Brad Redford

[millerdad]

From what I have been told from players, the coaching staff, and the media and by what I have seen, Brad Redford is the best shooter in all of college basketball. If this is so then why is Miller not getting Redford more shots. He hardly shoots the ball at all!! If you have the best shooter in all of college then he should be taking the most shots of any player on our entire team. It seem as if Brad will make at least 50% of his 3 point shots and 99% of his free throughs then why not have Brad shoot at least 20 shots a game!! I think that this is a bad coaching decision by my son Sean. If I were Sean I would set some picks to get Redford open looks. As it is now he is only getting 1-2 shots per game. Whyyyyyyyyyy!!!!

[DETROIT]

MD could not agree with you more. Although I am a huge fan of your son and although it may look like second guessing I never understood why Sean does not take advantage of great shooters. They never ran set plays for Sato, Doelman or Duncan. What I am hearing Red is a better shooter than all of them. Keeping defenses honest with a good shooter only strengthens your low post.

its early and we are 2-0 so don't interpret this post with any sort of frustration. I am just excited with the numerous options we have this year!

[Mr. Neutral]

Every year, "millerdad" picks a white guy on X's roster who he feels isn't getting enough PT/shots. This year, it's Redford.

[muskieman]

Were either of you at the game last night? I think I saw a couple times picks were set but the guy got through them. Let Red' walk before he runs. I am sure Sean wants him to know that D keeps you in every game even on nights your shot is not falling. There is more than one player on the floor that can win games! Many said that about BJ and look at him now. Timing, Fellows, Timing.

[tacitus]

I would rather the likes of Missouri, Virginia Tech and Memphis to look at stats and think this "little white guy" can't cut it at this level, and then watch him go off for a solid double digit performance doing something like Raymond does from time to time. At this point, he is unproven/unsuspecting.

I do not think that plays have been set for him at all up to this point. It is just that the offense we run sets picks for all the perimeter players to get in as much motion as possible before going to the middle (A VERY NICE ADDITION TO XAVIER BASKETBALL IN ITSELF!!), unless the offense gives us an open three. We all know the shot is there, and we all know he will knock them down if he is given the space. As his playing time increases and/or gets more comfortable, he will get the open looks that Raymond gets now. Its merely a matter of probability. As he gets older and more experienced in the system, he will get plays set for him. But seriously, he is a pure shooter, not a one-and-done, so he should not be getting set plays in his first two games. He needs to find his place in our offense, not vice versa.

I will say this: Raymond is the man, but is very streaky. Opponents know that when he is on, they are all but doomed. So they have to guard him even when he is having one of his 1 for 10 nights. This spreads the defense, but can hurt us a bit when he keeps shooting and missing (not saying he shouldn't...). Redford almost airballed last night and then came back and hit his next shot as if nothing had happened (even if it was not counted). I do not think he will be as streaky. I think every shot taken will have the same (high) percentage of falling. Once he finds his comfort zone at this level and gets the go-ahead from Miller, this team will be deadly. Not that we haven't had better individual front court players than we do now, but now we have so many at once, and some are still developing! With Raymond and Redford, and others who can hit threes (Dante looked good last night), we only need to keep getting the ball down the court.

Its about winning as many games as possible. Not developing one player. Though he will develop and find his own.

[hoosiermuskie]

Offense is only 50% of the game. He is a defensive liability at this point. And part of the responsibility for getting open is on Redford's shoulders. I believe if Crawford were to become eligible both "the little white guys" time will almost be eliminated.

[Wisexuowl]

Patience Pop, patience.!
He's a mite tenative, but I have yet to see him take a bad shot. He's smart, and he'll know when ... just like your son will.

[tacitus]

Offense is only 50% of the game. He is a defensive liability at this point. And part of the responsibility for getting open is on Redford's shoulders. I believe if Crawford were to become eligible both "the little white guys" time will almost be eliminated.

Fine, Redford got jammed on by a bigger guard last night. I am sure that was a huge lesson for him: he needs to work twice as hard at this level. That was not really his fault though. But other than that, he has been holding his own on D. I also think he has looked the most consistent handling the ball, through both games AND the exhibition game, when even Dante was losing the ball. In almost half the time, he has one less assist than Dante and a 5-1 A/T ratio. All the teams so far had quality guards, they just could not hang with our front court. Let's see how he does in the next three games...

I predict he will make it at this level, and could be a pretty good college guard (not necessarily point guard). Crawford playing this year would take away playing time from all the guards, but I do think Redford would stay in the line-up.

You are right that he needs to find ways to get open himself. The only wide open shot he has had, he made (though it didn't count). The only shot counted was around NBA range with a defender sagging on him a bit too much. I don't think the crowd shouting "shoot" every time he touches the ball (even before he crosses half court!) is helping with the pressure. Fortunately he seems smart and humble enough to not listen. Though I hope he is waiting for that moment to prove what he can do... he just needs to find his place.

In short, I think he will never be in charge of shutting down the other team's top guard in the near future. But as a freshman, with two games under his belt, he has done pretty well on D. The offense will come with time, as long as he stays in the line-up... I'm not saying he will be a super star, but he can make a major contribution down the road!

[madness31]

Redford looks solid on D. I agree with those stating he needs to patiently work himself into the offense. Should he prove to be a dominant shooter in game time we should consider running plays for him. Something to consider when evaluating him is that in high school he basically played the whole game. He is now expected to come in off the bench and shoot lights out. Some players need time to get a feel for the game and can't just step on the court and bomb away. Maybe he can but there is a difference and the fans should be aware of this.

His assist to turnover ratio is incredible. In limited shots he's shooting well.

[Brian Fantana]

Dont u notice how in both games nobody gave redford an INCH!
Teams know he's 1 dimensional now.
I think, as a coach, you probably dont want to run sets for him to jack 3's...u want him to fit in and find good shots.

By the way, notice how Johanson calls him Red"Man"?