After a long, disaster of an off-season for the Xavier Men's Basketball Program, it is finally over. The After a long, disaster of an off-season for the Xavier Men's Basketball Program, it is finally over. The Musketeers play their first game, albeit an exhibition game, versus Kentucky State on Saturday night. This is their only exhibition game before opening the regular season a week later versus Fairleigh Dickinson.
The off-season was a tumultuous time for the Musketeers. Losing all of their top scorers, Tu Holloway to graduation, Kenny Frease to graduation, Mark Lyons transferring to Arizona, and Dez Wells expulsion. This left a gloom and doom outlook for the 2013 Musketeers basketball team. Then when you thought it could not get worse, two of the three incoming recruits, Myles Davis and Jalen Reynolds were ruled ineligible by the NCAA. I don't think anyone thought Xavier would ever hit a rock bottom so low. In the end it left a small roster that everyone is questioning.
<b>Questions for this year's team:</b>
<b>Who will replace the scoring lost?</b> Xavier lost around 75% of their scoring from 2011-2012. They will look to returning players like Justin Martin, Travis Taylor, Jeff Robinson and Dee Davis to fill most of this void left. Yet even if each of these players have developed into better scores and players, there will still need to be help. That help comes in the form of Semaj Christon, the five star recruit that Musketeers fans rest their hope on. He has been described as possibly becoming the best point guard in school history and he will need to develop quickly with the lack of depth at the guard position. Early signs are good, with word that he was dominant in their scrimmage versus West Virginia last week. Another new player that could also help make up for lost points is transfer PF, Isaiah Philmore. If he can be a force inside, the Muskies may be better off than thought.
<b>Travis Taylor, Justin Martin, will they step up?</b> This may be the key to the Musketeers shocking the world and being better than anyone thought. These two players have shown flashes of brilliance and many other moments of mediocrity. If this year's Xavier team is going to exceed the expectations that have been put before them, they will need to be scoring threats and dependable leaders on the court.
<b>Will Xavier's short bench cost them? </b>
Depending on how the starting line-up shakes out, the Muskies should be alright inside. They will have Philmore, Taylor and Robinson playing the bulk of the minutes, with freshman James Far getting minutes here and there when needed.
The depth issue is mostly focused on the guard position, where the Muskies have only one scholarship player off the bench. Brad Redford will more than likely be coming off the bench to spell Christon and Davis. Redford will be a huge factor in Xavier's success or failures this season. Can he get his shot back to what it was two years ago? Will his defense be good enough to keep him on the court or will it be a liability?
<b>Overall Outlook</b>
Later this week I will give you my prediction for 2012-2013 but after a tough off-season and a lot of questions surrounding this team as they enter the season, there are good things. If things work out the best they can, this season will not be a lost season at all. It will be an exciting year of competitive games and entertaining basketball. The answer to how good Xavier will be lies within the players. The talent is there for this team to compete night in and out with all the teams on their schedule. It is a matter of what level of their potential this team realizes and puts forth on the court.
