By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Xavier coach Thad Matta hasn't yet received national letters of intent from Justin Doellman and Robert Barker. Both letters have been signed, however, and are expected to arrive any day.

But even before those two signed, Matta already knew of two other players he would have back next season, Lionel Chalmers and Dave Young.

Both academic seniors but athletic juniors, Chalmers and Young will be granted another year of eligibility if they finish their undergraduate degrees by August. Each is on track to graduate in May.

"All they have to do is graduate," said associate athletic director Dawn Rogers, who oversees Xavier's athletic compliance department. "Then they can either take graduate classes or pursue a post-bachelor degree."

Chalmers and Young, like current Musketeers freshman Will Caudle, were partial qualifiers when they came to Xavier in the fall of 1999. Partial qualifiers are players who do not meet minimum standardized test requirements in high school but have a grade-point average that allows them to partially qualify for scholarships. For instance, a player whose sum ACT score is 67 or SAT is 810 would have to achieve a GPA of 2.525 or better to be a partial qualifier.

The catch is that partial qualifiers are ineligible to play or travel with the team during their first year on campus. They get that year back as fifth-year seniors if they graduate within four years.

Coming out of New Castle (Pa.) High, Young knew he would be a partial qualifier and was prepared to sit out his first season. Chalmers found out a little differently.

"Lionel was literally moving into his dorm his freshman year when we found out," Rogers said. "It was very sad. We had to call him and his parents, who were with him, over here to our office to tell him."

Chalmers thought he would be a full qualifier, but as a result of attending two different high schools, Bishop Gibbons (N.Y.) and Albany (N.Y.), miscommunication resulted in him not being registered with the NCAA clearinghouse. In that case, Rogers said, the NCAA granted him partial qualification.

The benefits for Xavier is it will have two fifth-year seniors next season, both of whom will have started for two consecutive seasons.

"I think it's huge," Matta said. "They are guys that have been in the program for a long time. I don't think you can ever underestimate the value of having seniors on your team. Most great teams have a lot of seniors."

Even though they're listed as seniors in Xavier's media guide, Matta thinks of Chalmers and Young as juniors because they've only played two seasons.

"I never have (thought of them as seniors)," he said, "strictly because I've only coached them for a year. If I had been here earlier, I may think of them differently."

Caudle, whose situation is similar to Chalmers in part because he also attended two different high schools, choose to be called a freshman this season, his first on XU's active roster. He practiced with the Musketeers last season.

Partial qualifiers will soon be a forgotten title. The NCAA Board of Directors approved measures that remove the minimum standardized test score but increase the number of core classes a recruit must have from 13 to 14. Those standards take effect next year.

"They are de-emphasizing the test and basing eligibility more on GPA," Rogers said. "But they also increased the eligibility standards once a student-athlete is in school."

E-mail: ddow@enquirer.com