Xavier Newswire

Three changes resulting from attrition

2010-10-25T22:28:00.002-04:00

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

2010-06-24T15:28:00.001-04:00

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.

Pat Kelsey -- the perfect hire for Mack

2009-04-26T22:07:00.003-04:00

In his final move to complete his coaching staff Xavier men's basketball coach Chris Mack is expected to announce the hiring of former Wake Forest assistant coach Pat Kelsey in the coming days as the new Associate Head Coach of the men's basketball program.
Kelsey, a 1998 Xavier graduate, had a stellar recruiting resume at Wake Forest, reeling in top talent such as Al Faruq-Aminu, Tony Woods and Ari Stewart.
In addition, Kelsey has been noted as an excellent in-game tactician, and excels in post instruction--both areas of concern for the Xavier staff after James Whitford departed for Arizona along with Sean Miller.
While unlikely to pay immediate recruiting dividends in the 2009 season because of the timing of the hiring--after the spring contact period with recruits--Kelsey's contacts in the Southeast, combined with the effort that Mack has been putting into the area, could produce talent as early as 2010. The hiring will certainly give Xavier a boost with previous southern prospects, such as Atlanta's Donte Williams.
The hiring of Kelsey gives Xavier one of the most formidable staffs in the country on the recruiting trail, consisting of a four man team with impressive resume's in different regions of the country.
'Bino' Ranson has strong connections in the talent-rich Baltimore area from his time as an AAU coach in the region, and also possesses the ability to parlay those ties to strong relationships in the Northeast. Travis Steele has roots in the Indiana AAU circuit, as he was a head coach for the preeminent Indiana grassroots program, Indiana Elite, for six years. Kelsey is one of the most respected recruiters in the country, able to draw from the Southeast for Wake Forest, but also extending his web incrementally as his stature grows.
To top it off, Xavier has a zealous recruiter as their head man. Mack has been able to produce talent from Xavier's immediate recruiting pipeline--Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania--in his time as an assistant, and has ties to each of the other hotbeds that his assistants will be dipping into from his tenure on the Xavier staff.
Aside from the future concerns of the program, bringing in Kelsey makes Xavier a better team on the court in 2009-10 by easing the in-game burden on Mack's shoulders. Mack is an excellent in-game coach, but had two fairly inexperienced assistants on his staff already in Ranson and Steele. Kelsey has been through the fire as an assistant in the ACC for five seasons, and will be a strong voice in Mack's ear during critical situations in 09-10.
With a strong foundation now in place on the sidelines, Xavier can focus on completing their roster for next season--highlighted by efforts to land previous commitment Kevin Parrom--and get to work on living up to Final Four-level expectations.
In the meantime, Mack is breathing a sigh of relief. He has landed his first big-time recruit... and potentially his most important.

Some possible Assistant Coaches

2009-04-14T12:01:00.003-04:00

Here is a quick rundown of two possible assistant coaches on Chris Mack's staff:
Jeff Boals
-Excellent recruiter who has been the lead recruiter at Akron over the past three seasons, helping the Zips to three straight MAC Championship games, including a MAC Tournament title in 2009.
-Was responsible for bringing in four-star center Zeke Marshall in 2009 (rated the No. 39 prospect in the class by Rival.com) as well as the best recruiting class in the MAC in 2008.
-Has ties to Chris Mack and Xavier through former Xavier assistant, and current St. Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt. Boals was an assistant to Schmidt from 2004-2006 at Robert Morris. Also, Mack and Boals have gotten to know one another well by recruiting the same tract of land, as both were the lead recruiters for the Ohio area for their respective programs.
-Channeling the appeal of recruiting under Akron head coach Keith Dambrot, former head coach of LeBron James at Akron’s St. Vincent, St. Mary’s High School, Boals has been able to woo some of Ohio’s best talent to take a peek at Akron. Top 100 recruits Adrein Payne, J.D. Weatherspoon both had Akron high on their list in large part because of James, and had their interest augmented by Boals. Xavier would figure to have an excellent chance to re-recruit Weatherspoon with Boals on board, and would now figure to be on the inside track with Payne as Boals was also the lead man in attracting the 6’10” big man’s interest to Akron.
-Boals is also an excellent teacher of post players, something that Xavier has prided itself on in sending Tyrone Hill, Brian Grant, James Posey and David West to the NBA. Boals will take the place of James Whitford, who handled the post duties for Xavier under former head coach Sean Miller.
-If Boals is the man to take over the No. 2 roll on the Xavier staff, look for him to lead Xavier’s recruiting efforts for 2011 forward Markus Crider and guard Stevie Taylor.

Travis Steele
-Spent the 2008-09 season as Xavier’s Director of Basketball Operations after spending three years at Indiana University. Steele was originally the video coordinator at IU, but was promoted to Assistant Coach in February of 2008 in the fallout of head coach Kelvin Sampson’s NCAA recruiting violations.
-Despite being only 24 years old, Steele has deep recruiting ties in the Hoosier state and the Chicago area that originated with his coaching positions with the Speice/Indy Heat Adidas AAU program from 2001-2006. While not a college athlete, Steele chose instead to sharpen his coaching skills during his years at Butler (2001-2004), not only coaching on the AAU circuit, but assisting at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis
-After college, Steele spent two seasons as an assistant at Wabash College, before moving on to the staff at IU.
-Steele is widely recognized as an outstanding asset in game preparation, with experience beyond his years in film study, and practice preparation.
-With Steele on board, look for Xavier to go after 2011 Indiana recruits Justin Gant, Jeremiah Davis, Kendall Griffin and Darwin Davis.

Xavier hires Chris Mack

2009-04-14T11:13:00.002-04:00

Eight days after Sean Miller vacated the position to head to the University of Arizona, Xavier University settled their search for a new head men's basketball coach with an in-house hire. Former assistant coach Chris Mack will move one seat down the bench to take over the head role.Mack, a 1992 Xavier graduate, has spent the last five seasons as Miller’s top assistant, and had been drawing interest in the past few years from a number of programs as a head coaching candidate.
While the biggest question surrounding Mack will be his lack of previous collegiate head coaching experience, his résumé is not devoid of accomplishments.
After serving as head coach at Mt. Notre Dame High School from 1995-1999, where he was named Cincinnati Post Coach of the Year in 1996, Mack moved on to three years as Xavier’s Director of Basketball Operations. From there he joined the coaching staff of his former head coach Skip Prosser at Wake Forest for three seasons, before returning to Xavier as the top assistant for Miller in 2004.
Over those five seasons Mack has proven himself to be a capable recruiter, heading Xavier’s fruitful efforts to sign Jamel McLean, Kenny Frease, Brad Redford and Brian Walsh.
As a result, many of those players—including Frease and Dante Jackson publicly—have thrown their support behind Mack in the time period between Miller’s departure and Mack’s hiring.
With the stability of the current Xavier team intact, Mack can immediately focus on bringing in future contributors to the Xavier program.
Mack has already been in touch with 2010 Xavier recruits J.D. Weatherspoon and Adrein Payne, AAU teammates for the Ohio Basketball Club. If Mack is able to add top-flight recruiters to his coaching staff—such Akron associate head coach Jeff Boals, who not only has a strong rapport with Mack, but with many Ohio prospects such as Weatherspoon and Payne—he will be able to remain on course with the talent level of the program.

B.J. Raymond impressing at Portsmouth

2009-04-13T00:07:00.003-04:00

Xavier senior B.J. Raymond was invited to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament this week. The tournament is meant to celebrate the nation's top collegiate senior talent, and serves as an adequate showcase for the NBA Draft scouts in attendance. Here is a take on how Raymond is performing from NBADraftExpress.com:

B.J. Raymond had yet another outstanding showing, knocking down another four 3-pointers (bringing him to 8 so far, on just 11 attempts) for an efficient 16 points. Raymond is one of the most vocal players you’ll find here on the defensive end, acting as somewhat of a captain for his team on this end of the floor, and really setting the tone for his teammates himself with the work he puts in. Despite not showing great lateral quickness, Raymond moves his feet exceptionally well and can really anticipate, playing a solid, fundamental brand of perimeter defense, and pretty much shutting down whoever he’s been asked to guard. His ball-handling appears to be average at best, and he seems to have problems finishing around the basket when driving in traffic, although he was able to finish nicely through contact in a few transition situations. Sitting right next to his team’s bench, you could constantly hear his voice during timeouts. It’s no surprise that his team is in the finals despite having likely the tournament’s worst “point guard” (the ultra selfish and constant showoff David Holston) running the show for them. It’s becoming more and more obvious why Raymond was such a winner as a college player in his time at Xavier.

I still think that it is a long shot for Raymond to make an NBA roster, simply because of his limitations on defense and in driving to the basket. But with the strong shooting performances that he has put on in front of the scouts in Portsmouth and at the NABC All-Star game in Detroit he has positioned himself to be a second round draft choice--Xavier's first since Romain Sato in 2004. Ultimately, Raymond's athleticism, scoring ability and leadership qualities should provide him with a similarly successful career to Sato.

Xavier starting the interview process

2009-04-08T12:15:00.004-04:00

With multiple alumni and current players backing him for the vacant head coaching position, Xavier assistant coach Chris Mack has become the first person to formally interview with the Xavier administration.
Mack, a 1992 Xavier graduate and Cincinnati native, has spent the last five seasons as former Xavier coach Sean Miller's top assistant.
Mack also has been an active recruiter under Miller, playing a major role in the recruitment of current Musketeers Kenny Frease, Brad Redford and Brian Walsh.
Mack has received the backing of notable former Xavier players such as 2003 National Player of the Year David West and all time leading scorer Byron Larkin. If hired, he would likely be able to keep the current roster in tact, as Jackson and Frease have voiced their affinity for Mack publicly, and others have opined for the stability of a familiar coach.
All of this could make for a quick search for the Xavier brass, something that athletic director Mike Bobinski stated as a priority on Monday.

Sean Miller to Arizona timeline

2009-04-06T19:12:00.003-04:00

Wow! What a day!
Here is a rough timeline of the events from today, as I understood and observed them (times are rough estimates, as I was not checking my watch closely):

Early Morning- Mike Bobinski drives to Sean Miller’s house and has a heartfelt meeting with the coach. The two had talked last night, and had been in constant communication about the situation. Miller had gone to bed with doubts in his mind, and woken up still torn. Bobinski described the conversation as emotional, but ultimately left with his coaching situation up in the air.

Noon- Miller calls Bobinski to inform him that he will be leaving for Arizona. Presumably, Miller and his wife Amy discussed the situation all morning, and ultimately decided to pull the trigger.

1:30 p.m.- The alarm goes out to the players to come to Cintas for a meeting, but they are not told what the meeting is for. Word got out quickly, however, and any already knew before they got in the locker room that Miller was leaving.

1:35 p.m.- As players trickle in they all turn down comment with the media, and head straight for the locker room.

1:40 p.m.- Five players—Dante Jackson, Kenny Frease, Jamel McLean, Derrick Brown and Mark Lyons—are here already. Lyons was the last to arrive, and walked into the locker room for a brief moment, before exiting quickly, chased by Kenny Frease. “This is bull----!,” Lyons yelled. Frease tried to get Lyons to come back into the locker room, but Lyons responded, “No man! F--- this.”

1:50 p.m.- Jackson, Frease and the newly arrived Brian Walsh head outside the locker room to meet others at the West Entrance of Cintas.
“We came to play for Miller,” Jackson said. “Anytime you lose a head coach it is going to be a blow.”

“We just have to regroup and go from here,” Frease said. “Coach Miller was a big part of coming to Xavier, but [potentially leaving] is not something that I want to talk about right now.”

1:55 p.m.- The players are called back inside, presumably to avoid us media folk.

2:00 p.m.- The players claim to be here for a 3:30 lift, but it is revealed the coaches will meet with the players after Bobinski breaks the news to them around 2:30.

2:05 p.m.- There are fans gathering outside of the West Entrance, one of whom has a pair of Arizona shorts that is being stomped on. Obviously, the student body is unhappy.

2:10 p.m.- B.J. Raymond shows up, one of the final few to trickle in. He does stop and talk to the media, unlike some of his younger, more shaken teammates.

Raymond: “Last year there were big things about coach getting ready to leave, and he told us that he was not going to stay forever. You have to be happy for coach. We knew that Xavier was not a place that you want to end [your career]. So he went down to Arizona, they offered him about twice as much, and that is good for him. You can’t be mad at him, but I am sad to see him leave… I talked to the younger guys and told them that it did not look too promising because when I was here he never took a visit. I gotta go in there and calm down the younger guys… Basketball is a business. You have to look at it in those terms. You have to perform when you are a player, and you have to perform when you are a coach. And he has performed very well. When you perform well you deserve things; coach deserves this… Even if I was not leaving, you can’t be mad at him… I’m not surprised. I expected it when he took the visit. Something was going down. If he wasn’t leaving this year, I knew that it would probably be next year, simply because he took the visit. But this year’s team is going to be a great team, and they are going to go make a deep run. If it wasn’t this year, it was going to be next year.”

2:15 p.m.- Jordan Crawford had walked in with Raymond, but had a similar reaction to Lyons earlier, and stormed out of Cintas Center without saying a word. This is the second time in two years that Crawford’s coach has left him, and you have to feel for the kid.

2:20 p.m.- Brad Redford is not exactly thinking clearly at the moment, as he forgot the code to the locker room (that he basically sleeps in).

2:25 p.m.- C.J. Anderson just showed up with his son Antoine. He learned about the move from Crawford as Crawford was disgustedly walking back to his dorm room. Anderson said he plans to go talk to Crawford, and try to keep his head on straight, along with the rest of the team.

Anderson: “I thought coach Miller would be here for a while because he signed an extension.… Congratulations to coach Miller and his family. Hopefully he does as well there as he did here… I understand it is a business. He took a lot of things into account. I trust coach Miller, he is a smart guy, and he must have felt like this was the move that he needed to make… I think coach Mack knows the players, and it would be a better transition. The players know him, and he knows the system. It would be a comfortable transition, so I definitely think that Xavier should take a good look at coach Mack.”

2:30 p.m.- Not much is doing here, as the players have come in and the media has been backed far away from the locker room. It would seem from the brief snippets we have gotten so far that the older players always had this moment in the back of their mind, and anticipated it. They knew that this day would come, and the Mack would likely be the guy, so they were not that worried about it. The younger players are more emotional, however. That is likely because they have not heard Miller’s speech about this not being his final destination.

2:31 p.m.- Word is the players are in a meeting now with Mike Bobinski, and are being told what has happened, and what will happen.

2:40 p.m.- The meeting is out, and a select group of players have chosen to speak to the media: Jackson, Jason Love and Kenny Frease. I did not get to Love in time but here are the other two:

Jackson: “It’s tough. I feel terrible for our guys. We are all disappointed and hurt. You hope and pray that he sticks around for as long as you are going to be there. We knew that coach Miller was a hot commodity, and we wish him the best. We are looking forward to continuing our success as a program. Xavier has not been a program that is made by the coach. Mr. Bobinski will initiate the search, and bring in the right guy for our program… Our goal is to make it to the Final Four, and my mindset was working on making myself and our team better to reach that. You hear the rumor and I didn’t pay much attention to it… I knew he wasn’t going to be here forever. I didn’t think he was going to leave this year. If he was going to leave it was going to be last year. I have a lot of respect for him, he recruited me, and he does things the right way… We haven’t spoken to [Miller] yet. We will a little later, and I am looking forward to that… Coach Mack is obviously going to be in the running. He graduated from here. He is ready to be a head coach. I’m going to sit back and trust our athletic director to make the right decision… Xavier is going to be Xavier, and always put a good team on the floor. We are going to play for our program, our fans, and our family. It doesn’t matter who is the coach on the sidelines… A lot of guys are upset right now, and a lot of things are being said out of emotion. They came for coach miller and also to wear ‘Xavier’ across their uniforms… The mood was disappointment in the locker room… We asked questions of Mr. Bobinski, and we will have questions for our staff later… We have to take it in stride, be upbeat and positive. This program is still going to be here, and we are doing pretty damn good.”

Frease: “In my year here, you come to Xavier for Miller. He was a great coach and recruiter. I fell in love with Xavier, and the traditions they have here. It makes it hard to think about leaving… We have big goals for next year. The talent is there, but it just depends. That is the worst part because you don’t know what is going to happen with the players… I have gotten to know coach pretty well, and there has to be something at Arizona. I don’t feel let down… It’s tough because it is a business.”

3:00 p.m.- Lyons had returned from storming out before, and is now ready to leave again before the 4:00 meeting with Miller. He is stopped by Frease again, who asked him to stay and listen to Miller. “What can he possibly say to me?,” asked Lyons. “Why should I listen to him?”

3:15 p.m.- A lot more waiting here, as Miller is expected to address the team at 4:00. Brown, McLean, Lyons, Anderson (C.J. and Antoine), Stephen Duckett and Jackson are all hanging around in the Auxiliary gym, casually shooting. Jackson leaves to make a phone call, muttering, “They are not better than us. They are just more appealing.”

3:25 p.m.- The press conference has been set for 4:30, with Miller and Bobinski to speak

3:30 p.m.- High school junior J.D. Weatherspoon has de-committed from Xavier. Weatherspoon is a very emotional kid, and likely denounced Xavier in a spur of the moment decision. I tend to believe Xavier still has a good chance with him if they were to hire Mack, especially if Mack hires the right assistant coaches. As for other recruits, I would assume that Emanuel Richardson is already picking out a house in Tucson with the way things played out. So he might end up taking 2009 recruit Kevin Parrom, 2010 recruit Jordan Latham and 2011 recruit Nadir Tharpe out to Tucson with the staff.

4:00 p.m.- The Xavier coaching staff, minus Miller, has addressed the Xavier team in the locker room. After the meeting James Whitford and Terrell Holloway shared a hug, with Whitford tearing up at the moment.

4:05 p.m.- Whitford is in a more jovial mood when talking to Raymond, with Chris Mack also in the conversation. Whitford is nowhere to be seen, but Whitford (and later Miller) and director of basketball operations Travis Steele are wearing neutral clothing—odd for men that wear Xavier apparel every day to work. Mack is wearing a Xavier polo shirt, however. Whitford jokes with Raymond that he should come out to Tucson to be an assistant coach, since he has been one already for four years. He says they have one spot open on the bench, leading me to believe that Mack may have already been given the job.

4:15 p.m.- Miller arrives with his son Braden. He has not addressed the team personally yet, as he was not part of the meeting in the locker room earlier.

4:25 p.m.- Mack is stalking around the media room, hanging out in the back and talking with administrators. He is giving me the impression that he may be introduced as the head coach here any moment, and is ready to speak. One of the other writers asked him if he wanted to hop up on the podium and accept the job, to which he just laughed and shook his head.

4:27 p.m.- Frease and Jackson are at it again, speaking outside the press room. Both are reiterating how they are disappointed, but not upset. Frease mentioned how it is going to be tough to lose Whitford, who was the post-player coach.

4:30 p.m.- Miller comes in to the press conference. I will not do any transcribing, since it has already been widely disseminated. I will, however, say that the go-to quote about Xavier not being able to win a national title was overblown. “I would never leave Xavier unless I felt that it was a place where I can win a national championship. I don’t want to say that you can’t win one here. But it is a place that has done it before, and has that quarter of century worth of excellence stamp to it.” Miller was saying that he was attracted by the tradition of a place like Arizona, of which a championship is a part. He was not slighting Xavier, merely pointing out that the place he is going to has been to the mountaintop. In my opinion, the big moment was when Miller choked up when talking about Bobinski, and what he means to him.

4:40 p.m.- Bobinski is on the stand now, and I will not get much into what he said, either. I will say that he did not sound like he had made up his mind on a coach, but that is what you have to say if you are an Athletic Director, of which there are few better than Mike Bobinski.

5:00 p.m.- After the press conference Crawford, McLean and Redford were in the Auxiliary gym shooting around. Bobinski went in to talk to Crawford, who was obviously still shaken. The doors were closed, but Bobinski repeatedly made motions indicating he was talking about the program growing in the future.

Whew! Action packed couple of hours.
My general thoughts are that Xavier is still in a great position moving forward. Sure, the Musketeers might lose some recruits for next season and beyond. But overall, the talent level at Xavier will be extremely high next season, and will continue at that level for the next few years. Crawford, Frease and Jackson would figure to still be on campus next year, and that three some alone should bridge the two year gap that any coach would need to infuse his own recruited talent.
Also, another conference title, and a deep NCAA run next year will keep the recruits coming. I am very confident in saying that Xavier will ultimately hire Mack. Mack has strong ties within the state of Ohio, and on the recruiting scene in general, to where he will be able to fill his staff effectively and his roster will remain loaded.
Still, for many April 6, 2009 will go down as one of the gloomier days on the campus of Xavier University, both literally and figuratively.

Why Miller would think of leaving

2009-04-05T22:41:00.000-04:00

Over the past few days as news has trickled out that Sean Miller is seriously entertaining an offer to become the next head coach at the University of Arizona many Xavier fans have been left scratching their head.
The Musketeers have a top-10 caliber team returning in 2009-10, a top-flight schedule and recruiting commitments lined up down the road. Why would Miller want to leave that situation for Arizona, who will have a bare cupboard after the expected departures of Jordan Hill and Chase Buddinger to the NBA?
While the situation at Xavier is still very enticing to Miller, and still might hold up to a comparison with any job in the country at the end of the day, the position at Arizona warrants a look from Miller simply because it suits all of the things that he desires in a dream job. Here is a rough list of three things that Miller would have to have to leave Xavier, and how Arizona matches up:
Membership in a winnable major conference- Miller wants to be able to play a schedule where his team will be tested every time out on the floor, and where he can win 19 games and still make the Tournament in his first few seasons. Certainly, he would like to eventually get to a point where he can dominate a conference on a year-to-year basis the way that North Carolina does in the ACC or UCLA does in the PAC-10. He has expressed to people close to him in the past that the Big East does not seem like a place where he could achieve that kind of success, with the depth and talent that is in the conference on a yearly basis. That is part of the reason why a return to his alma mater, Pittsburgh, is not as attractive to him as many national pundits might think.
Why Arizona? The Wildcats are part of the PAC-10 conference. While UCLA will be difficult to dismantle from the top spot in the conference, Miller could quickly mold the program into perennial contenders, hopefully joining UCLA in the top tier above contenders USC, Oregon, Stanford and Arizona State.
A Primary athletic focus on basketball- Miller wants his program to be the main money maker for the athletic department, and thus be given preference when asking for monetary improvements to the basketball program. He has such a situation set up at Xavier, but it is not as strong as it could be. The men’s basketball team is the only program turning a profit at XU, and carries the weight for everything from women’s basketball to golf. Going to programs such as Virginia or Georgia where he would be given the leftover money from the football program was not as attractive to Miller as staying at Xavier and getting the first pick of athletic funding.
Why Arizona? Arizona would not only give Miller the free reign in spending that he needs, and the total commitment that he demands, but would be able to take away some of the sting of carrying the entire athletic department. The UA football team has been on the rise in recent years, and would be able to provide a solid second income for the athletic program, possibly covering the costs of the rest of the sports.
Program Prestige- Miller wants to be able to go to a program that has won before, and has a fan base that is used to success. At Xavier, he enjoys celebrating the firsts, and striving to be the first Musketeer coach to reach a Final Four. However, being in a place with championship banners, and a name that is on the minds of pundits nationwide is always appealing.
Why Arizona? The Wildcats won the NCAA title in 1997, and have made 25 straight NCAA Tournaments. Their alumni have dotted NBA and international rosters for years. The program can reasonably be considered among the elite in the country. Miller would likely embrace having the legendary Lute Olson around campus in the same fashion that Ben Howland has with John Wooden at UCLA and Roy Williams has with Dean Smith at North Carolina.

For Miller, taking a look at Arizona made sense now because the list of schools that fit even this small list of criteria here is very small. Arizona is one of maybe 10 places in the country—some of which, such as North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky and UCLA don’t figure to be hiring soon—that fit a description for a school that Miller would leave for.
Speculation in recent days that Miller may bolt for more money is unfounded—the man did not even know how much his yearly salary was a year ago.
He simply got an opportunity to pursue a job that met his strict criteria. In reality, I would be scratching my head if Miller did not at least explore such a unique opportunity.

Taking a logical look at what Xavier would be left with after Miller

2009-04-05T14:36:00.000-04:00

Reports are circulating today that Sean Miller is on a plane to Albuquerque, NM to discuss accepting the head coaching job at the University of Arizona. The job would seem to suit Miller’s desires for a big-time program in a winnable conference (non-Big East), that has the commitment to basketball as the primary objective.
If Miller were to take the position, something I would put as a probability at this point, he would not completely debilitate the Xavier program; much the opposite.
Xavier already has a head-coach-in-waiting in Chris Mack, who has held the title of ‘next-Xavier-assistant-to-become-a-successful-coach’ for a few years now. "Chris is ready to become a head coach. He has a great basketball mind and is an excellent recruiter," was Miller’s assessment of Mack in preseason media guide.
The pedigree as a successful head coach at Mt. Notre Dame High School, on the Xavier staff from 1999-2001, on the Wake Forest staff for three years after that, and with Miller at Xavier ever since has set Mack up for an opportunity as a head coach. There were even whispers this offseason that Xavier would not be able to keep Mack, as he would be a hot candidate for head coaching positions at non-major schools that lost their head coaches to the power conferences.
A big strength that Mack would figure to have in the head coaching role at Xavier is a continued string of excellent recruiting classes. Mack has been a major force for Miller on the recruiting trail over the past few seasons, heading the efforts to sign Kenny Frease, Mark Lyons, and Brad Redford. The fervor that he has shown on the recruiting trail would not figure to dissipate once he becomes head coach.
Mack would also be helped by the logical play-out of the assistant coaches if he were to take over the head role. Miller would likely take James Whitford with him out west, and possibly director of basketball operations Travis Steele. Mack would likely be left with current lead-recruiter Emanuel “Book” Richardson—who would be less effective recruiting his ties in New York City from the exotic location of Tucson, AZ, forcing Miller to turn to a similarly connected figure from the Los Angeles or Houston scene for his staff at Arizona—and possibly Steele. The real coup would be if Mack is able to retain Director of Basketball Administration Mario Mercurio, who has been chiefly responsible for transforming Xavier’s schedule into the murderer’s row that it has become.
Miller would likely only need to add one more assistant coach from among the growing list of candidates available in the Wake Forest-Xavier-Calipari coaching tree.
With a set coaching staff, Mack could focus his attention quickly on those players that the staff would have gotten him. Miller will have left Mack with a stocked cupboard for 2009-10, with the ability to challenge for a Final Four in his first season—a situation not dissimilar to the one Buzz Peterson walked into at Marquette last season after Tom Crean left town.
It is unlikely that any current Xavier players would transfer from the program, as all of them were either recruited by Mack or came to respect him as the obvious second in command during their time on campus. Surely, some players who do not figure to be major components on the 2009-10 squad such as Brian Walsh and Andrew Taylor could consider moving on, but further departures seem extremely unlikely.
Even in the recruiting game, Mack would not lose much in the future outlook for Xavier. 2009 recruit Kevin Parrom and 2010 commitment Jordan Latham both chose Xavier because of the influence of Richardson, and the growing prestige of the Xavier program, neither of which would figure to disappear if Miller were to leave.
Question marks would begin to rise around 2010 commit J.D. Weatherspoon, as he was heavily recruited by Whitford, and chose Xavier in large part because of their proximity to home and the success of the program under Miller. While Xavier will not get any further from Weatherspoon’s home in Columbus, the perception in Weatherspoon’s mind may indicate that a Xavier program without Miller may drift them further from March success. That uncertainty, combined with the mercurial rise in Weatherspoon’s stock, would certainly draw interest from a bevy of other major programs as to the possibility of a change of heart.
The uncertainty at the head of the bench would also figure to hurt Xavier in their pursuit of 2009 recruit Kyryl Natyazkho. Natyazkho is down to a choice between Arizona State and Xavier at the moment, and would figure to be shy about pulling the trigger on a future in Norwood without knowing who the head man will be. Even if Miller were to return to Xavier, it would seem that his flirtation with Arizona may have come at the wrong time, as Natyazkho will be making his final decision in the coming weeks.
Looking even further down the road, Mack will be able to stabilize the Xavier program in recruiting, with major assistance from Richardson. Richardson’s ties with 2011 point guard Nadir Tharpe and a host of other New York City stars in 2011 and 2012 might solidify a pipeline from The Big Apple to Cincinnati.
The only other potential disadvantage that Mack could face would be a weaker position in bringing in transfers, a staple of the Xavier program’s success in recent years. Similar to the uncertainty that recruits such as Natyazkho might have, a forlorn scholarship holder from another major program might seek refuge elsewhere, rather than heading to a talent-laden and uncertain program at Xavier.
Nonetheless, if Xavier athletic director Mike Bobinski is forced to turn to Chris Mack as the next head coach of Xavier men’s basketball, it will not be a major detriment to the program. The team is too talented in 2009-10, Mack is too talented of a coach and the program’s recruiting roots are too strong for the move to result in anything but a bright future for Xavier basketball.
So back off the ledge Xavier fans. Everything is going to be alright.

Xavier to begin series with Florida

2009-04-01T11:31:00.004-04:00

In the latest step to increase the level of opponents in their non-conference schedule, the Xavier men's basketball team has added the University of Florida to their 2009-10 schedule according to multiple sources inside of the men's basketball program.
Already with a loaded non-conference schedule that includes trips to Kansas State, Wake Forest and Butler, home games against Louisiana State, Cincinnati and Miami (OH.), and involvement in the Old Spice Classic that includes Baylor, Florida State, Michigan, Alabama, Marquette, Iona and Creighton, Xavier's addition of the matchup with the Gators offers the ability to boost the team's strength of schedule to an elite level.
The trip to Gainesville will be the beginning of a two year home-and-home series between Xavier and Florida, an arrangement that the Xavier program has utilized in the past to secure matchups with Virginia, LSU, Auburn and Butler.
The matchup with the Gators--a team that has won two national titles in the past four years--takes such scheduling advances to a new height.
Florida potentially returns 88.4 percent of their scoring, 95.3 percent of their rebounding and 86.4 percent of their assists from a team that went 25-11 and lost in the quarterfinals of the NIT.
The only sure departure from the squad is senior guard Walter Hodge, who averaged 8.9 points, 1.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game in 2008-09.
Hodge, who played predominantly off the ball while 6'5 sophomore Nick Calathes handles most of the point guard duties, figures to be replaced quickly as Florida head coach Billy Donovan is bringing in 6'3" McDonald's All-American Kenny Boyton--the only McDonald's All-American to commit to an SEC school (something that figures to change with John Calipari's move to Kenticky).
Boyton is predicted to start from Day 1 in the backcourt alongside All-SEC performer Calathes, despite Calathes' recent foray into the NBA Draft. Calathes, who has not signed with an agent and can still return to school, is slated by most scouts as a second round pick if he were to remain in the draft.
When combined with the firepower that Xavier is expected to offer in 2009-10--returning 66 percent of their scoring, 76 percent of their rebounding and 70 percent of their assists from a Sweet Sixteen team that will add the backcourt duo of Jordan Crawford and Mark Lyons--the matchup in Gainesville figures to be a game between two top-10 schools.

The silver lining

2009-03-27T10:52:00.003-04:00

The cup of coffee the morning after the end of a season is never an easy one to swallow for a head coach.
For Sean Miller, the cup of Joe might be easier to enjoy this morning, however, knowing that his Musketeers exceeded many expectations by reaching their third NCAA Sweet Sixteen in six years.
While the disappointment of squandering multiple opportunities to win their regional semifinal matchup with Pittsburgh certainly stings for Xavier, they can be comforted by a look into the future.
Simply glancing at the box score after the loss to the Panthers, one finds six underclassmen for Xavier playing double-digit minutes, including two freshmen and two sophomores.
If redshirt junior forward Derrick Brown decides to forgo the NBA and return to Xavier for his senior season then the Musketeers figure to be a legitimate title contender.
Brown is likely to return to Xavier if he is not slated to be among the top 15 picks in the 2009 NBA Draft, a position that he is likely on the verge of as the season concludes, and that he undoubtedly would have improved had Xavier been able to afford him added exposure against prime talent in a Final Four run. Brown will likely draw an invite to the NBA predaft camps, and get an opinion from NBA scouts on what he needs to work on--presumably added aggressiveness on the offensive end, among other things. Whether that recommendation comes with an endorsement of a top 15 guarantee will be the main question, however.
If Brown does return to Norwood for a shot to improve upon back-to-back trips to the NCAA second weekend, he will have a strong supporting cast.
Along with the maturing group of role players from this season's Sweet Sixteen bunch, the Musketeers are overhauling their backcourt that served as the Achilles heal of the 08-09 squad by adding two key members: Jordan Crawford, a 6'4" transfer from Indiana who averaged 9.4 points per game as a freshman with the Hoosiers in 2007-08, and Mark Lyons, an athletic 6'1" freshman defensive specialist who was forced to sit out the 08-09 season after being a partial qualifier out of high school.
When added to Kevin Parrom, a small forward that Rivals.com ranked No. 84 in the class of 2009, and whomever Miller is able to land with the final scholarship opening available (or multiple openings if any of the current scholarship players decide to transfer) the Musketeers will have a stout group of newcomers to add to a Sweet Sixteen-worthy core.
"Some people tell me that I have two of everything [on the 2008-09 team]. I don't know about that, but if you look ahead to next year, we really will have two of everything," Miller said with a smile in February of 2009.
So as the Musketeers head back to Cincinnati this afternoon, they do so with a sense of disappointment at a lost opportunity, but also hope at the potential for greater achievements in the months ahead.

Xavier comes up just short in game of inches

2009-03-26T23:40:00.001-04:00

Every inch counts.
It is an old adage that is often applied to sports to inspire desire, but in a 60-55 loss to Pittsburgh in the Sweet Sixteen on Thursday night desire was not a problem for Xavier. Derrick Brown’s shoe size was.
With 1:20 remaining and Xavier leading 54-52 Brown chased down a ball thrown the length of the court by C.J. Anderson, appearing to give Xavier a critical possession and the ability to run the clock down.
It was not to be, as Brown’s toe touched the end line as he gathered the ball, giving Pittsburgh possession of the ball to set up heroics by Levance Fields. Fields would hit a step-back three point shot, cause a turnover and get a transition layin—a stretch that gave Pittsburgh the lead and separated them from Xavier.
“I thought the shot that Levance Fields hit says it all about a senior point guard,” Xavier head coach Sean Miller said.
For Xavier to be in a position in the final moments the Musketeers relied heavily on their familiar strength of lock-down halfcourt defense.
The Musketeers held Pittsburgh to 33.8 percent shooting on the night, including 35.5 percent in the first half when the Musketeers were able to build an eight point halftime lead. The key to holding the Panthers to 29 first-half points was containing sophomore center DeJuan Blair, who scored two points and grabbed four rebounds in the first 20 minutes.
“I tried to play him tough and be physical with him to keep him off of the boards,” Jason Love, the Xavier center who received the primary assignment on Blair said.
Blair would not remain quiet, however, as he broke out for eight points and 14 rebounds after halftime, contributing to a 9-0 run by the Panthers over the first 6:19 of the second half.
The scoring draught for the Musketeers would continue, as they shot 24.1 percent in the second half.
“It is disappointing that we could not finish the game,” C.J. Anderson said after scoring six points and grabbing eight rebounds in his final game at Xavier. “We felt like we had a good opportunity [at halftime], but we missed too many open shots.”
The misfires came after the Musketeers worked through the Pittsburgh defense, and got looks inside against Blair, but were unable to finish.
“It was a lack of execution,” Miller said. “We just missed some point-blank layups that you have to make in any game, particularly this tournament.”
While the missed layups hurt Xavier, they were still in the game in the final seconds.
“We missed layups. So what? We have missed layups before,” sophomore point guard Dante Jackson said. “I think the most disappointing thing was that we were not able to get that rebound, or that defensive stop.”
Despite the lack of lucky bounces in their final game, the Musketeers still had one of the most successful seasons in program history. They won a third straight Atlantic 10 regular season title, reached a third Sweet Sixteen in six year and won 27 games.
With only two seniors on the team—Anderson and B.J. Raymond—the Musketeers look to be among the top 10 teams in the country heading into 2009-10, and now have the desire to make up for a lost opportunity.
“It is going to motivate us to do much better next year. Guys will come back this summer hungry and ready to fight,” Jackson said. “It is the same situation as when we got beat two years ago by Ohio State [on a miraculous three point shot by Ron Lewis]. Hopefully it is a good omen.”
It doesn’t have to be that great of an omen; just good enough to make up for six inches.

Halftime: Xavier 37 Pittsburgh 29

2009-03-26T20:19:00.002-04:00

Xavier heads into the locker room with a lead. Pittsburgh heads into the locker room with an upset point guard.
There was a scuffle in front of the Xavier bench as the teams headed off the court for the break, with the Xavier players jubilantly yelling about their eight point advantage and Levance Fields taking umbridge at the statements.
Few things:
-Fr. Graham is down here celebrating with the band at the moment.
-I am sitting in front of Bill Murray
As for the game:
-The key so far has been Xavier's ability to neutralize and defend DeJuan Blair. The big man has two points on 1-5 shooting as Xavier has doubled him and frustrated him in the post, poking away offensive rebounds from his grasp.
-The key to stopping Blair's scoring is limiting him on the glass, where he only has four rebounds--two offensive. Xavier has a 16-14 lead in offensive boards, and 8-5 on the offensive glass--two categories that they were only hoping to hang close to Pitt.
-Pitt has been squandering plenty of opportunities with turnovers. They have turned the ball over seven times to Xavier's three. They are not your garden variety travels or tossing the ball into traffic, but making the type of passes that almost crack a reporter's laptop in half (seriously). Xavier expected to be dominated in this category as well, and are getting continued great play from their point guard spot of Jackson and Holloway (2 dazzling assists).
-The one bugaboo for Xavier that has held has been their inability stop dribble penetration. Xavier has let Young (11 pts.), Fields (10 pts.) and Dixon (2 pts.) into the lane a handful of times.
-Pitt has been slowed down some in transition, save a string of five possesions where they were able to run and get six easy points.
-Derrick Brown is playing like an NBA player. 10 pts including a dunk over Blair and two deep threes.

That's all for now. Check back after the game.

Press row rumblings

2009-03-26T19:14:00.002-04:00

Greetings from TD Banknorth Garden, an arena that despite its massive size in the center of Boston is still unheard of by many cab drivers apparently...
Some thoughts as the game is ten minutes from tip here:
-Miller may try to win this chess match with Dixon by using a variety of different looks on defense. Pitt has struggled with the press, so Xavier may go with a 3/4 court look in the early stages, or even a full court man. Also, Miller will likely turn to a 3-2 zone defense that has been effective for the Musketeers this season in limiting the opponent's looks on the interior, but also in increasing the opponent's offensive rebounds (which may be why Miller goes to a zone sparingly today).
-Look for Xavier to try to get Blair to guard on the perimeter in a variety of situations. If you don't like seeing a variety of high ball-screens, then hide your eyes when Xavier has the ball.
-As always, the first four minutes will tell a lot of the story for Xavier. They are not a team with a high-powered offense, so storming back from even a six point early deficit may be a tall order. Dante Jackson, especially has proven to indicate strong play throughout with his early play--or a tough night with weak play early. XU needs to come out strong.

Alright that is all I got for now. I need to go figure out why DeJuan Blair needed to be restrained from charging into the locker room during the national anthem.

Xavier has long checklist against Pitt.

2009-03-23T00:09:00.000-04:00

Having witnessed a fair share of Thanksgiving Day football games, slow-pitch softball games and backyard basketball battles, I can certainly attest that the desire to win in sports never runs stronger than when the opponent is your own flesh and blood.
While Sean Miller and the University of Pittsburgh community may not share the same familial genes, there is certainly a deep-rooted desire by Miller to jump the hurdle of his alma-mater to reach his second consecutive Elite Eight at Xavier.
Getting such a win is a tall order for Miller against the top-seeded Panthers, but here are some things that the Musketeers must do in order to be successful against Pittsburgh:
Attack the high ball-screen- Xavier will have to be efficient in the ball-screen at the top of the key. The Musketeers like to start their sets with the center coming out and getting either Dante Jackson or Terrell Holloway to come off of the screen early in the shot clock. Pittsburgh likes to defend this by jumping their center, DeJuan Blair, out to impede the progress of the ballhandler. Blair, however, will often get lazy in this situation, and attempt to slow the ballhandler with only half his body instead of fully sliding in front of the point guard. If Jackson and Holloway are able to attack Blair’s half-hearted effort in this area, and pick up a few quick fouls on the perimeter, the entire shape of the game will change.
Defend the high ball-screen- Pittsburgh likes to get out and run more than they have in past years, but like most Jamie Dixon-coached teams they will run through the offense efficiently in the halfcourt, and rely on the high ball-screen as the shot clock winds down. That means that Levance Fields will often have the ball coming off of a screen from either Blair or Tyrell Biggs. Fields loves to penetrate off of this situation and give a shovel pass to Blair on the interior for a lay-in, or pull up with a crossover, stepback, fadeaway jumpshot combination that he consistently turns to. Xavier has done their most effective job of the season thus far in the NCAA Tournament against the ball-screen out top, using Jason Love and Kenny Frease to trap the ballhandler. This strategy will have to be modified against Pittsburgh, as Fields is adept at splitting a double team in such a situation, and breaking down the defense completely. Still, Love and Frease will have to be able to impede Fields’ progress consistently on the perimeter, and avoid foul trouble in such situations if Xavier hopes to slow the Pittsburgh attack.
Slow the pace of the game- Pittsburgh has the reputation of being a similar team to Xavier, predicated on defense and rebounding. While the Panthers are strong in both areas, they will take advantage of transition opportunities whenever they can get them, something they have not done in past years. Led by Blair’s ability on the defensive glass, and Fields’ comfort with the ball in the open court, Pittsburgh has the ability to turn defense into offense in a flash. In games where Dixon perceives an advantage in speed, awareness or depth, the Panthers will look to get out on the break more often, as evidenced by their wins over Connecticut. Xavier possesses the athletes and depth to play an up-tempo game, but have not come across any point guard with Fields’ ability to attack transition defenses. Also, the Musketeers’ young backcourt of Jackson and Holloway has struggled when they have been forced to play at a faster pace than they are used to, throwing the ball away consistently in such situations. The bottom line is that Xavier will not be able to beat Pittsburgh if the final score is in the 70’s as a result of the Panthers getting out on the break. Xavier does not have the ability to respond with transition baskets of its own, and are not deep enough in individual scorers to match such a point total in the halfcourt offense.
Locate DeJuan Blair and box him out- Blair is one of the NCAA’s best offensive rebounders in recent history. He is able to take up a huge amount of space, use his strength to get position and get put-backs in traffic. Xavier cannot allow Blair to collect a handful of offensive boards, and subsequently get the Musketeer frontcourt in foul trouble. Keeping Blair off of the glass, and limiting the Panthers—the best offensive rebounding team in the nation—to one shot may just be the top priority for Sean Miller and his staff heading into the game. Also, besides picking up ticky-tack fouls on the high ball-screen, Blair is prone to get overaggressive going after offensive rebounds and go over-the-back. If Xavier is able to get Blair on the bench through a series of silly fouls on the perimeter and offensive glass, they will change the whole complexion of the game and give themselves a real chance to pull the upset.
Get offensive rebounds of your own- Pittsburgh is going to get offensive rebounds. The key is to nullify their advantage in added possessions by getting a few of your own on the other end of the court. Xavier is no slouch in that department—36th in the nation—but will have to rely on Derrick Brown to play like a power forward and rebound aggressively on the offensive end, not like a small forward and roam the perimeter like he has for much of the season.
Find a three point stroke- Pittsburgh has had trouble with teams when they have shot the ball well from the perimeter (losses to Villanova and West Virginia and close calls in the first two rounds of the Tournament to East Tennessee State and Oklahoma State). Xavier—the 12th best team in the nation from three point range at 40.1 percent—certainly has the firepower to get hot from deep, as B.J. Raymond, Jackson, Holloway and Brown all have the ability to hit an open look (along with Brad Redford, who will likely see limited action against a Pittsburgh team that has the athleticism to expose Redford’s defensive deficiencies). Pittsburgh’s defense is predicated on stopping interior shots, so there will be a few open looks to be had off of kick-outs. Making such shots will open the floor for the Musketeers, allowing C.J. Anderson to slash to the basket and collect fouls on Blair and Biggs. Pittsburgh’s defense becomes significantly more difficult to operate against when an opponent can’t hit the three point shot, something Xavier will have to do to have a chance on Thursday.
Hold your own in the turnover battle- It is unrealistic to think that Xavier is going to come out of this matchup with less turnovers than the Panthers, who rarely make miscues with Fields at the helm. Xavier will need to slow the game down, and run through their halfcourt sets, where they are much less prone to an errant pass. Xavier tends to turn the ball over more when they are forced to improvise and create from a broken play. While limiting those plays, they have to rely on a similarly stifling defensive performance to the one they turned in against Wisconsin in the second round of the Tournament. While Xavier’s halfcourt defense is built more around limiting good looks than collecting steals, if run correctly it will limit the number of points that Pittsburgh gets out of their added possessions as a result of Xavier turnovers. If Xavier is within five points in the ‘points off of turnovers’ column, or simply do not turn the ball over more than eight of nine times, they have a realistic chance of advancing to the Elite Eight.

Silver lining for Wake?

2009-03-21T16:39:00.002-04:00

The NCAA Tournament is always seen as one of sports’ great events because of the upsets and Cinderella stories that come to the fore every March.
On the other side of those underdog victors, however, is a power-conference giant that has been slain.
The biggest name to fall in this year’s first round was Wake Forest, who suffered an 84-69 loss to Cleveland State in the first round on Saturday.
While the loss is undoubtedly disappointing for the Demon Deacons, there may be a silver lining to the early exit.
Wake features three key players in Jeff Teague, James Johnson and Al-Farouq Aminu who have the talent to be first round NBA draft choices this June.
However, just as Final Four runs have traditionally inflated the professional stocks of college players, early upsets have often leant themselves to an extra year on campus for many players with bright NBA futures. Blake Griffin at Oklahoma, the Lopez twins at Stanford and Adam Morrison at Gonzaga are three recent examples of players who decided to come back to school to attempt to inflate their draft stock while chasing a national title.
This is good news for the Deacs, even if only one of the talented trio decides to forgo the NBA for another season in Winston-Salem.
Wake Forest was one of the 64th youngest team in college basketball in 2008-09, and would likely enter next season in the top five nationally if Teague, Johnson and Aminu were to return to join center Chase McFarland, point guard Ismael Smith, wing L.D. Williams and developing big man Tony Woods.
With the addition of freshmen Ari Stewart and C.J. Harris, the Demon Deacons would not only be senior-laden, but exceptionally talented, making for an exceptional slate of games with Duke, North Carolina and Florida State in the ACC and Xavier in the non-conference.
So Demon Deacons fans are undoubtedly crossing their fingers after a devastating loss, hoping to find a silver lining on an otherwise gloomy Sunday.

Note: Xavier and Wake Forest are slated to begin a 10 year contract with a game in the early stages of the 2009-10 season.

Xavier vs. Wisconsin -- Keys to Victory

2009-03-21T15:28:00.000-04:00

“Mirror, Mirror on the wall…”
While Snow White and Seven Dwarfs is not the most talked about fairy tale in the NCAA Tournament, it is the most pertinent to a second round matchup between Xavier and Wisconsin.
Both teams are predicated on defense and rebounding. Both utilize a packline defense to keep opponents out of the lane. Both like to play the halfcourt offense more than get out in transition, preferring a final score in the 60’s to a shootout.
With such a low-scoring battle expected, attention to detail becomes inherently more important, and both teams need to be able to execute the gameplan for 40 minutes.
Here are five keys for each side that will go a long way in determining the outcome of this matchup (note: as stated, these teams are essentially the same profile, so you could easily switch the keys from one team to the other and, beyond changing a few names, not bat an eyelash):
Wisconsin
Stopping dribble penetration- The Badgers packline scheme routinely takes away the high ball-screen with help from the big men on the guard. This was evident in the Badgers’ first round matchup with Florida State, where the Seminoles were relegated to isolation plays for the majority of the game, abandoning their bread-and-butter of the high screen-and-roll. Xavier likes to begin their offense with the high ball-screen, but have proven to be effective in set plays. The one Xavier player that has consistently been able to penetrate defenses has been C.J. Anderson. If Wisconsin can stop Anderson from penetrating, drawing fouls and kicking out to open shooters, they will have a good chance of advancing.
Getting dribble penetration- Xavier is attempting to do the same things defensively as Wisconsin, but the Badgers have a point guard—Trevon Hughes—who can get into the paint off of the dribble, unlike the Musketeers. Hughes was limited in his penetration opportunities against Florida State because of the outstanding effort from Seminole point guard Toney Douglas. Hughes did come up with a game-winning drive, however, and will likely get similar opportunities against the often unreliable point guard defenders for Xavier.
Neutralizing the rebounding battle- That Badgers have one player—Jon Leuer—in their regular rotation taller than 6’8,” and average 12.4 less rebounds per game than Xavier. While the Badgers do not rebound on the offensive end much, they are still the fifth best team in the country at rebounding defensively. The question will be whether or not the Badgers can grab offensive rebounds themselves, and match what is expected to be 3-4 extra possessions for the Musketeers that result from a decided height advantage and the subsequent offensive boards. Wisconsin can’t afford to allow Xavier to get second opportunities, and if they are able get an equal number of possessions as the Musketeers, the effectiveness of their halfcourt set will give them a good chance at moving on.
Dominating the turnover matchup- The Badgers are incredibly efficient on the offensive end, compiling a 1.2 to one assist to turnover ratio as a team. They value the basketball, and probe a defense for a full 35 second every time down the floor. If Xavier figures to get added opportunities because of their rebounding edge, Wisconsin is likely to cancel that advantage out by being in single digits in the turnover column—something Xavier has only done five times this season—and taking the ball away from their opponent, something they are the seventh best in the nation at doing. Valuing the basketball, and possibly getting easy lay-ins as a result of poor Musketeer passing, will likely give Wisconsin a critical boost of five to 10 points.
Three point shooting- The Badgers get 30.6 percent of their points from behind the three point arc. However, as evidenced by the first half against Florida State, they can stagnate offensively without the long-range shot. Jason Bohannon, Hughes and Marcus Landry all shoot it at 37 percent from deep, and will figure to get some open looks against a Xavier team that defend inside-out. If the Badger shooters, particularly Bohannon, are able to get hot from three they give Wisconsin one of its few opportunities to go on an extended scoring run. Such a run figures to be the difference in a low-scoring game, and could be the separating factor for Badgers.
Xavier
Getting an early lead- Xavier has struggled in games where they have to fight out of a hole, and force three point shots instead of merely running their offense. In a game that is unlikely to swing more than a handful of points in either direction, Xavier will be able to play much differently if they are holding an advantage on the scoreboard in the second half. A lead allows them to score from the free throw line more often—something that rarely happens against Wisconsin—and run their offensive sets. Sophomore Dante Jackson and freshman point guard Terrell Holloway have gotten into trouble when they attempt to play too quickly, something the comfort of a lead allows them to get away from.
Getting easy baskets- Wisconsin prides themselves on not allowing a basket that will energize their opponent. They try to foul in transition to thwart dunks, force midrange jump shots rather than anything around the rim and almost never get caught allowing run-outs by opponents. If Xavier can find a way to get Jamel McLean or Derrick Brown to utilize their athleticism on a set play, put-back dunk or transition basket, they will have achieved what many Wisconsin opponents have found to be impossible.
Brad Redford- Redford is often not quick enough defensively to remain on the floor against quality opponents, but the slow-down, halfcourt style that Wisconsin deploys allows the Musketeers to hide the defensive shortcomings of their 6’0” freshman. This means that the Redford’s lightning-quick release and range out to 30 feet will be on the floor for 10-15 minutes against the Badgers. In what figures to be a game played decided single digits, giving Redford a few feet of space on the perimeter three or four times could be the difference maker.
Three point shooting- Beyond simply Redford’s contribution from the perimeter, Dante Jackson and B.J. Raymond need to be able to take advantage of the opportunities that will be available for them off of kick-outs. Wisconsin’s defense is built around limiting points in the paint, and allowing the three point shot—ideally with some contest on the shooter. This means that Jackson and Raymond will likely be forced to shoot six or seven three point shots apiece. If the duo combines for a 50 percent clip, Xavier will be tough to beat.
Point guard play- Xavier has gotten productive minutes from Jackson and Holloway over the last three games, including Jackson’s breakout performance against Portland State on Friday. Both guards will have to be able to run the offense effectively against an in-your-face defense for Xavier to score. With Xavier’s customary high-screen expected to be taken away, Jackson and Holloway will have to get their team into the offensive sets, and make smart passes for Xavier to be successful. If the point guards can handle the pressure, and limit their turnovers, they will have sured up their team’s biggest weakness.

Xavier 77 Portland State 59

2009-03-21T13:23:00.000-04:00

The 2008-09 season has been a roller coaster ride for Dante Jackson.
Forced to play out of position at the point guard spot, the sophomore has struggled through inconsistent play on both ends of the floor, multiple benchings and countless tongue lashings from head coach Sean Miller.
Nonetheless, Jackson has persevered, and found himself back in the starting point guard role in Xavier’s first round NCAA Tournament matchup with Portland State.
Jackson turned in his best game of the season—13 points, three assists, one turnover and four steals—to lead Xavier to a 77-59 win.
In what figured to be a decided mismatch in favor of Portland State at the point guard spot, Jackson outplayed Big West Player of the Year Jeremiah Dominguez, limiting the senior to 13 points—none in the second half—three assists, one turnover and four steals.
“Dante, to me, is a winner,” Xavier head coach Sean Miller said. “He knows for our team to [win] he's got to be a hawk on defense, guardingother good players at different positions, [which he did tonight].”
Jackson’s ability to neutralize Dominguez on the perimeter forced Portland State to rely on their three point shot, which Xavier contested effectively, holding the Vikings to 38.1 percent from three.
Meanwhile, Xavier continued their efficient three point shooting, as Jackson and B.J. Raymond combined for six three point shots, part of an 8-21 effort for the Musketeers.
The three point shot for Xavier was opened up by the resurgence of small forward C.J. Anderson, who scored 14 points after being held to 0-9 shooting in a 55-53 loss to Temple in the Atlantic 10 semifinal on March 13. Anderson’s ability to get into the lane, attract attention and score or create for teammates allowed the Musketeers to shoot 53.7 percent from the floor.
“C.J., any time he is aggressive he makes our team better,” Raymond said of his fellow senior. “He's getting shots for the shooters, but he's also puttingfouls on the other team… He's a pit bull and we appreciate it.”
Anderson was one of four Musketeers in double figures, as Xavier moved the ball effectively, running their offense with a season-low seven turnovers.
Everybody has confidence in the other players' ability to put it on the floor or make the right decisions,” Raymond said. “So we love to share the ball and see our teammates succeed.”
With the collective mentality offensively, and the added advantage of a deeper bench, Xavier was able to separate themselves in the second half with a 13-0 run after the 13:14 mark.
“I thought our defense and size really started to wear them down,” Miller said. “A lot of times if you're a good defensive team you can really get to the other team's heart… in the middle of the second half and I thought that really happened [tonight].”
Xavier will need to sustain a similar level of defensive intensity in their second round matchup with Wisconsin in what figures to be a low-scoring defensive battle.
But if they are able to get heroics from role players like Jackson, the Musketeers will look to advance to their third Sweet Sixteen in the last six years. They just have to hope that the drop-off does not follow the crescendo on the Jackson roller coaster.

Stopping penetratoin, hot start are key for XU

2009-03-20T14:16:00.001-04:00

If Xavier is to have success in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Boise, Id. on Friday night, the Musketeers will have to avoid a case of déjà vu.
The Musketeers take on an undersized, guard-oriented team in Portland State, and as senior shooting guard B.J. Raymond pointed out Thursday in the team’s pregame press conference, the Vikings are similar to the Duquesne and Butler teams that tripped up the Musketeers earlier this season.
While all three teams get a third or more of their points from beyond the three point arc, Xavier’s main issues against Duquesne and Butler came in defending the point guard position. The ability of Aaron Jackson for Duquesne and Shelvin Mack for Butler to get by the Xavier point guards and collapse the Musketeer defense was the key to each of those teams getting open three point looks.
In addition to opening up perimeter opportunities, the penetration forced Xavier’s big men into foul trouble, as Xavier center Jason Love played a combined 40 minutes in the two earlier losses because of foul trouble.
If Xavier is able to keep Portland State point guard Jeremiah Dominguez out of the lane consistently, they will have taken a huge step towards advancing to the second round of the Tournament for the third straight season.
Aside from defending Dominguez, Xavier must be able to come out of the gates strong.
While it is a goal of any team to jump out to an early lead, Xavier’s style of play makes an early lead a near necessity. With a cushion in the early going, they can slow the game down, and play a defensive battle. As the game progresses, holding a lead will create more foul shooting opportunities for the Musketeers, something that was a key to their early season success yet has dried up in their recent swoon—losing five of their last 10 games.
If Xavier is able to avoid digging themselves a hole in the first four minutes of the game—as they have done in five of their seven losses this season—the possibility of Portland State becoming a Cinderella story will be greatly diminished.

Matchups will be key if XU hopes to advance

2009-03-15T13:23:00.000-04:00

On this selection Sunday, there is still a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Xavier men’s basketball team.
They have lost five of their last ten games, and struggled both on the offensive (against Temple in the A-10 semifinals) and defensive (losses to Duquesne, Dayton, Charlotte and Richmond) ends.
It is useful, though, to take a step back and look at the Musketeers’’ strengths and weaknesses:

Strengths
Rebounding- Xavier is 20th in the nation at 42.7 rebounds per game, a statistic aided by their starting lineup featuring five players 6’5” or taller and their frontcourt depth.
Meaning- Maryland, Boston College and BYU could give Xavier trouble early because they can match their size. Generally, however, the Musketeers will need to take advantage of an advantage on the glass in the first round game to move on.
Defense (generally) - Xavier is 19th nationally in Ken Pomeroy’s adjusted defensive rankings, led mainly by their stout interior defense.
Meaning- Xavier will defend in a similar way against any team (Sean Miller will rarely ever go zone). Xavier will have to win close games throughout the tournament, as they will never be a team to blow anyone out.
Weaknesses
Point guard play- Xavier starts a shooting guard at the point, and brings an often unreliable freshman off the bench to relieve him. This has led to 15 turnovers per game from the Musketeers and frequent stagnation against pressuring defenses.
Meaning- Xavier does not matchup well against high-pressure teams. Teams like North Dakota St., Siena, BYU, Boston College and Creighton would be difficult first round opponents for Xavier. Defending penetration- Teams with multiple guards who are able to take Xavier’s bigger, slower guards off the dribble have consistently given Xavier trouble. It has created easy layups, foul trouble for the big men and open three point looks.
Meaning- Xavier does not match up well with guard-oriented teams, who are predicated on their point guard creating. Teams like VCU, St. Mary, Boston College, Michigan and even Maryland would be tough first round draws for the Musketeers.

In March, it is all about the matchups, really, and Xavier could have matchup problems against a number of their early opponents. However, they are not alone in this sentiment, as the majority of NCAA teams, save possibly the top seeds, are in the same boat. Nonetheless, the chinks in the Musketeers’ armor could manifest themselves in an early exit if the Selection committee is unkind to Xavier.

Temple 55 XU 53

2009-03-13T22:32:00.000-04:00

For the fifth time in 10 games the Xavier Musketeers will board the team bus after a tough loss away from Cintas Center and return home. The only difference is they know the next time they go through this routine it will be their last.
The sad march this time came after a 55-53 loss to Temple in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, NJ.
While defensive lapses had been the common theme in the Musketeers previous four A-10 losses, the defense was not the issue on this night, as the Owls were held to 35.3 percent shooting and went 4-17 from three point range.
Instead, Xavier’s shortcomings came on the offensive end, where they struggled to a 34.5 percent shooting night.
“We put ourselves in a hole because of the way that we played on offense,” Miller said.
While the defensive effort kept the Musketeers in a back-and-forth battle, the Owls were able to turn a three point defecit into a 51-47 lead with 1:27 remaining in large part because of a 5:57 scoreless streak by the Musketeers.
While Xavier was able to get some production from senior B.J. Raymond (18 points) and junior Derrick Brown (19 points, 15 in the first half), they failed to receive much of a boost from their small forward and center positions. Senior forward C.J. Anderson failed to score for the first time this season, going 0-9 from the field, and
“C.J. has really struggled over the last month. That puts a lot of pressure on our offense. When he plays well, we are a much different team,” said Miller.
Anderson’s struggles were not alleviated by the center position, where junior Jason Love and freshman Kenny Frease combined for four points on 2-10 shooting.
“Those guys have done a good job as a 1-2 punch, but recently we have not gotten that production, and it certainly puts a lot of pressure on our offense,” Miller said.
A large part of Anderson and the center positioin’s scoring this season has come from the free throw line, a place where Xavier has struggled to get to in recent losses.
The Musketeers have shot 19 free throws per game over the last 10 contests, including a 5-9 performance on Friday night. In their five loses over that stretch, the number has been slightly lower, at 18.8 attempts per game.
This is an alarming statistic for the Musketeers, as without a stable point guard presence, or a pure scorer, they often have to rely on frequent trips to the free throw line to provide the requisite offense.

Temple vs. Xavier in A-10 semis

2009-03-13T18:11:00.000-04:00

Greetings from Atlantic City!
Some rambling thoughts before today’s semifinal between Xavier and Temple:
-A big key will be the health of Temple power forward Lavoy Allen. Allen sprained his right ankle in practice early in the week, and has been less than 100 percent all week. Despite playing on a wounded wheel, Allen still grabbed 13 rebounds on Thursday in the semifinal against Saint Joseph’s. If Allen is not able to repeat such a performance less than 24 hours later, Xavier—namely Derrick Brown—will be able to score inside, and utilize their height advantage to the fullest to grab extra possessions.
-Don’t believe the hype you hear about this being a home crowd for Temple. 300 people do not constitute a home crowd. Just ask the Florida Marlins.
-The matchup to watch is between B.J. Raymond and Dionte Christmas. If Raymond is able to limit Christmas’ perimeter shooting as he did the first time around, in a Xavier win, then the Temple has to turn to alternative forms of offense. While Juan Fernandez, Sergio Olmos and Ryan Brooks have all shown that they can score throughout the A-10 schedule this year, none has a favorable matchup against the Xavier defense. Even if Raymond does not match his scoring output from the first time around, merely holding Christmas to single digits—thus continuing the Temple senior’s recent shooting struggles—will go a long way towards a Xavier win.
-Atlantic City is a great City to travel to, but not for a basketball tournament. The arena is old, decrepit, and lacking energy.
Overall, my prediction is Xavier 68, Temple 63

Xavier loses to Butler

2008-12-23T21:16:00.002-05:00

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

2008-12-20T23:56:00.002-05:00

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

2008-12-20T23:54:00.001-05:00

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"

2008-12-09T21:16:00.004-05:00

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

2008-12-03T23:31:00.002-05:00

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...

2008-11-25T14:48:00.004-05:00

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

2008-11-24T21:41:00.002-05:00

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

2008-11-23T21:59:00.002-05:00

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

2008-11-23T11:43:00.002-05:00

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

2008-11-21T17:43:00.002-05:00

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

2008-11-20T18:49:00.003-05:00

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

2008-11-13T16:32:00.000-05:00

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

2008-11-06T15:16:00.002-05:00

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)

2008-09-18T18:29:00.009-04:00

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

2008-08-31T20:36:00.004-04:00

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

2008-08-26T20:17:00.005-04:00

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

2008-08-07T10:23:00.002-04:00

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

2008-07-19T18:39:00.001-04:00

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

2008-07-01T20:03:00.004-04:00

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

2008-05-01T17:30:00.002-04:00

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!

2008-05-01T17:11:00.002-04:00

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

2008-04-24T01:09:00.002-04:00

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

2008-04-23T19:14:00.002-04:00

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.

2008-04-17T17:21:00.002-04:00

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

2008-04-17T17:15:00.002-04:00

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

2008-04-17T12:25:00.002-04:00

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.

2008 Recruiting class

2008-04-09T02:12:00.002-04:00

I caught up with the recruits from the class of 2008, and they were surprisingly forthcoming on the topic of adding a potential 5th member to the fold for next year:
-Brad Redford-
"I talked to [the coaches] about it. It sounds like they got a good guy. It seems like he is gonna be ready to commit. It doesn't bother me any. As long as he is a good pick-up and helps the team then I am all for it."
-Mark Lyons-
"I just talked to Coach Miller, and I had a discussion with him about that because I was a little concerned about that. He just let me know that he was gonna bring in someone to complement me. So if he brings in a point guard then I can play off of the ball, and on the ball. He could just use me for more of my abilities, because I have a knack for scoring as well. He just looked at our roster and he thought that we needed another guard, and if I can score the basketball then why take that away from me."
- Kenny Frease-
"I don't think that person would have any trouble fitting in with this group of guys (incoming class). It seems that we are all pretty outgoing guys, but we haven't spent enought time together to be really good friends. So another guy coming in wouldn't be any different than if he was with us for a year or so."

So it sounds like Xavier is set to add a new recruit at point guard in 2008, presumably Cincinnati Harmony's Terrell Holloway.
While Xavier does not want to push any of their current players out the door it is now a foregone conclusion that at least one of the 10 scholarship players slated to return for next season will be transfering to another school. The obvious candinates are Adrion Graves and Charles Bronson, since neither recieved a great deal of playing time. Seeing as how Charles Bronson is going to be 25 years old in a few weeks I can't imagine he is too anxious to transfer and sit out another year. So my choice for most likely to transfer is Adrion Graves.
Whoever the transfer is he has now notified Miller of his desire to transfer, and Miller has lined up a replacement (a point gaurd by the sound of it) to step in for 2008. I would assume the announcement of the transfer will come sometime after the April 15 basketball banquet. In the meantime prospective coaches are not allowed to contact a potential transfer target until they have declared their desire to transfer. So Miller would have to be the lead man to make the phone calls arranging a new destination for the player who desires to transfer.

UCLA 76 Xavier 57

2008-03-29T21:36:00.002-04:00

Xavier's season came to a close today at the hands of top-seeded UCLA. The Bruins did it on the defensive end, forcing Xavier to shoot 34 percent fromt he field, their second lowest to only the Arizona State game in December. As the players entered the locker room they were emotional, with Stanley Burrell reduced to tears, yet it seemed to intensify once the doors closed. Standing outside of the Xavier locker room it was amazing how every man that walked out of the locker room appeared as if they had just left a funeral of a clos friend. Fr. Graham, the assistant coaches, the managers all filed out of the locker room with the same emotionally distant look on their faces. Once inside the locker room the picture was equally as bleak. Dante Jackson was rolled up in a ball in a corner, most players stared blankly at the wall with towels over their heads. It was clear that they were not ready for this ride to come to a halt. Yet the "just played a better team" in the words of coach Miller.
UCLA's defensive pressure on the perimerter was just too much to handle. "Collison is even more impressive in person," Miller said. Beyond that the inside game of Kevin Love and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute combined for 23 rebounds, 12 of which came on the offensive end.
Miller delivered a rousing oration after the game to the local media, and when asked the all important question of his future he confidently said, "I will be back at Xavier." I have to say he had me convinced, but at the same time I would hold on to the tape of that quote for a few weeks.
Miller, like he has all year praised his seniors for their leadership, and said he hopes Xavier can build on this the next few years.
"We want to be that program that can sustain it, not through five year, but 10. That is much harder to do than a quick hit and go."
Miller also said that he, "hopes to get a couple commitments [from 2009 recruits] here in the next couple weeks."

3:57

2008-03-29T20:36:00.002-04:00

Kevin Love is an almost impossible box out down low. It is amazing how he is able to consistently get offensive, rebounds even when guys like Jason Love come into the ballgame distinctly to stop Love on the glass. He has 10 rebounds, half of whihc are on the offensive end. UCLA 69 Xavier 49

8:32

2008-03-29T20:25:00.002-04:00

Xavier made their run. A 7-0 run to get to 51-37. UCLA responded to the challenge. Burrell was incensed at the last block call and got a warning from Ed Hightower. 60-43 UCLA

13:39

2008-03-29T20:09:00.001-04:00

Collison is hitting shots. The Musketeers gaurds are not. Collison now has 15 points, and just hit a tough 3. It doesn't help that Xavier is 2-7 at the line. 51-30 UCLA

15:35

2008-03-29T20:00:00.001-04:00

Well the run came..... for UCLA. This one might be out of reach. Kevin Love is having his way in the paint, just easily converting over Duncan. And UCLA is starting to hit jumpers. That spells doom for XU. 45-28 UCLA

17:41

2008-03-29T19:53:00.002-04:00

Drew Lavender came up limping after a lay-up a few moments ago. Although Xavier has been able to get into the lane, UCLA is an underrated shot-blocking team, especially if it is 5'7 Lavender shooting. Xavier just can't find an open look. Still they are within striking distanc eif they can slap together a run. 38-28 UCLA

33-24 UCLA at the half

2008-03-29T19:28:00.003-04:00

Xavier may not have the athletes to play above the rim at times with UCLA. That is what it takes to get rebounds against the Bruins after they force you into tough shots with their defense. Xavier was 11-33 in the first half. Honestly it could have been significantly lower, if not for a few Derrick Brown dunks (Brown has 10 on four dunks). Xavier will need to box out in the second half to have a chance. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute killed Xavier on the glass, grabbing eight rebounds, four offensively, and getting to the line four times as a result. Boxing him and Love out on the inside. Xavier has more depth, so they may get a burst in the second half as a result.

1:35

2008-03-29T19:25:00.001-04:00

Xavier is 0-3 at the line, belying their free throw shooting reputation. On the other hand UCLA is 6-7. that s the difference. UCLA 31-22

3:58

2008-03-29T19:16:00.001-04:00

Xavier is struggggglingggg on offense. Yet, getting some hussle points such as Burrell's jumper in transition a mooment ago. They have to keep UCLA off of the offensive glass, namely Love who has two rebounds and put back so far.

7:38

2008-03-29T19:05:00.001-04:00

Xavier is suffering from severe ball pressure at the moment and struggling to get the offense going. UCLA has scouted Xavier well and knew that a hard double team on Jason Love a moment ago will produce a turnover 9 times out of 10. Still Xavier's defense is keeping them in this game. 18-15 UCLA

10:46

2008-03-29T18:58:00.002-04:00

Neither team is lighting it up on the offensive end. Xavier is getting some decent looks on offense, just not getting them to go, yet. By my count they have missed 6 makable shots in the paint so far. But are still hanging in, down only 16-13. It has helped that Kevin Love has been on the bench for some time now, and UCLA runs their offense through the big man.

15:55

2008-03-29T18:47:00.002-04:00

It's early but Xavier is having trouble with the UCLA defense. Just had a 35 sec. violation. The lone bright spot is Brown dunking on Love twice.

Indiana job

2008-03-29T18:19:00.001-04:00

This courtesy of Espn.com's article abou the prospects for the Indiana head coaching job:
"The source said that Indiana has been told that a potential buyout for Xavier's Sean Miller would be too rich for Indiana."

Survey of the rest of the Tourney

2008-03-29T17:37:00.003-04:00

Davidson is having an unbelievable Tournament fueled by the sophomore shooting guard Stephon Curry. Curry has become a living legend in Davidson, N.C. and is the MVP of this Tournament so far.
The thing that surprises me though is his NBA Draft stock. He is currently listed as the number 19 pick in the 2009 Draft according to DraftExpress.com and the number 25 pick in 09 according to NBADraft.net. My question is how is he listed that low. He is undoubtedly the best pure shooter in college basketball, and could easily score 15-20 points per game in the NBA playing alongside a slashing point gaurd, or decent big man who could draw in defenses for kick out opportunities. The thing that seperates Curry to me from guys like J.J. Reddick is that he can create his own jump shot opportunities off of the dribble. Granted, Davidson runs the majority of their offense for Curry to come off of a screen from the post players and get a look, but Curry can also score if that screen does not give him an open look off of the catch. These are the types of things that a player like Reggie Miller or Chris Mullens (or, heck, Dell Curry in his prime) were able to do in order to score in the NBA. The only thing that Curry is missing is the strength to be able to guard the NBA shooting gaurds. He has the quickness to stay with them, but right now they would just abuse him in the post. But I can't see the likes of Gerald Henderson, DaJuan Summers, or DaVon Jefferson being better pros than Curry.

Saturday Morning

2008-03-29T14:30:00.002-04:00

Walking around the hotel and downtown Phoenix I am struck by the number of people wearing UCLA gear. By a rough estimate 3/4 of the people I have been seeing are wearing a UCLA shirt today. Given Xavier struggles on the road this season I am concerned about Xavier having to play a game where 15,000 if the 19,000 in attendance are pulling for the other team.

Dante Jackson on the impact of this run on next year's squad

2008-03-29T14:29:00.000-04:00

Obviously Xavier is focused whole heartedly on today’s matchup, but I was curious what this run might mean for next year’s team.
“It is gonna boost our confidence as far as being able to compete with the ‘power conferences.’ I think our team is obviously focused on staying in the moment, and foucusing on UCLA. I know that making this Tournament run will help our recruiting status. But for now we are just focused on beating UCLA and advancing to the Final Four.”
The rescruits that Jackson might be alluding to are Ari Stewart, Durand Scott, and Terrance Shannon of the class of 2009 who are still uncommitted.

Playing the 'What If' game

2008-03-29T14:28:00.001-04:00

It has come to a foregone conclusion that Xavier would not be playing in this year’s Elite Eight if they had had not been denied the chance to play in last year’s Sweet Sixteen by a late comeback by Ohio State. That experience has molded this team.
“Our game against Ohio State a year ago gave this team a great perspective of what the NCAA Tournament is about. I think those experiences have helped our team this year,” Miller said.
With that said, there are many other things that had to go right for Xavier to get this far. Here are just a few. Xavier would not be playing in today’s Elite Eight if:
-C.J. Anderson was still a senior at Manhattan College. His low-post power and rebounding prowess is something that Xavier just did not posses before he came on board. 12 points and 10 rebounds vs. WVU were crucial.
- B.J. Raymond never hits the game winning 3 against St. Joe’s on Feb. 10. The shot gave Raymond the confidence to take and make big shots in big spots. Like, say with 30 seconds left in a Sweet Sixteen game.
-Dante Jackson does not emerge into the player that he is on offense, and with timely jump shots.
- Stanley Burrell does not make his commitment to defensive intensity and leadership.
- Josh Duncan does not turn up the intensity in February to a level where he is now almost ungaurdable with his combination of inside-outside play.
- Jason Love does not “make the leap” from a ‘decent big body who can rebound,’ to ‘a legitimate double-double threat.’
-Sean Miller does not turn down Michigan and any other suitor this past offseason. This will be the key once again this offseason as Miller will be flooded with offers. Should he deny them all, Xavier will be in a position to sustain this level of basketball for years to come. If not then Chris Mack will likely take over, and have to try and pick up where Miller left off.

The Unknown

2008-03-29T14:27:00.001-04:00

I was wearing my Crosstown Shootout shirt yesterday, I got this conversation happened about six times. Each one almost identical:
Other Person: “Do you go to Xavier (they pronounce it Egg-zavier)?
Me: Yeah
OP: “Oh wow, you guys are playing really well, I didn’t expect you to be playing this well.”
Me: “Yea it is an exciting time for the school.”
OP: “Now where is the school, I have been trying to figure that out for a while.”
Me: “Cincinnati, Ohio”
OP: “Really?!?”

I guess the Xavier Marketing department has some work to do….

Friday Morning

2008-03-28T15:54:00.002-04:00

Good Morning, er afternoon, er whatever it is. 3 hour time change and a 20 hour day yesterday has me thrown off a bit.
I just arrived at the U.S. Airways Center for today's sessions. Mike Bobinski is in the Media work room. He is training to take over for the NCAA Tournament committee, so has been stationed in other regionals, yet seems to have taken the trip for the high magnitude of this game, even if it is just a brief moment of checking in.
Xavier will have a media session soon, followed by UCLA.

Battle of the hair?

2008-03-27T23:36:00.002-04:00

Watching the WKU-UCLA game, which UCLA id dominating, I am thinking ahead to a possible show-down between two of the best in college basketball. That's right James Keefe vs. Joe Hughes. Yes, indeed. By my estimation, the sheer grossness (is that a word?) of Keefe is only matched by the hairy creature that resides at the end of the XU bench.

Burrell's poor defensive game

2008-03-27T23:34:00.001-04:00

Stanley Burrell usually leads his team from the defensive end, yet today he was displeased with his defensive play by his own personal assessment:
“Personally I played terrible on defense. I made so many mistakes…. It was more of the moving, he screening and the cuts that threw me off. Not nowing if I am going to get backscreened or downscreened. It kept me off balance. They did a nice job in the second half of not doing so much dribbling, because if they do that then I am going to take over. But they did more cutting…. I am hoping to play better in the next game. You have to own up to your mistakes, and I made a lot tonight.”

With such a horrible game from their defensive leader it is no wonder that Xavier was having so much trouble stoping WVU late. A lot of credit should go to Huggins to for making the switches that Burrell is eluding to.

Xu 79 Wvu 75 (OT)

2008-03-27T23:15:00.002-04:00

Wow! In an offensive showcase in the second half Xavier scored the final blow. Neither team seemd to be able to record stops yet Xavier capitalized on some missed free throws by West Virginia in overtime to take the game. B.J. Raymond was the hero by hitting 2 overtime 3's including the game winner (in my mind the game winning 3 seemed to take a year for the pass to reach Raymond and for him to release it since it was right in front of me, yet it developed quickly in real time I suppose and was without a doubt the biggest shot of the year).
While Raymond's shot wil be rememebered a man who had 26 points, 5 boards, and played the last 17+ minutes with four fouls, Josh Duncan was the MVP.
"It was probably the best game of my life," Duncan said from a jubilant Xavier locker room.
"It was a great game on the biggest of stages," added his coach Sean Miller.
Xavier will move on to play the winner of the UCLA-WKU game. Some people were joking after the game that we should go sit in the WKU section and cheer for the Hilltopers. I can see why. UCLA is up 41-20 at the half and their players seem fairly pleased as I am stationed near their locker room and can hear them loud and clear.
It will be a tough game for Xavier, but they have never backed down from opponents before, and will not now. A chance at a Final FOur is at stake and XU has a legitimate shot. This will be fun to watch.

4:30

2008-03-27T21:28:00.002-04:00

Alexander just fouled out on an extremely questionable blocking call. Changes WVU's whole offense now. 67-65 WV

14.2

2008-03-27T21:21:00.002-04:00

Alexander's turnaround and foul. Misses free throw. Same move he has been doing all game. Come across the lane off of a cross screen, turnaround and bank it in.
X squanders opportunity to score on poor shot by Lavender. OT 64 all.

3:51

2008-03-27T20:57:00.002-04:00

Dante Jackson hit another clutch 3 with around 7 to go. That's arguably the 2 biggest 3's of this season, both by a freshman if you include Jackson's 3 vs. Georgia.
Correction: Alexander has 3 fouls the scoreboard is a misprint.
Alexander appeared to flop for all of the world a minute ago. It was a charge on Brown. Alexander is dodging some bullets on fouls.
WVU 59 XU 57

11:39

2008-03-27T20:45:00.003-04:00

Alexander has been playing with 4 fouls. Xavier has attacked him every time down with post-ups, yet he has held his ground. If they keep going at him it is only a matter of time though. In the meantime Alexander is carrying his team on offense. He has come alive and now has 12 to lead the Mounties. XU 50 WVU 47

14:28

2008-03-27T20:36:00.002-04:00

Duncan going to the line for a free throw after a HUGE basket in the paint. WVU had cut it to 1 on a 3 by Da'Sean Butler and Xavier has been struggling to score with Duncan on the bench with 2 fouls. C.J. Anderson's 10 points and play in the paint have been a bright spot but the Duncan basket was sorely needed. Xavier needs to focus on not letting Alexander get off. He hit a jumper, but with Brown out of the game Alexander cannot catch fire or else XU will be in trouble.

18:23

2008-03-27T20:29:00.001-04:00

C.J. Anderson just had a strong drive to stop a scoring draught and WVU run. Anderson's aggressiveness is keeping the Muskies offense afloat.

Halftime

2008-03-27T20:03:00.003-04:00

Xavier flipped the roles the they have been playing so far in this Tournament by starting well, and finishing in a slump, allowing WVU to close the half with the score at 32-25. Xavier went cold from the field which was the root of the problem, but also allowed 3 easy layups off of dribble penetration and blown assignments in transition late in the half. Still Miller has to be pleased that his team was able to come out firing on offense, and if they find their stroke once again they will be able to retake control of this ballgame.

3:48 1st half

2008-03-27T19:47:00.002-04:00

No Calls. Get used to 'em. The refs are letting them play a bit down low. Which would favor WVU the shooting team at the line. WVU just made a run, but did not convert on a key possesion where they had Da'Sean Butler matched on Lavender. X responded with a bucket by Duncan. Their first in over 4 minutes. XU 30 WVU 20

11:52 1st half

2008-03-27T19:31:00.003-04:00

Burrell just made his first NCAA 3 since the Gonzaga game 2 years ago. On the next possesion he drove, albeit a turnover, it was an aggressive pplay. A key coming in was Burrell being aggressive an exploiting the slower Ruoff. So far so good.

15:53 1st half

2008-03-27T19:20:00.002-04:00

Xavier came out hot for the first time in the Tournament. It helps that WVU has missed some easy shots inside, and Alexander just missed an open 3. XU 10 WVU 2

WVU vs. XU 1st Half

2008-03-27T19:02:00.001-04:00

4 minutes to tip and the place is about 1/3 full it seems. I figure most of the crowd is still to come as UCLA fans bought up a majority of the tickets in advance

U.S. Airways Center

2008-03-27T14:30:00.002-04:00

The Media Airea here at U.S. Airways center is a converted practice gym for the Suns. It is pretty sizeable, yet about 50 spots have already been claimed some 4 and a half hours before tip-off. I am truly impressed by the arena, and that has nothing to do with the free food that they are supplying.
Word is only two teams are doing walk thrus this morning, Western Kentucky and Xavier. those two teams are coincidentilly the two teams with coaches making their first sweet 16 appearance, so take that for what it is worth. (personally I attribute it to Xavier's pregame routine all season so why change now, but that's just me)

St. Joseph's Postgame

2008-03-14T21:50:00.000-04:00

This was a tough loss for Xavier. Everything seemed to be going against the Musketeers. They couldn’t make a three pointer to save their life and it seemed like everything that Pat Calathes threw up was good. At the press conference after the game coach Miller admitted that Xavier just didn’t have an answer for him. The St. Joseph’s crowd really seemed to make it into a home game for the Hawks, who improved their NCAA Tournament chances. They have an rpi of 50 right now, and that should improve tomorrow after this victory. It will be interesting to see how many teams the Atlantic 10 ends up getting into the NCAA tournament. Earlier in the year, talk of as many as 5 teams getting in seemed realistic. About a week ago however, it seemed like it might be down to just Xavier, but now there are hopes that the league can send 4 teams with Xavier, St. Joseph’s. UMass, and Temple all getting bids. St. Joseph’s should move into lock territory after today, and probably one more bid is up for grabs between Massachusetts and Temple. Charlotte is still a possibility though because they are still alive for the automatic bid.

St. Joseph's Halftime

2008-03-14T19:34:00.001-04:00

St. Joseph’s is leading at halftime by 10 points. Xavier is really having trouble scoring the ball in the first half. They are shooting 0-7 from three point range and had three 35 second shot clock violations. They need to come out in the second half shooting the ball much better. B.J. and Josh need to find their shot immediately or St. Joe’s could make this game out of reach. This feels a lot like the game at St. Joe’s two weeks ago.

St. Joseph's Pregame

2008-03-14T18:14:00.001-04:00

20 minutes until game time and it is obvious that this will nearly be a home game for St. Joe’s. There must have been buses taking students from the university to Atlantic City because hordes of them are just walking in. The attendance for tonight’s games should be much higher as there are two Philadelphia schools still in the tournament and it is about an hour drive from both universities. Hopefully Xavier can overcome the crowd and the Xavier fans that did make the trip can be loud.

Also, I think it is really funny how one of the TV announcers is also a prominent member of the WWE. If you are watching on TV, check out this web site and compare: http://www.wwe.com/superstars/smackdown/jonathancoachman/photos1/.

St. Joseph's Pregame

2008-03-14T15:06:00.000-04:00

Tonight at 6:30pm, Xavier will take on the Saint Joe’s Hawks for the third time this season. With Xavier annually beating Dayton, Xavier and St. Joseph’s having recent postseason success, and the competitive games that they have played against each other, many people think that St. Joseph’s might be turning into Xavier’s Atlantic 10 rival. The series this season was a split with the Muskies winning at home and losing on the road. According to Joe Lunardi and other self-proclaimed Bracketologists, the Hawks are on the bubble; making this a must win game. St. Joseph’s has been playing very well in the tournament so far, easily handling Fordham on Wednesday and Richmond yesterday. This should be another great game between the two teams.

Yesterday, second seeded Temple beat La Salle 84-75 and sixth seeded Charlotte upset third seeded UMass 69-65. Following the Xavier game, the Owls will take on the 49ers at 9:00.

A-10 Tournament

2008-03-13T16:35:00.000-04:00

Xavier will be playing St. Joseph’s in the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament tomorrow. This will be a tough match up for Xavier, their two games this year against St. Joseph’s have both been very close this year. St. Joseph’s has looked really impressive in this tournament, easily handling both Fordham and Richmond. Xavier will easily provide St. Joseph’s hardest test for this tournament, and it will be interesting to see if Xavier can hold them off on a neutral court this time, as St. Joseph’s will have their most motivation of the year to try and make the NCAA Tournament.

A-10 Tournament

2008-03-13T16:32:00.000-04:00

Xavier swept Dayton by 3 games for the second year in a row on the strength of a balanced scoring attack led by Josh Duncan with 16 points. Drew Lavender was able to play 32 minutes, so he and the coaches must think his ankle is close enough to fully recovered to start playing him the way they normally would. His shot was a little off but he more then made up for it by leading the team with 6 assists and just 1 turnover.
B.J. Raymond struggled to guard Marcus Johnson all night though, allowing him to score 26 points as well as get B.J. into foul trouble throughout the game. Hopefully he can bounce back before the next game, where Xavier may have to face St. Joseph’s for a third time this year, and both games have been very close.