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.