Monday, January 24, 2000
XAVIER NOTEBOOK
Losing gets old for young West
Xavier freshman David West was overflowing with frustration after a game for the second straight time.
The 6-foot-8 center finished with three points — tying a season-low — on 1-of-5 shooting with seven rebounds Sunday in an 80-49 loss to La Salle. West also missed three of four foul shots.
“We're losing, and I'm a big part of it,” he said. “I'm doing something wrong; I've just got to find out what it is.”
He made similar comments after XU's loss at Duquesne eight days earlier.
Xavier has lost three in a row, and West said it was time for a players-only meeting.
“We have no right to talk like we're an NCAA team,” West said. “Forget the UC game; we lost four games after that. We need to get past that. Right now we're not playing worth a damn, man. As a team we're just not.
“I have no clue (why). We're going to try to figure it out.”
West said the coaching staff shouldn't be held responsible for how the team is playing.
“There are no drills or anything you can do to make us want to win, make us want to play hard,” West said.
“We're not listening to what coach says. We're saying, "We understand, We got it,' and we don't. And it shows.”
Turnabout
Mostly with Lloyd Price guarding him, La Salle's leading scorer Rasual Butler (19.6 ppg) went scoreless in the first half Sunday and missed all six of his shots. But Butler hit his first basket in the second half — a 3-pointer — and finished with 16 points on 6-of-16 shooting.
Notable numbers
Xavier didn't have an assist until 7:17 into the game, when Maurice McAfee fed Alvin Brown for a layup. The Musketeers finished with seven assists; La Salle's Julian Blanks had eight.
Big man
West isn't just leading Xavier in rebounding (9.1), he came into Sunday's game as the leader among all freshmen in the country.
Up next
Xavier plays at East Division leader Temple at 9:30 p.m. Tuesday (ESPN2). The Owls, who defeated Virginia Tech 66-46 Saturday, are 12-4, 5-1 A-10.
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