2018-2019 Xavier Basketball

R

redskin17

Active member
A different team than years past, more athletic, and maybe* less shooters. I like the make up for this year as bridge year. Bright future coming.

Projected Starters:
PG- Goodin- solid all around with a jump shot that came on late last year.
SG- Scruggs- Slasher, D and maybe a deep threat? I look for a big leap again. He progressed nicely as the season went on.
SF- Castlin- Transfer. D type player, think Malcom Bernard
PF- Marshall- A true star in the making.
C- Jones- Lost fat gained muscle, I think it will help him keep out of foul trouble.

Bench
Hankins- D2 Player of the year, adds great depth and size.
Harden- I look for him to take a big step. Hoping he is a deep threat
James- TF, stretch 4, nice stroke, should get some quality minutes
Kennedy- Good size, needs to add bulk, maybe a few minutes here and there.
Welage- Deep threat off the bench, he can fill it.

Recruits/Transfers
Hanson- word has it he is going to be pretty good, great depth guy. Will add to the practice this year.

KyKy Tandy- 4* guard from Kentucky.
Zach Freemantle- 4* Forward from New Jersey
Daniel Ramsey- 4* Wing from Georgia
Dahmir Bishop- 4*Guard from Phily
Dieonte Miles- 3* Big from Kentucky.

Schedule
IUPUI
EVAN 0-0
WISC 0-0
***Maui***
AUBURN 0-0
TBD
TBD
****
MIAOH 0-0
OAK 0-0
OHIO 0-0
@ CINCY 0-0
EKY 0-0
@ MIZZOU 0-0
DTROIT 0-0

BIG EAST

@ DEPAUL 0-0
SETON 0-0
@ MARQET 0-0
GTOWN 0-0
BUTLER 0-0
@ NOVA 0-0
PROV 0-0
MARQET 0-0
@ GTOWN 0-0
@ CREIGH 0-0
DEPAUL 0-0
CREIGH 0-0
@ PROV 0-0
@ SETON 0-0
NOVA 0-0
@ STJOHN 0-0
@ BUTLER 0-0
STJOHN 0-0


I see 9-10 wins in the OCC. and 12-13 Conference wins. Over/under I would set is 20.

Should be a fun transition year.
 
 
I really have begun to like this team. Have seen them a few times this fall already and I think many will be surprised. I was at a team event last night and as many of my group said, I don't see this as a transition year. I would say next year is the transition year if it happens. They brought in several grad transfers who were brought it to make sure Xavier competes again for a league title. Not saying they will win the Big East, but I think they will end up being a solid top 25 team for most of the year.

Q and Naji are primed to be superstars. Naji has a great chance to be a legend at Xavier. He looks to have every tool he needs to be virtually unstoppable. Steele mentioned last night he needs him to focus more on defense, I think that will happen. He is shooting lights out so far during practice from three.

Q will be the next in a long line now of great Xavier guards. He will be ready at least by Wisconsin at the latest.

Don't be surprised to see a line-up of Q, Scruggs, Naji, Tyrique and Hankins in the game together a lot. Hankins is going to be an impact Big Man who needs to see a lot of time on the floor. His and Tyrique's battles inside have been epic, the few times I have seen them, and what everyone is talking about. They have two really good big men. Hankins is an improvement over what Xavier had last year.

Scruggs can really shoot so far as well from outside and Steele is expecting him to shoot whenever he is open. So look for a big uptick in production as Scruggs will start as the primary SG.

Castlin will not wow with offense but he will be a key piece to be a steady leader on the defensive end of the court. Not saying he cant shoot, but I doubt he becomes a primary scoring option.

Wellage will be the big man version of Redford. Come off the Bench and just shoot threes. A very good weapon to have.

The best of the freshman so far is D James. He literally is the walking replica of Naji, except slightly bulkier. His game is so similar as well. He has a chance to get a decent amount of minutes and be an impact guy as a freshman.

Also, Harden is practicing a decent amount at PG, so he can come in if needed to fill that role. Harden, I think will struggle to see the court again unless his shot falls in games from three. Castlin is just better right now.

I say anything under 20 wins would be a disappointment.
 
Also a tidbit on Hankins Steele said last night. He committed to Xavier last fall before the start of the season at Ferris State. He wanted to get it out of the way before his last year with them. Xavier landed him over Notre Dame, Michigan and Michigan State.
 
Looking forward to XU Basketball this season! Will take some time to gel but think the talent and experience on the roster is definitely good enough to compete in the Big East.
 
always look forward to XU basketball season, but can't remember the last time we had so many questions going into the season - even when Mack took over for Miller the roster was pretty stacked so i wasn't that worried. this season will be different.

here are my questions:

how will Steele be as a coach? prep, in game, subs, who plays, who doesn't, man to man, zone, offensive system, etc. all those things will take some time to get a feel of but Steele has been around this program a long time. i don't see us taking a huge step backward

roster/chemistry - a bunch of grad transfers, a few frosh, and some role players hopefully ready to step and fill the scoring void that Bluiett, JP, OMara, and Kanter left. that's probably the biggest ? who will step into the those roles? Naji? Q? Scruggs? do we have player that we say "i want the ball in their hands, down 1, with under 10 seconds"? i don't know yet who that will be. let's hope Q gets that shoulder healthy soon.

probably gonna take this team some time to find its identity, etc. probably be some growing pains in Maui but that won't be such a bad thing. just need to be ready when BE play starts.

I'm predicting 20 wins, finish top half of the BE, somewhere around a 8-11 seed for the tourney.

can't wait!
 
RE: this post on the old thread...

Taco MacArthur said:
Good get for X. UC was really high on him for awhile. Too similar to Curtis for either school to take both. It'll be interesting to follow both Curtis and Tandy's careers at the two school.
Click to expand...

Interesting note...Samari Curtis de-committed from X because he was banking on an OSU offer that never came. Reached back out to X and X basically said no thanks and good luck.

Still, I would've been fine with Curtis or Tandy. I think both will be good players.
 
I read UC cooled on Tandy because his dad is the over-involved type. Sounds like a really good player though, so hopefully that isn’t an issue for Xavier.
 
One member to the class as a nontransfer is very possible, name being thrown out there is Myron Gardner out of Michigan, high 3* with offers from uc, Georgetown and Minnesota the most notable. Just visited and all predictions currently are for X.
 
eastside_purple said:
I read UC cooled on Tandy because his dad is the over-involved type. Sounds like a really good player though, so hopefully that isn’t an issue for Xavier.
Click to expand...

I am not sure on UC but his Dad virtually killed his son's chances of going to Kentucky. Kentucky had shown some interest, then his Dad came out and told the press his son was not going to Kentucky to sit on the bench, so if they are serious about his son, they better be wanting him to come in and play right away with the rest of their recruits. Kentucky then just stopped calling and showing up to his summer games.
 
X picked 6th by the coaches. Marshall on player to get any mention, honorable mention only.

Preseason Coaches Poll
Nova (8)
Marquette (1)
Providence
St John's
Butler(1)
Xavier
Georgetown
Seton Hall
Creighton
DePaul
 
CincyHSFootballFan said:
I am not sure on UC but his Dad virtually killed his son's chances of going to Kentucky. Kentucky had shown some interest, then his Dad came out and told the press his son was not going to Kentucky to sit on the bench, so if they are serious about his son, they better be wanting him to come in and play right away with the rest of their recruits. Kentucky then just stopped calling and showing up to his summer games.
Click to expand...

Usually not a good move trying to play hardball with Cal or any elite program.
 
redskin17 said:
X picked 6th by the coaches. Marshall on player to get any mention, honorable mention only.

Preseason Coaches Poll
Nova (8)
Marquette (1)
Providence
St John's
Butler(1)
Xavier
Georgetown
Seton Hall
Creighton
DePaul
Click to expand...

Understandable but also a pretty big snub by the league's coaches. I think this team will have a chip on its shoulders to prove the doubters wrong. Naji will be a first teamer by year end as well.
 
New coach, need to replace a lot of scoring and vet leadership. I’m not surprised. Still have a lot of talent, so middle of the pack in the big east is reasonable.
 
I was there.

Quick points:

-X may need Naji and Scruggs to each score 20 a night to win league games and tough non-conf. Tyrique did well to stay out of foul trouble against KW but again it was just an exhibition, and that's unlikely to happen going forward.

-Welage's shot isn't pretty looking but he has range and can definitely heat up and pour them in. He had an awesome turn around jumper from the FT line and will need to do more of that kind of creating for himself.

-Aside from it being an exhibition, not having Q or Hankins made it tough to see exactly what this team will be. The defensive effort and crashing of the glass was not what it needed to be, however KW threw up a lot of ugly shots that got the right rolls. I think the defense improves a ton with Goodin and Hankins in there.

-Elias Harden still looks like he's shy and just doesn't have the strength to get physical. Kennedy showed some positive signs, but not sure he contributes much either. Dontarius James, IMO, is the most likely to contribute out of the 3. He looks the part and can shoot and play effective defense. Just needs to get the system down.

-One other note on Tyrique Jones. He is one of the most physically impressive athletes I have seen at the college level. Slimmed down, but still gained muscle and he is quicker which will help him on the defensive end. He did still have a little trouble finishing some of his post moves which is slightly concerning for tougher opponents, but again he is so strong that he is able to grab his own misses and put them back.

-Steele looks way better than Mack in a suit.


We will obviously know much more about the team next Tuesday.
 
got it.

and based on what i've read, Q most likely won't play. no need to rush him back for these kinds of games. get him 100% healthy.

no hankymcspanky either (but he should play tomorrow). he will help inside and out. can't wait to see what he can do.
 
defense hasn't looked very good the first two games but at least we've been able to score enough to win.

buckets won't come easy vs. Wisconsin as they are always good defensively.

hopefully Steele has the right formula to get these guys to guard, especially the 3 because teams seem to just shoot lights out against us all the time.
 
The Defense needs to get drastically better! This is not high school or AAU can’t expect to just outscore everybody
 
Xavier +2 tonite vs Wisconsin.

have a bad feeling about this game. like we're going to get embarrassed at home by 15 or so.

not sure why.

hope i'm wrong.
 
Bballer05 said:
Xavier +2 tonite vs Wisconsin.

have a bad feeling about this game. like we're going to get embarrassed at home by 15 or so.

not sure why.

hope i'm wrong.
Click to expand...

It's going to be back and forth all game and will be a close finish in either team's favor. Xavier's post defense is more than capable of making it tough on Happ. He's a stud so he's going to get his regardless, but X can't let him have his way. I'm more concerned with Trice's slashing abilities and their guards raining in 3 balls like every team seems to do against X. We already know perimeter D is a huge challenge for this team, but I think X will score enough to keep it close throughout. Not to mention the Cintas should be packed and loud.
 
had the chance to cut the lead to 3 with 17 seconds if not for a horrendous offensive foul call. probably didn't matter in this one. score wasn't as close as that sounds. Muskies have WAY too many things to list to improve on:

1. can't shoot 5-24 from 3
2. can't shoot 56% from the line
3. can't give up 12 offensive rebounds
4. can't have defensive lapses for multiple possessions in a row (the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half - that was where the game was lost, IMO)

defense is still atrocious in spurts and Wisc took advantage almost every time. they were shooting 85% in the 2nd half at one point, which says enough about the defense right there.

0-3 in Maui and it won't even be close.

gonna be a long season, Muskie fans. strap in, grin, and bear it.
 
not sure how they will fare at Maui (not optimistic) but if they could find a way to beat Auburn and get a chance at Duke, that would be awesome.

i wouldn't be surprised if they came back 0-3 from this but hopefully playing some really good teams will help us come BE time.

2:30 pm game time tomorrow.
 
best thing coming out of going 1-2 at Maui was the emergence of Elias Harden(and Kennedy). both got significant minutes and made the most of it. looks like they're confidence shot way up over the course of the 3 games. not sure if they can keep that up but they played way more than Welage vs. Illinois. hopefully both Welage and them play more to give us more depth.

should be able to these next 3 home games vs. Miami, Oakland, and Ohio.
 
solid win over OU, especially with Goodin out sick and the "bug" having gone through several players on the team.

looks like Tyrique got hurt last night - no idea on his status for Satuday, which is the Crosstown Shootout. if he's out, i don't like X's chances.

we shall see.
 
Jones is most likely OUT for tomorrow. (basing this on what i've seen from guys in "concussion protocol" in the past)

Mick spewing off at the mouth again, along with his players who think "this is just another game".

should be a good game even without Jones, but that's definitely a HUGE advantage for UC, especially on the offensive glass, as that is something they do well.

X has to stay out of foul trouble, keep UC off the boards, and make UC make tough, contested jumpshots to have a chance.
 
Last edited:
Bballer05 said:
Jones is most likely OUT for tomorrow. (basing this on what i've seen from guys in "concussion protocol" in the past)

Mick spewing off at the mouth again, along with his players who think "this is just another game".

should be a good game even without Jones, but that's definitely a HUGE advantage for UC, especially on the offensive glass, as that is something they do well.

X has to stay out of foul trouble, keep UC off the boards, and make UC make tough, contested jumpshots to have a chance.
Click to expand...

The game will always be bigger to the little brother, that's no surprise.
 
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