With Brad Redford being injured on Saturday, Oct. 23, and Justin Martin being ruled ineligible on Oct. 25, the Xavier men’s basketball team takes on a whole new complexion.
With only 10 scholarship players available, here is what the Musketeers roster breaks down to at the moment:
PG: Tu Holloway
SG: Mark Lyons
SF: Dante Jackson, Jay Canty
PF: Jamel McLean, Andrew Taylor, Griffin McKenzie
C: Kenny Frease, Jordan Latham
The lack of depth will influence the Musketeers in a number of ways. Here are three major changes:
1. The Musketeers were already contenders to lead the country in free throw attempts per game, but the possibility gets even greater now. With XU’s main scoring punch coming from slashing guards Holloway and Lyons, the Musketeers will still want to run when possible. But getting to the free throw line will give Holloway, Lyons and Jackson a breather from the 30-plus minutes each will be expected to log. Also, with fewer perimeter players, the shot distribution will be skewed more toward Frease, McLean and Latham on the interior, likely adding to the foul total of opponents.
2. With Xavier likely getting to the free throw line more than 20 times per game—and opponents therefore picking up approximately 20 fouls per game—the Musketeers may struggle on the road. As the Musketeers attack the interior offensively to pick up fouls, they will have to avoid them on the other end because of the lack of depth. But foul inequality has been proven to trend in the favor of the home team, if anything, in college basketball, making road games potential traps for XU.
3. Xavier has traditionally been a three-point heavy team, but will likely rely on the deep ball for less than 25 percent of its offense this season. Still, Jackson will likely put up more than 200 three point attempts this season, with Lyons and Holloway both getting more than 100 attempts. With Frease, McLean, Latham and Taylor limited to points inside the paint, the approximately 400 attempts the starting backcourt combines for will likely account for the vast majority of XU’s deep threat.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Some brief thoughts on John Fields
With the departure of Jordan Crawford to the NBA and Brian Walsh to transfer, the Xavier men’s basketball team has found itself with an open scholarship for the 2010-11 season.
XU head coach Chris Mack will likely fill the spot with a one-year transfer (made eligible by their graduation this spring). The two top choices at the moment appear to be 6-ffot-6 wing Eniel Polynice from Ole Miss and 6-foot-9 center John Fields from UNC-Wilmington.
After talking with writers and observers in the Wilmington area, here are a few quick takes on Fields:
-Fields likely wanted out of the program because it has become a ghost town after coach Benny Moss was fired at the end of January—right in the middle of the CAA season. After Moss was fired the team went into a tailspin, none more so than Fields, who came to Wilmington from East Carolina to play for Moss. With new coach Buzz Petterson charged with a group that will likely sit in the cellar of the CAA, Fields wanted the added exposure and success that a larger program could offer for a senior season.
-Fields is not a polished offensive presence, and often struggles with double teams—another reason to abandon the UNCW system that would have revolved around battling double teams every night. His offensive range is limited to about six feet, and most of his points are energy points, scored in transition or on offensive rebounds.
-Fields is an excellent weakside defender and rebounder, even against some of the bigger competition on UNCW’s schedule—Richmond, Wake Forest, Old Dominion, South Florida. In an inspired game following Moss’ dismissal in January, Fields corralled 21 rebounds, dedicating the game to his coach.
-For a major program of Xavier or Tennessee’s caliber, Fields would likely be a guy to play 15-20 minutes per game off the bench, providing energy in transition and a defensive presence.
-While this move takes Fields to his third school, there are not really any spotty personal issues on his resume. He has just been unfortunate enough to stumble into some situations that did not suit him.
-Moss ran a number of set plays during his tenure at UNCW, requiring players to utilize a high basketball IQ. Fields picked up the system reasonably upon his entry from ECU. On the defensive side, while Fields’ shot blocking ability often lends him to roam on the weakside, he was able within the system enough to remain on the floor.
XU head coach Chris Mack will likely fill the spot with a one-year transfer (made eligible by their graduation this spring). The two top choices at the moment appear to be 6-ffot-6 wing Eniel Polynice from Ole Miss and 6-foot-9 center John Fields from UNC-Wilmington.
After talking with writers and observers in the Wilmington area, here are a few quick takes on Fields:
-Fields likely wanted out of the program because it has become a ghost town after coach Benny Moss was fired at the end of January—right in the middle of the CAA season. After Moss was fired the team went into a tailspin, none more so than Fields, who came to Wilmington from East Carolina to play for Moss. With new coach Buzz Petterson charged with a group that will likely sit in the cellar of the CAA, Fields wanted the added exposure and success that a larger program could offer for a senior season.
-Fields is not a polished offensive presence, and often struggles with double teams—another reason to abandon the UNCW system that would have revolved around battling double teams every night. His offensive range is limited to about six feet, and most of his points are energy points, scored in transition or on offensive rebounds.
-Fields is an excellent weakside defender and rebounder, even against some of the bigger competition on UNCW’s schedule—Richmond, Wake Forest, Old Dominion, South Florida. In an inspired game following Moss’ dismissal in January, Fields corralled 21 rebounds, dedicating the game to his coach.
-For a major program of Xavier or Tennessee’s caliber, Fields would likely be a guy to play 15-20 minutes per game off the bench, providing energy in transition and a defensive presence.
-While this move takes Fields to his third school, there are not really any spotty personal issues on his resume. He has just been unfortunate enough to stumble into some situations that did not suit him.
-Moss ran a number of set plays during his tenure at UNCW, requiring players to utilize a high basketball IQ. Fields picked up the system reasonably upon his entry from ECU. On the defensive side, while Fields’ shot blocking ability often lends him to roam on the weakside, he was able within the system enough to remain on the floor.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Pat Kelsey -- the perfect hire for Mack
In his final move to complete his coaching staff Xavier men's basketball coach Chris Mack is expected to announce the hiring of former Wake Forest assistant coach Pat Kelsey in the coming days as the new Associate Head Coach of the men's basketball program.
Kelsey, a 1998 Xavier graduate, had a stellar recruiting resume at Wake Forest, reeling in top talent such as Al Faruq-Aminu, Tony Woods and Ari Stewart.
In addition, Kelsey has been noted as an excellent in-game tactician, and excels in post instruction--both areas of concern for the Xavier staff after James Whitford departed for Arizona along with Sean Miller.
While unlikely to pay immediate recruiting dividends in the 2009 season because of the timing of the hiring--after the spring contact period with recruits--Kelsey's contacts in the Southeast, combined with the effort that Mack has been putting into the area, could produce talent as early as 2010. The hiring will certainly give Xavier a boost with previous southern prospects, such as Atlanta's Donte Williams.
The hiring of Kelsey gives Xavier one of the most formidable staffs in the country on the recruiting trail, consisting of a four man team with impressive resume's in different regions of the country.
'Bino' Ranson has strong connections in the talent-rich Baltimore area from his time as an AAU coach in the region, and also possesses the ability to parlay those ties to strong relationships in the Northeast. Travis Steele has roots in the Indiana AAU circuit, as he was a head coach for the preeminent Indiana grassroots program, Indiana Elite, for six years. Kelsey is one of the most respected recruiters in the country, able to draw from the Southeast for Wake Forest, but also extending his web incrementally as his stature grows.
To top it off, Xavier has a zealous recruiter as their head man. Mack has been able to produce talent from Xavier's immediate recruiting pipeline--Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania--in his time as an assistant, and has ties to each of the other hotbeds that his assistants will be dipping into from his tenure on the Xavier staff.
Aside from the future concerns of the program, bringing in Kelsey makes Xavier a better team on the court in 2009-10 by easing the in-game burden on Mack's shoulders. Mack is an excellent in-game coach, but had two fairly inexperienced assistants on his staff already in Ranson and Steele. Kelsey has been through the fire as an assistant in the ACC for five seasons, and will be a strong voice in Mack's ear during critical situations in 09-10.
With a strong foundation now in place on the sidelines, Xavier can focus on completing their roster for next season--highlighted by efforts to land previous commitment Kevin Parrom--and get to work on living up to Final Four-level expectations.
In the meantime, Mack is breathing a sigh of relief. He has landed his first big-time recruit... and potentially his most important.
Kelsey, a 1998 Xavier graduate, had a stellar recruiting resume at Wake Forest, reeling in top talent such as Al Faruq-Aminu, Tony Woods and Ari Stewart.
In addition, Kelsey has been noted as an excellent in-game tactician, and excels in post instruction--both areas of concern for the Xavier staff after James Whitford departed for Arizona along with Sean Miller.
While unlikely to pay immediate recruiting dividends in the 2009 season because of the timing of the hiring--after the spring contact period with recruits--Kelsey's contacts in the Southeast, combined with the effort that Mack has been putting into the area, could produce talent as early as 2010. The hiring will certainly give Xavier a boost with previous southern prospects, such as Atlanta's Donte Williams.
The hiring of Kelsey gives Xavier one of the most formidable staffs in the country on the recruiting trail, consisting of a four man team with impressive resume's in different regions of the country.
'Bino' Ranson has strong connections in the talent-rich Baltimore area from his time as an AAU coach in the region, and also possesses the ability to parlay those ties to strong relationships in the Northeast. Travis Steele has roots in the Indiana AAU circuit, as he was a head coach for the preeminent Indiana grassroots program, Indiana Elite, for six years. Kelsey is one of the most respected recruiters in the country, able to draw from the Southeast for Wake Forest, but also extending his web incrementally as his stature grows.
To top it off, Xavier has a zealous recruiter as their head man. Mack has been able to produce talent from Xavier's immediate recruiting pipeline--Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania--in his time as an assistant, and has ties to each of the other hotbeds that his assistants will be dipping into from his tenure on the Xavier staff.
Aside from the future concerns of the program, bringing in Kelsey makes Xavier a better team on the court in 2009-10 by easing the in-game burden on Mack's shoulders. Mack is an excellent in-game coach, but had two fairly inexperienced assistants on his staff already in Ranson and Steele. Kelsey has been through the fire as an assistant in the ACC for five seasons, and will be a strong voice in Mack's ear during critical situations in 09-10.
With a strong foundation now in place on the sidelines, Xavier can focus on completing their roster for next season--highlighted by efforts to land previous commitment Kevin Parrom--and get to work on living up to Final Four-level expectations.
In the meantime, Mack is breathing a sigh of relief. He has landed his first big-time recruit... and potentially his most important.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Some possible Assistant Coaches
Here is a quick rundown of two possible assistant coaches on Chris Mack's staff:
Jeff Boals
-Excellent recruiter who has been the lead recruiter at Akron over the past three seasons, helping the Zips to three straight MAC Championship games, including a MAC Tournament title in 2009.
-Was responsible for bringing in four-star center Zeke Marshall in 2009 (rated the No. 39 prospect in the class by Rival.com) as well as the best recruiting class in the MAC in 2008.
-Has ties to Chris Mack and Xavier through former Xavier assistant, and current St. Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt. Boals was an assistant to Schmidt from 2004-2006 at Robert Morris. Also, Mack and Boals have gotten to know one another well by recruiting the same tract of land, as both were the lead recruiters for the Ohio area for their respective programs.
-Channeling the appeal of recruiting under Akron head coach Keith Dambrot, former head coach of LeBron James at Akron’s St. Vincent, St. Mary’s High School, Boals has been able to woo some of Ohio’s best talent to take a peek at Akron. Top 100 recruits Adrein Payne, J.D. Weatherspoon both had Akron high on their list in large part because of James, and had their interest augmented by Boals. Xavier would figure to have an excellent chance to re-recruit Weatherspoon with Boals on board, and would now figure to be on the inside track with Payne as Boals was also the lead man in attracting the 6’10” big man’s interest to Akron.
-Boals is also an excellent teacher of post players, something that Xavier has prided itself on in sending Tyrone Hill, Brian Grant, James Posey and David West to the NBA. Boals will take the place of James Whitford, who handled the post duties for Xavier under former head coach Sean Miller.
-If Boals is the man to take over the No. 2 roll on the Xavier staff, look for him to lead Xavier’s recruiting efforts for 2011 forward Markus Crider and guard Stevie Taylor.
Travis Steele
-Spent the 2008-09 season as Xavier’s Director of Basketball Operations after spending three years at Indiana University. Steele was originally the video coordinator at IU, but was promoted to Assistant Coach in February of 2008 in the fallout of head coach Kelvin Sampson’s NCAA recruiting violations.
-Despite being only 24 years old, Steele has deep recruiting ties in the Hoosier state and the Chicago area that originated with his coaching positions with the Speice/Indy Heat Adidas AAU program from 2001-2006. While not a college athlete, Steele chose instead to sharpen his coaching skills during his years at Butler (2001-2004), not only coaching on the AAU circuit, but assisting at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis
-After college, Steele spent two seasons as an assistant at Wabash College, before moving on to the staff at IU.
-Steele is widely recognized as an outstanding asset in game preparation, with experience beyond his years in film study, and practice preparation.
-With Steele on board, look for Xavier to go after 2011 Indiana recruits Justin Gant, Jeremiah Davis, Kendall Griffin and Darwin Davis.
Jeff Boals
-Excellent recruiter who has been the lead recruiter at Akron over the past three seasons, helping the Zips to three straight MAC Championship games, including a MAC Tournament title in 2009.
-Was responsible for bringing in four-star center Zeke Marshall in 2009 (rated the No. 39 prospect in the class by Rival.com) as well as the best recruiting class in the MAC in 2008.
-Has ties to Chris Mack and Xavier through former Xavier assistant, and current St. Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt. Boals was an assistant to Schmidt from 2004-2006 at Robert Morris. Also, Mack and Boals have gotten to know one another well by recruiting the same tract of land, as both were the lead recruiters for the Ohio area for their respective programs.
-Channeling the appeal of recruiting under Akron head coach Keith Dambrot, former head coach of LeBron James at Akron’s St. Vincent, St. Mary’s High School, Boals has been able to woo some of Ohio’s best talent to take a peek at Akron. Top 100 recruits Adrein Payne, J.D. Weatherspoon both had Akron high on their list in large part because of James, and had their interest augmented by Boals. Xavier would figure to have an excellent chance to re-recruit Weatherspoon with Boals on board, and would now figure to be on the inside track with Payne as Boals was also the lead man in attracting the 6’10” big man’s interest to Akron.
-Boals is also an excellent teacher of post players, something that Xavier has prided itself on in sending Tyrone Hill, Brian Grant, James Posey and David West to the NBA. Boals will take the place of James Whitford, who handled the post duties for Xavier under former head coach Sean Miller.
-If Boals is the man to take over the No. 2 roll on the Xavier staff, look for him to lead Xavier’s recruiting efforts for 2011 forward Markus Crider and guard Stevie Taylor.
Travis Steele
-Spent the 2008-09 season as Xavier’s Director of Basketball Operations after spending three years at Indiana University. Steele was originally the video coordinator at IU, but was promoted to Assistant Coach in February of 2008 in the fallout of head coach Kelvin Sampson’s NCAA recruiting violations.
-Despite being only 24 years old, Steele has deep recruiting ties in the Hoosier state and the Chicago area that originated with his coaching positions with the Speice/Indy Heat Adidas AAU program from 2001-2006. While not a college athlete, Steele chose instead to sharpen his coaching skills during his years at Butler (2001-2004), not only coaching on the AAU circuit, but assisting at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis
-After college, Steele spent two seasons as an assistant at Wabash College, before moving on to the staff at IU.
-Steele is widely recognized as an outstanding asset in game preparation, with experience beyond his years in film study, and practice preparation.
-With Steele on board, look for Xavier to go after 2011 Indiana recruits Justin Gant, Jeremiah Davis, Kendall Griffin and Darwin Davis.
Xavier hires Chris Mack
Eight days after Sean Miller vacated the position to head to the University of Arizona, Xavier University settled their search for a new head men's basketball coach with an in-house hire. Former assistant coach Chris Mack will move one seat down the bench to take over the head role.Mack, a 1992 Xavier graduate, has spent the last five seasons as Miller’s top assistant, and had been drawing interest in the past few years from a number of programs as a head coaching candidate.
While the biggest question surrounding Mack will be his lack of previous collegiate head coaching experience, his résumé is not devoid of accomplishments.
After serving as head coach at Mt. Notre Dame High School from 1995-1999, where he was named Cincinnati Post Coach of the Year in 1996, Mack moved on to three years as Xavier’s Director of Basketball Operations. From there he joined the coaching staff of his former head coach Skip Prosser at Wake Forest for three seasons, before returning to Xavier as the top assistant for Miller in 2004.
Over those five seasons Mack has proven himself to be a capable recruiter, heading Xavier’s fruitful efforts to sign Jamel McLean, Kenny Frease, Brad Redford and Brian Walsh.
As a result, many of those players—including Frease and Dante Jackson publicly—have thrown their support behind Mack in the time period between Miller’s departure and Mack’s hiring.
With the stability of the current Xavier team intact, Mack can immediately focus on bringing in future contributors to the Xavier program.
Mack has already been in touch with 2010 Xavier recruits J.D. Weatherspoon and Adrein Payne, AAU teammates for the Ohio Basketball Club. If Mack is able to add top-flight recruiters to his coaching staff—such Akron associate head coach Jeff Boals, who not only has a strong rapport with Mack, but with many Ohio prospects such as Weatherspoon and Payne—he will be able to remain on course with the talent level of the program.
While the biggest question surrounding Mack will be his lack of previous collegiate head coaching experience, his résumé is not devoid of accomplishments.
After serving as head coach at Mt. Notre Dame High School from 1995-1999, where he was named Cincinnati Post Coach of the Year in 1996, Mack moved on to three years as Xavier’s Director of Basketball Operations. From there he joined the coaching staff of his former head coach Skip Prosser at Wake Forest for three seasons, before returning to Xavier as the top assistant for Miller in 2004.
Over those five seasons Mack has proven himself to be a capable recruiter, heading Xavier’s fruitful efforts to sign Jamel McLean, Kenny Frease, Brad Redford and Brian Walsh.
As a result, many of those players—including Frease and Dante Jackson publicly—have thrown their support behind Mack in the time period between Miller’s departure and Mack’s hiring.
With the stability of the current Xavier team intact, Mack can immediately focus on bringing in future contributors to the Xavier program.
Mack has already been in touch with 2010 Xavier recruits J.D. Weatherspoon and Adrein Payne, AAU teammates for the Ohio Basketball Club. If Mack is able to add top-flight recruiters to his coaching staff—such Akron associate head coach Jeff Boals, who not only has a strong rapport with Mack, but with many Ohio prospects such as Weatherspoon and Payne—he will be able to remain on course with the talent level of the program.
Monday, April 13, 2009
B.J. Raymond impressing at Portsmouth
Xavier senior B.J. Raymond was invited to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament this week. The tournament is meant to celebrate the nation's top collegiate senior talent, and serves as an adequate showcase for the NBA Draft scouts in attendance. Here is a take on how Raymond is performing from NBADraftExpress.com:
B.J. Raymond had yet another outstanding showing, knocking down another four 3-pointers (bringing him to 8 so far, on just 11 attempts) for an efficient 16 points. Raymond is one of the most vocal players you’ll find here on the defensive end, acting as somewhat of a captain for his team on this end of the floor, and really setting the tone for his teammates himself with the work he puts in. Despite not showing great lateral quickness, Raymond moves his feet exceptionally well and can really anticipate, playing a solid, fundamental brand of perimeter defense, and pretty much shutting down whoever he’s been asked to guard. His ball-handling appears to be average at best, and he seems to have problems finishing around the basket when driving in traffic, although he was able to finish nicely through contact in a few transition situations. Sitting right next to his team’s bench, you could constantly hear his voice during timeouts. It’s no surprise that his team is in the finals despite having likely the tournament’s worst “point guard” (the ultra selfish and constant showoff David Holston) running the show for them. It’s becoming more and more obvious why Raymond was such a winner as a college player in his time at Xavier.
I still think that it is a long shot for Raymond to make an NBA roster, simply because of his limitations on defense and in driving to the basket. But with the strong shooting performances that he has put on in front of the scouts in Portsmouth and at the NABC All-Star game in Detroit he has positioned himself to be a second round draft choice--Xavier's first since Romain Sato in 2004. Ultimately, Raymond's athleticism, scoring ability and leadership qualities should provide him with a similarly successful career to Sato.
B.J. Raymond had yet another outstanding showing, knocking down another four 3-pointers (bringing him to 8 so far, on just 11 attempts) for an efficient 16 points. Raymond is one of the most vocal players you’ll find here on the defensive end, acting as somewhat of a captain for his team on this end of the floor, and really setting the tone for his teammates himself with the work he puts in. Despite not showing great lateral quickness, Raymond moves his feet exceptionally well and can really anticipate, playing a solid, fundamental brand of perimeter defense, and pretty much shutting down whoever he’s been asked to guard. His ball-handling appears to be average at best, and he seems to have problems finishing around the basket when driving in traffic, although he was able to finish nicely through contact in a few transition situations. Sitting right next to his team’s bench, you could constantly hear his voice during timeouts. It’s no surprise that his team is in the finals despite having likely the tournament’s worst “point guard” (the ultra selfish and constant showoff David Holston) running the show for them. It’s becoming more and more obvious why Raymond was such a winner as a college player in his time at Xavier.
I still think that it is a long shot for Raymond to make an NBA roster, simply because of his limitations on defense and in driving to the basket. But with the strong shooting performances that he has put on in front of the scouts in Portsmouth and at the NABC All-Star game in Detroit he has positioned himself to be a second round draft choice--Xavier's first since Romain Sato in 2004. Ultimately, Raymond's athleticism, scoring ability and leadership qualities should provide him with a similarly successful career to Sato.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Xavier starting the interview process
With multiple alumni and current players backing him for the vacant head coaching position, Xavier assistant coach Chris Mack has become the first person to formally interview with the Xavier administration.
Mack, a 1992 Xavier graduate and Cincinnati native, has spent the last five seasons as former Xavier coach Sean Miller's top assistant.
Mack also has been an active recruiter under Miller, playing a major role in the recruitment of current Musketeers Kenny Frease, Brad Redford and Brian Walsh.
Mack has received the backing of notable former Xavier players such as 2003 National Player of the Year David West and all time leading scorer Byron Larkin. If hired, he would likely be able to keep the current roster in tact, as Jackson and Frease have voiced their affinity for Mack publicly, and others have opined for the stability of a familiar coach.
All of this could make for a quick search for the Xavier brass, something that athletic director Mike Bobinski stated as a priority on Monday.
Mack, a 1992 Xavier graduate and Cincinnati native, has spent the last five seasons as former Xavier coach Sean Miller's top assistant.
Mack also has been an active recruiter under Miller, playing a major role in the recruitment of current Musketeers Kenny Frease, Brad Redford and Brian Walsh.
Mack has received the backing of notable former Xavier players such as 2003 National Player of the Year David West and all time leading scorer Byron Larkin. If hired, he would likely be able to keep the current roster in tact, as Jackson and Frease have voiced their affinity for Mack publicly, and others have opined for the stability of a familiar coach.
All of this could make for a quick search for the Xavier brass, something that athletic director Mike Bobinski stated as a priority on Monday.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Sean Miller to Arizona timeline
Wow! What a day!
Here is a rough timeline of the events from today, as I understood and observed them (times are rough estimates, as I was not checking my watch closely):
Early Morning- Mike Bobinski drives to Sean Miller’s house and has a heartfelt meeting with the coach. The two had talked last night, and had been in constant communication about the situation. Miller had gone to bed with doubts in his mind, and woken up still torn. Bobinski described the conversation as emotional, but ultimately left with his coaching situation up in the air.
Noon- Miller calls Bobinski to inform him that he will be leaving for Arizona. Presumably, Miller and his wife Amy discussed the situation all morning, and ultimately decided to pull the trigger.
1:30 p.m.- The alarm goes out to the players to come to Cintas for a meeting, but they are not told what the meeting is for. Word got out quickly, however, and any already knew before they got in the locker room that Miller was leaving.
1:35 p.m.- As players trickle in they all turn down comment with the media, and head straight for the locker room.
1:40 p.m.- Five players—Dante Jackson, Kenny Frease, Jamel McLean, Derrick Brown and Mark Lyons—are here already. Lyons was the last to arrive, and walked into the locker room for a brief moment, before exiting quickly, chased by Kenny Frease. “This is bull----!,” Lyons yelled. Frease tried to get Lyons to come back into the locker room, but Lyons responded, “No man! F--- this.”
1:50 p.m.- Jackson, Frease and the newly arrived Brian Walsh head outside the locker room to meet others at the West Entrance of Cintas.
“We came to play for Miller,” Jackson said. “Anytime you lose a head coach it is going to be a blow.”
“We just have to regroup and go from here,” Frease said. “Coach Miller was a big part of coming to Xavier, but [potentially leaving] is not something that I want to talk about right now.”
1:55 p.m.- The players are called back inside, presumably to avoid us media folk.
2:00 p.m.- The players claim to be here for a 3:30 lift, but it is revealed the coaches will meet with the players after Bobinski breaks the news to them around 2:30.
2:05 p.m.- There are fans gathering outside of the West Entrance, one of whom has a pair of Arizona shorts that is being stomped on. Obviously, the student body is unhappy.
2:10 p.m.- B.J. Raymond shows up, one of the final few to trickle in. He does stop and talk to the media, unlike some of his younger, more shaken teammates.
Raymond: “Last year there were big things about coach getting ready to leave, and he told us that he was not going to stay forever. You have to be happy for coach. We knew that Xavier was not a place that you want to end [your career]. So he went down to Arizona, they offered him about twice as much, and that is good for him. You can’t be mad at him, but I am sad to see him leave… I talked to the younger guys and told them that it did not look too promising because when I was here he never took a visit. I gotta go in there and calm down the younger guys… Basketball is a business. You have to look at it in those terms. You have to perform when you are a player, and you have to perform when you are a coach. And he has performed very well. When you perform well you deserve things; coach deserves this… Even if I was not leaving, you can’t be mad at him… I’m not surprised. I expected it when he took the visit. Something was going down. If he wasn’t leaving this year, I knew that it would probably be next year, simply because he took the visit. But this year’s team is going to be a great team, and they are going to go make a deep run. If it wasn’t this year, it was going to be next year.”
2:15 p.m.- Jordan Crawford had walked in with Raymond, but had a similar reaction to Lyons earlier, and stormed out of Cintas Center without saying a word. This is the second time in two years that Crawford’s coach has left him, and you have to feel for the kid.
2:20 p.m.- Brad Redford is not exactly thinking clearly at the moment, as he forgot the code to the locker room (that he basically sleeps in).
2:25 p.m.- C.J. Anderson just showed up with his son Antoine. He learned about the move from Crawford as Crawford was disgustedly walking back to his dorm room. Anderson said he plans to go talk to Crawford, and try to keep his head on straight, along with the rest of the team.
Anderson: “I thought coach Miller would be here for a while because he signed an extension.… Congratulations to coach Miller and his family. Hopefully he does as well there as he did here… I understand it is a business. He took a lot of things into account. I trust coach Miller, he is a smart guy, and he must have felt like this was the move that he needed to make… I think coach Mack knows the players, and it would be a better transition. The players know him, and he knows the system. It would be a comfortable transition, so I definitely think that Xavier should take a good look at coach Mack.”
2:30 p.m.- Not much is doing here, as the players have come in and the media has been backed far away from the locker room. It would seem from the brief snippets we have gotten so far that the older players always had this moment in the back of their mind, and anticipated it. They knew that this day would come, and the Mack would likely be the guy, so they were not that worried about it. The younger players are more emotional, however. That is likely because they have not heard Miller’s speech about this not being his final destination.
2:31 p.m.- Word is the players are in a meeting now with Mike Bobinski, and are being told what has happened, and what will happen.
2:40 p.m.- The meeting is out, and a select group of players have chosen to speak to the media: Jackson, Jason Love and Kenny Frease. I did not get to Love in time but here are the other two:
Jackson: “It’s tough. I feel terrible for our guys. We are all disappointed and hurt. You hope and pray that he sticks around for as long as you are going to be there. We knew that coach Miller was a hot commodity, and we wish him the best. We are looking forward to continuing our success as a program. Xavier has not been a program that is made by the coach. Mr. Bobinski will initiate the search, and bring in the right guy for our program… Our goal is to make it to the Final Four, and my mindset was working on making myself and our team better to reach that. You hear the rumor and I didn’t pay much attention to it… I knew he wasn’t going to be here forever. I didn’t think he was going to leave this year. If he was going to leave it was going to be last year. I have a lot of respect for him, he recruited me, and he does things the right way… We haven’t spoken to [Miller] yet. We will a little later, and I am looking forward to that… Coach Mack is obviously going to be in the running. He graduated from here. He is ready to be a head coach. I’m going to sit back and trust our athletic director to make the right decision… Xavier is going to be Xavier, and always put a good team on the floor. We are going to play for our program, our fans, and our family. It doesn’t matter who is the coach on the sidelines… A lot of guys are upset right now, and a lot of things are being said out of emotion. They came for coach miller and also to wear ‘Xavier’ across their uniforms… The mood was disappointment in the locker room… We asked questions of Mr. Bobinski, and we will have questions for our staff later… We have to take it in stride, be upbeat and positive. This program is still going to be here, and we are doing pretty damn good.”
Frease: “In my year here, you come to Xavier for Miller. He was a great coach and recruiter. I fell in love with Xavier, and the traditions they have here. It makes it hard to think about leaving… We have big goals for next year. The talent is there, but it just depends. That is the worst part because you don’t know what is going to happen with the players… I have gotten to know coach pretty well, and there has to be something at Arizona. I don’t feel let down… It’s tough because it is a business.”
3:00 p.m.- Lyons had returned from storming out before, and is now ready to leave again before the 4:00 meeting with Miller. He is stopped by Frease again, who asked him to stay and listen to Miller. “What can he possibly say to me?,” asked Lyons. “Why should I listen to him?”
3:15 p.m.- A lot more waiting here, as Miller is expected to address the team at 4:00. Brown, McLean, Lyons, Anderson (C.J. and Antoine), Stephen Duckett and Jackson are all hanging around in the Auxiliary gym, casually shooting. Jackson leaves to make a phone call, muttering, “They are not better than us. They are just more appealing.”
3:25 p.m.- The press conference has been set for 4:30, with Miller and Bobinski to speak
3:30 p.m.- High school junior J.D. Weatherspoon has de-committed from Xavier. Weatherspoon is a very emotional kid, and likely denounced Xavier in a spur of the moment decision. I tend to believe Xavier still has a good chance with him if they were to hire Mack, especially if Mack hires the right assistant coaches. As for other recruits, I would assume that Emanuel Richardson is already picking out a house in Tucson with the way things played out. So he might end up taking 2009 recruit Kevin Parrom, 2010 recruit Jordan Latham and 2011 recruit Nadir Tharpe out to Tucson with the staff.
4:00 p.m.- The Xavier coaching staff, minus Miller, has addressed the Xavier team in the locker room. After the meeting James Whitford and Terrell Holloway shared a hug, with Whitford tearing up at the moment.
4:05 p.m.- Whitford is in a more jovial mood when talking to Raymond, with Chris Mack also in the conversation. Whitford is nowhere to be seen, but Whitford (and later Miller) and director of basketball operations Travis Steele are wearing neutral clothing—odd for men that wear Xavier apparel every day to work. Mack is wearing a Xavier polo shirt, however. Whitford jokes with Raymond that he should come out to Tucson to be an assistant coach, since he has been one already for four years. He says they have one spot open on the bench, leading me to believe that Mack may have already been given the job.
4:15 p.m.- Miller arrives with his son Braden. He has not addressed the team personally yet, as he was not part of the meeting in the locker room earlier.
4:25 p.m.- Mack is stalking around the media room, hanging out in the back and talking with administrators. He is giving me the impression that he may be introduced as the head coach here any moment, and is ready to speak. One of the other writers asked him if he wanted to hop up on the podium and accept the job, to which he just laughed and shook his head.
4:27 p.m.- Frease and Jackson are at it again, speaking outside the press room. Both are reiterating how they are disappointed, but not upset. Frease mentioned how it is going to be tough to lose Whitford, who was the post-player coach.
4:30 p.m.- Miller comes in to the press conference. I will not do any transcribing, since it has already been widely disseminated. I will, however, say that the go-to quote about Xavier not being able to win a national title was overblown. “I would never leave Xavier unless I felt that it was a place where I can win a national championship. I don’t want to say that you can’t win one here. But it is a place that has done it before, and has that quarter of century worth of excellence stamp to it.” Miller was saying that he was attracted by the tradition of a place like Arizona, of which a championship is a part. He was not slighting Xavier, merely pointing out that the place he is going to has been to the mountaintop. In my opinion, the big moment was when Miller choked up when talking about Bobinski, and what he means to him.
4:40 p.m.- Bobinski is on the stand now, and I will not get much into what he said, either. I will say that he did not sound like he had made up his mind on a coach, but that is what you have to say if you are an Athletic Director, of which there are few better than Mike Bobinski.
5:00 p.m.- After the press conference Crawford, McLean and Redford were in the Auxiliary gym shooting around. Bobinski went in to talk to Crawford, who was obviously still shaken. The doors were closed, but Bobinski repeatedly made motions indicating he was talking about the program growing in the future.
Whew! Action packed couple of hours.
My general thoughts are that Xavier is still in a great position moving forward. Sure, the Musketeers might lose some recruits for next season and beyond. But overall, the talent level at Xavier will be extremely high next season, and will continue at that level for the next few years. Crawford, Frease and Jackson would figure to still be on campus next year, and that three some alone should bridge the two year gap that any coach would need to infuse his own recruited talent.
Also, another conference title, and a deep NCAA run next year will keep the recruits coming. I am very confident in saying that Xavier will ultimately hire Mack. Mack has strong ties within the state of Ohio, and on the recruiting scene in general, to where he will be able to fill his staff effectively and his roster will remain loaded.
Still, for many April 6, 2009 will go down as one of the gloomier days on the campus of Xavier University, both literally and figuratively.
Here is a rough timeline of the events from today, as I understood and observed them (times are rough estimates, as I was not checking my watch closely):
Early Morning- Mike Bobinski drives to Sean Miller’s house and has a heartfelt meeting with the coach. The two had talked last night, and had been in constant communication about the situation. Miller had gone to bed with doubts in his mind, and woken up still torn. Bobinski described the conversation as emotional, but ultimately left with his coaching situation up in the air.
Noon- Miller calls Bobinski to inform him that he will be leaving for Arizona. Presumably, Miller and his wife Amy discussed the situation all morning, and ultimately decided to pull the trigger.
1:30 p.m.- The alarm goes out to the players to come to Cintas for a meeting, but they are not told what the meeting is for. Word got out quickly, however, and any already knew before they got in the locker room that Miller was leaving.
1:35 p.m.- As players trickle in they all turn down comment with the media, and head straight for the locker room.
1:40 p.m.- Five players—Dante Jackson, Kenny Frease, Jamel McLean, Derrick Brown and Mark Lyons—are here already. Lyons was the last to arrive, and walked into the locker room for a brief moment, before exiting quickly, chased by Kenny Frease. “This is bull----!,” Lyons yelled. Frease tried to get Lyons to come back into the locker room, but Lyons responded, “No man! F--- this.”
1:50 p.m.- Jackson, Frease and the newly arrived Brian Walsh head outside the locker room to meet others at the West Entrance of Cintas.
“We came to play for Miller,” Jackson said. “Anytime you lose a head coach it is going to be a blow.”
“We just have to regroup and go from here,” Frease said. “Coach Miller was a big part of coming to Xavier, but [potentially leaving] is not something that I want to talk about right now.”
1:55 p.m.- The players are called back inside, presumably to avoid us media folk.
2:00 p.m.- The players claim to be here for a 3:30 lift, but it is revealed the coaches will meet with the players after Bobinski breaks the news to them around 2:30.
2:05 p.m.- There are fans gathering outside of the West Entrance, one of whom has a pair of Arizona shorts that is being stomped on. Obviously, the student body is unhappy.
2:10 p.m.- B.J. Raymond shows up, one of the final few to trickle in. He does stop and talk to the media, unlike some of his younger, more shaken teammates.
Raymond: “Last year there were big things about coach getting ready to leave, and he told us that he was not going to stay forever. You have to be happy for coach. We knew that Xavier was not a place that you want to end [your career]. So he went down to Arizona, they offered him about twice as much, and that is good for him. You can’t be mad at him, but I am sad to see him leave… I talked to the younger guys and told them that it did not look too promising because when I was here he never took a visit. I gotta go in there and calm down the younger guys… Basketball is a business. You have to look at it in those terms. You have to perform when you are a player, and you have to perform when you are a coach. And he has performed very well. When you perform well you deserve things; coach deserves this… Even if I was not leaving, you can’t be mad at him… I’m not surprised. I expected it when he took the visit. Something was going down. If he wasn’t leaving this year, I knew that it would probably be next year, simply because he took the visit. But this year’s team is going to be a great team, and they are going to go make a deep run. If it wasn’t this year, it was going to be next year.”
2:15 p.m.- Jordan Crawford had walked in with Raymond, but had a similar reaction to Lyons earlier, and stormed out of Cintas Center without saying a word. This is the second time in two years that Crawford’s coach has left him, and you have to feel for the kid.
2:20 p.m.- Brad Redford is not exactly thinking clearly at the moment, as he forgot the code to the locker room (that he basically sleeps in).
2:25 p.m.- C.J. Anderson just showed up with his son Antoine. He learned about the move from Crawford as Crawford was disgustedly walking back to his dorm room. Anderson said he plans to go talk to Crawford, and try to keep his head on straight, along with the rest of the team.
Anderson: “I thought coach Miller would be here for a while because he signed an extension.… Congratulations to coach Miller and his family. Hopefully he does as well there as he did here… I understand it is a business. He took a lot of things into account. I trust coach Miller, he is a smart guy, and he must have felt like this was the move that he needed to make… I think coach Mack knows the players, and it would be a better transition. The players know him, and he knows the system. It would be a comfortable transition, so I definitely think that Xavier should take a good look at coach Mack.”
2:30 p.m.- Not much is doing here, as the players have come in and the media has been backed far away from the locker room. It would seem from the brief snippets we have gotten so far that the older players always had this moment in the back of their mind, and anticipated it. They knew that this day would come, and the Mack would likely be the guy, so they were not that worried about it. The younger players are more emotional, however. That is likely because they have not heard Miller’s speech about this not being his final destination.
2:31 p.m.- Word is the players are in a meeting now with Mike Bobinski, and are being told what has happened, and what will happen.
2:40 p.m.- The meeting is out, and a select group of players have chosen to speak to the media: Jackson, Jason Love and Kenny Frease. I did not get to Love in time but here are the other two:
Jackson: “It’s tough. I feel terrible for our guys. We are all disappointed and hurt. You hope and pray that he sticks around for as long as you are going to be there. We knew that coach Miller was a hot commodity, and we wish him the best. We are looking forward to continuing our success as a program. Xavier has not been a program that is made by the coach. Mr. Bobinski will initiate the search, and bring in the right guy for our program… Our goal is to make it to the Final Four, and my mindset was working on making myself and our team better to reach that. You hear the rumor and I didn’t pay much attention to it… I knew he wasn’t going to be here forever. I didn’t think he was going to leave this year. If he was going to leave it was going to be last year. I have a lot of respect for him, he recruited me, and he does things the right way… We haven’t spoken to [Miller] yet. We will a little later, and I am looking forward to that… Coach Mack is obviously going to be in the running. He graduated from here. He is ready to be a head coach. I’m going to sit back and trust our athletic director to make the right decision… Xavier is going to be Xavier, and always put a good team on the floor. We are going to play for our program, our fans, and our family. It doesn’t matter who is the coach on the sidelines… A lot of guys are upset right now, and a lot of things are being said out of emotion. They came for coach miller and also to wear ‘Xavier’ across their uniforms… The mood was disappointment in the locker room… We asked questions of Mr. Bobinski, and we will have questions for our staff later… We have to take it in stride, be upbeat and positive. This program is still going to be here, and we are doing pretty damn good.”
Frease: “In my year here, you come to Xavier for Miller. He was a great coach and recruiter. I fell in love with Xavier, and the traditions they have here. It makes it hard to think about leaving… We have big goals for next year. The talent is there, but it just depends. That is the worst part because you don’t know what is going to happen with the players… I have gotten to know coach pretty well, and there has to be something at Arizona. I don’t feel let down… It’s tough because it is a business.”
3:00 p.m.- Lyons had returned from storming out before, and is now ready to leave again before the 4:00 meeting with Miller. He is stopped by Frease again, who asked him to stay and listen to Miller. “What can he possibly say to me?,” asked Lyons. “Why should I listen to him?”
3:15 p.m.- A lot more waiting here, as Miller is expected to address the team at 4:00. Brown, McLean, Lyons, Anderson (C.J. and Antoine), Stephen Duckett and Jackson are all hanging around in the Auxiliary gym, casually shooting. Jackson leaves to make a phone call, muttering, “They are not better than us. They are just more appealing.”
3:25 p.m.- The press conference has been set for 4:30, with Miller and Bobinski to speak
3:30 p.m.- High school junior J.D. Weatherspoon has de-committed from Xavier. Weatherspoon is a very emotional kid, and likely denounced Xavier in a spur of the moment decision. I tend to believe Xavier still has a good chance with him if they were to hire Mack, especially if Mack hires the right assistant coaches. As for other recruits, I would assume that Emanuel Richardson is already picking out a house in Tucson with the way things played out. So he might end up taking 2009 recruit Kevin Parrom, 2010 recruit Jordan Latham and 2011 recruit Nadir Tharpe out to Tucson with the staff.
4:00 p.m.- The Xavier coaching staff, minus Miller, has addressed the Xavier team in the locker room. After the meeting James Whitford and Terrell Holloway shared a hug, with Whitford tearing up at the moment.
4:05 p.m.- Whitford is in a more jovial mood when talking to Raymond, with Chris Mack also in the conversation. Whitford is nowhere to be seen, but Whitford (and later Miller) and director of basketball operations Travis Steele are wearing neutral clothing—odd for men that wear Xavier apparel every day to work. Mack is wearing a Xavier polo shirt, however. Whitford jokes with Raymond that he should come out to Tucson to be an assistant coach, since he has been one already for four years. He says they have one spot open on the bench, leading me to believe that Mack may have already been given the job.
4:15 p.m.- Miller arrives with his son Braden. He has not addressed the team personally yet, as he was not part of the meeting in the locker room earlier.
4:25 p.m.- Mack is stalking around the media room, hanging out in the back and talking with administrators. He is giving me the impression that he may be introduced as the head coach here any moment, and is ready to speak. One of the other writers asked him if he wanted to hop up on the podium and accept the job, to which he just laughed and shook his head.
4:27 p.m.- Frease and Jackson are at it again, speaking outside the press room. Both are reiterating how they are disappointed, but not upset. Frease mentioned how it is going to be tough to lose Whitford, who was the post-player coach.
4:30 p.m.- Miller comes in to the press conference. I will not do any transcribing, since it has already been widely disseminated. I will, however, say that the go-to quote about Xavier not being able to win a national title was overblown. “I would never leave Xavier unless I felt that it was a place where I can win a national championship. I don’t want to say that you can’t win one here. But it is a place that has done it before, and has that quarter of century worth of excellence stamp to it.” Miller was saying that he was attracted by the tradition of a place like Arizona, of which a championship is a part. He was not slighting Xavier, merely pointing out that the place he is going to has been to the mountaintop. In my opinion, the big moment was when Miller choked up when talking about Bobinski, and what he means to him.
4:40 p.m.- Bobinski is on the stand now, and I will not get much into what he said, either. I will say that he did not sound like he had made up his mind on a coach, but that is what you have to say if you are an Athletic Director, of which there are few better than Mike Bobinski.
5:00 p.m.- After the press conference Crawford, McLean and Redford were in the Auxiliary gym shooting around. Bobinski went in to talk to Crawford, who was obviously still shaken. The doors were closed, but Bobinski repeatedly made motions indicating he was talking about the program growing in the future.
Whew! Action packed couple of hours.
My general thoughts are that Xavier is still in a great position moving forward. Sure, the Musketeers might lose some recruits for next season and beyond. But overall, the talent level at Xavier will be extremely high next season, and will continue at that level for the next few years. Crawford, Frease and Jackson would figure to still be on campus next year, and that three some alone should bridge the two year gap that any coach would need to infuse his own recruited talent.
Also, another conference title, and a deep NCAA run next year will keep the recruits coming. I am very confident in saying that Xavier will ultimately hire Mack. Mack has strong ties within the state of Ohio, and on the recruiting scene in general, to where he will be able to fill his staff effectively and his roster will remain loaded.
Still, for many April 6, 2009 will go down as one of the gloomier days on the campus of Xavier University, both literally and figuratively.
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