2012-2013- Back to team basketball

[jct1941]

The car crash post got me thinking about what could be our return to team first basketball. I agree with Madness31 when he stated that if we return to team basketball it will be a pleasure to watch. With Dez Wells already tweeting that "he can't wait to take the new recruits under his wing" makes me believe that we will return to the all for one and one for all mantra. Nothing is for sure but I just have a good feeling that next year will be a good season. Every year we all look at what we lost in the way of players and by March we are always where we want to be - in the tournament. Remember only Duke, Kansas and Xavier have been rated in the top 25 for the last five years after the NCAA tournament. Let's keep it going. Go Xavier!

[xukeith]

Xavier will have perhaps GREAT chemistry BUT will that mean a sweet 16 or NCAA bball appearance??
That is the bottom line!

[jct1941]

xukeith - I know that I get overly optimistic but I think that Christon and Reynolds will be impact players immediately. I have watched every youtube of Christon I could find and I know that they edit out any missed shots and only show the makes. The important thing in watching him is his passing and low turn over rate. He makes his team mates better and isn't that a point guards job. Reynolds (IMHO) will match any numbers that Frease put up because he can shoot well out to the three point area and according to his coach at Brewster is a great rebounder. His coach at Brewster stated "the sky is the limit" for him and compared him to Robinson (Kansas) with an outside shot. Next year Jeff Robinson and Taylor will be seniors and I really believe they will put out great effort to improve on their numbers. Davis and Martin have had a taste of success in the NCAA tournament and again I believe they will be very well positioned to make an impact. Philmore is still an unknown quantity but he will also help our front court. I like many posters like the idea of multiple players averaging double figures and I have to think Wells will be GREATLY IMPROVED AND BE OUR LEADER. Just one persons opinion. Go Xavier!

[madness31]

It is difficult to say how good X will be next year. There are a lot of minutes to fill but numerous options to fill them. Given the number of players available to fill these minutes the probabilities are decent that someone will step-up big and a few others will improve enough to make X a contender again. If X plays as a team they will have a good season if they don't then I'm not sure what to expect. Even if it is a down year, they should come back strong the year after. A sub par year every once in awhile isn't that big a deal. I just hope they get back to making the smart plays rather than the selfish plays. If you are constantly depending on the heroics of one or two players then you are not a good TEAM.

[jct1941]

madness31 - Like I said "nothing is for sure" but I agree that we need more than one or two players carrying the load. Every year teams have a new "go to" guy and next year it will probably be Wells for the most part. At least now ALL the players have a chance to contribute instead of Tu or Lyons taking over. I am hoping for at least four players to average double figures and at least two others to be close. It seems Xavier has had its best runs with that scenario. The more players that are involved the better the chemistry will be. It has to be tough knowing that a few players will play in the mid 30 in minutes and not seeing many minutes available for others. I know minutes have to be earned but at least now they can see the possibility of more playing time if they give it their all. Go Xavier!

[muskieman]

madness31 - Like I said "nothing is for sure" but I agree that we need more than one or two players carrying the load. Every year teams have a new "go to" guy and next year it will probably be Wells for the most part. At least now ALL the players have a chance to contribute instead of Tu or Lyons taking over. I am hoping for at least four players to average double figures and at least two others to be close. It seems Xavier has had its best runs with that scenario. The more players that are involved the better the chemistry will be. It has to be tough knowing that a few players will play in the mid 30 in minutes and not seeing many minutes available for others. I know minutes have to be earned but at least now they can see the possibility of more playing time if they give it their all. Go Xavier!

it is amazing how the year X first had 4+ players (Raymond, the 1 JDs and crew) as double figure scorers the cry was we need a “go to guy”. Now that we have had a couple years of a "go to guy" we all want multiple double digit scorers. Nothing in wrong in having either but interesting how we think when we have one scenario.

[jct1941]

Muskieman - This past year we had 10 players average from 11 minutes to 37 minutes and basically had 4 players average double figures - Tu 17 pts, Lyons 15 pts, Frease 10 pts, and Wells 10 pts per game. Then there was a big drop off down to 5 pts per game and some one to three pts per game. So it was not a total one or two man game but the talent level this coming year (IMHO) is much more balanced. Like I stated I am hoping for at least six players to be at or near double figures. I am hoping for when a starter is given a rest or is in foul trouble that the player coming in will not be such a drop off from the starter so we are not playing five on four or five on three because the replacements were not much of a scoring threat. I also think we have a chance at being a better defensive team with the young players having more experience and the freshmen blending in with speed and quickness. I may be wrong but I just have a good feeling about the upcoming year (barring injuries or other problems) and think we will be very good. Go Xavier!

[muskieman]

so what you want is a deep team.

[jct1941]

Muskieman - Yes, I want as many scoring threats as possible. We are not like Kentucky who had a seven player rotation (six of which were McD's all americans) and everyone of them was a scoring threat. I just think that the more Players that can score the ball the more difficult we will be to guard (obviously) and when we sub we will be almost as good as the starters. Also we won't tire on the defensive end and we can stay fresh and agressive. I am certainly not an expert and I might be way to optomistic but it is just my gut feeling. Go Xavier!

[muskieman]

probably the dream of every coach!