After a long road of dominance in the Atlantic 10, the Xavier Musketeers are looking to become the pride of the new Big East Conference, featuring the "Catholic 7" schools. Today, Xavier officially made the move to join the conference for this upcoming season in all athletics and beyond.
Basketball wise, this conference should be the premier league in terms of competition. Not only does the league keep traditional powerhouses Georgetown, Marquette, St. John's, and Villanova, but the arrivals of Creighton, Butler, and Xavier will add quite a pedigree of success.
Butler has made two title appearances in the past 4 years. Xavier has made it to at least the Sweet 16 in 4 of the past 6 seasons. The Musketeers entered the rebuilding stage of the basketball program under Chris Mack last season, but expect to be much improved after many young players gained valuable experience and new talent begins a string of scholarship years.
If the Musketeers want a chance at winning the Big East in basketball next year, it is going to be up to many of the returning starters from last season. The best returning player by far is the hometown product Semaj Christon out of Winton Woods high school, who is quickly becoming one of the top prospects in college hoops. He was recently invited to LeBron James' basketball camp, and Christon projects as a top 15 pick in the loaded 2014 NBA Draft. He is the best prospect for the NBA game to attend Xavier since David West.
Christon is fearless in attacking the basket and is rapidly developing the savvy skills to run an offense at the point position. Brandon Randolph, Miles Davis, and returning starters Justin Martin and Isaiah Philmore can knock down shots to help Christon carry the load of the Musketeer offense. If Christon continues to develop in the offseason and at the Deveroes Summer League, he will continue to benefit his draft stock and the team's ability to beat the heavy hitters.
Creighton returns one of the best players in college basketball, Doug McDermott, the 6'8 forward who averaged 23.2 points and 7.7 boards. Georgetown will undoubtedly be hungry to prove itself after falling in the first round of the tournament this past season.
Former Xavier commit D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera is a rising superstar who can knock down shots from anywhere on the court, and he will likely take over a spot in the starting lineup. Markel Starks and Greg Whittington are also plus players on John Thompson III's team.
Also, every educated college basketball fan knows Brad Stephens will have the Butler Bulldogs ready to go for next season. Moeller graduate and former walk-on Alex Barlow is basically an extension of Stephens on the floor at the point guard position. Roosevelt Jones is a physical forward who averages over 10 points and 5 rebounds per game. The Bulldogs will also look for an impact season from former top 100 recruit Kellen Dunham.
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