Xavier Frontcourt

[tacitus]

Let's not read too much into the casual comments of an 18-year old

Or when they loose their cool and push another player out of bounds and almost cost their team the game...

[hoosiermuskie]

As has been said before there have been many intentional fouls in college basketball games. Greg Oden has never been in any trouble with the law, he has had excellent grades and been a team player. And you're going to get on him because he looks older than his age(which I believe is 21)??? Come on. I blame this loss on many people but not Greg Oden. Probably Sean is #1. Don't get me wrong. I think he is a great coach but messed up on that one.

[muskienick]

Amen, Gary.

Furthermore, I can't believe that CJ Anderson wasn't even mentioned in the blurb as part of the 13th-rated frontcourt!

[tacitus]

As has been said before there have been many intentional fouls in college basketball games. Greg Oden has never been in any trouble with the law, he has had excellent grades and been a team player. And you're going to get on him because he looks older than his age(which I believe is 21)??? Come on. I blame this loss on many people but not Greg Oden. Probably Sean is #1. Don't get me wrong. I think he is a great coach but messed up on that one.

Come on... the age thing was a joke. Since when is this board so serious and non-biased?? You sure as hell better not be one of the guys who joked around about UD and watermelons a few years back.

I think that post was deleted, but whoever called me an idiot for merely pointing out that comparing himself to Greg Oden might not be the best comparison for a lot of Xavier fans.. give me a break. Are you related to the guy? Fine, I could have worded it differently. But there is a heck of a lot of over-exaggeration and sarcasm when it comes to sports. (Its not like I was making fun of a rival because their city was the victim of terrorism!!!!)

Here is what it boils down to. I am a Xaiver fan. Fan = "fanatic" and has very little to do with "objectivity." Its in the word. Do young players make dumb mistakes out of frustration? Yes. Was that a prime example? YES! Did it deserve an intentional call? ABSOLUTELY! Is it the coach's and the team's fault for losing that game. That's almost always the case. Does it still leave a bad taste in my mouth when I think of it? When I think of it, yes. Have I thought about that game or even thought about Greg Oden recently until seeing that out of context comment? Of course not. Is Greg Oden a good person? How would I know. Why would I care? All that matters to me is that one moment. Otherwise he has no bearing on my life. I'm not an OSU fan or Greg Oden groupie. I'm a Xavier fan. Am I a little subjective in my opinion on the end of that game, considering all the what-ifs? Aren't you? I hope so...DO I WANT A XAVIER PLAYER TO LOSE HIS COOL AND PUSH A GUY OUT OF BOUNDS FOR GETTING A REBOUND TO SEAL THE GAME? NOOO! Am I accusing Frease of that... Am I attacking or criticizing one of the best recruits we have ever had before he even puts on an X uniform??? Get out of here. Do I think it is ironic that he would compare himself to Oden of all people, considering that game and everything with Thad. YES. Was that my only point. I hope that is clear now...

Am I done with this discussion? You bet your...

[XU84]

I suppose that if he said that he'd like to be the next Wilt Chamberlain certain people would assume he meant he wants to have sex with 34,000 women.

I agree with Mr. Nuetral. He's 18 and simply said he'd like to emulate another 7' big man who recently played some college basketball. Leave it at that.

And yes I am a biased X fan. And that's ok.

[Lead Guitar]

If one can respond to the original post about the frontcourt, besides the CJ slight as overlooked in the article, I believe that the big surprise/unkonown will be McLean.

I understand that since none of us have even seen him other than the summer league it is difficult to tout him as a factor, but the comments I have heard from one of the assistant coaches indicated that he will make an impact. We as fans will be very happy to have him in our front court.

Maybe others out there have more insight??

[tacitus]

I suppose that if he said that he'd like to be the next Wilt Chamberlain certain people would assume he meant he wants to have sex with 34,000 women.

I agree with Mr. Nuetral. He's 18 and simply said he'd like to emulate another 7' big man who recently played some college basketball. Leave it at that.

And yes I am a biased X fan. And that's ok.

Just plain ridiculous... I suppose you have something against Wilt Chamberlain, or the fact that he is a jaun hor-hey. I don't. I would respect Frease all the more if he could dominate on and off the court. [Insert sarcastic smile and aura of irony, since that is needed, apparently.]

But regardless of what rationale and factual knowledge you bring to my attention, I cannot like the basketball player who pushed Cage out of bounds. Period. And I don't have any opinion (positive or negative) of the guy in any other capacity. That probably won't change, because I only watch West (now Posey) when it comes to the NBA (and notice I don't say "the Hornets").

Since we are using analogies, here's one that actually makes sense: What if Sean said he plans on being the next Thad?? Implying that he is going to take X to the next level... Is that comparison not a little hard to like?? Especially when there are so many other coaches he could compare himself to that were not involved in a controversy with our team?

The crazy thing is that the comment doesn't even bother me... it didn't "bother" me in the first place. I was just drawing attention to it. Apparently my style left something to be desired. I'm just going give everyone the benefit of the doubt and assume you are even more biased than I am: The mere thought that I meant to insult our next great player got your undies all in a bunch. I can live with that.

Now I am really done with the conversation...

[Mr. Neutral]

<<Fan = "fanatic" and has very little to do with "objectivity.">>

Not surprisingly, I prefer my fandom to include objectivity.

[madness31]

Objective is great and I'd like to think some of my comments regarding the uncertainties of the coming year demonstrate this view. I do however think stating that the Oden foul should not have been a flagrant goes beyond objective and becomes negative. There will always be someone who sees the world differently or makes a claim to support the status quo or legitimize something but that doesn't make them right. I was at the game and didn't have a great view of what happened but noticed the crowd's reaction down near the court. On the drive home a talk radio commentator dismissed the possible flagrant while many callers objected. It wasn't until I reviewed the recording that I realized how obvious the flagrant was. It is not possible to throw a large man backwards when he is braced for contact unless you put great effort into it. The radio commentator mentioned that Cage was leaning back when he was hit and if that were true I could understand a basic foul being called. The problem is that Cage was bear hugging the ball and leaning forward ready to be fouled or for someone to try and strip the ball. That is all the evidence that is needed for this case. It was a missed call and unfortunately it made a difference in the outcome of the game. It did not cause X to lose the game but opened the door.

This year's team should be very different from past Xavier teams given our imposing frontcourt. It's been awhile since X had so much talent and size down low. West was incredible but we definitely didn't have the depth surrounding him in the middle.