OKAY time to build a roster for next year.

[muskieman]

I say we need big men, and I mean not one but two, and if Pape stays, that would be three. I want a true 6"10" 245-265 or bigger 7' 2" with shoulders like an aircraft carrier and the meanness to intimidate those who dare come into his area. Someone like Najai Hines of Seton Hall, who is tough on the inside D, or a Tarris Reed type player. I even like the big boy from Texas Vokietaitis, who came from FAU.

I want a point guard with the driving and playmaking ability of someone like Clark or the guy Richard had at NM, Dent, I even want an Acaden Lewis type. He doesn't have to be big, but it would not hurt. Pete Gillian and other X coaches like the kids that came out of New York, and while there are other places, I do like the NY Guards X has had over the years.

I feel like Anderson, Milicevic, Pozzato, Wright, N'Diaye, Panoam, Robinson, and Westphal 5 of this group might be back with those in bold, the ones I want the most. Westphal might not be a guy we keep, but anyone his size is intriguing. This would be my bench with maybe Pozzato and Milicevic breaking into the starting lineup if they prove to be what we were told they were. We know Milicevic is not a five but might prove to be a better face-up forward, and if they think he is not, then we need a bigger power forward. We do have a reported 6'10" forward coming in, Asher Elson. As a freshman, I question if he is ready for BE and is 6'10". I hope he is the BE freshman of the year next year, but I will not be holding my breath. Also, X has incoming freshman Kalek House, who will see time in the lineup as a first-off-the-bench point guard. X has a 6'1" unranked combo guard, Gedeon Basson

You might say Wright, Panoam, and Robinson are expendable, and I only want them if they are not making the big money. I think Pozzato owes us. This group of 8 should not cost us any more than 3 million. The remaining 7 million need to go to 2 big men and at least 1 impact guard.

Saying we have 10 million, I hope we are aggressive with the guards and big men moves. BALL IN YOUR COURT, RICHARD THE NEXT MONTH OR TWO IS YOUR SUPER BOWL

[Kevin Reilly]

Muskieman I'm not sure Milicevic has a position. He definitely is not a center and I don't think he is a power forward either. Where do you play him? I saw Pitino thought we had a Blueprint on how to play offensively with the three point shooting this season. Is he out of his mind? That is a formula to finish 6-14 in the Big East again .If Milicevic and Wright get a lot of time next year we are in all kinds of trouble. We are going to try three point shooting to win games? I'm getting very worried about next year.

[XU_2011]

Jovan has his deficiencies on defense but 6'10" guys who shoot 43% from 3 don't grow on trees. He made great strides statistically from his frosh season at UNM and is a decent off rebounder (1.3/game). Paired with a legit C who can box out and protect the rim, I think he thrives.

Kalek House has an NBA pedigree and looks like he will be a stud, but it's not clear if he's a PG or SG at this point. Wright didn't have a great season but he was efficient when called upon, unlike Roddie, who while being a high-energy guy with some spectacular moments, was wildly inefficient.

Hope coach Pitino focuses on fundamentals in the portal. We need to get back to Xavier basketball: hard-working, tough, smart players who value team ball and making winning plays.

[muskieman]

Muskieman I'm not sure Milicevic has a position. He definitely is not a center and I don't think he is a power forward either. Where do you play him? I saw Pitino thought we had a Blueprint on how to play offensively with the three point shooting this season. Is he out of his mind? That is a formula to finish 6-14 in the Big East again .If Milicevic and Wright get a lot of time next year, we are in all kinds of trouble. We are going to try three point shooting to win games? I'm getting very worried about next year.

Milicevic was frustrating at times, but he was, at times, our 2nd best player and had the best % from the three and the 2nd best % of the top minutes players
21 points vs. Marquette (Big East Tournament), and 23 points on ( Feb 14)
21 points @ West Virginia (Nov. 23, 2025)
20 points vs. Old Dominion (Nov. 18, 2025)
19 points @ Georgia (Nov. 21, 2025)
21 Points @ Nova (March 7 2026) and 20 points on (Feb 17)
22 points vs Providence (Jan 10, 2026)
While this is only a few games, and you can cite his poor scoring against UConn and St. John's, he was still the second-leading scorer on the team at 12.4. Now that said, I would like to see him play a face-up forward position, and with a true big man and a small forward playing above the rim, I think there can be a place for him. After all this, I would not pay him top dollar to stay, and I would still look for a power forward that is big, strong, and mean

Oh one more thing. Jovan was a sophomore who improved from his freshman year

[Kevin Reilly]

XU 2011 I agree with a lot of what you said about Milicevic and his three point scoring. He can shoot it but he gets mauled on the defensive end. Xavier finished 339th in defense this year and a lot of that falls on Milicevic. Milicevic and Wright both shoot over 42% from the three point line and both are sub par players in my mind. I don't agree on your Anderson take. Anderson in 23 minutes a game scored 10.9 points a game with 3.3 rebounds 3.8 assists and 1.3 steals a game. Wright in 22 minutes a game scores 7.5 a game with 1.6 rebounds and 2 assists and .6 steals a game. Wright does almost nothing well but shoot open three pointers. At best he should be a 8th or 9th man on your roster. Wright and Moore both didn't want the ball when other teams pressed us. Filip was the one who brought the ball up. Both Wright and Milicevic specialize in giving up soft flat footed 3 point soft fouls with their bellies on opposing teams drives. Wright wouldn't start on any other Big East team. Not sure Milicevic would either. I keep hearing that Miicevic was playing out of position at center and he was but he doesn't have the foot speed to play the 4 either. I hope House is ready to help immediately because we really need a couple two way guards.

[muskieman]

XU 2011 I agree with a lot of what you said about Milicevic and his three point scoring. He can shoot it but he gets mauled on the defensive end. Xavier finished 339th in defense this year and a lot of that falls on Milicevic. Milicevic and Wright both shoot over 42% from the three point line and both are sub par players in my mind. I don't agree on your Anderson take. Anderson in 23 minutes a game scored 10.9 points a game with 3.3 rebounds 3.8 assists and 1.3 steals a game. Wright in 22 minutes a game scores 7.5 a game with 1.6 rebounds and 2 assists and .6 steals a game. Wright does almost nothing well but shoot open three pointers. At best he should be a 8th or 9th man on your roster. Wright and Moore both didn't want the ball when other teams pressed us. Filip was the one who brought the ball up. Both Wright and Milicevic specialize in giving up soft flat footed 3 point soft fouls with their bellies on opposing teams drives. Wright wouldn't start on any other Big East team. Not sure Milicevic would either. I keep hearing that Miicevic was playing out of position at center and he was but he doesn't have the foot speed to play the 4 either. I hope House is ready to help immediately because we really need a couple two way guards.

Mauled, yes, but it was because the guards let too many drives to the basket. He was not supposed to be the rim protector, but was forced into a position he was not built to play.

[XU_2011]

XU 2011 I agree with a lot of what you said about Milicevic and his three point scoring. He can shoot it but he gets mauled on the defensive end. Xavier finished 339th in defense this year and a lot of that falls on Milicevic. Milicevic and Wright both shoot over 42% from the three point line and both are sub par players in my mind. I don't agree on your Anderson take. Anderson in 23 minutes a game scored 10.9 points a game with 3.3 rebounds 3.8 assists and 1.3 steals a game. Wright in 22 minutes a game scores 7.5 a game with 1.6 rebounds and 2 assists and .6 steals a game. Wright does almost nothing well but shoot open three pointers. At best he should be a 8th or 9th man on your roster. Wright and Moore both didn't want the ball when other teams pressed us. Filip was the one who brought the ball up. Both Wright and Milicevic specialize in giving up soft flat footed 3 point soft fouls with their bellies on opposing teams drives. Wright wouldn't start on any other Big East team. Not sure Milicevic would either. I keep hearing that Miicevic was playing out of position at center and he was but he doesn't have the foot speed to play the 4 either. I hope House is ready to help immediately because we really need a couple two way guards.

Wright: 46% fg, 42% 3pt. 3-1+ assist/ turnover ratio.
Anderson: 39% fg, 31% 3pt. < 2-1 assist/turnover ratio.

Given that the entire defense was hot garbage, I'd rather have the guy doing less damage offensively on lower usage (and with two years left to learn and improve).

[muskieman]

XU 2011 I agree with a lot of what you said about Milicevic and his three point scoring. He can shoot it but he gets mauled on the defensive end. Xavier finished 339th in defense this year and a lot of that falls on Milicevic. Milicevic and Wright both shoot over 42% from the three point line and both are sub par players in my mind. I don't agree on your Anderson take. Anderson in 23 minutes a game scored 10.9 points a game with 3.3 rebounds 3.8 assists and 1.3 steals a game. Wright in 22 minutes a game scores 7.5 a game with 1.6 rebounds and 2 assists and .6 steals a game. Wright does almost nothing well but shoot open three pointers. At best he should be a 8th or 9th man on your roster. Wright and Moore both didn't want the ball when other teams pressed us. Filip was the one who brought the ball up. Both Wright and Milicevic specialize in giving up soft flat footed 3 point soft fouls with their bellies on opposing teams drives. Wright wouldn't start on any other Big East team. Not sure Milicevic would either. I keep hearing that Miicevic was playing out of position at center and he was but he doesn't have the foot speed to play the 4 either. I hope House is ready to help immediately because we really need a couple two way guards.

Wright: 46% fg, 42% 3pt. 3-1+ assist/ turnover ratio.
Anderson: 39% fg, 31% 3pt. < 2-1 assist/turnover ratio.

Given that the entire defense was hot garbage, I'd rather have the guy doing less damage offensively on lower usage (and with two years left to learn and improve).

The problem with the Wright stats is that Wright has a great percentage, but took only 13.8% of shots during Big East play. Now, if he could take more shots and involve himself more in the offense as a point guard, will those numbers be the same? If a person's percentage was the only important thing, then Ian Sabourin was the best on the team. Or it could just be my Hamilton, Ohio, connection that influences my opinion.

Roddie Anderson played a minute and a half more per game than Wright, but averaged 3+ more points and had better stats in rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. Both could be on the team next year, but I hope we find an impact point guard. Roddie is not a shrinking violet with the ball, while Wright seems scared at times. Maybe it is experience, maybe it is how Wright perceives his chops under duress.

[muskieman]

Roddie Anderson and All Wright are both reportedly going to enter the portal.

[XU'59]

Wright and Anderson are already in the 247 portal site!