Xavier Team Report

GETTING INSIDE

Who better to continue the winning tradition at Xavier than a former Musketeer?

When Xavier opens the 2009-10 season against Rollins College on Nov. 3 it will be head coach Chris Mack’s first game as the head man.

Mack was named the program’s new men’s basketball head coach on April 15. The 17th head coach in program history, Mack succeeds Sean Miller, who took over as Arizona’s head coach.

Mack spent the past five seasons as an assistant on Miller’s staff. A two-time team captain as a player at Xavier, Mack understands the urgency to keep the program humming.

His job is hardly envious. The Musketeers are coming off a third straight Atlantic 10 regular-season title and two Elite Eight appearances and a Sweet 16 in the past six seasons.

He’ll have the challenge of equaling or bettering those feats without last season’s top two scorers. No returners even averaged double-digits last season.

Xavier’s two returning starters are senior center Jason Love, the team’s top returning scorer (6.7 points a game) and rebounder (5.9), and junior guard Dante’ Jackson (6.6 points), who averaged a team-high 2.7 assists a game.

NOTES, QUOTES

• Xavier captured its third consecutive Atlantic 10 regular season crown with a 12-4 record in conference play. The last A-10 program to accomplish the feat was Temple in 1998-00. In addition, the Musketeers advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year and third time since 2004.

• The Musketeers have advanced to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last four seasons and eight of the past nine years.

• C Kenny Frease (5.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.26 blocks) is expecting major improvements in his sophomore season. He was named Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie of the Week in late January, the first Xavier player to win that award since Stanley Burrell in the 2004-05 season.

Last Year:   27-8 overall, 12-4 in the A-10, lost in Sweet 16 to Pittsburgh, 60-55.

Head Coach:   Chris Mack (career 0-0); 1st year at Xavier (0-0).

Quote To Note:   “I have a great love for Xavier, our loyal fans and the City of Cincinnati. My time at Xavier under the leadership of the late Skip Prosser and Sean Miller has served me well and has prepared me for the challenge ahead.”—Coach Chris Mack upon taking over the program.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

Scouting The Newcomers:   There’s some hype surrounding three redshirt players, including 6-foot-4 sophomore guard Jordan Crawford, one of the top guards in the Big Ten in 2007-08 as a freshman at Indiana. Mark Lyons, a 6-1 freshman guard, could be the Musketeers’ top defender.

Key Early-season Games:   Xavier is challenged early and often with games against Marquette (Nov. 26), Cincinnati (Dec. 13), LSU (Dec. 29), Wake Forest (Jan. 1). For good measure, they’ve got a road game at Florida (Feb. 13) tossed in the middle of the conference schedule.

Program Direction:   Xavier has been so high that one has to wonder if some of the air is about to come out. Without proven scorers and a new coach, although Chris Mack is very familiar with the players since he served as an assistant, it could take time for the Musketeers to come together.

Probable Starting Lineup:   G Dante Jackson, G Jordan Crawford, F Jamel McLean, F Jason Love, C Kenny Frease.

Roster Report:  

• G Brad Radford is one of the purest perimeter shooters in the country, especially from long range. Of his 123 shot attempts, 114 came from behind the arc. Of his 56 baskets, 53 were 3-pointers. Redford played 12.8 minutes a game last season and will see increased minutes this season, a good thing considering he led the A-10 in 3-point shooting percentage.

• G/F Brian Walsh, a 6-4 freshman, played in only eight games early last season due to injury after averaging 19.7 points as a highly regarded high school senior. He’s healthy for the start of this season.

• G Jordan Crawford was ineligible last season after transferring from Indiana. As a freshman with the Hoosiers, Crawford played in 30 games, starting eight times. He finished seventh among Big Ten Conference freshmen in scoring at 9.7 points a game and he scored in double figures 15 times.