Xavier Game Thoughts

[Pistol]

Now that I've had a night to sleep it off, I'll write a few thoughts from the debacle at Cintas Center last night. I'm not sure what insights I can provide as someone who saw it there in person, surrounded by Xavier fans, but I'll give it a shot.

-10 NBA scouts in the house from 9 teams to take a look at Derrick Brown and the SLU seniors (I'm guessing this doesn't include Barry Foul-A-Minute Eberhardt). Brown gave them a good reason to make the trip; our seniors did not. Tommie disappeared completely. As many things that have been written on here about Lisch and why he's not playing up to his potential, Tommie was a ghost last night.

-There isn't much I can say about our offense last night that you can't see in the box score. Watching us shoot free throws was painful. I was surprised to see we hit 10+ because I forgot that Conklin and Thompson actually did okay and hit a bunch in the second half. The other guys looked worse than the putzes that get out there for halftime promotions. Same story from deep: 1-10 from behind the arc. I thought we'd be shooting more of these because we had plenty of opportunities to shoot and were down by a big margin the whole night.

-Derrick Brown is a stud; I'd be curious to see what the NBA scouts wrote about him. Once again, he had one of his perfect games from the floor and has become one of the most efficient players out there. I'd like to see him rebound more and block more shots- a little more aggressiveness and he's got a shot to be a lottery pick. He caught an alley-oop that looked like he fell from the ceiling. No one saw it coming. His 3-point shooting is also a new development this season, and his shot selection is excellent.

-Kevin was working hard last night, but looked frustrated. He had some great passes early that were all either tipped out of bounds, dropped, or otherwise botched- had these been handled on the other end, we would have been out to an 8-4 lead (this also includes a layup he missed after embarrassing his defender). His shot was off, but that could be said for everyone. I at least saw work out of him, but nothing whatsoever from Tommie, who had no reason not to show up for this one. He can score against anybody, so that was frustrating to watch.

-Conklin and Reed continue to work hard and I love to watch these guys. Thompson also showed me a lot last night- still looked like a freshman, but one who is going to be a very good big for us for 4 years. I can't wait to see what offseason conditioning will do for him and Reed. Both of them were cheated out of blocks, by the way- Thompson had one in the first half that wasn't counted, and Reed blocked at least 3, including one where he blocked a guy twice in a row.

-Mitchell is also going to be a very good player for us for 4 years. I was impressed the way he got to the hole and scored layups in traffic a few times last night. He didn't look all that different from Holloway on Xavier.

-It was a weird night with the fouls, as the refs really let it go. I think the disparity shows not that we were favored, but that Xavier was playing harder from start to finish. There were a lot of no-calls that could have gone either way. Oddly, we only had 3 guys with fouls- Reed, Thompson, and Eberhardt.

-I think efficient would probably be the best word to describe Xavier as a whole last night. 70 points on 52% shooting; normally teams that shoot that well score more, so maybe on an off night we could have been in this one. I could tell we had them well-scouted on defense but just looked lethargic at times and overmatched at others. They locked us down defensively, and it didn't help that we missed so many open shots, particularly in the first 10 minutes. They outworked us; probably the best play to show this fact was when Jackson forced a turnover from Lisch, tipping the ball loose and immediately hitting the deck to push it out of his reach, then getting up, retrieving his own steal and turning it into a nice assist at the other end.

-The place was near capacity, but was half empty by the 6:00 mark. The fans were a lot of fun around me after seeing my SLU stuff. I got razzed pretty good as lineups were announced but all in good fun since most of the guys around the seats see me at every game anyway. Most of them know their stuff, too, and have a lot of respect for SLU, Majerus, and the direction of the program, acknowledging how young we are.

[DirtyRican]

Now that I've had a night to sleep it off, I'll write a few thoughts from the debacle at Cintas Center last night. I'm not sure what insights I can provide as someone who saw it there in person, surrounded by Xavier fans, but I'll give it a shot.

-10 NBA scouts in the house from 9 teams to take a look at Derrick Brown and the SLU seniors (I'm guessing this doesn't include Barry Foul-A-Minute Eberhardt). Brown gave them a good reason to make the trip; our seniors did not. Tommie disappeared completely. As many things that have been written on here about Lisch and why he's not playing up to his potential, Tommie was a ghost last night.

-There isn't much I can say about our offense last night that you can't see in the box score. Watching us shoot free throws was painful. I was surprised to see we hit 10+ because I forgot that Conklin and Thompson actually did okay and hit a bunch in the second half. The other guys looked worse than the putzes that get out there for halftime promotions. Same story from deep: 1-10 from behind the arc. I thought we'd be shooting more of these because we had plenty of opportunities to shoot and were down by a big margin the whole night.

-Derrick Brown is a stud; I'd be curious to see what the NBA scouts wrote about him. Once again, he had one of his perfect games from the floor and has become one of the most efficient players out there. I'd like to see him rebound more and block more shots- a little more aggressiveness and he's got a shot to be a lottery pick. He caught an alley-oop that looked like he fell from the ceiling. No one saw it coming. His 3-point shooting is also a new development this season, and his shot selection is excellent.

-Kevin was working hard last night, but looked frustrated. He had some great passes early that were all either tipped out of bounds, dropped, or otherwise botched- had these been handled on the other end, we would have been out to an 8-4 lead (this also includes a layup he missed after embarrassing his defender). His shot was off, but that could be said for everyone. I at least saw work out of him, but nothing whatsoever from Tommie, who had no reason not to show up for this one. He can score against anybody, so that was frustrating to watch.

-Conklin and Reed continue to work hard and I love to watch these guys. Thompson also showed me a lot last night- still looked like a freshman, but one who is going to be a very good big for us for 4 years. I can't wait to see what offseason conditioning will do for him and Reed. Both of them were cheated out of blocks, by the way- Thompson had one in the first half that wasn't counted, and Reed blocked at least 3, including one where he blocked a guy twice in a row.

-Mitchell is also going to be a very good player for us for 4 years. I was impressed the way he got to the hole and scored layups in traffic a few times last night. He didn't look all that different from Holloway on Xavier.

-It was a weird night with the fouls, as the refs really let it go. I think the disparity shows not that we were favored, but that Xavier was playing harder from start to finish. There were a lot of no-calls that could have gone either way. Oddly, we only had 3 guys with fouls- Reed, Thompson, and Eberhardt.

-I think efficient would probably be the best word to describe Xavier as a whole last night. 70 points on 52% shooting; normally teams that shoot that well score more, so maybe on an off night we could have been in this one. I could tell we had them well-scouted on defense but just looked lethargic at times and overmatched at others. They locked us down defensively, and it didn't help that we missed so many open shots, particularly in the first 10 minutes. They outworked us; probably the best play to show this fact was when Jackson forced a turnover from Lisch, tipping the ball loose and immediately hitting the deck to push it out of his reach, then getting up, retrieving his own steal and turning it into a nice assist at the other end.

-The place was near capacity, but was half empty by the 6:00 mark. The fans were a lot of fun around me after seeing my SLU stuff. I got razzed pretty good as lineups were announced but all in good fun since most of the guys around the seats see me at every game anyway. Most of them know their stuff, too, and have a lot of respect for SLU, Majerus, and the direction of the program, acknowledging how young we are.

Good observations, they are right on. One thing I would add is that we show no tenacity when rebounding. Maybe it is youth but watching the Xavier bigs on the boards was night and day. They wanted it more, out jumped, bodied and whatever else it took. We may have been close in the box score but it didnt tell the story. The young guys need to watch teams like Xavier on the glass.

[MusicCityBilliken]

-Derrick Brown is a stud; I'd be curious to see what the NBA scouts wrote about him. Once again, he had one of his perfect games from the floor and has become one of the most efficient players out there. I'd like to see him rebound more and block more shots- a little more aggressiveness and he's got a shot to be a lottery pick. He caught an alley-oop that looked like he fell from the ceiling. No one saw it coming. His 3-point shooting is also a new development this season, and his shot selection is excellent.

Nice re-cap, thanks.

Regarding Brown's alley-oop, did you notice the pick (not sure of the XU player that set it) on Conklin that made that play happen? It was perfect, took Brian completely out of the play.

Our picks looked like warm butter with a knife going through it.

Other then maybe splitting with Dayton and maybe a rare away off-night, I don't see many A10 teams beating them.

[ACE]

Brown is a hell of a player. It has to be killing Dayton that he would un at XU. One thing I like about Xavier is that they always seem to have 4 or 5 guys who are capable of stepping up and scoring in double digits. Hopefully we will build a team capable of that on a consistent basis.

[ChaifetzRocker88]

X's length and athleticism killed us. The guy who guarded KL had a wingspan that Boeing hasn't even developed.

[xfactor9600]

I think you guys have found yourself a point guard in Mitchell. I'm already looking forward to the Terrell Holloway/ Mitchell matchup next season. It also felt like SLU had a bunch of baskets that just didn't drop.

[jimbofive]

I think you guys have found yourself a point guard in Mitchell. I'm already looking forward to the Terrell Holloway/ Mitchell matchup next season. It also felt like SLU had a bunch of baskets that just didn't drop.

Thanks for the kind words after working the piss out of us. I felt like a cat with a urinary tract infection after reading the recap.

[Pistol]

I think you guys have found yourself a point guard in Mitchell. I'm already looking forward to the Terrell Holloway/ Mitchell matchup next season. It also felt like SLU had a bunch of baskets that just didn't drop.

That will be a good one for the next few years, as both are similar in size and style.

We had some decent looks that didn't fall and then, like Majerus said in his postgame comments, failed to get back in transition defense. So a lot of times when it looked like we had an easy 2, it wound up being and easy 2 or 3 the other way. A few of those in a row the first half seemed to set the tone for the game.

[Pistol]

Nice re-cap, thanks.

Regarding Brown's alley-oop, did you notice the pick (not sure of the XU player that set it) on Conklin that made that play happen? It was perfect, took Brian completely out of the play.

Our picks looked like warm butter with a knife going through it.

Other then maybe splitting with Dayton and maybe a rare away off-night, I don't see many A10 teams beating them.

Yeah, that was the funny thing about that play. Brown was on the wing with Conklin right on him- respecting that newfound 3-point ability- when Conklin disappeared and Brown got behind everyone and launched. No one was looking for that because Conklin getting hit by the screen was so sudden, not to mention a decent distance from the ball. It was a nice surprise for the home crowd, that's for sure.

I don't think they'll run through conference undefeated. I don't know if it will be Dayton, but at least one team should surprise them (like BC over UNC, but on a smaller scale). There are enough tricky road trips in this conference for them to stumble somewhere. They should go undefeated at home from here on out, though, unless they really stink it up some night.

[GOSLU68]

Yeah, that was the funny thing about that play. Brown was on the wing with Conklin right on him- respecting that newfound 3-point ability- when Conklin disappeared and Brown got behind everyone and launched. No one was looking for that because Conklin getting hit by the screen was so sudden, not to mention a decent distance from the ball. It was a nice surprise for the home crowd, that's for sure.

I don't think they'll run through conference undefeated. I don't know if it will be Dayton, but at least one team should surprise them (like BC over UNC, but on a smaller scale). There are enough tricky road trips in this conference for them to stumble somewhere. They should go undefeated at home from here on out, though, unless they really stink it up some night.

I had to depend on the radio and the boxscores for my analyses but do you think all the fouls on BE, WR, and BT only was because they were forcing it into the paint so effectively? Could you tell if we had any attempt to try and steal the passes in to their three bigs? Is the real advantage of having three bigs in the

game you don't have to depend on how hot your three point shooters are? Thanks for getting us an in the building look I sure wish we had a budget that would get us road games on TV. I guess RM has to beg for tapes from the other schools to study.

[bonwich]

As of last night, SLU:XU::XU:Duke

(I used to do very well on standardized tests.)

[Box and Won]

XU:SLU::Ike Turner:Tina Turner

[Pistol]

I had to depend on the radio and the boxscores for my analyses but do you think all the fouls on BE, WR, and BT only was because they were forcing it into the paint so effectively? Could you tell if we had any attempt to try and steal the passes in to their three bigs? Is the real advantage of having three bigs in the

game you don't have to depend on how hot your three point shooters are? Thanks for getting us an in the building look I sure wish we had a budget that would get us road games on TV. I guess RM has to beg for tapes from the other schools to study.

I wouldn't say the fouls were particularly because the bigs saw more pressure. A couple of Willie's were unnecessary fouls because he got out of position. Barry had a couple where his man beat him and he fouled to stop the easy basket. Thompson's 2 fouls were legitimate, solid fouls- one where he looked straight up but there was contact. I'll also say that I thought Brett and Willie played very good defense overall, though there were some lapses that led to quick and easy points for Xavier.

Xavier's bigs weren't necessarily doing the damage, it was the whole team. Frease actually didn't look good at all and Love had a solid, if unspectacular, game. C.J. Anderson beat us baseline a few times, as his whole game is about getting in behind guys and getting under the basket. He looks to score as many ugly points from within 4 feet as possible, and is quicker than most bigs, so he drew a couple fouls that way.

Kevin and the others were looking to swat inlet passes to the bigs but I wouldn't say it was a major team strategy. Xavier got a lot of points on solid jump shooting and in transition, just taking holes wherever they were. Our half court defense wasn't bad, but Xavier's shot selection was outstanding and Brown, Love, and Anderson got a lot from penetrating. The variance between the two teams' experience and athleticism was very apparent.

[bonwich]

XU:SLU::Ike Turner:Tina Turner

We can only hope that, by the end of the year, the analogy switches to Ike Turner:Tina Turner::SLU's season:XU's season. (Or maybe SLU can just be Mel Gibson in the A-10 Thunderdome.)

[Box and Won]

(Or maybe SLU can just be Mel Gibson in the A-10 Thunderdome.)

Then Brian Gregory would be Master Blaster, carried around on Majerus' back.

[jimbofive]

XU:SLU::Ike Turner:Tina Turner

At least X doesn't get a chance to tell the ***** twice during the conference season this year.

[mn203]

The worst is yet to come for SLU. They may lose the next 10 games all by double digits! Majerus will then start blaming his players on not doing what he's asking. This has to be the worst SLU team in recent memory. They are too boring to even watch. Majerus is trying to play D3 style basketball on the D1 level! The game has passed him by. It's truly a shame the way he has destroyed SLU basketball!

I wouldn't say the fouls were particularly because the bigs saw more pressure. A couple of Willie's were unnecessary fouls because he got out of position. Barry had a couple where his man beat him and he fouled to stop the easy basket. Thompson's 2 fouls were legitimate, solid fouls- one where he looked straight up but there was contact. I'll also say that I thought Brett and Willie played very good defense overall, though there were some lapses that led to quick and easy points for Xavier.

Xavier's bigs weren't necessarily doing the damage, it was the whole team. Frease actually didn't look good at all and Love had a solid, if unspectacular, game. C.J. Anderson beat us baseline a few times, as his whole game is about getting in behind guys and getting under the basket. He looks to score as many ugly points from within 4 feet as possible, and is quicker than most bigs, so he drew a couple fouls that way.

Kevin and the others were looking to swat inlet passes to the bigs but I wouldn't say it was a major team strategy. Xavier got a lot of points on solid jump shooting and in transition, just taking holes wherever they were. Our half court defense wasn't bad, but Xavier's shot selection was outstanding and Brown, Love, and Anderson got a lot from penetrating. The variance between the two teams' experience and athleticism was very apparent.

[moytoy12]

It's truly a shame the way he has destroyed SLU basketball!

Thank you for speaking the truth! We have gone from multiple NCAA bids to DIII basketball. Thanks a whole friggin' lot Majerus!

[mn203]

It's over for you JIMBO! SLU will be lucky to win three more games this season. You have been reduced to comedy and funny pictures because SLU is that bad! I do want you to continue with pictures. They are truly funny.

Thanks for the kind words after working the piss out of us. I felt like a cat with a urinary tract infection after reading the recap.

[TheA_Bomb]

It's over for you JIMBO! SLU will be lucky to win three more games this season. You have been reduced to comedy and funny pictures because SLU is that bad! I do want you to continue with pictures. They are truly funny.

I wouldn't call what he does comedy more just regurgitating the last episode of Manswers and whatever he saw on G-4 network.

By the way welcome to the board you are like a breath of fresh air. You are a cute little guy and it is a joy to read your posts.

[jjray]

Then Brian Gregory would be Master Blaster, carried around on Majerus' back.

Nicely done!