By Dustin Dow
Enquirer staff writer
He passed, he shot and he defended. But most important, he was there at practice.
Dedrick Finn is back from suspension for the Xavier Musketeers and no one is more relieved the punishment is over than the junior guard himself.
"It was a wakeup call," Finn said. "It was something that happened. You learn from it and move on.
"It made me realize how much I love the game and how much I want to be part of this team."
Exactly what happened still isn't clear. Neither Finn nor Xavier coach Sean Miller is saying what caused Miller to suspend Finn indefinitely three weeks ago. Officially, it was an unspecified violation of team rules that occurred off the court.
"Everybody had their story what happened or this happened," Finn said.
"With me, you have to look past it. You're going to hear things, but only me and my teammates and the coaches know what really happened and what's going on."
Miller and Finn both said Tuesday that the suspension is part of the past and that Finn is not subject to any sort of probationary period.
In fact, with Finn running point guard duties the past two days in practice, basketball at Xavier seems to be very much back to normal.
Though Xavier is more than three weeks away from its Nov. 19 season opener against Oakland University at Cintas Center, Miller hopes Finn can use that time to stabilize Xavier's backcourt as the team's most experienced player.
Talented freshmen and sophomore guards such as Churchill Odia, Stanley Burrell and Dupree Lucas will be counted on, but Finn's presence might be more important in the early part of the season because of his veteran savvy.
"As he's gotten a different perspective, I think I've gotten a different perspective as well," Miller said.
"Sometimes you don't really value someone, especially at guard, until he's not there. And we're clearly a better team with him."
Finn is Xavier's top returning player in several categories, including scoring, assists, steals and minutes.
He's also an indispensable leader, which is why Miller was not only surprised but disappointed when he had to suspend Finn just a few days before Xavier went on an exhibition trip to the Bahamas Oct. 6-10.
Finn missed those two exhibition games, Musketeer Madness and a total of 15 practices (including the Bahamas preparation sessions).
"It was tough, sitting there and wanting to play so bad but not getting a chance to, but like I said, you learn from it," Finn said. "It's a long season. Musketeer Madness and the Bahamas, that was something extra. It wasn't the regular season. It didn't really count for much."
What will count for Finn is how effectively he and other Xavier players can put behind them his suspension and restart the team-building process.
"I'm starting fresh," Finn said. "The slate's been cleaned. ... I'm here now, and that's all that matters."
Season opener
