Wednesday, February 09, 2000
Xavier plans to go on offensive
Lowly Canisius should provide a needed tonic
BY MICHAEL PERRY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Skip Prosser figured his young Xavier team would be involved in numerous close games this season. But he was hopeful the outcomes would be better.
Of all the problems the Musketeers have faced since the first of the year, the most damaging has been an ineffective offense in the final minutes of games.
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XU at CANISIUS
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• When: 7p.m. today
• Where: Marine Midland Arena (18,400), Buffalo, N.Y.
• Records: Canisius 6-16; Xavier 13-8
• TV: None
• Radio: WLW-AM (700)
BY THE NUMBERS
• 88-58: Score of XU's victory over Canisius last season
• 4-7: XU's record away from the Gardens
• 1-5: XU's road record since Jan.1
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“When the game is there to be taken or not, we haven't taken the game, and that's been very, very frustrating,” Prosser said. “Ideally, you guard a little better and rebound a little better, but the only thing they give you points for is putting the ball in the basket. Sooner or later, we have to find some guys who can put the ball in the basket.”
The Musketeers, who play their final non-conference game tonight at Canisius, have blown double-digit leads three times (Miami 10, Marquette 18, George Washington 15) and played miserably down the stretch in several games.
A few examples:
• XU had no field goals in the final 2:21 at Dayton and lost by four.
• XU had one field goal in the final 4:28 at Temple, one field goal in the final 5:24 at GW last Saturday, and one field goal in the final 3:07 of regulation against Dayton last week.
“As of this point, it's been other teams making big shots,” sophomore Lloyd Price said. “... We can't keep saying we can be good. The season's almost over. Either we're going to be good or we're not.”
The Musketeers have no go-to player, someone who can stop an opponent's run or get a basket in the closing minutes when it is desperately needed.
Lenny Brown played that role for four years. Before it was guys such as Jeff Massey, Jamie Gladden and Byron Larkin.
Several members of this Xavier team want to play that role, including Price, senior Darnell Williams and junior Maurice McAfee. But none has been able to yet.
After a 15-point first half at GW, McAfee was held to four points in the final 20 minutes. No other Musketeer took over the scoring load.
Williams stayed after practice Monday to work on his jump shot. He shot just 19.2 percent from the field and 13.3 percent from 3-point range over the last two games.
“It's frustrating, because I don't know what more to do,” he said. “I shoot every day after practice. I try to do everything that it takes, and it still won't happen. I don't know if it's mental or what, but I'm not going to run away from taking (shots). I figure sooner or later it's just going to have to fall.”
The Brooklyn native was the most logical candidate to be Xavier's go-to guy. He is the team's most experienced player, is tied as the No.13 scorer in school history and has hit many big shots during his career.
“Nine games left,” Williams said. “Do or die. I'm just going out fighting, going out like this is my last breath.”
Canisius (6-16) is in eighth place in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and is the fourth-lowest rated opponent on XU's schedule. The Golden Griffins' RPI on Tuesday was No.220. The biggest concern for XU is 6-foot-10 junior Darren Fenn (17.1 ppg, 10.2 rpg).
In recent weeks, Prosser has heard a stream of suggestions from Xavier fans, but his lineup options for tonight are limited.
Price, the starting small forward, did not practice Tuesday and is doubtful for tonight because of a dislocated finger. Brandon McIntosh, a reserve at the same position, is out with a fractured cheekbone.
Alvin Brown will start at shooting guard and Williams at small forward. Kevin Frey, who has played center and power forward, will come off the bench at small forward.
“There's nobody that knows these guys better than I do,” Prosser said. “No one that's with them for three hours every day in the gym, nobody that watches the tapes, and having said all that, nobody wants us to do better than I do.
“In meetings, we exhaust possibilities and try to find solutions, so all the suggestions I'm getting from those who are less informed — we've probably already gone through that scenario. There's not a lot of options we have right now, not a lot of different things we can do because of our personnel situation.”
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