Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Live from the Dilly Bistro in Marymont. Welcome to the
Sean Miller Radio Show on the Xavier Sports Network from Learfield,
presented by Try Help. Try Health provides s plasingly human
care that drives the best health outcomes. Be seen, be heard,
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(00:23):
Easy to enjoy, and by 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 live from Dilly Bistro
and Marribotte. I'm Joe Sunderman, along with Byron Larkin and
the head coach of the Xavier Musketeers, Sean Miller. On Saturday,
in front of ten thousand and six hundred and seventy
four Xavier fans, the Musketeers beat the Creighton Blue Jays
eighty three to sixty one. Xavier has now won five
in a row. The Musketeers absolutely nineteen and ten. We're
(01:00):
all eleven and seven and Big East play and Sean,
that was quite a demonstration of basketball on Saturday. When
you look at the statute, you don't really know where
to start, it's like Christmas for a basketball game.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Yeah, well that was, you know, Joe, I think it
was our most complete performance of the year. You know,
the two stats that I'll start with are usually the
two that we talk a lot about, and that is
that we had twenty four assists, which in a college
game is difficult to get twenty four assists, and with
that having only six turnovers, you know, that's really difficult
(01:34):
as well. I mean, I if we have six turnovers,
regardless of our assist total, I think we walk away
from the game thrilled and really diddle with the assist.
You know, if you have twenty four assists, even if
you have double digit turnovers, you know, he just got
We really shared the ball, So that's okay. But it's
that combination of twenty four assists and six turnovers that
(01:56):
really stand out. On offense and I think just generally speaking, defense,
we played a complete game.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
We were able to.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Sustain our effort in the second half like we did
in the first half. Our guards did a really good
job of being active.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
You look at our steals.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
We ended up with ten steals, you know, Dalen had
three and Dante had three. We get ten steals. We
forced twelve turnovers for Creighton, and for Creighton that's a lot.
They do a fantastic job of taking care of the
ball themselves. So we felt good about the game, and
now it's up to us to just continue on that
path that we were on on Saturday.
Speaker 5 (02:34):
And Coach, you could really see it coming in the
game before at Seaton Hall. I mean, you really dominated
them in the first half. Second half weren't able to
sustain it. They put some pressure on you ended up
kind of holding on for the victory with that first half,
great offense, great defense at the same time, and then
(02:55):
for Creighton to put it all together for what it
seemed to be forty minutes. In my opinionion, that's got
to be real satisfying because you talk about all the time, hey,
we got to find a way to sustain this. Now
I play twenty minutes good bastball, not thirty, but forty minutes,
and I thought that is what you saw against great.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
No doubt Byron.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
You know, we keep track of those four minute wars,
and I know we hear at Xavier have done it
for a long long time, where you know, the forty
minute game has broken into these ten four minute segments,
all stopped and started by a media timeout, and you know,
the fifth war is the final four minute segment of
the first half, which leads into halftime. You know, the
(03:38):
sixth war begins the second half, and then obviously the
tenth war is the final four minutes of the game.
And our team this year hasn't been nearly as good
in the tenth war, that final four minute segment, regardless
of the score, regardless of whether we win, regardless of
whether we've lost, we just have not been as good.
(03:58):
We've talked about it, We've tried to make changes in
our substitution pattern, and you know, finally against Creighton, even
though we had a big, big margin of victory, a
big margin a lead going into that final four minute stretch,
we really finished the game on a strong note, both
on offense and defense. And in that game, we won
(04:18):
eight of those four minute segments. We lost two. One
of the two was the first four minutes of the game,
if you remember, they came out on fire and with
zero tie. So you win eight of the ten four
minute wars. You know, that's a complete game, and it
goes to your point that we were equally good and dominant,
(04:39):
not only in the first half or early in the
second half, but throughout the game. And I think if
there's one thing that we want to take with us
from here moving forward, it's that ability. You know, sometimes
you break through and do it. Everybody knows we can
do it. They have the feeling of having done it
against the quality opponent, and it gives you more confidence
in that next game or two to be there at
(05:00):
the end when sometimes you're going to really.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Need to be good coach?
Speaker 5 (05:03):
How do you explain that, like when the light bulb
goes on for your team? I mean, like, so you
talk about it all the time, you show them, you
practice it, but it takes some game time to actually
for them to do it. Is it a certain Do
you know what makes that? What turns that switch on?
Speaker 2 (05:24):
I think sooner?
Speaker 4 (05:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Yeah, every team is different, you know, Byron, and I
think in the world we're in now, and it's not
just exclusive to us here at Xavier, but there's more
change from one season to the next, so you know,
everybody's new to each other. You know, the expectations are new,
how we practice is new. I mean, if you think
about it, we had a large portion of our team
(05:52):
and other teams in the Big East can say the
same thing. But when you're in early January and you're
playing conference play for the first time, there's a lot
of guys on our team that's the first Big East
game they've ever played in, then they may have their
own experience. Somebody like Dante Maddix, for example, you know,
he's been in college for three or four years, he's
played in a lot of meaningful games, but he's never
(06:14):
played for Xavier in the Big East. He doesn't know
what at Yukon means until we're in the game playing
Saint John's with Grick Patino as the coach. In that style,
not until you go through it do you feel more comfortable.
And I think that with the experience, as we keep
growing each day each week, we have the opportunity to
(06:34):
get better, to come closer together. And I think what
you're starting to see too is individually you have individual
players that get more confident. You know, Dante, I'll use
him as the example. You know, if you judge Dante
Maddox in November, you know he wasn't comfortable and he
was more comfortable in December, but he still wasn't as
(06:54):
impactful as he wanted to be and as we needed
him to be. But all of a sudden, as we
got into January, where you saw it more and more.
And I think when you watch us play now, you
know you really have a consistent perimeter player, another score
and somebody who can come in and impact the game
in a big way. You know, the voting for sixth
Man of the Year and the Big East is coming
(07:15):
out this week and next week, you know, as the
as the season winds to a close, and I would
think that Dante has a chance to be the Big
East sixth Man of the Year when you consider he's
now averaging over nine points a game, he shoots over
fifty percent from the floor, close to fifty percent from
the floor, over forty percent from three, over eighty percent
(07:36):
from the free throw line, and he's had multiple games
where he's gotten twenty or more points coming in off
the bench.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
So he's a great.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Example of what you talked about, Byron, in that the
modern game twenty twenty five, letting guys leave from one
program to the next, it's not always going to go
completely smooth at the beginning. Even Quincy OLIVERI, when you
look at Quincy in November, and we were practicing in October.
If you guys would have come to watch us practice, say,
(08:05):
you know, he looks like he's pretty good, it'd be
interesting to see how he plays well you fast forward
three months, he basically led to Big easton scoring, but
you really weren't able to see that as easily in
October November. So I think it's something that we're aware
of as a staff, and I think our fans and
as you follow us, everybody will start to become a
(08:27):
little bit more accustomed to that constant and continued improvement
as the season goes on, and especially if you're healthy.
Sometimes if you're not healthy, it doesn't matter. But for us,
we've had a good stretch here recently and hopefully that
that will maintain as well.
Speaker 5 (08:43):
And Maddox I just pulled up some stats on him.
I mean, starting at at Villanova, he goes for twenty four,
the next game, twenty six, next game one, next game
eight and twelve and then sixteen. So you could just
see his just just by looking at the numbers. How
his productivity at least scoring has really just made a
(09:05):
dramatic improvement over the last four or five six games.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
And the other part with Dante is probably his biggest
adjustment wasn't on the offensive end. It was more along
on the defensive side. New terminology, new way of doing things,
and playing against a higher level team in opponents in
the Big East. So like, for example, in the last game,
he had three steals. He was instrumental on a lot
(09:33):
of defensive possessions against Creighton in a real positive way.
You know, the first time we played Creighton, maybe not
as much, but you can start to count on him
to help us on defense as well. A few games ago.
You probably have it in front of you Byron. I
think he had seven or eight defensive rebounds in a
recent game. If you're a guard coming in off the
(09:54):
bench and you can get seven or eight defensive rebounds,
I mean that's like scoring twenty points, right. So he's
doing other things in addition to scoring and playing offense,
which allows him to get on the court more and
I think be more.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Comfortable coach this team. And you've talked about it player
to player, about the process that they go through to
get better, and they're consistent in how they practice. I'm
kind of curious what was the attitude of the team today.
They want a huge game, There's no question about it.
Sentas was just a wonderful place to be Saturday. But
the fact of the matter is you still have two
very important games left. Yeah, when they came into practice today,
(10:27):
what was their demeanor of their emotion and their attitude.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Well, we took yesterday off, which was great, and when
you don't travel and you take the day off, guys
can really get a great day of rest. And sometimes
at this time of year, Joe, as you know, it's
as much mental as it is physical, just to get
away from each other the game. Me as their coach,
I think it's healthy. By the way, it's good for
me to get away from them. We've been at it
(10:51):
for a while, so it's that break I think helps.
And they came in today ready to go. We didn't practice.
We're at a point where we don't need to practice
for a long time. We've played a team once, so
you know, it's about having quality work in a short
burst and then getting ready to leave here tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
You mentioned how precious the buye was that you had
finally late in the season, and how the schedule sort
of configured itself that you didn't have that until just
the previous week and had the time off. How valuable
was that to rest and prepare for the game against
the Creighton Blue Jays.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
I thought it was very valuable here. All week, we
had some really good practices. We were able to take
an extra day, and like we said, everybody in the
Big East gets the same amount of bye weeks. I
think Villanova, if I'm not mistaken, their bye comes when
they play on Tuesday. They play tomorrow at Georgetown, and
then they have that final week of a buye. So
(11:45):
tomorrow when they play at Georgetown, they will have played
their entire twenty games. You can imagine how much they're
looking forward to that rest. I mean, because they've gone
about five or six straight weeks here without a break.
But other than us, who just took it this past week,
we strung a lot of hard games together as well.
I thought the break came in a good time. Our
team did a good job handling it, and look, I
(12:08):
think we're in a good place as we move towards
this stretch run of a lot of things.
Speaker 5 (12:13):
Coach, can can you feel it? You won with six
out of the last seven games, and obviously plan you're peaking.
You want to be peaking at this time. You want
heading into the tournament, heading into March, and it seems
like your team has slowly gotten better every game. Do
you do you think they feel that as a team.
(12:33):
I mean you feel that maybe as a coach, but
do they feel it. Do you see that in them
in practice or their mannerisms or is there a way
to assess how they're feeling about themselves?
Speaker 4 (12:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (12:44):
They You know, look Byron, confidence it comes from a
lot of different ways, but you know, performance is the
number one way when you go out there and do it,
do it as an individual, do it as an individual
and a winning atmosphere in a big moment where there's
a huge out and a meaningful game against an opponent
that we have great respect for Creighton. So when you
(13:05):
can do it in that moment, it allows you to
feel confident in a good way. And I will also
tell you that our team, we have practiced consistently. We're
far from perfect. Some practices will always go better than others.
But in terms of I think a collective attitude and
a group of guys that come into work and get better, we.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
Have not had any problems with that.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
And I do think That's one of the reasons that
we have played well here at the end, because we've
earned our way into being that type of team.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
All Right, you're listening to the Sean Miller's Coaches Show
from Billy Bestrow, Marramoun' not fifty five PRC and the
Varsity Network. Welcome back to the Sean Miller Show up
from Billy Beestrove. They marry mar.
Speaker 5 (13:53):
And fans. Students are on spring break, so limited lower
level bleacher sea have been released for Saturday's game against
Providence and are on sale now at gold Xavier dot com.
Tip Off is at four pm and the Senior Day
ceremony will take place at approximately three point thirty.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
All right, Joe is called back in Joe, how are
you doing.
Speaker 6 (14:19):
I'm doing okay. How are you guys doing?
Speaker 2 (14:21):
We're good. Good to hear you get go ahead.
Speaker 6 (14:25):
I want to congratulate you on a great victory over Creighton.
Boy that the crowd was really loud and noisy, and
that's the way it should be. I don't know how
loud to be the Providence, but you know, I hope
a lot of fans show up and make a lot
of noise and Butler game wish good luck against those.
I'm sure that they will put some kind of his
own defense against you at some point, and I guess
(14:47):
you'll be ready for that. But I want to ask
you about the two guys have been rehabbing during the season.
How those guys doing. You expect them to contribute a
lot next year? And the two I like them again?
How are they doing and you expect them to contribute
a lot next year?
Speaker 4 (15:05):
Yeah? A good, good question, Joe.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
So I think the two players you're talking about rehab
are Roddy Anderson, who he's red shirting. Roddy is but
he doesn't have an injury, so he practices every day
with us. Last year, you know, for those that don't
know Roddy, he was Boise States starting point guard on
(15:29):
a team that made the NCAA tournament and was really
really good. Roddy's had the opportunity this year to learn
our system. He practices every single day, pushes Davy on McKnight,
pushes Ryan Conwell and Dante Maddox both on defense and
on offense. I think you really like him as as
a player for US next year. Really quick, as quick
(15:53):
defensively as maybe any guard that we have had. And
it's exciting to think about the type of defense he'll
be able to play moving forward.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
I think he'll set the tone in a real positive way.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
So that's Roddy Anderson. Roddy's about six foot one, six
foot two. Licina Trey Orr is rehabbing and he suffered
a season ending.
Speaker 4 (16:15):
Injury, which obviously really hurt us.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Lisina was one of America's best rebounders at Long Beat
State for more than one season. He averaged more than
ten rebounds a game and really can move defensively as well.
Is about six foot nine, and because of the injury
happened in early October, he's had you know, counted up October, November,
(16:39):
December three, January fourth. He's passed five months now since.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
He's had his surgery.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
He's walking, he's able to shoot. He's each week from
this point forward, he gets closer and closer to being
cleared to actually participate playing basketball. And I think that'll
happen early in the summer, late in the spring. But
we expect him to make a fool recovery. And you know,
I felt terrible when it happened, not only for our
(17:05):
team and our program, but most importantly for Lacina and
he's hung in there through a cold winter and went
through the surgery. He's a long way from home, and
I think he's found a home here in Cincinnati. Wonderful teammate,
somebody we love to have along and it's just it's
great to see him smiling.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
More, moving around more.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
You know, when you have the knee injury, you know,
the weather part of things is even more problematic. So
as we're through the winter and we get into some
warmer weather, I think it'll really help him, you know,
move around and feel even better about what he's doing.
But both of those guys are really terrific players. We're
counting on both of them. We would have counted on
Lescina to have a major role on this year's team
(17:48):
if he didn't get injured.
Speaker 4 (17:50):
So that's those two guys.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
Jaden Forsyth and Nick Lewis are the two incoming freshmen
we have. They're both finished up their high school senior year.
Nick Lewis won the DC state championship at Gonzaga High School.
Very very competitive league. We all know about the Catholic
League in DC. Some of the biggest best players have
(18:16):
come from that league. So he was the first team
All Catholic League. He was the MVP of the state
championship game, and he won the state championship two nights ago.
Speaker 4 (18:28):
I believe had a great team.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
All five of his teammates are going him and four
other teammates are all going Division One including I think
I can rattle them off, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Richmond
in Harvard, and Xavier. That's his starting five. That's where
everybody's going plays for a great coach. He just finished up.
Jaden's finishing up as well. And the thing I like
(18:52):
about both guys is they've played not only for really
good high school coaches in high school programs, but they're
in a competitive environment in the classroom and on the
court every day. And I think they're going to be
ready to come in as freshmen from a maturity perspective
and know what it takes because of the high school
program and the travel team programs that both guys.
Speaker 4 (19:16):
Have been a part of.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
So those are four guys that you're looking forward to
have here in the future.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
Coach, you talk about the coaches of the players. It's
interesting to hear you do that because you can't always
maybe really make that compliment or comment about every high
school coach out there. As a player, what a good
fortune is to have a wonderful coach that sort of
teaches you some of the finer skills of the game,
teaches you how to practice. But what type of impact
have you seen that head on the development of freshmen?
(19:43):
The talent might be the same, but you look and say, man,
I wish they had a better coach, or I sure
appreciate who they had.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
No, I mean, that's been that way for a long time, Joe,
As you know, and it's not only the coach, but
it's you know, the family, the parents, the school district.
What it feels like is winning important, is practice important?
As togetherness and teamwork important? And then a lot of
times too, it's the combination of not only a great
high school environment but also a really good travel team
(20:11):
environment or a summer environment where during the winter and
the fall they have great high school coach and a
high school program that's about winning, but then in the
summertime they can get on the travel team circuit. The
same thing's true playing against great competition nationally, are traveling
playing for good coach and a good.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
Program there as well?
Speaker 3 (20:32):
And when you have that combination of both, that's when
I think a young guy can really get a head
start coming in to college. And I like the chances
of both of our incoming freshmen to have that head
start based on what you asked me, and that is
they both come from terrific programs headed by really good
high school coaches, but also have the summer travel team
(20:56):
program as well.
Speaker 5 (20:58):
Yeah, it can't be understated like coming from a program
that has a good coach, because there are a lot
of good players in high school and score a lot
of points or what have you, but not everybody's coached well.
They don't understand that you got to earn your playing
time in practice, and some guys just don't understand that.
(21:19):
Some guys can't remember plays. They're great players, but they
can't remember their offensive plays. They can't remember their defensive assignments.
And a lot of that I think happens in high
school and having good coaches to say, hey man, you
got to show up at practice on time, You got
to remember plays. It's those little things. Be a good teammate,
(21:42):
have a great attitude, be coachable. And I think all
that happens in high school because we've seen a lot
of guys. I'm sure you've played with a lot of guys, Joe,
you have as well, you guys at the park if
you're just playing pickup man like this guy's an All American,
But you put plays in front of them, you put
you know, responsibility and accountability for little things like making
(22:04):
the extra pass, being a good defensive player, good teammate.
That's where they fall short and they end up not
being quite as impactful on the college level.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
My dad's here tonight, and you know he was my
high school coach, and obviously in his own right, he
was a great high school coach long after I left
Blackhawk High School and before I showed up. But you
know the impact of somebody because you know what he
would do and what a lot of great high school
coaches do is it's not just tenth, eleventh, and twelfth
(22:36):
grade when they're actually physically playing on the varsity or
playing for that coach, but a lot of times the
impact that that high school coach and program had, you know,
it begins in sixth grade.
Speaker 4 (22:47):
It begins in.
Speaker 3 (22:48):
Fourth grade when they're a part of an elementary program
or a Bannam League program, or you get into a
junior high situation, and you run a system, and the
system is very similar to the high school system. Them
you play, you start to learn the value of what
you just said Byron, terminology and structure and practice is important.
And then you get to the high school and that's
(23:09):
what everybody sees, the high school coach and the program
and the player. But that development a lot of times
starts in eighth grade and sixth grade and starts sometimes
when a player makes the choice, I'm no longer going
to play two sports or three, I'm just going to
play one. And then you do that and all eggs
are in that basket. So yeah, for sure. And I
(23:29):
think when we look at recruiting, whether it's coming from
a transfer situation or a high school program, that's at
the top of our list.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
All right, this is the Sean Miller Coaches Show from
Billy Bistro and Marriymount on fifty five KRC, and the
Varsity Network.
Speaker 7 (23:44):
Wants back to the Sean Miller Coaches Show from Billy
Bistro and Marrimont.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
Thanks for the great crowd. We hear it to night.
By the way, we have a show next week is
that we're adding on We had a snow day, so
we'll be here next Monday. We'd love to see you
again on March the tenth. Mike, go ahead with your question, Sean.
My name is Mike Barris. I was actually representing Bob Fullerton,
who was a great center at Xavier in the early seventies.
I was actually the center on the football team. Since
(24:18):
you're a lover of the Pittsburgh Steelers, our high school
produced a guy named Rocky Blayer.
Speaker 4 (24:22):
Yeah wow, yeah.
Speaker 8 (24:24):
So anyhow, Bob asked this question, and I'm almost certain
Bob is the first player to play internationally for Xavier University.
There are probably what fifty players paying internationally. So Bob
played ten years in Spain professionally, and his question was,
(24:44):
and he was supposed to be here tonight, we got delayed.
He said, the best fifteen eighteen year old league in
the world outside of America is Spain. And he specifically
played for man Resso, Moxie and Barcelona and Brio Rio
and Lugo. And he wants to know whether or not
(25:05):
we're recruiting any kids out of Spain.
Speaker 3 (25:08):
I can confirm we're definitely not only well aware, but
we're actively recruiting. You know, Spain and a number of
different countries over there, as you know, Valencia, which is
in which is in Spain, Romayne Sodo and Justin Dolman.
I'm gonna say Romaine won multiple championships there at Valencia.
(25:31):
If you walk in there at Marina Valencia, there's a
mural of him that's as big as almost as big
as our scoreboard.
Speaker 4 (25:39):
He is revered.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
And you know, obviously Romayne played at Xavier and he
played in other places as well, but he really did
some amazing things in Spain, as did Justin Bowman. So
Justin Dolman also won a championship with Valencia. So you
have those two guys as former Xavier players that a
lot of people still young people in Spain know, and
(26:02):
so we're actively recruiting the world, and you know, to
get the right fit is the whole key.
Speaker 8 (26:08):
But yes, yeah, so it was interesting after Bob played
ten years in Spain. He had one skill set in
addition to being six foot ten and his junior year
was fourth in the nation field goal percentage because he
was a deadly outside shooter. But he could speak perfect Spanish. Yeah,
and so he got hired by Procter and Gamble and
(26:30):
they moved to him to Mexico City, and that's where
he got to start a procter and gamble. He could
speak Spanish.
Speaker 4 (26:36):
Oh wow, that's amazing.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
Thanks, thank you very much. Great. One of the notes,
Bob made a couple of free throws to UC was
it nineteen seventy two, nineteen seventy with one second left,
got fout and made a one on one and knocked
off the Bearcat. So it was another.
Speaker 4 (26:50):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
You know, coach Jerome Hunter deserves another rebound in that
ball game the other day. But the way he had
two offensive rebounds, the way I keep stats, he came
in off the bench, missed a tap in that shitcount
is a rebound, right, that's we have the rebound and
put it back up, and so that's two offensive rebounds.
So when I see him, I'm gonna, yeah, you deserve
one more. Wait.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
Look, that's that's such a big part that Jerome can
give us off the bench, is that physicality and going
and getting us those coveted second shots. You know, that's
something our team is not good at. We've talked a
lot about it. We've really improved rebounding on.
Speaker 4 (27:27):
The defensive end. Joe.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
As a matter of fact, I think right now we
stand a fourth in the Big East, closer to third
than fifth. At one point we were eleventh. You know,
we're not only top fifty in the country. I think
we're probably closer to top forty, top thirty in the
country in terms of defensive rebound percentage And and that's
a big deal. And in these next two games this
week at Butler in Providence, that's a huge stat being
(27:53):
able to keep the other team off the glass and
get that get that big defensive.
Speaker 5 (27:57):
Rebound cut you you've been talking about in addition to
sustaining effort in the second half that you always want
more bench production. And against Creighton, I thought the combination
of John Hugley's defense against Kulkbrenner was outstanding. I mean,
he didn't score, he didn't really rebound much, but I
(28:18):
thought his ability to play with like real physicality against
Kulkbrenner to keep him away, make his catches a little
bit tougher, and just to be a presence inside. I
thought he really really impacted the game in a big way.
Speaker 3 (28:33):
He did Byron and Jerome and John both did in
that game. And when those two guys are physical help
in that way. A lot of times they don't have
to score a lot of points, but their value and
impact towards winning the game is significant. Then you throw
in Dante Maddox and those are the three guys that
don't start to play that role. You know, John played
(28:54):
ten minutes, Dante played twenty five minutes, and Jerome played
fifteen minutes.
Speaker 4 (28:59):
And you know Jerrome was one for one.
Speaker 3 (29:01):
From the floor, He had five rebounds, he had one turnover.
You know John had three assists, no turnovers. So you
add up there minutes played. I think that's a really
good point, Joe, And it goes towards when you want
to play a complete game and you need second half effort.
A lot of times you point towards your bench and
what they're able to do coming in the game. And
(29:22):
sometimes it's defense, sometimes it's rebounding. Those two things don't
stand out as much in the statue, and then once.
Speaker 4 (29:28):
In a while it's scoring.
Speaker 3 (29:29):
So we're gonna need those three guys like we are
gonna need everybody here down the stretch. Butler Andre Screen
their center is somewhat understated. I think he's underrated as
a player. He scores right around ten points a game.
He is a big guy, a lot like Creighton. Butler
does an outstanding job of getting him the ball close
(29:51):
to the basket. And when you really watch Butler play,
when he scores, he's in double figures. They're a much
better team. In our first game, we did a very
good job against screen and we held him to three points,
so he wasn't as big of a factor in that game.
There's no doubt I think they're going to try to
make him a bigger factor in this game. And that's
why when you ask about John Hugley or you ask
(30:13):
about Jerome Hunter, those two guys are really important towards
us being able to guard a big guy on the
other team to help Zach along.
Speaker 5 (30:23):
Right, Speaking of Zach Freeman, I thought Zach I think
at one point in the second half he scored like
eleven straight. I mean I was like, keep going to him,
keep going to him. You know, he ends up with
a terrific line and it's really fun to see how
he is finishing out his Xavier career with such with
(30:49):
such impact on this year's team, no question.
Speaker 3 (30:52):
I mean, he made eight twos in a row against
Create and if you think about Creighton from two, You're
dealing with Caulkbrenner, which is equally you know, it's difficult
for every team to score in the lane and around
the rim, and a lot of times that's how that's crating.
What they do is they just they allow you to
sleep by not fouling and creating these tough twos which
(31:13):
might appear to be open, but you're always dealing with Kulkbrenner.
Speaker 4 (31:16):
You always have to shoot over him.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
And for Zach to go eight for eight from two,
I mean, there aren't a lot of forwards in this
country that have gone eight for eight against Creighton from two.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
This is a Sean Miller Coaches Show from Billy Bistrow
and Marimount on fifty five KRC and the Varsity Network.
Welcome back to Billy Beescrow in the Sean Miller Show.
Plud Life, perhaps posters Andrew Athletics, easy to drink, easy.
Speaker 5 (31:40):
To enjoy, and everybody remember students are on on on
spring break, so there are limited lower level bleacher seats
have been released for the Saturday game against Providence. They
are on sale at goesaver dot com. Tip Off is
at four pm. Senior Day celebration will take place at
three point thirty at that second time, Sean because that
(32:04):
home crowd against Creighton, and you talk about it a lot,
it is so influential to your team in the atmosphere
at Xavier, and how important is it for them to
continue to bring that kind of energy to the Centi Center.
Speaker 4 (32:23):
I mean, it's really important.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
The best programs in college basketball have an incredible home
court advantage. I can't name one elite college basketball program
that's been around for decades like we have a Xavier
where you could say either fans are so so it
coincides one what comes first? If you ever played at
(32:46):
fog Allen Fieldhouse at Kansas. I mean, Kansas has had
amazing coaches and they've had great teams and individual players.
They've also had one of the most ferocious home crowds
that is ever existed in college sports, football, basketball, whatever.
I don't know the point value, but it's significant when
you go to fog Allen Fieldhouse and you play Kansas.
(33:09):
If you ever play at Gonzaga, you know it's way
up there in the Pacific Northwest. But there's a reason
why it's called the Kennel, and there's a reason why
they win every home game, and they've won every home
game for more than thirty years. Now we're the same,
you know, whether it was at Cincinnati Gardens or here
in the Centas Center, and it's something we can never lose.
It's one of our great competitive advantages. And when our
(33:34):
crowd has been like it was against Yukon at home
and Creighton at home, I mean the point value and
what it feels like for the visiting team and coach, and.
Speaker 4 (33:45):
What it feels like for our players.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
We feed off of the crowd and you know, and
then it allows it to be just a magical experience.
And you know, my hope is that because of spring
break next Saturday, our final home game, which is going
to be a big game in so many different ways,
that we can have a sold out Centas and those
seats can be replaced by people who want to come
(34:07):
to the game who normally can't, or buy the seats
and help somebody get to the game who normally isn't
able to. And even our students, maybe a number of
them will stay for the game and then go on
spring break maybe a day later. So it is a
big moment. It's a big deal, and I don't think
you can you can speak enough to how magical and
(34:31):
how important the home crowd and the Centas Center is
to our program, to our team, to that that particular game.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
The students camped out the night before, correct they did?
Did you go visit at all or get a chance?
Speaker 4 (34:44):
Yep?
Speaker 3 (34:45):
And the look when you see the students camping out
and you play, it's what what was the temperature about
twenty eight degrees? You can't help but play as hard
as you possibly can for them, and so they inspire
the arena and they're the student section, but it's not
just the student section, it's everybody in the arena. And
(35:05):
I thought on Saturday the start time was perfect as well.
And that's the point of the Providence game. We have
a very similar start time. You know, some of the
late starting times, I understand it. You wish it was earlier.
Sometimes it's super early. God if we just had an
hour or two more before it began. But four o'clock
four point thirty is the hotspots. We know you can
(35:26):
do a lot of different things before and after the game.
And I hope that we can get a great crowd
next Saturday against Providence.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
That was fun when they open up the doors. No
matter where you're at in the building, you could be
down not by the court. The atmosphere changes immediately and
they fills up. They race to those seats and they
they're going jumping up and down and hear the noise
and it just gets louder and louder. And your team
plays great defense when they hear that noise, I think,
and they've been playing great defense. But anybody knows who's
ever played any sport at all, it could be a
(35:55):
great cool school deal or whatever it might be. When
you have a crowd behind you can be fifteen people
screaming for you. You just automatically respond to.
Speaker 4 (36:03):
That, for sure.
Speaker 3 (36:04):
And Joe, it's not always when things are going well,
but sometimes it's when things aren't going well and you
just you just need that energy boost and you feel
it on the road when quite frankly, you don't. You
don't have the energy boost. So when we're playing on
the road, you have to overcome that. That's why when
we're at home, you know, you want to be able
to embrace it.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
You're listening to the Sean Miller Coaches Show from Dilley B. S.
Drill and Marymont. I'm fifty five KRC and the Varsity Network. Well,
I'm back to Dilley b. Strill and Marymont and the
Sjon Miller Shaw.
Speaker 5 (36:40):
Coach Dalan Swain. I'm just really impressed with him as
a sophomore and you see his development. You always say, hey,
you know, after your freshman year, you want to see
a guy be ready to make a jump, and I
think he has in terms of his consistency, especially defensively,
(37:00):
living up to his potential. Now against Creighton that they
decided to guard him with the Sinner, And my question
is like, what was your conversation like when they tried
that on him? What were you telling him to How
was your instruction to kind of play against that?
Speaker 2 (37:18):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (37:19):
Number one is to be really aggressive, to take the
open opportunities to drive and be a playmaker, but also
not let that interfere with all the other good things
that he does on the court, which is his defense.
Speaker 4 (37:31):
You know, really what that tactic does is.
Speaker 3 (37:34):
You know, you almost want to steal the player's mind,
Like the game doesn't feel right, it feels funny. I'm
taking a couple of threes that I normally don't take.
Oh my god, I missed them, and then the next thing,
you know, you're no longer a complete player, and you're
no longer playing defense and rebounding and playmaking and doing
all the things that make you who you are. Dayalen's
gift as a basketball player is his versatility, and regardless
(37:57):
of who guards him, he can't ever jeppard, dies or
relinquish what makes him such a special player.
Speaker 4 (38:03):
So that's that's the first part.
Speaker 3 (38:05):
And then the second part Byron is you know, the
faster the game's played, the more difficult it is to
guard a center on somebody who he shouldn't be guarding.
It's just like it sounds good, but this isn't like
you know, in a driveway one on one and every
time I'm facing you and you're facing me. And when
that game gets going fast and Dyalen has the ball
(38:26):
and sometimes he's running right, sometimes he's cutting to the
basket right, they can't point talk and match up and
act as if, well we want him to guard him
they have They no longer have that choice. So the
second part is like, the faster the game, when they
try that matchup, it not only benefits Dayalen, but it
benefits some other people. You point it towards Zach At
(38:49):
one point, I think he did score eleven in a row.
He scored eleven in a row, not on Kulkbrenner, but
on the other guy that was guarding him. So you
may choose to guard Kulkbrenner and put him on Swayin,
but you also have to put another player on Freemantle.
Speaker 4 (39:04):
And vice versa. Just keep moving forward, so play.
Speaker 3 (39:07):
Fast, be aggressive, don't relinquish all of the other good
things you do as a player.
Speaker 2 (39:12):
Appreciate everybody that joined us tonight. Come back away from
that if you can, thank you for joining us with
the Sean Miller Show from Billy Bistrow at Merriman, I'm
fifty five KRC and the Varsity Network.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
Live from the Dilly Bistro in Marymont. 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,
(39:59):
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.
Live from the Dilly Bistro in Marymont. Welcome to the
Sean Miller Radio Show on the Xavier Sports Network from Learfield,
presented by Try Help. Try Health provides s plasingly human
care that drives the best health outcomes. Be seen, be heard,
be healed. Visit trhealth dot com. But late, easy to drink,
(00:23):
Easy to enjoy, and by 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 live from Dilly Bistro
and Marribotte. I'm Joe Sunderman, along with Byron Larkin and
the head coach of the Xavier Musketeers, Sean Miller. On Saturday,
in front of ten thousand and six hundred and seventy
four Xavier fans, the Musketeers beat the Creighton Blue Jays
eighty three to sixty one. Xavier has now won five
in a row. The Musketeers absolutely nineteen and ten. We're
(01:00):
all eleven and seven and Big East play and Sean,
that was quite a demonstration of basketball on Saturday. When
you look at the statute, you don't really know where
to start, it's like Christmas for a basketball game.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Yeah, well that was, you know, Joe, I think it
was our most complete performance of the year. You know,
the two stats that I'll start with are usually the
two that we talk a lot about, and that is
that we had twenty four assists, which in a college
game is difficult to get twenty four assists, and with
that having only six turnovers, you know, that's really difficult
(01:34):
as well. I mean, I if we have six turnovers,
regardless of our assist total, I think we walk away
from the game thrilled and really diddle with the assist.
You know, if you have twenty four assists, even if
you have double digit turnovers, you know, he just got
We really shared the ball, So that's okay. But it's
that combination of twenty four assists and six turnovers that
(01:56):
really stand out. On offense and I think just generally speaking, defense,
we played a complete game.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
We were able to.
Speaker 3 (02:03):
Sustain our effort in the second half like we did
in the first half. Our guards did a really good
job of being active.
Speaker 4 (02:11):
You look at our steals.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
We ended up with ten steals, you know, Dalen had
three and Dante had three. We get ten steals. We
forced twelve turnovers for Creighton, and for Creighton that's a lot.
They do a fantastic job of taking care of the
ball themselves. So we felt good about the game, and
now it's up to us to just continue on that
path that we were on on Saturday.
Speaker 5 (02:34):
And Coach, you could really see it coming in the
game before at Seaton Hall. I mean, you really dominated
them in the first half. Second half weren't able to
sustain it. They put some pressure on you ended up
kind of holding on for the victory with that first half,
great offense, great defense at the same time, and then
(02:55):
for Creighton to put it all together for what it
seemed to be forty minutes. In my opinionion, that's got
to be real satisfying because you talk about all the time, hey,
we got to find a way to sustain this. Now
I play twenty minutes good bastball, not thirty, but forty minutes,
and I thought that is what you saw against great.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
No doubt Byron.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
You know, we keep track of those four minute wars,
and I know we hear at Xavier have done it
for a long long time, where you know, the forty
minute game has broken into these ten four minute segments,
all stopped and started by a media timeout, and you know,
the fifth war is the final four minute segment of
the first half, which leads into halftime. You know, the
(03:38):
sixth war begins the second half, and then obviously the
tenth war is the final four minutes of the game.
And our team this year hasn't been nearly as good
in the tenth war, that final four minute segment, regardless
of the score, regardless of whether we win, regardless of
whether we've lost, we just have not been as good.
(03:58):
We've talked about it, We've tried to make changes in
our substitution pattern, and you know, finally against Creighton, even
though we had a big, big margin of victory, a
big margin a lead going into that final four minute stretch,
we really finished the game on a strong note, both
on offense and defense. And in that game, we won
(04:18):
eight of those four minute segments. We lost two. One
of the two was the first four minutes of the game,
if you remember, they came out on fire and with
zero tie. So you win eight of the ten four
minute wars. You know, that's a complete game, and it
goes to your point that we were equally good and dominant,
(04:39):
not only in the first half or early in the
second half, but throughout the game. And I think if
there's one thing that we want to take with us
from here moving forward, it's that ability. You know, sometimes
you break through and do it. Everybody knows we can
do it. They have the feeling of having done it
against the quality opponent, and it gives you more confidence
in that next game or two to be there at
(05:00):
the end when sometimes you're going to really.
Speaker 4 (05:02):
Need to be good coach?
Speaker 5 (05:03):
How do you explain that, like when the light bulb
goes on for your team? I mean, like, so you
talk about it all the time, you show them, you
practice it, but it takes some game time to actually
for them to do it. Is it a certain Do
you know what makes that? What turns that switch on?
Speaker 2 (05:24):
I think sooner?
Speaker 4 (05:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:30):
Yeah, every team is different, you know, Byron, and I
think in the world we're in now, and it's not
just exclusive to us here at Xavier, but there's more
change from one season to the next, so you know,
everybody's new to each other. You know, the expectations are new,
how we practice is new. I mean, if you think
about it, we had a large portion of our team
(05:52):
and other teams in the Big East can say the
same thing. But when you're in early January and you're
playing conference play for the first time, there's a lot
of guys on our team that's the first Big East
game they've ever played in, then they may have their
own experience. Somebody like Dante Maddix, for example, you know,
he's been in college for three or four years, he's
played in a lot of meaningful games, but he's never
(06:14):
played for Xavier in the Big East. He doesn't know
what at Yukon means until we're in the game playing
Saint John's with Grick Patino as the coach. In that style,
not until you go through it do you feel more comfortable.
And I think that with the experience, as we keep
growing each day each week, we have the opportunity to
(06:34):
get better, to come closer together. And I think what
you're starting to see too is individually you have individual
players that get more confident. You know, Dante, I'll use
him as the example. You know, if you judge Dante
Maddox in November, you know he wasn't comfortable and he
was more comfortable in December, but he still wasn't as
(06:54):
impactful as he wanted to be and as we needed
him to be. But all of a sudden, as we
got into January, where you saw it more and more.
And I think when you watch us play now, you
know you really have a consistent perimeter player, another score
and somebody who can come in and impact the game
in a big way. You know, the voting for sixth
Man of the Year and the Big East is coming
(07:15):
out this week and next week, you know, as the
as the season winds to a close, and I would
think that Dante has a chance to be the Big
East sixth Man of the Year when you consider he's
now averaging over nine points a game, he shoots over
fifty percent from the floor, close to fifty percent from
the floor, over forty percent from three, over eighty percent
(07:36):
from the free throw line, and he's had multiple games
where he's gotten twenty or more points coming in off
the bench.
Speaker 4 (07:42):
So he's a great.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Example of what you talked about, Byron, in that the
modern game twenty twenty five, letting guys leave from one
program to the next, it's not always going to go
completely smooth at the beginning. Even Quincy OLIVERI, when you
look at Quincy in November, and we were practicing in October.
If you guys would have come to watch us practice, say,
(08:05):
you know, he looks like he's pretty good, it'd be
interesting to see how he plays well you fast forward
three months, he basically led to Big easton scoring, but
you really weren't able to see that as easily in
October November. So I think it's something that we're aware
of as a staff, and I think our fans and
as you follow us, everybody will start to become a
(08:27):
little bit more accustomed to that constant and continued improvement
as the season goes on, and especially if you're healthy.
Sometimes if you're not healthy, it doesn't matter. But for us,
we've had a good stretch here recently and hopefully that
that will maintain as well.
Speaker 5 (08:43):
And Maddox I just pulled up some stats on him.
I mean, starting at at Villanova, he goes for twenty four,
the next game, twenty six, next game one, next game
eight and twelve and then sixteen. So you could just
see his just just by looking at the numbers. How
his productivity at least scoring has really just made a
(09:05):
dramatic improvement over the last four or five six games.
Speaker 3 (09:10):
And the other part with Dante is probably his biggest
adjustment wasn't on the offensive end. It was more along
on the defensive side. New terminology, new way of doing things,
and playing against a higher level team in opponents in
the Big East. So like, for example, in the last game,
he had three steals. He was instrumental on a lot
(09:33):
of defensive possessions against Creighton in a real positive way.
You know, the first time we played Creighton, maybe not
as much, but you can start to count on him
to help us on defense as well. A few games ago.
You probably have it in front of you Byron. I
think he had seven or eight defensive rebounds in a
recent game. If you're a guard coming in off the
(09:54):
bench and you can get seven or eight defensive rebounds,
I mean that's like scoring twenty points, right. So he's
doing other things in addition to scoring and playing offense,
which allows him to get on the court more and
I think be more.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Comfortable coach this team. And you've talked about it player
to player, about the process that they go through to
get better, and they're consistent in how they practice. I'm
kind of curious what was the attitude of the team today.
They want a huge game, There's no question about it.
Sentas was just a wonderful place to be Saturday. But
the fact of the matter is you still have two
very important games left. Yeah, when they came into practice today,
(10:27):
what was their demeanor of their emotion and their attitude.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Well, we took yesterday off, which was great, and when
you don't travel and you take the day off, guys
can really get a great day of rest. And sometimes
at this time of year, Joe, as you know, it's
as much mental as it is physical, just to get
away from each other the game. Me as their coach,
I think it's healthy. By the way, it's good for
me to get away from them. We've been at it
(10:51):
for a while, so it's that break I think helps.
And they came in today ready to go. We didn't practice.
We're at a point where we don't need to practice
for a long time. We've played a team once, so
you know, it's about having quality work in a short
burst and then getting ready to leave here tomorrow.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
You mentioned how precious the buye was that you had
finally late in the season, and how the schedule sort
of configured itself that you didn't have that until just
the previous week and had the time off. How valuable
was that to rest and prepare for the game against
the Creighton Blue Jays.
Speaker 3 (11:23):
I thought it was very valuable here. All week, we
had some really good practices. We were able to take
an extra day, and like we said, everybody in the
Big East gets the same amount of bye weeks. I
think Villanova, if I'm not mistaken, their bye comes when
they play on Tuesday. They play tomorrow at Georgetown, and
then they have that final week of a buye. So
(11:45):
tomorrow when they play at Georgetown, they will have played
their entire twenty games. You can imagine how much they're
looking forward to that rest. I mean, because they've gone
about five or six straight weeks here without a break.
But other than us, who just took it this past week,
we strung a lot of hard games together as well.
I thought the break came in a good time. Our
team did a good job handling it, and look, I
(12:08):
think we're in a good place as we move towards
this stretch run of a lot of things.
Speaker 5 (12:13):
Coach, can can you feel it? You won with six
out of the last seven games, and obviously plan you're peaking.
You want to be peaking at this time. You want
heading into the tournament, heading into March, and it seems
like your team has slowly gotten better every game. Do
you do you think they feel that as a team.
(12:33):
I mean you feel that maybe as a coach, but
do they feel it. Do you see that in them
in practice or their mannerisms or is there a way
to assess how they're feeling about themselves?
Speaker 4 (12:44):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (12:44):
They You know, look Byron, confidence it comes from a
lot of different ways, but you know, performance is the
number one way when you go out there and do it,
do it as an individual, do it as an individual
and a winning atmosphere in a big moment where there's
a huge out and a meaningful game against an opponent
that we have great respect for Creighton. So when you
(13:05):
can do it in that moment, it allows you to
feel confident in a good way. And I will also
tell you that our team, we have practiced consistently. We're
far from perfect. Some practices will always go better than others.
But in terms of I think a collective attitude and
a group of guys that come into work and get better, we.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
Have not had any problems with that.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
And I do think That's one of the reasons that
we have played well here at the end, because we've
earned our way into being that type of team.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
All Right, you're listening to the Sean Miller's Coaches Show
from Billy Bestrow, Marramoun' not fifty five PRC and the
Varsity Network. Welcome back to the Sean Miller Show up
from Billy Beestrove. They marry mar.
Speaker 5 (13:53):
And fans. Students are on spring break, so limited lower
level bleacher sea have been released for Saturday's game against
Providence and are on sale now at gold Xavier dot com.
Tip Off is at four pm and the Senior Day
ceremony will take place at approximately three point thirty.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
All right, Joe is called back in Joe, how are
you doing.
Speaker 6 (14:19):
I'm doing okay. How are you guys doing?
Speaker 2 (14:21):
We're good. Good to hear you get go ahead.
Speaker 6 (14:25):
I want to congratulate you on a great victory over Creighton.
Boy that the crowd was really loud and noisy, and
that's the way it should be. I don't know how
loud to be the Providence, but you know, I hope
a lot of fans show up and make a lot
of noise and Butler game wish good luck against those.
I'm sure that they will put some kind of his
own defense against you at some point, and I guess
(14:47):
you'll be ready for that. But I want to ask
you about the two guys have been rehabbing during the season.
How those guys doing. You expect them to contribute a
lot next year? And the two I like them again?
How are they doing and you expect them to contribute
a lot next year?
Speaker 4 (15:05):
Yeah? A good, good question, Joe.
Speaker 3 (15:08):
So I think the two players you're talking about rehab
are Roddy Anderson, who he's red shirting. Roddy is but
he doesn't have an injury, so he practices every day
with us. Last year, you know, for those that don't
know Roddy, he was Boise States starting point guard on
(15:29):
a team that made the NCAA tournament and was really
really good. Roddy's had the opportunity this year to learn
our system. He practices every single day, pushes Davy on McKnight,
pushes Ryan Conwell and Dante Maddox both on defense and
on offense. I think you really like him as as
a player for US next year. Really quick, as quick
(15:53):
defensively as maybe any guard that we have had. And
it's exciting to think about the type of defense he'll
be able to play moving forward.
Speaker 4 (16:03):
I think he'll set the tone in a real positive way.
Speaker 3 (16:06):
So that's Roddy Anderson. Roddy's about six foot one, six
foot two. Licina Trey Orr is rehabbing and he suffered
a season ending.
Speaker 4 (16:15):
Injury, which obviously really hurt us.
Speaker 3 (16:18):
Lisina was one of America's best rebounders at Long Beat
State for more than one season. He averaged more than
ten rebounds a game and really can move defensively as well.
Is about six foot nine, and because of the injury
happened in early October, he's had you know, counted up October, November,
(16:39):
December three, January fourth. He's passed five months now since.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
He's had his surgery.
Speaker 3 (16:45):
He's walking, he's able to shoot. He's each week from
this point forward, he gets closer and closer to being
cleared to actually participate playing basketball. And I think that'll
happen early in the summer, late in the spring. But
we expect him to make a fool recovery. And you know,
I felt terrible when it happened, not only for our
(17:05):
team and our program, but most importantly for Lacina and
he's hung in there through a cold winter and went
through the surgery. He's a long way from home, and
I think he's found a home here in Cincinnati. Wonderful teammate,
somebody we love to have along and it's just it's
great to see him smiling.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
More, moving around more.
Speaker 3 (17:25):
You know, when you have the knee injury, you know,
the weather part of things is even more problematic. So
as we're through the winter and we get into some
warmer weather, I think it'll really help him, you know,
move around and feel even better about what he's doing.
But both of those guys are really terrific players. We're
counting on both of them. We would have counted on
Lescina to have a major role on this year's team
(17:48):
if he didn't get injured.
Speaker 4 (17:50):
So that's those two guys.
Speaker 3 (17:54):
Jaden Forsyth and Nick Lewis are the two incoming freshmen
we have. They're both finished up their high school senior year.
Nick Lewis won the DC state championship at Gonzaga High School.
Very very competitive league. We all know about the Catholic
League in DC. Some of the biggest best players have
(18:16):
come from that league. So he was the first team
All Catholic League. He was the MVP of the state
championship game, and he won the state championship two nights ago.
Speaker 4 (18:28):
I believe had a great team.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
All five of his teammates are going him and four
other teammates are all going Division One including I think
I can rattle them off, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Richmond
in Harvard, and Xavier. That's his starting five. That's where
everybody's going plays for a great coach. He just finished up.
Jaden's finishing up as well. And the thing I like
(18:52):
about both guys is they've played not only for really
good high school coaches in high school programs, but they're
in a competitive environment in the classroom and on the
court every day. And I think they're going to be
ready to come in as freshmen from a maturity perspective
and know what it takes because of the high school
program and the travel team programs that both guys.
Speaker 4 (19:16):
Have been a part of.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
So those are four guys that you're looking forward to
have here in the future.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
Coach, you talk about the coaches of the players. It's
interesting to hear you do that because you can't always
maybe really make that compliment or comment about every high
school coach out there. As a player, what a good
fortune is to have a wonderful coach that sort of
teaches you some of the finer skills of the game,
teaches you how to practice. But what type of impact
have you seen that head on the development of freshmen?
(19:43):
The talent might be the same, but you look and say, man,
I wish they had a better coach, or I sure
appreciate who they had.
Speaker 3 (19:49):
No, I mean, that's been that way for a long time, Joe,
As you know, and it's not only the coach, but
it's you know, the family, the parents, the school district.
What it feels like is winning important, is practice important?
As togetherness and teamwork important? And then a lot of
times too, it's the combination of not only a great
high school environment but also a really good travel team
(20:11):
environment or a summer environment where during the winter and
the fall they have great high school coach and a
high school program that's about winning, but then in the
summertime they can get on the travel team circuit. The
same thing's true playing against great competition nationally, are traveling
playing for good coach and a good.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
Program there as well?
Speaker 3 (20:32):
And when you have that combination of both, that's when
I think a young guy can really get a head
start coming in to college. And I like the chances
of both of our incoming freshmen to have that head
start based on what you asked me, and that is
they both come from terrific programs headed by really good
high school coaches, but also have the summer travel team
(20:56):
program as well.
Speaker 5 (20:58):
Yeah, it can't be understated like coming from a program
that has a good coach, because there are a lot
of good players in high school and score a lot
of points or what have you, but not everybody's coached well.
They don't understand that you got to earn your playing
time in practice, and some guys just don't understand that.
(21:19):
Some guys can't remember plays. They're great players, but they
can't remember their offensive plays. They can't remember their defensive assignments.
And a lot of that I think happens in high
school and having good coaches to say, hey man, you
got to show up at practice on time, You got
to remember plays. It's those little things. Be a good teammate,
(21:42):
have a great attitude, be coachable. And I think all
that happens in high school because we've seen a lot
of guys. I'm sure you've played with a lot of guys, Joe,
you have as well, you guys at the park if
you're just playing pickup man like this guy's an All American,
But you put plays in front of them, you put
you know, responsibility and accountability for little things like making
(22:04):
the extra pass, being a good defensive player, good teammate.
That's where they fall short and they end up not
being quite as impactful on the college level.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
My dad's here tonight, and you know he was my
high school coach, and obviously in his own right, he
was a great high school coach long after I left
Blackhawk High School and before I showed up. But you
know the impact of somebody because you know what he
would do and what a lot of great high school
coaches do is it's not just tenth, eleventh, and twelfth
(22:36):
grade when they're actually physically playing on the varsity or
playing for that coach, but a lot of times the
impact that that high school coach and program had, you know,
it begins in sixth grade.
Speaker 4 (22:47):
It begins in.
Speaker 3 (22:48):
Fourth grade when they're a part of an elementary program
or a Bannam League program, or you get into a
junior high situation, and you run a system, and the
system is very similar to the high school system. Them
you play, you start to learn the value of what
you just said Byron, terminology and structure and practice is important.
And then you get to the high school and that's
(23:09):
what everybody sees, the high school coach and the program
and the player. But that development a lot of times
starts in eighth grade and sixth grade and starts sometimes
when a player makes the choice, I'm no longer going
to play two sports or three, I'm just going to
play one. And then you do that and all eggs
are in that basket. So yeah, for sure. And I
(23:29):
think when we look at recruiting, whether it's coming from
a transfer situation or a high school program, that's at
the top of our list.
Speaker 2 (23:36):
All right, this is the Sean Miller Coaches Show from
Billy Bistro and Marriymount on fifty five KRC, and the
Varsity Network.
Speaker 7 (23:44):
Wants back to the Sean Miller Coaches Show from Billy
Bistro and Marrimont.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
Thanks for the great crowd. We hear it to night.
By the way, we have a show next week is
that we're adding on We had a snow day, so
we'll be here next Monday. We'd love to see you
again on March the tenth. Mike, go ahead with your question, Sean.
My name is Mike Barris. I was actually representing Bob Fullerton,
who was a great center at Xavier in the early seventies.
I was actually the center on the football team. Since
(24:18):
you're a lover of the Pittsburgh Steelers, our high school
produced a guy named Rocky Blayer.
Speaker 4 (24:22):
Yeah wow, yeah.
Speaker 8 (24:24):
So anyhow, Bob asked this question, and I'm almost certain
Bob is the first player to play internationally for Xavier University.
There are probably what fifty players paying internationally. So Bob
played ten years in Spain professionally, and his question was,
(24:44):
and he was supposed to be here tonight, we got delayed.
He said, the best fifteen eighteen year old league in
the world outside of America is Spain. And he specifically
played for man Resso, Moxie and Barcelona and Brio Rio
and Lugo. And he wants to know whether or not
(25:05):
we're recruiting any kids out of Spain.
Speaker 3 (25:08):
I can confirm we're definitely not only well aware, but
we're actively recruiting. You know, Spain and a number of
different countries over there, as you know, Valencia, which is
in which is in Spain, Romayne Sodo and Justin Dolman.
I'm gonna say Romaine won multiple championships there at Valencia.
(25:31):
If you walk in there at Marina Valencia, there's a
mural of him that's as big as almost as big
as our scoreboard.
Speaker 4 (25:39):
He is revered.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
And you know, obviously Romayne played at Xavier and he
played in other places as well, but he really did
some amazing things in Spain, as did Justin Bowman. So
Justin Dolman also won a championship with Valencia. So you
have those two guys as former Xavier players that a
lot of people still young people in Spain know, and
(26:02):
so we're actively recruiting the world, and you know, to
get the right fit is the whole key.
Speaker 8 (26:08):
But yes, yeah, so it was interesting after Bob played
ten years in Spain. He had one skill set in
addition to being six foot ten and his junior year
was fourth in the nation field goal percentage because he
was a deadly outside shooter. But he could speak perfect Spanish. Yeah,
and so he got hired by Procter and Gamble and
(26:30):
they moved to him to Mexico City, and that's where
he got to start a procter and gamble. He could
speak Spanish.
Speaker 4 (26:36):
Oh wow, that's amazing.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
Thanks, thank you very much. Great. One of the notes,
Bob made a couple of free throws to UC was
it nineteen seventy two, nineteen seventy with one second left,
got fout and made a one on one and knocked
off the Bearcat. So it was another.
Speaker 4 (26:50):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
You know, coach Jerome Hunter deserves another rebound in that
ball game the other day. But the way he had
two offensive rebounds, the way I keep stats, he came
in off the bench, missed a tap in that shitcount
is a rebound, right, that's we have the rebound and
put it back up, and so that's two offensive rebounds.
So when I see him, I'm gonna, yeah, you deserve
one more. Wait.
Speaker 3 (27:13):
Look, that's that's such a big part that Jerome can
give us off the bench, is that physicality and going
and getting us those coveted second shots. You know, that's
something our team is not good at. We've talked a
lot about it. We've really improved rebounding on.
Speaker 4 (27:27):
The defensive end. Joe.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
As a matter of fact, I think right now we
stand a fourth in the Big East, closer to third
than fifth. At one point we were eleventh. You know,
we're not only top fifty in the country. I think
we're probably closer to top forty, top thirty in the
country in terms of defensive rebound percentage And and that's
a big deal. And in these next two games this
week at Butler in Providence, that's a huge stat being
(27:53):
able to keep the other team off the glass and
get that get that big defensive.
Speaker 5 (27:57):
Rebound cut you you've been talking about in addition to
sustaining effort in the second half that you always want
more bench production. And against Creighton, I thought the combination
of John Hugley's defense against Kulkbrenner was outstanding. I mean,
he didn't score, he didn't really rebound much, but I
(28:18):
thought his ability to play with like real physicality against
Kulkbrenner to keep him away, make his catches a little
bit tougher, and just to be a presence inside. I
thought he really really impacted the game in a big way.
Speaker 3 (28:33):
He did Byron and Jerome and John both did in
that game. And when those two guys are physical help
in that way. A lot of times they don't have
to score a lot of points, but their value and
impact towards winning the game is significant. Then you throw
in Dante Maddox and those are the three guys that
don't start to play that role. You know, John played
(28:54):
ten minutes, Dante played twenty five minutes, and Jerome played
fifteen minutes.
Speaker 4 (28:59):
And you know Jerrome was one for one.
Speaker 3 (29:01):
From the floor, He had five rebounds, he had one turnover.
You know John had three assists, no turnovers. So you
add up there minutes played. I think that's a really
good point, Joe, And it goes towards when you want
to play a complete game and you need second half effort.
A lot of times you point towards your bench and
what they're able to do coming in the game. And
(29:22):
sometimes it's defense, sometimes it's rebounding. Those two things don't
stand out as much in the statue, and then once.
Speaker 4 (29:28):
In a while it's scoring.
Speaker 3 (29:29):
So we're gonna need those three guys like we are
gonna need everybody here down the stretch. Butler Andre Screen
their center is somewhat understated. I think he's underrated as
a player. He scores right around ten points a game.
He is a big guy, a lot like Creighton. Butler
does an outstanding job of getting him the ball close
(29:51):
to the basket. And when you really watch Butler play,
when he scores, he's in double figures. They're a much
better team. In our first game, we did a very
good job against screen and we held him to three points,
so he wasn't as big of a factor in that game.
There's no doubt I think they're going to try to
make him a bigger factor in this game. And that's
why when you ask about John Hugley or you ask
(30:13):
about Jerome Hunter, those two guys are really important towards
us being able to guard a big guy on the
other team to help Zach along.
Speaker 5 (30:23):
Right, Speaking of Zach Freeman, I thought Zach I think
at one point in the second half he scored like
eleven straight. I mean I was like, keep going to him,
keep going to him. You know, he ends up with
a terrific line and it's really fun to see how
he is finishing out his Xavier career with such with
(30:49):
such impact on this year's team, no question.
Speaker 3 (30:52):
I mean, he made eight twos in a row against
Create and if you think about Creighton from two, You're
dealing with Caulkbrenner, which is equally you know, it's difficult
for every team to score in the lane and around
the rim, and a lot of times that's how that's crating.
What they do is they just they allow you to
sleep by not fouling and creating these tough twos which
(31:13):
might appear to be open, but you're always dealing with Kulkbrenner.
Speaker 4 (31:16):
You always have to shoot over him.
Speaker 3 (31:18):
And for Zach to go eight for eight from two,
I mean, there aren't a lot of forwards in this
country that have gone eight for eight against Creighton from two.
Speaker 2 (31:27):
This is a Sean Miller Coaches Show from Billy Bistrow
and Marimount on fifty five KRC and the Varsity Network.
Welcome back to Billy Beescrow in the Sean Miller Show.
Plud Life, perhaps posters Andrew Athletics, easy to drink, easy.
Speaker 5 (31:40):
To enjoy, and everybody remember students are on on on
spring break, so there are limited lower level bleacher seats
have been released for the Saturday game against Providence. They
are on sale at goesaver dot com. Tip Off is
at four pm. Senior Day celebration will take place at
three point thirty at that second time, Sean because that
(32:04):
home crowd against Creighton, and you talk about it a lot,
it is so influential to your team in the atmosphere
at Xavier, and how important is it for them to
continue to bring that kind of energy to the Centi Center.
Speaker 4 (32:23):
I mean, it's really important.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
The best programs in college basketball have an incredible home
court advantage. I can't name one elite college basketball program
that's been around for decades like we have a Xavier
where you could say either fans are so so it
coincides one what comes first? If you ever played at
(32:46):
fog Allen Fieldhouse at Kansas. I mean, Kansas has had
amazing coaches and they've had great teams and individual players.
They've also had one of the most ferocious home crowds
that is ever existed in college sports, football, basketball, whatever.
I don't know the point value, but it's significant when
you go to fog Allen Fieldhouse and you play Kansas.
(33:09):
If you ever play at Gonzaga, you know it's way
up there in the Pacific Northwest. But there's a reason
why it's called the Kennel, and there's a reason why
they win every home game, and they've won every home
game for more than thirty years. Now we're the same,
you know, whether it was at Cincinnati Gardens or here
in the Centas Center, and it's something we can never lose.
It's one of our great competitive advantages. And when our
(33:34):
crowd has been like it was against Yukon at home
and Creighton at home, I mean the point value and
what it feels like for the visiting team and coach, and.
Speaker 4 (33:45):
What it feels like for our players.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
We feed off of the crowd and you know, and
then it allows it to be just a magical experience.
And you know, my hope is that because of spring
break next Saturday, our final home game, which is going
to be a big game in so many different ways,
that we can have a sold out Centas and those
seats can be replaced by people who want to come
(34:07):
to the game who normally can't, or buy the seats
and help somebody get to the game who normally isn't
able to. And even our students, maybe a number of
them will stay for the game and then go on
spring break maybe a day later. So it is a
big moment. It's a big deal, and I don't think
you can you can speak enough to how magical and
(34:31):
how important the home crowd and the Centas Center is
to our program, to our team, to that that particular game.
Speaker 2 (34:39):
The students camped out the night before, correct they did?
Did you go visit at all or get a chance?
Speaker 4 (34:44):
Yep?
Speaker 3 (34:45):
And the look when you see the students camping out
and you play, it's what what was the temperature about
twenty eight degrees? You can't help but play as hard
as you possibly can for them, and so they inspire
the arena and they're the student section, but it's not
just the student section, it's everybody in the arena. And
(35:05):
I thought on Saturday the start time was perfect as well.
And that's the point of the Providence game. We have
a very similar start time. You know, some of the
late starting times, I understand it. You wish it was earlier.
Sometimes it's super early. God if we just had an
hour or two more before it began. But four o'clock
four point thirty is the hotspots. We know you can
(35:26):
do a lot of different things before and after the game.
And I hope that we can get a great crowd
next Saturday against Providence.
Speaker 2 (35:34):
That was fun when they open up the doors. No
matter where you're at in the building, you could be
down not by the court. The atmosphere changes immediately and
they fills up. They race to those seats and they
they're going jumping up and down and hear the noise
and it just gets louder and louder. And your team
plays great defense when they hear that noise, I think,
and they've been playing great defense. But anybody knows who's
ever played any sport at all, it could be a
(35:55):
great cool school deal or whatever it might be. When
you have a crowd behind you can be fifteen people
screaming for you. You just automatically respond to.
Speaker 4 (36:03):
That, for sure.
Speaker 3 (36:04):
And Joe, it's not always when things are going well,
but sometimes it's when things aren't going well and you
just you just need that energy boost and you feel
it on the road when quite frankly, you don't. You
don't have the energy boost. So when we're playing on
the road, you have to overcome that. That's why when
we're at home, you know, you want to be able
to embrace it.
Speaker 2 (36:24):
You're listening to the Sean Miller Coaches Show from Dilley B. S.
Drill and Marymont. I'm fifty five KRC and the Varsity Network. Well,
I'm back to Dilley b. Strill and Marymont and the
Sjon Miller Shaw.
Speaker 5 (36:40):
Coach Dalan Swain. I'm just really impressed with him as
a sophomore and you see his development. You always say, hey,
you know, after your freshman year, you want to see
a guy be ready to make a jump, and I
think he has in terms of his consistency, especially defensively,
(37:00):
living up to his potential. Now against Creighton that they
decided to guard him with the Sinner, And my question
is like, what was your conversation like when they tried
that on him? What were you telling him to How
was your instruction to kind of play against that?
Speaker 2 (37:18):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (37:19):
Number one is to be really aggressive, to take the
open opportunities to drive and be a playmaker, but also
not let that interfere with all the other good things
that he does on the court, which is his defense.
Speaker 4 (37:31):
You know, really what that tactic does is.
Speaker 3 (37:34):
You know, you almost want to steal the player's mind,
Like the game doesn't feel right, it feels funny. I'm
taking a couple of threes that I normally don't take.
Oh my god, I missed them, and then the next thing,
you know, you're no longer a complete player, and you're
no longer playing defense and rebounding and playmaking and doing
all the things that make you who you are. Dayalen's
gift as a basketball player is his versatility, and regardless
(37:57):
of who guards him, he can't ever jeppard, dies or
relinquish what makes him such a special player.
Speaker 4 (38:03):
So that's that's the first part.
Speaker 3 (38:05):
And then the second part Byron is you know, the
faster the game's played, the more difficult it is to
guard a center on somebody who he shouldn't be guarding.
It's just like it sounds good, but this isn't like
you know, in a driveway one on one and every
time I'm facing you and you're facing me. And when
that game gets going fast and Dyalen has the ball
(38:26):
and sometimes he's running right, sometimes he's cutting to the
basket right, they can't point talk and match up and
act as if, well we want him to guard him
they have They no longer have that choice. So the
second part is like, the faster the game, when they
try that matchup, it not only benefits Dayalen, but it
benefits some other people. You point it towards Zach At
(38:49):
one point, I think he did score eleven in a row.
He scored eleven in a row, not on Kulkbrenner, but
on the other guy that was guarding him. So you
may choose to guard Kulkbrenner and put him on Swayin,
but you also have to put another player on Freemantle.
Speaker 4 (39:04):
And vice versa. Just keep moving forward, so play.
Speaker 3 (39:07):
Fast, be aggressive, don't relinquish all of the other good
things you do as a player.
Speaker 2 (39:12):
Appreciate everybody that joined us tonight. Come back away from
that if you can, thank you for joining us with
the Sean Miller Show from Billy Bistrow at Merriman, I'm
fifty five KRC and the Varsity Network.
Speaker 1 (39:36):
Live from the Dilly Bistro in Marymont. 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,
(39:59):
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.
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