Xavier Musketeers 2016-2017

S

SportsGenius

New member
This season ended earlier than a lot of fans and the team thought it would. Rough ending to a pretty amazing year for the program. Big things seem to be coming for the Muskies though. Time to look ahead to next season in terms of recruits, roster, etc.

Projected Roster:
Seniors - Reynolds*, Davis, Gaston
Juniors - Bluiett, Macura, Austin Jr, O'Mara
Sophomores - Sumner, London, Gates
Freshman - Ekiyor, Gooden, Jones


Will Jalen stay or leave? Who knows for sure. He hasn't said much about it. I hope he stays from a Xavier standpoint but also because I don't think he will be an NBA player. He is going to end up in Europe which is nothing to look down on. Doellman and Brown are the two highest american players in Europe right now according to an article I just saw. I think it would be beneficial for him to stay in school and get his MBA while leading the team to hopefuly a final four run next season.
 
 
Tyrique Jones
4* Consensus top 100
6'7-6'8 220 PF playing style reminds me of Dez Wells with how explosive he is attacking the basket on both ends of the floor.

 
Eddie Ekiyor
4*
6'8 215 C Athletic but not quite as explosive as Jones
Has been on campus attending class, practicing, etc as a redshirt since January.
Going against Farr and Reynolds will have given him a step ahead of most freshman. Looks to have put on some more muscle since getting to Xavier

 
Biggest loss could be Steele getting HC gig. Good for him if he does.

My source inside the team says program would be better off if Mack left for a bigger job and they hired Steele. Just what I heard.

I really don't believe it for a second.

Recruiting may take a hit if Steele does leave. He's been outstanding in that area.
 
Steele is definitely going to get some looks. Whether he jumps at one or stays at Xavier is another question. Weight the chances of being a head coach at a small school as a stepping stone to a better job or continue to be the associate head coach and jump from there in another couple years. Who knows. I don't know if recruiting would take that much of a hit though. He mainly does midwest I thought, with Murray doing the northeast and Pegues(sp?) doing the southeast. Im sure Mack has options for good assistants as well. Also has Jeremy Growe who could be promoted to an assistant if someone left.

I expect Jalen, Tre, and Ed to all declare for the draft. New rules allow them to declare, go through the combine, and one workout with a team before choosing to stay in the draft or come back. No reason to not declare and get the feedback to see what you need to work on
 
Needs to work on:
Ed Sumner:
Don't be an idiot playing hero/playground ball as a freshman in the NCAA tourney against a veteran squad who always shows up in March
 
While Sumner had his struggles down the stretch, I think its a tad harsh to say he was playing playground ball. He was definitely pressing and forced some drives he didn't need to, but it had been working for him most of the season. Mack going to him in the final minute was actually a good call as Sumner is probably the only guy who had the ability to create off the bounce. He even converted the shot had the refshow not taken over with that BS call. He'll grow from this and I expect him to be much better next season

As for the Big East, apparently their is some talk that the BE will at least discuss expansion at the annual meetings. I'm a fan of staying at 10, which I think they will do for at least another year or two. The double round robin is something I think benefits everyone and adding teams makes that impossible to do. Just saw on twitter that if they talk expansion, the two teams mentioned as having the support of Creighton were Wichita St and Gonzaga. While good programs, I still prefer the even number of 10.
 
Frank Underwood said:
Lol Gonzaga is like 1200 miles from the closest current BE school and 1700 miles from the 2nd closest.
Click to expand...

I agree. It isn't a good fit. Creighton is the only school supporting that from what I've seen. Doesn't sound like it will happen which is good. Would be a waste of money and while it would impact Men's basketball and that is what drives the league, it would have a greater impact on sports like WBB, Soccer etc. Gonzaga would be a terrible fit location wise
 
IMO any Big East expansion would have to include Notre Dame, which isn't going to happen. That's probably the only school they could theoretically add that would increase each school's revenues. Any pair the league could realistically add will shrink the slice of the pie each school is currently getting. The current ten team, double round robin format is probably the most profitable league configuration they can have going ahead.

Realistically, the best they could do with expansion is adding Dayton and St. Louis. I highly doubt that would add enough financial value to be worth pursuing.
 
Dayton won't be added I would bet money on that(if I had enough to bet). VCU, Wichita St, St Louis would all be considered before Dayton. I hope and think they stay with the 10 team league. No reason to get bigger. It won't bring more money to offset the pie being divided into more shares.
 
Yep, Don't see anyone with D1 football being let in. They want to share the same mindset/philosphy which is basketball as the top dog
 
I fully understand that, but once UCONN is left out of the Big 12 and ACC, they will drop their football back to FCS. UMASS would also be smart too and try and get in the BE
 
redskin17 said:
I fully understand that, but once UCONN is left out of the Big 12 and ACC, they will drop their football back to FCS. UMASS would also be smart too and try and get in the BE
Click to expand...

Don't think they have enough success or much if anything to offer. The Big East has said they like 10, but when/if they look to expand, the teams they consider have to bring something to the table. Umass doesn't in my mind.
 
Let's be honest, a lot of people don't want the BE to expand, unless it is a home run. UCONN would be a home run. After them there are not really a lot of other schools out there. UMASS would be a solid pick up, mainly because the other school I would like to see, Temple, will not be in. VCU might be a nice pick up, but they don't fit the overall mold.
 
redskin17 said:
I fully understand that, but once UCONN is left out of the Big 12 and ACC, they will drop their football back to FCS. UMASS would also be smart too and try and get in the BE
Click to expand...

I'll believe it when it actually happens. Not a lot of teams, even ones less successful than UConn, have dropped down.
 
I think they are going to be forced too. I think football is going to split here in the next 5 years. I think the boarderline big schools, UC,UCONN, Memphis, Houston, ect know this and that is why they are trying hard to get picked up.
 
eastside_purple said:
Both Bluiet and Reynolds declare for draft without agent. I'd expect both back, quite honestly.
Click to expand...

I'd say Bluiett is a lock to come back. I'd go 50/50 on Jalen. just not sure on what he "needs" to do at this point. i mean, he's 23. i think he's going to graduate this spring (i may be wrong on that) and i don't know his family situation, if he needs to go make some money for them (maybe overseas?)

i've heard both sides for Jalen. i'd love it if he comes back.

we shall see.
 
Frank Underwood said:
Don't really understand Sumner's decision to not declare.
Click to expand...

he knows where he's at. he's comfortable knowing what he needs to work on to get better. yeah, maybe going up against some NBA caliber guys at the combine or whatever the heck they call it would be good, but maybe he just knows he doesn't need to do that at this point.

i'm glad there's at least SOMEONE who said "i'm not going to declare". ;)
 
He's a possible future pick, you think he'd want to figure out what he needs to work on. He can still come back and isn't a distraction as it only takes up a few weeks of his time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top