Creighton Game thread

[muskieman]

No 'Shrooms Jessie. Just let me ask any or all, did any of you believe we were Final Four material prior to the start of the season? If honest, that would be a firm "no". So to say, "sooner or later our lack of solid D will come back to bite us" well duh... Of course it may and will cause us to lose, and that loss may be a crucial match up in the 2nd rd of the NCAA. So be it. We are all fans of a team that has not made the freaking dance in 4 years. Yet some are complaining that we do not have a lock down defensive unit?!?! OK, I agree. I have agreed. I have watched and coached enough Jr High ball to understand the value of D. My point is many of you have succumbed to the "ever increasing expectation" dilemma. I suggest, next time someone blows by Adam or Zach for an easy bucket, or Jack is late on a hedge recovery, remember that we are tracking to finish top three in the BE YTD and currently poised to get in the dance likely with better than a 6th seed. Most D-1 teams have warts. maybe Kansas, Purdue and Houston this season don't, but they are the very rare exceptions this year. Our warts are subpar D overall skills and a lack of depth. However, we have on the plus side a top notch coach, experienced players, versatility on offense and one of the best PG's in the country. That dog will hunt. So let's go hunting until, at some point, our defensive shortcomings and/or our lack of depth finally nips us during the big dance. Hopefully after a joyous deep run. To take the attitude that anything short of a National Championship in Sean's first year is a failure is a killjoy.....

Finally, a voice of reason. Yes, X might have an opponent seeming to hit almost every shot, something like 50% from the field and 10 made threes in a game, oh wait that was last night against Creighton, and X won. Well maybe X will be outrebounded, and the discrepancy from the foul line will be something like 23-28 for the opponent and 4-9 for X, Oh I forgot it happened in the UConn game.
What is Xavier's record? Something like 10 in a row and some have been bellyaching since PK tourney's 2 losses. Maybe Jack will be sick and can't play much in a game, happened the result, a win. Finally, the horrid thought that Souley might not score more than 11 points in a game...UConn and Seton Hall but X still won

I'd rather enjoy the ride and success. If disasters happens we can always blame the coach!

[Kevin Reilly]

Good win. We would have lost that game last year. Miller is a hell of a coach. Boum is playing like a All American. i think Boum is a better player than Holloway. We need to help Boum out at the end of games when inbounding the ball. He is getting trapped in the corner .I can't believe Nunge can't pin guards under the basket. They go around or thru him to steal the pass. We are a elite offensive team who shares the ball . Fun team to watch. Ten wins in a row is impressive. We were late chasing the guards thru screens. No defense at all in the first half. Hunter and Claude are really coming on. Good things to come for this team. I still believe Nunge would be more effective with 6-7 less minutes. Wish they would give some time to Edwards. Hard to improve watching from the bench. They will need him and i believe he will come thru for us. Go X.

[muskieman]

Okay, I gave you some other videos in prior posts, but the "field of 68" after dark had a couple of coaches, former and present Wednesday night that you might want to see. https://youtu.be/rqHySuki8R4
If you don't want to watch, all the video go to around the 26-minute and 20-second mark and keep watching because a third former X coach is mentioned.

[pdxmuskie]

I'm not sure what the comments are referring to about the negativity on here? Everyone seems excited that X is winning and impressed with various players' performances. Of course people will mention defensive breakdowns and turnovers as concerns. They are concerns that need addressed to avoid unnecessary losses. That doesn't mean people expect the team to play lock down defense, just not matador defense. An open lane to the rim should be the exception, not the norm. It was almost a rule in the first half against Creighton.

I believe I posted before the start of the season that elite 8 was the goal. Sweet 16 would be a reasonable outcome with anything less as disappointing. I do agree now, that final 4 is possible. I would not have booked my flight and hotel in Houston if I didn't think it could happen. A lot has to go right for Xavier to make the final 4 but they are capable of making it happen.

Criticism isn't negativity. It is simply expressing a desire for improvement and how it can be realized. If I recall correctly, Boum took a stupid 3 against Creighton but that doesn't mean he didn't play fantastic. Just means he should not have forced that shot. Same with Nunge, great game but his 1 3 was completely unnecessary and made winning a bit harder. Playing a perfect game is incredibly rare and we don't expect that but calling out mistakes can only help people grow. The players and coaches may not read these posts but young fans might and maybe it helps them improve their game. It is also a bit more interesting than reading 15 comments saying "Great game"

[Timeless]

I'm not sure what the comments are referring to about the negativity on here? Everyone seems excited that X is winning and impressed with various players' performances. Of course people will mention defensive breakdowns and turnovers as concerns. They are concerns that need addressed to avoid unnecessary losses. That doesn't mean people expect the team to play lock down defense, just not matador defense. An open lane to the rim should be the exception, not the norm. It was almost a rule in the first half against Creighton.

I believe I posted before the start of the season that elite 8 was the goal. Sweet 16 would be a reasonable outcome with anything less as disappointing. I do agree now, that final 4 is possible. I would not have booked my flight and hotel in Houston if I didn't think it could happen. A lot has to go right for Xavier to make the final 4 but they are capable of making it happen.

Criticism isn't negativity. It is simply expressing a desire for improvement and how it can be realized. If I recall correctly, Boum took a stupid 3 against Creighton but that doesn't mean he didn't play fantastic. Just means he should not have forced that shot. Same with Nunge, great game but his 1 3 was completely unnecessary and made winning a bit harder. Playing a perfect game is incredibly rare and we don't expect that but calling out mistakes can only help people grow. The players and coaches may not read these posts but young fans might and maybe it helps them improve their game. It is also a bit more interesting than reading 15 comments saying "Great game"

"Great post"

[Kevin Reilly]

pdxmuskie that was a very good post.