Xavier Nation - The Official Magazine for Xavier Athletics - Fall 2015

A GENTLE GIANT GETTING TO KNOW JALEN REYNOLDS

BRACKETOLOGIST HOW DID 3 EXPERTS ACHIEVE THIS TITLE?

THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE FOR XAVIER ATHLETICS

THE FUTURE IS NOW LEARN MORE ABOUT YOUR 2015–2016 XAVIER MUSKETEERS

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Contents X AV I E R N AT I O N

FALL 2015

20 | A GENTLE GIANT

Jalen Reynolds tries to balance being the toughest guy on the basketball court with being likeable and a good role model for children.

28 | THE DYNAMIC DUO

Byron Larkin and Joe Sunderman are Xavier Athletic Hallof-Famers, the radio voices of the Musketeers and more than best friends. “We’re so intertwined,” Larkin says.

ALSO: How Andy Mac stays connected.

32 | THE GLOBE TROTTERS

More and more, Xavier’s student-athletes are coming from all over the world to compete in different sports programs.

Meet your international teammates.

36 | HOME SWEET HOME

Doug Matthews (men’s and women’s tennis) and Breanna Patz (women’s golf) were standout student-athletes at Xavier.

Now they are back as head coaches at their alma mater.

40 | COME ON OVER

Chris Mack won’t call it an epidemic, but with a growing trend of Division I players transferring schools, it changes the landscape of college basketball—and recruiting.

WARMUP

11 The Players Learn something new about J.P. Macura, Trevon Bluiett, Edmond Sumner, Remy Abell, and Myles Davis.

14 At Home

What can we discover about players from their apartments?

16 The New Kids Q&As with the freshmen.

17 The Rules

Find out what rule changes are in store for this season.

18 BIG EAST Founder Five things to know about Dave Gavitt.

19 With the Kiss!

FOX Sports analyst Bill Raftery was at Xavier in August.

COOL DOWN

52 Meet the

Assistants We asked. They answered.

44 | HELPING HANDS

Here is how two Musketeers—Myles Davis from the men’s team and Raeshaun Gaffney from the women’s team—worked with coaches to improve their games.

46 | A SWEET SCIENCE

Get to know three of the top bracketologists in the country and find out how they got into the business of forecasting the NCAA Tournament field.

54 Where Are

They Now? Catching up with former Musketeers Gary Lumpkin and Janet Haneberg-Diggs.

56 Outlook

A look at all 18 Musketeer teams.

60 W-I-L-L-I-E WLW’s Bill Cunningham gives us a full report.

46 | CREATING HER OWN LEGACY Women’s basketball standout Briana Glover opted for a different college path than her parents—both former University of Cincinnati Bearcats.

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XavierNation T H E O F F I C I A L M AG A Z I N E FO R X AV I E R AT H L E T I C S

PUBLISHED & PRODUCED BY Cincinnati Magazine (Ivy Bayer, Publisher) Vehr Communications (Nick Vehr, President) Xavier University (Greg Christopher, Athletic Director)

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Perry (Vehr Communications)

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

(mail b ox)

Dan Guttridge (Vehr Communications) Kara Renee Hagerman (Cincinnati Magazine) Amanda Boyd Walters (Cincinnati Magazine)

ART DIRECTOR Danielle Johnson (Cincinnati Magazine)

REPORTERS Rory Glynn, Jeff Goodman, Dan Guttridge, Bob Jonason, John Kiesewetter, Tabari McCoy, Rodney McKissic, Michael Perry, Bill Thompson

PHOTOGRAPHERS

(inb ox) Call 1.800.846.4333 or visit cincinnatimagazine.com

Ernie Aranyosi, Doug Cochran, Aaron M. Conway, Cliff Jenkins (Xavier University), Michael E. Keating, Gary Landers, Greg Lautzenheiser (Xavier University), Andrew Matsushita, Greg Rust (Xavier University), Hayley Schletkler (Xavier University), Joe Simon, Bob Stevens, Steve Woltmann

SPECIAL THANKS Tom Eiser (Xavier University), Brian Hicks (Xavier University), Mario Mercurio (Xavier University)

ART & PRODUCTION MANAGER Julie Whitaker (Cincinnati Magazine)

OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Missy Beiting (Cincinnati Magazine)

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BUSINESS COORDINATOR Erica Birkle (Cincinnati Magazine)

XAVIER NATION MAGAZINE 700 Walnut St., Suite 450, Cincinnati, OH 45202 513.381.8347 • www.XavierNationMagazine.com

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FROM THE EDITOR

WELCOME

CONTRIBUTORS RORY GLYNN Former Xavier beat reporter and former assistant sports editor of The Cincinnati Enquirer.

Also worked at Cleveland Plain Dealer and Atlanta Journal Constitution.

JEFF GOODMAN College basketball reporter for ESPN. Former senior basketball writer for CBSSports and FOXSports.com. @GoodmanESPN

DAN GUTTRIDGE Former college and professional baseball player with Florence Freedom. Account executive at Vehr Communications and contributing editor to Xavier Nation magazine. @dan_guttridge

BOB JONASON Former general manager and digital operations director at Indianapolis Star and former deputy news editor/ sports at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

UC journalism professor. @BobJonason

P H OT O G R A P H C O U R T E S Y V E H R C O M M U N I C AT I O N S ; C OV E R P H O T O G R A P H B Y A A R O N M . C O N WAY

JOHN KIESEWETTER Longtime TV columnist who writes a Media Beat blog for Cincinnati Public Radio at WVXU.org/tvkiese. @TVKiese

TABARI McCOY Former CinWeekly arts, entertainment, and news reporter. A professional stand-up comedian.

Also worked at Community Press papers and was a Bengals intern. @tabarimccoy

RODNEY McKISSIC

Interesting Guys

O

ONE OF MY FAVORITE PARTS OF PLANNING THIS MAGAZINE IS THE INITIAL MEETING when we brainstorm story ideas for the next issue. I enjoy this because whether we write the story or not, I learn things about the players and the program that I didn’t know.

For example, that: • Trevon Bluiett’s parents were both Marines • Edmond Sumner loves his electronics • Remy Abell is so spiritual • Myles Davis the basketball player is named for Miles Davis the jazz legend • J.P. Macura spends gobs of time in the gym shooting hundreds of shots

OK, so maybe that last one isn’t a shock.

This issue of the magazine includes those stories —and more.

We think you’ll really enjoy getting to know more about Jalen Reynolds, who enters this season as a key player for the Musketeers. As one person said, his is a “complex story.” That’s code for pretty interesting.

Xavier Nation wanted to tell a complete story about Jalen. It’s preferable to get to know people better before you ask personal questions. But from the first time we spoke, he was at ease and didn’t hesitate to answer any question. Jalen talked about his mother, Miss Betsy, who has provided academic support, and his time at the John Lucas Basketball Resources program in Houston this past summer. I think we both enjoyed our many conversations.

What was most interesting, though, was the way others spoke about Jalen. They talked about his heart, his smile, his kindness, and his magical ability to connect with kids. Oh, they also talked about the frustrations and challenges associated with Jalen’s mood changes and temper. I believe there is an enormous desire to see him succeed because of his personality.

I don’t know what will occur with Jalen Reynolds in the next five to six months. I hope he will make great decisions on and off the court. I hope he will play with passion and discipline and use his head as much as his heart. And I hope next spring he holds a diploma up high and springboards into some kind of professional basketball career.

I am one of many who feel that way. After reading his story, I think you will, too.

Sincerely,

Former Xavier beat reporter for The Cincinnati Post and former sports reporter for the Buffalo News and The News Tribune in Tacoma, Washington. @rodneymckissic

MICHAEL PERRY

Michael Perry, Editor-in-Chief musketeers@xaviernationmagazine.com

Former Xavier beat reporter and former sports editor of The Cincinnati Enquirer. Author and publisher of Xavier Tales: Great Stories from Musketeers Basketball (2008). @mdperry14

BILL THOMPSON Longtime editor and reporter at The Cincinnati Enquirer, including in the sports department.

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OH, SAY, CAN YOU SEE

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P H OT O G R A P H B Y T K

XAVIER ALL-BIG EAST TENNIS PLAYER ALEX BRINKER BUDDIES UP WITH GAPPER ON XAVIER NIGHT AT GREAT AMERICAN BALL PARK.

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P H OT O G R A P H B Y T K

BELTING IT OUT // The senior

from Granger, Ind., sang the national anthem Aug. 5 before the Reds 4–3, 13-inning loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.

PHOTOGRAPH BY GREG RUST

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NATIONAL EXPOSURE //

P H OT O G R A P H B Y T K

This goal, which came in the Musketeers’ 2–0 victory at the Xavier Soccer Complex on Sept.

22, ended up No. 6 on ESPN SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays.

Alex Ridsdale is a senior from Nelson, New Zealand.

PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDREW MATSUSHITA

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UP, UP, AND AWAY P H OT O G R A P H B Y T K

XAVIER MIDFIELDER ALEX RIDSDALE SCORES ON A BICYCLE KICK AGAINST INDIANA UNIVERSITY-PURDUE UNIVERSITY FORT WAYNE.

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P H OT O G R A P H B Y T K

X MARKS THE SPOT

A MULTITUDE OF MUSKETEERS GATHER FOR THE OPENING OF XAVIER’S NEW KEVIN AND GEORGETTE CRAWFORD STUDENTATHLETE ACADEMIC CENTER.

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DAY TO CELEBRATE // Kevin and Georgette Crawford, front, with their

P H OT O G R A P H B Y T K

children Lincoln and Caroline, join Xavier athletes Aug. 23 for the opening of the 8,000-square-foot academic center for student-athletes at Cintas Center. The center brings academic resources for student-athletes into the same building—Cintas Center—as the training room and weight room facilities. It triples the amount of computers available for student-athletes and includes private study rooms and a 10-seat conference room. Kevin Crawford, a 1998 graduate, is a former member of Xavier’s swim team.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOE SIMON

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reputations. relationships. results. www.vehrcommunications.com

THE PLAYERS

WARMUP

“YOU CAN’T GET BETTER WITHOUT SHOOTING THE BASKETBALL.”

300 SHOTS A DAY P H OT O G R A P H B Y A A R O N M . C O N WAY

J.P. MACURA’S PRESCRIPTION FOR SUCCESS

O

BY RORY GLYNN

wanting to make up for missed sessions, he practiced three separate times.

Technology helps. Macura isn’t Jimmy Chitwood from Hoosiers or Ricky Roe from Blue Chips—outside shooters in the most literal sense, chucking up jumpers at outdoor goals and hoping for kind bounces to keep the session moving.

Macura’s Xavier key card gets him into the climate-controlled Cintas Center at all hours. A punched-in code gets him into the Kohlhepp Family Auxiliary Gym. Student managers often come along to rebound, but if not, a Shoot-AWay Gun is available to collect makes and misses and fire the ball back to him.

“The doors aren’t really locked to me,” Macura says. “If I get in and somebody’s using it, I just come back at a different time.”

Macura also takes advantage of a new addition to XU’s technological arsenal, the Noah—a goal-mounted camera that measures shooting arcs and how far they vary from the optimal 45 degrees.

In many settings, college kids hoisting a lot of shots isn’t extraordinary, but it is the way Macura does it.

“Basically I just want to get better,” Macura says. “You can’t get better without shooting the basketball. If you come into the gym to shoot the basketball, know that you’re going to get something out of it.”

OVER THE COURSE OF 35 GAMES IN HIS FIRST SEASON AT XAVIER, J.P. MACURA shot the ball 150 times. As October and the start of practice approached, that marked about a half-day’s work of independent practice.

Trying to improve upon his freshman field-goal percentage of .413, Macura spent the early fall firing up 300 shots a day, a program he devised with the help of associate head coach Travis Steele.

Dedication helps. Macura has been known to head to the gym as soon as he wakes up some Saturdays, and sometimes he comes back as late as 9 or 10 at night. One Saturday,

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J.P. Macura was seventh on the team in scoring last season, with a 5.4 average.

He was also third with 26 steals.

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WARMUP

THE PLAYERS

TREVON BLUIETT LIFE AS THE SON OF TWO MARINES

I

BY RORY GLYNN

IF TREVON BLUIETT’S HOUSEHOLD WAS ANY MORE REGIMENTED OR RULE-DRIVEN than others, maybe as a kid he didn’t really notice much. His parents’ house, his parents’ rules, made up the only environment he knew.

But as for Trevon’s friends…

“A couple of them would come over and see how my dad would act, and as soon as we’d leave, they’d be like, ‘I’m never coming over here again,’” Trevon says.

Xavier’s sophomore guard is the son of Reynardo Bluiett, a former Marine, and Mariam Bluiett, also a former Marine.

Reynardo and Mariam met at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and served four years, including the first Gulf War. Reynardo was a shipboard supply clerk in the Atlantic; Mariam was a driver for the motor transport support group, supplying different divisions in Kuwait with water and fuel.

The Bluietts left the Marines as corporals, eventually settling in Indianapolis, where Trevon attended Park Tudor High School.

“It was structured. It was kind of a strict household,” Trevon says. “They expected a lot out of you. What they learned in the Marines—toughness, that type of stuff—they tried to instill in you.”

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Mariam isn’t sure strict is the word, but said they worked to make sure Trevon and siblings Ashtyn, Juwaan, and Brody embodied core values that dovetailed with Corps values. “Being disciplined, always being respectful to adults, that sort of thing,” Mariam says. “His dad had a good rule: Trevon had to put his cell phone up at 8 o’clock every night. He had to handle all his schoolwork and all his business before he went to bed. We didn’t want him on the phone all night.”

Another quality was dependability.

Trevon was one of six Musketeers to play in all 37 games last season, and was second only to Dee Davis in minutes played.

“Work ethic, taking care of business,” Mariam says. “I’m a mail carrier now, and you know the saying—rain, sleet, snow… you go to work.”

Trevon, who made the BIG EAST Conference all-rookie team in his first year of college basketball, says he began to embrace discipline and structure by his freshman or sophomore year of high school.

“I had an epiphany,” he says. “You know they say you can tell a lot about a person by looking at their closet? My closet was clothes everywhere, shoes everywhere, no style, no structure. That’s when I really started to buckle down.”

Some inherited traits carried over to athletics. Reynardo was a fullback and made the All-Marine football team; Mariam, 5-foot-11, made the All-Marine basketball team.

“They used to call her Mad Dog when she played in the Marines,” Trevon says.

“My dad calls her that. People they know from the Marines, they still call her that.”

“True,” Mariam says, laughing.

“I get my physical play from her,” Trevon says. “I don’t mind contact. I actually love that.”

Spoken like a true Marine. Or like the son of two.

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P H OT O G R A P H S C O U R T E S Y T H E B L U I E T T FA M I LY

“From my dad, I got my toughness,” Trevon says. “And my mom, she was tall and she was real physical.”

THE PLAYERS

WARMUP

ABELL LETS THE SPIRIT MOVE HIM THIS IS THE STORY OF A WING AND A

CRACKING HIS OWN CODE

W E D M O N D S U M N E R A N D M Y L E S D AV I S P H O T O G R A P H S B Y G R E G R U S T; REMY ABELL PHOTOGRAPH BY BOB STEVENS

WHEN EDMOND SUMNER WAS A HIGH SCHOOL SOPHOMORE, HE BOUGHT AN OLD

Apple MacBook so he could take it apart and rebuild it. He succeeded, used that laptop all through high school, and ignited a passion for technology that he brought with him to Xavier.

“Starting in middle school, I’ve always been fascinated with how things get built,” says Sumner, a redshirt freshman guard.

At Country Day, the prestigious Detroit-area school that counts Chris Webber and Shane Battier among its basketball alumni, Sumner took a computer class that taught him JavaScript and webpage design. “The next thing I knew, on days off from basketball I’d be in there for hours, looking at new technology,” he says.

Country Day used PCs, though, and Sumner gradually gravitated toward the Apple product line. He received a new MacBook as a graduation present and also uses the iPad and iPhone 6. “Apple, all the devices work so well together,” he says. “It’s just so easy.”

Undeclared as far as a major, Sumner, who was magna cum laude in his senior year at Country Day, says he’ll probably choose computer engineering. He’s enrolled in an intro class this semester, and he’s already done an internship at the Detroit auto-parts firm where his mother works.

“I love basketball, and I know that’s what I want to be doing [after college],” he says, “but when basketball stops, I need to have a backup. Computers, technology, that’s what interests me. It’s something that just comes naturally.”

What didn’t come naturally: redshirting last season with tendinitis in his knees. “I had to just sit and watch everybody else get better,” he says.

Healthy now, he’s coding a different script. —R.G.

WHAT’S IN A NAME? THERE ARE NAME-DROPPERS, and then there are name-droppers. And Laura Davis can drop a name with the best of them—drop a name like her son, Myles, drops threes on powerless opponents.

Myles Davis, Xavier’s virtuoso junior guard, is named for the landmark jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, give or take an i. Myles’s mom named his older brother

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Sam for his father, but with a wink to the song-and-dance man, and his sister Angela, like the civil rights activist.

“She planned it out pretty well,” Myles says.

Myles—the y was his mom’s idea, to “make it more unique”—says he topped out as a musician in middle school, when he played piano and flute.

“I tried to play the trumpet, but it just didn’t work out for me,” Myles says. “I was better at the flute than the piano. I was good at the flute. But

prayer: how a wing—Xavier’s Remy Abell— finds comfort and direction by seeking a higher power in times of crisis, and how the power of prayer closes his days with serenity.

“Faith helped me with everything,” says Abell, a senior. “I’ve been in situations, even in school, where I’m stressed, wondering what grade I’m going to get, will I pass…God just works miracles. He works in my life. He answers. He gets me through it.”

Abell firmly believes he was guided to Xavier upon his decision to transfer from Indiana. “My family, they didn’t understand it at first, but Xavier ended up being a good place for me,” Abell says. “We made the Sweet 16, and I’m about to graduate this fall. I’ve been having success ever since I set foot on campus.”

His father, Tim, is a minister. So are his grandmother and his mother’s husband. “I could see myself doing that one day, down the road, if basketball doesn’t work out,” Abell says.

But he’s never needed brick and mortar to make a house of worship. He grew up attending Third Central United Christian Church in Louisville (and still goes when he’s back home). He’s attended Baptist services and now attends the nation’s sixth-oldest Catholic university. But to Abell, more important than any particular church is what’s in the heart.“If you believe in God, then you believe in God,” he says. “It’s one person.”

It’s also important to Abell to close each day with a prayer.

“Anything I go against,” he says, “I’m always going to be good with God.” —R.G.

I couldn’t play one note now.”

Myles gets his music by listening now. He has a couple of his namesake’s albums, likes the song “So What” from the 1959 album Kind of Blue, and says he’s interested in seeing the Don Cheadle Miles Davis biopic shot in Cincinnati last year.

“I’m not totally into it,” Myles says, “but I have some sort of a background.

I don’t listen to it every day, but I definitely pay respect to the name.”—R.G.

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WARMUP

AT HOME

PERSONAL SPACE

XAVIER FORWARD JAMES FARR REVEALS HIS SPIRITUAL AND PRACTICAL SIDES INSIDE HIS APARTMENT DIGS. BY TABARI MCCOY FAVORITE CEREAL Things get confused and used with three other roommates. Frosted Flakes are his favorite cereal, so to keep them safe, they stay in his room.

BEATS BY DRE HEADPHONES For the man straight outta Illinois, his Beats are “essential” for not just walking to and from class, but for long plane rides when you need to relax.

HOLY BIBLE Given his spirituality, it should come as no surprise the Good Book is always close by.

Farr, who saw the late Mount St. Joe student’s game at Cintas Center, calls Hill an inspiration for never giving up and bought this towel at the event. It’s the last thing he sees before he leaves his room for practice or class.

BASKETBALL WASTE BASKET Credit Farr’s mother Belita for the appropriately themed trash receptacle, which she added along with pretty much all his other decor, such as curtains and sheets.

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XAVIER FLAG Farr says this will be going up on the wall above his bed—as soon as he buys the supplies to hang it up, that is.

XBOX ONE (not shown) It’s more than just for video games— like Farr’s favorite Titanfall—as he uses the device for Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and HBOGO.

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P H OT O G R A P H B Y A A R O N M . C O N WAY

LAUREN HILL TOWEL

AT HOME

WARMUP

PERSONAL TOUCH XAVIER FORWARD LEAH SCHAEFER FINDS SOLACE IN FRIENDS AND FAMILY BY TRANSFORMING HER APARTMENT INTO A MUSEUM OF MEMORIES. —T.M.

OLAF FROM FROZEN BLANKET

SIMBA LION KING PILLOW PET

“They just say it’s childish but I don’t even care—I love Disney,” she says. “For Musketeer Madness, I came out to ‘Do You Want to Build a Snowman’ from Frozen.

My teammates have not let that go since.”

You can make fun of her all you want—Schaefer is a Disney fan for life, and her Simba Pillow Pet is just one example. “I love Disney and it just reminds me of my childhood,” she says. “I was in Florida this summer at Disney World and I got it there.

I had one from two years ago but it got old.…I slept with it too much I guess.”

CHALKBOARD Keeping up with the inspirational theme, her current quote is just one of many she uses to stay motivated before changing it within 1–2 weeks.

P H OT O G R A P H B Y A A R O N M . C O N WAY

CANDLE

BOOKS An avid reader, Schaefer says a good book is the thing she enjoys most next to basketball. She is ready to start a new novel shortly.

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More than just an aroma enhancer, Schaefer says this Woodwick candle, like the one in her bathroom, helps when she does homework as the crackle reminds her of a fireplace and, “it’s pretty soothing.”

HER MIRROR & PICTURE BOARD (not shown) Schaefer’s mirror isn’t just a place she goes to see how she looks; it’s a reflection—pardon the pun—of her relationships with others. “I have everyone who comes to my room, if they want to write something inspirational like a note to me, anything, whatever they want to write I pretty much let them do that,” she says.

“My teammates are awesome.”

Her picture board is a collection of images that would put the average Instagram account on notice; Schaefer’s board is an ever-changing collage of memorable events captured in print.

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WARMUP

THE NEW KIDS

GETTING TO KNOW YOU SPEND SOME TIME WITH XU’S NEW BASKETBALL PLAYERS.

BY TABARI McCOY

#31

#22

#45

TIERRA FLOYD

KAISER GATES

IMANI PARTLOW

What gets you excited outside of basketball? Getting new shoes. I wouldn’t say I’m an avid collector, but I have a lot of shoes. If I see something I like, I get it. I can’t even guess how many pairs I have right now.

If you could have dinner with anyone in the world, who would it be? Paul George of the Indiana Pacers. I don’t know why…

Well, I think he’s cute and (last spring) he got hurt, so he knows how it feels and we have something in common.

Favorite ice cream flavor? Mint chocolate chip.

Attractive qualities in a potential date?

They obviously have to be taller than me.

They have to be funny and be able to take a joke and be kind of laid back.

Where will you be in 10 years, if you’re not playing basketball professionally?

I would eventually like to coach. I’ve been around basketball for a long time. My mom, Netta Smith, played in college at Bowling Green State University. I know a lot about the sport, and my mom is the director of basketball operations here, so I have a lot ofexperience.

Favorite movie?

My favorite movie right now has to be Pitch Perfect, both of them. I will say Pitch Perfect 2 is better than the first one. I like funny movies. I like the different songs they have in them, too.

Do you have any hidden talents? I can juggle. I can juggle basketballs, I can juggle fruit—I can only do three items at a time; I’m trying to work on five right now.

I can also juggle four items, kind of…I can also juggle with one hand.

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How often do people ask about your first name? I probably get that four to five times a week. Honestly, I think Kaiser is German or whatever the root is; it means “king” in that language but my uncle always says…

Have you seen The Usual Suspects? He’ll always say I got it from Keyser Soze. I just think my parents wanted to come up with something different.

If you were stranded on a desert island, what three things do you have to have (food and water are not an issue)? My phone; I’m never without it. I’m going to need my charger and an outlet— unless you can put those together so I can then have a hoop and a basketball. I can’t fall completely off a basketball cliff.

What’s your favorite cartoon character? Tommy Pickles from Rugrats. He was like the leader of the group. Everybody kind of did what he said. I thought it was funny because they were all kind of in diapers.

Do you have any hidden talents? I like to think I can sing, but I really can’t. I recorded myself one time and was like “Yeah, I need to quit this while I’m ahead.”

If you could ask the president— either President Obama or the winner of the 2016 election—one question, what would it be? Could I live in the White House for one year or so? I just want to know what it feels like. It seems nice and spacious.

Attractive qualities in a potential date?

I have a girlfriend right now, but definitely taste in music. I can’t be in the car with someone fighting over the radio. Personality is important because I don’t like talking to blah people.

If you could have dinner with one famous person from history—who would it be and what would you have? Elvis Presley—and we’re having fried chicken and Kool-Aid.

What’s the significance of your tattoos? The one on my left arm represents my mom in her initials, and the one on the right is a basketball with my number.

Do you have any pre-game rituals? I always start on the left side when I put my clothes on. I listen to music and I don’t talk at all. I’ll probably eat a pickle. That’s it— pickles help with cramps.

If you could have dinner with anyone in the world, who would it be? Tim Duncan from the San Antonio Spurs. He’s quiet. He doesn’t say too much but when he does say something, it’s for a reason. That’s the type of person I am. I say something when something needs to be said; it would be interesting.

What’s your favorite movie? Rush Hour 3.

Chris Tucker. He’s got issues and he’s funny.

I’m more of an action-movie type person.

Where will you be in 10 years, if you’re not playing basketball professionally?

Being a forensic scientist. I like that type of thing—crime, justice, and all that. That’s some of the stuff that I’m into.

Attractive qualities in a potential date? They have to have a good head on their shoulders, be outgoing, and not lazy. They handle their business; they go to work; they don’t just sit on their butt all day.

What’s something you are not good at?

Chess. I have to get all the positions straight.

My aunt used to try to get us to play checkers and I was good at checkers. Then she pulled out a chessboard and I didn’t know how to do it.

Do you have any hidden talents? I can do voices.

I can do the Madea voice, Woody the Woodpecker, Blues Clues, and I can do Scooby-Doo. My Woody the Woodpecker laugh is loud.

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P H OT O G R A P H S B Y G R E G R U S T

What’s something you’re not good at?

I’m not a good golfer. We had a class we had to take in high school. We went out to the driving range and I think I whiffed 1,000 times and I wanted to give up so bad. I don’t think I’m going to do that again.

THE RULES

WARMUP

A NEW BALLGAME

THANKS TO THE NCAA PLAYING RULES OVERSIGHT PANEL WE HAVE SEVERAL CHANGES FOR THE 2015–2016 COLLEGE BASKETBALL SEASON. SOME WILL BE MORE NOTICEABLE THAN OTHERS. HERE’S HOW WE SEE IT.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

BIG CHANGE

Shot clock reduced to 30 seconds (from 35).

Games move to four 10-minute quarters (vs. two 20-minute halves)

Teams reach the bonus and shoot two free throws after five fouls in a quarter. Team fouls go back to zero at the start of each quarter. Being in the bonus in the fourth quarter would carry into any and all overtimes.

Players can be penalized for faking fouls/flopping. Officials would determine this when reviewing a play to see whether a flagrant foul was committed.

No more five-second violation when an offensive player dribbling the ball is closely guarded.

Bands or amplified music may be played during any dead-ball situation during a women’s basketball game. Previously, rules allowed music to be played only during timeouts and intermission. The panel is trying to better the fan experience.

A coach cannot call a timeout when the ball is live.

Teams can advance the ball to the frontcourt following a timeout immediately after a made basket in the last 59.9 seconds of the fourth quarter and any overtime periods.

Teams will get a delay-of-game warning, then a one-shot technical foul on subsequent warnings if they do not resume play quickly after a timeout.

Teams have one fewer team timeout in the second half. (Only three can carry over from the first half vs. four.)

Teams can advance the ball to the frontcourt after securing the ball from a rebound or a change of possession.

In these scenarios, the ball would be inbounded at the 28-foot mark on the side of the court where the scorer’s table is located.

Disqualified players must be replaced in 15 seconds (vs. 20).

NCAA women’s basketball implemented the 10-second backcourt rule during the 2013–2014 season. For the upcoming season, a team will not receive a new 10-second backcourt count when a throw-in results from the following:

Teams have just 10 seconds to advance the ball to the front court (with a few exceptions).

Restricted area in the arc increases to 4 feet (from 3 feet).

• The ball is deflected out of bounds by the defense.

• There is a held ball and the possession arrow favors the offensive team.

Hanging on the rim= one-shot technical foul.

(It used to be two shots.)

• A technical foul is called on the offensive team while the ball is in its backcourt.

Players can now dunk in pregame warmups or during halftime warmups.

SMALL CHANGE XavierNationMagazine.com

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Post defenders can place a forearm or an open hand with a bend in the elbow on an offensive post player with the ball whose back is to the basket.

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WARMUP

BEHIND THE BENCH

DAVE GAVITT 5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE BIG EAST FOUNDER BY RODNEY McKISSIC

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THE IMPETUS OF THE BIG EAST CONFERENCE STARTED INNOCENTLY enough when Dave Gavitt mentioned the idea to St. John’s coach Lou Carnesecca following a series of coaching clinics they gave in Italy sometime in the late 1970s.

Then the coach at Providence College, Gavitt visualized a league on the Eastern Seaboard built on television revenue and programs littered with high school All-Americans. A cynical Carnesecca and others, including Georgetown coach John Thompson and Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, had their doubts about crafting a new basketball entity, but it wasn’t long before the BIG EAST was considered one of the nation’s premier basketball conferences as Gavitt secured his legacy forever.

Xavier will face Michigan on November 20 in the inaugural Gavitt Tipoff Games, an annual series of eight games between the Big Ten and BIG EAST, which will run through 2020. The Tipoff honors a man who built a powerhouse conference in a relatively short period of time.

But there’s much more to Gavitt than forming the BIG EAST. Here are five things to know about the founding father of the league.

1

2

// Gavitt was heavily involved in USA Basketball. He was selected to coach the 1980 Olympic basketball team, which boycotted the Moscow games that year. He also served as president of the Olympic governing body from 1988 to 1992 and helped developed the “Dream Team” model composed of NBA talent for the first time.

3

// Gavitt, who was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006, was the chairman of the NCAA’s Division I basketball committee in 1984 when the committee decided to expand the national field to 64 teams.

LEGENDARY // Top, Dave Gavitt joins coaches and players at Madison Square Garden for the first BIG EAST media day in 1982. Bottom, the founding league athletic directors get together (left to right) Jake Crouthamel, Syracuse; Richie Regan, Seton Hall; Gavitt, Providence; John Toner, Connecticut; Jack Kaiser, St. John’s; Bill Flynn, Boston College; and Frank Rienzo, Georgetown. Middle right, Gavitt with former Providence women’s basketball star Tracy Lis, who graduated in 1992.

4

// Gavitt was the Boston Celtics’ senior executive vice president of basketball operations, succeeding Red Auerbach, from 1990 to 1994, which signaled the end of the franchise’s Larry Bird era. He was let go in 1994, arguably the lone blemish on an otherwise stellar career.

5

// Gavitt died at age 73 on September 16, 2011, one day before long-time BIG EAST members Pittsburgh and Syracuse announced they were leaving for the Atlantic Coast Conference. The BIG EAST rebounded with the additions of Butler, Creighton, and of course, Xavier, to form a viable 10-team league.

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P H OT O G R A P H S C O U R T E S Y B I G E A S T C O N F E R E N C E

// A native of Rhode Island, Gavitt graduated from Dartmouth College in 1959, where he played guard on the 1959–1960 basketball team, the last Big Green squad to capture an Ivy League championship. Gavitt replaced the legendary Joe Mullaney as coach at Providence in 1969 and under his 10-year guidance, the Friars advanced to the postseason eight consecutive seasons—five NCAA Tournament appearances and three in the National Invitation Tournament—including the 1973 Final Four. His teams compiled a record of 209–84.

BEHIND THE BENCH

WARMUP

BILL RAFTERY …WITH THE KISS!

BY RORY GLYNN

P H OT O G R A P H B Y A N D R E W M AT S U S H I TA

FOX Sports analyst Bill Raftery talks to Xavier boosters at the All For One Fund’s Night of Excellence in August.

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LONG BEFORE XAVIER WAS PART OF the BIG EAST, Bill Raftery was; before there was a BIG EAST, there was Raftery, who became head coach at Seton Hall in 1970—nine years before the conference was founded—and stayed through 1981 when he turned his attention to broadcasting.

Now Raftery, a longtime fi xture on CBS and ESPN basketball broadcasts, is the lead analyst for BIG EAST basketball on FS1, and last season called his fi rst Final Four for TV (he’d done 23 straight on radio). Raftery may be 72, but his catchphrases—“MantoMan!” “Onions!” “With the kiss!”—have endeared him to fans a quarter his age.

Raftery, the keynote speaker at the All For One Fund’s Night of Excellence in August, met with reporters beforehand, and Xavier Nation was there.

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On Xavier as a BIG EAST program: I think it’s certainly a complement to the league to have them come in after their great success. I had the good fortune of following them, doing the Atlantic 10 championship for CBS, so I know what’s happened here.… The tradition is something that’s rich, the building here, the competitive zeal, the NCAA opportunities they’ve been involved in, speak well. It enhances the image of the conference at a time when, at the beginning, people weren’t so sure this thing would happen.

On the BIG EAST returning to its basketball roots: I think to stay alive, the football entities sort of became the overpowering decision-makers. Hopefully this will sustain itself. I think [focusing on basketball] is a healthy recruiting weapon, and I think with FOX’s exposure, you can compete with any conference.

On Xavier taking the next step to a Final Four: We were great pals of [late North Carolina coach] Dean Smith, and for years nobody thought he could coach because he hadn’t won a championship. But everyone in the business had the utmost respect for him.… I think that’s

what exists here at Xavier. It’s a great program; they handle themselves extremely well.… You just have to be patient. You just keep knocking on the door.

On how Chris Mack is regarded in college basketball: In the old days, the [BIG EAST] coaches all had first names: There was Louie [Carnesecca, St. John’s], and Jimmy [Boeheim, Syracuse] and John [Thompson, Georgetown], and Billy. I think this will be a first-name group too, as the years go on, Chris being one of them.… We enjoy the preparation part of it, coming in the morning of games, watching different coaches get ready. He covers everything.

He provides the players an opportunity to be successful, and that’s what great coaches do.

On finally calling a Final Four for TV: I’m so old, they figured, better give that guy a shot before he throws a seven.… It was nice to have people say good things, but I think it all boils down to, people watch the event.

On finding a steak in Cincinnati: We work late and we’re usually downtown, so somewhere around there. Jeff Ruby’s or The Precinct. Morton’s is always good.

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A ENTLE GIANT BY // MICHAEL PERRY PHOTOGRAPHS BY // GREG RUST

JALEN REYNOLDS PROVIDES XAVIER TOUGHNESS ON THE COURT, BUT REVEALS A SOFTER SIDE IN EVERYDAY LIFE.

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IT’S THE FIRST QUESTION. HE ANSWERS WITHOUT HESITATION.

Who are you?

“I’m Jalen Reynolds. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. I’ve been playing basketball all my life. I’m a caring person. I hate to see people struggling. I’m a good guy. Very chivalrous. I’m fun to be around.”

Next question.

Who do you think people think you are?

“People who don’t know me probably think I’m angry because they watch me play basketball and think that I’m a guy who doesn’t like the world. That’s not true at all.”

And finally…

Who do you want people to think you are?

“A person who’s respectful to others. A total beast on the court. I want to be that person kids look up to and say, ‘I want to be like him.’”

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There is a lot at stake for Jalen Reynolds.

The Xavier basketball player is on track to earn a bachelor’s degree in social work in May. He will have one year of basketball eligibility remaining, but it is likely he will be playing professionally somewhere a year from now. He wants to take care of his family. He wants to do good in the community.

He wants the big payday. He wants to play in the National Basketball Association.

He’s got the body for it. Reynolds is a physical specimen—a chiseled 6-foot-10, 232-pound athletic, long-armed, intense

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P H OT O G R A P H B Y G R E G R U S T

“PEOPLE SAY THAT YOU COME TO COLLEGE TO LEARN AND GROW AS A PERSON. THAT’S WHAT I AM DOING. I AM NO DIFFERENT THAN MOST COLLEGE STUDENTS.” I AM TRYING TO DEVELOP MYSELF SO THAT WHEN I LEAVE XAVIER I AM PREPARED TO BE OUT IN THE REAL WORLD.”

P H OT O G R A P H B Y D O U G C O C H R A N

IN THIS TOGETHER // Jalen Reynolds’s on-court energy has made him popular with fans. He enjoys interacting with other Xavier students at games or anywhere on campus.

And when he talks about his goals he likes to say, “It’s about getting a championship for this school.”

competitor who can dunk with the best of ‘em. When he talks about NBA models, he mentions Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook and Houston Rockets star Dwight Howard, in part because of how they carry themselves.

On the court, he has shown flashes of greatness—and a temper. He’s developed a bit of a reputation with officials. He finished last season with nine technical fouls—the most anyone at Xavier can remember in one season—and has 12 in his career. He is physical with opponents. He plays with great passion, intensity, and emotion. He gets too many silly frustration/retaliation fouls. He also dunks—hard. He scowls. He pounds his chest. He yells. He inspires the crowd and teammates.

Off the court, he has a huge smile, loves interacting with children, visits homeless shelters, and gives food to people on the streets of New York City. He’ll talk to anyone, shake their hand, sign an autograph, converse. Especially kids; he adores kids. He has an engaging personality, a likability that makes family, friends, and Xavier officials want so badly for Reynolds to succeed. He can be charming. And he makes mistakes. He

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is 22 years old and still growing up.

Who are you?

Indeed.

“What people get to see is about five percent of Jalen, not necessarily the whole package,” says Jeremy Growe, Xavier director of basketball operations.

“It’s a complex story,” says Chris Barbour, assistant director of student-athlete academic support services. “He’s viewed as somewhat of an enigma with a world of talent—talent that has to be roped in at times.”

WHO ARE YOU? When Xavier plays in the BIG EAST Conference tournament in New York City, the team often goes out for a nice meal. It’s common for players to request takeout boxes so they can bring food back to their rooms for a snack later.

After a dinner in 2014, Reynolds started collecting leftovers and walked out with shopping bags full of takeout boxes. Not just his, but from teammates and others in the Xavier party. He strayed from the group walking back to the Westin Hotel on Times

Square and sought out homeless men and women so he could give them food from the restaurant. He did it again in 2015.

“That,” Xavier head coach Chris Mack says, “was quintessential Jalen. He has a huge heart.”

“I get a rush,” Reynolds says. “I’m doing something good, giving back. I want to keep helping others.”

REYNOLDS WAS TAKING A SOCIOLOGY course—Survey of Society in Social Work— last fall and went to a homeless shelter in Cincinnati’s Over-the-Rhine neighborhood in order to write a paper.

There, Reynolds talked to homeless men and women about how they eat, sleep, live; how they ended up homeless. One man was clearly irritated and shouting about food.

“Why are you angry?” Reynolds asked. “I don’t know,” the man responded. “I’m just angry all the time.”

Reynolds learned that the man’s parents died when he was younger. He didn’t have family for support and he turned to drugs.

He became broke and homeless.

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“I came back to school and wanted to take all my clothes and just give them away,” Reynolds says. “It makes you realize you have it pretty good.”

“He came here with the intent of bringing Xavier a national championship and making a lot of money,” Barbour says. “Now he’s got people on his mind. He wants to help.”

WHEN XAVIER TRAVELED TO BRAZIL IN August 2014 for a series of exhibition games, the team conducted a basketball clinic for 60 to 70 children in a favela—the term used for slums. Reynolds thrived. He has a natural ability to connect with kids.

“That’s him at his best,” Growe says.

“These are kids [in Brazil] who literally have nothing. And he’s just as good with kids at Xavier camps.”

“He probably sees himself in some of the kids he spends time with—kids who have dreams,” Mack says.

“I just love kids,” Reynolds says. “I love seeing kids smile. I love making them laugh.

I’m just a goofy guy myself.”

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REYNOLDS WAS IN THE CAMPUS CAFETERIA this past spring when he saw Kimberly Dulin, an assistant director in Xavier’s Admission Office, who was with a group of high school students interested in attending Xavier.

Reynolds struck up a conversation and asked Dulin what she did at Xavier. When she told him, he said, “If you ever need me to talk to students, let me know.”

“I thought, wow, I might need you this afternoon,” Dulin says. “I thought it would be awesome for high school students to hear from him. I checked with my colleagues, and I got permission. Everyone in my office was thrilled that he would do that. I told him, ‘I’ll text you if there is an opportunity, but it might be in the next couple hours.’ He said he didn’t mind at all.”

She invited him to speak that very day to students. Reynolds went back to his apartment, changed into a nice shirt and his best pair of pants, and hurried over to Cintas Center, where 60 to 70 students were listening to different speakers. He ended up giving an impromptu talk for close to 10 minutes.

“He took the microphone, stood up, and did a fabulous job,” Dulin says.

Reynolds talked about why he chose Xavier, his academic experience, the support and personalized attention he receives, and more. Afterward, he took pictures with students and their family members.

“I was nervous,” Reynolds says. “I didn’t have anything prepared. I just started talking about myself and why I came to Xavier. I probably stuttered twice, but I picked it up.

The kids asked a lot of questions. It was a good experience.”

“He was open and honest and relaxed,” Dulin says. “After he finished, I told him he did such a great job. I was very proud of him.”

WHO ARE YOU? Last March, during the NCAA Tournament, it was reported that a Xavier student filed a complaint about Reynolds with the university. Reynolds was allowed to play in the Musketeers’ Sweet 16 game against Arizona because the incident was still being investigated.

Two months later, Xavier athletic direc-

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P H OT O G R A P H S B Y (L E F T ) G R E G R U S T; (R I G H T ) J O E S I M O N

ALL AROUND TOWN // (Above) Jalen Reynolds greets Sister Rose Ann Fleming in the locker room after a game last season. (Right) Xavier teammates RaShid Gaston, Remy Abell, Reynolds, and James Farr participate in the 14th annual Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati Buddy Walk at Sawyer Point in September.

tor Greg Christopher told The Cincinnati Enquirer the matter was resolved through the student conduct process. Xavier cannot discuss the incident because of privacy laws.

Reynolds does not care to get into any specifics.

“People say that you come to college to learn and grow as a person,” Reynolds says.

“That’s what I am doing. I am no different from most college students. I am trying to develop myself so that when I leave Xavier I am prepared to be out in the real world. It’s not always easy. But I am trying, and I have great support here from a lot of people.”

COACHES AND SCHOOL OFFICIALS UNDERstand that when they recruit student-athletes and bring them to Xavier, they then have to provide whatever support is necessary to help those players be successful in and out of the classroom.

Reynolds has been loyal to Xavier, coming to the school despite twice being academically ineligible (more on that later); and Xavier has been loyal to Reynolds, creatively providing support at every turn.

In May, Mack called Reynolds into his office and made a strong recommendation.

He proposed that Reynolds go to Houston, Texas, and spend some time with John Lucas Basketball Resources. According to johnlucasenterprises.com, Lucas “has created an extensive program that supports and helps athletes, at-risk or not, to progress in their athletic potential, achieve sobriety, and remain drug-free.” Mack had already spoken to Jalen’s mother, Rachel Thomas, about it and had her support. “Anything that’s to help Jalen, I am all for it,” Thomas says. “I’m glad the opportunity was offered to him.”

Lucas is a former longtime NBA player and coach who works with athletes and coaches from all levels and all sports. His program works on the mental and physical. There are alcohol and drug prevention sessions, individual counseling and mentoring, and lots of basketball and working out.

Lucas himself is a recovered alcoholic and drug user.

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Mack thought Reynolds had made some poor decisions in the previous six months or so. He thought Reynolds had heard the same messages from Xavier coaches for three years and maybe it was time for some new voices.

Lucas, Mack thought, could offer great perspective.

Reynolds’s immediate reaction was, “No way. Why would I need to go there?” He was apprehensive. He had no idea what to expect.

He thought it through. He thought hard.

And he decided to go.

It was for seven weeks. Xavier’s athletic department paid the way.

Like other hurdles in his past, Reynolds adjusted. There were players from all over the country there. He says he began to open up in daily meetings with “Greg,” his assigned counselor. He easily embraced the competitive basketball and understood he was getting better. He says his eyes were opened by the alcohol and drug sessions.

Does he have an alcohol problem? “I was going out too much,” he says. “Like a lot of college students.” Drug problem? “No,” he says.

The theme in Houston was similar to what he hears from his coaches, counselors, and family: Make good choices.

Of the whole experience, Reynolds says, “It was helpful. It was focusing on me not wasting my talent.”

He came back to Cincinnati in early July.

Coaches believe they saw a difference but everyone was reserving judgment until the school year and basketball started.

“He’s taken a big jump every year [in basketball and maturity],” Mack says. “People expect so much because he is so talented. The consistency factor with him is what we really need—getting the same attitude every day.”

“I don’t think we’ll see the difference until we’re in the thick of school and games and practices, having to go to study hall and make great choices off the floor,” Growe says.

“The whole coaching staff would say that he’s still a developing person. At his core he’s a really great person. That’s what makes the ups and downs easier. You know you’re dealing with someone whose heart’s in the right place.”

WHO ARE YOU? Reynolds’s path to Xavier was anything but smooth.

His father left when he was young and was never an influence in his life growing up.

His mother, Rachel Thomas, remarried but largely raised three boys on her own, often working as many as 14 to 16 hours a day. “It wasn’t easy,” she says. “I did what needed to be done.” She had multiple jobs, including as a reservation manager at Embassy Suites Hotel, a career adviser at Michigan Works, and a travel agent for Discount Global. At times, Thomas felt guilty because she worked so much and left her children in the hands of daycare and babysitters.

Jalen has two older brothers—Deon, 27, and Corey, 24. The boys never wanted for anything. They had plenty of food, clothes, whatever they needed. Thomas made sure of it. “We weren’t poor,” she says. She made the tough decision to move the family from Ferndale, a more industrial community in southeast Detroit, to Farmington Hills, one of the safest cities in the country.

“She got them away from an environment that could’ve destroyed them,” her brother Terry says. “My sister is tough, no-nonsense, protective.”

Terry and Troy Thomas are Jalen’s uncles.

Jalen says they served as father figures.

“As a family we have tried to instill good values in Jalen,” Terry Thomas says. “Our prayer and our hope is that Jalen makes the right decisions all the time. So when he makes a wrong decision, I’m in his ear. I’m like a broken record. I say things so much I get tired of hearing them.”

Be humble. Be respectful. Be unselfish. Be a good citizen of the world. Keep it clean. Watch your temper. People are watching everything that you do. Those are some of Uncle Terry’s constant messages.

“Being from Detroit, I think he thinks he has to portray this tough-guy image,” Terry says. “I tell him: ‘You don’t have to impress anyone. Just play the best basketball you can on the court and be the best man you can be off the court.’”

Rachel describes her son as sensitive, strong-minded, funny, charismatic, and cocky.

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THREE PEAS IN A... // Jalen Reynolds is joined by Xavier’s mascots—D’Artagnan and the Blue Blob—during a team photo shoot in September.

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it was a blessing and a curse. It drove us more to want to get back.”

“I think it humbled me a lot from an academic standpoint,” Reynolds says. “I really focused on my grades and on trying to build relationships with professors. That whole year was tough, man. I had to get through it. It was a blessing from God.” He learned about time management, being on time, getting work done on time, discipline.

The second semester of his freshman year, Xavier enlisted the help of learning specialist Betsy Zimmerman, a friend of Sister Rose Ann Fleming’s. A paid tutor, her challenge was (and is) to teach Reynolds study skills, how to dissect information, how to stay focused and organized and prioritize work.

Reynolds admits he wasn’t keen on the idea at first. His attitude changed quickly. He soon began to trust “Miss Betsy” and understand that she could help him. He started getting better grades.

“I’m real,” the 5-foot-4 Zimmerman says.

“I’m honest. What you see is what you get.

What you see is what you get with him, too. I don’t know when trust developed. For me, he

seems fairly open.”

They typically meet two to three times a week, including some Sundays. This past summer, Reynolds proactively reached out to Zimmerman for help; that is progress.

“I think he understands the impact of a college degree,” Zimmerman says. “I think he sees his skill as a basketball player is a blessing for him. I don’t think he takes it for granted.

He doesn’t feel entitled; he’s very appreciative of what he has.”

Academics don’t come easily. Chris Barbour also works with Reynolds and pushes him regularly.

“There are days that it’s challenging,” Barbour says. “There are days when we go toe to toe. But I’m not going to give up on him.”

WHO ARE YOU? Reynolds’s consistency on the court might be the key to Xavier’s 2015–2016 season.

When he’s in the game, the Musketeers are, well, much better. When he’s in foul trouble, it’s a problem for him and his team.

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P H OT O G R A P H B Y G R E G R U S T

“He’s just very passionate,” she says. “He’s a gentle giant.”

Reynolds attended multiple high schools, had to sit out his junior season because of Michigan’s transfer rules, did not have the academic requirements to enroll at Xavier in 2011, and attended Brewster Academy in New Hampshire, where he played with former Musketeer Semaj Christon and won a prep school national championship. Reynolds then came to XU in 2012, only to learn he was academically ineligible to compete as a freshman.

“Jalen has gone through a lot to get to where he is,” Terry says. “I’m proud of him.”

Rather than go to a junior college where he could play right away, Reynolds opted to get student loans and pay his own way to Xavier as a freshman. He could not be an official part of the basketball team. No practices. No travel.

No games. He and teammate Myles Davis, who was in the same situation, sat out together.

“It took a toll on us,” Davis says. “We tried to help each other stay as focused as possible.

It wasn’t easy at all. It helped Jalen grow up.

It helped him realize basketball can be taken away from you quickly—just like that! I think

5 FUN FACTS ABOUT JALEN

Consider Reynolds collecting four fouls in 10 minutes in Xavier’s first meeting last season with Long Beach State, then 12 days later picking up four fouls in 13 minutes in the second meeting. He averaged six points and 5.5 rebounds in those games despite the limited playing time.

Last January, he had a double-double at Providence College with 14 points and 13 rebounds, then followed with two points and four rebounds in 10 minutes against DePaul and two points and five rebounds in 14 minutes at Georgetown.

He ended up averaging 9.9 points and 6.1 rebounds with a team-high 36 blocked shots.

Everyone agrees: Reynolds has to avoid foul trouble this season. He has to better learn how to deal with officials missing a push by an opponent only to see Reynolds’s retaliation. He has to better learn to let it go when an opponent gets away with an elbow or shove.

“I would say I’ve got a short temper sometimes,” Reynolds admits. “My main focus for this year is just to calm down a little bit and let everything come to me. I’m still learning.”

“His will to compete and to be the best is so high it clouds his judgement at times,” Xavier assistant coach Mike Pegues says.

“What’s missing is being more cerebral in the midst of being a physical warrior out there.

The best warriors had it upstairs. They take the time to win the mental battle.”

Rachel Thomas finds herself yelling at the TV when she is watching Xavier games if her son gets overly physical. She makes sure she talks to him soon afterward. “You have to show you’re in control at all times,” she tells him.

“We get on him,” she says. “I don’t let him get away with anything. If I have to stand on a chair, I’ll get in his face.”

WHO ARE YOU? Jalen Reynolds will spend this season trying to strike a balance, trying to be the toughest guy on the court while also being likeable.

Patient and poised. Competitive and aggressive. How does he make them work together?

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“The better players always have an edge,” Pegues says. “It’s OK to have an edge, but you also have to have some parameters. There are lines you just don’t cross.” It’s a fine line, of course.

Every team benefits from having a player who exemplifies toughness.

In last year’s Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament game, the Musketeers faced Arizona and its highly touted frontline. Reynolds came off the bench for 12 points on 5-of9 shooting. He and Matt Stainbrook (17 points, 10 rebounds) outplayed Arizona inside. Reynolds got everyone’s attention on a spin-and-dunk over Arizona’s 7-foot Kaleb Tarczewski in the second half.

“You always need that guy who isn’t scared of one person,” Davis says. “Jalen would make it evident to you that he’s not scared of you and he will play with anybody.

You have to love that as a teammate. We get our toughness from Jalen, and everybody follows.”

Davis praises the progress Reynolds has made in controlling his emotions and smiles as he talks about Reynolds’s first season on the team when he was known for his outbursts, kicking or throwing the ball, yelling, and storming off the court in practices.

“He wore his emotions on his sleeve all the time,” Davis says. “He means well, but he might go about it the wrong way. He still gets mad, but he’s more controlled.”

Reynolds wants to be a leader and a good teammate. He wants to set an example for the younger players.

Reynolds knows he is moody. He admits that some days, he lets school, family issues, and girl trouble affect his demeanor. “We all have our days,” he says. “Sometimes it’s hard to switch to happy mode.”

The coaching staff cannot be around him 24/7. His family is more than 250 miles away. This is the year Jalen Dior Reynolds has to make great decisions on his own. All the time.

“We always talk to Jalen about what’s out there for him if he does the right things and what’s out there if he doesn’t make the right choices,” Pegues says. “I think we have his attention. But it’s a process.”

1

HE HAS

40 TATTOOS

2

HE CUTS HAIR

(SOMETIMES HIS TEAMMATES’)

3

HE WEARS A

SIZE 16 SHOE

4

HE LIKES TO DRAW

5

HIS FAVORITE MOVIE IS

HAPPY GILMORE

BY THE NUMBERS 2014–2015 STATS

9.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 36 BLOCKS, 17 DOUBLEFIGURE SCORING GAMES

2013–2014 STATS

3.8 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 15 BLOCKS, 3 DOUBLEFIGURE SCORING GAMES

CAREER HIGHS

21 POINTS VS. GEORGIA STATE (MARCH 21, 2015), 16 REBOUNDS VS. ST. JOHN’S (FEB. 25, 2014)

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THE DYNAMIC DUO

BY Y // JOHN KIESEWETTER PH HOTOGRAPHS BY // GARY LANDERS

XAVIER RADIO’S BYRON LARKIN AND JOE SUNDERMAN ARE ‘LIKE AN OLD MARRIED COUPLE.’ 2 8 X AV I E R N AT I O N | FA L L 2 0 1 5

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I

IT’S 9 A.M. ON SATURDAY, THREE HOURS BEFORE THE XAVIER-

Marquette game, and Joe Sunderman and Byron Larkin barely speak to each other in the Cintas Center media room.

After 17 seasons on radio—traveling to Xavier games from San Juan to San Francisco, Alabama to Alaska—they don’t spend much time comparing notes before 700 WLW-AM’s Dave “Yiddy” Armbruster cues them for their courtside pregame show.

“We’re like an old married couple,” says Larkin, 49. “We’ve been together 17 years. We eat every meal together on the road. We finish each other’s sentences.”

“Byron knows basketball so well. We’re just talking basketball,” says Sunderman, 59, starting his 36th season as a Xavier broadcaster.

Players and coaches come and go, but Byron and Joe remain on the radio—a career neither envisioned while playing for Xavier.

Larkin, XU’s all-time leading scorer, says his “dream was playing in the NBA. This just kind of happened.” He earned a marketing degree in 1988 while scoring 2,696 points. He finished a master’s in finance in 1992—around playing pro ball in Venezuela, Germany, and Hong Kong—and opened Lifetime Financial Planning.

Sunderman, a freshman starter in 1974 from LaSalle High School, grew up in his dad’s grocery stores in Westwood, South Fairmount, and Mohawk. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business in 1979, figuring he’d “work for a company.” Sunderman did for a while, then became an independent contractor selling building products to architects around his radio schedule.

So how did he get this gig? He taps on the table. That’s how former WCIN-AM sportscaster Bill Meredith taught him to be a high school basketball analyst when Sunderman sat out Xavier’s 1976–1977 season with a knee injury.

“I really didn’t want to do it, but Bill was kind of insistent,” Sunderman says.

“I said: ‘What do I do?’ And he said: ‘When I tap on the table, you talk. And when I tap again, you shut up.’ Ten minutes into it, I was enjoying it a lot more than I ever thought I would.”

Did he do that when Larkin joined him in 1997?

“No! No!” he says with a laugh. “Byron and I got along right from the start.

He’s a terrific partner.”

Sunderman started on Xavier radio in 1980 in Larkin’s role as analyst. Coach Bob Staak wanted a former player on radio, so Sunderman did color with Bill Sorrell, Red Pitcher, Dale McMillen, and Andy MacWilliams. When Andy Mac was

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Near the end of this season, Byron Larkin and Joe Sunderman will broadcast their 600th Xavier basketball game together.

silenced by spastic larynx muscles, Sunderman did entire broadcasts solo. After MacWilliams left WLW in 1997, Sunderman was summoned by WLW talk host Bill Cunningham, who also was program director. Cunningham gave Sunderman the choice of either job; he chose play-by-play.

Former Musketeer Walt McBride filled in as analyst for the 1997–1998 season. Then WLW-AM called Larkin about the opening, but he “wasn’t interested” until Sunderman put on a press.

“I had commented for TV on a UC–Xavier game at halftime, and I just didn’t like it,” he says. “Joe said, ‘Byron, it’s a good thing. You’ll like it.’ At the audition with Joe, I enjoyed the experience. This was one of the best things I’ve ever done.”

It was the first of many times Larkin was boosted by Sunderman’s nurturing personality, which earned Sunderman the A-10’s 2011 Bob Vetrone Media Award.

“He’ll call out of the blue and say, ‘You did a good job last night.’ He makes you feel like you can do anything,” Larkin says. “He’s so even-tempered. He is the kindest, most trustworthy person. He’s like a saint.”

Seventeen years later, they’re more than best friends. “Byron is like part of the family,” says Joe’s daughter Tori Sunderman, who sells commercial real estate for CBRE. Larkin’s wife Teri shops with Sunderman’s wife Mary Lynn during BIG EAST tournaments in New York. The two couples go to Broadway shows. All the Sundermans attended Larkin’s wedding in June. “We’re so intertwined,” Larkin says. “It transcends basketball now. I’ve got a friend for life.”

Yet the two Xavier University Athletic Hall of Famers can be so different. When lights dim for players’ introductions, Larkin uses his cell phone light to read lineups. Sunderman uses a tiny flashlight. Larkin jots notes with a four-color pen; Sunderman uses a wood pencil.

Larkin reads stats from a tablet; Sunderman refers to his huge hand-written lineup sheet with phonetic pronunciations: Trevon BLEW-it, J.P. MAH-CURE-uh. Sunderman shows up way early to the arena and spends three hours preparing for each game to master names.

“He works at it harder than anyone I know,” Armbruster says.

ALL-TIME FAVORITES THE XAVIER RADIO VOICES EACH NAME THEIR FAVORITE MUSKETEER.

David West (forward, 1999–2003) “It was fun to watch David West add a different part to his game every year.

First it was rebounding and scoring.

The next year he added the jump shot. And then his —Byron Larkin final year he just dominated.”

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Text Sunderman, and he’ll call you. “I’m old school. I’d rather call someone than trade e-mails, which leaves a lot not discussed,” Sunderman explains. Otherwise, he’s totally embraced the iPhone. Years ago he missed a Xavier–UC game to attend a Cleveland sales meeting. “I can be anywhere doing Xavier games and talk to my customers. That enables me to do [radio]. Otherwise, I’d have to make a choice.”

In Cintas Center, Larkin far outshines older brother Barry, the Reds Hall of Fame shortstop. Crowds gather by the broadcast table before games. “It’s like maybe we should put up a velvet rope, like at the movies, to keep people back,” Armbruster says.

“A lot of Xavier fans really understand basketball, so I love to talk to them,” Sunderman says. “You can learn a lot.” That impresses Shannon Russell, The Enquirer’s Xavier beat writer. “Joe is so humble. He’s always asking people about things. He wants to do his job better all the time. We all should do that,” she says.

Larkin and Sunderman bleed blue— which isn’t always a good thing. Larkin’s mom once called and asked her son to “take it easy on the officials,” Sunderman says.

“We want Xavier to win, and when they don’t win, we get upset,” Larkin says. “That’s the constant battle I have, to manage my emotions. During commercials, Joe will say, ‘Calm down, B! Calm down!’ ” Larkin and Sunderman call themselves very lucky. Sunderman thought he’d do radio “for a year or two. And 35 years later I’m still here, and hoping to do it a while longer.”

“We’ve got the best jobs,” Larkin says.

“We both think Xavier is the best place in the country. We love working together. We love talking basketball. What is there not to like?”

Jason Love (center, 2007–2010) “Jason Love was a center on the team that lost to Kansas State in the Sweet 16 [in 2010]. He exceeded expectations. He had to lose weight, and then he developed into a very good player, and he got every ounce of talent out of his body. He just worked and worked. He had a nice pro career in Europe.”

—Joe Sunderman

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P H OT O G R A P H ( T O P) B Y G A RY L A N D E R S

MILESTONE //

calling NHL games for the Chicago Blackhawks.

MacWilliams returned to WLW in 1980 when he did Bengals radio color (1982–1983) and play-by-play for Xavier (1984–1997) and the Reds (1987). He stayed involved with Xavier after becoming a financial advisor for Morgan Stanley.

“At Xavier basketball, I always felt like I was part of the family,” says MacWilliams, who lives in Delhi Township with his wife, Janet, a Cincinnati native PREGAME FUN // Andy Mac, center, and UC grad. “I was going to stay in and former Musketeer Brad Redford, Cincinnati, so why not try to be of some right, have been hosting a basketball discussion at Cintas Center before value and change my role?” home games. This night, their guest was For years he has written for Xavier former Xavier coach Pete Gillen, left. newsletters and websites. He prefers to post outside the bounds of GoXavier. com. “I don’t want any shackles,” he says. “I’ll take a shot at an official or the opposition. I didn’t want the university ANDY MAC MAY NOT BE ON THE AIR, BUT HE’S NEVER FAR FROM to think that my opinion was theirs.”

XAVIER BASKETBALL. BY JOHN KIESEWETTER MacWilliams enjoys watching games at Cintas Center with son Sean, an accountant in West Chester. Sean a dozen games on WXIX-TV (ChanLONGTIME XAVIER UNIVERSITY and Bryan, a Seattle emergency room fans remember Andy MacWilliams’s nel 19) with Joe Sunderman in the Bob doctor, join dad in New York for the radio call on WLW-AM from the 1996 Staak era, before the explosion of cable BIG EAST tourney. Daughter Abbey Crosstown Shootout, when the Bearcats sports channels.

MacWilliams Bannerjee of were ranked No. 1 by the Associated “We ended up doing their Mt. Lookout works in Hyde 4 THINGS Press and lost to the Musketeers 71–69 NIT games on TV, too,” says Park.

ABOUT ANDY MAC on Lenny Brown’s last-second shot: MacWilliams, former WLW Janet retired in Febru“The UC Bearcats are No. 1 in the sports director. ary 2015 from her position 1 country, No. 2 in their own city!”

A f ter W LW lost UC as business manager at Oak Had a golden retriever Modest MacWilliams admits he rights, MacWilliams urged Hills High School. Macnamed “Muskie.” didn’t think up that remark on the spot.

Williams, who turned 66 his bosses to get Xavier 2 The night before the game his son Bryan, games in 1984 and put them on March 22 (a birthday he Started Sunday an XU freshman convinced the Muskies on the 50,000-watt signal. shares with NBC’s Bob CosMorning SportsTalk would win, told MacWilliams: “You’ve “There’s a core of people our tas, a Syracuse University and postgame Extra got to come up with a special line.” age who got their Xavier basbuddy), plans to work three Innings shows at WLW-AM in the 1980s.

“We kicked around some lines, and ketball that way,” MacWilor four more years. he came up with it,” says XU’s radio liams says. “Guys in Chicago “There’s no heavy labor 3 used to go out to a vacant lot, voice from 1984 to 1997. “A bunch of involved,” he says of his job Wife Janet is a former sit in the car, and listen to the Xavier people have that on their anat Morgan Stanley. “It’s UC cheerleader games on the radio.” swering machines. It’s gotten a lot of more stable than radio, and captain who roots for the Bearcats. hits [more than 25,000] on YouTube.”

The New York native certainly a lot more lucraYears before he was writing for Mustive. I’d still be doing [games] called his last Xavier game 4 keteermadness.com or Talkin’ Hoops in 1997, when spastic larynx without this voice problem.

Puts ketchup muscles (spastic dysphonia) with Brad Redford before games at But it didn’t kill me. I could on cottage cheese. cost him his WLW career.

Cintas Center, MacWilliams helped have been bitter and faded The problem arose after he put Xavier basketball on the map. He into the sunset, but I chose gave Xavier its first major TV exposure left WLW’s Cincinnati Stingers hockey to stick around. Xavier has been a great in 1983 and up to 1987, doing about broadcasts in 1978 for his dream job, relationship for me.”

FOREVER CONNECTED

P H OT O G R A P H B Y B O B S T E V E N S

L

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THE GLOBE

XAVIER STUDENT-ATHLETES HAVE ALWAYS COME FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD, BUT NOW IT SEEMS

THIS ACADEMIC YEAR, XAVIER HAS 16 STUDENTATHLETES FROM 10 DIFFERENT COUNTRIES (AUSTRALIA, BOLIVIA, BRAZIL, CANADA, COLOMBIA, EL SALVADOR, ENGLAND, FINLAND, THE NETHERLANDS, AND NEW ZEALAND) IN NINE SPORTS (WOMEN’S BASKETBALL, WOMEN’S GOLF, MEN’S GOLF, WOMEN’S SOCCER, MEN’S SOCCER, MEN’S SWIMMING, MEN’S TENNIS, MEN’S TRACK, AND VOLLEYBALL).

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TROTTERS

LIKE THEY ARE COMING FOR MANY DIFFERENT SPORTS AND FROM MANY COUNTRIES.

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THE GLOBE TROTTERS

TAMPERE, FINLAND

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL, SOPHOMORE What do you miss most from home? Food. Finnish cooking.

How did you end up at Xavier?

Playing basketball in college had been my dream. I got a lot of help with getting contacts from a teammate that I played with on the national team. She graduated from Xavier in 2001. I was unable to visit universities, but what made me choose Xavier was the positive experiences that I had heard from three Finnish players who had gone here.

CARLY ALFANO BELLE RIVER, ONTARIO, CANADA

WOMEN’S SOCCER, SOPHOMORE What do you miss most from home? My family. I’m definitely a mommy’s girl so I always look forward to when my parents come to my home games!

How did you end up at Xavier?

I played soccer on a Michigan team and went through the recruiting process along with my teammates. I was looking at soccer programs at academically strong schools in the Midwest and made Xavier a school I wanted to visit. Xavier turned out to be the perfect fit.

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CORY BROWN NELSON, NEW ZEALAND

KAYLA DAVIS ONTARIO, CANADA

GRACE HOWIE CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA

MEN’S SOCCER, SOPHOMORE

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL, JUNIOR

What do you miss most from home? The scenery and living close—10 minutes—to the beach.

What do you miss most from home? I miss my family and friends the most. I also miss Tim Horton’s; I can’t find any in Cincinnati and they have the best donuts in the world!

What do you miss most from home? The Rocky Mountains.

I miss being able to go hiking, snowboarding, and even dog sledding.

How did you end up at Xavier?

Through recruiting. I went on my visit and enjoyed the campus and people. It was a close-knit atmosphere and seemed like a great fit for me.

How did you end up at Xavier?

We have a great practice facility and coaching staff. It’s given me the opportunity to travel all over the U.S. to places such as Hawaii, Arizona, and Florida!

SEAN FARNAN

DANIEL JARAMILLO

How did you end up at Xavier?

Because of a coach from home who is from Cincinnati.

GABRIEL CHAVES ARAUJO JOINVILLE, BRAZIL

MEN’S TENNIS, SOPHOMORE

What do you miss most from home? Definitely food; after that, I’d probably say the beach.

How did you end up at Xavier?

I chose to come to Xavier because of the competitive tennis team and the well-known finance program.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA MEN’S TRACK, FRESHMAN

What do you miss most from home? My family and friends. I will miss the warm climate and close proximity to beaches!

How did you end up at Xavier?

I had to ensure that the university would provide the right environment for me to flourish. Xavier’s academic reputation was a major factor. Simultaneously, the athletics/track department appeared to provide the level of support and coaching expertise I was looking for. I also believed that a smaller university would best suit me socially.

WOMEN’S GOLF, JUNIOR

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA

MEN’S GOLF, SOPHOMORE

What do you miss most from home? My family. if I had to choose a couple other things I’d say the food, and a couple friends I’ve known since we were about 4.

How did you end up at Xavier?

I went to IMG Academy in Florida for six years before coming to Xavier. At IMG my counselors and Jose Montaño talked to me about Xavier, and when I met Coach [Doug] Steiner I was immediately interested. I came up for a visit, loved it, and the rest is history.

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P H OT O G R A P H S B Y G R E G R U S T

ANNIINA ÄIJÄNEN

THE GLOBE TROTTERS

JOSE MONTAÑO COCHABAMBA, BOLIVIA MEN’S GOLF, SOPHOMORE

What do you miss most from home? My family and friends.

How did you end up at Xavier?

Because it is a school with a strong academic program as well as a good golf program. I wanted to go to a school with a balance in academics and athletics, and I thought Xavier was a good fit for me.

MARJOLIJN OSKAM BUSSUM, THE NETHERLANDS

P H OT O G R A P H S B Y G R E G R U S T

VOLLEYBALL, SOPHOMORE What do you miss most from home? The people. Obviously friends and family but also just the Dutch. I miss being around Dutch humor and Dutch ways.

How did you end up at Xavier? I wanted to pursue high-level education and volleyball and wasn’t able to do both back home. Xavier found me. I clicked well with our former coaching staff. Also the family feeling of the team really drew me to this school. I liked that XU is a “small” school, where you are you instead of a number.

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MAJED OSMAN LONDON, ENGLAND

MEN’S SOCCER, SENIOR

ARTHUR STEFANI SAO PAULO, BRAZIL

MEN’S TENNIS, SOPHOMORE

What do you miss most from home? My family and friends. I also really miss my dad’s home cooking.

What do you miss most from home? The culture, warm weather, and my close-knit family.

How did you end up at Xavier?

I came over to the States in 2012 when I was recruited to play for the West Virginia University men’s soccer team. I spent two years there until I felt like a change and decided to transfer to XU in 2014.

How did you end up at Xavier?

Mainly because of tennis as I trusted that the team of coaches, staff members, and teammates, along with Xavier’s prestigious reputation will allow me to reach my full potential on and off the tennis court.

ALEX RIDSDALE

RODRIGO SURAINO

NELSON, NEW ZEALAND MEN’S SOCCER, SENIOR

What do you miss most from home? Seeing friends and family! I also miss local restaurants, shops, etc.

How did you end up at Xavier?

Through Cory Brown, a sophomore on the soccer team. I transferred from a Division II school and he recommended that I come here.

JOASH SUTHERLAND

SAN SALVADOR, EL SALVADOR

MEN’S SWIMMING, JUNIOR

What do you miss most from home? My family, friends, food, and culture.

How did you end up at Xavier?

I knew I could excel in both academics and athletics.

CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND

MEN’S SOCCER, FRESHMAN

What do you miss most from home? Seeing the ocean. I also miss my friends and family.

How did you end up at Xavier?

It was the Ole Football Academy in New Zealand. The coaches there were great; they helped me a lot to get to a standard where I was capable of playing Division I soccer.

One of my coaches knew Coach Fleming, so when they got talking I sent my highlight videos, etc. And it all went forward from there.

IAN VICARS LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND

MEN’S SOCCER, SOPHOMORE

What do you miss most from home? Being able to spend time with my family and friends.

How did you end up at Xavier?

By Andy Fleming calling me one day and speaking to me about how Xavier was an upcoming soccer program and how the team here at Xavier was like one big family. After speaking to him about it I decided that coming to Xavier would be the best option for me to develop as a player and would be the best route for me to go pro.

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DOUG MATTHEWS & BREANNA PATZ:

HOME SWEET HOME

N

OT THAT LONG AGO

they were standout athletes at Xavier.

Now Doug Matthews and Breanna Patz are head coache s at t hei r alma mater, bringing an understanding and respect of their programs along with a fresh approach in coaching styles. Matthews takes over as head coach of the men’s and women’s tennis teams, and Patz is the new women’s golf coach.

There are now four Xavier alums serving as head coaches at the university, including men’s basketball coach Chris Mack and women’s soccer coach Woody Sherwood.

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Matthews: Continuing ‘the family atmosphere’ This is Matthews’s 10th year being involved in the Xavier tennis program. As a player from 2005 to 2009 under then–head coach Jim Brockhoff, Matthews led Xavier to two Atlantic 10 Conference championships and its fi rst-ever men’s tennis team appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 2008 and 2009.

After graduation he became volunteer assistant coach for a year, then became an assistant coach for four years under former XU head coach Eric Toth. Matthews was interim head coach for the 2014–2015 school year.

He says what drew him to Xavier as a player and kept him here as a coach was the university’s friendly and supportive environment.

“Xavier had the family atmosphere I was looking for, set forth by Coach Brockhoff,” he says.

Brockhoff “inspired so many of his student-athletes,” Matthews says of the legendary Xavier men’s and women’s head tennis coach. “He and Coach Toth—they not only taught me about tennis but about developing the student as a person. They really made me want to be a coach myself.”

Matthews, a Maineville, Ohio, native, describes his own coaching style as “cooperative.” He says he invites feedback from his players while

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P H OT O G R A P H B Y H AY L E Y S C H L E T K E R

Two former XU standouts have stepped into coaching roles, now leading the tennis and women’s golf programs. BY BOB JONASON

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he’s teaching them about the game. “I want the players to understand why I want them to do something—why it’s best for the team,” he says. “If they know why we’re playing a certain style, they’re going to be more engaged.”

Doug’s wife, Kara, was also a standout tennis player at Xavier. She’s sixth all-time at Xavier in singles victories and fifth in all-time overall victories.

Are they competitive?

“Oh, we are,” Kara says. “But with tennis, we’re with each other, not against each other.” They’ve won mixed doubles titles in the Thomas E. Price Cincinnati Metropolitan tournament six times.

They ended 2014 as the No. 1–ranked husband/wife team in the United States.

Kara serves as a volunteer assistant

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coach on the women’s team. Doug says she brings a player’s perspective to practices. “She helps me relate more to what the player might be thinking,” he says.

Both the men’s and women’s teams are coming off winning seasons. The Xavier women finished 18–5, 7–2 in the BIG EAST last season while reaching the semifinals of the BIG EAST Conference championship. The Xavier men finished 14–9, and also reached the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship.

Recruiting will be key to improving those records, Doug says. He’s focused on bringing in players who can achieve on and off the court. He says last year’s women’s team had close to a 3.6 team GPA and the men’s team had a 3.4 team GPA.

“We obviously want to bring in the best player that we can,” he says. “But what I’ve learned from Coach Brockhoff and Coach Toth is that we need to bring in players who fit in with the Xavier way…players who are motivated to improve once they get to college, and who thrive academically as well as athletically.”

Patz: Building on the success of her predecessor Patz, a 2013 XU grad, spent the last two years as an assistant women’s golf coach at the University of Akron while also earning a master’s degree in accounting.

She was thrilled when she learned the Xavier head-coaching job was available.

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P H OT O G R A P H B Y H AY L E Y S C H L E T K E R

LEADING THE WAY // As a player, Doug Matthews led the men’s tennis program to its first ever NCAA Tournament appearances in 2008 and 2009. Breanna Patz was a four-time All-American Scholar during her Xavier career as a student-athlete.

P H OT O G R A P H S C O U R T E S Y X AV I E R AT H L E T I C C O M M U N I C AT I O N S

“I actually had a job lined up in accounting,” she says. “But when I found out that coach [Tom Elfers] was retiring I knew I would want to pursue it. This was my dream job.”

She plans to build on the success established by Elfers, who “will be on speed-dial for me.”

“I really loved the way Coach Elfers handled his team,” she says. “He helped me see how great coaching could be.”

She looks forward to selling the Xavier program to recruits. “Coming just two years off of my own playing career, I feel like I can easily put myself in their shoes,” she says. “I can say, ‘I was there,’ and just a short time ago.

‘Here are our plusses. If you’re weighing us against a bigger school, here’s why

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Xavier is a better choice.’”

One advantage is Xavier’s outstanding facilities. The men’s and women’s teams compete and practice at Maketewah Country Club, north of campus. The Francis Xavier Homan Golf Center at Maketewah, opened in 2013, allows for indoor practice with a putting and chipping green and four heated hitting bays.

With the facilities, “athletes will be able to see they can work on their game year-round,” Patz says. “We’ve got everything they need to become a successful golfer.”

A priority for Patz will be developing a schedule with a variety of competition from across the nation. “That was a big thing for me coming in as a recruit,” says

Patz, who was an all-state selection all four years at Avon High near Indianapolis. “I liked our schedule, and I want to maintain that.”

As a player, Patz earned three Second Team All-Colonial Athletic Association honors, and she was a four-time National Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar. Her career scoring average (77.56) is best in Xavier history, but she expects the record to be broken this year by senior Shane Crutchfield, who was a freshman on the team when Patz was a senior.

She says she will push her players—as she pushed herself. “That’s the goal,” she says. “I want them to become the best golfers that they can be by the time they leave the program.”

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CLOSE TO 700 DIVISION I PLAYERS TRANSFER EACH YEAR. THAT CHANGES THE COLLEGE BASKETBALL LANDSCAPE. BY // JEFF GOODMAN

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THE NUMBERS HAVE STEADILY

increased. Some have even referred to it as an “epidemic.” That may be an exaggeration, but transferring among college basketball players has certainly become a hot button topic as more kids bounce from school to school and coaches now utilize the phenomenon as a new way to recruit.

Back in 2008, when I first started to compile the transfer list, the number was approximately one-third what it was this year—as nearly 700 players in 2015 opted to leave their Division I home in search of greener pastures elsewhere.

Some were disgruntled and left for an expanded role and more playing time.

Others bolted due to homesickness or an illness in their family. There were players who were asked, even forced, to leave because they weren’t up to par on or off the court.

“I don’t think it’s an epidemic,” Xavier’s coach Chris Mack says. “But would I like the numbers to go down? Absolutely.”

“It’s a big deal, and I don’t think we can fix it,” says Villanova coach Jay Wright.

“It’s more difficult on college coaches and administrators, but it is giving student athletes freedom and empowering them—and that has been the goal.”

CHRIS MACK UNDERSTANDS Kids are jumping high schools and summer teams with far more frequency than in the past. It’s become commonplace when things aren’t going well to move to another spot. Even when young players are excelling, they still make the move—for varying reasons, including more exposure.

It’s not always the kids’ fault, either. In many instances, it’s those in the “circle” who influence a player to go elsewhere. It can be a parent, a summer league coach, a mentor, or even just a “guy” who has influence.

It’s not as though transferring has just surfaced in college basketball. Mack began his career at Evansville in the late 1980s and spent two years with the Purple Aces before transferring to Xavier for his final two.

“I chose a school for the wrong reasons,” Mack admits. “Did I really know

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how we were going to play on both ends of the court, what practices were going to be like, and how coach was on game days and between game days? Kids have access to a lot more information than I had back in 1987.”

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE RULES The numbers haven’t just jumped due to new-age technology and social media, but that certainly has contributed. When the NCAA began handing out waivers at a rapid rate, so that many kids did not have to sit out a year, it was far easier for players to jump from school to school without having to wait to play. That started back in 2007 when Tyler Smith transferred from Iowa to Tennessee to be closer to his ailing father—who died prior to Smith ever playing a game with the Vols.

Players took advantage—and the number of waivers soared. However, this past year the NCAA passed a rule in which there will be no more hardship waivers (a few players will be grandfathered in this season).

Another reason the transfer rate has increased is the graduate transfer rule— which was implemented to reward players who graduate and still have a year of eligibility left. Players are now allowed to go to grad school, as long as their course of study wasn’t offered at their current institution, and play their final year right away. However, this was another rule that had unintended consequences. Players again have taken advantage and guys like former Marshall guard DeAndre Kane— who didn’t even qualify to play as a freshman—thrived in his final season at Iowa State. Frankly, it’s not all that difficult to graduate in four years—when many college basketball players are on campus for two summer school sessions each year.

There has been speculation that the grad transfer rule—which covered 24 percent of those who transferred within Division I schools a year ago—will also be eliminated,

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but the NCAA recently said nothing has been done to terminate the rule.

“I’m hopeful it goes away,” Mack says.

“No program gives a master’s degree in a year. Most of those guys aren’t transferring for academic reasons.”

COACHES WANT JUMP START Transfer season has become yet another way of recruiting to go along with getting high school recruits. There’s a clear advantage to getting a transfer. You get a more experienced player who has already played college basketball. While it comes with a risk, the player also understands it may be his last shot and he has no other option but to “buy in.” The player often has a year in the program to learn the system while sitting out.

Hundreds of coaches call me as February and March approach looking for early names on the transfer list. Everyone wants a jump start on guys looking to make a move.

In 2014, 44 percent of those who left wound up at another D-I spot with about 70 percent of them transferring down a level. However, there are about 10 percent—which includes Matt Stainbrook (Western Michigan) and Travis Taylor (Monmouth)—who make the move from lower-level spots. In the past 30 years, Xavier has had 18 players transfer into the program and 25 players transfer out—all for a variety of reasons.

For some coaches, it doesn’t stop until the heart of the summer. Memphis’ Josh Pastner lost his best player, Austin Nichols, who requested a transfer in late June. After the school initially balked, the administration finally allowed Nichols to play anywhere after his family hired a lawyer and threatened to head to court. Duke, Virginia, Tennessee, Notre Dame, and dozens of others immediately began to pursue the 6-foot-9 Nichols.

“You always have to have your antenna up in both directions,” Mack says. “You have to make sure your players feel good about their place in your program and also keep an eye out for anyone leaving to try and improve your program.”

XAVIER IN THE MIX This past offseason, Mack and his staff were active again. After losing reserve guard Brandon Randolph (he landed at Utah Valley), the Musketeers picked up Norfolk State’s RaShid Gaston—a 6-foot-9 big man who nearly averaged a double-double last season. Gaston will sit this season, have one left in 2016–2017, and he will provide a veteran frontcourt player in case Jalen Reynolds decides to leave after this season.

Mack has had varying degrees of success with transfers since taking over six years ago, but for the most part it’s helped the program with guys like Stainbrook, Taylor (Monmouth), Andre Walker (Vanderbilt), and Remy Abell (Indiana).

Transfer recruiting has become important enough that some coaches even put together a list of mid-major standouts during the season that may be able to transfer and play immediately.

Thus, some mid-major coaches—who wished to remain anonymous—are even holding back kids from graduating with eligibility remaining in fear of losing them to high-major programs. Just look at Cleveland State head coach Gary Waters, who has lost his top three players—Bryn Forbes (Michigan State), Trey Lewis (Louisville), and Anton Grady (Wichita State)—the past two years.

Transferring isn’t novel. About onethird of all college students transfer, but there’s been an uptick in college basketball—and coaches are far more amenable to taking a transfer than they were back in the day. Former Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg was able to parlay his college gig into an NBA job with the Chicago Bulls, largely due to his success with transfers.

Even Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has gone the transfer route recently with Seth Curry (Liberty) and Sean Obi (Rice).

“You have to look at it now,” Dayton coach Archie Miller says. “You almost have no choice.”

Jeff Goodman is a college basketball reporter for ESPN. You can follow him on Twitter @GoodmanESPN and read his blog on espn.go.com/blog/jeff-goodman.

TRANSFERS IN OVER THE PAST 30 YEARS, THESE PLAYERS HAVE TRANSFERRED TO XAVIER: RaShid Gaston (after 2014–2015 at Norfolk State)

Remy Abell (after 2013–2014 at Indiana) On current roster

Matt Stainbrook (after 2011–2012 at Western Michigan) Scored 1,000+ points in college

Andre Walker (after 2010–2011, Vanderbilt graduate)

Isaiah Philmore (after 2010–2011 at Towson) Scored 1,000+ points in college

Erik Stenger (after 2010–2011 at NKU)

Travis Taylor (after 2009–2010 at Monmouth) Scored 1,000+ points in college

Jordan Crawford (after 2007–2008 at Indiana) Scored 1,000+ points in college

Jamel McLean (after 2006–2007 at Tulsa)

Andrew Taylor (after 2006–2007 at Hillsdale College)

C.J. Anderson (2005–2006 at Manhattan) Scored 1,000+ points in college

Drew Lavender (after 2004–2005 at Oklahoma) Scored 1,000+ points in college

Brian Thornton (after 2001–2002 at Vanderbilt) Scored 1,000+ points in college

Pat Kelsey (after 1993–94 at Wyoming) Head coach at Winthrop

Chris Mack (after 1989–90 at Evansville) Current head coach

Dave Minor (after 1986–87 at Indiana)

Kyle Taylor (1985–86 at Marshall)

Stan Kimbrough

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(1984–85 at Central Florida) XU’s No. 14 all-time scorer in just three seasons

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HELPING HANDS

BY RORY GLYNN

HOW MYLES DAVIS AND RAESHAUN GAFFNEY ARE WORKING TO IMPROVE THEIR GAME—AND THE COACHES WHO ARE HELPING THEM GET IT DONE.

#15 MYLES DAVIS

Myles Davis #15, Guard

Here’s what Davis focused on improving over the summer: BALL HANDLING—With the graduation of Dee Davis, who started all 37 games at point guard for Xavier last season, Steele says XU may have a point guard by committee—one Myles Davis would like to chair.

“I’m trying to become a better ball handler,” Davis says.

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P H OT O G R A P H S B Y G R E G R U S T

Raeshaun Gaffney #30, Guard

From his first to his second season playing at Xavier, Myles Davis doubled his scoring average, hiked his shooting from 33.5 percent to 39.4, and missed the same 15 free throws even while shooting 72 more.

By almost every measure he had improved, and significantly, in part because Myles Davis recognized that the offseason is the best time to work on Myles Davis.

“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized nobody’s going to give it you,” Davis says. “Summer’s a good time to get yourself better. During the season it’s about the team. In the summer it’s just you.”

Xavier men’s basketball players each get what coaches call the Invest Book, breaking down the strengths and weaknesses in their games, and including drills to work on outside of supervised time. The book also compares XU players to others at their position in the BIG EAST Conference.

“We want those guys to know they’re not the only guys working,” Xavier assistant coach Travis Steele says. “The other guys are trying to get better, too.”

It’s one thing to throw someone a basketball and tell him to work on dribbling. It’s better to work toward a goal. “It’s easy to measure a jump shot, making nine of 10 or whatever,” Steele says. “With ball handling you have to have time elements.”

Among five core ball-handling drills the XU staff uses is the 150 series, which works like this: Starting with the left hand, 25 pounded, shoulder-high dribbles; 25 skill dribbles, low and quick; 25 in-out dribbles, still using only the left hand; 25 dribbles crossing to the right hand and snapping back to the left (both hands counting as one repetition); 25 dribbles starting left, crossing to right, between the legs back to the left; and 25 dribbles starting left, crossing to right, behind the back to finish lefty.

The staff targets one percent improvement each day, Steele says. Davis used to complete the 150 series in about two minutes, but by August was down to a minute and a half.

“You get what you measure,” Steele says. “It makes them competitive within themselves.”

QUICKNESS/ATHLETICISM—Each Tuesday in the summer, the Musketeers made a half-hour trek up to Ignition APG in Mason for 90-minute sessions of performance-optimizing workouts.

They’re designed to improve first-step quickness, lateral quickness, flexibility, changing direction, and other basketball-specific movements, Steele says, utilizing methods such as read/react drills, sled pushes, and shuttle runs.

“Myles is probably not the best athlete in the BIG EAST by any means,” Steele says. “He can be a guy who really improves his athleticism.”

Ignition, with facilities in Mason and Naples, Florida, has a lot of experience at this type of thing. They’ve worked with dozens of current and former NFL athletes, preparing many for the NFL Scouting Combine.

“I want to develop better one-on-one moves,” Davis says. “I need to be more explosive, quicker, more athletic.”

Of course, 90 minutes a week of performance work is just the beginning. With all workouts, XU players are expected to put in some time on their own, and that’s fine with Davis.

“It’s about being mature, more focused, more dedicated,” he says. “It’s something I look forward to.”

LEADERSHIP—It’s easier to measure improvement in shooting a jumper, lifting a weight stack, or running a timed drill, but growing as a leader is no less important. It’s also on XU’s list for Davis, whose junior season will be his fourth in the program.

“It’s something I’ve watched other people do,” Davis says. “I’ve taken an interest in it.”

Steele says: “We’re going to need his experience to help with the younger kids.”

The XU staff brought in guest speakers, in-

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cluding former Ohio State running back Maurice Clarett, to talk to the group about their experiences and reinforce core values.

But the staff also took subtle steps over the summer to reinforce Davis’s new role. In open gym, it was Davis who divided the teams and took charge of the games. It was Davis who made sure everyone was on time for weightlifting and study hall. It was Davis who broke the huddles.

“We wanted to give him that platform, that voice,” Steele says. “He’s become a lot more confident in himself.”

#30

RAESHAUN GAFFNEY When sizing up Raeshaun Gaffney’s game, John Wooden’s wisdom comes to mind: “Be quick, but don’t hurry.”

Gaffney, Xavier’s redshirt junior guard by way of Fairfield High and the University of Virginia, likes to play with some spring in her step. “A lot of my game is fast-paced: getting to the rim, pulling up in transition, shooting the three,” she says.

Xavier coach Brian Neal and his staff aren’t about to apply the brakes to Gaffney’s game; to make sure everything works smoothly at her speed, from fundamentals to shot selection, they focused on a summer tune-up.

“When you’re in the gym, everything needs to be game speed, or you’re not going to get better,” Gaffney says. “Whether you’re practicing by yourself or with a teammate, you want to make sure you’re making the most of your time and getting something out of it.”

“I think she’s just scratching the surface,” Xavier assistant coach Carla Morrow says. “I think this year you’re going to see a different Rae, and by her senior year, she’s going to have the ability to be really, really good.”

Some areas of improvement: GO-TO SHOTS—“Rae does a really nice job of getting inside the three-point line, and the shot she takes a lot is the pull-up jumper,” Morrow says.

“If that’s the shot she’s looking to take, we want to make sure she’s making a good percentage of those.”

Morrow says coaches like to do a lot of work with straight-line drives, and put Gaffney’s pull-up in a lot of the drills. She worked on her footwork, reading defenses, knowing when to pull up and when to take the ball to the rim.

“With her size and her ability, she’s able to get [to the basket] as well,” Morrow says. “It’s just a matter of her being able to finish in multiple ways.”

During the summer, the XU women’s staff utilized their two-hour supervised practice time in hour-long sessions on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Each player also received a laminated card with a series of progressive drills to work on individual skills on their own time.

Gaffney says she came to the gym on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings in the summer, then arrived early to get work in before open gym on Saturdays. “In a week, I got maybe eight [additional] hours in,” she says.

EXPANDING HER RANGE—Last season, Gaffney averaged 10.4 points per game, shooting 34.4 percent from the field and just a bit less (33.3) from three-point range. Those numbers were up from her season at Virginia, where she shot 29.7 percent from the field and 18.2 percent on threes.

Shooting threes “is something we talked to Rae about when we were recruiting her the second time around,” Morrow says. “She’s really smart about where she shoots her threes and when she shoots her threes.”

Morrow says Gaffney shoots a lot of her threes in the corners on drive-and-kicks, and sometimes on the wings. “You’ll rarely see her take one from the top of the key,” Morrow says. “We don’t want her taking shots that she’s not comfortable taking.”

But one of Gaffney’s goals was to expand the list of shots she likes. She put up shots from all angles behind the arc over the summer.

“For me, it’s about more consistent accuracy,” she says. “At this spot, I can’t miss two in a row or I’ll start all over, or I have to make seven of 10 from this spot. Coach [Brian Neal] is really enforcing that, not just getting in the gym to get up shots but getting in the gym to make shots.”

Gaffney and others took advantage of XU’s investment in the Noah, a rim-mounted camera that evaluates a shooter’s arc and records whether it’s in acceptable range. “You can’t lie to the Noah,” Gaffney says. “The Noah doesn’t care whether you’re upset or you’re having a bad day. It just tells you what you did.”

THE MENTAL GAME—Gaffney has played for two high school programs and two college programs.

She has found herself at Xavier, Morrow says.

“I think when she first got here, it was shocking to her how much attention we paid to the very little things, how detail-oriented we are as a staff,” Morrow says. “You look at her now in workouts and she seems like she’s very comfortable here. She knows our language and she knows our expectations.

“She’s improved a lot mentally. How she handles mistakes, how she handles coaching, is much different now. I think that’s a sign of maturity, and that’s something all players need.”

Gaffney says the XU staff “is invested in their players and the development of the program.”

“We’re all on the same page,” she says.

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A SWEET SW OVER TWO DECADES, BRACKETOLOGY HAS H MOVED ROM A NUMBER-CRUNCHER’S PASTIME TO A MAINSTAY M FROM OF NCAAA TTOURNAMENT COVERAGE. WE TALKED TO THREE PRACTITIONERS ABOUT THEIR RP PASSION FOR THE GAME.

P H OT O G R A P H B Y T K

BY // RO RORY GLYNN

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BACK WHEN BILLY PACKER WAS STILL IN EVERYONE’S HOMES AND THE INTERNET WASN’T,

P H OT O G R A P H B Y T K

when Kentucky meant Rick Pitino and John Calipari mentored mid-major Massachusetts, when Selection Sunday represented the solution to a glorious March riddle shrouded in secrecy—there was Joe Lunardi.

Actually, there was Joe Lunardi and a cadre of buddies, huddled in Lunardi’s office overnight, hopped up on equal parts caffeine and college basketball, watching the Big West final and fine-tuning predictions of the next day’s NCAA Tournament bracket.

Lunardi had begun noodling around with bracket predictions a couple of years earlier, in 1993, but this March, his projection was motivated by self-interest. Lunardi was managing editor of the Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook, and his team was charged with cranking out a new, 80-page postseason preview on the night of Selection Sunday. The more accurately he could predict the NCAA field ahead of time, the less work would be wasted previewing NIT-bound teams.

“Never, ever, did we think we would be doing what we now call bracketology,” says Lunardi, now a March mainstay on ESPN. Since that day, brackets have grown, from 64 teams to 65 to 68. Bracketology has grown much more. It’s no longer only a March phenomenon; Lunardi completed his first preseason take back in August.

And it’s no longer only Lunardi. Last season, the website bracketmatrix.com collated the bracket forecasts of some 137 bracketologists—including the three profiled here.

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JOE LUNARDI

JERRY PALM

STEWART MANDEL

EAST REGION

MIDWEST REGION

WEST REGION

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A SWEET

MINOR UPSET: Lunardi says there are two primary misconceptions about bracketology. One is bias: “Analyst A hates team B for reason C,” he says. “At the end of the day, I get paid to be right. I used to say I’d put my own mother in the NIT if she played a weak schedule.” The other is that TV manipulates the bracket for matchups: “With 67 games, you’re going to have storylines without inventing them,” he says. “TV never invented Duke vs. Kentucky. It happened because they were both really good.”

Joe Lunardi, left, with Shaquille O’Neal and ESPN senior producer Jim Bowden at the 2012 Sports Emmy Awards in New York City.

FINALLY: “I’m not saying to this day I’m the best at this; I’m just the first at it, with the loudest perch,” Lunardi says. “There are people better at the analysis and the numbers-crunching than I’ll ever be. But I think I can communicate it in a somewhat lighthearted way to the public. And at the end of the day, we’re not saving lives here.

This is supposed to be fun.”

JOE LUNARDI

ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNICATIONS, SAINT JOSEPH’S UNIVERSITY PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

PLAY-IN GAME: Long before the Internet provided instant access to the stats of Santa Clara’s sixth man or the results of Fairleigh Dickinson’s last 10 games, Blue Ribbon’s postseason guide was the lifejacket that kept you from blindly jumping into the office pool. “In those days, if you had a Louisville–Boise State 3–14 [seeds] game, the only thing anyone knew about Boise State was a thumbnail paragraph in USA Today,” Lunardi says. “We had every stat, score, trend, and nugget on each of the then-64 teams.” By the second year of the postseason guide, Lunardi was doing his early bracket forecasts in February and providing them to ESPN Sports Zone, the forerunner of ESPN.com; in exchange, they published the 800 number to order the Blue Ribbon book. “As the years went on, the bracket guesses became more popular than the book itself,” Lunardi says. He sold his interest in Blue Ribbon to

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partner Chris Dortch and expanded his involvement with ESPN, which now includes on-camera bracket analysis.

LAST ROUND: In 2015, Lunardi correctly picked 66 of 68 teams in the field, had 42 teams seeded exactly, and 61 teams seeded within one line of their actual seed. His bracket scored fourth-highest by bracketmatrix.com (which weighs brackets more on how accurate the seedings are, on the theory that most bracketologists get the vast majority of the field right). Lunardi figures he’s gotten about 97 percent of the teams right since he started.

ONE SHINING MOMENT: Two years ago, Lunardi says, he got all 68 teams right, and 61 within one seed line, his benchmark.

“People who say they don’t [remember their best bracket] are lying,” he says. “It’s like your best round of golf. You remember the time of day and every club you hit on every shot.”

SEEDS OF WISDOM: Lunardi, a 1982 St. Joe’s graduate, teaches an online class in bracketology; it’s not for academic credit.

“It’s a class the way stamp-collecting or knitting is,” he says, “but I’ve had some unbelievably smart people come through it.” The final exam, not surprisingly, is a mock bracket.

MIDWEST

REGION

JERRY PALM

COLLEGE BASKETBALL AND FOOTBALL WRITER, CBSSPORTS.COM SCHERERVILLE, INDIANA

PLAY-IN GAME: Palm cracked college basketball’s riddle of the Sphinx: the RPI, a prime tool used by the NCAA selection committee to choose and seed teams. For years, its precise components and impact were somewhat of a mystery. Palm, who has a degree in computer science from Purdue, created a database and programs in 1994 to replicate the NCAA’s RPI (Ratings

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P H OT O G R A P H (L E F T ) C O U R T E S Y E S P N ; (R I G H T ) C O U R T E S Y J E R RY PA L M

EAST REGION

Percentage Index), which assigned each team a number value based on winning percentage, opponents’ winning percentage, and the winning percentage of opponents’ opponents. “I think it was The Sporting News that published a story about a change in the formula,” Palm says. “I had a computer and too much time on my hands. I’m working as a programmer and analyst, and I had this new toy called the Internet. I just gathered it for my own edification. I never thought anybody else would be interested.”

But they were, and soon Palm was providing updates on his own site, collegerpi. com. A year later, he added bracket projections. “I think Joe Lunardi maybe did his the year before, and for the longest time, it was just us,” Palm says. In 1999, he started collegebcs.com, replicating that formula to project which teams would play for college football’s national championship; in 2002, he quit programming to devote more time to the sites; and in 2012, he shuttered both sites and jumped full-time to CBS.

LAST ROUND: In 2015, Palm correctly picked 67 of the 68 teams in the field, according to bracketmatrix.com. He had 33 teams seeded correctly and 61 within one seed line.

P H OT O G R A P H C O U R T E S Y S T E WA R T M A N D E L

ONE SHINING MOMENT: In 2011, the first year of the “First Four” games in Dayton, Virginia Commonwealth was included as a No. 11 seed, surprising many—but not Palm. He had the Rams in, and they went all the way to the Final Four. “That’s probably my favorite hit,” he says. “[Coach] Shaka Smart talked about me a lot that March. If there were 351 Division I schools, 350 of them think you hate their team, but VCU is the exception.”

SEEDS OF WISDOM: “In a typical year, I’m gonna miss one, but I don’t remember the last time I missed two,” Palm says. “I’ve had a couple years when I’ve had all the at-large teams. But the year George Mason went to the Final Four [2006], I had them in the last four out. If I could have one back, that would be the one.”

MINOR UPSET: UCLA’s inclusion in the 2015 bracket still stuns, and even rankles, Palm. The 20–13 Bruins beat only one team in the RPI’s top 25 and lost four straight road

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games in one stretch, by 39 vs. Kentucky and by 32 vs. Utah. “That’s the worst team ever in the 21 years I’ve been doing this in terms of how they performed away from home,” he says. “Once they went to 68, it became even harder to predict the bottom of the bracket; all the teams can look equally unworthy. Even with all that I would never have guessed UCLA. But this can be as much art as science when you’re trying to read the minds of a 10-person committee. There’s a lot of distrust of the committee, how they’ve got it in for the little guy, but I believe they’re doing an honest job. Even when I don’t agree, I don’t think it’s political. Whether it’s UCLA or George Mason or whoever, they just saw something I didn’t see.”

FINALLY: Predictably, March is Palm’s busiest time. “The last two weeks of the season, I’ll basically take a nap at night. The last week of the season, someone has to remind me to eat. After Selection Sunday, I’m going somewhere the first weekend of the tournament, and then to the Final Four. And after the Final Four, I do my taxes and go to bed.”

year at FOX he was approached about jumping back into the pool. At SI, he had gravitated more toward college football coverage. “It blew me away how big this has become,” he says.

LAST ROUND: In 2015, Mandel picked 66 of 68 teams correctly, according to bracketmatrix.com. He had 37 seeded exactly right and 65 within one seed line.

ONE SHINING MOMENT: “I would never brag about getting 66 of 68; I missed on two,” Mandel says. “You should be able to get that. You can create a spreadsheet and import the numbers and get reasonably close.” But after focusing primarily on college football for years, he was pleased his bracket wasn’t a brick. “With social media now, there’s so much more scrutiny,” he says. “I was really nervous on Selection Sunday. I didn’t want to look stupid.”

SEEDS OF WISDOM: “The main difference now is everything is a lot more transparent,” Mandel says. “It used to be that the committee more or less operated under a shroud of secrecy. That’s not the case anymore.” When Mandel worked for SI, NCAA vice president of championships Greg Shaheen visited to demonstrate and explain the tools and software used in the selection process, and the NCAA has begun conducting mock-bracket workshops in Indianapolis for the media to better educate them about the process, something Mandel intends to take part in this season.

MINOR UPSET: Mandel also rejects the

WEST REGION

STEWART MANDEL

COLLEGE BASKETBALL AND FOOTBALL WRITER, FOX SPORTS MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA

PLAY-IN GAME: Mandel, a Cincinnati native and Sycamore High graduate, spent more than a decade at Sports Illustrated before joining FOX in 2014. He projected brackets for nine years at SI, and after a

notion that any bracketologist brings his own biases with him. “I graduated from Northwestern, which has never made the NCAA Tournament,” he says. “I’m not going to put them or anyone in at the expense of my bracket. At the end of the day, I’d rather be right.”

FINALLY: The old stand-by about the importance of a strong finish is gone, Mandel says. “The committee will tell you that games played on November 15 count as much as games played on March 15, and I agree with that.” And don’t buy in totally to the relative importance of good wins and bad losses. “Ultimately, the good wins help more than bad losses hurt,” he says.

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BRIANA GLOVER TAKES A DIFFERENT PATH THAN HER BEARCAT PARENTS. BY BILL THOMPSON

COACHES LOVE TO INVOKE “FAMILY” WHEN DESCRIBING THEIR TEAMS. Few players have taken the concept to heart as much as Xavier women’s basketball senior Briana Glover, who will finish her college career in her hometown. The Mason High School grad is the daughter of former University of Cincinnati basketball star Cedric Glover (named No. 47 among the Bearcats’ top 50 all-time players by The Enquirer in 2011), and Tara Glover, a member of the UC dance team in college.

“I was recruited by UC, but I was like, ‘I’m going to do something different than my parents,’ ” says Glover, who led Xavier in scoring last season (10.8 ppg).

That decision delighted her parents.

“She went about the whole [college choice] very logically,” Tara says. “She created what we call the bubble. It was a circle, and she said, ‘I’m not going to go more than two hours away.’ ” That initial bubble grew to three hours, then five when the family visited Michigan State and returned the same day. Tara says Briana decided to burst the bubble after that trip.

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P H OT O G R A P H B Y S T E V E WO LT M A N N

CREATING HER OWN LEGACY

“At the end of the day, she didn’t want to miss her siblings growing up,” Tara says.

Ah, the family. Briana is the oldest of five kids: brothers Garrison (16) and Jared (12), and sisters Payton (10) and Rylee (7).

Glover says lessons learned at home translate to the court.

“Being the older sister, I have some parenting skills,” she told The Enquirer last year. “I like to help the younger people along, help them get comfortable in the system. If they’re lost, they can come to me. I’m an outlet for them.”

Her parents instilled those lessons early.

Glover started playing basketball in second grade with her dad as a coach.

“It all comes down to hard work,” Cedric says. “I’ve stressed that to Bri all the time. If you put the work in, everything else will take care of itself.”

Glover, who is one of three seniors on this team with Aliyah Zantt and Jenna Crittendon (who, coincidentally, also has four siblings), is excited to get to work. The veteran squad lost only Maleeka Kynard after an 18–15 season and a berth in the Women’s Basketball Invitational (WBI).

“Last year was fantastic,” Glover says of the strong finish when Xavier beat Georgetown in the BIG EAST tournament and William & Mary in the WBI. “I feel like we had all the energy in the world and we were still going.

“I think the two incoming freshmen [redshirt Imani Partlow and Tierra Floyd] are really going to help us. People know what everyone’s role needs to be and what is going to help us succeed.”

The challenge for third-year coach Brian Neal will be to find the right combinations among the talented and experienced players. The Musketeers showed a glimpse of the possibilities when they came back from an eight-point halftime deficit to beat St. John’s 74–61 in the regular-season finale. The Red Storm finished 23–11 and made the quarterfinals of the Women’s NIT. Neal called Glover the anchor of last season’s team, praising her consistency and the improvement of her inside play and shooting percentage.

P H OTO G R A P H S (C LO C K W I S E F R O M TO P L E F T ) C O U R T E S Y T H E G L OV E R FA M I LY; B Y S T E V E WO LT M A N N ; B Y D O U G C O C H R A N ; ; B Y S T E V E WO LT M A N N

“That’s awesome for him to say that; of course, coaches won’t say that to your face,” she says, laughing.

“Before last season, my goal was to be more consistent. In my first two seasons, I wasn’t that consistent, but my teammates helped me a lot [last year].”

Glover’s current coach wasn’t the only one who noticed improvement. So did her first coach.

“As I’ve gotten older, I have changed the way I look at her game,” Cedric says.

“I’m not as critical as I was early on.

That’s me maturing and understanding what it takes to play on that level.

“You begin to understand the difficulty to play at the highest level of Division I college basketball. Bri has a very calm personality. If you approach her in an encouraging [way], you get more out of her.”

ABOVE (left): The Glover family—top from left, Briana and Garrison; middle from left, Cedric and Tara; bottom from left, Payton, Rylee, and Jared ABOVE (RIGHT) AND BELOW: Briana Glover led the Musketeers in scoring 11 times last season, including a career-high 26 points in a 91–72 victory over Marquette.

GLOVER BY THE NUMBERS 2014–2015: 10.8 ppg, 52.2 FG%, 72.3 FT%, 3.8 rpg 2013–2014: 8.6 ppg, 40.3 FG%, 74.7 FT%, 3.6 rpg 2012–2013: 5.0 ppg, 35.8 FG%, 72.4 FT%, 2.0 rpg

LOCAL MUSKETEERS Jenna Crittendon, senior, Ryle High School, Union, Kentucky

Raeshaun Gaffney, redshirt junior, Fairfield High School

Briana Glover, senior, Mason High School Imani Partlow, redshirt freshman, Winton Woods High School

Leah Schaefer, junior, Highlands High School, Alexandria, Kentucky

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ON THE SIDELINE

MEET THE ASSISTANTS

XAVIER NATION WANTS YOU TO GET TO KNOW YOUR ASSISTANT COACHES BETTER.

BY MICHAEL PERRY

KATE ACHTER

MARK EHLEN

CARLA MORROW

ASSISTANT COACH, WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

ASSISTANT COACH, WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

ASSISTANT COACH, WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

YEAR AT XAVIER: 1st ALMA MATER: Bowling Green (2008)

YEAR AT XAVIER: 3rd (12th overall) ALMA MATER: Ohio State (1975), Bowling Green (1979)

YEAR AT XAVIER: 8th ALMA MATER: Tulsa University (2002); Missouri State (master’s, 2004)

Why did you want to become a coach?

I’ve been fortunate to have great coaches in my life. It was their influence, both on and off the court, that showed me how impactful someone can be on a student-athlete.

How did you get into coaching? I started as a very young assistant—6 years old—sitting on the bench with my grandfather and father. I come from a coaching family, which also meant I grew up in a gym.

What is one piece of advice you would give someone who wants to coach?

Liking the game you play isn’t enough—you must have a passion to coach and understand that it isn’t always about Xs and Os. Who’s your biggest coaching influence(s)—besides Coach Neal? My family obviously, but my biggest influences professionally have been Curt Miller (an assistant for the L.A. Sparks) and Jim Crowley.

Summarize your athletic career. We won a lot of games. There were some championships. I earned a few honors of my own. I still hold multiple records at Bowling Green, and my name will always be attached to a team that was the first to reach the Sweet 16 in Mid-American Conference history.

What’s the biggest challenge of the job?

Working with 16- to 22-year-olds and staying relevant. How do I keep them engaged?

This is going to be the battle as long as technology keeps evolving as fast as it does.

Who’s your favorite NBA or WNBA player to watch and why? Matthew Dellavedova.

As a coach, I loved how hard he played.

What’s something people don’t know about you? I love being outside, camping, kayaking, hiking, and working. Give me a bright, sunny day and I will not waste it.

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Why did you want to become a coach?

Hoops was always a passion for me from the earliest age, and coaching has allowed me to enjoy my passion for a lifetime.

How did you get into coaching? In my first year of teaching English at Bluffton High School, I was the boys’ freshmen coach, the newspaper adviser, and the drama director for two plays. The paper and plays were successful. The team? Not so much!

What is one piece of advice you would give someone who wants to coach?

Coaching is not about you; it’s about serving others. We have a sign beside our locker room door: “Get out of yourself and into the team.” It’s meant for our players, but I think it applies to coaching, too.

Who’s your biggest coaching influence(s)—besides Coach Neal? My eighth-grade coach, Dick Jones; Earl Edmonds, Greenhills High School boys coach; and the great Skip Prosser. All three were teachers first, cared about their players, knew the game, and were demanding but never demeaning.

Summarize your athletic career. The highlight was being a walk-on player at Ohio State my freshman year.

Describe your best moments as a coach.

In 1984, Forest Park was Ohio state champion. In 1992, beating Butler in the MCC Finals (minus two starters) to send Xavier to the NCAA for the first time. In 2001, overcoming a 23-point halftime deficit to beat Kent State in OT and take the MAC title and NCAA bid.

What’s something people don’t know about you? I sang in the Ohio State Glee Club and also played Jack in a production of Jack and The Beanstalk.

Why did you want to become a coach?

My father was a high school coach (football, girl’s basketball, and baseball) when I was growing up. I always admired how he taught the game to his players and how disciplined his teams were. I was inspired to do what he did.

How did you get into coaching? After graduating college, I was the freshman basketball coach at Tulsa Central High School. I liked it, but I knew college was where I wanted to be eventually. My head coach at Tulsa University, Kathy McConnell-Miller, helped me get in the profession.

She and I always talked about my next step in life when I was playing. Coaching always came up.

What’s the best piece of advice someone gave you when you were starting out? Be loyal and work hard. No single job is too big or too small. Be able and ready to do it all.

Who’s your biggest coaching influence(s)—besides Coach Neal?

Kathy McConnell-Miller, current assistant head coach at the University of Pittsburgh and former head coach at Tulsa.

Describe your best moment as a coach.

The 2010 NCAA Tournament. I was proud of everything that team overcame to have the season it had.

Who’s your favorite NBA or WNBA player to watch and why? I like watching teams more than individual players, but Steph Curry is a great shooter and passer.

What’s something people don’t know about you? I like to read. I read at least three books at one time.

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ON THE SIDELINE

COOL DOWN

LUKE MURRAY

MIKE PEGUES

TRAVIS STEELE

ASSISTANT COACH, MEN’S BASKETBALL

ASSISTANT COACH, MEN’S BASKETBALL

ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH, MEN’S BASKETBALL

YEAR AT XAVIER: 1st ALMA MATER: Fairfield University (2007)

YEAR AT XAVIER: 4th ALMA MATER: University of Delaware (2000)

YEAR AT XAVIER: 8th ALMA MATER: Butler University (2004)

Why did you want to become a coach?

I love the idea of teaching the game and providing opportunities for kids to grow their lives through basketball.

How did you get into coaching? I started coaching AAU basketball as a college student with the New York Gauchos, led by former Xavier assistant Emanuel Richardson. After graduating from Fairfield, I was hired as director of basketball operations at Quinnipiac, a small Division I school in Connecticut.

What’s the best piece of advice someone gave you when you were starting out? As you climb the ladder professionally, always focus on the job you have, never the job you wish you had.

Who’s your biggest coaching influence(s)—besides Coach Mack?

Sean Miller and Dan Hurley. Coach Hurley has a brilliant mind for offense and challenged me to be a better coach on a daily basis. Coach Miller is quite simply one of the best basketball coaches on the planet and someone I’m proud to call a friend.

Describe your best moment as a coach.

1.) Arizona vs. California at the McKale Center in 2010; we beat Cal to earn a share of first place in front of the loudest crowd I’ve heard. My father and uncle were there.

2.) At Towson University, we beat Hofstra in the final regular-season game to clinch the record for greatest single-season improvement in NCAA history.

Who’s your favorite NBA or WNBA player to watch and why? Carmelo Anthony. For my money, he’s one of the best individual offensive players in recent NBA history. My favorite international player is Terrell Holloway.

What’s something people don’t know about you? I love the Food Network, but have yet to cook my first meal.

Why did you want to become a coach?

Coaching allows me to combine the two things I love the most: basketball and helping mold young men.

How did you get into coaching? It was a natural progression for me after finishing my playing career. After coaching AAU and high school ball for three years, I started as a video coordinator at Virginia Commonwealth University with Shaka Smart.

What is one piece of advice you would give someone who wants to coach?

Sweat with your team. It gives you instant credibility.

What’s the best piece of advice someone gave you when you were starting out? Do it for the kids or don’t do it at all.

Who’s your biggest coaching influence(s)—besides Coach Mack?

Morgan Wootten, DeMatha Catholic High School; Shaka Smart, Texas, formerly Virginia Comonwealth; and Mike Brey, Notre Dame, formerly University of Delaware.

Summarize your athletic career. Three years of varsity basketball at DeMatha Catholic for Coach Wootten. Four years of college basketball for Coach Brey at Delaware. There, we won two league titles, played in the NCAA Tournament two years and the NIT once. I scored 2,030 points— good for second all-time (recently had my record broken). Five years of professional basketball in Italy, New Zealand, England, and Argentina.

What’s the biggest challenge of the job? Balancing recruiting and scouting while also developing and building relationships with our players.

Describe your best moment as a coach.

Making the Sweet 16 this past season.

What’s something people don’t know about you? I’m a great Ping-Pong player!

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Why did you want to become a coach?

Basketball has always been my passion, and I want to help develop successful young men. Some of the most impactful people in my life have been coaches, and I want to have a positive impact on a young man’s life just like my coaches had on me.

How did you get into coaching? To pay my way through college at Butler University.

I got an assistant coach position at Ben Davis High School in Indianapolis, and I also coached AAU basketball with Spiece and Indiana Elite.

What is one piece of advice you would give someone who wants to coach?

Be a student of the game. Attend as many college/high school basketball practices as you possibly can. Go to coaching clinics.

What’s the best piece of advice someone gave you when you were starting out? The goal in life is to simply get better each and every day. There are no days off.

Who’s your biggest coaching influence(s)—besides Coach Mack? My brother, John Groce, has made a profound impact on my coaching career. Obviously we grew up in the same household so we share a lot of the same values and ideas.

Summarize your athletic career. I was average at best.

What’s the biggest challenge of the job? It is a very demanding profession so you must learn to have some balance in your life.

Describe your best moment as a coach.

When former players come back to campus after having success in the real world.

Who’s your favorite NBA or WNBA player to watch and why? I love to watch Kobe Bryant because of the way he competes regardless of the situation or score.

What’s something people don’t know about you? I am happily married with a 2-year-old son.

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Gary Lumpkin is 17th in career scoring at Xavier with 1,507 points.

He is also seventh in career assists with 470.

LEADING THE CLASS

BY RODNEY McKISSIC

GARY LUMPKIN HAS GONE FROM THE COURT TO THE CLASSROOM, STARTING A CAREER AS A SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHER.

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GARY LUMPKIN HAS BEEN BLESSED WITH PATIENCE, SOMETHING HE’LL FIND beneficial as he embarks on the next phase of his teaching career.

Now that he’s earned his master’s degree in education with an emphasis on special education, Lumpkin, who played point guard at Xavier under the late Skip Prosser from 1995 to 1999, wants to put his new degree to use.

“Over the course of time I was working a lot with kids,” Lumpkin says. “I was already a teacher by being a minister in the church, and so I kind of developed a love for kids. I just figured that would be another way to put a stamp on me making an impression on them.”

Lumpkin, who finished his career in the top 10 in school history in assists with 470, began his teaching journey in 2008 with a month-long assignment as a fifth grade math and science

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teacher at a Cincinnati elementary school.

After completing the job, he was moved over to a kindergarten multiple-handicap class.

“That’s when I decided I wanted to work with special needs kids,” Lumpkin says.

“They learn a little differently. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they can’t be taught, it just means they learn differently.”

Navigating students through an uncommon path to learning is what led Lumpkin into special education.

“When I went into special education it was really me learning how to deal with the different ways kids learn,” he says. “Some are auditory; it’s all about them hearing.

Some are visual. Some learn by one-on-one instruction while others learn by working in groups. It’s intriguing to me to find out how they learn and put them in the best situation to help them learn.”

Lumpkin, 38, earned his master’s degree online from Grand Canyon University with a 3.92 GPA. He’s currently completing certification requirements and has to take another course in reading before securing full-time employment. “You have to be highly qualified in reading to work with special needs kids,” he says.

Lumpkin enjoyed a lengthy basketball career in Finland and France and in the American Basketball Association for the Kentucky ProCats. He remains close to the sport. He started coaching basketball in 2011 and was the girl’s varsity head coach at Taft High School in Cincinnati. In 2013, Lumpkin was the boy’s freshman coach and boy’s assistant varsity coach at Winton Woods High before taking the girl’s varsity coaching position this year.

Lumpkin and his wife of 14 years, Caley, a former Xavier volleyball player, have three children—Jalen, 17, Jaida, 12, and Janiece, 10.

Jalen, a tailback for the Winton Woods football team, has made college visits to Wofford and Navy. Jaida plays volleyball and is an accomplished viola player, while Janiece’s specialties are gymnastics and art.

“That’s a wide spectrum, that’s for sure,” Lumpkin says of his children’s activities. “They keep me busy.”

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

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At Xavier, Janet Haneberg-Diggs played for then-head coach Mark Ehlen, who is now an assistant coach.

Here she works in the score box at Great American Ball Park.

KEEPING SCORE

THESE DAYS, THE WORK OF JANET HANEBERG-DIGGS CAN BE SEEN ON THE TV SCREEN. BY RODNEY McKISSIC

P H OT O G R A P H B Y C L I F F J E N K I N S

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JANET HANEBERG-DIGGS’S WORK CAN BE SEEN ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, SO IN A sense she’s semi-famous—although the mere mention of notoriety makes her chuckle.

You know the score box usually found in the corner of the television screen during games?

Chances are, especially if it’s a Cincinnati Reds home game, it’s the work of Haneberg-Diggs.

“Well, I don’t know about being famous,” Haneberg-Diggs says, “but it’s a cool job.”

The former Musketeer basketball player, who starred for X from 1991 to 1994 and finished as one of the program’s top shot-blockers, is a freelance score box operator. Haneberg-Diggs works approximately 70 Reds games a season, 40 college basketball games, and occasionally hockey and soccer games. She works the score box for televised games for Xavier, Cincinnati, Dayton, Kentucky, and Wright State.

It’s a job where attention to detail is paramount. When she works for FOX Sports, she has to monitor every single pitch, balls and strikes, who’s on base, as well as who’s at the plate and the current pitcher. Haneberg-Diggs is also responsible for who’s due up for the next inning during breaks, including his hitting stats during the game.

“It’s a simple job, but it’s important because my work is on the screen almost 100 percent of the time,” Haneberg-Diggs says.

One of the biggest challenges is that different teams use different box scores. As a freelancer she works for the Reds’ opponents and with different television crews each time.

“Sometimes they have a completely different system with a completely different com-

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puter that runs a different kind of scorebox,” says Haneberg-Diggs, who is married with two children—Dominique, 25, and Barkley, 15. “I could be working for FOX, I could be working for Root Sports, I could be working for CSN, I could be working for WGN, and so they have different kinds of boxes. I have to be able to run all of them.”

When she graduated from Xavier, Haneberg-Diggs wanted to be an on-air talent as a color commentator.

While at Xavier, she did an internship at WLWT-TV Channel 5 in Cincinnati in its news department and was hired after she graduated, working primarily on commercial production and programming.

At the time WLWT was the flagship station for the Reds, and Haneberg-Diggs occasionally helped with stats.

“It was kind of something I fell into,” she says. “I was at Channel 5 for 13 years, but I did the score box on the side. Most of the people here in Cincinnati, unless it’s basketball, they don’t see my work because I’ll be working for the Pirates or the Cardinals and it’s for the people in St. Louis or Pittsburgh. I tell them if they see a mistake, it wasn’t me.”

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SEASON PREVIEWS

XAVIER UNIVERSITY HAS APPROXIMATELY 280 STUDENT-ATHLETES PARTICIPATING IN 18 SPORTS DURING THE 2015–2016 ACADEMIC YEAR. HERE IS THE OUTLOOK FOR EACH TEAM.

BASEBALL COACH: Scott Googins (Ohio Wesleyan ’92), 11th season OUTLOOK: Xavier finished the 2015 season with an overall record of 15–38. Freshman catcher Nate Soria led the Musketeers with a .335 batting average. Junior infielder Andre Jernigan contributed 29 RBIs and 16 stolen bases.

Sophomore left-handed pitcher Greg Jacknewitz led the team with four wins in 20 appearances.

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NOTEWORTHY: Now-sophomore catcher Nate Soria was named Lousiville Slugger Freshman All-American and BIG EAST Freshman of the Year. Former Xavier pitcher Jacob Bodner was selected in the 27th round (No. 819) of the 2015 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Kansas City Royals. Bodner was named the organization’s Applachian League Pitcher of the year. Out of Xavier’s 198 nominees for the 2014–2015 BIG EAST All-Academic team, the most came from Xavier baseball with 27 honorees.

BASKETBALL MEN’S COACH: Chris Mack (Xavier ’92), seventh season OUTLOOK: The Musketeers add Kaiser Gates as well as redshirt freshmen Makindé London and Edmond Sumner to a team that returns 10 letterwinners from a NCAA Sweet 16 campaign, Xavier’s fifth since 2008. Among the returnees is Jalen Reynolds, who was named to the preseason All-BIG EAST First

Team, and sophomore Trevon Bluiett, who was preseason All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention. Reynolds, the team’s top returning rebounder at 6.1 rpg, contributed 9.9 ppg as a sophomore, including 12.0 ppg for Xavier’s six postseason games.

Bluiett, XU’s leading returning scorer at 11.0 ppg, is one of the three returning starters for the Musketeers. Xavier’s two scholarship seniors are the other two returning starters, Remy Abell and James Farr.

NOTEWORTHY: After opening the regular season at Cintas

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The women’s basketball team traveled to Canada for eight days in August. While there, they played four exhibition games and visited a variety of historical and tourist sites.

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with Miami (11/13) and Missouri (11/17), Xavier will travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to face Michigan for the inaugural Gavitt Tipoff Games. The Wolverines and Musketeers are set to face off on November 20 at 9 p.m. in the first game between the two schools since the 1989 NCAA Tournament. Xavier led for much of the game before the eventual national champions came from behind to capture the victory, the first win at Michigan for then-head coach Steve Fischer.

WOMEN’S COACH: Brian Neal (Northern Kentucky ’91), third season

P H OT O G R A P H B Y (L E F T ) E R N I E A R A N YO S I ; (R I G H T ) D O U G C O C H R A N

OUTLOOK: The Musketeers add freshman Tierra Floyd and redshirt freshman Imani Partlow to a team that returns all but one starter from last year’s squad that made it to the quarterfinals of the BIG EAST Tournament and earned a berth to the 2015 WBI Tournament. Among the returnees is Briana Glover, last season’s leading scorer (10. 8 ppg) and a 2015-2016 preseason All-BIG EAST Team member.

NOTEWORTHY: Over the summer the Musketeers traveled to Canada for eight days where they played four exhibition games and visited historical sites within Toronto, Montreal, and Niagara Falls.

The Xavier team compiled a 4–0 record. Looking forward

to the 2015–16 season, the team is selected to finish sixth in the BIG EAST.

CROSS COUNTRY MEN’S COACH: Ryan Orner (Towson ’99), fourth season OUTLOOK: The Musketeers opened their 2015 season at the Queen City Invitational.

The team took fifth out of 12 teams while competing in the 6K race. Freshman Charles Korodi led the team and placed No. 14 overall.

NOTEWORTHY: The Xavier men earned the distinction of All-Academic team from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

The Musketeers posted a team grade point average of 3.21 to earn the distinction. The Xavier women earned the honor as well, making Xavier one of six BIG EAST schools to have both teams earn the distinction.

Xavier’s women’s cross country team won the September 5 Queen City Invitational in Mason. Sarah Mazzei, a senior from Cincinnati, holds the trophy.

highest finish for the women at this tournament in school history.

NOTEWORTHY: Newcomer Caroline Gosser won her first college meet at the Queen City Invitational with a time of 21.53. Four Musketeers finished in the top 10.

fall 2015 season. Wetterich began garnering attention before his Xavier career even started, making an impressive run at the 2015 U.S. Amateur, advancing to the Round of 16 last summer.

WOMEN’S WOMEN’S COACH: Ryan Orner (Towson ’99), fourth season OUTLOOK: The women finished first at the Queen City Invitational. The team also competed in the National Catholic Championships and finished second. This ties the

Freshman golfer Daniel Wetterich made an impressive run at the 2015 U.S. Amateur in August in Olympia Fields, Illinois, advancing to the Round of 16.

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GOLF MEN’S COACH: Doug Steiner (Capital ’83), 28th season OUTLOOK: The Musketeers started the season at the Turning Stone Tiger Intercollegiate, where a second-place finish from freshman Daniel Wetterich led the Musketeers to a third-place team finish. Wetterich, as well as Xavier’s top returnee, Jose Montaño, have paced the Musketeers through the first part of the 2015–16.

NOTEWORTHY: Jose Montaño is coming off a freshman season where he was named the BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament as an individual, the fourth time in five years Xavier has had either a team or an individual in the event.

Newcomer Daniel Wetterich looks to mimic Montaño’s strong rookie season, leading the way for the Musketeers through the early part of the

COACH: Breanna Patz (Xavier ’13), first season OUTLOOK: The Musketeers started the 2015–16 season strong, including a second-place finish at the rain-shortened UNCG Forest Oaks Fall Classic. Among the Musketeer returners is sophomore Hanna Lee, who placed fourth overall at the BIG EAST Championship and won the 2015 Women’s Metropolitan Amateur Championship at Cincinnati Country Club over the summer. Sophomore Lindsey Murray also claimed an amateur championship during the summer, winning the 2015 Dayton District Women’s Golf Association’s Women’s Amateur Championship. Xavier also returns senior Shane Crutchfield, who was named the BIG EAST Golfer of the Month for September 2015.

NOTEWORTHY: Xavier Athletics announced former Musketeer Breanna Patz as the head coach of the women’s golf team over the summer. Patz, a 2013 Xavier graduate, spent

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Junior Abbey Bessler eclipsed 1,000 career kills this fall. The Hebron, Kentucky, native also posted a school-record 33 kills in a September 26 victory over St. John’s.

SOCCER MEN’S COACH: Andy Fleming (Marist ’97), sixth season OUTLOOK: After opening the season ranked by the NSCAA for the first time in program history (No. 19), the Musketeers climbed to as high as No. 10. Xavier has spent much of the 2015 season ranked in

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the top 25 and has a signature road win over No. 2 Notre Dame, 1–0, on September 15, 2015—the highest-ranked opponent Xavier has beaten in program history. The Musketeers opened BIG EAST action with a 1–0 win over DePaul.

NOTEWORTHY: A goal scored on a spectacular bicycle kick from senior Alex Ridsdale drew national attention for the Musketeers. The score, which occurred in the opening minutes of the win over IPFW, found its way across the Internet and onto ESPN’s SportsCenter Top 10 plays for the day.

WOMEN’S COACH: Woody Sherwood (Xavier ’91), sixth season OUTLOOK: Through the beginning of the 2015 season, Xavier has more than doubled its offensive output from a year ago, scoring 22 goals through 13 games after scoring 10 for the

entire 2014 season. Through 13 games, 13 different Musketeers have scored points after only nine did so for all of 2014. Nine Musketeers have knocked in a goal, while 10 different Musketeers have collected assists.

The Musketeers’ scoring effort is led by sophomore Kenadie Carlson’s six goals through 13 games. Freshman Samantha Dewey leads the Musketeers in points with five goals and six assists to total 15 points.

NOTEWORTHY: With a win over Seton Hall on October 11, the 2015 Musketeers doubled the win total from the 2014 season (3) with five games remaining on its regular season schedule.

SWIMMING MEN’S COACH: Brent MacDonald (Valparaiso ’03), seventh season

OUTLOOK: The back-to-back BIG EAST Champions return a strong core of the 2014–15 team, including six All-BIG EAST Team members. Among those are Erik Biernat, Luke Johanns, Arthur Smith, Rodrigo Suriano, Alex Wolfred, and Nick Foster, the BIG EAST Championship’s Most Outstanding Performer.

Xavier also added an incoming class of eight to the men’s side, including seven freshmen and sophomore Owen Dougherty from American University.

NOTEWORTHY: Head coach Brent MacDonald collected another BIG EAST Coach of the Year Award after the men’s dominating performance at the conference championship last season.

In addition to their strong performance in the pool, the Musketeer men also lead the way in the classroom for the BIG EAST, winning a second straight BIG EAST Team Academic Award, given to the team with the top GPA among BIG EAST swim programs.

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the previous two seasons on the coaching staff at Akron.

During her time at Xavier, she earned three Second Team All-Colonial Athletic Association honors and earned 2013 All-CAA Tournament honors as a senior after finishing fourth in the conference tournament.

In addition, she was named 2013 CAA Scholar Athlete of the Year and was a four-time National Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar (2010–13).

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WOMEN’S COACH: Brent MacDonald (Valparaiso ’03), seventh season OUTLOOK: The Xavier women return seven All-BIG EAST performers from last year’s squad that captured third place, including seniors Claire Brolsma, Haley Dresner, Molly Kroeger, and Mackenna Rife. Junior All-BIG EAST performers Emily Wagner and Ashley Whiteley, as well as sophomore, and reigning BIG EAST Champion in the 100 back, Paxtyn Drew return as well. The Xavier women also add nine freshmen to the mix for this year’s team.

NOTEWORTHY: The Xavier women, who claimed third place at the 2014–15 BIG EAST Championship, were tops in the conference in the classroom, earning the BIG EAST Team Academic Award. The Musketeer women placed 22 studentathletes on the BIG EAST AllAcademic Team for the spring semester to help earn the top team GPA among the BIG EAST swim programs.

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COACH: Doug Matthews (Xavier ’09), first season OUTLOOK: The Musketeers are coming off a season where they finished with an overall record of 14–9 after falling to No. 1 seed St. John’s in the BIG EAST Championship semifinals.

The Musketeers return seven from last season’s team, including BIG EAST Co-Player of the Year Zach Mueck. Xavier adds three newcomers to the mix for the 2015–16 season after losing seniors Freddy Abunku and Michael Moe to graduation.

NOTEWORTHY: After spending the 2014–15 season as interim head coach of the Xavier men’s and women’s tennis team, Doug Matthews was named head coach in June 2015. Matthews was a member of the Xavier men’s tennis team from 2005 to 2009, leading Xavier to back-to-back Atlantic 10 Conference championships

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and NCAA Tournament appearances in his junior and senior years. The 2008 and 2009 seasons marked the first-ever men’s tennis team appearances in the NCAA Tournament. While at XU, he compiled a 75–47 career singles record, which ranks fourth all-time at Xavier. In doubles, he ranks third all-time with a 75–52 career record, and he is second all-time at Xavier in total wins with a 150–99 career record.

WOMEN’S COACH: Doug Matthews (Xavier ’09), first season OUTLOOK: The Musketeers add Sophia Abelson and Zoe Manion to the 2014–15 roster that rounded out BIG EAST play with a 7–2 record after losing in the semifinals of the BIG EAST Championship to St. John’s. Sydney Liggins was the only Musketeer to be named to the All-BIG EAST Team. The Musketeers lost seniors Lizzie Oosterbaan and Daniella Patton, but return All-BIG EAST Team honoree Sydney Liggins.

NOTEWORTHY: Sophomore Amina Ismail won the women’s championship at the 2015 Thomas E. Price Cincinnati Met, taking down six-time champion Marie Matrka. Cristina Di Lorenzo was paired with head coach Doug Matthews and won the mixed doubles title.

NOTEWORTHY: The Musketeers announced the addition of Jesse Fuca to the staff as an assistant coach over the summer. Fuca comes from George Washington University where he was the primary coach for sprinters, hurdlers, and relay squads in addition to assisting with the day-to-day operations of the program. Fuca was a four-year letterwinner in track at Binghamton University from 2008 to 2012. The twotime all-conference selection captured the conference title in the 100-meter hurdles in 2012 and finished his career as the school’s record holder in the 60-meter hurdles.

WOMEN’S COACH: Ryan Orner (Towson ’99), fourth season OUTLOOK: In addition to a solid core of returnees, the Musketeers add freshman Caroline Gosser to the mix for the 2015–16 season. Gosser capped off her high school career by capturing her second consecutive Kentucky 1A State Title in the 3,200-meter run.

She finished her high school track and cross country career with three state titles.

NOTEWORTHY: The Xavier women’s track team placed 16 student-athletes on the BIG EAST All-Academic Team last season. To be eligible for the honor, a nominee must have competed in a BIG EAST-

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sponsored sport and attained a minimum grade-point average of 3.00 for the preceding academic year.

VOLLEYBALL COACH: Christy Pfeffenberger (Dayton ’05), first season OUTLOOK: The Musketeers added four freshmen to the mix for the 2015–16 season, as the Musketeers faced a challenging non-conference schedule to prepare for conference play.

Xavier opened up BIG EAST play 3–0 after being picked to finish third in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches Poll. Junior Abbey Bessler was one of five unanimous selections to the 12-member, non-positional preseason all-conference team.

The outside hitter earned an AVCA All-Regional Honorable Mention selection last season and was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team and All-BIG EAST Tournament Team.

NOTEWORTHY: Junior Abbey Bessler eclipsed 1,000 career kills against Marquette on September 23, 2015. Bessler posted a school record 33 kills in a comeback win (17–25, 20–25, 25–22, 25–22, 15–13) against St. John’s on September 26, 2015.

The previous record was held

by Kate Duchek with 29 kills against Duquesne on October 16, 2004. This also marks the third time in Bessler’s career that she recorded 25 or more kills in a match.

TRACK AND FIELD (INDOOR & OUTDOOR) MEN’S COACH: Ryan Orner (Towson ’99), fourth season OUTLOOK: The Musketeers return three All-BIG EAST performers from last year’s squad that placed fifth at the BIG EAST Indoor Championship and BIG EAST Outdoor Championship. Among the returners are Zachary Polk, who collected four medals at the championship meet as a freshman, as well as juniors Aaron Peterson, Josh Phelan, and Russell Platt.

Senior Nick Foster was the 2015 BIG EAST Championship Most Outstanding Performer. Xavier has won two straight conference titles.

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POST GAME INTERVIEW

GIMME A FULL REPORT “WILLIE” SAYS CHRIS MACK “HAS NO CHANCE” AGAINST HIM IN H-O-R-S-E. DOES THAT REALLY SURPRISE YOU? BY JOHN KIESEWETTER

Bill Cunningham has hung on to this blue wool blanket with his name embroidered on it that he received from his baseball coach at Xavier, Joe Hawk.

You were a Deer Park High School basketball star, so why didn’t you play for Xavier? I played my freshman and part of my sophomore year at Muskingum, and then [childhood sweetheart] Penny [Asbrock Cunningham, now a judge on the Ohio First District Court of Appeals] told me it was time to get married. I came back and enrolled at Xavier in January 1968. I had only one year of basketball eligibility left, but had to sit out a year, so I said the hell with it. I got ahold of Joe Hawk, the baseball coach, and I got a baseball scholarship. I played for three years. I was 20 years old and chose marriage and Xavier over Muskingum and basketball. Who

wins a game of H-O-R-S-E between you and Chris Mack?

Me! Chris Mack would have no chance! I’m as good left-handed as I am right-handed. And I’ll make 100 free throws in a row. Chris Mack is around the game, but he has little basketball ability to play the game. I watched him play. He wasn’t very good. I’m very confident that Chris Mack would have no chance against me in H-O-R-S-E. What’s your go-to shot in H-O-R-S-E? Standing backwards out of bounds, I can shoot it over the top of the backboard, which is like 15 feet, and straight down, and I call a “swish!” Chris Mack couldn’t make that shot. Which Great Americans from Xavier

have been your favorite guests on your 700 WLW-AM talk show (weekdays, noon–3 p.m.)? Pete Gillen. He could turn a phrase. Great self-deprecating humor. He could talk about any issue. Pete Gillen was the most media-savvy individual who ever coached for Xavier. Another is Roger Fortin, a [retired] history professor, who taught me at Xavier. Roger Fortin was the best professor I had at Xavier. Is there a Xavier-themed episode you could do

on your national CW network’s Bill Cunningham daytime TV show (3 p.m., Channel 12.2)? No! Xavier has ethics, values, and morals, and most of my [TV] shows do not! Were you any good at baseball? Give me a full report. I played baseball at Xavier for

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three years [1968–1970]—shortstop and second base—and I was the captain of the 1970 baseball team. I batted third and hit .305 my senior year. I looked at Joe Hawk’s records, and I didn’t strike out my entire senior year. If Chris Mack asked you to give a pregame pep talk, what would you say? I’d be honored to talk to the boys, but my pregame success is not the best. In 2010, the Xavier baseball coach invited me to speak to the boys about what it took to be a Musketeer. I gave them my best speech—and the starting pitcher from Xavier gave up six runs in the first inning. The Deer Park football coach had a big game at Madeira’s homecoming about six years ago and asked me to speak to the team. I gave my best speech about America, Tippecanoe and Tyler too, Pearl Harbor, Da Nang, and Pork Chop Hill. The boys almost knocked down the door to get on the field. And at the end of the first quarter, the score was 35–0 Madeira. I looked at the coach and he said,“You can go now.”The final score was like 49–3. My speeches haven’t had the desired effect.

Longtime TV columnist John Kiesewetter writes his Media Beat blog for Cincinnati Public Radio at WVXU.org/tvkiese.

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