Xavier Recruiting Update

Just when you thought things could not get much worse and you wanted to look to the future for hope, Xavier's recruiting took a big hit.  Over the last week they have lost three of their top targets in the class of 2013, both of which at one point or another had Xavier listed as their top choice.  

First, Davon Reed committed to Miami after a visit to their campus.  Reed is a 6'4'' SG out of New Jersey and a four star recruit that Xavier had recruited heavily over the past couple of years.  He had narrowed his list to Wake Forest, Miami and Xavier, and planned to take a visit to Xavier in early October.  Earlier this month it looked like Xavier was behind the other two schools and that it would take a great visit to Norwood for Reed to choose Xavier, so not a huge shocker.  Early on Xavier looked to be the favorite for Reed but Wake Forest and Miami slowly overtook the Musketeers.

The second prospect for Xavier to choose elsewhere was another 4 star, SG prospect, E.C. Matthews.  Like Reed, Matthews was a prospect high on Xavier's radar for quite some time.  It was thought he would take a more time to decide on his future, but instead he committed to Rhode Island after a recent visit.  A huge get for Rhode Island and a big loss for Xavier.  It is thought that the playing time Rhode Island offered was a big factor, yet its not like Xavier has a full depth chart this year.

Lastly, Devin Williams recently revealed his latest list of schools, removing Xavier from his recruitment.  This may be the biggest blow of them all.  Williams was a Cincinnati local before this year when he decided to attend Montverde Academy in Florida.  Earlier this month it was revealed he would not take an official visit to Xavier but it was thought to be no big deal since the 4 star PF recruit had attended nearly every home game the last two years and been to Xavier's campus numerous times.  He is still listing Ohio State and UCLA as his top choices.  Xavier was thought to be battling it out with UCLA for his services and this news came out of nowhere.

These losses hurt Xavier but they are still in the mix for some great players and top targets of theirs.  First, Roddy Peters a four star PG seems to be still down to Xavier and Maryland as his top schools.  He just took an official to Rutgers and plans on visiting UCLA and Memphis still.  The key for Xavier is if the Harrison twins that are being heavily recruited by Maryland, choose Maryland, they may not have a spot or playing time for Peters.  It does look like his decision could come soon though.

Also, another name that will not go away is Ron Patterson.  After he left Indiana, it was thought he may be headed to Xavier for this season but he instead went the prep school route to Brewster Academy.  Xavier has not stopped recruiting Patterson and it seems they are the front-runner at this point.  Although many schools seem to be jumping in at this point, as he has excelled early on with Brewster.  Patterson is a SG.

Xavier is also trying to jump back into the recruitment of Josh Hart, a four star SF from Washington D.C..  It  looks like Xavier has an uphill battle to get back into his recruitment, but if they can he would be a nice fit for next season.

Lastly, with Devin Williams out of the mix, it looks like Xavier is turning their attention to Junior Etou, a 6'8'' PF from D.C..  He is a raw talent that rebounds well and scores mostly from put-backs.  He is a name I think you will hear more about linked to Xavier.

Updated Xavier Roster

With Reynolds and Davis out this year, after being ruled ineligible by the NCAA, it leaves Xavier with just 8 scholarship players.  They have added Chris Cantino, a Junior College transfer, but at the moment his status is unclear and nothing is official.  If he is cleared by the NCAA, then Xavier will have 9 scholarship players.

Here is a look at the depth chart with all the changes.

PG: Dee Davis, Semaj Christon
SG: Brad Redford (Dee Davis, Semaj Christon)
G/SF: Justin Martin
PF: Travis Taylor, Isaiah Philmore
PF: Jeff Robinson, James Farr

So as you can see, not much depth for Xavier.  I do want to point out that many teams play with an 8 or 9 man rotation, once they get into the thick of their schedule.  It would not be a huge factor if Xavier had one more guard.  The issue is they are potentially adding Cantino, who is a SF and will only help spell Martin.  Also, James Farr, a true freshman will more than likely see limited time unless he wows the coaching staff this camp.  Inside, I like the three man rotation of Taylor, Robinson and Philmore.  I think they will be steady performers this season.  At the guard positions, you have to think Dee Davis and Christon will be the starters, with Redford coming off the bench.

Once I hear on Cantino, I will of course update the roster.

What does the Myles Davis Loss Mean?

A day after learning that Myles Davis will be ineligible for this upcoming season, its time to look at what the impact will be.  The loss of Davis leaves just 3 scholarship guards on Xavier's roster.  Xavier will look to Semaj Christon, Dee Davis, and Brad Radford to run the show.  It will be interesting to see how they keep these three players fresh.  In theory, there are two guard positions equaling 80 minutes of playing time, leaving each player with about 27 minutes on the court.  Of course Xavier will not look to keep all three of these players minutes the same but after looking at what Xavier has at the guard position, I don't think under any circumstance Chris Mack wanted to see these kinds of minutes being expected from any of these players, except possibly Davis.

Davis is the only experienced point guard in the bunch, but is just a Sophomore.  He grew a lot last season and seemed to hit his stride the second half of the season and even a bit of range with his shot.  He will need to be the leader of this bunch.

Semaj Christon is the most talented of the guards by far, yet I don't think anyone would want to have this amount of weight put on his shoulders during his freshmen season.  He will need to step up and be a leader on this team on the court.  Also, with the lack of scorers on this team, he will need to score buckets in bunches.

Brad Redford is the veteran of the bunch.  There is no doubt his range and ability to shoot from the perimeter is a great asset, but because of the increased role he will now have to play, defense will be the area he needs to focus.  Although he is a liability on that end of the court, Xavier has no choice anymore, Redford is going to have to play substantial minutes now that Myles Davis is out of the mix and they need him to hold his own ton the defensive side of the court.  The other issue with Redford is, he cannot get beat on the defensive end of the court and pick up fouls.  With the lack of depth at the guard position, none of these players can afford foul trouble.

A bleak outlook for Xavier got even more bleak yesterday with the Myles Davis news but it does provide a great opportunity for Xavier's remaining guards.  The season may be a little tough at times to watch but Semaj and Dee Davis will get an incredible amount of experience that should work in Xavier's favor over the next couple of seasons.  For Redford, he went from being a role player, splitting minutes with Myles Davis, to seeing a lot of minutes and huge opportunity to put his stamp on this team during his senior season.

Jalen Reynolds Still Awaiting NCAA Decision

Yesterday Xavier received a huge blow in losing incoming freshmen, Myles Davis.  Meanwhile Jalen Reynolds is still awaiting final word on his status for this season from the NCAA.  It seems to be a forgone conclusion that Reynolds will not be eligible for Xavier this season and it now is just a matter of hoping he is a partial qualifier instead of a non-qualifier as Myles was deemed.  If Reynolds is a partial qualifier, he will remain on scholarship and get valuable experience by being allowed to practice.  Although this would be a huge blow for the Muskies, it would not be a terrible situation as Reynolds would get a year of experience and then be ready to go next season as a Freshmen.

As soon as a decision is announced in regards to Reynolds I will update Xavier Nation!

Myles Davis Ineligible

Jeff Goodman, of CBS Sports, is reporting that Myles Davis has been ruled ineligible by the NCAA.  Not only is he ineligible, he is a non-qualifier, meaning he can't receive his athletic scholarship or practice with the team this season.  This is a huge blow to the Musketeers for 2012-2013 and one that is receiving a ton of skepticism towards the NCAA.  As Goodman notes in the article the specifics of this case make it very hard to see how the NCAA ruled the way it did.  For more on the case check out Goodman's article below.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/20165079/ncaa-denies-eligibility-to-myles-davis-and-sam-cassells-kid-

Myles Davis and Jalen Reynolds Non-Qualifiers?

There are rumors swirling right now that Myles Davis and Jalen Reynolds have not qualified for the upcoming season.  If they are non-qualifiers, they would not be eligible for athletic scholarships and would have to pay their way this year at Xavier.  It sounds like Davis is a non-qualifier and seems to be up in the air if Reynolds is a non or partial qualifier.  If he is a partial qualifier, he would get to practice with the team and be able to hold his athletic scholarship.  Either way this is a huge blow to the Musketeers. This would leave them with 8 scholarship players on the roster and eligible for this season, not counting Chris Cantino, the Junior College transfer.  Cantino is also being rumored to be ineligible for the upcoming season but this seems to be less likely, but if so, Xavier will be extremely thin in the depth chart.

Xavier Announces 2012-2013 Schedule

Last week, Xavier announced their full schedule for the 2012-2013 season.  Dates have now been set for all games, with times still unannounced for some of their games.  This upcoming season all Xavier regular season games will be televised.  Eight of Xavier's games will be televised on ESPN's family of networks, while most of Xavier's conference games will be shown on CBS Sports Network.  Their are 10 games which the network they will be on is yet to be determined.  Most of these games will be on Fox Sports Ohio, which is the home station for Xavier Basketball.   Take a look at the schedule by clicking the link below!

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/xavi/sports/m-baskbl/auto_pdf/2012-13/schedule/schedule.pdf