Less than two months separates the start of the 2022-23 college basketball season, and in many ways the framework surrounding the Xavier University men’s basketball team is quite different than this year. last.
A new head coach, who is actually Xavier’s former head coach. New assistant coaches. A new strength trainer. Some players have graduated, many have returned and three new scholarship players have joined the roster of a team that won the national invitational tournament six months ago.
Here are 10 thoughts on the upcoming season.
The return of Sean Miller
When Xavier parted ways with Travis Steele in March, Miller quickly became the top candidate, and it took both parties just days to agree a deal.
With Jay Wright’s retirement at Villanova, Xavier now has one of the most experienced and winning coaches in the Big East Conference, a conference Miller played in Pittsburgh.
Miller’s 422 career wins rank third among active coaches in the Big East, behind Creighton’s Greg McDermott (556) and Butler’s Thad Matta (439).
Miller is a proven coach who can compete in the NCAA Tournament and compete for conference championships. He is more than capable of bringing Xavier back to where he expects to be.
The question this season is what Miller can do with a roster almost entirely inherited from the previous coaching staff.
The potential of Colby Jones
There may have been production hiatuses in the past two seasons. Maybe you can attribute this to growing pains, the system, or maybe the surrounding elements weren’t always complementary.
One thing is certain: if Colby Jones can put together an entire season like he finished last year, winning the National Invitational Tournament MVP title, then Xavier could have a real star in the Far East and beyond.
Over the last 11 games of last season, Jones averaged 14.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists.
He spoke to The Enquirer over the summer about areas he wants to improve. Last season, Jones shot 29% from 3-point range and 68% from the foul line.
Jones is a solid defender, great rebounder and playmaker. He can handle the ball and make good plays – he’s proven that. If he can be productive beyond the arc and more effective on the foul line, then he’ll tick all the boxes.
playmaker game
The point guard position hasn’t been very reliable over the past four seasons. For a multitude of reasons, this is a position that lacks consistency and production.
Xavier hopes Souley Boum’s UTEP transfer can change that. Boom’s greatest attributes are his ability to score and reach the free throw line. Last season at UTEP, Boum played 37 minutes per game and averaged 19.9 points, which ranked him 23rd nationally in all of Division I and his 172 free throws were eighth overall. country.
‘I felt that I was needed here’:From Oakland’s Mosswood Park to Xavier, meet Souley Boum
If he can take care of the ball and make it easy for his teammates, then that could stabilize that position and allow Xavier’s attack to work much more effectively.
Boom will have help. First-year point guard Desmond Claude has played well over the summer, according to coaches and teammates. Claude is a real leader. He will have the opportunity to make an impact as a rookie.
Shooting
For the past four seasons, Xavier’s peripheral shooting has been a glaring problem. Of the 353 Division I teams nationwide, Xavier’s 3-point shooting percentage has ranked in the bottom half nationally for the past four years (236, 282, 229, and 250, respectively).
It’s a product of shot selection, who attempts 3-point shots and how often. Xavier can’t expect to hit his shot potential that badly from the perimeter again.
Adam Kunkel will likely get the most perimeter looks this season. He took 162 3-point shots last season and made 33% of them.
It will not just fall on Kunkel’s shoulders. Boom shot 37% from 3-point range last season. Jack Nunge is a capable shooter from beyond the arc. Zach Freemantle and Jerome Hunter need to be more selective in depth. Freemantle and Hunter were a combined 26-112-3 last season.
Freshman Kam Craft’s greatest asset coming out of high school was his shooting. It may take a while for that to translate to the collegiate level, but if it does, it could really help Xavier’s away arsenal.
Another option could be senior KyKy Tandy, who is finally healthy after needing season-ending surgery last year. In many ways in the program, Tandy has transformed her body and is in great shape. If he can find his way on the floor, he’s one of the best shooters on the roster.
The calendar and an imminent suspension
A quick look at the non-conference portion of Xavier’s schedule, and it’s pretty obvious he’s been put together for a team that expects to play in the NCAA Tournament next March.
The Musketeers face Indiana and West Virginia at home, Cincinnati on the road, and head to Portland for Thanksgiving for the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament, where they open with Florida, then Duke or Oregon State, and Game 3 could be against Gonzaga, Purdue, West Virginia or Portland State.
It’s a tough schedule and it could be tougher depending on the potential suspension looming for Miller stemming from a case of NCAA violations since his time in Arizona.
It is still unclear when that decision will be made. It could come in October before the start of the season, which would be beneficial. Xavier would know how long Miller is out and what games he will miss. It could also be decided later, maybe after the start of the season.
Whenever the decision drops, associate head coach Adam Cohen is expected to serve as Xavier’s head coach for any games Miller may miss.
Live
Xavier’s experience should be a strength. It’s a safe guess that Xavier’s starting lineup will be Boom, Kunkel, Jones, Freemantle and Nunge.
These five players have played in a combined 460 college basketball games over their careers with 268 starts between them.
That should mix well with a new head coach who has 17 years of experience and has won 73% of his games, but that might take some time.
Behind the holders, Xavier is also not without depth. These competitions are ongoing and it will be telling to see who earns minutes off the bench.
The big ones
Nunge played a lot last season, a career-high 26.5 minutes per game for a guy who had just suffered his second major knee injury and only started training a few weeks before the start of the season. When Xavier went deep into conference play, there was a streak last season where Nunge looked a bit exhausted.
With quite a training offseason under his belt, the hope is that he is better prepared for this season. Even still, it will be important to keep Nunge as fresh as possible throughout the season.
He was arguably Xavier’s best player last season, leading the team in goals (13.4), rebounds (7.4) and blocked shots (50).
Behind Nunge, Xavier really has three other real big men in Freemantle, Dieonte Miles and Cesare Edwards.
Freemantle is going to be on the ground. He can score and if he commits to rebounding he can help Xavier at both ends of the field.
But this third great man is going to be important.
Miles and Edwards played sparingly last season. Miles played early in the season when Freemantle suffered a foot injury. Edwards played more at the end of last season. They offer different styles. Miles is more mobile and impacts the game more defensively. Edwards plays tenaciously and is more attacking. These contrasting styles could allow both to play, but it remains an intriguing battle over who will be the first big man to come off the bench.
The scheme makes the team
Miller knows how he wants to play. Last season, when he wasn’t coaching, Miller spoke on podcasts about how he got to watch a lot of basketball, study analytics and think a lot about how he wanted to play. when he returned to training.
He said he wanted to play faster than any of his previous teams. He explained how he liked the look of having two ball guards on the floor together to help adapt to this rhythm. He wants Xavier to be a man-to-man defensive team with the ability to jump into an area on occasion.
One of the most interesting to watch this season will be how different Xavier looks from last season. They are largely the same players with a few exceptions, but how the scheme changes and how everything works could be quite different.
sixth man
Xavier can’t rely on his starting lineup all the time. Someone off the bench, preferably two or three players, has to fill important roles and has to be reliable to do so.
The two most obvious answers are the freshmen ‒ Claude and Craft.
Craft offers peripheral firepower to a team that has recently struggled to fire. Claude offers consistency and reliability in the backcourt, another area that has been lacking.
For freshmen, it’s a process. Learn defense, terminology and understand how to make the right decisions. If both can go through this process successfully, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t have an impact on the team.
A few other options could be Miles and Tandy. Both were members of Xavier’s recruiting class of 2019 and neither really found their way into the rotation. Early indications are that both have had solid summers. But will that carry over into the season?
Solidity to the finish line
Nobody needs to remember how the last seasons ended in Xavier.
February and March were disappointing months on Victory Parkway. Teams started strong only to fade over time. It’s the most pressing reason the Musketeers haven’t played in the NCAA Tournament in four years.
That’s why Miller is back ‒ to cultivate the tenacity needed to end the season stronger and better than at the start.
