Xavier MBB Preview: New Coach, New Leaders
There are many teams in the BIG EAST this season who have lost a bevy of quality players off its roster. But there is only one team in the league which has lost gifted players as well as its head coach. And one who was tabbed BIG EAST Coach of the Year last year, to boot.
That program is Xavier, and this season the Musketeers will not only be without departed seniors Trevon Bluiett, J.P. Macura, Kerem Kanter and Sean O’Mara, but it will be a team that comes into this season having lost its top three scorers and top four rebounders along with former coach Chris Mack, who left for Louisville. Oh, and then there’s the fact that Xavier is coming off a season in which it ousted Villanova as the conference’s regular-season champion and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history.
So one would think all of the above would mean new head coach Travis Steele would be speed eating Tums to cure his agita going into his first head coaching gig this season as the new Musketeer headmaster.
Couldn’t be further from the truth, according to Steele.
“I like the way we’re working,” said Steele, 36, who was part of Mack’s staff for the past nine seasons. “Practices have been very good, our guys have brought great attitudes and great effort to practice every single day. I think our guys know how to win and they’re used to winning. They understand the sacrifices we have to make and the work ethic that it takes to get there. I like our team. I do.”
The first thing to like about Xavier is junior guard Quentin Goodin. The 6-4 Goodin is one of the few constants the Musketeers have this season as he has been running the Xavier floor show for the past year and a half. Last season, with Bluiett averaging 19.3 points and Macura chipping in with 12.9 per game, Goodin wasn’t viewed as one of the Musketeers’ leading offensive contributors. Now with Bluiett and Macura gone, along with Kanter (10.9 ppg.), this will be Goodin’s turn to break out his offensive weaponry.
“He’s improved dramatically as a shooter,” Steele said. “I think a lot of times last year he was that guy who would play off J.P. or Trevon and those guys. He can playmake, too. A lot. People just haven’t seen that part of his game yet. They will this year and I think he’s really excited to be one of the better players in this league. I think he’s going to make a big jump. He knows Xavier, he knows what it takes to win and he’s at the most important position on the floor. He sets the whole table. People are going to see him score and shoot the ball a lot better than he did last year. To me, he can be the best playmaking guard in our league.”
Goodin, who averaged 8.7 points and 4.9 assists last season, is ever the humble point guard and said there are several players - other than him - capable of breakout seasons now that new opportunities have presented themselves.
“Let me say this, Tre and J.P. were really good players and they did a lot for us and accomplished a lot at Xavier,” said Goodin, who was third in the BIG EAST in assists last season. “But I feel we still got a lot of good guys at Xavier. There are guys who really didn’t showcase their skills because they didn’t have to and it wasn’t for the betterment of the team. Guys like Paul (Scruggs, who averaged 4.9 points last season as a freshman). He didn’t have to show his offensive skills because J.P. and Trevon were already there. But this year we’re going to need Paul to step up and add some scoring.”
The same can be said for 6-7 sophomore Naji Marshall, who logged 7.7 points and 4.4 rebounds last season as well as 6-9 junior Tyrique Jones, who started 19 games last year and contributed 7.0 points and 4.5 rebounds.
Xavier will also be bolstered by the addition of three transfers who all should help the Musketeers in multiple areas.
Ryan Welage, a 6-10 long-ball threat, comes over from San Jose State where he was the top three-point scorer in school history with 161 treys. He averaged 18.1 points a game last season for the Spartans, has scored 1,258 points in his career and led the Mountain West Conference with an 87.7 free throw shooting percentage.
Zach Hankins is a 6-11, 245-pound forward who comes to Xavier via Ferris State University where he was the Division II Player of the Year after he averaged 14.9 points and 9.9 rebounds. He left Ferris as the school’s all-time leader in blocked shots (319) and career field goal percentage (.642).
The Musketeers will also have a third graduate transfer in Kyle Castlin, formerly of Columbia. He averaged 10.5 points and 3.8 rebounds for the Lions last season.
So despite being picked to finish sixth in the BIG EAST Coaches Preseason Poll, might there still be ample talent in place in Steele’s first season for yet another finish near the top of the conference?
“We want to grow and get better every single day and be committed to that process and we’ll let the cards lie where they lie at the end,” Steele said. “We want to reach our full potential - which I think is pretty high.”