Thoughts on Willaims -- XAVIER MENS BASKETBALL

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Date Posted: 00:25:53 04/29/02 Mon
Author: Sniper
Subject: Thoughts on Willaims

The news came as a huge blow to me because I was a big fan of Williams. Jaison Williams came into games that we were behind and brought the team back. I can remember it happening in the Purdue, Richmond and UD games off hand. Byron Larkin often stated that the team had a different feel and seem to run smoother when he was in the lineup. I love LC, but it was hard to argue with the production.

As a Freshman, he averaged 45 percent from the field and 40 percent behind the three-point line. Those are outstanding numbers. He ran the point with a calm, cool demeanor unknown to most frosh. His ability to produce in the clutch was perhaps his best asset. The Freshman-Soph transition is touted as one of the biggest leaps that a player makes in terms of development. I was really getting pumped up to see what the kid could do next year.

I have often argued among friends that basketball needs a plus/minus stat much like Hockey. For every player in the NHL, they can tell you how well the team did while he was on the ice. When Jaison Williams was on the court, our team played very well. I would expect his differential to be quite positive.

I have never seen Dedrick Finn play, but he is our 'Stud' of the incoming class as they say. He is Thad Matta's first big recruit. The whole Williams deal may have been in the works when Finn's pen hit the paper on signing day. It could partially explain Matta's reluctance to play Williams more last season when he was performing so well. Why spend vital time developing a kid that won't be a factor in the big picture in future years.

Teams don't play 3 point guards, and we had three point guards in 3 consecutive classes. That is generally not good. Something had to budge. I was hoping that Finn would redshirt and get a year of academics and practicing the system under his belt. Apparently, he is ready to play big time ball. The announcement that Finn was leaving gave me the impression that both parties were doing what was best for them, esp. w/ Jaison in mind. Matta didn't seem to be trying to change his mind one bit; in fact Thad seemed quite eager to help him find a place to go. I have no inside scoop, but I suspect that they had talked about this possibility before, and that Matta knew that this was coming. Matta wants his guy in there, and you can't fault him for that.

Coaching changes in college basketball can be a messy business. Prosser left town, but his recruits were still bound to us. Williams has to sit out a year now, and he shouldn't have to do that, it is unfair. I hope that he turns it into a positive. We haven't had many transfers that have gone on to bigger and brighter things. I think that Nate Turner had a mental breakdown and was a missing person for awhile. Williams needs to take the many positives from his freshman year and build on them. I am rooting for him, I just hope he doesn't go to another A-10 team. If I were Oliver Purnell, I would be on the phone today. Plus, he could probably get paid up there.

I give both Matta and Williams credit for handling the matter with dignity and class. One has to wonder if we have another player who might not fit the new coaches system. In Anthony Coleman, we have a 6-10 guard/forward. He was probably recruited to front the press in another system. With the influx of big men, his playing time might be hard to come by. But who knows, Matta said he likes transition, and that he thinks this team is at its best when they are in transition. Pablo has been on track thus far in his prognostications, and this may well be a very good pressing team. We have the tools to do it. With all of the run and jump, highflying studs we have, I could envision a very effective press.

Anyway, Jaison's loss is Dedrick Finn's gain. I think that Finn has Matta's confidence, and I can't wait to see him play. I appreciate everything that Jaison did to make this past year a special season. Without his contributions things might have been different. So thank you Jaison, and good luck to you in all of your future endeavors.

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[> I don't know how many times I found myself spilling beer because I was banging on the table imploring coach to put in Williams. The kid brought a whole different mood to the game, sometimes a spark, sometimes clamness, but always seemed to positively contribute. This ups the pressure on Finn to be the real deal, let's hope he is. -- Homeskillet, 12:51:47 04/29/02 Mon

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[> [> I can't believe I posted that Williams sometime brought "clamness" to the game. Sometimes a team needs a little clamness, though. -- Homeskillet, 17:09:09 04/29/02 Mon

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[> [> [> I cannot believe you would spill beer for any reason, homeskillet!(just kidding) I agree that Williams brought some stability when at times the game seemed to be getting frenetic or hit a nice shot when X could not buy a basket. I liked him and his game. I wish him good luck. Lark liked him so that is good enough for me. -- muskieman, 21:22:55 04/29/02 Mon

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[> [> [> [> The price of poker just went up for Dedrick Finn. It will be interesting if Matta continues to push the idea of Chalmers at the 2-guard in speaking engagments, now that Williams is gone. Muskieman, do you know if Finn will be in town for the summer league. -- Sniper, 13:39:21 04/30/02 Tue

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[> [> [> [> What the hell do you know about my drinking, muskieman? Oh, that's right, I posted thirty messages about it on the other board. Damn, I'll have to find another victim of my wrath. -- Homeskillet, 14:35:15 04/30/02 Tue

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[> [> [> [> [> Homeskillet, relax a little. My comment about the spilling beer was a jab at your first comment. Do you always go off when someone is kidding you? I there must be a lot of pressures in the legal field in Tenn. (another light jab) but loosen up a little. I promise to follow all my light comments about you with the letters "JKY" (for "just kidding you" if it makes you feel better). To think I thought about driving you back home after the Drink and Drown tourney(JKY). -- muskieman, 17:17:12 04/30/02 Tue

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[> [> [> [> [> [> Actually, muskieman, i too was toying with you. I'm typically much more laid back when I am imbibing. The only pressures I really have is balancing the "I'm working hard act" with the "I'm screwing around on the web" reality that is my day to day existence. -- Homeskillet, 15:34:38 05/01/02 Wed

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[> A plus/minus stat would be a great idea. I would be interested to see what sort of numbers would come up. Some offensive players can't play defense and cancel themselves out. We played well with Jason on the court. -- Le Pen, 10:49:58 04/30/02 Tue

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[> [> I saw a plus/minus on one of the NBA guys this weekend, so it's not unheard of. It seems like college coaches would have one of their 14 student managers keep such a stat. -- Homeskillet, 13:51:01 04/30/02 Tue

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[> [> [> I guess somewhere people have game logs that the info could be gleened from. If somebody can get it on the net, I would take a look at the logs myself. Summer is a long cruel season for a basketball nut. -- Snipe, 14:16:20 04/30/02 Tue

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[> [> [> [> Looking at Xavier's website, they have a complete log in some games that document the time of scoring, assists, TOs, etc. However, they don't take into account the time of substitutions, so your best bet is to ask Stats-R-Us about such game logs. Heck, for all we know, he might be in the process of caluculating such things. Unlike hockey, basketball doesn't have power plays that would further complicate such a stat. -- X-band '01, 16:46:00 04/30/02 Tue

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[> [> [> [> I posted a plea on the other board to Mark Wagner to see if he had such info. He said he'd try to get back to me next week. It might be tougher to do than hockey. There are so few goals, they can just take an inventory of who was on the ice for each goal. -- BP, 15:48:58 05/01/02 Wed

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[> [> [> [> [> If you get Mark's email I would be glad to help him with it. It would take some work. The problem is that you would have to do every player, otherwise it is useless. Statistics are garbage unless they are comparative. -- Sniper, 20:51:29 05/01/02 Wed

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[> [> [> [> [> [> True, although it would be easy to figure out the average for all of our players. In basketball, you'd probably want to look at gross +/- and +/- per minute played. I need to win the lottery. -- BP, 22:17:54 05/01/02 Wed

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