Saturday, January 05, 2002
College basketball Q&A
Xavier fans already eye next season
By Michael Perry and Neil Schmidt
We figured you Xavier fans were out there. We got a lot better response from you this week. And from the looks of it, many of you are wondering how next year's team will shape up.
Q, from Mike in Anderson: Xavier has four big men in next year's recruiting class. Can any of them, or Will Caudle, replace David West if he leaves early?
A: No one would be able to replace West, who's having arguably the finest career in school history. But would XU have some candidates to be quality starters at center? Sure.
The five big men joining next year's team are the aforementioned 6-foot-9, 225-pound Caudle, who is redshirting; junior-college products Randy Holbrook (6-10, 235) and Anthony Myles (6-9, 235); and incoming freshmen Brandon Cole (6-7, 225) and Angelo Smith (6-8, 210). In the sense that West plays more like a power forward, one of these candidates could be more of a true center. If West stays, he could well move to forward next year.
It's hard to know who'll be most game-ready, but Holbrook and Myles will be older and more experienced. Holbrook in particular has drawn raves from recruiting gurus. XU will surely have depth in the frontcourt, with or without West.
Q, from Dan in Sharonville: After the current season is over, how many years of eligibility will Lionel Chalmers, Dave Young and Caudle have left?
A: All those Musketeers failed to get initial academic eligibility and sat out their first seasons. In the best-case scenario, all would be able to earn that year back. The key requirement is that each completes an undergraduate degree prior to their ninth semester.
Chalmers and Young are in their second seasons each and are currently classified as juniors, but each could have one more year after next season. Caudle will be classified a sophomore when he begins play next winter but could earn four full seasons.
Q, from Mark in College Hill: Why isn't Thad Matta playing Young at the shooting guard position and Romain Sato at small forward? Young seems to be playing out of position and can't take advantage of his ballhandling and outside shooting skills. Sato's jumping and rebounding skills could be better used as a forward, and he can still step out and shoot 3-pointers from the small forward position.
A: In XU's offense, there isn't much difference between those two positions. But in general, Young is a bit more muscular and Sato is more of a pure shooter. Young's 3-point shooting (7-of-28, 25 percent) has been poor. And the way the depth chart is, Keith Jackson needs to sub in for someone to get his 17 or 18 minutes per game, and Jackson is more of a small forward type. Sato is considered a better player than Young, so he plays guard and stays in while Young rotates with Jackson.
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