[PowerofXParticipant]

I’ve seen these threads popping up on the forum today so I thought I’d give it a try. I’m a Xavier fan, you’ll see my username is a reference to Tu Holloway.

After 15 years as a powerhouse mid major team in the Atlantic 10, XU is now a power conference team after joining the new Big East. They’ll now finally face consistently tough competition against Georgetown, Marquette, and Villanova. Not to mention Butler and their annual crosstown game against Cincinnati. The university, team, and fans are excited about the move and expect Xavier to return to prominence once its young, underclassman-heavy team matures.

2012-13 was a rebuilding year for the Muskies, who lost leading scorer Tu Holloway and starting center Kenny Frease to graduation (both played in Europe last year after going undrafted in 2012), second leading scorer Mark Lyons who transferred to Arizona, and expelled promising sophomore Dez Wells, who had a solid season for Maryland last year. Freshman PG Semaj Christon led the team in scoring with 15.2 PPG and senior Travis Taylor was a double double machine. Unfortunately the team could not overcome Lyons’ and Wells’ shocking departures, going an inconsistent 9-7 in the A-10, 7th in the conference, losing in the first round of the A-10 Tournament and missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005.

This year, Xavier lost Taylor, 6th man Brad Redford (a J.J. Redick-type 3 pt. specialist), and starting center Jeff Robinson to graduation. Christon will once again carry the scoring load and lead the team as a floor general and is expected to have a breakout season (this site has him as the 17th pick in next year’s draft). Forward Justin Martin, guard Landen Amos, and combo guard Dee Davis round out the rest of Xavier’s core players. European recruit Aleksandar Vezenkov can put up points and should be able to replace Redford’s stats. Big man Isaiah Philmore will man the frontcourt after averaging 7.5 PPG and 5.0 RPG last season.

Starting Lineup & Projected Stats:
JR PG Dexter “Dee” Davis 6’0″ 161 lbs. *9.4 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 4.2 APG
SO SG Semaj Christon 6’3″ 187 lbs. *17.7 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 6.3 APG – leaves for the NBA as a projected late lottery/mid 1st round pick
JR SF Justin Martin 6’6″ 205 lbs. 11.9 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 1.2 APG
FR PF Aleksandar Vezenkov 6’9″ 225 lbs. 12.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 3.0 APG
SR C Isaiah Philmore 6’8′ 236 lbs. 6.5 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 0.3 APG
*A small lineup whose offense could pull off some upsets (except for the 3 teams I listed above XU could beat most of the teams in the new Big East) if Christon, Martin & Vezenkov develop together. Also it’s crucial for this team to build chemistry, that’s what killed them last year.

Bench:
JR SG Landen Amos 6’4″ 185 lbs. (6th man)
SO SF Kevin Coker 6’6″ 200 lbs.
SO PF James Farr 6’9″ 237 lbs.
SO PG Joe Schuessler 6’2″ 175 lbs.
SR PF Erik Stenger 6’8″ 207 lbs.
SO PG Tim Whelan 5’9″ 160 lbs.

Projected Finish: 20-10, 5th in Big East, 10-13 seed in the Tournament. Xavier is still rebuilding, but they have a young team whose biggest need is to just play together and develop chemistry. Storylines will be Christon’s development, how Vezenkov adjusts to American college basketball, and of course how XU, Butler, and Creighton fair in their first season in the Big East. Let’s go X.

[TRC1991Participant]

Sorry brother but I just dont see Xavier as a team that improved from last year

[TRC1991Participant]

Sorry brother but I just dont see Xavier as a team that improved from last year

[PowerofXParticipant]

Like I said they’re still a few years away, but they have a promising core (Christon, and I’m hearing Vezenkov has good potential too) that they could be one of the top 5 teams in the 10-team Big East. I mean they’ve shown they can beat Butler for example, and I still view Providence, Seton Hall, and maybe St. John’s for one win as easy wins. Xavier’s not a Tourney team yet but they could be a middle seed in the NIT next year. Also honestly I’d like to see Christon return, as he’s not likely to be chosen before most of the top PGs in next year’s draft. Late first round at best if he doesn’t improve this season but comes out anyway.

[PowerofXParticipant]

Like I said they’re still a few years away, but they have a promising core (Christon, and I’m hearing Vezenkov has good potential too) that they could be one of the top 5 teams in the 10-team Big East. I mean they’ve shown they can beat Butler for example, and I still view Providence, Seton Hall, and maybe St. John’s for one win as easy wins. Xavier’s not a Tourney team yet but they could be a middle seed in the NIT next year. Also honestly I’d like to see Christon return, as he’s not likely to be chosen before most of the top PGs in next year’s draft. Late first round at best if he doesn’t improve this season but comes out anyway.

[Steven]

ive seen christon play, kid is the real deal.

[Steven]

ive seen christon play, kid is the real deal.

[Author]

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