As if we needed anything else to get us fired up for the season...

[buff190]

...this tweeted by Xavier Johnson;

Xavier Johnson ‏@XtheCreator
A lot of people don't know why I chose CU over other schools. But I'll show u why soon enough


Oh I can not WAIT! It's gonna be fun!!!

 

[Goose]

X is going to have a big year. He was a player who always stepped up big when the games mattered the most. If Tad can get that sort of effort from him every night, we're going to make a LOT of people in the Pac-12 sorry they didn't go harder after him.

 

[sackman]

The part of "a lot of people didn't know why I chose CU over other schools" concerns me a bit. Maybe I'm reading something in there that I shouldn't.

 

[KingPants]

The part of "a lot of people didn't know why I chose CU over other schools" concerns me a bit. Maybe I'm reading something in there that I shouldn't.

I'm reading it as "a lot of people still think of crappy basketball when they think of CU". Thats obviously changing with those in the know, but I bet there are alot of casual fans who only think of UCLA, Arizona and Washington when they think of Pac 12 ball. They probably think that last year was a fluke. They will learn in time, and X sounds like he wants to show them. That is my optimistic take.

 

[buff190]

I'm reading it as "a lot of people still think of crappy basketball when they think of CU". Thats obviously changing with those in the know, but I bet there are alot of casual fans who only think of UCLA, Arizona and Washington when they think of Pac 12 ball. They probably think that last year was a fluke. They will learn in time, and X sounds like he wants to show them. That is my optimistic take.

This.

And that is what pumps me up. You know, there was a time when no one thought much of Duke basketball either. We gotta start somewhere. Who cares (right now) what people think of CU basketball. X and his buddies are about to help change that perception!

 

[wsp4820]

The part of "a lot of people didn't know why I chose CU over other schools" concerns me a bit. Maybe I'm reading something in there that I shouldn't.

He's a California kid, so I'm sure many of his friends expected him to go to UCLA, Cal, or USC.

 

[jgisland]

I don't see anything bad coming out of this, I could see him saying he wants to be part of building a program, family atmosphere of the Buffs or something about the campus.

 

[SCB]

X is going to dunk over Shabazz. FACT! Met Tad Boyle and Rodney Billups this weekend. Nice guys. Tad seems very intense. Can't wait for season to start.

 

[BehindEnemyLines]

Methinks X-man has a bit of a chip-on-the-shoulder attitude.

 

[CVilleBuff]

The part of "a lot of people didn't know why I chose CU over other schools" concerns me a bit. Maybe I'm reading something in there that I shouldn't.

Two years of decent basketball and one NCAA bid isn't going to turn the reputation. That's all it means. And, sucking ass in football kind of has created this myth among the Pac that we suck at everything.

 

[GoonieBuff]

My take on his tweet is that he feels that we went after him harder than the CA schools, and he wants to make those schools regret it.

 

[Dark Bohner]

Just like with football. Tweets don't mean ****. Leave it on the floor.

 

[FLounder]

tumbleweed

 

[Goose]

It fascinates me how XJ can be the blame for all of our ills this year while other guys get a complete free pass. XJ was hardly perfect this year, but we're talking about a guy who was 3rd on the team in points per game, 3rd in rebounds a game, third in steals a game, had a higher FG% than the team average and was our second best 3 point shooter. There were only four guys on the team to put up an ORtg of 100 or above, and he was one of them (although Fletch was DAMN close to making it 5).

Was he a headcase this year? Yup. Did he fight through injuries? Yup. But ****, XJ is NOT the reason this team is sitting home right now.

 

[aghcsm]

...this tweeted by Xavier Johnson;

Xavier Johnson ‏@XtheCreator
A lot of people don't know why I chose CU over other schools. But I'll show u why soon enough


Oh I can not WAIT! It's gonna be fun!!!

Define "soon."

 

[CVilleBuff]

It fascinates me how XJ can be the blame for all of our ills this year while other guys get a complete free pass. XJ was hardly perfect this year, but we're talking about a guy who was 3rd on the team in points per game, 3rd in rebounds a game, third in steals a game, had a higher FG% than the team average and was our second best 3 point shooter. There were only four guys on the team to put up an ORtg of 100 or above, and he was one of them (although Fletch was DAMN close to making it 5).

Was he a headcase this year? Yup. Did he fight through injuries? Yup. But ****, XJ is NOT the reason this team is sitting home right now.

We have a lot of reasons we're sitting home right now. Certainly some main ones I would point to before XJ (I don't need to go into our guard situation), but I'm not necessarily a believer that having some of the better stats on a ****ty team is reason for not taking some flack. An XJ who rose to 15 ppg instead of sliding back to 10 would have been huge. We're looking at a different season if that had been the case.

 

[BuffinCali]

It fascinates me how XJ can be the blame for all of our ills this year while other guys get a complete free pass. XJ was hardly perfect this year, but we're talking about a guy who was 3rd on the team in points per game, 3rd in rebounds a game, third in steals a game, had a higher FG% than the team average and was our second best 3 point shooter. There were only four guys on the team to put up an ORtg of 100 or above, and he was one of them (although Fletch was DAMN close to making it 5).

Was he a headcase this year? Yup. Did he fight through injuries? Yup. But ****, XJ is NOT the reason this team is sitting home right now.

Thank you! There is a talent defieciency at CU, but XJ does not do the recruiting. He acheived those stats in fewer minutes as well. He is talented, it appears to me that he is frustrated with the slow down offense.

 

[aghcsm]

Thank you! There is a talent defieciency at CU, but XJ does not do the recruiting. He acheived those stats in fewer minutes as well. He is talented, it appears to me that he is frustrated with the slow down offense.

I think the frustration with XJ is simply because we expected more, and he seems capable of much more. Maybe the offensive scheme has hurt him, certainly injuries have. He's an easy target because of great talent that's not translating into great results.

 

[onealcd]

I thought XJ was playing great until he injured his ankle. He never seemed the same after that but before he was playing very well on both ends.

 

[aghcsm]

I thought XJ was playing great until he injured his ankle. He never seemed the same after that but before he was playing very well on both ends.

I'd like to see the stats before-and-after injury, for anyone with convenient access to this information...

 

[Quattro]

I'd like to see the stats before-and-after injury, for anyone with convenient access to this information...

Give me a bit

Awaiting my next infraction

 

[MtnBuff]

We had a whole bunch of guys who stepped back instead of stepping up this year and XJ was just one of them.

It may be that we had better talent than our record but worse leadership than our record.

Most teams need somebody to drive them, to set a standard, to inspire others to play up instead of down.

This doesn't have to be a verbal leader who yell and cajoles, in some cases it can be a guy who visibly excels and who's performance lifts others.

The Mayor wasn't necessarily a vocal leader and he wasn't a guy who was the off court focus but we were a different team with better overall effort when he was playing. This team never seemed to find that this year.

Your best players aren't necessarily those leaders and those leaders don't have to be your best players but they do have to play well enough to be respected. I don't think that XJ is a leader type, Jelly isn't, Ski isn't. The guy we have who could and should be is Dom but he is young and didn't play enough early on to gain that respect. His documented issues as well with tardiness and not always being fully there in practice hurt him.

The good news is that Dom is young and can step up, maybe he gives us that leadership. I have no idea about fortune but he is more experienced and could also help in that regard.

If those guys aren't it then Tad is going to have to find/develop somebody soon. If he can I believe we have the talent to bounce back and make some noise in the PAC next season, if not we could be in big trouble.

 

[onealcd]

XJ averaged 14 before the injury and 8 after. Obviously some of it had to do with competition in conference play but still, he had some big games before he got hurt.

 

[Quattro]

Non-adjusted, but here it is:

	FG%	2P%	3P%	FT%	TRB
Before	49.5%	47.4%	43.8%	78.7%	5.7
After	43.5%	50.4%	31.1%	51.8%	5.8
Diff	-12.1%	6.3%	-28.9%	-34.2%	1.9%

	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PTS
Before	0.7	0.9	0.3	1.9	13.8
After	0.7	0.3	0.3	1.7	8.0
Diff	-3.7%	-63.9%	8.3%	-9.9%	-41.9%

Decrease in his FG%, 3pt%, and FT%
Increase in rebounds
Assists were about the same
Steals went down
Blocks increased a bit
Turnovers decreased a bit
Points went down by a bit

 

[SECOBuffsFan]

Hopefully Josh Fortune has seen what happened this year and wants to put an end to it quickly and becomes the man to take charge

 

[goalline]

So, we're supposed to believe that an ankle injury led to better rebounding, but worse free throw percent?

hmmmm......

 

[Quattro]

So, we're supposed to believe that an ankle injury led to better rebounding, but worse free throw percent?

hmmmm......

Not all rebounds are the same, but the increase is very marginal. The decreases in his other shooting, steals, and points are not.

 

[aghcsm]

Non-adjusted, but here it is:

	FG%	2P%	3P%	FT%	TRB
Before	49.5%	47.4%	43.8%	78.7%	5.7
After	43.5%	50.4%	31.1%	51.8%	5.8
Diff	-12.1%	6.3%	-28.9%	-34.2%	1.9%

	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PTS
Before	0.7	0.9	0.3	1.9	13.8
After	0.7	0.3	0.3	1.7	8.0
Diff	-3.7%	-63.9%	8.3%	-9.9%	-41.9%

Decrease in his FG%, 3pt%, and FT%
Increase in rebounds
Assists were about the same
Steals went down
Blocks increased a bit
Turnovers decreased a bit
Points went down by a bit

Thanks, interesting. Is there a stat that accounts for playing time? Don't think XJ started much after the injury in the first Utah game.

 

[aghcsm]

Hopefully Josh Fortune has seen what happened this year and wants to put an end to it quickly and becomes the man to take charge

Pretty much the key to next season IMO

 

[Quattro]

Thanks, interesting. Is there a stat that accounts for playing time? Don't think XJ started much after the injury in the first Utah game.

Yeah I can pull the minutes and what games he started

Awaiting my next infraction