NIT- Xavier vs Texas A&M 3/31/22

[gtmoBlue]

Let's Roll Big East!

Up Next... SH Women's Hoops.


then the Final Four with the Wildcats of Radnor.

[Hoya9697]

Is Hayes sticking around?

I believe Sean has already offered him the assistant head coaching position.

Our biggest threat may be him deciding to go home to Georgia to be an assistant for Mike White in Athens.

The word on the street (or in the alley) is is that he will stay at X. We certainly hope so.

Hell of a game to watch. I truly don’t like complaining about officiating, but they were truly rancid (that one missed call late in the game where the TAMU player was clearly out of bounds). We otherwise were pretty bad at the free-throw line tonight. At least they played with intensity for all 40 minutes. That has been a big difference in this team under Jonas.

That would be great for continuity purposes since it’s clear the players have responded to him. If X is successful next year with him as the Assistant or Acting HC, you’ve got to think his sights will be set on a mid major HC position.

Congrats. A good Xavier is good for the BE.

[ecasadoSBU]

Wow. Congrats Xavier. That is a great run no matter what.

I think X fans should feel good about this program's direction right now. Completely different direction than how Steele left it

[Xudash]

Is Hayes sticking around?

I believe Sean has already offered him the assistant head coaching position.

Our biggest threat may be him deciding to go home to Georgia to be an assistant for Mike White in Athens.

The word on the street (or in the alley) is is that he will stay at X. We certainly hope so.

Hell of a game to watch. I truly don’t like complaining about officiating, but they were truly rancid (that one missed call late in the game where the TAMU player was clearly out of bounds). We otherwise were pretty bad at the free-throw line tonight. At least they played with intensity for all 40 minutes. That has been a big difference in this team under Jonas.

That would be great for continuity purposes since it’s clear the players have responded to him. If X is successful next year with him as the Assistant or Acting HC, you’ve got to think his sights will be set on a mid major HC position.

Congrats. A good Xavier is good for the BE.

Thanks.

The good news is that Jonas has accepted the position of associate head coach at Xavier. Frankly, this is a very serious turnaround for this program.

[XUFan09]

He hasn't accepted it yet. The ESPN graphic got it wrong. The actual reporting by Medcalf over the air said he had been offered the job. It would be fantastic if he stayed with Xavier, though.

[billyjack]

Congrats X, great ending!!

Also, i'm late to this news, but what's up with moving the NIT from MSG? Next two years the NIT F4 location will be bid on, and it's looking like Las Vegas?

I vaguely remember that every NIT game each round was played at MSG til 1977.

article... sorry i'm linking to the NY Post:

NIT leaving Madison Square Garden for at least next two years
https://nypost.com/2022/03/24/nit-leavi ... two-years/

[Novachap]

Dash, Xup and the rest of you Muskies.... congrats on a fantastic turn around! Things are definitely looking up on Victory Parkway with a ton of optimism with the changes coming. So happy for the kids who pushed through.

Honestly, I didn't get to watch every minute of every game, but caught a few, especially last night.

Clearly, #1 the difference of Hayes vs Steele was palpable. Lots of joy on that sideline.

I may be off base here and don't get me wrong, I love Scruggs ' physical talent, but the chemistry seemed better and a lot less mental mistakes... did you guys sense that?

Nunge is a warrior.

Surprised the last few plays they opted for Kunkel to initiate... imo, aside from that bank hook by Nunge, seems like Jones should ALWAYS have the ball at t he end.

Freemantle. Man, what enigma...a good amount of talent, but mentally looks like he checks out... body language after the win was interesting.

Again, good for you guys, really happy you got to witness playing up to /near their potential.

Now, anxiously awaiting Xup's thoughts on how quickly (next year?) X b ecomes the flagship and Miller the top coach

[DanofXav76]

This thread is such a great example of why the HLOH has always been exceptional in my eyes. Just so many Big East Brothers (and Sisters) pulling for each other to continue to build the brand and be successful

Chap your insights, as per usual, are right on the money. I'll always be grateful to Paul for representing and busting it for X the five years he was here, but Fran Frischella ( not my favorite) did hit the nail on the head with the "different vibe" with Paul not being on the floor. His career assist to turnover ratio wasn't what I like to see in a PG.
Goodness Freemantle after the game, seemingly no outward emotion or celebration? Maybe that's a Jersey thing? I will say though that I felt he played with more energy on the court in the entire NIT than I saw during the regular season.
Both last night and the Vandy games in particular, the team faced multiple second half deficits that I'm not sure the Steele led team overcomes (@Creighton not withstanding)

Coach Miller. It's going to be a difficult conversation to have with non-Xavier fans ( haters), but I feel he truly loves Xavier. He actually turned down Arizona officially once, then accepted when they literally threw another million at him and Calipari urging him to take the "emotion" out of his decision. He actually had an official Xavier presser after finally accepting the Arizona job ( which i think is pretty unusual) thanking the University and fans for their support. I know it was hard for him to leave, especially with a stacked team returning.
Final thoughts. Since nine of our eleven member institutions identify as Catholic and this being Lent after all, I believe the return of the Prodigal Son Gospel works quite well here.

[SoFla Steve]

Congrats, Muskies on your win!

[Xudash]

Dash, Xup and the rest of you Muskies.... congrats on a fantastic turn around! Things are definitely looking up on Victory Parkway with a ton of optimism with the changes coming. So happy for the kids who pushed through.

Honestly, I didn't get to watch every minute of every game, but caught a few, especially last night.

Clearly, #1 the difference of Hayes vs Steele was palpable. Lots of joy on that sideline.

I may be off base here and don't get me wrong, I love Scruggs ' physical talent, but the chemistry seemed better and a lot less mental mistakes... did you guys sense that?

Nunge is a warrior.

Surprised the last few plays they opted for Kunkel to initiate... imo, aside from that bank hook by Nunge, seems like Jones should ALWAYS have the ball at t he end.

Freemantle. Man, what enigma...a good amount of talent, but mentally looks like he checks out... body language after the win was interesting.

Again, good for you guys, really happy you got to witness playing up to /near their potential.

Now, anxiously awaiting Xup's thoughts on how quickly (next year?) X b ecomes the flagship and Miller the top coach

Chap - all of your observations are spot on. I can’t figure Fremantle out - body language and no smiles after the win were odd.

Otherwise, Nova is boat racing with the “flagship” thing right now, so we’ll leave that one alone.

Best of luck this Saturday - and looking forward to your next nati on Monday night.