Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Live from the Dilly Bistro in Marymont. Welcome to the
Shawn Miller Radio Show on the Xavier Sports Network from
lear Field, presented by Try Help. Try Health provides surprisingly
human care that drives the best health outcomes. Be seen,
be heard, be healed. Visit tryhealth dot com. But late,
(00:22):
easy to drink, easy to enjoy and buy. Dilly Bistro
presenting sponsor of the Sean Miller Radio Show. Now Here
are Joe Sunderman and Byron Larkin.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Welcome to the Sean Miller Show Life from Dilly Pistro
and Mary Matt. I'm Joe Sunderman Law with Byral Larkin
and the head coach of the Xavier Musketeers, Sean Miller.
On Saturday, Xavier traveled to Chicago came away with a
nice win, a seventy seven sixty three win over the
DePaul Blue Demons, and coach I thought Zager played well
on Saturday afternoon. I thought you had good balance. Everybody
(00:58):
came on. You had great play off the bench, you know.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Joe, we did, and and you know, I think that
just as we talk here this evening about our season
in general, not only all the different things that we
have or haven't done, but yet you know what's remaining,
which is clearly the most important, the next opportunity. And
you know, I thought that our our team in general
responded from a tough performance against Saint John's at home
(01:24):
and a lot of things didn't go our way, and
you know, you can lose your confidence. A lot of
self doubt can creep in inside the team and sometimes
into an individual's head. But we got through it. I
thought we had a couple of good days. I thought
our team was focused in Chicago. You guys were there,
(01:46):
We prepared for a game on a quick turnaround, and
you know, DePaul uh As, you guys watched, you know,
in person, and we had a lot of great fans
there too, which is awesome, you know, to get the
support that we did in Chicago, and really been that
way all three times that I've traveled there. It's been
just really remarkable. But I think when you look at
(02:07):
De Paul, de Paul is an improved program and team.
You know, Chris Holtman, although they don't have a win yet,
they really were close the other night against Seaton Hall
at Seaton Hall. They're going to beat somebody. In my opinion,
I think more than somebody this year. So you know,
going there isn't isn't as it's not a GIMMEI in
(02:28):
this league, there are none. And especially coming off of
the performance we did against Saint John's, you know, how
are we going to respond that? Were we gonna have confidence?
Are we gonna have the doubt? And and really I
thought we started the game and we fought. It didn't
come to us right away, but as the game continued
to grow, we played good basketball and had long stretches
of good basketball and ended up with a really good performance.
(02:52):
And you know, I think that's the thing with our
team that as you look at each game and maybe
even a game like Saint John's and which I said
isn't a good performance, There's always been times where our
level and quality of play, whether it be on the
road or at home, has been very good. What we
haven't had as much success doing is sustaining it throughout right.
(03:14):
So if you look at it, it could be a really
good explosive second half scoring where you're like, wow, we
were a lot better on offense in the second half
than we were in the first. Numerous games you can
point to that, but why was it what stroke, What
did we struggle with in the first half. There's been
a lot of times from the defensive perspective that we've
strung together long stretches against some really good teams that
(03:37):
have been hard to score against, and then we get
to that moment where you really need the big stop
or segments where you need a couple of stops to
win it, and we just haven't been able to punch
through and do it. You know, the last part of
it is, and I think this is the most well
documented part of our season to this point, is really
the last four minutes of games, you know, where you
have a small lead or year down two points and
(04:00):
it gets down to like possession games, and again the
final score doesn't go our way. But at the end,
when you review it, you look at the game itself,
and we've had stretches of quality. And that's really what
where I'm at in terms of being able to look
at that and expand it and get away from some
of the segments of these games that we wish we
(04:21):
had over and continue to develop the good play. What
is it that we're doing well. We need to get
more of it, more consistent for longer stretches and that's
really what's needed here as we move through a really
tough part of our schedule in the next couple of weeks.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Coach going into that DePaul game and the Musketeers that
dropped two games in a row, and then you know,
you talk about I mean that's the thing about being
in the Big East. I mean, you're just a week
away from being on a two on a you can
go Oho in two like it's nothing, just because the
amount of the parody and the amount of talented teams
(04:57):
in the league, but relative to you spoke about confidence,
like how do you keep a team's confidence up when
they're struggling and they've you know, they've they played well
but lost or the next game you just don't play,
you don't play well at all, and lou so and
then how to get them up? How do you instill
confidence in the team as a coach?
Speaker 3 (05:18):
Yeah, I mean with us, we talked a lot about
it before we played at DePaul Byron and kind of
took the lens off of the you know, the technical
part of things on the court and really went into
just what you just said, and that is, you know,
the confidence of the locker room and how we continue
to move forward and get better and have success. And
I think the first part of it is when things
(05:39):
don't go well in the team sport that we're in,
it's really just kind of owning it, really understanding that, look,
we lost, we didn't play well. I could have done
things better. As a coach, and then individual players, it's
it's like really being able to see it for what
it is and owning like, look, that's something that I
need to do better if we're going to experience the
(06:00):
results that we're after moving forward. And when you can
get a group of people in the room and it
as a basketball team to really just say I got it,
you're right, We're right. I have to do that better.
That's something that I have control over. Defensive rebounding, there
are times coach where I may not get everyone. There
are times when you know a guy on another team
(06:22):
is more talented can jump up over me. But I
will tell you this, I will block out better. I'll
own that I'll be better in that area. And when
I'm better in that area, we will be better in
that area because I'm a part of this team. So
just kind of owning the different things and identifying those
things that we can control. And you know, I think
the second part of that, Byron, is just being able
(06:45):
to have the willingness to work together, to accept coaching right,
to not take it in a sensitive manner, but really
to take a step and say what I'm watching, what
you're saying makes sense, coach, and now going back out
it taking action, working together where practice means a lot,
where I'm trying to fix certain things. In practice, I'm
(07:07):
trying to have a great day in practice and then
a next day, and then that's two really good days
in practice in which my focus is on the things
that I need to do better and that we need
to do better, not about anything outside of our control,
not about things that have already happened, but now you know,
moving towards in the third part of it is just
we all we're lucky. We have a next opportunity, you know,
(07:28):
our next opportunity. It's already been talked about coming off
of losses that we had. Is DePaul a road game,
a dangerous road game. They're gonna beat somebody, they almost beat.
Seat in the hall. Traveling to Chicago. Uh oh, it
wasn't an oh feeling when we got there. We had
a couple of good days. Again, you own it. You
work together collectively, you control which you can, identifying those
(07:53):
things that we can get better at, and then you
really look forward to preparing and you're eager and excited
for that next opportunity. Not what happened, but what's about
to happen, and that moves me towards Villanova tomorrow night.
You know now that we've won a game on the
road and you can kind of, I don't want to say,
take a deep breath, but feel good on the plane
ride home. Now you have a couple of days to
(08:15):
come off of that and build on it and have
a chance to now win two in a row and
win a game at home, and now you move towards
the next opportunity. So I think that you know, as
we move forward, and it's not easy, the things that
I'm saying to do is, you know, really being able
to own who we are and what we've done, working
collectively together and just constantly moving forward to that next opportunity. Byron,
(08:40):
because you said it in the Big East, there's a
lot of parody.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Coach Jerome Hunter I thought was outstanding. He played twenty
one minutes a very efficient game, he had ten points,
eight rebounds to assist, maybe just one turnover, but he
was full of energy. And the play he made at
the end of the half where you walk the clock
down seconds atlantic is Byron. I'll talk about it all
the time. Well, when do you start your play ten
or eight seconds so you get an opportunity for the
(09:06):
tip And we talk about it for years, and we
actually got to see it happen where the shot went
up enough time left for one hundred to.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Tap in it.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
But he made a heck of a play to get
to the ball.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
He did, Joe. And one of the reasons you probably
feel that way is, you know, offensive rebounding is not
our strength. I wish we were better at it. We're
not given in there. You know, being able to get
an extra one or two possessions, two or three possessions
would mean the world to our team. That's not something
we have been able to establish as far back as
our early November games. You know, some of it is
(09:36):
the makeup of our roster and and I think you
know some of it is, you know, the injury that
we had to maybe our best overall rebounder, Lesina. But
with that in mind, you know, being able to get
a guy like Jerome to get us a couple each game,
and he did it. In the Paul game. He not
only had I believe three second shots, but he converted
all three he did, so six of his ten points
(09:58):
came on second shot. And when you can get that
second opportunity in your us. There are, by the way,
a lot of things that our team does really well.
You know, coming to the radio show the last two years,
you know, there's always fans that always bring up to me, coach,
why can't we shoot free throws better? You know, my goodness,
free throws. It's easy. Do you ever work on free throws?
(10:18):
Why don't you know recruit people and players that can
make free throws? Well, no one brings it up right now,
you know, because if you look at it, it's actually
one of our best strengths on offense. We not only
make free throws byron we're at eighty percent as a team,
but we actually shoot more free throws per game than
any team in the Big East, which by far, in
my opinion, is our strongest stat being able to get
(10:41):
to the free throw line against competition that we've played.
It's called free throw rate. So we're getting there at
the number one rate in our league and we're converting
eighty percent, and you're doing that. Usually when you say, man,
we get to the free throw line a lot, that
must mean you're a good offensive rebounding team or you're
a big, physical, strong team. We don't do it that way,
and I think that's something that for us. You know,
(11:04):
what do you when you're owning the things you're not
doing well, you also have to take advantage of the
things that you are doing well. So back to your
initial question in point, Joe Jerome did a good job.
He It was like he knew his role. He did
it well, and getting him to offense and rebound is
part of what we need him to do moving forward.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
And coach, your team's ranked thirteenth in the nation and
free throw percent each second in the Big East, so
they are certainly shooting the free throws extremely well this year.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
I'm accurate in my assessment.
Speaker 4 (11:30):
You are right on it, man, You're right on You know.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Your team number to call in and talk to the
coach if you like is five one, three, seven four
nine fifty five hundred five one three, seven four nine
fifty five hundred and you're listening to the Sean Miller
Coaches Show from Billy Bistro marymunt On fifty five KRC
and the Varsity Network. Welcome back to the Sean Miller
Coaches Show from Billy Bistro, marymunt Into. Of course, last
(11:54):
week the show was canceled due to the snow. We
have a makeup day to like to pass out on you.
That'll be March tenth. We're gonna have a show oh
here again, so put that in the calendar and join
us on March the tenth for an additional show. We'll
make up when we missed last week. Thanks again for
joining us on a cold winter's night here.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
And knew this season Behind the Mic, presented by deer
Park Roofing, allows fans to watch every Sean Miller Coaches
Show live from Dilly Bistro. Check out the Xavier Men's
Facebook page to receive notifications on upcoming shows and check
out the shows you may have missed.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
And we do have a mic right up here if
you'd like to ask a question, we're going to put
views right now.
Speaker 5 (12:30):
Yes, thank you, Hi coach. Hello, Yes, our bench hasn't
been as deep as you had planned because of injuries.
So my question is what have you done in training
to increase the stamina of the team so that they
could compete to the end and keep up.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
Yeah, So I think that that that really brings up
a kind of a good topic as we move forward,
and that is, you know, going through the Big East
two times as a coach, you know, two years ago
last season, this now becomes my third season in it
because it's twenty games and you play everybody ten at home,
(13:14):
ten on the road, and then I think the pageantry
in the excitement that surrounds the Big East Tournament, which
then becomes game twenty one or more that you're playing
Big East Basketball, Big East opponent, it can become a
little bit of a war of attrition. I thought that
happened to our team last year. You know, we always
were a little bit short, But where it really showed
(13:37):
up big was I would call it in about the
second week of February, when you know you're just going
in night in, night out, game in, game out. You've
been playing you know, some guys, heavy minutes. We didn't
have a strong bench. You start to feel it more
towards the end, in spite of everything you're trying to
do lifting weights, giving them extra days, shortening things. So
(13:59):
with that, as we move forward this year, you're right,
you know, I think losing Lesna in particular for the
season that hurt our depth. But we still play eight
players every game. So I think it's two parts to
your question. One, we've not given up on our depth.
You know, I think Dante Maddix had a couple good
minutes at DePaul this year. When you watch our team
at its best, So let's look at at Yukon, in
(14:22):
which we played a very good game, didn't end up
winning but went to overtime. Dante was one of our
best players. So getting his scoring off the bench is
really important. I think he still could play his best
basketball of the year moving forward. I thought John Yugli
gave us some good minutes against the Paul. Most recently,
we're trying to get him in the game a little
(14:42):
bit more. We want him to foul less, we want
him to have less turnovers. I think that would increase
his opportunity. So we're developing our bench. That's one part
answer to your question. And then I think the second
part is, like, for example, what we did today, and
that is just really being aware of how long we're practicing,
so maybe instead of it being an hour and forty
(15:03):
five minutes, that we're trying to make it a really
good and efficient hour and thirty or hour and fifteen minutes.
There are times we've already done this where instead of
bringing our team in to watch film or do something
on the court, we give them a complete day off,
you know, recovery. Learning that someone like Davion McKnight, what
will allow him maybe to play the best he can
(15:25):
at against Villanova is that he feels really good. And
someone who's older, who practices hard, who plays a lot
of minutes in games, really looking at that. And then
you know, the last part is our strength and conditioning program. Recovery.
We're around the clock. I mean, these guys can tell you,
you know, whether it be on the road when we
get back lifting weights. We're always investing in trying to
(15:48):
get them bigger, stronger and make them the most healthy
we can. So that's the best answer I think that
I can give you. But for a team to feel
good about who they are in mid to light maybywarre
entering March, I think that's all of our goals as
a coach, you know, sometimes you have to be healthy
to do it. But that's something we're well aware of
(16:08):
right now.
Speaker 4 (16:09):
Thank good question, coach you talked about when she was
talking about your bench production, and you know that's an
important piece of almost every team. And you teeter with
the starting lineup against the Pall. You brought Zach Freeman
off the bench and he responded with twenty points and
ten rebounds, had a couple of threes. He scored every
(16:32):
which way in that game. Where you are you going
to do more of that in the future, You see
yourself maybe tinkering with the lineup and maybe bringing a
guy off who obviously can be a starter off the
bench to give you a lift.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
Yeah, I mean I think, you know, with Jerome Byron,
he's really like a sixth starter to some degree. I
think there's you know, our top six, Jerome's in it.
And you know, you can make the argument that, you know,
do you want to start them in this game or not?
But here here's the facts. The last three games we've
played at Georgetown, Saint John's and home and at De Paul,
(17:08):
we've lost the first eight minutes of all three games.
We've also lost the first eight minutes in the second
half of all three games, minus one four minute segment,
So like we keep track of it, and if you
look at it, that's twelve twelve four minute media timeouts
in three games again at Georgetown, Saint John's and home
and at De Paul and we have been handled in
(17:31):
eleven of those twelve segments. The good news and it's
what I said earlier to start off, well, if that's
the case, coach, like, what about the rest of the game.
The rest of the game, we're fine. As a matter
of fact, we're the better team and we've proven that.
But when you dig yourself a hole in both halves,
it can feel funny. It can feel funny for a
(17:52):
home crowd, it can ignite an away crowd. It gives
the other team confidence. So when you're looking for that
starting line up, you know you want success in those
four minute segments. This season, we've actually done a really
good job at the beginning of each game, in each half.
So I think the best lineup is the one we've
started the most, which is Daveon McKnight, Ryan Conwell, Dalan Swain,
(18:17):
Marcus Foster and Zach Fremantle. That doesn't lessen Jerome's role,
but I just think, like looking at it, that's given
us the most success, and then being able to sub
Jerome in first for Marcus Foster or Dalen or even
Zach to give those guys a break, and then obviously
to go with the rest of the guys off the bench, Dante,
(18:38):
Maddox and John Uglei. They become seven and eight. And
if we go to a ninth player, which we really
would like to continue to get Cam Fletcher a little
bit more, Cam becomes that ninth man, and you know,
in foul, trouble, injury, et cetera, Cam's the next man up.
But you know, to the question that I was asked,
you know we want to get called play off our bench.
(19:01):
I think we need to have quality play off our
bench when we've been at our best this year. Byron,
after the game, you could clearly point towards a player
or sometimes multiple guys that came in the game we
didn't start and did a good job. You know, in
a sense you kind of did it about the part.
I know Jerome started, but Zach still played starter minutes
(19:22):
and if you look at Jerome, Jerome had ten points
and six rebounds. Dante Maddix hit a couple three point shots.
I thought John Yugley gave us some good minutes. Man.
That's eight guys three that don't you know, technically start
the game and they contributed. They were winning players, and
you know, that's really what we're after. If we hit
our best and we hit our stretch here down the
(19:44):
you know, as we move forward in Biggie's play, we
can't do it with just the top three or four
players on our team. We really need to have quality
play from not only our starters, but our bench. And
we're hard at it, whether it be player development, you know,
watching film really emphasize in practice, evaluating and working hard
towards building that depth. Every day. I think everybody that's
(20:05):
a part of our team would say, no, we're we're
really trying to be deeper and we need good contributions
for more people.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
All Right, you're listening to the Sean Miller Coaches Show
from Dilli Bistro on Marrimont fifty five KRC and the
Varsity Network. Welcome back to the Sean Miller Show from
Dilli Bistro at Marrimont. Bud Light Crowd sponsor of Xavier
and Athletics easy to drink, easy to enjoy.
Speaker 4 (20:29):
And we'd like to wish happy birthday to two longtime
Xavier fans in attendance tonight, Martha Schuler and Jerry Hornbeck.
They're both in attendance tonight with us. Martha happy, Happy.
They chose to spend part of their special birthday with us,
So thank you for being here.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
They're consistent, they're here a lot they are, which is awesome.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
Martha's every time, she never misses, that's true. And my
buddy Jerry Hornbeck has been a Xavier fan, is back
when I was playing. This a long time ago.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
It is a long time ago, by right, it is,
But I know this. You still got the scoring record.
This is true, never to be broken, by the way,
I don't think so. No, there's no chance transferaleah, no
no chance single season. I still don't know if anyone
would break it. But maybe there's a chance there, but
(21:20):
definitely not career.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
Speaking of that, does that change your rhythm of what
recruiting you might be doing right now At the time
of the years you sort of anticipate, you know too
much from now you'll be heaving into it again, trying
to figure out what you want for the fall again.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
So yeah, I think the simplest way for me to
describe it, Joe is, you know, recruiting is obviously NonStop,
but I think the peak of college basketball recruiting, you know,
for decades was summer into the fall, fall being that
peak time pointing towards the early signing period of November.
(21:55):
And then you almost recycle and things die down a
little bit and maybe you have some in the spring.
You know, now it becomes you know, the peak time
is right when the season ends, those first two months
of the spring, and then you know, when you get
into the summer and into the fall, it's almost the
opposite where what the spring once was that becomes the fall.
(22:18):
Now what the fall once was that now becomes the spring.
It just really is flip flopped. But if you think
about our calendar, one of the things that I think
everybody's adjusting to is, you know, you go through the
gauntlet of that six month college basketball season and it ends,
it feels like you should, you know, take a deep
breath and recharge. When the reality of is that month
(22:40):
seven and eight become really you know, the future that
becomes the peak. So it's it's how it's how it's changed.
And I think that right now the focus for just
about everybody is you know, you're aware of recruiting, but
you're really coaching your team and doing the best job.
Speaker 4 (22:58):
There coach looking at there's no crystal ball, But I
know you've got two players signed for next year, so
you definitely have two more freshmen on the team. And
what with what you have coming back? Is there a
number of players you anticipate adding to next year's roster.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
It's really impossible, by n the answer, because you know,
we have fifteen scholarships coming up. You know how we
use them. I think we're really you know, thinking about
it on an everyday basis and being as smart as
that we possibly can to get it right. But you know,
I think that just generally speaking, there will always be
a lot of movement and action in the spring. You know,
(23:40):
it's impossible to give the set number. I don't really
know if any coach could, just because you don't have
the answers to a lot of different things, one of
which you don't have even the answers to what rules
are or aren't going to change. You know, if you
remember now as we started out, you know, in last year.
That's when the two time trains for that did not graduate.
(24:03):
So you've been at two schools, you're ready to go
to your third school, and yet you haven't graduated. You
would be eligible right away. I mean that just happened
last year, so that that was a game changer of
you know, of epic proportions for a lot of programs, right,
But nobody really knew that that was going to happen
until it did. So there are different things that potentially
(24:24):
could happen this spring that could affect how many players
come back or how many new players you get. So
I think the one thing to bank on is there'll
be always a lot going on in the months of March, April,
and May with building your roster for the next year.
And I don't really think that's our strategy at Xavier.
I think that's just the world of college basketball now.
Speaker 4 (24:45):
Well, I understand that there was a change in the
rules relative to junior college players and that their junior
college time doesn't count against their eligibility, and you know,
I mean, so yes, thanks change all the time.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
I think that's the that's that's that's your point. You know,
there was really something that people are talking about right now,
is that somebody that would be in their fourth year
of college, not a COVID year, not someone who's exercising
their fifth year this year, but somebody who's in their
fourth year. I don't believe we have any players that
(25:21):
are just like in their fourth year that potentially there's
a petition or a rule that could change that would
allow them to get a fifth year. That would be
everybody across college basketball and sports. But why that would
happen or Look, I'm being presumptuous. Do I know for
a fact that it's going to happen. Absolutely not. I don't,
and I don't think anybody does. The last two and
(25:44):
a half years have just been really incredible when you
think of how much things have changed.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
Coach, I've heard that rumor also where that eligibility might be.
Now you get five years, regardless you start, the clock
starts after five years, you're out. If you're healthy, you
play all five years. If you need a couple of
years for injuries, you play three years and you sit
out two years. Is that what's possibly on their right now?
Speaker 3 (26:06):
I don't know. It's a good point. You had to
bring it to the to the one of those committees.
There's about there's about one hundred committees. Pick one of
them and throw it out there there. Once in a while,
something will stick.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Hey, we talked about this earlier, about your substitutions and
so forth, and you mentioned Cam Fletcher trying to get
him more playing time. I notice you had him in
the ball game early in the game at a critical point.
He played a little under two minutes. But as your
mindset of when you put him in, I thought was
interesting in terms of maybe how you're viewing his physical
ability to to sustain more playing times and when you
(26:38):
might utilize him.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
Yeah, I mean, I think with Kim, you know, we
judge him more on what we see every day than
just you know, the actual game. Even even though he
got in early to your to your point, Joe, and
he's getting better, he's healthier now, he's learning. He's had
an amazing disposition and attitude from the time that he's
gotten here late in the spring, through the summer and
(27:01):
into the fall. He's somebody that you know, we really
love having as part of our program. What he does
is he can really offensive rebound and physically, I think
looking at it, has the ability to defensive rebound. You know,
we're just trying, I think, to get him to really
settle in and you know, do the things on offense
that he can do and take care of the ball
(27:23):
and defensively be a part of the solution. But you know,
when you think about rebounding, you know you can't just
continue to complain about it without making some type of change.
We're working on it, we're addressing it. I do think
we have a few guys on our team who can
do a better job than they've done recently. But you
also can insert somebody like Cam into the game and
(27:43):
give us something that we haven't tried before. And to
do that, you know, you get a big second shot,
you know, all of a sudden things like I said
Jerome Hunter, the fact that he got three offensive rebounds
and scored all three against the Paul, I mean it
felt like ten points. That's how important that part of
the game is for our team. If Cam could come
in and keep the ball alive and go after a
(28:05):
couple offensive rebounds, that would be something that could really
help our bench.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
All right, This is a Sean Miller Coaches Show from
Dilly Bistro and Marrimunt on fifty five Karc and the
Varsity Network. Welcome back to Dilly Bistro and the Sean
Miller Show.
Speaker 4 (28:21):
When you're out of town and want to keep up
with live college sports, be sure to download the new
Varsity Network app. It's available for both Apple and Android. Listen
to college sports Live with the Varsity Network App.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
Ran Conwell shid fifty one to three pointers this season.
That's ranks h twenty fifth in the nation a number
three pointers scored. I thought he was really good against
the Paul due to the fact he got to the
free throw line so much.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
Yeah, that aspect of his game is developing. He's adding
to it. He's more confident, he's better at it, and
that's really to Ryan's credit. Earlier in this show, I
mentioned that one of the statistics that I hope he
can continue to be good at is that free throw rate. Usually,
if you get to the free throw line consistently, especially
(29:06):
in conference play, and you're a good free throw shooting team,
you know that translates to a lot of great stuff.
And Ryan's part of that right now, and that he's
better today driving the ball, making decisions, getting fouled, and
actually scoring from two. If you look at his two
point percentage and field goal percentage. It's incrementally grown since November.
(29:27):
He's better right now scoring at the rim, in transition
and drives than he did earlier in the year. And
I think that he's adding that to his game. But
that's a good observation, Joe, because when the shot doesn't
go in, and I don't care how good of a
shooter you are, there's always those nights and you know
you rely on being able to go, get fouled, get
(29:47):
an easier shot, get closer to the basket. And that's
what good scores do. Byron, you know that better than anybody.
And I think what that makes you is you're more
of a scorer than a shooter. You're a player than
just a specialist. And Ryan is a very good player.
I think the other part just giving Ryan credit is
(30:08):
there's no team that plays against US doesn't start with
him on the perimeter. They're putting their best perimeter player.
You know how we try to get him shots. They
are trying really hard to take that away. We're asking
Ryan to play not only the two, but when Daveon
is out of the game, he's also are one. Defensively,
Ryan's matched up against some really talented players on the
(30:30):
other team. You know, against Villanova, there's a newcomer on
their team, Wuga Poplar, who came from Miami, who's playing
great basketball right now. He's almost a twenty point game
of score in recent games, so like high teens. So
you're guarding him on defense. You're playing not only the two,
but the one. You're the focus. You and Zach of
(30:50):
the other team scouting report. They're trying to take away
your three point shooting. It's not an easy life on
the court, it really isn't. There are times when he's
needed some help and we have to continue to do
a good job supporting and helping him. But you know,
his ability to make threes, his ability to do a
lot of things for our team. He's having a very
good year. And I do think that now that he's
(31:14):
played a real round of Big East games and has
a better feel for the speed and what one team
looks like from the next team, and how you go
from a Tuesday or Wednesday game to a Saturday game.
And now that he's gotten that experience, I think that
he continues to grow and settle in where you may
see his best basketball here in this month January, in February,
(31:36):
he's practicing really well and against the Paul the one
thing that he did is he put a subpar first
half behind him, came out and really put it together
in the second half. And he didn't do it just
behind the line. He did it what you were saying, Joe,
a couple of strong drives, getting to the free throw line,
and really being a well rounded player.
Speaker 4 (31:57):
You know, coach, you're looking at his numbers. He's fifty
one out of one, twenty seven from three, and he
takes a lot of threes, you know, in the game.
And looking at your next opponent, Villanova, they've got a player,
Eric Dixon. He's six eight, two hundred and sixty five pounds.
He's taken one hundred and fifteen threes. I mean that's
(32:19):
I mean, that's a lot of threes for a guard.
I mean, he's a big man and he's almost taken
as many as Ryan Conwell. I mean, we haven't talked
a lot about Villanova yet, but he's one of the
top scores in the country at twenty five points a game.
We've seen him develop over the years and what he
was as a freshman to what he is now Eric Dixon,
He's definitely kind of the main cylinder for Villanova, it
(32:43):
really is.
Speaker 3 (32:43):
And you know, you can use Eric Dixon to just
talk about what's changed the most in college basketball over
recent years, and that is there was a time not
too long ago that you worried about a player when
he's younger, that he was made to feel that if
he stayed in college and came back, you know, for
his sophomore year, if he was an outstanding freshman or
(33:04):
came back for his junior year, if he had a
great freshman and sophomore year, that he would almost be
looked at as a failure, almost like what's wrong with you?
You're you're a senior. When I was at Arizona, one
of the guys in our practice early on, we were
getting into it, you know, blue versus Red, got competitive,
and one guy on my team said to another guy
(33:25):
on my team, man, you're sorry. You know you're sorry.
That's why you're a senior and you're still here. And
I stopped the action and said, everybody, we need to
go to the locker room and sit down and talk
about this. You know, if we're going to get to
the point where you're sorry, because you became a senior.
All we're all in the wrong sport business journey, your
(33:46):
throng program, right, But that that was reflective of just
how the system made a lot of these younger guys feel. Well,
if you think about what's changed the most, somebody like
Eric Dixon. You know, he's hitting his stride in his
fifth year. He's been a fixture at Villanova even as
a young player for Jay Wright. He's improved every year.
(34:08):
And now you know he's up for Big East Player
of the Year. I know two weeks ago he was
leading American scoring. If he's not the number one scorer
in college basketball, buyer and I think he's one of
the top two or three. And he is just an
absolute monster killer. He really is. He'll be one of
the best players that visits Cintas Center in recent memory.
(34:28):
So what's changed is that guy never would have been
made to feel that he should come back for even
his junior year, let alone a fifth year. Right, So,
in some ways, the quality of play off college basketball,
you can make a case I think might be better
than ever because sometimes the guy who's out there hasn't
been out there for a long long time. In other words,
(34:50):
twenty two to twenty three years old, fourth year, fifth year,
and he's playing his best basketball at the end. We
have somebody who's doing it, Zach. You know, if Zach
didn't get hurt three full weeks, you know, you look
at his stats and say, Zach's having his career best
year in his final year with us. Right, But there
would have been a time when a guy like Zach
would have been made to feel like, now you've got
(35:11):
to go on and make money and leave and become
a part of whatever's out there. So again, lots changed.
Maybe that's one of the benefits of something good that's changed.
Speaker 2 (35:22):
All Right, you're listening to the Sean Miller's Coaches Show
from Billy Bistrol and Marrymount on fifty five KRC and
the Varsity Network. Welcome back to the Sean Miller Coaches
Show and coach a question, just during the breakup here,
were you surprised to get Zach Fremantle back on the
court as quickly as you did? I think, not only
(35:42):
in my opinion that he came back, because everybody anticipated
a much longer time away if he came back at all,
but then to be playing like he used to so
quickly is kind of unbelievable.
Speaker 3 (35:55):
Your second point, I think is the one that I
really would love to talk about, simply because you know,
when Zach got hurt, we at first I thought we
were gonna lose him for the season. And I really
felt that way for about a week. That wasn't like
anyone was saying it, but just you know, the significance
of his injury, all that he had been through, you know,
(36:16):
just really being careful how long it would take. But
you know, he started to to really come on quicker.
You know, I think the bone bruce part of his
injury was the most significant. Uh, He's you know, stable,
and I think it's a real testament to what I
talked earlier about when I when I described Zach to
people is I don't know if I've ever been around
(36:38):
somebody who takes care of his body, who works harder
at the game than him. You know, just when you
get injured and you you're immobile, you can't walk for
a while, you know, it's such a dark moment. You're
weeks without it just feels like you're alone in the world.
You know, you're not part of a team, can't travel,
and and then you just you wonder, like, okay, I
(36:59):
get get first off these crutches, or get to the
point where I can move around. Then you can move around, well,
you can move around, but you can't do anything, you know,
so you pick up weight, you get into bad habits,
you just lose, you lose your motivation. He threw all
of it remarkably, like his body fat actually went down,
It actually went in a good direction. Like when you
(37:20):
look at him, I mean, he's as fit as any
athlete in college basketball, height, weight, just body fat, strength explosion.
And you know, I think to a large extent, his
unbelievable physical conditioning was a factor and that injury not
being more significant. I also think it was a huge
(37:40):
factor in him getting back sooner than we thought. But
I don't think anybody, maybe other than him, anticipated him
being able to get back within three weeks. And then
you know, to your next point, Joe, it's one thing
to miss three weeks. Then when you come back, how
many games are going to take to get back to
how you once work? Well, guess what, it didn't take
(38:01):
any He really hit the ground running. So we're thrilled
to have him back.
Speaker 2 (38:05):
Good deal. Thanks everybody for joining us for the Sean
Miller Kosha Show from Billy Bistro, Merriman on fifty five
KR Scene and the Varsity Network.
Speaker 1 (38:23):
Live from the Dilly Bistro in Merrimont. This has been
the Sean Miller Radio Show on the Xavier Sports Network
from Learfield, presented by Try Health. Try Health provides supprisingly
human care that drives the best health outcomes. Be seen,
be heard, be healed. Visit tryhealth dot com, bud Late,
(38:45):
easy to Drink, Easy to Enjoy, and by Dilly Bistro,
presenting sponsor of the Sean Miller Radio Show. The preceding
has been a Learfield presentation on the Xavier Sports Network
su
Live from the Dilly Bistro in Marymont. Welcome to the
Shawn Miller Radio Show on the Xavier Sports Network from
lear Field, presented by Try Help. Try Health provides surprisingly
human care that drives the best health outcomes. Be seen,
be heard, be healed. Visit tryhealth dot com. But late,
(00:22):
easy to drink, easy to enjoy and buy. Dilly Bistro
presenting sponsor of the Sean Miller Radio Show. Now Here
are Joe Sunderman and Byron Larkin.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Welcome to the Sean Miller Show Life from Dilly Pistro
and Mary Matt. I'm Joe Sunderman Law with Byral Larkin
and the head coach of the Xavier Musketeers, Sean Miller.
On Saturday, Xavier traveled to Chicago came away with a
nice win, a seventy seven sixty three win over the
DePaul Blue Demons, and coach I thought Zager played well
on Saturday afternoon. I thought you had good balance. Everybody
(00:58):
came on. You had great play off the bench, you know.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
Joe, we did, and and you know, I think that
just as we talk here this evening about our season
in general, not only all the different things that we
have or haven't done, but yet you know what's remaining,
which is clearly the most important, the next opportunity. And
you know, I thought that our our team in general
responded from a tough performance against Saint John's at home
(01:24):
and a lot of things didn't go our way, and
you know, you can lose your confidence. A lot of
self doubt can creep in inside the team and sometimes
into an individual's head. But we got through it. I
thought we had a couple of good days. I thought
our team was focused in Chicago. You guys were there,
(01:46):
We prepared for a game on a quick turnaround, and
you know, DePaul uh As, you guys watched, you know,
in person, and we had a lot of great fans
there too, which is awesome, you know, to get the
support that we did in Chicago, and really been that
way all three times that I've traveled there. It's been
just really remarkable. But I think when you look at
(02:07):
De Paul, de Paul is an improved program and team.
You know, Chris Holtman, although they don't have a win yet,
they really were close the other night against Seaton Hall
at Seaton Hall. They're going to beat somebody. In my opinion,
I think more than somebody this year. So you know,
going there isn't isn't as it's not a GIMMEI in
(02:28):
this league, there are none. And especially coming off of
the performance we did against Saint John's, you know, how
are we going to respond that? Were we gonna have confidence?
Are we gonna have the doubt? And and really I
thought we started the game and we fought. It didn't
come to us right away, but as the game continued
to grow, we played good basketball and had long stretches
of good basketball and ended up with a really good performance.
(02:52):
And you know, I think that's the thing with our
team that as you look at each game and maybe
even a game like Saint John's and which I said
isn't a good performance, There's always been times where our
level and quality of play, whether it be on the
road or at home, has been very good. What we
haven't had as much success doing is sustaining it throughout right.
(03:14):
So if you look at it, it could be a really
good explosive second half scoring where you're like, wow, we
were a lot better on offense in the second half
than we were in the first. Numerous games you can
point to that, but why was it what stroke, What
did we struggle with in the first half. There's been
a lot of times from the defensive perspective that we've
strung together long stretches against some really good teams that
(03:37):
have been hard to score against, and then we get
to that moment where you really need the big stop
or segments where you need a couple of stops to
win it, and we just haven't been able to punch
through and do it. You know, the last part of
it is, and I think this is the most well
documented part of our season to this point, is really
the last four minutes of games, you know, where you
have a small lead or year down two points and
(04:00):
it gets down to like possession games, and again the
final score doesn't go our way. But at the end,
when you review it, you look at the game itself,
and we've had stretches of quality. And that's really what
where I'm at in terms of being able to look
at that and expand it and get away from some
of the segments of these games that we wish we
(04:21):
had over and continue to develop the good play. What
is it that we're doing well. We need to get
more of it, more consistent for longer stretches and that's
really what's needed here as we move through a really
tough part of our schedule in the next couple of weeks.
Speaker 4 (04:36):
Coach going into that DePaul game and the Musketeers that
dropped two games in a row, and then you know,
you talk about I mean that's the thing about being
in the Big East. I mean, you're just a week
away from being on a two on a you can
go Oho in two like it's nothing, just because the
amount of the parody and the amount of talented teams
(04:57):
in the league, but relative to you spoke about confidence,
like how do you keep a team's confidence up when
they're struggling and they've you know, they've they played well
but lost or the next game you just don't play,
you don't play well at all, and lou so and
then how to get them up? How do you instill
confidence in the team as a coach?
Speaker 3 (05:18):
Yeah, I mean with us, we talked a lot about
it before we played at DePaul Byron and kind of
took the lens off of the you know, the technical
part of things on the court and really went into
just what you just said, and that is, you know,
the confidence of the locker room and how we continue
to move forward and get better and have success. And
I think the first part of it is when things
(05:39):
don't go well in the team sport that we're in,
it's really just kind of owning it, really understanding that, look,
we lost, we didn't play well. I could have done
things better. As a coach, and then individual players, it's
it's like really being able to see it for what
it is and owning like, look, that's something that I
need to do better if we're going to experience the
(06:00):
results that we're after moving forward. And when you can
get a group of people in the room and it
as a basketball team to really just say I got it,
you're right, We're right. I have to do that better.
That's something that I have control over. Defensive rebounding, there
are times coach where I may not get everyone. There
are times when you know a guy on another team
(06:22):
is more talented can jump up over me. But I
will tell you this, I will block out better. I'll
own that I'll be better in that area. And when
I'm better in that area, we will be better in
that area because I'm a part of this team. So
just kind of owning the different things and identifying those
things that we can control. And you know, I think
the second part of that, Byron, is just being able
(06:45):
to have the willingness to work together, to accept coaching right,
to not take it in a sensitive manner, but really
to take a step and say what I'm watching, what
you're saying makes sense, coach, and now going back out
it taking action, working together where practice means a lot,
where I'm trying to fix certain things. In practice, I'm
(07:07):
trying to have a great day in practice and then
a next day, and then that's two really good days
in practice in which my focus is on the things
that I need to do better and that we need
to do better, not about anything outside of our control,
not about things that have already happened, but now you know,
moving towards in the third part of it is just
we all we're lucky. We have a next opportunity, you know,
(07:28):
our next opportunity. It's already been talked about coming off
of losses that we had. Is DePaul a road game,
a dangerous road game. They're gonna beat somebody, they almost beat.
Seat in the hall. Traveling to Chicago. Uh oh, it
wasn't an oh feeling when we got there. We had
a couple of good days. Again, you own it. You
work together collectively, you control which you can, identifying those
(07:53):
things that we can get better at, and then you
really look forward to preparing and you're eager and excited
for that next opportunity. Not what happened, but what's about
to happen, and that moves me towards Villanova tomorrow night.
You know now that we've won a game on the
road and you can kind of, I don't want to say,
take a deep breath, but feel good on the plane
ride home. Now you have a couple of days to
(08:15):
come off of that and build on it and have
a chance to now win two in a row and
win a game at home, and now you move towards
the next opportunity. So I think that you know, as
we move forward, and it's not easy, the things that
I'm saying to do is, you know, really being able
to own who we are and what we've done, working
collectively together and just constantly moving forward to that next opportunity. Byron,
(08:40):
because you said it in the Big East, there's a
lot of parody.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
Coach Jerome Hunter I thought was outstanding. He played twenty
one minutes a very efficient game, he had ten points,
eight rebounds to assist, maybe just one turnover, but he
was full of energy. And the play he made at
the end of the half where you walk the clock
down seconds atlantic is Byron. I'll talk about it all
the time. Well, when do you start your play ten
or eight seconds so you get an opportunity for the
(09:06):
tip And we talk about it for years, and we
actually got to see it happen where the shot went
up enough time left for one hundred to.
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Tap in it.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
But he made a heck of a play to get
to the ball.
Speaker 3 (09:14):
He did, Joe. And one of the reasons you probably
feel that way is, you know, offensive rebounding is not
our strength. I wish we were better at it. We're
not given in there. You know, being able to get
an extra one or two possessions, two or three possessions
would mean the world to our team. That's not something
we have been able to establish as far back as
our early November games. You know, some of it is
(09:36):
the makeup of our roster and and I think you
know some of it is, you know, the injury that
we had to maybe our best overall rebounder, Lesina. But
with that in mind, you know, being able to get
a guy like Jerome to get us a couple each game,
and he did it. In the Paul game. He not
only had I believe three second shots, but he converted
all three he did, so six of his ten points
(09:58):
came on second shot. And when you can get that
second opportunity in your us. There are, by the way,
a lot of things that our team does really well.
You know, coming to the radio show the last two years,
you know, there's always fans that always bring up to me, coach,
why can't we shoot free throws better? You know, my goodness,
free throws. It's easy. Do you ever work on free throws?
(10:18):
Why don't you know recruit people and players that can
make free throws? Well, no one brings it up right now,
you know, because if you look at it, it's actually
one of our best strengths on offense. We not only
make free throws byron we're at eighty percent as a team,
but we actually shoot more free throws per game than
any team in the Big East, which by far, in
my opinion, is our strongest stat being able to get
(10:41):
to the free throw line against competition that we've played.
It's called free throw rate. So we're getting there at
the number one rate in our league and we're converting
eighty percent, and you're doing that. Usually when you say, man,
we get to the free throw line a lot, that
must mean you're a good offensive rebounding team or you're
a big, physical, strong team. We don't do it that way,
and I think that's something that for us. You know,
(11:04):
what do you when you're owning the things you're not
doing well, you also have to take advantage of the
things that you are doing well. So back to your
initial question in point, Joe Jerome did a good job.
He It was like he knew his role. He did
it well, and getting him to offense and rebound is
part of what we need him to do moving forward.
Speaker 2 (11:22):
And coach, your team's ranked thirteenth in the nation and
free throw percent each second in the Big East, so
they are certainly shooting the free throws extremely well this year.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
I'm accurate in my assessment.
Speaker 4 (11:30):
You are right on it, man, You're right on You know.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Your team number to call in and talk to the
coach if you like is five one, three, seven four
nine fifty five hundred five one three, seven four nine
fifty five hundred and you're listening to the Sean Miller
Coaches Show from Billy Bistro marymunt On fifty five KRC
and the Varsity Network. Welcome back to the Sean Miller
Coaches Show from Billy Bistro, marymunt Into. Of course, last
(11:54):
week the show was canceled due to the snow. We
have a makeup day to like to pass out on you.
That'll be March tenth. We're gonna have a show oh
here again, so put that in the calendar and join
us on March the tenth for an additional show. We'll
make up when we missed last week. Thanks again for
joining us on a cold winter's night here.
Speaker 4 (12:09):
And knew this season Behind the Mic, presented by deer
Park Roofing, allows fans to watch every Sean Miller Coaches
Show live from Dilly Bistro. Check out the Xavier Men's
Facebook page to receive notifications on upcoming shows and check
out the shows you may have missed.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
And we do have a mic right up here if
you'd like to ask a question, we're going to put
views right now.
Speaker 5 (12:30):
Yes, thank you, Hi coach. Hello, Yes, our bench hasn't
been as deep as you had planned because of injuries.
So my question is what have you done in training
to increase the stamina of the team so that they
could compete to the end and keep up.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
Yeah, So I think that that that really brings up
a kind of a good topic as we move forward,
and that is, you know, going through the Big East
two times as a coach, you know, two years ago
last season, this now becomes my third season in it
because it's twenty games and you play everybody ten at home,
(13:14):
ten on the road, and then I think the pageantry
in the excitement that surrounds the Big East Tournament, which
then becomes game twenty one or more that you're playing
Big East Basketball, Big East opponent, it can become a
little bit of a war of attrition. I thought that
happened to our team last year. You know, we always
were a little bit short, But where it really showed
(13:37):
up big was I would call it in about the
second week of February, when you know you're just going
in night in, night out, game in, game out. You've
been playing you know, some guys, heavy minutes. We didn't
have a strong bench. You start to feel it more
towards the end, in spite of everything you're trying to
do lifting weights, giving them extra days, shortening things. So
(13:59):
with that, as we move forward this year, you're right,
you know, I think losing Lesna in particular for the
season that hurt our depth. But we still play eight
players every game. So I think it's two parts to
your question. One, we've not given up on our depth.
You know, I think Dante Maddix had a couple good
minutes at DePaul this year. When you watch our team
at its best, So let's look at at Yukon, in
(14:22):
which we played a very good game, didn't end up
winning but went to overtime. Dante was one of our
best players. So getting his scoring off the bench is
really important. I think he still could play his best
basketball of the year moving forward. I thought John Yugli
gave us some good minutes against the Paul. Most recently,
we're trying to get him in the game a little
(14:42):
bit more. We want him to foul less, we want
him to have less turnovers. I think that would increase
his opportunity. So we're developing our bench. That's one part
answer to your question. And then I think the second
part is, like, for example, what we did today, and
that is just really being aware of how long we're practicing,
so maybe instead of it being an hour and forty
(15:03):
five minutes, that we're trying to make it a really
good and efficient hour and thirty or hour and fifteen minutes.
There are times we've already done this where instead of
bringing our team in to watch film or do something
on the court, we give them a complete day off,
you know, recovery. Learning that someone like Davion McKnight, what
will allow him maybe to play the best he can
(15:25):
at against Villanova is that he feels really good. And
someone who's older, who practices hard, who plays a lot
of minutes in games, really looking at that. And then
you know, the last part is our strength and conditioning program. Recovery.
We're around the clock. I mean, these guys can tell you,
you know, whether it be on the road when we
get back lifting weights. We're always investing in trying to
(15:48):
get them bigger, stronger and make them the most healthy
we can. So that's the best answer I think that
I can give you. But for a team to feel
good about who they are in mid to light maybywarre
entering March, I think that's all of our goals as
a coach, you know, sometimes you have to be healthy
to do it. But that's something we're well aware of
(16:08):
right now.
Speaker 4 (16:09):
Thank good question, coach you talked about when she was
talking about your bench production, and you know that's an
important piece of almost every team. And you teeter with
the starting lineup against the Pall. You brought Zach Freeman
off the bench and he responded with twenty points and
ten rebounds, had a couple of threes. He scored every
(16:32):
which way in that game. Where you are you going
to do more of that in the future, You see
yourself maybe tinkering with the lineup and maybe bringing a
guy off who obviously can be a starter off the
bench to give you a lift.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
Yeah, I mean I think, you know, with Jerome Byron,
he's really like a sixth starter to some degree. I
think there's you know, our top six, Jerome's in it.
And you know, you can make the argument that, you know,
do you want to start them in this game or not?
But here here's the facts. The last three games we've
played at Georgetown, Saint John's and home and at De Paul,
(17:08):
we've lost the first eight minutes of all three games.
We've also lost the first eight minutes in the second
half of all three games, minus one four minute segment,
So like we keep track of it, and if you
look at it, that's twelve twelve four minute media timeouts
in three games again at Georgetown, Saint John's and home
and at De Paul and we have been handled in
(17:31):
eleven of those twelve segments. The good news and it's
what I said earlier to start off, well, if that's
the case, coach, like, what about the rest of the game.
The rest of the game, we're fine. As a matter
of fact, we're the better team and we've proven that.
But when you dig yourself a hole in both halves,
it can feel funny. It can feel funny for a
(17:52):
home crowd, it can ignite an away crowd. It gives
the other team confidence. So when you're looking for that
starting line up, you know you want success in those
four minute segments. This season, we've actually done a really
good job at the beginning of each game, in each half.
So I think the best lineup is the one we've
started the most, which is Daveon McKnight, Ryan Conwell, Dalan Swain,
(18:17):
Marcus Foster and Zach Fremantle. That doesn't lessen Jerome's role,
but I just think, like looking at it, that's given
us the most success, and then being able to sub
Jerome in first for Marcus Foster or Dalen or even
Zach to give those guys a break, and then obviously
to go with the rest of the guys off the bench, Dante,
(18:38):
Maddox and John Uglei. They become seven and eight. And
if we go to a ninth player, which we really
would like to continue to get Cam Fletcher a little
bit more, Cam becomes that ninth man, and you know,
in foul, trouble, injury, et cetera, Cam's the next man up.
But you know, to the question that I was asked,
you know we want to get called play off our bench.
(19:01):
I think we need to have quality play off our
bench when we've been at our best this year. Byron,
after the game, you could clearly point towards a player
or sometimes multiple guys that came in the game we
didn't start and did a good job. You know, in
a sense you kind of did it about the part.
I know Jerome started, but Zach still played starter minutes
(19:22):
and if you look at Jerome, Jerome had ten points
and six rebounds. Dante Maddix hit a couple three point shots.
I thought John Yugley gave us some good minutes. Man.
That's eight guys three that don't you know, technically start
the game and they contributed. They were winning players, and
you know, that's really what we're after. If we hit
our best and we hit our stretch here down the
(19:44):
you know, as we move forward in Biggie's play, we
can't do it with just the top three or four
players on our team. We really need to have quality
play from not only our starters, but our bench. And
we're hard at it, whether it be player development, you know,
watching film really emphasize in practice, evaluating and working hard
towards building that depth. Every day. I think everybody that's
(20:05):
a part of our team would say, no, we're we're
really trying to be deeper and we need good contributions
for more people.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
All Right, you're listening to the Sean Miller Coaches Show
from Dilli Bistro on Marrimont fifty five KRC and the
Varsity Network. Welcome back to the Sean Miller Show from
Dilli Bistro at Marrimont. Bud Light Crowd sponsor of Xavier
and Athletics easy to drink, easy to enjoy.
Speaker 4 (20:29):
And we'd like to wish happy birthday to two longtime
Xavier fans in attendance tonight, Martha Schuler and Jerry Hornbeck.
They're both in attendance tonight with us. Martha happy, Happy.
They chose to spend part of their special birthday with us,
So thank you for being here.
Speaker 2 (20:47):
They're consistent, they're here a lot they are, which is awesome.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
Martha's every time, she never misses, that's true. And my
buddy Jerry Hornbeck has been a Xavier fan, is back
when I was playing. This a long time ago.
Speaker 3 (21:00):
It is a long time ago, by right, it is,
But I know this. You still got the scoring record.
This is true, never to be broken, by the way,
I don't think so. No, there's no chance transferaleah, no
no chance single season. I still don't know if anyone
would break it. But maybe there's a chance there, but
(21:20):
definitely not career.
Speaker 2 (21:22):
Speaking of that, does that change your rhythm of what
recruiting you might be doing right now At the time
of the years you sort of anticipate, you know too
much from now you'll be heaving into it again, trying
to figure out what you want for the fall again.
Speaker 3 (21:33):
So yeah, I think the simplest way for me to
describe it, Joe is, you know, recruiting is obviously NonStop,
but I think the peak of college basketball recruiting, you know,
for decades was summer into the fall, fall being that
peak time pointing towards the early signing period of November.
(21:55):
And then you almost recycle and things die down a
little bit and maybe you have some in the spring.
You know, now it becomes you know, the peak time
is right when the season ends, those first two months
of the spring, and then you know, when you get
into the summer and into the fall, it's almost the
opposite where what the spring once was that becomes the fall.
(22:18):
Now what the fall once was that now becomes the spring.
It just really is flip flopped. But if you think
about our calendar, one of the things that I think
everybody's adjusting to is, you know, you go through the
gauntlet of that six month college basketball season and it ends,
it feels like you should, you know, take a deep
breath and recharge. When the reality of is that month
(22:40):
seven and eight become really you know, the future that
becomes the peak. So it's it's how it's how it's changed.
And I think that right now the focus for just
about everybody is you know, you're aware of recruiting, but
you're really coaching your team and doing the best job.
Speaker 4 (22:58):
There coach looking at there's no crystal ball, But I
know you've got two players signed for next year, so
you definitely have two more freshmen on the team. And
what with what you have coming back? Is there a
number of players you anticipate adding to next year's roster.
Speaker 3 (23:17):
It's really impossible, by n the answer, because you know,
we have fifteen scholarships coming up. You know how we
use them. I think we're really you know, thinking about
it on an everyday basis and being as smart as
that we possibly can to get it right. But you know,
I think that just generally speaking, there will always be
a lot of movement and action in the spring. You know,
(23:40):
it's impossible to give the set number. I don't really
know if any coach could, just because you don't have
the answers to a lot of different things, one of
which you don't have even the answers to what rules
are or aren't going to change. You know, if you
remember now as we started out, you know, in last year.
That's when the two time trains for that did not graduate.
(24:03):
So you've been at two schools, you're ready to go
to your third school, and yet you haven't graduated. You
would be eligible right away. I mean that just happened
last year, so that that was a game changer of
you know, of epic proportions for a lot of programs, right,
But nobody really knew that that was going to happen
until it did. So there are different things that potentially
(24:24):
could happen this spring that could affect how many players
come back or how many new players you get. So
I think the one thing to bank on is there'll
be always a lot going on in the months of March, April,
and May with building your roster for the next year.
And I don't really think that's our strategy at Xavier.
I think that's just the world of college basketball now.
Speaker 4 (24:45):
Well, I understand that there was a change in the
rules relative to junior college players and that their junior
college time doesn't count against their eligibility, and you know,
I mean, so yes, thanks change all the time.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
I think that's the that's that's that's your point. You know,
there was really something that people are talking about right now,
is that somebody that would be in their fourth year
of college, not a COVID year, not someone who's exercising
their fifth year this year, but somebody who's in their
fourth year. I don't believe we have any players that
(25:21):
are just like in their fourth year that potentially there's
a petition or a rule that could change that would
allow them to get a fifth year. That would be
everybody across college basketball and sports. But why that would
happen or Look, I'm being presumptuous. Do I know for
a fact that it's going to happen. Absolutely not. I don't,
and I don't think anybody does. The last two and
(25:44):
a half years have just been really incredible when you
think of how much things have changed.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
Coach, I've heard that rumor also where that eligibility might be.
Now you get five years, regardless you start, the clock
starts after five years, you're out. If you're healthy, you
play all five years. If you need a couple of
years for injuries, you play three years and you sit
out two years. Is that what's possibly on their right now?
Speaker 3 (26:06):
I don't know. It's a good point. You had to
bring it to the to the one of those committees.
There's about there's about one hundred committees. Pick one of
them and throw it out there there. Once in a while,
something will stick.
Speaker 2 (26:16):
Hey, we talked about this earlier, about your substitutions and
so forth, and you mentioned Cam Fletcher trying to get
him more playing time. I notice you had him in
the ball game early in the game at a critical point.
He played a little under two minutes. But as your
mindset of when you put him in, I thought was
interesting in terms of maybe how you're viewing his physical
ability to to sustain more playing times and when you
(26:38):
might utilize him.
Speaker 3 (26:39):
Yeah, I mean, I think with Kim, you know, we
judge him more on what we see every day than
just you know, the actual game. Even even though he
got in early to your to your point, Joe, and
he's getting better, he's healthier now, he's learning. He's had
an amazing disposition and attitude from the time that he's
gotten here late in the spring, through the summer and
(27:01):
into the fall. He's somebody that you know, we really
love having as part of our program. What he does
is he can really offensive rebound and physically, I think
looking at it, has the ability to defensive rebound. You know,
we're just trying, I think, to get him to really
settle in and you know, do the things on offense
that he can do and take care of the ball
(27:23):
and defensively be a part of the solution. But you know,
when you think about rebounding, you know you can't just
continue to complain about it without making some type of change.
We're working on it, we're addressing it. I do think
we have a few guys on our team who can
do a better job than they've done recently. But you
also can insert somebody like Cam into the game and
(27:43):
give us something that we haven't tried before. And to
do that, you know, you get a big second shot,
you know, all of a sudden things like I said
Jerome Hunter, the fact that he got three offensive rebounds
and scored all three against the Paul, I mean it
felt like ten points. That's how important that part of
the game is for our team. If Cam could come
in and keep the ball alive and go after a
(28:05):
couple offensive rebounds, that would be something that could really
help our bench.
Speaker 2 (28:10):
All right, This is a Sean Miller Coaches Show from
Dilly Bistro and Marrimunt on fifty five Karc and the
Varsity Network. Welcome back to Dilly Bistro and the Sean
Miller Show.
Speaker 4 (28:21):
When you're out of town and want to keep up
with live college sports, be sure to download the new
Varsity Network app. It's available for both Apple and Android. Listen
to college sports Live with the Varsity Network App.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
Ran Conwell shid fifty one to three pointers this season.
That's ranks h twenty fifth in the nation a number
three pointers scored. I thought he was really good against
the Paul due to the fact he got to the
free throw line so much.
Speaker 3 (28:44):
Yeah, that aspect of his game is developing. He's adding
to it. He's more confident, he's better at it, and
that's really to Ryan's credit. Earlier in this show, I
mentioned that one of the statistics that I hope he
can continue to be good at is that free throw rate. Usually,
if you get to the free throw line consistently, especially
(29:06):
in conference play, and you're a good free throw shooting team,
you know that translates to a lot of great stuff.
And Ryan's part of that right now, and that he's
better today driving the ball, making decisions, getting fouled, and
actually scoring from two. If you look at his two
point percentage and field goal percentage. It's incrementally grown since November.
(29:27):
He's better right now scoring at the rim, in transition
and drives than he did earlier in the year. And
I think that he's adding that to his game. But
that's a good observation, Joe, because when the shot doesn't
go in, and I don't care how good of a
shooter you are, there's always those nights and you know
you rely on being able to go, get fouled, get
(29:47):
an easier shot, get closer to the basket. And that's
what good scores do. Byron, you know that better than anybody.
And I think what that makes you is you're more
of a scorer than a shooter. You're a player than
just a specialist. And Ryan is a very good player.
I think the other part just giving Ryan credit is
(30:08):
there's no team that plays against US doesn't start with
him on the perimeter. They're putting their best perimeter player.
You know how we try to get him shots. They
are trying really hard to take that away. We're asking
Ryan to play not only the two, but when Daveon
is out of the game, he's also are one. Defensively,
Ryan's matched up against some really talented players on the
(30:30):
other team. You know, against Villanova, there's a newcomer on
their team, Wuga Poplar, who came from Miami, who's playing
great basketball right now. He's almost a twenty point game
of score in recent games, so like high teens. So
you're guarding him on defense. You're playing not only the two,
but the one. You're the focus. You and Zach of
(30:50):
the other team scouting report. They're trying to take away
your three point shooting. It's not an easy life on
the court, it really isn't. There are times when he's
needed some help and we have to continue to do
a good job supporting and helping him. But you know,
his ability to make threes, his ability to do a
lot of things for our team. He's having a very
good year. And I do think that now that he's
(31:14):
played a real round of Big East games and has
a better feel for the speed and what one team
looks like from the next team, and how you go
from a Tuesday or Wednesday game to a Saturday game.
And now that he's gotten that experience, I think that
he continues to grow and settle in where you may
see his best basketball here in this month January, in February,
(31:36):
he's practicing really well and against the Paul the one
thing that he did is he put a subpar first
half behind him, came out and really put it together
in the second half. And he didn't do it just
behind the line. He did it what you were saying, Joe,
a couple of strong drives, getting to the free throw line,
and really being a well rounded player.
Speaker 4 (31:57):
You know, coach, you're looking at his numbers. He's fifty
one out of one, twenty seven from three, and he
takes a lot of threes, you know, in the game.
And looking at your next opponent, Villanova, they've got a player,
Eric Dixon. He's six eight, two hundred and sixty five pounds.
He's taken one hundred and fifteen threes. I mean that's
(32:19):
I mean, that's a lot of threes for a guard.
I mean, he's a big man and he's almost taken
as many as Ryan Conwell. I mean, we haven't talked
a lot about Villanova yet, but he's one of the
top scores in the country at twenty five points a game.
We've seen him develop over the years and what he
was as a freshman to what he is now Eric Dixon,
He's definitely kind of the main cylinder for Villanova, it
(32:43):
really is.
Speaker 3 (32:43):
And you know, you can use Eric Dixon to just
talk about what's changed the most in college basketball over
recent years, and that is there was a time not
too long ago that you worried about a player when
he's younger, that he was made to feel that if
he stayed in college and came back, you know, for
his sophomore year, if he was an outstanding freshman or
(33:04):
came back for his junior year, if he had a
great freshman and sophomore year, that he would almost be
looked at as a failure, almost like what's wrong with you?
You're you're a senior. When I was at Arizona, one
of the guys in our practice early on, we were
getting into it, you know, blue versus Red, got competitive,
and one guy on my team said to another guy
(33:25):
on my team, man, you're sorry. You know you're sorry.
That's why you're a senior and you're still here. And
I stopped the action and said, everybody, we need to
go to the locker room and sit down and talk
about this. You know, if we're going to get to
the point where you're sorry, because you became a senior.
All we're all in the wrong sport business journey, your
(33:46):
throng program, right, But that that was reflective of just
how the system made a lot of these younger guys feel. Well,
if you think about what's changed the most, somebody like
Eric Dixon. You know, he's hitting his stride in his
fifth year. He's been a fixture at Villanova even as
a young player for Jay Wright. He's improved every year.
(34:08):
And now you know he's up for Big East Player
of the Year. I know two weeks ago he was
leading American scoring. If he's not the number one scorer
in college basketball, buyer and I think he's one of
the top two or three. And he is just an
absolute monster killer. He really is. He'll be one of
the best players that visits Cintas Center in recent memory.
(34:28):
So what's changed is that guy never would have been
made to feel that he should come back for even
his junior year, let alone a fifth year. Right, So,
in some ways, the quality of play off college basketball,
you can make a case I think might be better
than ever because sometimes the guy who's out there hasn't
been out there for a long long time. In other words,
(34:50):
twenty two to twenty three years old, fourth year, fifth year,
and he's playing his best basketball at the end. We
have somebody who's doing it, Zach. You know, if Zach
didn't get hurt three full weeks, you know, you look
at his stats and say, Zach's having his career best
year in his final year with us. Right, But there
would have been a time when a guy like Zach
would have been made to feel like, now you've got
(35:11):
to go on and make money and leave and become
a part of whatever's out there. So again, lots changed.
Maybe that's one of the benefits of something good that's changed.
Speaker 2 (35:22):
All Right, you're listening to the Sean Miller's Coaches Show
from Billy Bistrol and Marrymount on fifty five KRC and
the Varsity Network. Welcome back to the Sean Miller Coaches
Show and coach a question, just during the breakup here,
were you surprised to get Zach Fremantle back on the
court as quickly as you did? I think, not only
(35:42):
in my opinion that he came back, because everybody anticipated
a much longer time away if he came back at all,
but then to be playing like he used to so
quickly is kind of unbelievable.
Speaker 3 (35:55):
Your second point, I think is the one that I
really would love to talk about, simply because you know,
when Zach got hurt, we at first I thought we
were gonna lose him for the season. And I really
felt that way for about a week. That wasn't like
anyone was saying it, but just you know, the significance
of his injury, all that he had been through, you know,
(36:16):
just really being careful how long it would take. But
you know, he started to to really come on quicker.
You know, I think the bone bruce part of his
injury was the most significant. Uh, He's you know, stable,
and I think it's a real testament to what I
talked earlier about when I when I described Zach to
people is I don't know if I've ever been around
(36:38):
somebody who takes care of his body, who works harder
at the game than him. You know, just when you
get injured and you you're immobile, you can't walk for
a while, you know, it's such a dark moment. You're
weeks without it just feels like you're alone in the world.
You know, you're not part of a team, can't travel,
and and then you just you wonder, like, okay, I
(36:59):
get get first off these crutches, or get to the
point where I can move around. Then you can move around, well,
you can move around, but you can't do anything, you know,
so you pick up weight, you get into bad habits,
you just lose, you lose your motivation. He threw all
of it remarkably, like his body fat actually went down,
It actually went in a good direction. Like when you
(37:20):
look at him, I mean, he's as fit as any
athlete in college basketball, height, weight, just body fat, strength explosion.
And you know, I think to a large extent, his
unbelievable physical conditioning was a factor and that injury not
being more significant. I also think it was a huge
(37:40):
factor in him getting back sooner than we thought. But
I don't think anybody, maybe other than him, anticipated him
being able to get back within three weeks. And then
you know, to your next point, Joe, it's one thing
to miss three weeks. Then when you come back, how
many games are going to take to get back to
how you once work? Well, guess what, it didn't take
(38:01):
any He really hit the ground running. So we're thrilled
to have him back.
Speaker 2 (38:05):
Good deal. Thanks everybody for joining us for the Sean
Miller Kosha Show from Billy Bistro, Merriman on fifty five
KR Scene and the Varsity Network.
Speaker 1 (38:23):
Live from the Dilly Bistro in Merrimont. This has been
the Sean Miller Radio Show on the Xavier Sports Network
from Learfield, presented by Try Health. Try Health provides supprisingly
human care that drives the best health outcomes. Be seen,
be heard, be healed. Visit tryhealth dot com, bud Late,
(38:45):
easy to Drink, Easy to Enjoy, and by Dilly Bistro,
presenting sponsor of the Sean Miller Radio Show. The preceding
has been a Learfield presentation on the Xavier Sports Network
su
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com