Who is X's go to man?

[Anti-Homer]

Unlike last year if players are not making threes (Hunter, Free, etc.) they will not be shooting them according to my sources. Too bad we didn't have this philosophy the last four years.

The only Pro of the AAU offense X had in the past four years is that any recruits from the likes of The NY Gauchos or All OH Red would be familiar with the Open Gym offense they were already accustomed to.

[Timeless]

#1 Jack The offense has to start with him touching the ball. After watching him last year and at Iowa, I have confidence in him making the right decisions.
#2 Colby This team needs an engaged Colby for every minute he plays. Colby cannot go quiet for extended periods because when he plays, as he played in the NIT, he is the MVP.
#3 Souley has to make his transfer year impactful for Xavier. He is a filler-up player but can also be a black hole. Last year he got others involved and didn't always look to score, but when he comes down the court looking to score, he will take some quick shots he could take at any point in the offense. He mostly had good to great games but did have some not-so-great games. In one game last year, he scored 32 pts but shot 1-6 from the three. His 3-point percentage dropped when he moved from San Fransisco to UTEP in his first year, so I have some concerns because of the BE. It is not like he has a couple of years to get used to the system. I hope #4 Kam and #3 Souley can be the "Nate Johnson" when we need them to be and not the jack 'em ups when they settle.

#4 but could be a #3 is Zach. The Zach toward the end of the season could be the #3. He must start the season as a dangerous player that other teams must account for every game. His defense may never be where some think he should be, but better than an O'lay defense he showed last year coming off his injury. I hope we are all pleasantly surprised at Zach's game this year

The guy I want to be the surprise this year is Desmond. I want him to learn the point guard in the Miller system and be the big point guard before Trey gets here.

THE BIG WISH IS ALL WILL STAY HEALTHY

[pdxmuskie]

I see the NIT Zach a bit differently than some of you. I agree he played well. I disagree it was all coaching and a transformation. Zach had favorable matchups throughout the NIT. He struggles against long athletic bigs and he didn't really see those during the NIT. The extra rest likely had a positive impact on his game rather than playing extended minutes.

Miller will have a very positive impact on Zach but I'm not sure we can expect him to play well against long athletic bigs. I would be happy if he simply limited mistakes in those situations. Look for teammates. Fight for position when the ball goes up. Stay in position defensively.

It would be great if he learned from Mchale. He should not watch a single minute of Bird. The last thing X needs is him shooting more 3s. If he puts the work in and hits the court this year with a smooth accurate shot from deep, then fire away.

[Anti-Homer]

I see the NIT Zach a bit differently than some of you. I agree he played well. I disagree it was all coaching and a transformation. Zach had favorable matchups throughout the NIT. He struggles against long athletic bigs and he didn't really see those during the NIT. The extra rest likely had a positive impact on his game rather than playing extended minutes.

Miller will have a very positive impact on Zach but I'm not sure we can expect him to play well against long athletic bigs. I would be happy if he simply limited mistakes in those situations. Look for teammates. Fight for position when the ball goes up. Stay in position defensively.

It would be great if he learned from Mchale. He should not watch a single minute of Bird. The last thing X needs is him shooting more 3s. If he puts the work in and hits the court this year with a smooth accurate shot from deep, then fire away.

Agreed on matchups as one of the reasons Zach did well, but did you see him launching multiple 25-foot threes, or being positioned in the offense as if he was Ryan Welage that we often saw in many of Steele's sets? Hayes put him in a position to do well. It ain't a coincidence that the NIT was the best Jones and Odom, among others, also played their best bball. Unfortunately, Kunkel continued to follow Steele's "Shoot em if you got em" playbook.

[skyhops]

Exactly AH, Steele was a nice guy but had control over the team which is never good with a poor shooting team that is challenged defensively. That won’t happen again

[X4LIFEE]

I’d love for Jack to be the guy every night but as long as they try to feed the post and play inside out I’m happy. So I’d think Fremantle could have big nights as well. I’d love to see Fremantle avoid 3s unless he can consistently hit them. I feel like Miller just has a knack for getting the most out of his guys so I see our bigs becoming more consistent and efficient which will lead to a better team 3 pt % since the defense may have to sag off a bit to respect the post. I’m extremely optimistic that all our upperclassman will be better than last year. And crazy thing is we were in a lot of games late, we just could not finish. I see possibly 5-6 guys that could easily be our leading scorer every single night and should almost see all 5 starters avg double digits. They just have to play there role and cherish their possessions and I see second weekend tournament team potential. Miller has basically accomplished everything you possibly can as a coach except a final four so I know that is his goal each and every year. I think we will see the program go back to seeing the team get better each and every game until the end of the year. Unfortunately the opposite was true for every Steele team but Miller is on the short list of best coaches under 4 minutes. He just knows how to pull out the win in the end. If we play our cards right it the PKI it could put us back on track to Top Prospects, top Seeds and Major games in March. With Jay Wright leaving Nova I feel like it has to be his goal to be the best coach in the BE. It’s going to be a fun next few years. I can’t remember the last time I was optimistic about the trajectory of the program before Miller returned. I think our best years are still yet to come!