None of you would make good coaches

[bluegrass]

besides Gates, we will not have one other legitimate outside shooting threat next season.

Might be a little premature prediction but I would agree that we have a lot of question marks next year. Three point shooting is huge in basketball now thanks to Steph Curry.We need to be recruiting guys who can shoot long range.
Right now this team is struggling because of JP and Tre struggling to score.We can't win too many games without them hitting their averages.Plenty of time left and no need to panic...yet

[oldhoopster2]

We've had guys who can shoot the 3, but we run no offense to get them looks and the guys we have that shoot the 3 aren't able to create their own shot. I always think of JJ Reddick. Duke would run as many screens as necessary to get him shots. Tre needs very little time to get off a shot, but the X offense of passing around the perimeter waiting for an opening doesn't allow looks when a defense is good.

[bluegrass]

besides Gates, we will not have one other legitimate outside shooting threat next season.

What about the kid from Dartmouth.

[olsingledigit]

I believe Marshall can be a good outside shooter.

[olsingledigit]

besides Gates, we will not have one other legitimate outside shooting threat next season.

What about the kid from Dartmouth.

Good point

[X-lucidity]

Couple problems that kind go hand in hand. Our two best scorers do not possess elite quickness nor much athleticism. (Tre & JP) Now that we are in Big E play the level of defensive quickness and length we are facing night after night is making it tough on those two to get their normal open & comfortable looks. Transition over to the defensive side and we have known for quite some time that X struggles with teams that have multiple quick & athletic dribble penetration skills, especially when those teams can also hit a decent % from "3". My main issue with last evening's debacle was how quickly X lost their poise late 1st half and early 2nd half. JP and Tre looking like they were trying to create that all elusive 9 pt play. Which usually ended up with an awkward forced bad shot. Gates needs to push himself to be more active and involved and do more on offense than poach out on the arc. Hey, I was as pissed at that slop last evening as anyone. Nova is so well coached, especially on defensive & offensive ball rotation. They do it well and defend it well. Back to the drawing board for Mack & staff. Hopefully he has some ideas and some eager listeners...

[harryfe]

Our most likely guards next year are Q and Scruggs. The are 5 for 42 this year from 3. This is approximately 12%.. No way we can be good next year without some further help. Scruggs may be biggest disappointment since Odia. No defense. More to’s than assists. And can’t shoot.

[longliveskip]

i concur on Scruggs. he is easily the most disappointing player up until this point. he throws passes in games that JV kids try to throw when they practice vs. Varsity. he thinks they will get there and not get stolen but they do. doesn't have the vision to see the defender or even throw it to the outside hand away from the defender. isn't strong with the ball in traffic either.

my disappointment in Scruggs is like the polar opposite of how i feel about Kanter. Kanter is the "Bernard" of this season with extra productivity.

i challenge to think of where in the heck that team would've been last season without Bernard. he was our "X" factor. without him we aren't a tourney team at all.

i feel the same way about Kanter this year. took like 4-5 games, but he clearly has found his role, stride, confidence, etc and i don't know where we'd be without him. maybe not even top 25.

[PaulHickey]

I agree that this team is in need of a Malcolm Bernard, and I think Kanter fits the bill. Q and Kaiser need to go to the bucket more. When TRE and JP go cold, we need our guards, or anyone for that matter to drive aggressively to the bucket. I'm getting tired of watching this team pass on the perimeter, then chuck up a garbage three. Does anyone else recall at the tail end of last season when Q and Gates finally got to the hoop? It made other defenses respect the lane which allowed for more open looks from deep. No need to panic yet, but this team is trending in the wrong direction. Couple that with the Gus Johnson "Mack to Louisville" discussions and I get a tad queasy. Opportunity awaits with Creighton. Xavier is long overdue to put together a complete game.

Let's Go X!

[thecoach]

Tb and Jp are getting looks, they're just not hitting them. I see very little different from the ones that were made earlier in the season to the ones they are not hitting now. Sometimes the bombs just do not go down.