Xavier loses to Butler

The Xavier men's basketball team had to swallow a heavy dose of its own medicine on Tuesday night in a 74-65 loss to Butler.
Xavier, who had been going to the free throw line 33.5 times per game to their opponents' 19.5 trips per game, saw the Bulldogs march to the free throw line 33 times in their victory.
The 26 points -- all in the second half -- that resulted from those free throws proved to be the difference in the game. The Bulldogs were able to overcome 30 percent shooting in the second half, by riding a strong performance at the line.
Meanwhile, Xavier could not find their stroke at the line, preventing them from consummating a constant comeback attempt. Xavier was only 12-22 from the line -- 10-17 in the second half.
The loss was Xavier's first in 15 games at Cintas Center, and second loss of the season after a 9-0 start. Xavier will be off until a home game against Robert Morris on Dec. 31.

Brown to be featured in SI

Sports Illustrated magazine is planning a feature on Xavier junior forward Derrick Brown. No word on when the story is scheduled to run, as of yet, just that it will be in one of the next few editions.

Tough start dooms Muskies against Duke

The Xavier University men’s basketball team came out stagnant, sluggish, and possibly awestruck in what had been dubbed by some as the biggest game in the history of the school’s regular season play, falling behind 18-1 in the first four minutes and falling to Duke University 82-64 on Saturday.
The Musketeers (9-1), allowed Duke to make eight of their first 10 shots –including three made three point field goals – to build what would prove to be an insurmountable lead before the first television timeout at 16:00 left in the first half.
“Clearly the start had a lot to do with today’s loss. Being down 18-1, it becomes hard no matter what you say because the fact is that you are down 20 points almost immediately,” Xavier had coach Sean Miller said. “Their start -- which they do to a lot of teams -- was the signature in today’s game.”
While Duke was lighting it up from the field early, Xavier could not get anything going offensively against Duke’s pressure defense, missing their first four attempts, turning the ball over four times and missing three of four free throws.
“Maybe in some aspects [we were a little bit scared],” junior forward Derrick Brown said. “That is not the team that we have seen through 46 practices and nine games. That is not the team that we are accustomed to being. It is disappointing because on a big stage like this we want to show everybody who we are. But you have to give credit to Duke. They came out and punched us in the mouth.”
The Musketeers would never be able to recover from the early hole, as Duke wings Gerald Henderson (19 points on the afternoon) and Jon Scheyer (23 points on 5-7 three point shooting) carved up Xavier’s signature pack-line defense with penetration and kick-out three point jump shots.
While Xavier would shoot 16-26 (61.2 percent) for the second half, it would not do much more than slim the final margain of victory against Duke’s second unit.
Falling flat in the much-anticipated matchup was the last thing on the minds of the Musketeer players as they made their journey to New Jersey, and proved to be a tough pill to swallow.
“I guess it has not sunk in yet. I am disappointed. No doubt that Duke is a better team, but not 18-1 better than us [to start the game]. I know that for a fact,” Brown said.
Xavier’s will have to prove that they truly are a better squad than they showed on Saturday as they move forward, something important with Butler (No. 2 in the RPI rankings) coming to Cintas Center on Tuesday, Dec. 23.
“It is important to move to the next game,” Miller said. “I don’t like the deficit that we lost by today, but we have a big picture. That means we have to be 10-1 after we play Butler. To have that record would be something to build on going in to our conference,” Miller said.

YouTube Video of the Week: "Nobody's Perfect"

The Newswire would like to present the newest blog feature: The YouTube Video of the Week. The concept is fairly self-explanatory: Videos, either awesome or ridiculous, with some commentary from our end for good measure.


For the inaugural post, I'd like to introduce doglover199709.

I would post the video here, but unfortunately, Miss Doglover won't let other people embed her videos on their websites. You'll see why if you follow the link.

Nobody's Perfect

Nobody's perfect, maybe. But most people don't put their imperfections on YouTube.

And yes, that is a "miss."

From the first, determined look on her face--so exquisite in the flashing light--you know that you are about to view pure magic.

Observe: The move at 1:21.

There are no words. Well... there probably were, but comments have been disabled on her videos. Still, the "adoration" of her fans can still be seen in the video responses, where other YouTubers borrow her choreography.

Doglover, or Jordan, is 15 years old (uh huh.). But you better watch out, man. As her YouTube bio states: "I am just a nature girland I am also a tomboy. I can be a real good friend. If your not going to be nice to me, I wouldn't be around me at all because I can do some pretty mean things."

Mean things, man. Mean things.

I like to thank Miley Cyrus, Auburn Soccer Camp and McDonald's for making this video possible.

Be sure to check out her renditions of other favorites such as "So What" or "DISTURBIA!!!!!!!!!!!!"


Expect weekly updates with the newest internet fads (and some old favorites, as well).

Xavier beats Auburn, but Miller still upset with effort

The Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team escaped a late collapse against Auburn on Wednesday night to come away with an 81-74 victory over the Tigers.
The Musketeers jumped out to a 22 point lead with 11:36 left in the game before allowing the Tigers to close on a 37-25 run. Miller attributed the late Auburn run to problems by some of the Xavier players' lack of intensity.
"I was disappointed with our team's effort level. We have to address a couple of players. You are not going to start, you are not going to play unless you play hard," Miller said. "We gotta run back [on defense]."
The lack of defensive intensity down the stretch has become a common theme for the Musketeers. Xavier allowed a 23 point lead with 6:00 left be slimmed to 14 points in the final minutes against Toledo, and escaped with a three point win over Findlay in the exhibition game after holding a lead of greater than 20 points.
Miller noted the propensity to collapse late, and plans to cure the problem through added intensity in practice.
"The good news for me is that I have seven days before our next game, and around here it is going to be like we are 0-7," Miller said.
Miller cited Xavier's lack of strength with the ball, inability to accept fouls, or make the subsequent foul shots, lethargic effort in transition and offensive mistakes such as giving up the dribble in poor areas. Although he was apprehensive to name which players he was most displeased with, Miller did not seem to like the games that his upperclassmen leaders Derrick Brown and C.J. Anderson played, citing a poor game by Anderson and noting that the team needs Brown to "run hard."
While Anderson and Brown may not have put forth their best efforts, the team's other senior leader B.J. Raymond played his best game of his career, scoring a career high 32 points and grabbing six rebounds.
The 32 points was the highest total by a Xavier player since Stanley Burrell scored 32 against Duquesne in 2005, and was fueled by a hot night from long-range, as Raymond was 7-9 from three point range. Raymond, who had been shooting 28.6 percent from three point range on the year, attributed the success to a some changes in practice.
"I went back to the drawing board. My mechanics were good tonight: my balance, my follow-through. It had nothing to do with me lucking it in. [Once I found my shot], my teammates just found me, and I made some shots," Raymond said.
While Raymond was going off fro what Miller called "one of the best games that I have seen a Xavier player play in my eight years here," the rest of the Musketeers were struggling and failing to play at full intensity, something that did not escape Raymond.
"We are probably the worst 7-0 team in the country right now. We have to get better," Raymond said.

Passing on the Inbox...

There seems to be a flood of pre-Thanksgiving Xavier men's basketball information coming out in the past few days, with the Musketeers winning the Puerto Rico Tipoff, cracking the top 25, losing their freshman point guard, listening closely to the news at Indiana University, announcing the official signing of Kevin Parrom and getting news of a new A-10 Tournament format.
I will tackle the last two before touching on some of the others.

Xavier announced the signing of Kevin Parrom on Tuesday after Parrom verbally commit ed to Xavier in September. The 6'6" senior forward will look to step in and take some minutes at the small forward spot as a freshman, much like Terrell Holloway has done with the point guard spot this season.
Here are a few of the things that being said about the Parrom, the No. 84 prospect in the class of 2009 according to Rivals.com:
“Kevin Parrom is a versatile wing player that can play a number of different positions in our program. With the impending departures of seniors C.J. Anderson and B.J. Raymond, finding this type of player was our top priority in the 2009 class. We are very excited about Kevin’s ability to contribute to our program on the basketball court. We are equally excited about his ability as a student and who he is as a person. He is a great fit into our University and our basketball program.” ~Sean Miller
“I love his competitiveness and how hard he works. His versatility sets him apart as a player. He handles the ball and shoots like a guard but he has the size to go inside and get a rebound or post up another player. When he grabs a rebound he also has the ability to start the break. He can do a lot of things well. Kevin is a high character kid. He’s mature. He takes criticism, learns from it and works hard to get better.” ~Kelvin Jefferson, Parrom's coach at South Kent Prep School in South Kent, Connecticut
“Xavier only signed one player in the fall but they struck gold with Kevin. He will make an immediate impact and that’s quite a statement about Kevin because he is entering a high-level, top-notch college basketball program. I just saw Kevin play again this past weekend. Kevin puts tremendous pressure on the defense with his driving ability. He has great body control when he gets to the rim and can adjust while in the air. He has improved his jump shot. Kevin plays the game with tremendous passion. He doesn’t take plays off. He has the potential to be an outstanding defender in the tough, gritty defense that Sean [Miller] likes to play. He is a high level player that brings a lot to the table.” ~Paul Biancardi, ESPN National Director of Recruiting for High School and College Basketball

When Parrom does join the Musketeers in 2009-10, he will have a chance to participate int he restructured Atlantic 10 Tournament in 2010. The Conference announced on Tuesday that the 2010 tournament will keep the 12 team format in which the top four teams get a bye in the first round of the tournament, but will have the first round game (No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed, No. 5 seed vs. No. 12 seed, No. 6 seed vs. No. 11 seed and No. 7 seed vs. No. 10 seed) play at the home venue of the higher seeded team. The rationale behind the move was to increase attendance to the opening round games by holding the meaningful games on the campus of the individual teams, and avoiding the traditionally sparse turnouts on the opening day of the tournament. These games will be played on Tuesday, March 9 2010, with the remaining three rounds being held on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, allowing the tournament to finish on "Selection Sunday."
The restructuring of the tournament comes with a new television deal as well, as CBS Sports will air the championship game of the tournament on Sunday, March 14 2010 at 1 p.m.
All of this is a testament to the outstanding job that first year commissioner Bernadete McGlade has done in her short tenure on the job. McGlade has already increased television exposure for the league in the form of a deal with ESPN, and continues to think progressively with new topics such as the tournament.

As for Jordan Crawford, the NCAA appears to be have ruled that Indiana University will be not be sanctioned from postseason play at all, according to Andy Katz at ESPN.com. While the NCAA came down hard on IU coach Kelvin Sampson with a five year ban, they did not reprimand Indiana quite as hard. The NCAA can now make the argument that Crawford would have had every advantage that he will be able to enjoy at Xavier if he had stayed at Indiana, which when coupled with the recent precedence of toughening eligibility rulings makes for a very bleak outlook for Crawford's eligibility.

Getting knocked off of the pedestol

The Xavier Musketeers came back across the Atlantic Ocean on Monday with a championship trophy from their 63-58 victory over the Memphis Tigers in the championship game of the Puerto Rico Season Tipoff.
While the win was a significant step forward for the program, and answered many questions about the team's toughness, ability to handle the ball and point guard play, the Musketeers will now have to face the reality of a college basketball season, and a new slew of questions.
One of the more harsh realities of a five month basketball season is injuries, something Xavier has already had to deal with this season with Derrick Brown's left ankle sprain. The Musketeers will have to deal with injuries once again with the news on Monday that freshman point guard Terrell Holloway could miss an extended period of time with a stress fracture in his right foot, aggravated in Sunday's win over Memphis.
Holloway, who had averaged 9.0 points, 2.0 assists, 2.0 rebounds and was 20-20 from the free throw line in three games in Puerto Rico, could be out for an extended period of time if the stress fracture proves to be problematic.
In his absence, Xavier will have a hole at the point guard position that the young freshman had recently proven to be a reliable option at. One possible candidate for the position is Jordan Crawford.
Crawford, the sophomore transfer from Indiana, will likely hear a decision on his eligibility from the NCAA in the next week.
The prospects for Crawford's case appear to be slim, however, as NCAA president Myles Brand has made good on his promise this season to toughen up on immediate eligibility cases. In the past week the NCAA has denied the eligibility of Crawford's former Indiana teammate Eli Holman, now at Detroit, and USC center Alex Stephenson, a transfer from North Carolina who was seeking immediate eligibility as a result of health issues in his Los Angeles based family that necessitated the transfer to Southern California.
With the bleak outlook of the Crawford case coupled with the uncertainty surrounding Holloway, Sean Miller may be in a more ambiguous position with regard to his point guard position than when he began the season.
In the short term, Miller will have to rely on sophomore Dante Jackson to log major minutes at the point guard spot, something Jackson has struggled at the season, turning the ball over 10 times this season, but also picking up 10 assists. While Xavier may not be in its best flow with Jackson running the show, he is long and athletic enough to supply Miller with perhaps his best defensive lineup, something that the Musketeers will have to rely on even more if they do not have the services of Holloway and Crawford.
The headaches for Miller may start to come in when he thinks about what happens when he has to sit Jackson on the bench for long periods of time -- a realistic possibility considering Jackson collected 12 fouls in three games in Puerto Rico. The two options for Miller off the bench -- freshmen Brad Redford and Brian Walsh -- have not been wildly ineffective in the first five games of the season.
Redford is still obviously adjusting to the speed of the college game, as evidenced by his performance against Memphis, where he got his only three point field goal attempt blocked, turned the ball over once and broke down multiple times on defense in only five minutes of action. Redford is slowly improving, though, and is always a threat with his deadly jump shot.
Walsh is really not a point guard, but my have to handle the ball if Xavier really gets into a pinch in the coming weeks. He has not seen much time yet this season, as he battled a lower back injury in the preseason and appears to still be rounding back into shape. He does give Xavier good defensive ability, and can knock down a jump shot if given a spot-up opportunity.
With all of the uncertainty surrounding the Musketeers it will surely be right back to the grindstone for Sean Miller and the Xavier staff. With games against MAC favorite Miami and SEC contender Auburn looming in the next 10 days the chance to test the suddenly new-look Musketeers will present itself quickly.

Xavier 63 Memphis 58

With a great defensive effort, valuing the basketball and some timely free throw shooting the Xavier Musketeers won the Puerto Rico Season Tipoff. The Musketeers shot 25 of 37 from the free throw line, turned the ball over only 11 times and held the Tigers to 34 percent shooting (18 of 53).
Freshman point guard Terrell Holloway proved his merit again, knocking down all 10 of his free throws including two in the last minute of the game in leading his team with 13 points. Holloway also directed his team from the point guard spot as the Musketeers valued the ball against the ball-hawking Tigers to the tune of a season-low 11 turnovers.
The Musketeers did an excellent job of containing Memphis star freshman Tyreke Evans, who had 12 points, but had to put up 17 shots to get them. C.J. Anderson was the main man to shut down Evans, allowing him to shoot the perimeter jump shot, and only getting beaten off of the dribble a handful of times by the top freshman in the country. Anderson also added 10 points and six rebounds, as the senior leader was the most demonstrative Musketeer on the night after disappointing showings against Missouri and Virginia Tech in the first two games of the tournament.
While the Musketeers did not shoot the ball well themselves (37.5 percent, 18-48), they made up for it with perfect execution of the Musketeers' packline defense, the forced the Tigers to shoot perimeter shots. The Tigers struggled from deep, only hitting 7 of 21 of their three point field goals.
The Tigers' poor stroke extended to the free throw line, where they only made 15 of 30 charity shots. All of the shooting woes helped the Musketeers start 5-0 for the first time in fifth year head coach Sean Miller's tenure at Xavier.
The Musketeers were able to win the despite not getting much from preseason first team all-conference forward Derrick Brown. Brown only scored one point and had two rebounds against the athletic Tiger frontline.
The impact of Brown's off night was softened by sophomore Jamel McLean's 11 points and four rebounds.
The win was a big step forward for the Musketeers, who entered the season with questions surrounding many aspects of the team. Xavier now has a quality win over a top-20 team on a neutral court on its resume, and boatloads of confidence in the minds of their youngsters.

Xavier vs. Memphis preview

A matchup between Xavier and Memphis provides and interesting convergence of styles, particularly when the Tigers have the ball. The Tigers run the dribble-drive-motion offense, predicated on beating a defender off of the dribble, and then either taking the shot or passing to a teammate whose man has had to come over to help out. This is interesting against Xavier since the Musketeers' pack-line defense is based upon putting defenders in help position (or "gaps" as they call it), and then recovering onto their man once he gets the ball.
If Xavier is able to stop the Memphis penetration effectively with commited help defense (not "Casper the Ghost" help defense as Sean Miller called their effort against Tyrone Kent and Toledo on Nov. 17), then the Tigers halfcourt offense will be forced to rely on three-point shooting, offensive rebounding and transition baskets. Forcing Memphis to become a three-point shooting team would look to be advantageous for Xavier, as the Tigers are only shooting 23.8 percent (20-84) from deep this season. Of course with missed three point field goals comes long rebounds, and the Tigers have been adept and hauling in those rebounds in their first four games of the young season, hauling in 41.3 rebounds per game, 14.8 of which coming on the offensive end.
With the inconsistency by the Tigers in the halfcourt set, a large portion of their points come in transition. Memphis' long athletic defensive athletes have forced 21.5 turnovers per game, a scary proposition for a Xavier team averaging 18.5 turnovers per game with a young backcourt. There will undoubtedly be a few breakaway dunks by the Tigers mixed into the game, but limiting these transition baskets, and their mental effect on his young team, will be a key for Sean Miller and his staff.
Like almost any game for Xavier, the end result will come down to how they defend, and how they get to the free throw line. As a result of the defensive scheme, and style of play that Miller likes to run, the number of free throws that Xavier shoots, and the field goal percentage of their opponent are consistently the two most important factors in any Musketeer game. When Xavier plays tough opponents these two areas become all the more important. For instance, Xavier did these things well in big wins over Indiana (held them to 38.5 percent shooting and went to the line 30 times compared to the Hoosier's 16), Massachusetts (held the Minutemen to 37 percent shooting while getting to the line 34 times to Umass' 28), Georgia (allowed the bulldogs to hang around with 46.4 percent shooting, but dominated the game with 33 free throws to the Bulldogs five) and Purdue (28.8 percent shooting and a 33 to 23 free throw advantage) in 2007-08. Conversely, the Musketeers struggle when they allow teams to shoot well and don't to the free throw line themselves. Bad losses to Miami (44.4 percent shooting and a RedHawk free throw advantage of 15 to 14), Arizona State (59.5 percent shooting and a Sun Devil free throw advantage of 22 to 15) and Temple (50.9 percent shooting and a 14 to 13 advantage in free throw shooting for the Owls) in 2007-08 featured breakdowns in these areas.
While the 2008-09 Musketeers have a very different team composition, the principles of the system in which they play remain the same. The Musketeers win over Virginia Tech on Friday featured a 26-14 free throw advantage for Xavier, and 38.3 percent shooting from the Hokies. Thursday's win over Missouri featured a 41-31 free throw advantage for Xavier and 41.7 percent shooting by the Tigers.
The free throw shooting on this Xavier team is especially important in the game against Memphis, as the Tigers are not especially deep up front, so trips to the free throw line aid Xavier in thinning out the Memphis lineup, slowing the tempo of the game and, obviously, putting easy points on the board. The field goal percentage is simply a stat that all pack-line defense teams focus on, and will always be a constant key in any game involving Sean Miller on the sidelines.
So as you are watching Xavier tonight (7:30 p.m. on ESPN2) check out the free throw shooting and field goal percentages of the teams. If Xavier is outshooting the Tigers by 10 free throws and holding Memphis under 40 percent shooting for the game at the end of the night, then the youthful Musketeers will likely be flying back across the Atlantic with some extra hardware in tow. If Memphis consistently gets easy baskets in transition, and stays out of foul trouble, however, then Xavier could be in for a long night.

Clutch threes

I don't know about everybody else, but I could get used seeing Xavier make huge threes when they need them the most. With Xavier down by two and only 1.9 seconds left, Dante Jackson banked in a half court shot to lift the Musketeers over Virgina Tech. Obviously this game in the Puerto Rico tournament is not as meaningful as the NCAA tournament, but the shot did bring back memories of B.J. Raymond's three pointer against West Virgina.
Jackson's shot was very clutch. Prior to the half court attempt, Jackson was 0-5 from behind the arc. Good teams make shots when they need them most. Some might say that the shot was entirely luck, and there was a fair amount of luck invovlved. But again good teams create their own luck. Great job by Xavier to get the ball into the open man quickly, and find the opportunity to take an open, decent shot.
Great game. Highly intertaining. This team just keeps giving us great reasons to watch them. These early close games are going to be great practice and learning experiences come the stretch of the season.

Va. Tech Preview

With the 75-71 win over Missouri on Thursday the Xavier Musketeers advance to play Virginia Tech in the Semifinals of the O'Rielly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Season Tipoff. The Hokies return a solid core of players from a squad that barely missed an NCAA berth in March. Here is a look at the Hokies by Doug Bowman of HokieHaven.com:
VT loves to get into the open court, but will also pull back and go into a half court offense. In that half court, they like to work the ball around and get 2 of Vassallo/Delaney and Allen on one side where they can isolate either Allen in the post while giving Vassallo/Delaney the oppurtunity to drive.
A.D. Vassallo is the best player, although Delaney and Allen are definitely not far behind. Seth Greenberg calls them "a poor mans big three" in referring to the Celtics big three. Vassallo is a deadly shooter, but is also very effective driving. Delaney is a smooth shooter, also the best free throw shooter on the team, and one of the leaders. Jeff Allen has dropped a lot of weight and is the go to guy in the post, but can also step out and knock down a 3 ball. He does have a tendency to fail to recognize a double team coming from his backside and will turn right into it.
The Hokies have done a fantastic job of finishing games this year. Last year, these two close games against Gardner Webb and Mt. Saint Mary's would have resulted in heartbreaking losses. This year, they handle the pressure of the final minutes much better.
VT has struggled to keep the intensity up for a full 40 minutes. They had a huge lead against Gardner Webb before having it wittled to 3 and had to struggled with Mt. Saint Mary's before coming back in the closing minutes.

Crawford situation still up in the air

With his point guard position in a state of turmoil following an exhibition game against Findlay on Friday that featured 28 turnovers, 10 of which coming from the backcourt, Xavier head coach Sean Miller was hoping for some good news this week in regard to sophomore transfer guard Jordan Crawford.
What Miller has received, however, has not exactly been to his liking: I whole lot of silence.
Miller, along with the Xavier program, is still awaiting word from the NCAA with regards to Crawford’s eligibility.
“We are hopeful that sometime in the next couple of weeks that we can find out either way because I am more concerned about Jordan Crawford than I am about Xavier. If you were him, you would probably want to know if you could play this season,” Miller said on Thursday.
Crawford, a 6’4” guard out of Detroit who spent the past season at Indiana University, decided to transfer to Xavier in August amid the threat of NCAA sanctions being levied against the Hoosier basketball program as a result of recruiting violations by former coach Kelvin Sampson.
Indiana self-imposed a sanction against themselves in October of 2007, forfeiting one scholarship following allegations from the NCAA that Indiana assistant coaches conducted impermissible phone calls to recruits (including current Xavier freshman Kenny Frease) and handed out improper benefits to recruits.
The situation worsened in February of 2008 when the NCAA revealed that Sampson himself had been involved in the violations, and had attempted to deceive the NCAA when questioned about the incident.
Indiana did not take any further action, however, arguing that the monetary loss of having to buy out Sampson’s contract in February, coupled with the hit to the men’s basketball program’s academic progress rate – a score determined by the NCAA to gauge each program’s academic proficiency, and determine if that program should receive any merit or penalty – that the exodus of players from the IU basketball program has caused (the school is withholding two scholarships in 2008-09 in anticipation of APR violations) will be enough penalty for the program.
The Indiana program only retains two players from a season ago and saw six players – Crawford (Xavier), Brandon McGee (Auburn), Armon Bassett (UAB), Eli Holman (Detroit), DeAndre Thomas (Robert Morris) and Jamarcus Ellis (Oklahoma City) – transfer as a result of the allegations.
Each of the four eligibility cases – Thomas and Ellis did not transfer to division one schools, so they receive immediate eligibility – have been filed separately, and Crawford is believed to have the strongest case of the four as a result of his late exit from the program in August, and the bleak outlook of the program at the time of his transfer, that arguably necessitated the transfer.
“Jordan Crawford is that he is very unique in his situation. Anyone who left Indiana University is separate from the next one. We have taken Jordan and his family’s word along with a lot of different facts that allow us to appeal,” Miller said before the season. “We are confident in our appeal.”
The final verdict on Crawford eligibility, however, will likely be closely tied to the severity of the sanctions that the NCAA imposes on the Indiana basketball program.
If IU is barred from NCAA play for three years then Crawford would receive immediate eligibility under the rules stating that a student-athlete will not have to sit out a season if his former school is suspended from postseason play for the duration of his academic career, three years in Crawford’s case.
The ambiguity in the case comes in if the NCAA levies a softer sanction, such as the expected one year ban on postseason play. In such an instance, it becomes a judgment call by NCAA President Myles Brand and his staff based on Crawford’s individual situation.
In Crawford Xavier would gain a player with the ability to play either guard position, help out on the glass, score off of the dribble adeptly and, perhaps most importantly, run an offense. Crawford averaged 9.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists as a freshman at Indiana, starting alongside NBA talents Eric Gordon and D.J. White.
Miller has been seeing some of those skills in practice, yet has tried to reign in his talented sophomore as a result of the uncertainty surrounding the situation.
“It’s tricky because on one hand Jordan and our team deserves to think about him being a part of things. On the other hand, Jordan and our team deserves to prepare as if he is not a part of things,” Miller said. “He competes everyday in the parts of practice that have nothing to do with the plays that you are running or [game planning]. He competes like any transfer student would, knowing that he can’t play.”
As it currently stands Crawford is not eligible for the 2008-09 season, and will be forced to watch the first few games of the season from the sidelines, including being left behind on Xavier’s trip to Puerto Rico for the Puerto Rico Season Tip-off.

Findlay not to be overlooked

The Xavier University men's basketball team begins their 2008-09 campaign on Friday, Nov. 7 at Cintas Center with an exhibition against the Findlay Oilers, a Division II squad from central Ohio.
While the Oilers don't pose the imposing profile of a division one squad, they are the class of Division II, being voted the top team in the country by the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
The Oilers, who knocked off Ohio State in an exhibition a year ago, return Division II Preseason All-American Josh Baltic on the wing. Baltic, a 6'5", 230 lb. senior out of Columbus averaged 13.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game in being named a first-team All-American in 2007-08.
"They are an extremely well coached team that went to Columbus last year and beat Ohio State," Miller said. "They will have better players at times than some of our early season opponents, including an individual player (Baltic) that can play on any team in the country."
Baltic is not the only Oiler on the preseason All-Conference first team either, as 6'4" senior wing Morgan Lewis returns after averaging 12.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.8 points per game in 07-08.
Baltic and Lewis are joined by 5'9 lightning bolt Marcus Parker, a junior point guard that figures to apply some defensive pressure to Xavier's backcourt.
"To me, they have two wings and a point guard that can play at a lot of division one programs. That is why they are so successful,"
The point guard spot has been the main area of question entering the season at Xavier, and Miller seems to have decided on sophomore Dante Jackson starting and playing about 15 minutes at the point guard spot, with a rotation of freshmen Terrell Holloway and Brad Redford taking up the remaining 25 minutes.
Obviously, Miller has been impressed by Jackson to merit him the minutes at the beginning, and likely the end, of each game.
"He has earned that [role] in his performance in practice, and that is a tribute to Dante," Miller said. "Early on [in the season] Dante Jackson is the most reliable [point guard] because he is so much further ahead defensively."
With Jackson at the point guard spot, Miller sees B.J. Raymond getting significant minutes at the shooting guard spot, opening more time for the likes of Jamel McLean and Kenny Frease off of the bench - two players that Miller included in his group of the most impressive newcomers, along with Terrell Holloway.
The 2008-09 Xavier team still has a lot of issues to be settled, and Friday's matchup with Findlay will likely go a long way in revealing answers to those questions because of some of the aspects that the Oilers bring to the table.
"Being that they are well coached, it is going to be a real good challenge for our defense because they have a system on offense, and if we are not hitting on all cylinders, then they are going to be difficult to defend," Miller said. "Conversely on our offense, it is an opportunity to improve against a solid team."

Analyzing the A-10 (08-09 Predictions)

The time has come to take a look a how the A-10 looks to shake down in 2008-09. A season ago Xavier ran away from the field at 14-2 in the conference, undefeated at home against A-10 opponents. Temple (11-5) and Massachusetts (10-6) also enjoyed successful years, but after those three teams the league began to get hairy. Eight teams, better than half of the conference, were within a game of .500. As the teams beat up on each other, the A-10's chances of getting multiple teams into the NCAA Tournament began to dwindle, as only Xavier, Saint Joseph's (9-7) and conference tournament champion Temple were able to get an invitation to the big dance. The conference looks to be similarly competitive this season, 12 teams entering the season harbouring legitimate thoughts of competing into March in some fashion. With that said I attempted to sort out the conference, and give my (sure to be wrong) predictions on the 2008-09 season:
1. Xavier - The Musketeers have firmly established their dominance in the Atlantic 10 with last year's 30 win season and Elite Eight berth. The Musketeers lost a lot from that squad, with seniors Drew Lavender, Josh Duncan and Stanley Burrell all moving on the careers in Europe. The loss of Duncan will be softened by the fact that starters Derrick Brown and Jason Love will return for their junior seasons. However, the vacancies that Lavender and Burrell leave will force Xavier to play an inexperienced backcourt, particularly early in the season. Four star point guard Terrell Holloway looks to have the upper hand on the starting point guard spot over fellow freshman Mark Lyons and Brad Redford (although to be fair Lyons is more of a two-guard and Redford is best coming off of screens than with the ball. Also Redford seems the most likely candidate of any on the team to redshirt in 08-09 because of his lack of physical strength to compete at the college level at the moment. He undoubtedly can compete with his jump shot at the moment, but taking an extra year to gain the physical strength and then taking B.J. Raymond's role as the designated sharpshooter in 09-10 would not be a bad option for Redford.) Holloway may not get the starting nod out of the gate, as Sean Miller turned to Dante Jackson at times last season, and likely will keep with the experience against major opponents in the Puerto Rico season Tip-Off. If Jackson is the point guard, then Xavier will likely put a lineup on the floor with more height and rebounding ability than any other team that they run up against. Raymond, the sharpshooting wing who has taken criticism from Miller in the past for his defensive shortcomings, is among the three players in their fourth year of collegiate experience that Miller will look to to lead the Musketeers. C.J. Anderson, who averaged 10.9 ppg and 5.9 rpg a season ago in his first season after transferring from Manhattan, is a 6'6" wing who does most of his work inside of the paint. Derrick Brown, the 6'8" NBA prospect on account of his Youtube worthy athletic ability, looks to be the go-to player for this batch of Musketeers. Brown's improving jumpshot complements his ability to put the ball on the floor and get the basket, where he has always been able to finish. Jason Love, in my opinion the most underrated player in the A-10, rounds out the frontcourt. All reports out of Cintas Center say that Love has made huge strides in his offensive ability, including his free throw shooting. With a solid back to the basket game to complement an always plentiful amount of put backs, Love will undoubtedly be among the conference leaders in free throw attempts. With Love and Brown teaming up in the paint the Musketeers posses a formidable defensive presence in the paint.
The Musketeer bench contains quite a few players with the ability to contribute. In the frontcourt Tulsa transfer Jamel McLean looks to spell Brown or Love with quality defensive minutes. Four star freshman center Kenny Frease will likely see significant minutes, albeit probably not in crunch time, and offers a solid defensive presence to go with a good mid range and post-up game. The backcourt will consist of the freshman trio of Lyons and Redford and three star wing Brian Walsh. The wild-card in the equation is the eligibility of Jordan Crawford. If Crawford is deemed eligible then he likely slides into the starting point guard spot for Xavier, giving the Musketeers impressive depth and scoring ability. With Crawford Xavier is a top-20 team with the chance of sneaking into the top 10 with a solid run like the put on in February of last season. Without Crawford Xavier is a fringe top 25 team, and may find some pitfalls in the A-10 schedule on the road with a young backcourt. Either way Xavier should have the athletes and the quality frontcourt to carry them to the regular season title.
2. Charlotte - The 49ers return 73% of their scoring, 87% of their rebounding and 86% of their assists from a team that lost in the first round of the NIT Tournament last year. The key loss is the Leemire Goldwire, the A-10 leading three point shooter from a year ago, who led the team at 18.6 ppg. Coach Bobby Lutz will rely on returning starter DiJaun Harris at point guard to run the team, along with junior Micheal Gerrity. Junior Ian Anderson, freshman Javarris Barnett, sophomore Charles Dewhurst and freshman Shamarr Bowden will all try to replace some of Goldwire's three point shooting output in the long-range oriented offense that Lutz employs. The frontcourt will be the strength of this batch of 49ers. Seniors Lamont Mack and Charlie Coley will team up with sophomore An'Juan Wilderness to form an athletic, yet undersized group (Mack and Coley come in at 6'7" while Wilderness is 6'6"). Mack displayed the ability to challenge for a spot on the A-10 first team at times late in the 07-08 season, his first after transferring from junior college. Wildnerness was an A-10 All-Rookie selection after averaging 8.1 ppg and 4.9 rpg a year ago. The 49ers have the frontcourt strength and experience to make an NCAA appearance in 2009. Lutz may be on the hot seat if he does not deliver, but I see his team supporting him, and even go as far as to award him my preseason pick as A-10 Coach of the Year.
3. Dayton- Is this finally the year that Brian Gregory gets his talent together and makes an NCAA Tournament appearance? If not it could cost him his job. The Flyers have the talent to repeat last season's 14-1 start, but hope do better than an 8-8 record in the A-10. First team All-Conference selection Brian Roberts is gone, along with his 18.4 ppg. The Flyers relied on him heavily, as evidenced by the fact that only 52 percent of the Flyer scoring output is back (but they do return 68 percent of their rebounding). NBA prospect Chris Wright missed 15 conference games last season, but looks to take the mantel from Roberts as the go-to scorer on this year's squad. He will be joined in the frontcourt by junior Kurt Huelsman, a limited offensive player ont he block who averaged 5.9 ppg and 4.0 rpg. Senior Charles Little was hampered by injuries last year, but the athletic 6'6" forward posted 10.5 ppg and 5.2 rpg as a sophomore. The backcourt will be stung by the loss of Roberts, but has experience in the form of athletic wing Marcus Johnson and junior point London Warren. Gregory will also count on contributions from two newcomers in the backcourt in junior college All-American Rob Lowery at the point and highly touted freshman wing Paul Williams. Dayton may have the most athletically gifted team in the conference, but just as in previous years the issue is translating that into wins when it counts late in February. If the Flyers can get through the conference with 11 or 12 wins to complement a respectable non-conference schedule, I believe they will be on the favorable side of the NCAA bubble.
4. Temple- The Owls made a surprising A-10 Tourney run a season ago to make an NCAA appearance. If they want to get back to the Big Dance this season it will be on the shoulders of Preseason A-10 Player of the Year Dionte Christmas. Christmas averaged 19.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game while making 104 three point field goals in his first team All- Conference season last year. Christmas will be complemented in the backcourt by a pair of juniors in Ryan Brooks (8.6 ppg) and Luis Guzman (3.9 ppg), with Guzman likely handling the point guard responsibilities. Brooks will be looked upon to fill the shoes of departed swingman Mark Tyndale, who averaged 15.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game a season ago. The Owls also return a solid frontcourt in 6'9" Lavoy Allen (8.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg) and 7'0" Sergio Olmos (5.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg). The question for the Owls will lie in whether or not the role players will be able to step up and complement the high scoring totals of Christmas. They appear to have the frontcourt firepower to contend for a Conference championship and will likely be looking a few spots higher than last season's 12 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
5. Massachusetts- The Minutemen bring in a new coach, a new offensive system, and lose Conference Player of the Year Gary Forbes. Such an equation would usually spell trouble for most squads in the country. While it does not play in UMass' favor, the events are tollerable because of the pressence of the best backcourt tandem in the A-10. 2007-08 A-10 Most Improved Player Ricky Harris returns for his junior season after posting 18.2 ppg from the shooting guard spot a year ago. He will be getting open looks as a result of Conference Player of the Year candinate Chris Lowe. Lowe is a gifted point guard, who averaged 11.8 points and 6.3 assists per game a season ago. The pair will not have to undergo the growing pains of a complex new offense, as new head man Derek Kellogg's dribble-drive-motions system is fairly simple to pick up. The system also excentuates the perimeter and guard play, which plays into the strengths of this Minutemen squad, as they also add 6'3" Wake Forest transfer Anthony Gurley. If the outstanding backcourt is not playing in the NCAA Tournament in March, the reason may lead back to the weak frontcourt. 7'0" Luke Bonner (3.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg), 6'8" Tony Gaffney (3.2 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and 6'9" freshman Tyrell Lynch are the most attractive options, but the Kellogg offensive system lends itself to a four guard lineup, which UMass fans figure to see regularly. With the deep, talented backcourt the Minutemen figure to be a factor in the A-10. However, they will likely be outrebounded and struggle to defend the paint. As such, they may be left waiting on Selection Sunday once again.
6. Saint Joseph's- Much like Massachusetts, the Hawks return a stellar point guard in Tasheed Carr (10.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 5.8 apg). Instead of complementing their floor leader with a set of solid wings, the Hawks give him the best big man in the conference in Ahmad Nivens. Nivens, a 6'9" NBA prospect, averaged 14.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game a year ago. The Hawks will need Nivens to assert himself as the go-to man in the halfcourt set if they wish to contend for a spot among the conference elite, as Nivens represents the only frontcourt depth that the Hawks have to speak of. Forwards Pat Calathes and Rob Ferguson departed after last season, taking 44 percent of the scoring and 42 percent of the team's rebounding with them. Phil Martelli will have a bit of experience on the wings with juniors Darrin Govens (9.8 ppg) and Gerrett Williamson (5.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.6 apg), who will need to go from role players to consistent performers on this squad. The key to St. Joe's success will be the maturation of Nivens' frontcourt mates, sophomore Idris Hilliard (1.2 ppg) and three star freshman Bryant Irwin (6'8" SF) and two star recruit A.J. Rodgers (6'5" SF). If one of the triumvirate of frontcourt players can establish himself as a compliment to Nivens befoe Conference season the Hawks may have the firepower to make an NCAA run like last season. Overall though, I would say that this team looks to have too big of a hole in the frontcourt and too little depth. I would say they will be able to make some noise in the NIT Tournament, however.
7. Richmond- The biggest disapointment of the 2008-09 season for Spiders fans has likely already happened. The news in July that third team All A-10 center Dan Geriot will be out for the season with a torn ACL severly hampers hopes in Richmond. A-10 Rookie of the Year Kevin Anderson (10.7 ppg, 3.0 apg) will look to lead the Spiders in Geriot's absence from the point guard spot. Anderson is only part of a strong backcourt for the Spiders that includes juniors David Gonzalvez (11.7 ppg) and Ryan Butler (5.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.4 apg). While the backcourt will consistent, the frontcourt turns from a strength into a question mark without Geriot. 6'9" sophomore Justin Harper (3.3 ppg) and fellow sophomore, 6'5" Small forward, Kevin Smith (4.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg) offer the most experience, while coach Chris Mooney will look for immediate contributions from 6'10" Australian center Josh Duinker and 6'8" forward Darrius Garrett. The loss of Geriot is exacerbated by the relative weakness of other A-10 frontcourts, and relative backcourt strengths of those same squads. The silver lining in the Geriot injury is that it will likely give the young frontcourt players a chance for significant and meaningful minutes, which will likely pay off in 2009-10, when Richmond appears to be the extremely early favorites in the conference. As for 2008-09, the Spiders just don't have the frontcourt strength to match a strong backcourt, and will likely be back at the College Basketball Invitational or the NIT come March.
8. Saint Louis- Rick Majerus has quickly become the face of the Saint Louis basketball program, but the portly coach boasts a squad with a pair of solid guards to lead this year's batch of Billikens. The senior duo of point man Kevin Lisch (14.6 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.1 apg) and Tommie Liddell (12.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.1 apg) are the stabilizing figures for a team in transition to the new Majerus brand of basketball. Sophomore guard Paul Eckerle (3.8 ppg, 1.3 apg)) will likely spell the backcourt duo, but not for long. Senior forward Barry Eberhardt (6.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg) is the only other returning Billiken from a season ago, a loss of 43 percent of the scoring output, 44 percent of the rebounding output and 41 percent of the assists from a season ago.With so many players leaving the program Majerus welcomes in eight freshman to the fold, many of whom will be counted on to play major roles. The most prominent of the bunch is 6'10" Brett Thompson, out of Vienna, Ill. Thompson possess the height and skill to be molded into a classic Majerus big man, perhaps a poor man's Keith Van Horn. I am picking Thompson to take home my Conference Rookie of the Year because he will likely start from day one, and contribute in those minutes. Other three star recruits include 6'9" center Willie Reed, 6'5" wing Kyle Cassity and 5'11" point guard Kwamian Mitchell. To be honest, this team was the hardest for me to slot, because you know at some point that Majerus will have a breakthrough year and make the NCAA Tournament with a squad that may not have the talent. This year's team appears to be a year away, but they have the feeling of possibly being the most dangerous team in the conference. I would put the Billikens down for an NIT berth, and the potential to cause some damage, possibly by winning the A-10 Tournament.
9. George Washington- The Colonials are another dangerous team with postseason aspirations. Senior forward Rob Diggs (13.9 ppg, 7.7 rpg) is one of four returning starters for GW, a team returning 74 percent of their scoring, 86 percent of their rebounding and 70 percent of their assists. Diggs is joined in the frontcourt by senior Wynton Witherspoon (11.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and junior Damian Hollis (9.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg). With the experienced frontcourt the Colonials will likely be able to control the glass against most opponents. The questions for GW come in with the frontcourt. Sophomore Xavier Alexander (4,0 ppg, 3.8 rpg) returns at shooting guard, and Junior Travis King (5.7 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 2.4 apg in 2006-07). King suffered a season ending knee injury last August, leaving the Colonials without a point guard for the season. If King is back, and healthy, then GW has as strong of a starting lineup as any team in the conference. The bench for GW is a bit of a question spot. Senior wing Noel Wilmore (6.0 ppg) will likely spell Diggs and Alexander while the frontcourt depth is left to offensive liability sophomore Jabari Edwards (0.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg) and sophomore center Jospeph Katuka (2.0 ppg). The Colonials were a major letdown last season after consecutive NCAA appearances. Coach Carl Hobbs will likely get his team back into winning ways this season, but they will have to count on avoiding the injury bug and a string of strong performances from Diggs in order to make an NCAA push. Perhaps in invite to the College Basketball Invitational or the NIT would suffice as an improvement over last season's 9-17 finish.
10. La Salle- The Explorers barely missed out on postseason eligibility last season at 15-17, and have to look to improve on that figure this season without three point specialist and First Team All Conference guard Darnell Harris (16.6 ppg, 123 three point field goals, 47.9 percent from three). Harris is the only notable departure, though, as the Explorers return 73 percent of their scoring, 90 percent of their rebounding and 79 percent of their assists. The strength of this group of Explorers will be the frontcourt. Senior Paul Johnson (6.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg), junior Yves Mekongo Mbala (8.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg) and Sophomore Jerrell Williams (9.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg) are all returning starters. They will be backed up by 6'9" Mississippi State transfer Vernon Goodridge and 6'6" junior Kimmani Barrett (7.8 ppg, 3.9 rpg). The backcourt has a few less bodies, but perhaps an equavalency of talent. Harris' backcourt mate 6'5" Rodney Green (13.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.4 apg) is back to run the show. Green will be joined by 6'5" fellow junior Ruben Guillandeaux (7.7 ppg, 2.1 apg) and 6'3" sophomore Kyle Griffin (3.5 ppg, 1.4 apg). The Explorers are deep for certain, which will keep them in every game in the A-10. The question is whether they have the experience for that depth to translate into wins in February and early March when everything is on the line. This should be a continued improvement for coach John Giannini, with the outside chance of a repeat of the 2005-06 third place finish. However, I see a postseason berth as a solid estimate for these Explorers, and an extremely bright future for the program in 09-10.
11. Rhode Island- The Rams had a truly roller-coaster season a year ago, starting 19-3, before losing nine of their final 11 games. The ills caused by the late collapse might not be cured this season, as the Rams have to deal with the loss of forward Will Daniels and point guard Parfait Bitee. Rhody still has coach Jim Baron's son Jimmy Barron, a senior who shot 40.6 percent from three and averaged 14.2 points per game a year ago. Baron will be joined in the backcourt by junior Keith Cothran (7.3 ppg), without much depth behind the duo. The frontcourt will feel the loss of Will Daniels, but returns seniors Kahiem Seawright (9.2 ppg, 8.4 rpg) and Jason Francis (2.6 ppg, 2.0 rpg). 6'6" junior Lamonte Ulmer (7.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg) will likely shift from the bench to the starting lineup, with junior Delroy James (3.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg) providing depth. The Rams will feel the departures of Daniels and Bitee (45 percent of the points, 34 percent of the rebounds, 41 percent of the assists from a year ago). A repeat of last year's NIT berth is probably above expectartions.
12. Duquesne- Dukes coach Ron Everhart had the makings of a solid A-10 contender in place for this season, that was until center Shawn James and guard Kojo Mensah decided to declare for the NBA draft. Neither player got a sniff from any NBA team, and the Dukes were left without 51 percent of their scoring, 39 percent of their rebounding and 39 percent of their assists. Without James and Mensah senior point Aaron Jackson (9.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.5 apg), sophomore forward Damian Saunders (6.5 ppg, 5.2 rpg) and sophomore wing Bill Clark (8.2 ppg, 4.3 rpg) will be looked to as the leaders of this team. Jackson can really get out and defend on the perimeter, and I am choosing him as my defensive player of the year. Senior guard Phillip Fayne (3.5 ppg) adds depth along with three star freshmen wings Melquan Bolding and Rodrigo Peggau. Sophomore David Theis (1.8 ppg) is the only other returning frontcourt option for Everhart to turn to, so a host of freshman will likely also see time. With James and Mensah this team could have made postseason noise. Without them their season will likely be done by early March.

13. St. Bonaventure- The Bonnies only return three players from a team that went 8-22 a year ago so expectations are reasonably low in Olean. The future of the program may be brighter than the past, with a gaggle of transfers. Point guard Ray Blackburn (Division II Junior College All-American), wing Lewis Leonard (25.2 ppg at San Bernadino Valley Community College), wing Jonathan Hall (MVP of the Division I National Junior College Tournament), wing Chris Matthews (3.7 ppg in 06-07 at Washington State) and forward Maurice Thomas (9.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg in 06-07 at UTEP). The group joins returning starters wing Tyler Benson (5.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg) and center D'Lancy Carter (6.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg). When you factor in athletic freshman shooting guard Michael Davenport out of Moeller High in Cincinnati, the talent level has begun to rise for St. Bonaventure. The problem is that there is not much talent on the interior, so the Bonnies will likely get dominated on the boards consistently. Also the players that Mark Schmidt has brought in will need to gel and find playing time amonst themselves rather quickly. I don't really like the equation, but at least the Bonnies are improving their talent level. This just is not the year where they make a push for winning basketball.

14. Fordham- I really don;t understand Fordham basketball. The team is set in one of, if not the best, basketball cities in the world. The can offer recruits an outstanding education, while staying close to home. Yet, they consistently struggle to bring in players, in large part, I suspect, because the players would be downgrading in terms of facilities by playing at Rose Hill Gym. To their credit, the Rams do bring in three three star guards this season in Trey Blue, Alberto Estwick and Jiovanny Fontan. The trio will need to carry a heavy workload on this Rams squad that waved goodbye to 69 percent of their points, 68 percent of their rebounding and 69 percent of their assists. Junior guard Brenton Butler (11.0 ppg, 3.4 rpg) is the lone returning starter. Junior forward Ryan Munson (5.5 ppg) and Senior forward Chris Benthel (3.1 ppg) were really the only other returning Rams to see minutes on last season' 12-17 team. Coach Dereck Whittenburg has his hands tied a bit until the Rams can get into a new gym (yeah, Rose Hill has history, but I mean come on). As such the celler dwelling Rams will likely continue to be so again this season, and further into the future.

To recap, my picks are:

Regular season champion: Xavier

A-10 Player of the Year: Deonta Christmas (Temple)

A-10 Rookie of the Year: Brett Thompson (SLU)

A-10 Coach of the Year: Bobby Lutz (Charlotte)
A-10 Defensive Player of the Year: Aaron Jackson (Duquesne)

The A-10 looks to be a deep league again this season, with as many as 10 teams entering the season with postseason hopes. It may end up being another wild year in the A-10.

Updating on Lavender, Duncan and Burrell

I checked up on where the three seniors from the 2007-08 team landed and here's what i found:
-Drew Lavender will be playing the 2008-09 season for Hyeres Toulon Var Basket of the A divison in France. Iowa senior Pierra Pierce is the other American fulfilling the team's two foreign player threshhold.
-Lavender is joined in the French A division by Josh Duncan, who will suit up for Elan Bearnais Pau-Orthez. Duncan joins former Oklahoma State standout JamesOn Curry on the Pau roster.
-Stanley Burrell's European venture will take him further west than the Lavender and Duncan. Burrell will be playing in Bosnia in for Bosna Asa Bh Telecom Sarajevo. Burrell is currently the only American listed on the roster.

Analyzing the 2008-09 Men's Basketball Schedule

The schedule is out, and on first glance appears to be easier than last year's schedule, the 24th hardest in the country according to RPI rankings. The schedule is notably lighter and significantly lined with home court games in the early part of the season (save the Puerto Rico season Tip-off), presumably Xavier's attempt to protect a young, inexperienced team, with a freshman point guard in Terrell Holloway.
Looking at the out of conference games:
vs. IPFW Friday, Nov. 14- The Mastadons only joined a division one conference, the Summit League, last year after years of independency. They return second leading scorer and rebounder in 6'7" swingman David Carson (11.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg), and point guard Ben Botts (10.1 ppg). I don't expect the Mastadons to make much noise in the Sumit League after losing three of thier top five scorers. This should be a good game for the Freshman to get their feet wet, and to give the Cintas crowd a taste of the 2008-09 squad.
vs. Toledo Monday, Nov. 17- The Rockets begin a set of three Mid-American Conference members fromt he state of Ohio that appear on the early part of Xavier's schedule. Toledo returns a senior backcourt triumvirate of 6'5" Tyrone Kent (16.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.1 apg), 6'4" Jonathan Amos (12.1 ppg, 5.0rpg, 2.3 apg), and 6'4" Ridley Johnson (8.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 0.9 apg). However, the Rockets are extremely inexperienced in the frontcourt with no upperclassmen on the roster in the forwards or center spots. The Rockets should supply a stiffer test than IPFW, but since Xavier strength, the frontcourt, matches up with a huge weak spot for the Rockets the Musketeers look to have an upper hand.
Puerto Rico Season Tip-Off Thursday Nov. 20 thru Sunday Nov. 23- see below
vs. Miami (OH.) Saturday, Nov. 29- The Musketeers return home to face another Mid-American team in the RedHawks. This is a game that the Musketeers will undoubetly be looking forward to after last year stunning 59-57 loss at Miami. The RedHawks will be ready, however, as they return 6'5" wing Michael Bramos (16.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg), 6'0" point guard Kenny Hayes (12.1 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.8 apg), 6'8" center Tyler Dierkers (6.1 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 2.5 apg) and 6'5" guard Eric Pollitz (5.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 1.5 apg) - all of whom are seniors. Miami is the most experienced team that the Muskies will have played in the Continental United States, and that experience gave Xavier problems last year when they were a year younger. I expect this to be a close game, with Xavier getting the home court boost that Miami got last year.
vs. Auburn Wednesday Dec. 3- Auburn fulfills the second half of a home and home agreement with Xavier this year after falling 80-57 at home last year. Cincinnati native and 6'3" guard Quantez Robertson (7.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 4.1 apg) returns, along with injury plauged post Korvotney Barber (13.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg in only 10 games due to injury), 6'5" senior guard Rasheem Barrett (13.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.1 apg) and 6'1" guard DeWayne Reed (8.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.7 apg). Auburn is, as usual, athletic, and will provide a solid major conference opponent for the resume early.
vs. Ohio Wednesday Dec. 10- The Bobcats are the third MAC team to come into Cintas Center, but are weakendd by a loss of three of their top for scorer from a year ago. They will lean heavily on MAC player of the year candinate Jerome Tillman (6'6" forward 13.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg) along with 6'0" point man Michael Allen (4.8 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 4.4 apg) lanky 6'6" wing Justin Orr (6.8 ppg, 2.6 rpg). The frontcourt is the Bobcats strength, which matches up with the Musketeers. However Xavier is deeper, namely on the wing where Ohio is going with sophoomore Tony Freeman and two freshman backups.
vs. Cincinnati Saturday Dec. 13- The Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout is at UC this year, and comes on the Saturday before finals for Xavier students. The Bearcats look to have a stronger team than a year ago, when they fell 64-59 to Xavier at Cintas Center. The key to the Bearcat offense is 6'1" junior shooting guard Deonta Vaughn. Vaughn, who averaged 17.3 points per game a season ago, will be a strong contender for the Big East Player of the Year in large part because of his three point shooting. Many Xavier players got to know the nature of that jump shot first hand this summer, as Vaughn and many other UC players attended open gyms at Cintas, in which Vaughn had a propensity to put on a three point exhibition. Vaughn will be joined by 6'5" sophomore forward Alvin Mitchell, who looks to step into a more major role after only averaging 2.8 points as a freshman a season ago, and looked to be doing so in a strong showing over the summer in the Deveroes Summer League. 6'6" Rashad Bishop is the second leading returning scorer for the Bearcats behind Vaughn at 5.4 points per game, and will likely start on the wing if Cincinnati goes with a three wing set. The key to the 2008-09 season for the Bearcats will be similar to that of Xavier's season in that they need a large batch of newcomers to play key roles on the team. There will be seven fresh faces on the roster for UC, including five from a recruiting class ranked No. 18 in the country by Rivals.com. Ohio High School Player of the Year Yancy Gates, a 6'8" 250 lb. power forward, leads the way as the 22nd ranked player nationally. The Bearcats also landed a late gem in John Riek, a 7'1" center who had declared for the NBA Draft, and was considered a potential lottery pick before pulling out with injury concerns. Cashmere Wright is another freshman who will factor heavily in the rotation, as he was the 12th rated point guard in the country according to Rivals.com. When you factor in Texas transfer Mike Williams, a big man who has not played since 2005-06 because of transfer rules and an injury, the group of newcomers looks to be stacked. This year's version of the Shootout looks to be one of the better matchup in recent memory.
vs Duke Saturday Dec. 20 at Izod Center in the Meadowlands- A week after the euphoria of the Crosstown, in which finals will be taken, comes the much anticipated CBS national TV matchup with the Blue Devils. All Duke does is return four starters and four key bench players from a No.2 seed in last year's NCAA Tournament. That includes Greg Paulus at the point (11.4 ppg, 3.2 apg), 2008 ACC Rookie of the Year Kyle Singler (6'8" forward, 13.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg), 6'4" wing Gerald Henderson (12.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg), 6'8" post man Lance Thomas (4.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg), 6'5" sharpshooter Jon Scheyer (11.7 ppg, 3.9 rpg) and 6'2" guard Nolan Smith (5.9 ppg, 1.5 rpg). Add that to the 27th best recruiting class in the country featuring Elliot Williams (No.3 shooting guard according to Rivals.com), Miles Plumbee (No. 29 PF) and Olek Czyz (No.31 PF). Needless to say the Musketeers will have their hands full. A lot of this game will come down to who is shooting the ball well from beyond the arc. If any of Sheyer, Paulus, Henderson and Singler get hot the Blue Devils could distance themselves from Xavier in a hurry. Duke obviously has the advantage on the perimeter, but the Musketeers might hold the upper hand over the Blue Devils in the paint. The Blue Devils figure to come out in a 'four out, one in' set-up on offense, and in that case you will have a defender like Singler or Scheyer guarding Derrick Brown, giving Brown a height and athleticsm advantage. This could be a statement game for Brown on a national stage, and unless Duke puts Thomas or 7'1" Brian Zoubek on him, Brown will have multiple advantages with which to work his greatly expanded offensive game. Aside from Brown Jason Love figures to be able to handle himself against the shorter defender in Thomas or he slower defender in Zoubek. If Xavier can defend the perimeter effectively, then they may be able to exploit a frontcourt advantage in this prime-time matchup.
vs. Butler Tuesday Dec. 23- The Musketeers return home for a matchup with Horizon League power Butler in the first part of a home-and-home series with the Bulldogs. The Bulldogs graduate five of the top six scorers from a second round NCAA squad from a year ago. The lone returning starter is 6'7" sophomore forward Matt Howard (12.3 ppg, 5.5 apg). Junior wing Willie Veasley is the only other returning Bulldog to see significant playing time a season ago, as he averaged 4.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. The Bulldogs always play stellar defense, and will undoubtedly do so against a Xavier team that will have just gotten off of an emotional roller coaster in the previous 10 days. However, the question remains to be answered as to where the scoring and leadership will come from on such a young, inexpereinced team.
vs. Robert Morris Wednesday Dec. 31- For the second straight year the Musketeers will be on the court as the calender turns to a new year. This time they will be playing host to Robert Morris. The Colonials return three starters from a team that lost 87-81 at Syracuse in the first round of the NIT a season ago. 6'3" shooting guard Jeremy Chappell (14.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.4 apg), 5'11" point Jimmy Langhurst (9.6 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.8 apg) and 6'1" French import Bateko Francisco (8.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.6 apg) are the returning starters. Although returning three starters the backcourt will still suffer from the loss of point guard Tony Lee, 6.4 assists per game a year ago. Again, Xavier's frontcourt strength should be a key factor in this contest, although the Colonials will try to assert control of the tempo with a senior backcourt.
at Virginia Saturday Jan. 3- In the first true road game of the season the Musketeers face off against another ACC opponent in the Cavaliers. High scoring guard Sean Singletary is gone, but the Cavs still have firepower on the wings in Diane Mamadi (11.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg), Jeff Jones (4.8 ppg, 1.8 rpg in 25 starts) and highly touted recruit Sylvan Landsberg out of New York City. 6'8" sophomore post man Mike Scott (5.7 ppg, 5.3 rpg) leads the frontcourt. The loss of Singletary leaves UVA without a definative frontman, which Landsberg certainly could develop into by early January. The frontcourt could be a question area for the Cavs, especially considering the loss of leading rebounder Adrian Joseph.
at LSU Saturday Jan. 24- After five A-10 games the Musketeers round out their out of conference slate with a trip to Baton Rouge. The Tigers welcome in new coach Trent Johnson, who came over from Stanford after the season. Johnson will look to 6'7" swingman Tasmin Mitchell, who missed all but three game due to injury a year ago. Mitchell joins 6'4" guard Marcus Thornton (19.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg), 6'11" Chris Johnson (11.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg), 6'6" wing Terry Martin (8.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg) and 6'6" guard Gerrett Temple (6.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.6 apg). The loss of first round pick Anthony Randolph hurts, but the Tigers will still be a stiff road test, and will likely contend for an SEC West title this season. Added with Duke, Cincinnati, and the potential opponents in Puerto Rico give the Musketeers a handfull of potential NCAA Tournament teams on the schedule. As opposed to most times out, the Musketeers don't start the game with a decided advantage in the frontcourt as Mitchell can matchup with Brown effectively and Johnson can nullify Love or Kenny Frease. Added with the tough environment in Baton Rouge, and this looks to be one of the toughest road tests of the season for Xavier.

Xavier's schedule was obviously designed to coddled the younger players until they are ready for the bright lights, and in full swing by conference play. Without a true road game until after the New Year, the strength of scheudle will hurt the Musketeers' RPI and likely will not allow them to grab anything close to a 3 seed like last year in the NCAA Tournament, especially if they drop a few of those games out of conference. All told it is an impressive job by Mike Bobinski, Sean Miller and the Xavier staff of boking a favorable but challenging schedule, that mixes in some great national exposure.

O'Rielly Auto Part Puerto Rico Tip-Off field announced

The eight team field for the O'Rielly Auto Part Puerto Rico Tip-Off has been announced, and Xavier looks to get three quality games out of the tournament. Xavier will play Missouri in the first round of the Tournament. Missouri finished 2007-08 at 16-16 (6-10), but will serve as an early test to the Xavier frontcourt. The Tigers are experienced and skilled in the post with returning Big 12 Newcomer of the Year DeMarre Carroll, a senior transfer from Vanderbilt that led the team in rebounding and was third in scoring a season ago, and Leo Lyons, a 6'9" senior big man who averaged 13.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
Xavier will then play either the winner or loser of the game between Fairfield and Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech returns three starters in senior wing and leading scorer A.D. Vassallo, sophomore forward and leading rebounder Jeff Allen, and sophomore small forward J.T. Thompson.
The other side of the bracket contains UT-Chattanooga against defending national runner up (but highly depleted) Memphis, as well as USC (still extremely strong with DeVon Jefferson, Taj Gibson, Daniel Hackett and top shooting guard Demar DeRozan) against Seton Hall.
If nothing else Xavier looks to get three quality games from the tournament. Missouri, while losing a significant number of seniors from last season, offers a physical brand of basketball that Xavier likely will not face in their conference, save Ahmad Nivens and St. Joseph's. A win and a second round matchup with Virginia Tech brings another type of challenge, a group of three talented players who can shoot and get to the basket from the wing position. Wing defenders like Derrick Brown, Dante Jackson and possibly Jordan Crawford, if he is eligible, will be counted on to hold the Hokie wings in check. Virginia Tech looks to be a team contending for an NCAA berth and likely will be int eh RPI top 50, so a win over them would greatly boost Xavier's RPI and resume come Tournament time. Aside from the game with Duke at the Meadowlands, a possible championship matchup with either Memphis or USC looks to be the toughest test on the Xavier schedule. Memphis lost a great deal from a team that came a Mario Chalmers miracle away from a championship. But John Calipari knew that, and brings in the fourth best recruiting class in the country led by shooting guard Tyreke Evans. (An Evans vs. DeRozan matchup in the semifinals could be a matchup of the two best freshman in the country, and both would be guarding each other). DeRozan slips right into the vacated spot of O.J. Mayo and with Mayo's supporting cast, namely Jefferson and Gibson in the frontcourt, developing, USC is looking for a top seed in the West bracket of this year's NCAA Tournament.
Xavier's first two games will be on ESPNU, with the third round game on ESPN2.

Impressions from the Summer League

Some Xavier Players were in action today in the semifinals of the Deveroes Summer League. The Deveroes League is what you expect from a Summer League, i.e. severe lack of defense, a few flashy dunks, and a lot of one on one play. Despite playing under severely different conditions than their normal defense oriented system under Sean Miller some of the Xavier players did have good games.
Derrick Brown:
After undoubtedly clearing some space on mantle for the hotly contested and highly prestigious Deveroes League MVP Award, Brown had a somewhat disappointing performance as his favored “Gameday Communications” team was upset. Brown well in man to man defensive situations, coming up with a few blocks and steals, yet was hurt by a lack of helpside defense on drives at times. After deferring to teammates for much of the first half, Brown was more demonstrative after halftime with his team down by double digits. He collected three of his customary eye popping dunks, but the more impressive aspect of his offensive game to me was his ability to put the ball on the floor with a better ability than he displayed last season. Brown was able to get to the rim against B.J. Raymond, UC’s Alvin Mitchell, and Kenny Frease. Many people have said that Brown is a jump shot away from the NBA, and Brown had said that he would focus on improving his range this summer. By my count Brown missed both of the jumpers that he took (not too many stats available for these games as you would expect). He looked good at the line, if that is any consolation. I promising sign is that Brown looked confident taking the jumpers, as opposed to a look of “Well if you are not going to cover me then I will shoot this I guess” on his long range shots last year. Once Brown became aggressive in the second half he seemed to be able to score at will, the only problem was he did not focus on his own game until it was too late for is team to come back.
Mark “Cheeks” Lyons
This was my first opportunity to see Lyons and I came away thinking that the scouting reports on Lyons were accurate. Lyons can score his points. He has a great first step and can blow by a lot of defenders. Once he gets to the rim he showed great athleticism to be able to finish. The most notable finish of his day was a posterizing dunk right in the face of Alvin Mitchell. Lyons did handle the point guard responsibilities for his team, although that basically entailed dribbling up the floor and passing to a wing. He looked good on a high pick and roll with Derrick Brown, getting to the rim and being fouled. The pick and roll is a vital part of Xavier’s offense, so Lyons being able to negotiate the high screen effectively is important. Lyons’ jump shot is suspect at best. Neither of his two three point attempts were anywhere close, and he seemed to be tentative to look for anything from the outside after that. His shot is very long, but difficult to block since he brings the ball up over his head before releasing. I suspect that the Xavier coaching staff will have a lot to say about his mechanics, but don’t expect him to be firing up too many threes this season. Lyons is a solid on ball defender, but makes some mistakes in team defensive situations. Lyons occasionally will drift off of his man too far for help side, perhaps to try for a steal or blocked shot, and leave his man open for a three or a layup. Also he is extremely undersized in terms of strength, so I expect him to improve defensively once he gets consistent defensive coaching and is entered into a strength program. I don’t expect Lyons to factor too heavily into Sean Miller’s backcourt equation this season, especially if Jordan Crawford is ruled to be eligible for this season. He will be a solid spark plug to come in and add a scoring jolt, and perhaps an electrifying dunk, but overall he is not ready to be a starting or major contributor for a top 25 team at this point. Probably five minutes per game, and maybe three points per game is a decent guess at what Lyons will contribute this season. The 09-10 season will probably be when Lyons becomes a major contributor if he improves his jump shot, adds strength, and improves his defensive awareness.
B.J. Raymond
Raymond has become as close to automatic with an open three point jump shot as there is in the country (with apologies to Stephon Curry, Deonta Vaughn, Jon Diebler). With a severe lack of defense on display in the game Raymond was able to shoot jump shots without a hand in his face, and took advantage. Raymond and Alvin Mitchell’s three point shooting was the difference in the game. Raymond rained in threes from all over the court, usually from five or six feet beyond the three point line. I had heard rumblings that Raymond turns into more of a selfish player in these games, but I did not see too much of that. Raymond took what was given to him, mostly open jump shots. Granted some of the shots that he was taking were from very deep, but he was making them so it is hard to say they were forced. Raymond is very competitive, so competing against his friend Brown was especially important to him. When Brown started to take over the game in the second half Raymond switched onto Brown, but did not have much success in keeping Brown from getting to the rim. Raymond’s defensive struggles are nothing new, and Xavier has tried to mask them before in the past. Raymond’s lateral quickness is just not the same as some other players so he is liable to be beaten off the dribble. You can accept some of his shortcomings on the defensive end if he continues to shoot the way that he did today. The thing that Raymond seems to be adding to his game is his ability to put the ball on the floor more effectively. Raymond was able to face up on defenders and get into the lane on multiple occasions, an improvement over last season. With his demonstrative style I expect Raymond to step into Stanley Burrell’s shoes as the vocal leader of the team, and will probably be the go to guy for a last second shot.
Kenny Frease
Frease was a beneficiary of some crafty summer league dealings, and was a late addition to his team. As such he did not get much more than 15 to 20 minutes of action. Even in that short time Frease showed quite a few excellent post moves. His footwork is advanced far beyond the level of what you would expect from an incoming freshman. Frease also rebounded well, grabbing some defensive rebounds that were a bit out of his area. While Frease is already a big guy at 7’0 270, he could stand to add some muscle to his frame. If he is able to get stronger than he will be able to execute more power moves in addition to the excellent finesse moves that he showed today. His jump hook over his left shoulder was on display a few times, and is a great move since it is so difficult to block. Frease also displayed a soft touch on a few short shots in the lane. Adding strength, particularly lower body strength, will also help Frease get and hold better position on the block. Stronger, older defenders were able to push Frease off of the block. Defensively Frease has all the tools to be an All-Conference defensive player multiple times in the next four years. He blocked quite a few shots, namely those put up by Derrick Brown. Frease was also able to defend on the perimeter reasonably well, playing a step or two off of smaller players and using his length to contest any shots. Frease comes in to Xavier ready to contribute to the frontcourt right away. With Jason Love now developed into an All-Conference type big man and the frontcourt crowded with Derrick Brown, C.J. Anderson and B.J. Raymond, Frease will join and strengthen the rotation. Although he probably will not be on the floor at crunch time, I expect Frease to contribute about what he did today: 15-20 minutes, a shade under ten points per game, around five rebounds per game and a spot on the All-Conference first team. Frease certainly has the tools to be a superstar, and will probably start to step into that role in 09-10.

More news on the schedule front

Xavier announced further progressions in their 2008-09 men's basketball schedule today, along with some scheduling announcements from the Atlantic 10 conference.
Xavier, Duke and CBS announced the finalization of the long awaited nationally televised game at the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, NJ. The game will take place at 2 p.m. on Dec. 20, and will be the first nationally televised regular season game in XU history.
For those looking to go to the game, tickets will be $55 to $75, and will be available starting Oct. 20 on Ticketmaster. I assume Xavier will have some sort of student seating at the game, but no word on that as of yet.
Also the A10 revealed the match ups for the 08-09 season on Tuesday. The Atlantic 10 made a shift in scheduling ideology last season, with a focus on improving their RPI ranking as a conference and namely that of its highest profile schools. As a result of this each team in the conference plays each of the other 13 schools one time, and three of the schools a second time. The three opponents that the school competes with in a home-and-home is determined by a coaches vote in the conference. The 14 coaches vote on who they expect to be the top teams in the conference, with the top four teams ultimately competing in home-and-home series against each other, the middle four teams doing the same, and the bottom six being matched up accordingly.
Xavier was placed in a grouping with Fordham, Dayton and Charlotte, meaning that the Musketeers will face those teams both at Cintas Center and on the road.
In addition to those three home games, Xavier will also take on George Washington, La Salle, Massachusetts, Saint Louis and Temple at home. The road slate for Xavier in 08-09 is: Duquesne, Saint Joseph's, Richmond, Rhode Island and Saint Bonaventure.

XU publishes part of 08-09 men's schedule

Xavier Associate Vice President and Athletic Director Mike Bobinski revealed in a interview with the Enquirer's Dustin Dow that Xavier has finalized 11 out of conference games for next season. Those being:
Miami, Auburn, Butler, Ohio and Toledo at home
UC (Dec. 13), LSU, and Virginia on the road
three TBD games in the eight team Puerto Rico Season Tipoff Nov. 20-23) obviously on a neutral court
The game against Kansas State in Manhattan has been pushed back one season, which allowed the LSU game to take its place.
Also, Bobinski said that there are plans to add two more out of conference home games, presumably against smaller conference opponents, to bring the total to seven (two less than 07-08).
The door is still left open for a made-for TV game to be played at a neutral site. (As I have previously said, I believe this game to be Duke at the Meadowlands in NJ, with the only hitch in announcing it to this point being the TV deal with CBS).
As it sets up it appears that Xavier will have an equal number of home games as road/neutral (seven each) in the out of conference season, which for a team that is integrating seven new players into the rotation could be a risky proposition.

Reid is going to Aspen!

Now for something completely different. The Newswire has just learned that Reid Faylor, who competed in the first ever Rooftop Comedy Competition, is advancing to the final round in Aspen, Colo! On May 31st you can log on and watch Reid compete live against three other schools, Duke, Virigina and UNC-Chapel Hill. After his routine on May 31 you can vote for him to win it all. Be sure to vote and congrats again to Reid!!!

Miller inks new deal

It looks like Miller will be getting a $200,000 raise. Here is what Dustin Dow from the Enquirer said:
Miller’s new contract is worth a total compensation value of just less than $1 million with a base salary between $700,000 and $800,000. Miller had been making a base salary between $500,000 and $600,000 with a total compensation value – including perks such as a country club membership and a vehicle – of around $800,000.Miller first came to Xavier 2001-02 to be an associate head coach under Thad Matta. Two days after Matta left for Ohio State in July 2004, Miller took over as head coach with a base salary of $329,460.

The deal keeps Miller as the 2nd highest paid coach in the A-10, as Rick Majerus is making $1 million a year for Saint Louis. The initial aim of reworking Miller's deal was to push him above Majerus's deal in a move with more significance in establishing Xavier as the class of the A-10 than anything else. However, I suspect that the reworking of Miller's contract will become an annual event. In my view as long as Xavier can perpetually scrape together a package to keep Miller happy and persuade him from listening to the big payday offers from the state schools, obviously they will be fine. With the 'All for One Club' and the the creative seating plans at Cintas Center Xavier certainly seems liek they will have the ability to keep Miller around for as long as he would like to stay.

Miller inks new deal

From the Xavier Athletic Office:

CINCINNATI --- Xavier University Associate Vice President and Athletic Director Mike Bobinski announced today that the University and head men’s basketball coach Sean Miller have agreed to an extended contract that will run through the 2017-18 season. The 39-year-old Miller, who had a six-year contract when he was hired on July 8, 2004, is receiving his third contract extension and the longest ever given to a Xavier University head coach. The new deal is a 10-year agreement beginning in the 2008-09 season and running through the 2017-18 season.
“This agreement represents an unprecedented commitment by Xavier University to head coach Sean Miller,” said Bobinski. “It reflects our strong belief in Sean’s leadership of our basketball program and further solidifies our mutual desire to achieve success at the highest level of Division I basketball.”
Miller has raised his career record to 93-39 (.705) in four years at the helm, including 30-7 this past season and a trip to the NCAA Tournament “Elite Eight.” The 30 wins broke the school record of 28 set in the 1989-90 season. Miller was named the 2007-08 Atlantic 10 Conference Coach of the Year after leading Xavier to a 14-2 record and a second straight A-10 regular season title. The National Association of Basketball Coaches named Miller as its 2008 NABC District 10 Coach of the Year. He was a finalist for numerous National Coach of the Year awards.
“I would like to thank (Xavier University President) Fr. Michael Graham and Mike Bobinski for their incredible support of our basketball program and continued belief in me as the head coach,” said Miller. “Today’s commitment reinforces my own beliefs and excitement about our future together. With great anticipation I look forward to continuing to build our program and the challenges that accompany doing so.”
Miller has won 93 games as XU’s head coach and stands in fifth place for wins in Xavier history. He is the 16th head coach in XU history. He is now alone in first place all-time in XU history for most wins in the first four seasons as head coach with 93.
Miller, who secured his third straight 20-win season, made his third straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Miller has won back-to-back Atlantic 10 Conference Regular Season Championships (2007 and 2008) and an A-10 Tournament Championship (2006).
Xavier holds the second-best record in March in NCAA Division I since the 2001-02 season, which was Miller’s first season on the Xavier campus, the first of his three seasons as Xavier’s first-ever associate head coach. 2008 NCAA Champion Kansas (47-10 for .825) is first, Xavier (35-12 for .745) is second and 2008 NCAA Runner-up Memphis (43-15 for .741) is third on the list.
Xavier finished 25-9 overall in the 2006-07 season in Miller’s third year as the Xavier University head coach. Xavier won the 2007 Atlantic 10 Conference Regular Season Championship and advanced to the second round of the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Miller finished 21-11 in the 2005-06 season, winning the 2006 Atlantic 10 Championship and earning a berth into the NCAA Tournament.
Miller took over as head coach in 2004. Miller, who replaced Thad Matta, was Matta’s right hand man the previous three seasons as XU’s first-ever associate head coach. Miller helped XU record three straight 26-win seasons and three straight NCAA Tournament appearances that culminated in the 2004 “Elite Eight” run.
Miller came to Xavier after coaching stops at North Carolina State, Pittsburgh, Miami (Ohio) and Wisconsin. Miller has now coached on 13 teams that have advanced to postseason play in his first 16 seasons as a head coach, an assistant or an associate head coach. That now includes six NCAA Tournaments in his first seven years at Xavier.
Sean and his wife, Amy, have three boys, Austin, Cameron and Braden.



More to come on the specifics of the deal.

Xavier vs. Duke cont.

I talked to Bobinski and he said there is no deal. "Until there is a contract I can neither confirm or deny," Bobinski said.
The fact that a big time game is in the works limits the possible teams to the likes of a team like Duke, so I have to think Duke is the team in question here. If Xavier is able to sew up the loose ends on the contract then it would be a significant step forward in the face of the program on a national stage, especially important for recruiting purposes.

Xavier vs. Duke

I just got word that Xavier is "99 percent done" with a deal to play a neutral court game at the Meadowlands in New Jersey against Duke next season. When I talked with Bobinski earlier he referenced such a game, and said that it would be on CBS. I'm trying to contact Bobinski to confirm the game.

I don't mean to be a downer, but let's not jump off the deep end

Xavier had an amazing run of success this season, making it to the Elite Eight and winning 30 games. So I suppose that it is natural for fans, media members, and everybody else to have extremely heightened expectations for next year. However, the illusion that Xavier will be back in the Elite Eight or a mainstay in the AP top 10 might only be a pipe dream. Let's analyze this a little bit more:
-Xavier does return five of their top eight players from a season ago in C.J. Anderson, Derrick Brown, B.J. Raymond, Jason Love and Dante Jackson. Granted Anderson, Raymond and Brown will all be in their fourth year at Xavier (with Brown still as a red-shirt junior), but still Xavier will be integrating essentially seven new players next year in the five freshman along with Jamel McLean and Andrew Taylor.
-The Xavier backcourt will go from an average age of 22.5 to 19 when the seniors of Lavender and Burrell are replaced by the freshman point guard that Miller says he wishes to start with (presumably Terrell Holloway) and Dante Jackson at the shooting guard spot. With the way that Xavier's schedule is shaping up the backcourt will be tested early with games against the likes of USC, Missouri, Butler, UC, and Auburn. Thankfully some of the key guys in those backcourts (USC and Butler namely) have moved on to the pro levels of the NBA or Europe but still it generally takes a freshman point guard until the middle of conference play to earn his stripes. Just look at David Gonzalez last year at Richmond. He came in and started for the Spiders from day 1, and after some early troubles turned out to be one of the better lead guards in the A-10. So it is possible that Xavier will be in good shape by the end of the season. It is just a matter of weather the early troubles with an inexperienced backcourt.
- The hope at one time was that some of the pressure of a young backcourt could be eased by increasing the minutes of Adrion Graves. Once a highly touted prospect out of Cincinnati Graves became a spectator for most of the 07-08 season. After rumors of a potential transfer Graves will return for 08-09. He remains the wild-card in that if he is able to find the confidence to step in and score 8-12 points per game off of perimeter jump shots and the occasional penetration in a similar vein as last year's B.J. Raymond than the pressure on Jackson at the 2 guard spot is lightened greatly, in turn lightening the load of the freshman at the point guard spot. However if Graves does not develop into the scorer that he is capable of than Xavier could have a tough time finding their way, especially early in the season.
-The frontcourt seems to be the strength of this Xavier squad. Anderson, Brown, and Love made up the starting lineup for the majority of the season. With the additions of McLean and Kenny Frease it look like the Xavier offense will begin from the post, a focus that will take a few games to fully adjust to.
-Undoubtedly the key to the success in 07-08 was defense. The key to that defense was the ball pressure applied by Stanley Burrell. With Burrell gone the role of defensive stopper falls on two players instead of just one: Dante Jackson in the backcourt and Derrick Brown in the frontcourt. The ability of those two to fill Burrell's shoes as the vocal defensive pressence will determine whether or not the defensive commitment of 07-08 can be duplicated.

The bottom line is that Xavier is essentially reloading in 2008-09. There is an important distinction there in that they are reloading, rather than rebuilding, which only the elite programs in college basketball are able to do. Still it will is a bit premature to expect this team to do the same things that last year's squad did.
I think Phil Martelli put it well after his team fell to Xavier on Feb. 10 this season, saying, "A lot of times teams in our league have two year runs. People say 'How did they get good so quickly?' It's not because of any young kids that they have added.... It's a two year run."
Looking at it that way, the 07-08 season was part II of a two year run, with the first part being a disappointing loss to Ohio State. If you view this year as the first of a two year run then expectations for this Xavier team become a lot more realistic. An NCAA Tournament win would be nice, but that is about a realistic goal for this team. The 09-10 season will be part II of the run and should be looked at to produce better results.
Furthermore, Xavier should not be seen as the obvious favorite in the A-10 just because they have been successful as of late. Teams like Saint Joseph's, Temple, Richmond, Rhode Island and Duquesne are moving into part II of their two year runs, so to speak. Xavier certainly will be in the top of the league, but the experience advantage that some of those squads have over the Musketeers will play a factor throughout conference play.
2008-09 should be a great season for X, but reign in the pipe dreams and just enjoy the youth of this Musketeers squad coming of age. The Final Four talk will remain hot on the back burner for a little while.