Xavier strengths and weaknesses

1. They have size, are physical, and play some defense.
They are similar to the big ten of old in this regard. Sampson and the guards will have to handle the physicalness.
2. They shoot the ball well from three: Crawford, Redford, and Jackson all shoot it well.
38% for the year with 213 makes. Staying home on the shooters. None of their bigs dominate in the paint so choosing to double team them, to me, would be a mistake.
3. They seem to have some good rebounders in Love and Mclean. But in their loses; they have gotten outrebounded by 10: Baylor, Kansas St. I wish we were a better rebounding team to exploit this.
4. They have an inexperienced backcourt. Holloway and Redford are soph. and Lyons is a freshmen. Maybe we could use some full court, 3 quarter court presses?
5. Except for 7' Frease the rest of those who play shoot free throws well. 71% as a team. Frease is at 54%.

In summary: We need Colt to come up big. He has the size and will to battle this team. We need some high energy defense, maybe some box and one on crawford. He is really consistent even in their loses though. I kind of have the feeling the team who is hitting the outside shots will win this one. Hopefully we get it inside first so those three's will come easier.

march madness said:

1. They have size, are physical, and play some defense.
They are similar to the big ten of old in this regard. Sampson and the guards will have to handle the physicalness.
2. They shoot the ball well from three: Crawford, Redford, and Jackson all shoot it well.
38% for the year with 213 makes. Staying home on the shooters. None of their bigs dominate in the paint so choosing to double team them, to me, would be a mistake.
3. They seem to have some good rebounders in Love and Mclean. But in their loses; they have gotten outrebounded by 10: Baylor, Kansas St. I wish we were a better rebounding team to exploit this.
4. They have an inexperienced backcourt. Holloway and Redford are soph. and Lyons is a freshmen. Maybe we could use some full court, 3 quarter court presses?
5. Except for 7' Frease the rest of those who play shoot free throws well. 71% as a team. Frease is at 54%.

In summary: We need Colt to come up big. He has the size and will to battle this team. We need some high energy defense, maybe some box and one on crawford. He is really consistent even in their loses though. I kind of have the feeling the team who is hitting the outside shots will win this one. Hopefully we get it inside first so those three's will come easier.

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Good luck trying to press us if you want to. Our guards may be inexperienced, but they certainly can take care of the ball. Crawford and Holloway are very good handlers along with Dante who started at the 1 last season.

Welcome to the board.

What other insights do you have about your team? Some of our fans are worried about the "athleticism" of your team ... is that how you'd describe them? I saw you were barely beat by Butler at Butler and when I've seen Butler after we played them, they looked good but not particularly athletic. Was it simply home-court advantage?

That's about the only serious opponent that we have in common this year so it's a bit difficult to get a sense of the potential matchups in terms of strengths and weaknesses. Frankly, after the season we've had, it's hard to know what our strengths and weaknesses are from one week to another.

BTW, we get a few fans of competing teams here ... those that last are those who support their team without the trash/smack talking.

Pressing would probably not be a smart decision because Xavier struggles to score in a half court offense and are one of the better and more athletic teams breaking presses and getting easy shots. Florida tried to put a press on and we went on about a 20-2 run with about 5 easy dunks. On the other hand, could Xavier turn you guys over and speed up the pace?

Had to laff at this snippet from Xboards "I think they're obviously a good team. I don't care that Purdue didn't have Robbie Hummel, what Minnesota did to the Boilers should be banned in most states."

xavier2 said:

Pressing would probably not be a smart decision because Xavier struggles to score in a half court offense and are one of the better and more athletic teams breaking presses and getting easy shots. Florida tried to put a press on and we went on about a 20-2 run with about 5 easy dunks. On the other hand, could Xavier turn you guys over and speed up the pace?

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Possibly, although the Gophers certainly like to run as well. As Big Ten teams go, the Gophers play at a pretty high tempo with their basic gameplan and if we get turnovers in the halfcourt sets, we'll try and run it out on you every time. If we had Al Nolen available, we might press because with him at the point, our press is pretty darn tough. Without him, we simply don't have the pressure needed from our guards to generate big-time pressure full court.

As a result, I'd expect we'll play almost all halfcourt unless we get significantly behind and are forced to press.

It depends on what type of press and how well Minn executes it. Yes X shredded Florida's pressure but had a really tough time against Rhode Island. Dayton at times stymied X in halfcourt as well as Richmond. Butler did a great job of defending X for a half.

Jason Love, C -This is Xavier's team. He's the lone senior on the team. When he got to Xavier, he was 6'9 and 290 pounds; he's now 6'9 265. This is the definition of a guy who's a self made player. He averaged 5 minutes a game as a Freshman and now nearly a double-double a game in almost 30 minutes. It will be key for Minnesota to keep him off the boards. He does have a pretty good back to the basket game, but alot of his points come from being in the right place at the right time. Jason is also an outstanding shot blocker and defensive rebounder

Jamel McLean, PF - Jamel is a garbage guy. He has incredible athletic ability...just an amazing leaper. His offensive game is very limited, mainly to put backs, but he is strong defensively and definitely a hard worker

Dante Jackson, G - Dante's an excellent defender and an outstanding 3 point shooter. Offensively, I personally feel he's limited offensively, as he doesn't have great quickness or great athleticism. However, I don't feel Xavier would be where they are without him.

Jordan Crawford, G - This guy is a PLAYER. I don't know that there was a game this year where I didn't feel he was the best player on the floor. Being a Michigan fan as well, I would compare him to Manny Harris. Just a flat out scorer; but you never know if he's the best player on your team, or the best player on the opponents team. He can at times force things, which causes the Musketeers to get down, but when he's on, it's going to be tough to stop him. He has tremendous quickness, can handle the ball, and has a midrange jumper and can step out to the NBA 3 point line.

Terrell Holloway, G - Terrell is a very reliable point guard. Suspect outside jumper, but like most players from NY, LOVES to attack the basket. I trust Terrell with the ball in his hands. The other thing about Terrell is he's extremely competetive. In our annual rivalry game with Cincinnati, Lance Stephenson was destroying our defense. At halftime, Holloway told Coach Mack, "I got Lance. He's from New York, I'm from New York, I can guard him." I love that in my point guard. He's also the A-10s best free throw shooter.

Mark Lyons, G - Sat out a year last year, but has been an outstanding addition. Mark is extremely quick with the ball, which also is his biggest weakness. He is probably the most out of control player on our team. I never know where he's headed with the ball. However, he's outstanding attacking the basket, but like Holloway is a suspect outside shooter.

Brad Redford, G - When he shoots the ball from outside the 3 point line, I fully expect it to go in. He has incredible range and an extremely quick release. If you're not there defensively on the catch, the shot's going up and it's going in. Unfortunately, shooting 3 pointers and free throws is about all he does well. I don't think I've seen him score 10 2 point field goals in 2 years. He cannot create his own shot. Defensively, he's definitely a liability. Minnesota will definitely look to exploit him defensively.

Kenny Frease, C - Big Body. 7'0, 265. He's a guy who is still learning how to play college basketball. He has a very limited offensive game, but it is definitely better than McLean's. Decent rebounder but would like to see him be better for his size. He's also decent defensively, but once again, I don't know that he's adjusted to college basketball. He's just an awful free throw shooter.

Andrew Taylor, F - Former walk-on who transferred from a Division II school in Michigan. He's a hustle guy, but don't expect to see much of him on Friday.

Brian Walsh- G - Saw more action late in the year when Redford was hurt. He was injured all last season so haven't seen much of him.

the other Musketeers fans have given good analysis of the team but ill add my two cents anyways

PG: Terrell Halloway - has developed into a really savvy guard (good A/T ratio), he can split the double team and get to the basket with his quickness or drive and kick. Halloway is also a great FT shooter about 85% and a clutch player and solid defender.

SG: Dante Jackson - Jackson is the vocal leader of the team, he is a good defender who is also a great set shooter. Dante is turnover prone at times but hes a solid player overall

SF: Jordan Crawford - Dynamite scorer...JC is really athletic and acrobatic. He can take over a game but is also turnover prone/reckless at times. The most underrated part of his game is his passing, he has good vision and is great at driving and kicking. On defense he is an above average defender on ball but he gets alot of deflections/steals then roars down the court to score.

PF: Jamel McLean - Really outstanding athlete who plays with great energy, Jamel's offensive game is pretty limited to put backs and dunking. On defense he's a great post defender who can also play help defense and block shots...has solid quickness for a guy his size

C: Jason Love - Workhorse post player....averages 11.9 ppg and 8.6 rebounds per game. Love shoots a high percentage and has some solid post moves with touch around the basket. Defensively hes just an average athlete but hes strong and pretty long so he can hold his own and get some rejections

Bench:

G: Mark Lyons - Lyons is a blur with the basketball as well as an explosive leaper, he has really come on strong late in the year to provide scoring (8.4 PPG) and good defense. He's an average outside shooter but a very effective driver despite his small stature

C: Kenny Frease - Frease is a lumbering 7 footer who hasn't really developed, that said he has ok touch around the basket and he has the ability to pull down boards and bother shots with his size.

G: Brad Redford - A lights out set shooter, he will not beat you off the bounce but he stretches the defense with his shooting ability.

F: Andrew Taylor - Glue player, comes in to spell McLean or Love...not much of a scorer but plays with good energy

Overall: Xavier possesses a plethora of BCS quality athletes and a BCS size inside...Xavier also has great toughness and play solid defense. This team's downfall could be its propensity to go on stretches were they turn the ball over or just stand around in the half court and watch Crawford go to work.

Sorry, I haven't followed a whole lot about Xavier yet but the first impression I'm getting is that a game plan like Wisconsin has would drive them absolutely crazy, as it does everyone else of course. Slow, deliberate, make it a game of possessions, and win the possessions.

Blizzard,

We actually had the honor of playing Wisconsin in the second round of the dance last year. We won that one 60-49. Yes, it was a slow pace game, as I recall our coach last year said the whole plan was to take Wisconsin's style of play and throw it right back in their face.

Our opponents have an unfair advantage. The Xavier Institute for Higher Learning is a school for people with mutant superpowers! Haven't you read the X-Men? How are we supposed to compete against people who can phase right through you, take over your mind or shoot friggin' laser beams out there eyes?

We won that one 60-49. Yes, it was a slow pace game, as I recall our coach last year said the whole plan was to take Wisconsin's style of play and throw it right back in their face.

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Lol. Well, alrighty then.

As much as I love this draw and region, I think our perimeter defense is a weakness so that could be our undoing and it sounds like their back court in general is better than ours (After we lost Al Nolen anyhow). I fear the overly competitive Lawrence Westbrook and learning-on-the-job Devoe Joseph could both be baited into trying to go tit for tat with Xavier's back court. Tubby, will need to keep their heads on straight, slow it down and get touches inside to make this a win.

The guy that could be a big difference maker for you guys is Damian Johnson. He's the type of athletic wing player that's given Xavier fits all year. See Chris Johnson from Dayton as an example. However, the fact that he will be playing more of the 4 and working on McLean, who himself is a bit of an athletic freak, only about 35 lbs bigger than Johnson, might work out more to Xavier's favor that in the past when the wing players were matched up with Dante Jackson.
I will address some inaccuracies I've seen on other threads here. I would hardly call Xavier's players "thugs" or anything of that nature. The Butler game was one you would have had to had witness to understand the reaction. The UC game is a rivalry game where tempers flare nearly every year anyways. Same with the games against Dayton. Secondly, I saw some people state that Xavier basically had no inside game. Someone forgot to tell Jason Love and Jamel McLean that, as they average about 20 points and 16 rebounds per game between them. Also, Terrell Holloway is not 5'8" as someone had previously stated on another thread. He is 6' tall. That guy may have been thinking of Drew Lavender from a few years back, who was 5'7 or so.
Anyways, I am looking forward to a good game on Friday. Best of luck to you guys!