XAVIERSPORTS

Xavier University men's basketball lands four-star guard Dahmir Bishop

Adam Baum
Cincinnati Enquirer
New basketball head coach Travis Steele speaks about his plans for the program as he's introduced at the Cintas Center on Xavier University's campus in Cincinnati on Wednesday, April 4, 2018.

The 2019 Xavier University men's basketball recruiting class is filling up as a new season approaches. 

Dahmir Bishop added his name to that list Friday night when the four-star guard from Philadelphia announced his commitment to the Musketeers. 

"Today is a dream come true," Bishop told The Enquirer by phone Friday night. "I've been dreaming of this since middle school. This is what I put all my hard work in for, but there's more work I've gotta get to." 

Bishop, who joins Daniel Ramsey, Zach Freemantle and Dieonte Miles in Xavier's 2019 class, is listed as a 6-foot-5 combo guard and is rated by 247Sports as the No. 15 combo guard in the country and the No. 100 overall recruit nationally in 2019.

"I liked how coach Dan (Dante Jackson) and coach Steele told me they had a plan for me," said Bishop, who's the No. 4 overall player in Pennsylvania. "I liked the connection I felt with the coaching staff and the incoming class that's coming in. I just felt part of the family right away." 

Bishop had over 20 high-major offers from schools like Rhode Island, Florida, Penn State, Wake Forest, Cincinnati, Texas and Marquette, but it was Xavier's winning tradition and the interest they showed in him that set the Musketeers apart. 

"I already knew Xavier was a winning program," Bishop said. "Once coach Steele showed the interest in me and I knew it was real that's when I knew I had to make it official." 

Bishop's commitment comes less than a week after he took his official visit on Victory Parkway. 

Over the summer, Bishop turned heads at the University of Virginia in the NBPA Top 100 camp. The recruiting staff from 247Sports watched Bishop in action and wrote, "He is a big guard who can play on or off the ball and can really score. Add in that he is a good athlete with good length, and Bishop showed potential to be a good defender down the road as well." 

Bishop credited his passion as a reason he was such a sought-after recruit. 

"I think it's really just the passion that I play with," said Bishop, who helped his high school team, Imhotep Institute, win a state championship last season. "A lot of guys that are good they know they're good so they can play off being good. I play with a lot of passion and I like to win." 

Bishop added that "of course" he plans to help be a part of Xavier's recruiting efforts going forward. 

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