The former players were announced to the Cintas Center crowd before the men's team scrimmage. Hill, who graduated in 1990 and went on to play 14 NBA seasons, was visiting Cintas Center for the first time since it opened in 2000.

He said he would consider playing one more NBA season if he got a call from a championship-contending team. Hill, who is not on an NBA roster, is exploring moving into a player development position after this season.

"I'm trying to decide on whether I want to retire this year or not," Hill said. "I'm definitely going to do something with the league next year. ... I always wanted to go into player development, you know, work with the young guys."

FINN TO RETURN: Suspended junior guard Dedrick Finn is expected to be back practicing Monday, Xavier coach Sean Miller said. Finn was suspended in early October for violating unspecified team rules.

DUNCAN DOWN: Freshman Josh Duncan did not play Saturday because of a left Achilles strain. It is unclear when he will be able to resume practicing.

PRACTICE ISN'T PERFECT: The ups and downs of preseason practice caught up with Xavier Thursday.

"Guys were just bickering with each other," said senior co-captain Keith Jackson. "Younger guys. We have to work with them to get them on the same page."

The influx of inexperienced players has caused some problems as the pace of practice has picked up since the team returned from its exhibition trip to the Bahamas.

"There's more action, more mistakes to be made, more good plays to be made," Miller said. "When that's the case, especially in the fall, the players that struggle the most are the younger players, and right now they're struggling."

SIDELINE ADDITION: Fox Sports Net Ohio officials and Bengals radio color analyst Dave Lapham are discussing the possibility of having Lapham take on sideline reporting duties for FSN Ohio's Xavier telecasts. There are some conflicts with Lapham's schedule, which is why a final deal has not been reached. The sideline reporter would join play-by-play man Brad Johansen and color analyst Steve Wolf for FSN Ohio's 10-game package.

RECRUITING WATCH: St. Petersburg, Fla., junior Aaron Holmes was on campus for an unofficial visit and attended Saturday's event.

TICKET SALES: Tickets for single games at Cintas Center go on sale Tuesday for the two exhibition games and 16 regular-season games. Tickets will be sold 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily at the XU ticket office, and on the Internet and phone through TicketMaster. Prices are $14-19 for regular-season games and $12 for exhibition games.

E-mail ddow@enquirer.com

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