Three changes resulting from attrition

With Brad Redford being injured on Saturday, Oct. 23, and Justin Martin being ruled ineligible on Oct. 25, the Xavier men’s basketball team takes on a whole new complexion.
With only 10 scholarship players available, here is what the Musketeers roster breaks down to at the moment:
PG: Tu Holloway
SG: Mark Lyons
SF: Dante Jackson, Jay Canty
PF: Jamel McLean, Andrew Taylor, Griffin McKenzie
C: Kenny Frease, Jordan Latham
The lack of depth will influence the Musketeers in a number of ways. Here are three major changes:
1. The Musketeers were already contenders to lead the country in free throw attempts per game, but the possibility gets even greater now. With XU’s main scoring punch coming from slashing guards Holloway and Lyons, the Musketeers will still want to run when possible. But getting to the free throw line will give Holloway, Lyons and Jackson a breather from the 30-plus minutes each will be expected to log. Also, with fewer perimeter players, the shot distribution will be skewed more toward Frease, McLean and Latham on the interior, likely adding to the foul total of opponents.
2. With Xavier likely getting to the free throw line more than 20 times per game—and opponents therefore picking up approximately 20 fouls per game—the Musketeers may struggle on the road. As the Musketeers attack the interior offensively to pick up fouls, they will have to avoid them on the other end because of the lack of depth. But foul inequality has been proven to trend in the favor of the home team, if anything, in college basketball, making road games potential traps for XU.
3. Xavier has traditionally been a three-point heavy team, but will likely rely on the deep ball for less than 25 percent of its offense this season. Still, Jackson will likely put up more than 200 three point attempts this season, with Lyons and Holloway both getting more than 100 attempts. With Frease, McLean, Latham and Taylor limited to points inside the paint, the approximately 400 attempts the starting backcourt combines for will likely account for the vast majority of XU’s deep threat.

Some brief thoughts on John Fields

With the departure of Jordan Crawford to the NBA and Brian Walsh to transfer, the Xavier men’s basketball team has found itself with an open scholarship for the 2010-11 season.
XU head coach Chris Mack will likely fill the spot with a one-year transfer (made eligible by their graduation this spring). The two top choices at the moment appear to be 6-ffot-6 wing Eniel Polynice from Ole Miss and 6-foot-9 center John Fields from UNC-Wilmington.
After talking with writers and observers in the Wilmington area, here are a few quick takes on Fields:

-Fields likely wanted out of the program because it has become a ghost town after coach Benny Moss was fired at the end of January—right in the middle of the CAA season. After Moss was fired the team went into a tailspin, none more so than Fields, who came to Wilmington from East Carolina to play for Moss. With new coach Buzz Petterson charged with a group that will likely sit in the cellar of the CAA, Fields wanted the added exposure and success that a larger program could offer for a senior season.

-Fields is not a polished offensive presence, and often struggles with double teams—another reason to abandon the UNCW system that would have revolved around battling double teams every night. His offensive range is limited to about six feet, and most of his points are energy points, scored in transition or on offensive rebounds.

-Fields is an excellent weakside defender and rebounder, even against some of the bigger competition on UNCW’s schedule—Richmond, Wake Forest, Old Dominion, South Florida. In an inspired game following Moss’ dismissal in January, Fields corralled 21 rebounds, dedicating the game to his coach.

-For a major program of Xavier or Tennessee’s caliber, Fields would likely be a guy to play 15-20 minutes per game off the bench, providing energy in transition and a defensive presence.

-While this move takes Fields to his third school, there are not really any spotty personal issues on his resume. He has just been unfortunate enough to stumble into some situations that did not suit him.

-Moss ran a number of set plays during his tenure at UNCW, requiring players to utilize a high basketball IQ. Fields picked up the system reasonably upon his entry from ECU. On the defensive side, while Fields’ shot blocking ability often lends him to roam on the weakside, he was able within the system enough to remain on the floor.