Xavier Opens Season With New Coach

The season came to a bitter end for the Xavier Musketeers last season.

The team scratched and clawed its way to its highest NCAA tournament seeding ever only to have the season crash to a Florida State team in the second round.   Trevon Bluiett, the team's highest scorer and four-year starter J.P Macura were lost to graduation.

To make matters worst Chris Mack, its talented alumni head coach headed for greener pastures at the University of Louisville.

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His top assistant Travis Steele took over the program and leads a team  of underclassmen and three graduate transfers in his first season which opens against the Indiana University - Purdue University of Indianapolis Jaguars.

Steele was named head coach on March 31, after 10 seasons as an assistant.  He was the top assistant to Mack for nine seasons.

Steele has been an assistant at Indiana University, Wabash Valley College and a graduate assistant for Thad Motta at Ohio State.

Sophomore Naji Marshall, Junior Quentin Goodin are joined by newcomers, Ryan Welage, a graduate transfer from San Jose State, Zach Hankins a GR from Ferris State and sophomores Paul Scruggs and Elias Harden, both of whom will get more floor time this season.  Grad transfer from Columbia will start in place of the injured Goodin,

IUPUI of the Horizon League.  The Horizon League features Northern Kentucky and Wright State, locally.

The Jaguars start a more experienced squad with 6'6" D.J. McCall and 6'7" Evan Hall both seniors along with junior guard Camron Justice, who scored 19 points per game last season. Hall averaged a double-double last season with 10 ppg and a team leading 12 rebounds per game.

IUPUI was 8-10 last season in the Horizon League and 11-19 overall.