Sunday, January 02, 2000
Xavier takes balancing act to Marquette
Five different players have led team in scoring
BY MICHAEL PERRY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Just a thought: Might Xavier be harder to prepare for and tougher to defend than last year's team that included three of the top 12 scorers in school history?
A few days before the Musketeers' 84-55 rout of Toledo, Rockets coach Stan Joplin turned out to be prophetic while talking about the Musketeers:
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XU at MARQUETTE
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• When: 5 p.m. today
• Where: Bradley Center (19,150), Milwaukee
• Records: Xavier 9-2, Marquette 6-4
• TV: Ch.64
• Radio: WKRC-AM (550)
BY THE NUMBERS
• 28: XU's RPI
• 129: Marquette's RPI
• 43-12: Marquette's lead in series with XU
• 4: Number of times in a row XU has beaten Marquette
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“Last year, we said, "Hey, don't let the guards (Gary Lumpkin and Lenny Brown) and (James) Posey beat you,' ” Joplin said. “This year, they're more balanced. Everybody is dangerous. I don't even know where they got (David) West from.”
Turns out six Musketeers scored in double figures against Toledo on Thursday night. Freshman David West, from Hargrave Military Academy, led the way with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
Xavier (9-2) takes a five-game winning streak into today's game at Marquette, and perhaps this team's biggest strength is that on any given night, a different player could be the star.
At no time last season did six players score in double figures in one game, and five players did it only three times.
Five different Musketeers have led XU in scoring for a game this season. Four different players have led them in rebounding.
“It's almost necessary for our team,” coach Skip Prosser said. “I don't think that we're overly skilled on the perimeter. I don't think that we're overly skilled in the post. Hence, we need to have a balance of inside and outside production.”
Five Musketeers are averaging in double figures; last season there were three.
Seven players, including the suspended Aaron Turner, are averaging six points or more; last season there were five.
Posey, Lumpkin or Brown led XU in scoring in all but three games last season, including the last 21. The gameplan for opponents was always to defend Xavier's perimeter players and dare the inexperienced inside guys to beat them.
The leading scorer among the inside players was Kevin Frey at 5.7 points a game.
“It's tough to win doing only one thing,” Prosser said. “We're getting better at achieving that balance, and I think when we have that balance that presents an enigma for the other team.”
Not only are this year's inside players scoring more (West and Frey each average 10.2 ppg), but they are doing a better job of passing the ball back out to open Musketeers on the perimeter. That results in better shots.
The other intangible result of more players contributing is it helps team chemistry.
It's easier for more players to work harder every day knowing they have a chance to play and pitch in. It's easier for unselfish play — XU had 20 assists against Toledo — when the team wins, which Xavier has done since its loss at Miami (Dec. 8).
“I don't think anything brings a team together more than selflessness,” Prosser said. “These guys pride themselves on having good chemistry, which is fine in the locker room and the dorms and wherever else they haunt, but it's nice for them to have that when the game starts, as well — the chemistry and trusting one another.”
The Musketeers have been in the friendly confines of the Cincinnati Gardens for the past four victories. Now they get to test themselves on the road for the first time in three weeks.
Marquette is 6-4 and has lost three of its past five games. The Golden Eagles' losses were to Minnesota, Dayton, Baylor and Wisconsin. Only the Dayton defeat was at home, where Marquette is 6-1.
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