Thad Matta said he had been envisioning his first practice as Xavier basketball coach since he got the job May 3. As the clock struck midnight Saturday morning, he couldn't wait any longer.

        “I knew I wasn't going to be able to sleep,” Matta said, “so I figured, what the heck?”

        Matta made an 11th-hour decision to hold a midnight practice — even though it lacked the Midnight Madness trappings — in an otherwise empty Cintas Center. The Musketeers practiced more than two hours, then returned at 1 p.m. Saturday for their scheduled practice.

        “With that (midnight) practice, I wanted them to have the message that this was sort of the new beginning, and it worked out well,” Matta said. “They really went after it, whether it was 2 in the morning or 2 in the afternoon.”

        Seniors Kevin Frey and Alvin Brown said the players were supportive of Matta's surprise practice and pleased with the results.

        “The adrenaline was going,” Frey said. “It didn't really feel like it was night until we walked outside afterward.”

        There was no awkwardness reported. Players had been doing individual workouts with the new coaching staff for a month, and Matta had conversed with players as often as possible since he was hired.

        “Our freshmen had been here since the summer, too, playing (in open gym) with us, so it seems like everyone is already on the same page,” Brown said. “It's early, but we're working pretty well together.”

        The Musketeers have been talking about a hunger resulting from their 0-3 finish to last season. They say they're happy Matta is al ready challenging them for their best.

        “You want to give him 100 percent,” Frey said.

        Matta said the players were receptive to his coaching philosophies.

        “We're probably on that first-day honeymoon, but if we can continue to come in with the energy that we've had, hopefully things will continue to grow together,” he said.

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