WOOHOO! Saturday at 7pm, the Muskies play an exhibition game with Kentucky State.

Last week, in a closed-doors scrimmage with West Virginia, the word is that Semaj Christon and Dee Davis played well and that the Muskies led most of the game but lost by a few points in the end.

Expect a starting lineup looking something like this:
Guard - Davis
Guard - Christon
Forward - Martin
Forward - Robinson
Forward - Taylor

At guard, Brad Redford will play plenty as he, Davis, and Christon are the only scholarship guards on the roster this fall.
 
Isaiah Philmore is not eligible to play the first 3 regular season teams due to a NCAA rule because a form wasn't filled out listing him as an amateur before he played in a summer league while a player at Towson (which was now 3 years ago or so). Yes, it's a ridiculous rule. He should be eligible to play in this exhibition but given that he'll be out the next 3 games, I expect Mack to give the other big men ample time on the floor Saturday. James Farr and Erik Stenger should log minutes in the paint as well. Still no ruling from the NCAA on whether Chris Cantino will be eligible this season so I wouldn't expect him out there.

It will be fun to see how Coach Mack utilizes the new players and we'll finally get to see the team in action in a real game. Can't wait! Go Muskies!

Tu, Frease, and Walker graduated. Lyons transferred. Two assistant coaches took jobs elsewhere. Wells was expelled and immediately enrolled at Maryland. Two of the incoming freshmen were deemed ineligible by the NCAA. 

AHHH!!!  All of that happened over the course of a few months. We Xavier fans are used to getting bad news in the offseason...like Thad Matta leaving for Ohio St, or Sean Miller leaving for Arizona, or Crawford or Brown leaving early for the NBA.  But this off-season was more than one piece of bad news, it was just piles and piles of it.  Guess what?  The off-season is FINALLY coming to an end!

Musketeer Madness is Saturday, Oct 20th and we'll finally get to see the team in action.  News this week is that Cantino is allowed to practice with the team but the NCAA has still not ruled on whether he can play this season amid problems that his former Junior College is currently having. Hopefully we can end the off-season on a positive note with Cantino being fully eligible to play this season.  If we assume he's eligible for a moment, here's how the active roster has shaped up:

Guards:
Brad Redford (SR), Dee Davis (SO), Semaj Christon (FR)

Forwards/Big Men:
Jeff Robinson (SR), Travis Taylor (SR), Isaiah Philmore (JR), Chris Cantino (JR), Erik Stenger (JR), Justin Martin (SO) , James Farr (FR)

In addition, there are 4 walk-ons this year.  Stenger is not actually on scholarship but could see playing time along with the 9 scholarship players above.

Obviously, there are less guys on the bench than we'd like. Expect the three guards to all play significant minutes each night.  After all, there are only 3 of them. Davis really made strides through his freshmen year and Redford now has a full season of conditioning on his knee after surgery 2 years ago. Christon is the gem of Mack's recruiting class and we should see some fireworks from him in his first year at X.

I really think there will be a nice battle for the 3, 4, and 5 positions.  All 7 players above will get an opportunity to earn minutes on the floor.  Philmore had an injury over the summer but should be good to go once the season starts. My guess is that Robinson, Taylor, Cantino, and Philmore will get the most minutes early on in the season.  But I'm certainly hoping that Martin and Farr are too talented and working too hard to keep off the floor as well.  A battle for the big-man positions could be very beneficial for the Muskies.

Despite a depleted roster, I think we'll see XU run a bit more this year. Christon is certainly capable of this and we all know that Redford is capable of hitting 3's if left open in transition. Taylor and Robinson can both get up and down the court pretty well for big men so I think they'd benefit from a quicker pace as well.

The season is almost here! I can't wait. GO MUSKIES!!!

Once considered a top 10 player nationally, Chris Thomas has taken a step back from his verbal commitment to Xavier. Chris Mack met with his family in Denver last week and all appeared to be well but Thomas wants to be courted by the top programs as many of his current teammates are experiencing. Hard to say if this is the main reason for him taking a step back right now.  It's hard to not wonder if the administration's handling of Dez Wells earlier this summer didn't have a negative impact.

If we want to try to look at this more positive...Thomas has bounced around to several schools in the last few years, was not necessarily a sure-fire bet to fully qualify next year, and is said to have a short fuse.  But kids grow up and this kid is talented so I wish we'd have him signed next year at XU.  There is no word that Xavier is out of his recruitment, just that that he's opened it up.  Remember, Chris Mack & company have been in contact with Thomas for quite a while even as other schools cut off contact so maybe Mack's loyalty to the Thomas family will end up paying off in the end.

This off-season has spun out of control.  Word is the NCAA has now ruled another Xavier Freshman, Jalen Reynolds, ineligible to play, practice, or receive aid this year.

Every week seems to be a slap in the face of Muskies fans this summer.  Please, can we just start the season???

We will now have no more than 8 scholarship players this year.  God help us.  No word on whether Chris Cantino is eligible or not...

News just broke by CBSSports.com, Jeff Goodman wrote the following:

Myles Davis and Sam Cassell Jr., sat in the same classroom as eight of their Notre Dame Prep teammates two years ago, took the identical classes and yet they have both been ruled ineligible by the NCAA while the others were allowed to take the court last season.

Davis is a Xavier freshman guard who has lost both of his appeals while Cassell, who signed with Maryland, is the son of the former NBA player with the same name who is hoping that a last-ditch appeal is granted later this week.

Here's the situation: Davis and Cassell both had classes they took in the 2011-12 school year invalidated by the NCAA largely because the NCAA put the Fitchburg, Mass., school on the "Watch List." By the time Davis was notified by the NCAA that the school was under review, which Davis' father told CBSSports.com was last winter, it was too late to take any other classes to replace the ones invalidated by the NCAA because Davis was already in his fifth year.

"I can't figure it all out," said Sam Davis, Myles' father. "It doesn't make any sense."

"When the classes were taken," he added. "Notre Dame Prep wasn't on any list. It's just not fair."

Davis had four core classes tossed out by the NCAA that he took his senior season: Novel and film, Biology 12, English 12 and 20th Century. Eight of his teammates who attended the exact same classes that year were deemed qualifiers and played last season: Todd Mayo (Marquette), Angel Nunez (Louisville), Khem Birch (Pittsburgh -- now at UNLV), Grandy Glaze (Saint Louis), Zarko Valijarevic (Maine), Luka Radovic (South Carolina State), Devon McMillan (Fordham) and Jeff Short (Fordham).

"They should have grandfathered the rule," Sam Davis said.

Davis wasn't just ruled ineligible to play, either. According to the NCAA, he isn't allowed to practice with the team or receive aid -- unlike the ruling the NCAA gave Providence freshman Ricky Ledo, who attended four schools -- one of which was Notre Dame Prep.

Now Davis' father said he will take out a $30,000 loan so his son can attend Xavier this season, but he is also researching whether to hire legal representation to fight the NCAA ruling. Myles Davis has, according to his father, maintained a 2.6 GPA while attending summer school classes at the school.

"He's shown a willingness to succeed and has been diligent," Davis said. "But they based their decision on his freshman and sophomore year in high school, which isn't fair. The light comes on for kids at different times and I think it's shameful what they've done."

The NCAA has certainly stepped up its efforts to police some of the questionable prep schools throughout the country. That's why Rodney Purvis remains in limbo right now and why Notre Dame Prep is among many schools under an NCAA microscope.

However, there needs to be consistency. McMillan started 23 games last season at Fordham, Mayo was a key reserve for Marquette a year ago and Radovic averaged 18 minutes per game at South Carolina State.

Davis and Cassell both sat in the same room, took identical classes and neither will be allowed to play -- or even practice -- this season. 

Our streak of bad luck is never-ending I guess.  I don't see how Davis is ruled ineligible while the others who took exactly the classes he took were allowed to play.  On top of that, the fact that he has to pay his way for the year and can't practice with the team is just plain ridiculous.