NEWSLETTER #3 - 2005-06

NEWSLETTER INFORMATION FREE ADMISSION TO

A couple of quick items: 2 UPCOMING XAVIER
"PLAY OF THE WEEK" PACKETS: Over 100 coaches took me GAMES FOR HIGH
up on my offer to receive a packet of material on a certain
area(s). If you requested material, and do not receive it within a
SCHOOL TEAMS
week of your request, please let me know. I sent everything out Perhaps one of the only disadvantages
as soon as it was requested, and want to be sure it makes it to having a sold out arena on a regular
there. I hope all those who requested the material find it helpful! basis is the inability for us to
accommodate entire high school teams.
NEWSLETTER ADDITIONS: If you have an assistant, a friend, The Cintas Center is sold out for
or a fellow coach at any level who would like to receive our virtually every home game, and in a
newsletter please let us know and we will be happy to add them. case where a game is not sold out, only
single tickets usually remain. Because
XAVIER PRACTICES: Please feel free to sit in on any of our of this, we have been given permission
practices. We ask that you send us an e-mail prior to coming so to allow all high school teams into 2
that we can provide you with the location of the practice that day. upcoming games for free:

QUICK READS NOVEMBER 5

NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIV.
Author Patrick Lencioni's books have become increasingly
popular with our staff, along with other head coaches within the NOVEMBER 12
department. Although written in a "business world" mind set, his TUSCULUM COLLEGE
books provide incredible insight into all areas of leadership. Teams will be encouraged to arrive
Unlike most business "how-to" leadership books, Lencioni's early to meet with our coaching staff,
books are written more in a story form. We have found all three and receive a tour of one of the
of these quick reads countries best on campus facilities.
to be very beneficial.

-The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

Please contact me as soon as possible
-The Five Temptations of a CEO to make arrangements to attend either
-The Four Obsessions of an game. I will need to obtain a list of the
Extraordinary Executive
names of the players and coaches that
will be coming to the game. Your team
will need to report to the will call window
2006 SEAN MILLER TEAM CAMP at the Cintas Center and will be granted
Each summer, Xavier's team camp is one of the strongest in the admission via a passlist. Walk up
Midwest. This year our team camp will be held on Thursday and admission will not be allowed.
Friday, June 29 and 30.
Only a limited number of tickets remain
PAST TEAM CAMP CHAMPIONS: for each game! We look forward to the
For information, contact: 2001 - Winton Woods High School (OH)
Xavier Assistant Coach 2002 - Pike High School (IN) chance to have you and your team on
Chris Mack 2003 - Pike High School (IN) campus!!
(513) 745-2851 2004 - Muncie Central High School (IN) Mario Mercurio
2005 - Hughes High School mercuriom@xavier.edu
mackc@xavier.edu
Xavier University - Men's Basketball - 3800 Victory Parkway - Cintas Center - Cincinnati, OH 45207 - (513) 745-3417 - (887) WE ARE XU
 ZONE OFFENSE - CORNER
5 4 5 41

5 1
2 3 2 2
4
1

1 3

A B

3 out 2 in alignment. 1 passes to 2. 2 passes to 3. On the catch by 3, 4

1 screens the middle of the zone uses 1's screen by flashing middle.
as 3 replaces.

5 1 5 2
4
1
4 4 1

2 2

3 3

C D

3 passes to 2. 5 screens in for 1 as 5 "seeks" the next defender and

1 cuts along the baseline. 2 posts up as 4 forms a high low
passes to 1. look by flashing.

ZONE OFFENSE
Thursday, October 20, 2005

Duncan hopes to turn strength into numbers

Improved play inside expected
By Dustin Dow
Enquirer staff writer

It was ridiculous. That was the observation made by Xavier University strength coach Chris Rounds, anyway.

The bar, stacked with 185 pounds of weight, kept coming back up. Down, up. Down, up. Down, up. Players and
coaches stopped and stared.

Lying flat on his back, underneath all that weight, Josh Duncan continued to push the bar away from his body, only to
bring it back down and push it away again. Twenty-five times he did this. It was a strength test conducted Aug. 24 in the
Cintas Center weight room, and it solidified Duncan's place as the strongest XU player.

It would be merely noteworthy if that were the extent of Duncan's achievement. But it just so happens that bench-press
repetitions of 185 pounds is the NBA pre-draft camp's standard strength measurement in June, when 64 draft hopefuls
convene in Chicago. This year's strongest man? That would be Oklahoma State's Joey Graham, who put up 185
pounds 26 times. No one else did better than 21 repetitions. The year before the high mark was 22.

So at 6 feet 9, 230 pounds, Duncan, a sophomore, might be one of the strongest players in the country, the sort of
athlete Xavier coach Sean Miller had hoped to develop with a more rigorous offseason training program.

Getting Duncan to use that power in a game, however, is what really matters to Xavier coaches, who would like to see
Duncan develop beyond his role-player status of last season.

He was strong then, too, having come to Xavier from Moeller. But his physical strength didn't always translate as
expected, because Duncan mainly occupied the perimeter, hoisting 3-point shots (of which he made 38.6 percent).

It wasn't until the season neared its end that he became comfortable venturing into the lane with regularity to outmuscle
rebounds from opposing players. "As a freshman, he wasn't used to that physicality," said XU assistant Chris Mack.
"This year, we've got him doing rebounding drills with Will (Caudle) and Brian Thornton, and down there, it's survival of
the fittest."

On Xavier's team, Duncan is as fit as they come - he also has a 36.5-inch vertical leap - but learning to establish
position as a power forward is a lengthy process.

"A lot of it is mental," Duncan said. "You have to know in your mind that you're not going to let this person post up. You
have to fight every time for the position." If Duncan manages to improve his post game, thereby becoming more
versatile, Miller expects to be able to be more creative with lineups, which would only help Duncan find more court
time.

Last season, he averaged 14.4 minutes, scoring 6.2 points and grabbing 2.3 rebounds per game. He was one of the
team's more talented offensive players, but it was defense Xavier lacked, and Duncan's presence didn't change that.

So Mack has been instructing him to not only be more assertive down low but to dictate on the perimeter as well.
"Instead of waiting for (opponents) to make a move, I'm taking the initiative, jabbing at them, not just standing still,"
Duncan said.

Xavier coaches envision Duncan moving fluidly inside and outside the lane, much the way starting power forward
Justin Doellman does. Duncan's remarkable strength helps make that possible, but applying it on the court will be
crucial.

Xavier University - Men's Basketball - 3800 Victory Parkway - Cintas Center - Cincinnati, OH 45207 -(513) 745-3417 - (877) WE ARE XU