Chief’s Briefs - Buffalo Edition

[Vancat]

Shouldn't Ted Valentine be like 80 by now? I remember him from the old BE days.

 

[ctchamps]

From the second row near center court, it was a great game. Brendan Clearly was our best all around player, even before AG went down he was a stabilizing force. He does the little things well.

Akok can do so much, so well. But what really stood out to me up close was the way he gets back on defense. You do not get many fast breaks against us when he’s out there. He hustles back very hard and can block your shot so he just takes that away from teams. Now we need him to look to do more on offense.

Bouknight has the highest BBQ on this team. He’s so smooth and effortless and several of his best plays were driven by court awareness. He sees the play, sees the rebound, the pass on both ends and just adjusts. Reminds me of a more athletic a Nadav Henefeld in that way. He should be our best player by March. He was our best perimeter defender last night and it wasn’t close. Better than Vital, Adams or AG.

Gaffney has a very strong handle, which should end questions about whether he’s a PG. He is. I don’t know if his ankle is still bad, but his lateral movement on defense is awful. He got torched over and over. Adams got the bulk of the post AG work at PG mostly because they scored so easily against Gaffney. His offense is almost there. Hope his D arrives soon, especially with AG out.

Vital for the second straight game played the way Hurley wants him too (mostly). Some heady senior plays, stayed within himself and had a solid game. As I said last summer, if he’s our leading scorer and rebounder we probably lose. He’s there to stabilize the younger guys, and show maturity and he can’t do that while taking high volume hero ball shots.

Polley was good, made his looks, and grabbed some boards. His defense was just ok last night. He had trouble with Buffalo’s very strong, quick guards. That’s not a good matchup for him.

I almost laughed out loud when I watched Ted Valentine walk on the court. Naturally, the zebras killed us in the first half. They let an amazing amount of body contact go, along with offensive push offs from the Buffalo guards. Saw them huddling before the second half for a long time. Sure enough 5 fouls called by the two minute mark. They really tightened it up and that helped us. Oddly they reverted back at about the 5 minute remaining mark and Buffalo cut our lead.

Nice write up.

I came away with a slightly better impression of Tyler’s defense than you had observed and a significantly better impression of Jalen’s defense but part of that impression is based on the game over game improvement I felt he made. He still has away to go but it shouldn’t take him long to get there.

I could not believe how quickly Bouknight adjusted to the game. Hardly any first game or freshmen jitters. Almost more remarkable than his basketball gifts.

Jalen is a born leader. Watch him on the bench during the game or in huddles. He’s Bazz like in his approach to his teammates. Always observing and making suggestions. The chemistry he has with James was demonstrated on that one alley oop play. There will be a lot of plays of that nature in the future. Early prediction is that next year there will be some Bazz/Boat comparison with these two.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Shouldn't Ted Valentine be like 80 by now? I remember him from the old BE days.

He didn’t look young.

 

[superjohn]

Nice write up.

I came away with a slightly better impression of Tyler’s defense than you had observed and a significantly better impression of Jalen’s defense but part of that impression is based on the game over game improvement I felt he made. He still has away to go but it shouldn’t take him long to get there.

I could not believe how quickly Bouknight adjusted to the game. Hardly any first game or freshmen jitters. Almost more remarkable than his basketball gifts.

Jalen is a born leader. Watch him on the bench during the game or in huddles. He’s Bazz like in his approach to his teammates. Always observing and making suggestions. The chemistry he has with James was demonstrated on that one alley oop play. There will be a lot of plays of that nature in the future. Early prediction is that next year there will be some Bazz/Boat comparison with these two.

Gaff and Bouk are close with each other, this is going to be a great backcourt.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Nice write up.

I came away with a slightly better impression of Tyler’s defense than you had observed and a significantly better impression of Jalen’s defense but part of that impression is based on the game over game improvement I felt he made. He still has away to go but it shouldn’t take him long to get there.

I could not believe how quickly Bouknight adjusted to the game. Hardly any first game or freshmen jitters. Almost more remarkable than his basketball gifts.

Jalen is a born leader. Watch him on the bench during the game or in huddles. He’s Bazz like in his approach to his teammates. Always observing and making suggestions. The chemistry he has with James was demonstrated on that one alley oop play. There will be a lot of plays of that nature in the future. Early prediction is that next year there will be some Bazz/Boat comparison with these two.

I think Tyler is one of our best defenders. Buffalo ran so many screens to get us to switch, he ended up on a guy he couldn’t handle several times and got in foul trouble. He will be fine tonight as Xavier has a key guy #13 Marshall and Polley or Sid will need to guard him. Long, crafty ball handler point forward.

I think Jalen is going to be a great PG. Clearly had chemistry with James. I think he’s still adjusting to the speed of the college game. Bouknight needed no adjustment at all. He honestly made it look easy. He backed off on trying to do more because he had a solo effort that drew Hurley’s ire. But honestly he could have scored far more points. I don’t think he will be here for his junior year.

 

[formerlurker]

I was there too. Good times.

 

[ctchamps]

I think Tyler is one of our best defenders. Buffalo ran so many screens to get us to switch, he ended up on a guy he couldn’t handle several times and got in foul trouble. He will be fine tonight as Xavier has a key guy #13 Marshall and Polley or Sid will need to guard him. Long, crafty ball handler point forward.

I think Jalen is going to be a great PG. Clearly had chemistry with James. I think he’s still adjusting to the speed of the college game. Bouknight needed no adjustment at all. He honestly made it look easy. He backed off on trying to do more because he had a solo effort that drew Hurley’s ire. But honestly he could have scored far more points. I don’t think he will be here for his junior year.

Agree. Two and done unless he stays one more to get # 5.

 

[Chief00]

From the second row near center court, it was a great game. Brendan Clearly was our best all around player, even before AG went down he was a stabilizing force. He does the little things well.

Akok can do so much, so well. But what really stood out to me up close was the way he gets back on defense. You do not get many fast breaks against us when he’s out there. He hustles back very hard and can block your shot so he just takes that away from teams. Now we need him to look to do more on offense.

Bouknight has the highest BBQ on this team. He’s so smooth and effortless and several of his best plays were driven by court awareness. He sees the play, sees the rebound, the pass on both ends and just adjusts. Reminds me of a more athletic a Nadav Henefeld in that way. He should be our best player by March. He was our best perimeter defender last night and it wasn’t close. Better than Vital, Adams or AG.

Gaffney has a very strong handle, which should end questions about whether he’s a PG. He is. I don’t know if his ankle is still bad, but his lateral movement on defense is awful. He got torched over and over. Adams got the bulk of the post AG work at PG mostly because they scored so easily against Gaffney. His offense is almost there. Hope his D arrives soon, especially with AG out.

Vital for the second straight game played the way Hurley wants him too (mostly). Some heady senior plays, stayed within himself and had a solid game. As I said last summer, if he’s our leading scorer and rebounder we probably lose. He’s there to stabilize the younger guys, and show maturity and he can’t do that while taking high volume hero ball shots.

Polley was good, made his looks, and grabbed some boards. His defense was just ok last night. He had trouble with Buffalo’s very strong, quick guards. That’s not a good matchup for him.

I almost laughed out loud when I watched Ted Valentine walk on the court. Naturally, the zebras killed us in the first half. They let an amazing amount of body contact go, along with offensive push offs from the Buffalo guards. Saw them huddling before the second half for a long time. Sure enough 5 fouls called by the two minute mark. They really tightened it up and that helped us. Oddly they reverted back at about the 5 minute remaining mark and Buffalo cut our lead.

Great insight - now that’s talking basketball!

 

[HooperScooper]

Shouldn't Ted Valentine be like 80 by now? I remember him from the old BE days.

I think the only reason they asked him to ref the game is because he lives in Charleston. Other than that reason that guy's days of reffing should be over.

 

[Chief00]

I think Tyler is one of our best defenders. Buffalo ran so many screens to get us to switch, he ended up on a guy he couldn’t handle several times and got in foul trouble. He will be fine tonight as Xavier has a key guy #13 Marshall and Polley or Sid will need to guard him. Long, crafty ball handler point forward.

I think Jalen is going to be a great PG. Clearly had chemistry with James. I think he’s still adjusting to the speed of the college game. Bouknight needed no adjustment at all. He honestly made it look easy. He backed off on trying to do more because he had a solo effort that drew Hurley’s ire. But honestly he could have scored far more points. I don’t think he will be here for his junior year.

Indeed - as Chief has been saying - James is the Next One!

 

[Waquoit]

Brendan Clearly was our best all around player

Who's Brendan Clearly?

 

[HuskyHawk]

Who's Brendan Clearly?

A guy who’s last name was generated by the stupid iOS autocorrect.

 

[Waquoit]

A guy who’s last name was generated by the stupid iOS autocorrect.

Couldn't resist

 

[intlzncster]

I think Tyler is one of our best defenders. Buffalo ran so many screens to get us to switch, he ended up on a guy he couldn’t handle several times and got in foul trouble. He will be fine tonight as Xavier has a key guy #13 Marshall and Polley or Sid will need to guard him. Long, crafty ball handler point forward.

Polley? He can't be a good defender if he's so easy to isolate. He's a mismatch nightmare for us. He's limited. Doesn't really have the foot speed to stick with his guy around screens.

And so, he was getting blown by on the perimeter and then tried to recover by blocking the shot from behind. Driving player usually drew one of our posts and non positive things happened.

 

[intlzncster]

Shouldn't Ted Valentine be like 80 by now? I remember him from the old BE days.

Gets his blood cycled with a 10 yr old boys at half time.

 

[ctchamps]

Polley? He can't be a good defender if he's so easy to isolate. He's a mismatch nightmare for us. He's limited. Doesn't really have the foot speed to stick with his guy around screens.

And so, he was getting blown by on the perimeter and then tried to recover by blocking the shot from behind. Driving player usually drew one of our posts and non positive things happened.

Tyler and Brendan are our best defenders currently. I was completely surprised with the intensity and capability of Bouknight’s defense. Just not a lot of minutes to make a definitive statement. But he has the potential to be the best. Man I wish Springs was eligible. He and Akok would be a better combination to block shots of guards driving to the basket than Akok and Josh. Much quicker reflexes.

Are there players Tyler struggles against?Absolutely. But he has the largest range of good to very good player coverage.

 

[intlzncster]

Tyler and Brendan are our best defenders currently. I was completely surprised with the intensity and capability of Bouknight’s defense. Just not a lot of minutes to make a definitive statement. But he has the potential to be the best. Man I wish Springs was eligible. He and Akok would be a better combination to block shots of guards driving to the basket than Akok and Josh. Much quicker reflexes.

Are there players Tyler struggles against?Absolutely. But he has the largest range of good to very good player coverage.

Polley gets shredded by most perimeter players. He caused more mismatch one on ones than anyone else from this viewpoint.

If he's on a guy that can't beat him off the dribble (rare), they can switch onto one that can. And we can't do anything about it, but go through our rotations.

A team that is disciplined on offense, like I expect Xavier to be, should try and exploit the mismatch every time down the floor.

 

[CL82]

Who's Brendan Clearly?

He's kind of tough to spot during bad weather. In fact, you can sometimes hear Hurley say

"I can see Clearly now the rain is gone."

 

[zepfan]

From the second row near center court, it was a great game. Brendan Clearly was our best all around player, even before AG went down he was a stabilizing force. He does the little things well.

Akok can do so much, so well. But what really stood out to me up close was the way he gets back on defense. You do not get many fast breaks against us when he’s out there. He hustles back very hard and can block your shot so he just takes that away from teams. Now we need him to look to do more on offense.

Bouknight has the highest BBQ on this team. He’s so smooth and effortless and several of his best plays were driven by court awareness. He sees the play, sees the rebound, the pass on both ends and just adjusts. Reminds me of a more athletic a Nadav Henefeld in that way. He should be our best player by March. He was our best perimeter defender last night and it wasn’t close. Better than Vital, Adams or AG.

Gaffney has a very strong handle, which should end questions about whether he’s a PG. He is. I don’t know if his ankle is still bad, but his lateral movement on defense is awful. He got torched over and over. Adams got the bulk of the post AG work at PG mostly because they scored so easily against Gaffney. His offense is almost there. Hope his D arrives soon, especially with AG out.

Vital for the second straight game played the way Hurley wants him too (mostly). Some heady senior plays, stayed within himself and had a solid game. As I said last summer, if he’s our leading scorer and rebounder we probably lose. He’s there to stabilize the younger guys, and show maturity and he can’t do that while taking high volume hero ball shots.

Polley was good, made his looks, and grabbed some boards. His defense was just ok last night. He had trouble with Buffalo’s very strong, quick guards. That’s not a good matchup for him.

I almost laughed out loud when I watched Ted Valentine walk on the court. Naturally, the zebras killed us in the first half. They let an amazing amount of body contact go, along with offensive push offs from the Buffalo guards. Saw them huddling before the second half for a long time. Sure enough 5 fouls called by the two minute mark. They really tightened it up and that helped us. Oddly they reverted back at about the 5 minute remaining mark and Buffalo cut our lead.

Great assessment of the game and the players!! I particular liked your comments about Bouknight. Even though it is only a brief sampling, he was extremely impressive in the ways you mentioned. He did seem to always be in the right place and unusually poised for a first game. Both he and Adams hit elbow jumpers off the dribble with apparent ease. This has been something missing since Shabazz was hear. Division I guards should be able to get that shot often and hit it at 50 to 70%. I'm hoping this is where we are headed with these two. Having 2 big, athletic guards at the 2-guard spot who can really shoot it will be a great change for us!!

 

[HuskylnSC]

Shouldn't Ted Valentine be like 80 by now? I remember him from the old BE days.

My brother told me during the game that Valentine ws the ref in the infamous Bob Knight chair throwing incident.

 

[HuskylnSC]

From the second row near center court

Wanna be my friend?

 

[Chief00]

Tyler and Brendan are our best defenders currently. I was completely surprised with the intensity and capability of Bouknight’s defense. Just not a lot of minutes to make a definitive statement. But he has the potential to be the best. Man I wish Springs was eligible. He and Akok would be a better combination to block shots of guards driving to the basket than Akok and Josh. Much quicker reflexes.

Are there players Tyler struggles against?Absolutely. But he has the largest range of good to very good player coverage.

James has consistently looked very good at practice this past month. He’s the next one.

 

[Chief00]

Polley gets shredded by most perimeter players. He caused more mismatch one on ones than anyone else from this viewpoint.

If he's on a guy that can't beat him off the dribble (rare), they can switch onto one that can. And we can't do anything about it, but go through our rotations.

A team that is disciplined on offense, like I expect Xavier to be, should try and exploit the mismatch every time down the floor.

Don’t agree at all - not sure what you’re watching.

 

[uconn1999]

I want me some Bouknight BBQ, hoping he smokes some musketeers tonight

 

[intlzncster]

Don’t agree at all - not sure what you’re watching.

Watching Polley get run by like the roadrunner. Hopefully they don't switch him up much today.

But I'm sure it'll happen plenty again this year anyway, so I'll be happy to point it out when it does.