*Evan Boudreaux (transfer from Dartmouth)

THOUGHTS
Like Seton Hall, this Xavier senior class was simply incredible for them and they will be sorely missed. Thankfully, the Muskies have some good talent on their way back and I liked what I saw out of all of them. But now I'm actually (and I never thought I'd say this about Xavier) not really impressed by their recruiting class. Of course, Chris Mack is a very good coach and knows about them way more than any of us do but on paper, this is (IMO) Xavier's least impressive recruiting class in a long time. Xavier should still be a competitive team and go dancing again but I also think they're going to step back a notch a bit given what they're losing.
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Re: Xavier Review

Postby Irishdawg » Mon Mar 19, 2018 6:49 am

Elias Harden's still there and with Bluiett and Macura gone, should play a role next year. Plus, Xavier can still pick up a transfer or two to help fill out their roster for next season. They likely won't be as good as they were this season, but outside of Georgetown, Marquette, St. John's and perhaps DePaul, most of the league is going to be down next season.
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Re: Xavier Review

Postby GumbyDamnit! » Mon Mar 19, 2018 7:44 am

X fans you guys had a great year. It may take a little while to get past the bitter feeling of this loss but it should not hold more weight than simply a tough loss. It doesn’t invalidate the BE championship or the #1 seed.

March is a fickle wench. Matchups, momentum, fortunate calls and fortunate bounces are magnified. Also there is a difference in being the hunter as a lower seed instead of the hunted which X has been 2 of the last 3 years. X seems to embrace that underdog badge in the tourney really well. As a Nova fans we’ve had to endured the “Jay can’t get it done in March” comments (even on HLOH) even though the overall success of the program has/had never been better.

You guys will be back. And you’ll break through to the FF—perhaps when you don’t expect it. That’s just how March works.
Go Nova!
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Re: Xavier Review

Postby XUFan09 » Mon Mar 19, 2018 7:47 am

Concerning Elias Harden, you have to consider the guys he's sharing minutes with for his career (Scruggs and Marshall), though the small-ball style should help for minutes availability as he's a 6'4 guard. Keep in mind that despite both being point guards, Scruggs and Goodin will play alongside each other a lot for the next two years. Then you have Marshall eating up a lot of minutes at the 3, though some of them can be at the 4. Because of all that, Harden falls in that awkward position where you can see him playing a notable role off the bench next year or you could see him transferring. Who knows which it will be at this point.

Whether Harden transfers or not, Keonte Kennedy coming in can fill a similar role (if he's college-ready) of 3-and-D guard. Long-term, it will be interesting to see if there's room on the roster for both of them in the event that Harden stats. This all doesn't take into account that Mack will probably be looking for a grad transfer or traditional transfer and might find one who will compete for minutes.
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Re: Xavier Review

Postby BEhomer » Mon Mar 19, 2018 8:01 am

loses two best shooters in the team. lack of size after Jones.

good thing is the 5 guys under "STAY" might as well be your starting lineup. so lot of experience and roster consistency.

would love to see another big added in some way. (this will be a common theme for lot of BE teams)
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Re: Xavier Review

Postby stever20 » Mon Mar 19, 2018 8:08 am

of course, this fails to mention the biggest question of all for Xavier. Mack himself. Will he leave for Louisville? I think X fans should be rooting for Louisville here next 10 days or so- if they win the NIT, I think that could possibly convince Louisville to retain Padgett. Definitely makes things a lot more interesting.
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Re: Xavier Review

Postby stever20 » Mon Mar 19, 2018 8:16 am

GumbyDamnit! wrote:X fans you guys had a great year. It may take a little while to get past the bitter feeling of this loss but it should not hold more weight than simply a tough loss. It doesn’t invalidate the BE championship or the #1 seed.

March is a fickle wench. Matchups, momentum, fortunate calls and fortunate bounces are magnified. Also there is a difference in being the hunter as a lower seed instead of the hunted which X has been 2 of the last 3 years. X seems to embrace that underdog badge in the tourney really well. As a Nova fans we’ve had to endured the “Jay can’t get it done in March” comments (even on HLOH) even though the overall success of the program has/had never been better.

You guys will be back. And you’ll break through to the FF—perhaps when you don’t expect it. That’s just how March works.

The thing is, March does validate teams. I mean Gonzaga is looked at 100% differently now than they were before because of the last 2 years- final 8 in 16 and final game in 17. You can say all you want that it shouldn't hold more weight than just simply a tough loss. It doesn't work that way.

Now, I will say that Mack gets a bit more of a pass for these 2 flameouts in 3 years than Wright did before winning the title- because he does have 4 sweet 16's and an elite 8 in the last 8 years prior to this.
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Re: Xavier Review

Postby Fieldhouse Flyer » Tue Mar 20, 2018 6:13 am

This lengthy article is well worth a read for those of you interested:

Takeaways from Xavier basketball's early NCAA Tournament exit- Patrick Brennan, Cincinnati Enquirer - March 20, 2018
This season was one of the greatest in program history.

The team was led by J.P. Macura, Trevon Bluiett, Kerem Kanter, and Sean O'Mara, all of which will have a shot at professional basketball somewhere on this earth. At least half the names in that group should make a strong push for the NBA.

Combined, that group scored more than 4,700 career points at Xavier and notched a combined, four-year record of 109-26. They were part of Xavier's first team to advance to the Big East Tournament championship game, its first outright regular-season league title – the first Big East title by any school not named Villanova since the Big East reconfigured, for that matter – and went 3-1 against crosstown rival Cincinnati.

And despite two devastating NCAA Tournament losses in 2016 and on Sunday, three members of that group (excluding Kanter, a graduate transfer) enjoyed the magical high of a deep March Madness run in 2017 when they advanced to the Elite Eight.

The program's first No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Chris Mack became the all-time winningest Xavier coach. I'm probably missing some other things this group was responsible for.

This season was a thrill ride. The team was like a meteor that streaked across the sky over Evanston and Norwood, and disappeared in a flash before we could truly appreciate what we had on our hands, and how they fit into the greatest season of college basketball this region's ever seen.

Time will allow healing from Sunday's disappointment, and for more appreciation of the Xavier team we had the pleasure of witnessing the last six months.

Congratulations to Chris Mack and his outstanding senior class.
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Re: Xavier Review

Postby GumbyDamnit! » Tue Mar 20, 2018 6:35 am

stever20 wrote:
GumbyDamnit! wrote:X fans you guys had a great year. It may take a little while to get past the bitter feeling of this loss but it should not hold more weight than simply a tough loss. It doesn’t invalidate the BE championship or the #1 seed.

March is a fickle wench. Matchups, momentum, fortunate calls and fortunate bounces are magnified. Also there is a difference in being the hunter as a lower seed instead of the hunted which X has been 2 of the last 3 years. X seems to embrace that underdog badge in the tourney really well. As a Nova fans we’ve had to endured the “Jay can’t get it done in March” comments (even on HLOH) even though the overall success of the program has/had never been better.

You guys will be back. And you’ll break through to the FF—perhaps when you don’t expect it. That’s just how March works.

The thing is, March does validate teams. I mean Gonzaga is looked at 100% differently now than they were before because of the last 2 years- final 8 in 16 and final game in 17. You can say all you want that it shouldn't hold more weight than just simply a tough loss. It doesn't work that way.

Now, I will say that Mack gets a bit more of a pass for these 2 flameouts in 3 years than Wright did before winning the title- because he does have 4 sweet 16's and an elite 8 in the last 8 years prior to this.


And this is why you have 0 credibility. And this is not a knock on Mack; I think he’s an excellent coach. But Mack, who’s never been to one, let alone 2 FF’s gets a Stever pass and Izzo who lost to 2 double digit seeds and hasn’t gotten out of the first weekend the last 3 years gets a Stever pass. But the most accomplished active coach in the BE doesn’t measure up to your AAC loving standards? Whatever Dbag troll.

Since 2005, JW has made (2) FF’s, (3) E8’s and (6) S16’s. And they’re still alive in 2018. Let me ask the rest of the BE fan base not named Stever... Who here would sign up for that level of success for your own program without hesitation?

So take your references to flameouts and stick them up that AAC loving hole.
Go Nova!
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Re: Xavier Review

Postby JohnW22 » Tue Mar 20, 2018 8:14 am

stever20 wrote:
GumbyDamnit! wrote:The thing is, March does validate teams. I mean Gonzaga is looked at 100% differently now than they were before because of the last 2 years- final 8 in 16 and final game in 17. You can say all you want that it shouldn't hold more weight than just simply a tough loss. It doesn't work that way.

Now, I will say that Mack gets a bit more of a pass for these 2 flameouts in 3 years than Wright did before winning the title- because he does have 4 sweet 16's and an elite 8 in the last 8 years prior to this.


And this is why you have 0 credibility. And this is not a knock on Mack; I think he’s an excellent coach. But Mack, who’s never been to one, let alone 2 FF’s gets a Stever pass and Izzo who lost to 2 double digit seeds and hasn’t gotten out of the first weekend the last 3 years gets a Stever pass. But the most accomplished active coach in the BE doesn’t measure up to your AAC loving standards? Whatever Dbag troll.

Since 2005, JW has made (2) FF’s, (3) E8’s and (6) S16’s. And they’re still alive in 2018. Let me ask the rest of the BE fan base not named Stever... Who here would sign up for that level of success for your own program without hesitation?

So take your references to flameouts and stick them up that AAC loving hole.

God its amazing how JW can't coach in the tournament was a narrative. One of the most utterly stupid things people can say
XU
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