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.
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