THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE FOR XAVIER ATHLETICS
GREAT X-PECTATIONS CHRIS MACK AND HIS MUSKETEERS ARE RIGHT WHERE THEY WANT TO BE: IN CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE NATION’S TOP PROGRAMS
STEVE WOLF IS ALWAYS UPBEAT IN BUSINESS, ON-AIR, IN LIFE
FAMILY HISTORY
VOLLEYBALL STANDOUT KRISTEN MASSA’S SUCCESS IS IN HER GENES
ROAD TRIPPERS XU FAITHFUL FOLLOW THEIR TEAM ANYWHERE
Cheer Louder. Play Harder. Live Better. Whenever Xavier competes, they have the support of their loyal fans and the TriHealth system. As the official health care provider for Xavier, our entire system of physicians, nurses and specialists are here to help Xavier fans and athletes stay in the game and live better. To learn more, go to TriHealth.com.
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Contents X AV I E R N AT I O N
SPRING 2016
20 | 2015–2016 SEASON REVIEW
Xavier’s men’s basketball team had a stellar season and was talked about as a legit Final Four contender. The women got off to a strong start but struggled down the stretch. For both, there is plenty to look forward to next season.
28 | BOUNDLESS ENERGY Steve Wolf is a college basketball analyst with a hugely successful digital printing business, but nothing makes the former Xavier men’s basketball player happier than family.
32 | FAMILIAR FACES
It takes a village; that's for sure. Xavier Nation wants you to meet seven members of the Xavier family who work to support student-athletes and the campus overall.
38 | NOT SO FAST Leaving school early to pursue an NBA dream is not the norm for Musketeer basketball players. But it does happen. “I really wish I woulda stayed,” Semaj Christon tells us.
42 | TALES FROM THE ROAD These Musketeer super fans follow the men’s basketball team all over the country—heck, all over the world! And boy do they have stories to tell. Some we could even print.
46 | A FAMILY AFFAIR Volleyball star Kristen Massa has some big shoes to fill. Her dad scored more than 1,000 points at Xavier, one aunt played volleyball, and another aunt coached the women’s basketball and volleyball teams.
50 | COME ALL YE FAITHFUL Mark and Susie Hammitt lead Xavier’s Athletes in Action program with this mission in mind: “We are seeking to make known the person of Christ in the lives of all the students.”
54 | TAKING ONE FOR THE TEAM
WARMUP
12 Celebrity
Sightings Football and baseball stars, a boxing champion, and the hilarious Bill Murray all showed up at Cintas Center between October and March.
14 By the Numbers Here are some fun facts about Xavier’s men’s basketball jersey numbers and the people who wore them.
16 One For All How well do you know D’Artagnan? Let us help you become better acquainted with your mascot.
18 What’s
That Trophy? We took a visit to the Xavier Hall of Fame and learned about one of its items on display.
COOL DOWN
58 Where Are
They Now? Former Xavier football player Mike Moran is John Carroll University’s highly successful men’s basketball and golf coach. Also, former women’s basketball star Ta’Shia Phillips tries her hand at coaching.
60 Master Class Who better to teach a leadership class than the leader of Xavier’s athletic department Greg Christopher?
61 Recap A look at all 18 Musketeer teams.
64 Ah, Dana’s
Xavier Nation gets to chat with BJ Hayley from none other than Dana Gardens.
Xavier Nation talked to four former men’s basketball student managers about their favorite memories, embarrassing moments and lessons learned, and what they’re doing now.
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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, John Kiesewetter, Tabari McCoy, Rodney McKissic, Michael Perry, Hayley Schletker (Xavier), Bill Thompson, Sue Vonderhaar, Mikayla Williams
PHOTOGRAPHERS
(inb ox) Call 1.800.846.4333 or visit cincinnatimagazine.com
John Carrington, Doug Cochran, Glenn Hartong, Mike McLaughlin, Greg Rust (Xavier), Hayley Schletker (Xavier), Jessica Smith (Xavier), Bob Stevens (Xavier), Tony Tribble, Frank Victores
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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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. @EnqRory
JOHN KIESEWETTER Longtime TV columnist writes a Media Beat blog for Cincinnati Public Radio at WVXU.org/tvkiese. @TVKiese
TABARI McCOY
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 R I C H S C H U LT Z /G E T T Y I M AG E S
Former CinWeekly arts, entertainment, and news reporter. A professional standup comedian. Also worked at Community Press papers and was a Bengals intern. @tabarimccoy
RODNEY McKISSIC Former Xavier beat reporter for The Cincinnati Post and former sports reporter for the Buffalo News and The News Tribune in Tacoma, Wash. @rodneymckissic
MICHAEL PERRY Former Xavier beat reporter and former sports editor of The Cincinnati Enquirer. Author & publisher of Xavier Tales: Great Stories from Musketeers Basketball (2008). @mdperry14
Visualizing the Goal
I
IN THE FALL 1997, THEN-COACH SKIP PROSSER HUNG A FRAMED PICTURE OF THE Alamodome on a wall in the small lounge area outside of the team’s locker room in Schmidt Fieldhouse. San Antonio was the site of the 1998 Final Four, and Prosser wanted to plant in the minds of his players their ultimate goal. The Musketeers were coming of a 23–6 season and their first Atlantic 10 Conference championship and returning their top six players. They were ranked No. 13 at the end of the 1996–97 season. Entering only its third year in the A-10, the program had aspirational goals. They seemed lofty at the time, almost out of reach. “We weren’t shocked,” former Musketeer Darnell Williams says now of the Alamodome photo. “We were all thinking: That’s where we want to go. Coach Prosser tried to change the culture of the program. He wanted it to go national. I see it happening now.” I thought about this during this past season when Xavier was mentioned several times as a legitimate Final Four contender. And when the team handled then-No. 1 Villanova 90–83 on Feb. 24 at Cintas Center (leading by as many as 15). And when Villanova won the national championship 5½ weeks later. The goal does not seem out of reach any longer. Coach Chris Mack and the entire program get their fair share of national attention these days—and not as a Little-Engine-That-Could story. Now a member of the BIG EAST, you don’t have the annual mid-major moniker tossed around nor the Cinderella story label. As you will read in our season review and look ahead, the attitude of the program may best be summed up by Athletic Director Greg Christopher: “We have evolved from a very solid program to a nationally elite program.” Xavier wasn’t the only talented team to lose on a heart-breaking buzzer beater in the NCAA Tournament. And next season six of the top nine scorers, including the top three, return. The team is coming off an incredible 28–6 season and a school-record No. 9 ranking in the final Associated Press poll. Anyone have a photo of University of Phoenix Stadium handy?
Sincerely,
BILL THOMPSON Longtime editor and reporter at The Cincinnati Enquirer, including in sports department.
Michael Perry, Editor-in-Chief musketeers@xaviernationmagazine.com
SUE VONDERHAAR Former deputy sports editor, night news editor and copy desk chief at The Cincinnati Enquirer.
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P H OT O G R A P H B Y T K
PERFECT FORM // Kara Robinson
ďŹ nishes third in the 60-meter hurdles at the BIG EAST Indoor Track and Field Championships on Feb. 26-27. PHOTOGRAPH BY MIKE McLAUGHLIN
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NICE AND EASY, KARA P H OT O G R A P H B Y T K
THE FRESHMAN FROM PATASKALA, OHIO, SET A SCHOOL RECORD WITH A TIME OF 8.85 AT THE NEWLY OPENED OCEAN BREEZE TRACK AND FIELD ATHLETIC COMPLEX IN STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.
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OFF TO A GOOD START 6 X AV I E R N AT I O N | S P R I N G 2 0 1 6
P H OT O G R A P H B Y T K
XAVIER’S STUDENT SECTION THROWS CONFETTI IN THE AIR AFTER JALEN REYNOLDS SCORES ON A LAYUP 49 SECONDS INTO THE CROSSTOWN SHOOTOUT. THE MUSKETEERS BUILT A 10-1 LEAD AGAINST UC.
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XAVIER 65, CINCINNATI 55 // P H OT O G R A P H B Y T K
The Musketeers won in front of a then-Cintas Center-record crowd of 10,617 on Dec. 12 to start the season 10-0. It was Xavier’s third consecutive victory over the Bearcats. PHOTOGRAPH BY BOB STEVENS
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P H OT O G R A P H B Y T K
SNIP, SNIP // Xavier baseball players and staff get clipped by the Supercuts team after their game against Morehead State on April 10. PHOTOGRAPH BY HAYLEY SCHLETKER
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P H OT O G R A P H B Y T K
HAIR CUTS FOR A CAUSE THE MUSKETEERS RAISED MORE THAN $13,000 FOR VS. CANCER FOUNDATION BY VOLUNTEERING TO LOSE THEIR LOCKS.
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Warmup//
P H OT O G R A P H B Y D O U G C O C H R A N
CELEBRITY SIGHTINGS PG. 12
NUMBERS GAME PG. 14
MASCOT TRIVIA PG. 16
JUST TO GET YOU STARTED
WHAT’S THAT TROPHY? PG. 18
and MORE
XSPY WINNERS // Xavier held its first XSPY awards
to honor student-athletes, hosted by the StudentAthlete Advisory Committee and sponsored by MassMutual/The Innova Financial Group. Front row, from left: Erin McGauley (soccer), Samantha Dewey (soccer), Shane Crutchfield (golf) and Paxtyn Drew (swimming). Back row, from left: Chris Moore (soccer), Luke Johanns (swimming), Kyle Martin (soccer), Dan Rizzie (baseball), Rob Van Kirk (swimming), Edmond Sumner (basketball) and Nate Soria (baseball).
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WARMUP
IN THE CROWD
CELEBRITY HOT SPOT CINTAS CENTER WAS A DESTINATION THIS SEASON FOR SOME WELL-KNOWN ATHLETES, ENTERTAINERS
1 LEBRON & CO.: For the second straight October, the Cleveland Cavaliers played an exhibition game on Xavier’s home court. Here, J.R. Smith, left, and LeBron James share some laughs on the bench.
1 2
2 MEET AND GREET: James took time during the game against Atlanta to high-five some fans and even took a selfie that ended up in Sports Illustrated.
2
5 BILLY HAMILTON: The Cincinnati Reds center fielder was at the NBA exhibition game at Cintas, as well as Xavier’s game against Georgetown. 6 ADAM JONES: The Bengals veteran cornerback was also at the Jan. 19 XavierGeorgetown game. 7 BILL MURRAY: The famous actor-comedian, whose son Luke is a Xavier assistant coach, didn’t just sit still at the Xavier-Villanova game on Feb. 24. He actively participated in this time-out activity, trying to snag a mini ball thrown into the stands. Be the ball, Bill. Sorry, we couldn’t resist.
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P H OT O G R A P H B Y T K
4 “MONEY:” Unbeaten boxing champion Floyd Mayweather was all smiles when he showed up for the Cavs-Hawks exhibition game and sat courtside behind one of the baskets.
P H O T O G R A P H S B Y ( 1 , 2 , 3) B O B S T E V E N S ; (4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ) G R E G R U S T
3 TYLER EIFERT: The Cincinnati Bengals All-Pro tight end supported the home team with his Xavier T-shirt and the X when he attended the Musketeers’ upset over No. 1-ranked Villanova. Bengals teammate Jeremy Hill was there, too.
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P H OT O G R A P H B Y T K
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JERSEY BOYS
MISSING IN ACTION The only numbers from 0 to 55 never worn by a Xavier player are 46, 47, 48, and 49.
SCORING MACHINES
No. 10 has been worn by the most 1,000-point scorers (five)— Victor Fleming, Mark Lyons, Romain Sato, Steve Thomas, and Jamal Walker. Next most popular among 1,000-pointer scorers is No. 32 (Jim Boothe, Kenny Frease, Dave Piontek, and Darnell Williams).
GO BIG
No. 55 is the highest number ever worn by any Musketeer; those who’ve sported it include 1,000-point scorer Jack Thobe, Jordan Crawford, Reggie Butler, Eddie Johnson, and currently J.P. Macura.
SPEAKING OF ZERO Only Larry Austin Jr., Dee Davis, and 1,000-point scorers Lionel Chalmers and Semaj Christon have worn No. 0.
PLAYING ON The best numbers for players who continued their careers after college are 31 and 33. No. 31 was worn by three players who are currently playing overseas: Jason Love (Israel), Isaiah Philmore (Germany), and Travis Taylor (France). No. 33 was worn by one player who spent several years playing overseas—Brandon Cole—and two former NBA players: Brian Grant and Derek Strong.
WHAT’S IN A NUMBER?
SWITCH-A-ROO Several players wore different jersey numbers on the road than at home, mostly during the 1960s and for the 1939–1940 season.
ONE AND DONE These numbers were only worn by one player—6 (Bill Hoffer) and 8 (Bob Alston).
SPEAKING OF ONE YEP, WE’RE A BUNCH OF NUMBERS GEEKS HERE AT XAVIER NATION. WE CAME UP WITH THESE FUN FACTS ABOUT XU JERSEY NUMBERS:
Only Jalen Reynolds, Jaison Williams, and 1,000-point scorer Josh Duncan have worn No. 1. Well, Tu Holloway did wear 1 for one game, when he got blood on his jersey against Wake Forest in December 2010.
MOST POPULAR
No. 21 has been worn by 28 players, including coach Chris Mack, 1,000-point scorers Joe Geiger, T.J. Johnson, and Ray Tomlin, the first African-American player in program history. Next most popular is No. 24, worn by 25 Musketeers, including 1,000-point scorer Richie Harris.
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RETIRED NUMBERS
No. 23 (Byron Larkin), No. 30 (David West), No. 33 (Brian Grant), and No. 42 (Tyrone Hill). Note: No. 33 was worn after Grant by Brandon Cole, Joe Hughes, and Terrance Payne before it was retired.
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MASCOT TRIVIA
ONE FOR ALL
INSPIRED BY A REAL FRENCHMAN, OUR MUSKETEER D’ARTAGNAN HAS ROAMED THE SIDELINES FOR 50 YEARS. BY HAYLEY SCHLETKER
IN OCTOBER 2015, XAVIER CELEBRATED THE 50th anniversary of the Musketeer’s first appearance at an XU sporting event. Even after five decades, D’Artagnan (pronounced dar-TAN-yan) still manages to maintain an aura of mystery. We bet you didn’t know these 10 facts about our favorite faux Frenchman:
And he was an actual Musketeer: D’Artagnan, the historical figure, did serve as a captain of the Musketeers of the Guard for France’s King Louis XIV before dying in the Franco-Dutch War.
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Literary hero: Prior to Dumas’s “D’Artagnan Romances” (The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later), D’Artagnan appeared in another piece of literary work. Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras’s book Mémoires de M. d’Artagna was a semi-fictionalized version of his life that served as the basis for Dumas’s novels.
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The fourth Musketeer: Though D’Artagnan was a member of the Musketeers of the Guard in Dumas’s books, he is not one of the Three Musketeers. He befriends Athos, Porthos, and Aramis while attempting to join the elite corps.
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Xavier’s Musketeer origins: Xavier Board of Trustees member Reverend Francis J. Finn proposed the Musketeer as Xavier’s mascot in 1925. Finn felt D’Artagnan recognized Xavier’s historical ties to France while embodying the school’s “all for one, one for all” spirit.
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D’Artagnan’s debut: The Musketeer made its first appearance at a sporting event in October 1965 when Bill Peters, a 1968 Xavier graduate, appeared as the first D’Artagnan for the Xavier football homecoming game against Villanova. The Musketeers defeated the Wildcats, 35–0.
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A one-man show: Now as many as four Xavier students are used to meet all of D’Artagnan’s obligations, but the first Musketeer was on his own. Peters not only performed as the sole D’Artagnan, he was responsible for transportation to events, as well as the cleaning and upkeep of the costume.
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The clothes make the Musketeer: Peters appeared, unmasked, in a one-piece costume featuring a white blouse with blue pleated sleeves, a brown vest, and dark blue pantaloons. The original Musketeer costume also featured a blue cape, a fencing foil, and fake brown boots made to cover nonmarking shoes.
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A new-look Musketeer: D’Artagnan has had a few facelifts through the years. The current edition of the Musketeer mascot costume made its first appearance at the beginning of the 2004–2005 basketball season.
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P H OT O G R A P H B Y B O B S T E V E N S
D’Artagnan was a real person: Born in France in the 17th century, Charles de Batz-Castelmore d’Artagnan was the original inspiration for the fictional character in the books of Alexandre Dumas.
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D’Artagnan stands alone: In a sea of Lions and Tigers and Bears (and Wildcats and Eagles and Bulldogs), Xavier is the only school in NCAA Division I to use the Musketeer as its mascot, making D’Artagnan truly one-of-a-kind.
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HALL OF FAME
1958 NIT MVP TROPHY HANK STEIN LED XAVIER BASKETBALL TO ITS ONLY NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP, AND WORE THE SPOILS OF VICTORY ON HIS HEAD. BY RORY GLYNN
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son Square Garden. “I wondered if we shouldn’t have declined the invitation,” Stein says. But XU rallied for a 95–86 victory. In game two, XU also fell behind Bradley, which had routed the Musketeers with 116 points in the previous NIT; this time, XU rallied to win 72–62, and a 72–53 win over St. Bonaventure followed. All that was left was a rematch with the rival Dayton Flyers, who had beaten XU twice during the regular season. Stein scored 23 points, his third straight game over 20, and rallied the Musketeers in overtime. XU finished with a 19–11 record—and a national championship.
P H OT O G R A P H S ( T O P) B Y H AY L E Y S C H L E T K E R ; (B OT TO M) C O U R T E S Y X AV I E R U N I V E R S I T Y
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THE SILVER BOWL, ENGRAVED WITH the words Outstanding Player Award, now graces the P. Douglas O’Keefe Athletics Hall of Fame on the west concourse of Cintas Center. Few fans remember Xavier’s 1958 national championship, from an era when the National Invitational Tournament’s prestige was on par with that of the NCAA Tournament. Hank Stein, who scored 90 points over four games and was named tournament MVP, figures fewer still would learn about it with the bowl resting in a living-room curio cabinet at his West Chester home. Once in, Xavier promptly fell behind Niagara 16–3 in the opener at Madi-
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P H OT O G R A P H B Y T K
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P H OT O G R A P H B Y T K
THE MUSKETEERS HAVE ENTERED THE CONVERSATION INVOLVING THE NATION’S ELITE MEN’S BASKETBALL PROGRAMS. BY // RORY GLYNN XavierNationMagazine.com
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Chris Mack is 40 victories shy of tying Pete Gillen as Xavier’s all-time winningest men’s basketball coach. This past season, Mack passed mentor Skip Prosser to move into second place with 162 victories.
• Speaking of the NCAA Tournament, XU made the field for the 10th time in 11 years—only nine schools can say the same—with a program-best No. 2 seed, and only a buzzer-beater by the previous season’s national runner-up kept the Musketeers from a shot at a fourth Sweet 16 under Mack.
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ONE DAY AFTER VILLANOVA WON THE NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT, THE coach of the last team to beat the national champions in the regular season was committing heavily to his own ascendant BIG EAST program: Chris Mack picked up a couple of new Xavier throw pillows at the campus bookstore for the couch in his Cintas Center office. But if you were looking for a metaphor for the Xavier program, as the successful 2015– 2016 season gave way to an optimistic offseason, this one might do nicely. Xavier basketball, a program that has become part of the fabric of March for the better part of three decades, arguably has never looked fresher or better. “We have evolved from a very solid program to a nationally elite program,” Athletic Director Greg Christopher says. “We are not anybody’s cuddly, plucky, mid-major anymore.” Three telling examples: • The Musketeers won 28 games this past season, tied for second-most in school history, and did it in the BIG EAST, in which they placed second, best in their three years as part of the conference. The BIG EAST placed five teams in the NCAA Tournament, two more than the SEC.
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“There’s no doubt it was a special season,” Christopher says. “Twenty-eight wins, a No. 2 seed; those are things that speak for themselves.” And yet the day it ended, on a threepointer by Wisconsin in the last second of the second round, fans were left wanting more—not because it put a damper on the season, but just because they didn’t want to see the season end. Because these days, Xavier doesn’t do March the way other schools might, or even the way it once did. The Musketeers aren’t wide-eyed players cheering their name going on the board during Selection Sunday, or dog-piling on an arena floor after a first-weekend win. For Xavier, the month has become less about madness and more about marching on. Perhaps few can appreciate that evolution more than Mack, who captained a Xavier team that had No. 1 Indiana on the ropes at the Hoosier Dome in 1993. Twenty-three years later, it was the Musketeers who were in the late-season conversation for a No. 1 seed. “Xavier historically has always played with a chip on its shoulder; I don’t think that’s changed,” Mack says. “But certainly the exposure, the conference affiliation, the resources…a lot has changed. And the majority of that lies with some great players who have done some great things on some terrific teams.”
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PHOTO GRAPH (PRE VIOUS SPRE AD) BY DOUG COCHRAN; (THIS PAGE & OPP OSITE) BY DOUG COCHRAN
• Speaking of Mack, he won three national coach-of-the year awards (U.S. Basketball Writers, CBS Sports, Basketball Times) after taking a Xavier team picked fourth in its own league to No. 5 in the nation in the Associated Press top 25, higher than any Xavier team ever had climbed. XU’s first-round NCAA victory was Mack’s seventh, more than any Xavier coach, and he was given a contract extension through the 2020–2021 season.
SUCCESS MACK: “THE COMPLETE PACKAGE” Pete Gillen brought some talented players to Xavier and led the Musketeers to their first NCAA Tournament victory (1987), first Sweet 16 (1990), and more wins than any other coach (202). But as far as he took the program, Gillen says even he couldn’t envision what it has become today. “I thought that they would do very well, but I never dreamed they’d be at this high a level,” says Gillen, now a game and studio analyst for CBS Sports Network. Gillen says Mack’s contribution shouldn’t be understated after he led a Xavier team unranked in the preseason to a winter home in the top 10. “I thought he should have been national coach of the year,” says Gillen, who says he began to appreciate Mack’s feel for the game during the season Mack sat out as a transfer from Evansville, when his only competition came in practice. “That year, he used to play with the second group, and they used to beat our ones three out of five,” Gillen says. “Chris knew the weaknesses of everybody on the floor and got his team organized. I used to have to say, ‘Chris, go get a drink of water. Chris, go take a rest,’ and get him out of there. We didn’t want our first group to lose confidence. He has a tremendous basketball IQ.” Says Christopher: “I’m biased, of course, but I believe Chris Mack is one of the best basketball coaches in America. He cares about his players off and on the court, and he cares deeply about Xavier. He’s the complete package.”
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in the BIG EAST has reached the level Villanova has, but if anyone’s been close, it’s been the Musketeers.” “It makes it extremely real—for players, coaches, and our fan base,” Mack says. “This is a true competitor of ours. The gap is not that big.” In a college athletics landscape dominated by schools from so-called Power 5 conferences, Villanova’s victory provides a template for schools like Xavier. “I thought you had to have more NBA-level talent (to win a championship), and yet Villanova did it with probably no first-round picks in their starting lineup,” DeCourcy says. “That hasn’t been done since [Indiana in] 1987. “Make no mistake, Ryan Arcidiacano is a terrific college player. So is Josh Hart, and Kris Jenkins. You don’t have to have Anthony Davis. Villanova showed that you can win if you get the right mix and do a good job developing players.”
NO. 1s
WHEN XAVIER DEFEATED VILLANOVA ON FEB. 24, IT SHOULDN’T HAVE BEEN A SHOCK. AFTER ALL, THE MUSKETEERS ARE 4-2 AGAINST NO. 1-RANKED TEAMS (ASSOCIATED PRESS) OVER THE PAST 20 SEASONS. THE RESULTS: No. 5 Xavier 90, No. 1 Villanova 83 Feb. 24, 2016 No. 1 Ohio State 78, Xavier 71 March 17, 2007, NCAA Tournament Xavier 87, No. 1 St. Joseph’s 67 March 11, 2004, Atlantic 10 tournament No. 1 Alabama 65, No. 19 Xavier 58 Jan. 4, 2003 Xavier 66, No. 1 Cincinnati 64 Dec. 18, 1999 Xavier 71, No. 1 Cincinnati 69 Nov. 26, 1996
Edmond Sumner rebounded from a Dec. 31 injury that sidelined him for 2½ weeks to be unanimously selected to the all-BIG EAST Freshman Team by the league’s coaches. He was BIG EAST Conference Freshman of the Week five times.
VILLANOVA VICTORY SIGNIFICANT Xavier went 6–1 against the top 25 last season—3–0 against the top 10—but no victory was bigger than the one over Villanova in February, No. 4/5 vs. No. 1, in front of a record crowd at the Cintas Center, the Musketeers’ first win over the Wildcats since joining the BIG EAST. The magnitude of the accomplishment was only amplified by Villanova’s NCAA title. “Villanova winning the national championship was enormous for the whole league,” says Mike DeCourcy, national college basketball writer for The Sporting News, “but particularly for Xavier. No one
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(This page) Trevon Bluiett celebrates with fans after Xavier’s defeat of No. 1-ranked Villanova on Feb. 24. (Opposite) Jalen Reynolds dunks hard during the Musketeers’ 90-83 victory over Villanova. Reynolds finished that game with 11 points and four rebounds in 21 minutes.
“YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE” Mack says the administration gives him the resources he needs, but he’s realistic. “Here’s the thing: We will not be the New York Yankees of college basketball. We’re not going to spend as much as North Carolina or Duke. We’re just not,” he says. “The thing about Xavier for so, so long is, we’ve had truly great players,” he says. “Some of those guys, when they walked in the door, they were good, but they became household names by the time they left. James Posey, David West, Matt Stainbrook, James Farr, they got a heck
COMING AND GOING // CHANGES FOR 2016–2017.
of a lot better here. If we do our job to the best of our ability in developing our players, both athletically and as people, then Xavier’s the perfect spot.” While Villanova’s recent tournament history had been marked by disappointing exits, that all changed in 2016, when the Wildcats took out the tournament’s best player (Oklahoma’s Buddy Hield) and two No. 1 seeds, Kansas and North Carolina, on the way to the net-snipping ritual. DeCourcy saw a takeaway there for Xavier as well. “You have to believe how good you are,” DeCourcy says. “I don’t think this
COMING
Xavier team totally believed how good they were, and to an extent that comes from maturity. That was true of Villanova when they were losing to teams that weren’t as good as they were. “Whenever I watched Xavier, there was an element of, ‘When they get it, they’re going to be really good.’ With that core back, they’re going to win those games next year.” Jeff Goodman, ESPN college basketball reporter, says Xavier may not be considered an “elite program,” mentioned in the same sentence as schools such as Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, and North
GOING
Eddie Ekiyor
RaShid Gaston
Quentin Goodin
Tyrique Jones
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(6-9, F)
(6-5, G)
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Remy Abell guard
Larry Austin Jr. guard
Makinde London forward
Jalen Reynolds forward-center
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COACH OF THE YEAR // XAVIER’S CHRIS MACK WAS NAMED NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR BY: U.S. Basketball Writers Association Basketball Times magazine
P H OT O G R A P H S (O P P O S I T E ) B Y B O B S T E V E N S ; ( T H I S PA G E ) B Y D O U G C O C H R A N
CBS Sports
Carolina, but for many it’s moved into that “next tier.” “This past season did a few things for Xavier,” Goodman says. “It elevated the program to where people now view it at a different level, especially on a national level. It also elevated Chris Mack and his profile—and the success from last season will give the program the added credibility leading into next season. I’d be surprised if the Musketeers aren’t in the conversation for a preseason top-10 team due to the success and what Mack and his staff have returning.”
PHOENIX ON THEIR MINDS About that core: Xavier had six players average at least 9.4 points per game last season, led by Trevon Bluiett’s 15.1, ninth in the BIG EAST. Four are expected to return: Bluiett, Edmond Sumner, Myles Davis, and J.P. Macura.
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Bluiett and Jalen Reynolds put their names out for NBA consideration. Bluiett was expected to return to Xavier, but Reynolds, who earned his Xavier degree, signed with an agent in April and will pursue a professional basketball career, NBA or otherwise. Farr and Remy Abell graduated, and Larry Austin Jr. and Makinde London decided to transfer. But the initial impressions are overwhelmingly positive. CBS Sports picked Xavier fifth in its Ridiculously Early Top 25; USA Today placed Xavier sixth and ESPN 11th in their Way-Too-Early rankings. Rankings aren’t infallible—the Musketeers were unranked in preseason a year ago, then spent 14 straight weeks in the AP Top 10—but nobody at Xavier has a problem with setting the bar high. “Clearly you can always fine-tune until you’re the national champion,” Christopher says. “In college basketball, unless you’re the national champion, there’s
no soft landing at the end of the season. Certainly we’re realistic enough to know there are so many variables, including a bit of good fortune. But I think the program has everything in place to make a legitimate run at the Final Four and the national championship.” The 2017 Final Four is in Phoenix. Xavier would love to be there. Xavier would love to stick around through Monday. “To me, those goals sort of go handin-hand,” Mack says. “Nobody who gets to the Final Four is going to say, ‘We’re good, let’s put on the brakes.’ At that point, you believe in your team enough. Your team believes. It’s two more games.” Mack says that’s the biggest legacy of beating the national champion. “That true belief about what this team can accomplish should exist in every one of our players,” he says. “That should fuel them to capitalize on the great opportunity that we have.”
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MEANS OF
MOTIVATION INCREMENTAL PROGRESS ISN’T ENOUGH FOR THE XAVIER WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM.
BY // BILL THOMPSON
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IT IS A SIGN OF PROGRESS WHEN A winning record—and more regular-season victories than the year before—is a disappointment for a team. That’s the situation in which coach Brian Neal and his women’s basketball players fi nd themselves as they begin preparations for 2016–2017. The Musketeers were cruising at 17–6 after the fi rst week in February, but stumbled in the fi nal seven games to fi nish 17–13. Not bad, but not what could have been.
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(This page) Junior Maddison Blackwell scores against Creighton on Feb. 7 at Cintas Center. The Musketeers won 57-55 on a put-back from Jenna Crittendon as time expired. Blackwell shot 51.6 percent from the field during BIG EAST play—fourth-highest in the conference—while averaging 9.2 points per game. (Opposite) Xavier gathers around the Kendle Cup traveling trophy after its 65-56 victory over the University of Cincinnati on Dec. 13 at Cintas Center. The Musketeers are 9-3 in their last 12 meetings with the Bearcats; the seniors leave with a 3-1 record against UC.
RISING SENIORS
PHO OT T O G R A P H SB Y ( TTHKI S PA G E & O P P O S I T E ) B Y D O U G C O C H R A N
THESE THREE MUSKETEERS WILL BE LEADING THE TEAM ON THE COURT NEXT SEASON.
“They feel like we slipped at the end, and quite honestly everybody was disappointed,” Neal says. “But in a way it’s nice when your kids are disappointed because that’s what will drive them to avoid future disappointments. We will use what happened as a motivator.” The fact is: Six regular-season losses were to teams ahead of Xavier in the BIG EAST Conference standings. And three were heartbreaking. “Basically, we lost three in the last 30 seconds,” Neal says, including a one-point loss to Butler in the BIG EAST Tournament. “They were all against good teams. If we win two of them, the season’s totally different. But that’s the way it worked out, and we have to deal with it.” There is reason to believe that the Musketeers will cope just fi ne. Although they lose three key players in Briana Glover, Jenna Crittendon, and Aliyah Zantt, the returning roster is filled with talent led by Raeshaun Gaffney, the leading scorer at 11 points per game, and Maddison Blackwell, who averaged seven points but finished the season with a flourish. “Maddison had a breakout year,” Neal says. “Her scoring in the second half of the season was climbing; she had some really big games. We will look to Rae and Maddison both. They’re seniors, they’re scorers. “And I wouldn’t discount Leah Schaefer. She’s not a big scorer, but she’s a very good role player who does a lot of dirty work for the team. A kid to watch could be Marquia Turner; she had some good games down the stretch and she has good leadership characteristics. And Jada Byrd showed some sparks this year, we’re excited about what she can
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do, especially on the defensive side.” The team is deep on the perimeter and will be even stronger with the return of Kindell Fincher, who started the fi rst two games before breaking her hand and missing the rest of the season. Most of the questions surround the front line, although Neal and Gaffney have confidence the bigs will play big. “We feel like when Tierra [Floyd, a 6-foot2 freshman from Toledo who redshirted after injuring a knee in the preseason] is healthy, she will have a huge impact,” Gaffney says. “Competition is a always good thing, having people push each other brings out the best in everyone on the court.” The challenge of playing in the BIG EAST is that each opponent presents different problems. Xavier struggled at times against teams that were taller and stronger, so Neal needs Floyd, 6-foot-1 sophomore Imani Partlow, and 6-foot-2 junior Anniina Äijänen to push back. “Imani has a year’s experience,” Neal says. “Anniina can shoot big and she can move, so we have to get her skill to match her physicality.” The Musketeers took two weeks off after their fi nal game and then went back to work. The break was long enough for Gaffney, who sounds eager to start her fi nal season. “There were too many games that we just let slip away,” she says of the past season. “The way we’re approaching conditioning… everyone is locked in and focused. I think this will be the year we grow as a team and as individuals.” If anyone loses focus and needs motivation, her teammates know where to look.
Raeshaun Gaffney, a 5-foot-8 guard from Fairfield High School, was not only the leading scorer this past season (11.1 points per game), she was the leading rebounder (4.8 per game) and was third in steals (31).
Maddison Blackwell, a 5-foot-11 forward from Gahanna, averaged 6.8 points and 4.3 rebounds but had more than a halfdozen games in double figures after the first of the year, including 21 points against Villanova in the penultimate game of the regular season.
Leah Schaefer, a 6-foot-1 forward from Highlands High School, doesn’t fill up the scorebook but averaged almost 20 minutes per game and almost four rebounds, shot 47 percent from the field, 84 percent from the line, had 19 blocks and 18 steals.
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BOUNDLESS ENERGY
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XAVIER GRAD STEVE WOLF JUGGLES SPORTS, FAMILY, AND BUSINESS, AND COMES OUT ON TOP. BY // JOHN KIESEWETTER PHOTOGRAPHS BY // GLENN HARTONG
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OU’D EXPECT CBS SPORTS analyst and former Xavier (’83) basketball star Steve Wolf to talk about transition points, shooting percentages, or how to beat a full-court press. Not about Coke bottles, craft beer and wine shrink sleeve labels, volleyball serves, or printing presses. Away from the basketball court, that’s what consumes Wolf, 56, the father of four and vice president of family-owned Innovative Labeling Solutions, a Fairfield Township digital printing company. Wolf, one of six brothers who starred on Cincinnati basketball and tennis courts in the 1970s and ’80s, is the father of Sabrina Wolf, a member of Mt. Notre Dame High School’s three-time Ohio volleyball state champions. When basketball season ends—after going coast-to coast to do 22 BIG EAST, Atlantic 10, Mountain West, American Athletic, and Mid-American conference games—Steve and his wife Jeanne are busy taking their three daughters to Junior Olympics club volleyball games or practices, and son Chase, a St. Xavier High School back-up quarterback, to football camps. Steve spends countless hours shagging volleyball serves for his daughters or tossing a football with Chase.
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FROM NC STATE TO XU Wolf, who won numerous Cincinnati tennis tournaments as a teen (wearing hightop basketball shoes), credits his success to sports and Xavier, which he never planned on attending. After graduating from St. X in 1978, he enrolled at North Carolina State. “I had no desire to go to Xavier,” he says. “Tay Baker’s team lost to Northern Kentucky! They were playing schools like Hanover and Kenyon College.” So Wolf packed his bags for the Wolfpack College Inn, living near NC State football captain Bill Cowher and other athletes. A year later, he transferred to Xavier. His father Charley was displeased with his son’s college lifestyle, and Steve was impressed with Bob Staak, Xavier’s new young coach. Staak talked about getting XU into a league; leaving ancient Schmidt Fieldhouse to play at Riverfront Coliseum (now U.S. Bank Arena) or Cincinnati Gardens; and taking XU to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in two decades. Wolf bought in. Had he stayed at NC State and red-shirted for a back injury, Wolf would have been a fifth-year senior on Jim Valvano’s 1983 national championship team. “People ask me: Doesn’t that bum you out? And I say: No. At X, I was on
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the teams that won the first conference game [Midwestern City Conference, now Horizon League], the first league title [1981], the first conference tournament [1983], and went to the NCAAs in the modern era [1983]. I felt like I was part of something bigger,” says Wolf, co-captain his senior year on a team with Anthony Hicks, Dexter Bailey, and Victor Fleming. As a kid in Ft. Mitchell, he played tennis with brothers Marty, Greg, Jeff, Dan, and David to stay in shape for basketball at the urging of their father, Charley, who coached the NBA Cincinnati Royals (1960–1963) and Detroit Pistons (1963–1964). “I wouldn’t have gone to college if I didn’t play sports. I’m not that kind. Sports and Xavier, along with my parents, are the reasons I have anything,” Wolf says in the basement family room of his Deerfield Township home. It’s decorated with autographed basketballs, photos of his dad with Royals stars, an Oscar Robertson jersey, and the 1983 conference tourney net.
SHARE A COKE Wolf was a newlywed working for Sheakley HR Solutions in 1996 when WLW-AM asked him to audition for Xavier’s radio team after Andy MacWilliams lost his voice. He did pre-game, half-time, and post-
game shows until getting a shot as analyst for WKRC-TV’s Miami Redhawks telecasts with Brad Johansen. That led to doing Xavier games with Johansen on Fox Sports Ohio and CBS games the last nine seasons. “Wolfie works hard to do a great job. He knows what he’s talking about,” says Johansen, who gave up CBS play-by-play when he switched from Channel 12 sports to news in 2014. Broadcasting is in Wolf’s genes. His mother Loraine was network and local TV star “Sis Camp” in the early 1950s, pantomiming to records on Paul Dixon’s WCPOTV show broadcast live on the ABC and DuMont networks. Wolf’s dad did NBA games on radio from Cincinnati Gardens for visiting NBA teams in the 1960s, when play-by-play guys didn’t travel. Three months after they married, Steve and Jeanne made another life-changing decision. They started a label-printing business in 1996 with her brother, Jay Dollories. Steve stayed with Sheakley while Jeanne did marketing at ILS, which has grown to 90 employees. Four years ago, Steve joined ILS full-time because of Jay’s international travel to acquire digital innovations. ILS has the first HP Indigo 2000 press in the U.S., which prints packaging for everything from soup to nuts: beer, wine, pop, water,
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P H O T O G R A P H S (A B OV E , C LO C K W I S E F R O M L E F T ) B Y G L E N N H A R T O N G , J O H N K I E S E W E T T E R , H AY L E Y S C H L E T K E R , H AY L E Y S C H L E T K E R ; (R I G H T ) C O U R T E S Y X AV I E R AT H L E T I C S
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Steve Wolf played at Xavier from 1980-83 after transferring from North Carolina State. In his Fairfield office, Wolf displays a CocaCola bottle with a label his company made. Wolf interviews Xavier coach Chris Mack before the Musketeers’ game at Creighton in February. Wolf teams with CBS Sports Network broadcast partner Dave Ryan for the Xavier-Creighton game in Omaha, Nebraska.
snacks, soap, lotions, and laundry labels for bottles, cans, or re-sealable pouches. “At first, this was just a passive investment for me,” Wolf says. “I was concerned we may need more money. I’m a hillbilly, so I always have another job.” His outgoing personality, which makes good TV, also makes him a good salesman, and a match for Dollories’s mechanical engineer experience at GE. “With Steve, I don’t think anybody is a stranger” says WLW-AM’s Dave Armbruster, Xavier’s radio broadcast producer. “He can work a room. Two minutes into talking with anyone, he’s their best friend. He has the personality. He’s bigger than life.” On the road for CBS, Wolf calls on some of his 500 craft beer and winery clients. Digital printing, which doesn’t re-
quire $1,500 press plates per job, makes it affordable for small beverage businesses to produce seasonal product labels. If you ask Wolf what he does, he says, “Go to Kroger. Everything on their shelves has a shrink sleeve or flexible packaging. Digital changed everything.” ILS’s biggest claim to fame is printing 350 different names on the “Share a Coke” campaign bottle labels. In a blank spot on the Coke label, “we print ‘John’ or ‘Reindeer’ or whatever. We were the first company to do that in the United States,” he says. Johansen calls Wolf “a man of boundless energy. Steve has like nine jobs. He’s always doing something, and that includes spending time with his family and working to develop their talents.” Owning the company allows Wolf to travel for TV, and gives Steve and Jeanne flexibility to watch volleyball, football, and basketball played by their children: Sabrina, 18, will play volleyball at the University of Cincinnati this fall; Chase, 16, a St. X sophomore; Stevie, 14, an eighth-grader at St. Margaret of York in Loveland; and Shayna, 11, a St. Margaret of York fifth-grader. “That we can get to our kids’ stuff is a big enticement for the long days we put in,” Wolf says. “Business is business, but it comes after family.”
WOLF GIRLS ON A ROLL Sabrina was a defensive specialist on the Mt. Notre Dame volleyball team which won Division I titles 2013–2015. Add older cousins Kelsey and Margo Wolf (Greg’s daughters), and Wolf girls have seven MND state volleyball championships since 2011. That’s seven more than their famous fathers or uncles won in high school. “My brother Marty won six Met [Cincinnati Metropolitan Tennis] champi-
onships, and Jeff won seven. But none of us Wolf boys have state titles. None,” Wolf says. “We boys had this run at St. X and now we’re having this run with our girls at MND, which is pretty impressive.” There could be more. In the fall Stevie goes to MND, where cousin Samantha (Dan’s daughter) played junior varsity volleyball as a sophomore last year. Often you’ll see Steve and Jeanne in the top row of the bleachers watching. Soon he’ll be adding women’s volleyball games at UC, Jeanne’s alma mater, to his calendar. “My daughters know more about volleyball than I do,” he says. “My son plays football. So I get to watch and relax. This worked out great for me.” Wolf credits Jeanne—who didn’t know his basketball background when they met—with his broadcasting career and much of their kids’ athletic successes. When Steve is on the road during basketball season, Jeanne is the single parent shuttling kids to practices and games. She has resumed that role after recovering from surgery to reduce a 23-centimeter lung tumor in 2014, when she was diagnosed with large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. “She’s doing fine now. She’s in the best shape of her life,” Steve says. “She’s got to be the toughest one in the family. “As I think about what I have been able to do in business, TV, or radio, none of it would be possible without her support. The WLW offer came right after we got married. We had just started a company and didn’t have any children. And Jeanne said, ‘I think you’d be great at it!’ I needed to have her backing. That was very important. It still is.” Longtime TV columnist John Kiesewetter covers TV/Media for Cincinnati Public Radio at WVXU.org/tvkiese. @TVKiese
XU CAREER: Steve Wolf played guard three seasons for Xavier coach Bob Staak. He averaged 8.7 points per game in 1980– 1981, 10.2 ppg in 1981–1982, and 6.3 ppg as 1982–1983 co-captain when XU (22–8) lost to Alcorn State in the 1983 NCAA Tournament opening round in Dayton. // BY THE NUMBER: Wolf wore No. 25 at Xavier to remind himself to make the most of his talents. In sixth grade, he heard the “Parable of the Talents” in Matthew 25 in church about “using your talents the best you could. I was so impressed that I looked it up. I didn’t want to bury my talents. Two days later, they were handing out uniforms, and I said, ‘I want No. 25.’ I wore No. 25 from grade school to high school to college.” // BIG TV BREAK: Wolf made ESPN’s SportsCenter in 2012 when CBS Sports TV partner James Bates’s stool collapsed during their pregame open for the Xavier–Dayton game at the Cintas Center. Google “James Bates and Steve Wolf” to see the blooper on YouTube.
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VONNYA THATOIVMEAS ADMINISTR ASSISTANT
WHEN VONNYA THOMAS SEES A student-athlete, often far away from home, her maternal instincts kick in. Thomas, of Evanston, has worked at Xavier for 23 years. Now an administrative assistant in the Office of the Graduate School, Thomas began a special relationship with many basketball players when she worked in the Bursar’s Office and they stopped by to deal with their accounts. “They were away from home and became kind of like sons to me,” she says. “I reminded them of a mother.” In time, she started making homecooked meals for some of the players. Then Thomas, whose own children, Kory Williams, 23, and Dashaun Williams, 18, attend Xavier now, was asked if she would prepare a meal for the basketball team before the season started. For the past two years, she has prepared a dinner to follow the team’s summer softball game. “There’s a communal part of soul food,” Thomas says, “that reminds you of your grandmother’s house and your mother’s house and your auntie’s house.” It’s love and family. And, to Thomas, that’s what coach Chris Mack’s program is all about. “He’s a family man—his daughters love my cornbread!—and he lives the Xavier tradition,” she says. Mack’s players exemplify the family orientation that is so special at Xavier. “The love they share and the passion they show for Xavier athletics. They live the mission of Xavier University.” And in her mission to share love and home with students far from their own homes, Thomas, who has earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts at XU and is working on her master’s in theology, also cooks special meals for fraternities and sororities, the Black Student Association, and the International Coffee Hour. “I love it here,” she says. “Working at Xavier is truly a blessing.”
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FAMILIAR FACES These members of the Xavier family work to support student-athletes—and the entire Musketeer community.
P H OT O G R A P H B Y T K
BY // SUE VONDERHAAR PHOTOGRAPHS BY // GREG RUST
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RYCE B N W A SGT.AVSIHER UNIVERSITY X
E POLIC
SGT. CASSANDRA TUCKER CINCIN
NATI POLICE DEPT .
SGTS. SHAWN BRYCE AND CASSANDRA Tucker have worked Xavier games for so long they often answer in unison. Bryce, a Xavier University police officer, and Tucker, of the Cincinnati Police Department, have worked game details since Cintas Center opened in 2000. “We love the excitement of the game,” Bryce says. “And building positive relation-
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ships with the students, fans, and alumni,” Tucker adds. So, what part of the game detail don’t you love? In unison: “The traffic!” The sergeants say they love everything about the game spectacle—the band, the cheerleaders, everyone involved in putting on a game, the fans. Especially the kids. And of course, the team. “When they win, we win,” Tucker says. “When they lose, we lose.” The sergeants, who each have children of their own, revel in the family vibe among the 10,250 fans at Xavier games. Tucker,
of Blue Ash, is married with one daughter. Bryce, of Forest Park, has a son and a daughter. “It’s family-oriented,” Tucker says. “And we’re part of it,” Bryce says. Indeed, Tucker is there in the tunnel at every game, praying with Sister Rose Ann Fleming and urging on the players. And stationed behind the Xavier bench, rooting on the home team, Bryce has their backs. “It’s become a part of who we are because we attend so many games,” Bryce says. “If they don’t know us by name, they know us by face,” Tucker says. And now you know their names.
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REV. AL BISCHOFF, S.J. CA MPUS PASTO R
YOU’VE LIKELY SEEN FATHER AL Bischoff—more commonly known as Father B.—around campus or at the Dorothy Day Center for Faith and Justice, where he serves as a campus pastor. But you won’t see him at any basketball games. “I get too worked up,” the 89-yearold says. “I’d say things I shouldn’t say. I decided I’d better clean up my act. I go to church and pray that I’ll calm down,” he continues wryly, “not that they’ll win.” Then after a pause: “I pray that the better team will win.” (Pause.) “But God will know I mean Xavier.” Bischoff says he doesn’t root for the team as much as he’s rooting for the individual players to succeed. “I don’t look at them as athletes. I see them as young men who play basketball,” he says. “I just see them as good people trying to make sense of their lives and trying to grow up with a sense of values.” Bischoff tells the student-athletes the basketball team is their church. People go to church to participate, to sing, to become one with others and one with God, he says. And so it is at a basketball game. “Every game is an opportunity to give their thanks to God and play with heart,” he says. Bischoff wasn’t always a basketball fan. He grew up in Price Hill rooting for the Reds—like everybody else. A St. Xavier grad, he went to Xavier, worked on a master’s at the University of Cincinnati, then returned to Xavier. He’s been at Xavier, off and on, about 25 years—18 years in his present role. Bischoff says he revels in the diversity of campus life—living and working with students of different nationalities and different religions, counseling those in need. “They’re like my family,” he says, lamenting, “but I only have them for four years.” Yet, as Jesus said at the Last Supper, “that we may all be one, Father, it’s a chance that we can all be one for four years.” “Being with them is a grace,” he says.
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JOHN SPEEADIN
PT BANQUET CA
FOR JOHN SPEED, A BANQUET captain for the Cintas Center catering department, the best time of day is the start of his shift. “It sets the tone and sets my mood for the whole day,” he says. “I get there, change my clothes, look in the mirror, and say a little prayer. Then I’m on my way.” Speed sets up meals for men’s and women’s basketball teams before games, including the tables, buffet, pasta station, and beverages. The Aiken High graduate has been working at Xavier for 15 years. He lives with his wife, Karen, in Norwood, about a block from Shea Stadium, and walks to work, weather permitting. An admitted “sports fanatic,” Speed loves his job. And he loves the student-athletes and coaches he’s served over the years. Asked to name a favorite player, Speed laughs. “Oh, there’s so many,” he says as he begins rattling off a roster of Musketeers from the last 15 years. After a pause, Speed concedes he does have one favorite person at Xavier. “When I first started here, I got really attached to Father Graham. He’s a very special guy and I admire him a lot,” he says. And while he can’t really identify any coaches or players as favorites, he can identify their favorite foods—and condiments. Coach Thad Matta, for instance, had a fondness for ketchup. “If it was him, I always knew to put ketchup on the table if we had chicken,” Speed says. And Dee Davis liked strawberries—with plenty of sugar. When Davis returned to campus recently and asked if there was anything to eat, “I went and got strawberries for him. Then I went and got a cup of sugar. You should have seen the look on his face.”
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JOEY WO LF
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IS MIKE LNEDW ER K S EEP
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NEXT TIME YOU’RE AT A XAVIER BASEball game, admiring the lush, artistic Hayden Field turf, you can thank Joey Wolf and Mike Lewis. You might say Lewis, who has a turf degree from Rutgers, is the scientist and Wolf, a former landscaper who studied horticulture at Cincinnati State, the artist. But when it comes to creating a safe, attractive, and playable field, they are one and the same. And their passion is incomparable. “It’s a fun thing to be a part of,” Wolf says. “Especially when they’re winning.”
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They have a well-choreographed routine—so much so that on game day, they hardly exchange a word. And at the end of the day, they can go home and share a cool beverage in their backyards in Norwood, where Lewis, with wife Tina and their three children, lives next door to Wolf and his two kids. Lewis and Wolf are local guys—Lewis an Oak Hills grad and Wolf a Norwood High grad. They’ve been working together about five years. And while both are experts in all facets of groundskeeping, Lewis concentrates more on chemicals and the sensitivities of the bluegrass while Wolf works his magic with the dirt, clay, striping, and mowing. “We make a pretty good team,” Wolf says. The two, who are also charged with Xavier’s landscaping and rec fields, say the
highlight of their careers was being awarded rings after Xavier won the BIG EAST baseball title in 2014. “That was a huge honor,” says Wolf. Lewis adds, “It was very special.” Even more special, they say, is their bond with coach Scott Googins. “The relationship goes beyond baseball,” Lewis says. “He’s definitely a mentor to us.” Wolf agrees. “He’s a lot of the reason I wanted to keep working down there.” They profess great admiration for Googins’s “blue-collar work ethic,” which they display in their own dawn-to-dusk field prep and see reflected in the players’ respect for the turf. “They see our passion for it and how much we care about it,” Lewis says. “We’re not getting rich,” Wolf says, “but it’s rewarding.” Adds Lewis: “We love it.”
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Semaj Christon keeps tabs on his team. His paychecks come from Victoria Liberas Pesaro in Lega Basket Serie A, Italy’s highest level of pro basketball. His National Basketball Association rights belong to the Oklahoma City Thunder, a team with championship aspirations and little room for more rookies in the rotation. His heart remains at Xavier. “I really wish I woulda stayed,” Christon tells Xavier Nation via Twitter message from Italy. “But the team they have now is perfect. I would never want to hurt Xavier.” In a college basketball era characterized by the one-and-done player—one season of college basketball before leaving for the NBA draft, as mandated by a 2005 NBA rule requiring players to be at least 19 years old and at least one year removed from high school to be draft-eligible—Christon is one of three players to leave XU early for the draft, says Tom Eiser, associate athletic director for media relations. • Christon was drafted by the Miami Heat in 2014 (his draft rights were subsequently acquired by Oklahoma City); • Derrick Brown was a second-round pick by Charlotte in 2009; • Jordan Crawford went in the first round, 27th overall, to New Jersey in 2010. Xavier has famously graduated every senior in the men’s basketball program for the past 30 school years. There’s no formal protocol on student-athletes leaving school early to pursue their sport professionally, Athletic Director Greg Christopher says. “We had a real-life example with Semaj Christon,” Christopher says. “What I saw was the coaching staff doing a nice job helping educate him so he could make the best decision possible. At the end of the day, we want what’s best for the young man and his family.” Chris Mack was Xavier’s head coach when Crawford and Christon weighed leaving early, an XU assistant when Brown did, and a Wake Forest assistant when a young point guard named Chris Paul did the same. “First of all, I tell them it’s their decision,” Mack says. “They’re not going to
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get any pressure from me to go or stay. “I view my role in it as whatever they want it to be. If you want me to be a sounding board, or if you want me to gather information from the NBA, I’ll do that. If you want me to be the person who explains rules, I’ll do that. But I’m not going to say for each and every player, This is how I’ll do it. It’s really up to the player and his parents.”
IN TODAY’S COLLEGE basketball landscape, one-and-dones grab headlines (see Kentucky, 2015). Sometimes they grab trophies and cut down nets (see Duke, 2015). And then there’s Xavier, which has carved out a place among the game’s bluebloods without players who spend only one season in a college basketball program. Over the past eight seasons leading up to 2015–2016, Xavier was among only nine schools to reach at least five NCAA Tournament Sweet 16s—along with Michigan State, Louisville, Duke, North Carolina, Arizona, Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Kansas—while at the same time maintaining its impressive graduation record. The downside to the one-and-done phenomenon is this: The one can be wonderful. The done can be a downer. Consider Duke, which won the national championship in 2015. The Blue Devils then lost three one-and-done players to the NBA: Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow, and Tyus Jones. All were first-round picks. A year later, Duke had lost more than twice as many games and was out of the ACC tournament in the quarterfinals. Kentucky’s 2014–2015 season was one for the ages, with the Wildcats’ only loss coming in the Final Four to Wisconsin. But the Wildcats lost three one-and-dones in the first 13 picks, including No. 1 overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns, and saw three other players drafted. Challenging times are relative in Lexington, but UK, nowhere near the juggernaut of a season earlier, had lost its second game before Christmas.
XAVIER HASN’T HAD a true one-and-done. Crawford came closest. He played only
one season as a Musketeer but spent two years on campus, the first after transferring from Indiana, where he also played one season. Crawford appeared in 257 NBA games over four seasons with Atlanta, Washington, Boston, and Golden State, averaging 12.2 points and 2.6 rebounds. He played most recently in China, where he scored 72 points in a single game in January. Brown, who redshirted as a true freshman and left XU after playing three seasons, accumulated enough credits to graduate, Eiser says. Brown played in 171 games over three NBA seasons, averaging 5.2 points and 2.4 rebounds for Charlotte and the New York Knicks. Most recently, he played professionally in Turkey. Christon, who played two seasons at Xavier, was an all-star last season in Serie A. He had a good 2014–2015 season with Oklahoma City’s D-League affiliate (teambest 18.6 points and 5.7 assists), then led the Thunder with 15.6 points and 6.8 assists in the NBA Summer League. It was more lucrative to spend 2015–2016 playing for a VL Pesaro club that includes Austin Daye of Gonzaga and Trevor Lacey of North Carolina State. “I’m playing great this season, was an all-star, so I’m doing what I have to do,” he says. Christon says he’ll be back with OKC’s summer league team, and perhaps Oklahoma City may have a roster spot for him with reserve point guard D.J. Augustin’s contract expiring. “My success has been great,” Christon says. “I have enjoyed myself and understood the business part of basketball…I can never say it was the right move. I just did what I thought I needed to do.”
IS ENOUGH BEING done to help NBA aspirants make the best possible decision? Today, more is being done than ever. This year, a new rule allows players to wait until 10 days after the NBA draft combine to pull their names from consideration (May 25 is the deadline). In 2015, players had to make their final decision to stay in or withdraw by April 16, a full two months before the draft. The extra time allows players and their families and advis-
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P H O T O G R A P H S (P R E V I O U S S P R E A D , L E F T T O R I G H T ) B Y F R A N K V I C T O R E S , F R A N K V I C T O R E S , B O B S T E V E N S ; (O P P O S I T E PA G E , T O P T O B OT T O M) B Y F E R N A N D O M E D I N A / N B A E /G E T T Y I M AG E S , C O U R T E S Y E U R O L E AG U E B A S K E T B A L L , B Y B R I A N B A B I N E AU/ N B A E
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TWO SEASONS AND AN OCEAN AWAY,
ers to better digest all the evaluation information they’ve gathered from NBA stakeholders. “I think it’s great,” Mack says. “It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out all around college basketball, how many kids will put their name in. I sure hope for everybody’s sake that maybe better decisions are made than maybe were in the past. “You’re always going to run into families who maybe hear what they want to hear and maybe make a wrong decision, but I think there’s plenty of evidence out there that you can make an educated decision— if you educate yourself and listen to the people who really care.” Christopher says the new rule is among a series of NCAA decisions over recent years putting the welfare of student-athletes first. Another is that schools can cover tuition for former student-athletes who return to complete their degrees. The later draft deadline “gives them a little bit more time so they can collect more information,” Christopher says. “For us, it’s very much a team effort. Chris is the point person, and the academic staff is involved. If you’re thinking of leaving, here’s how the pros see you; if you stay, here’s what it looks like to get you to graduation.”
MAKE NO MISTAKE: No one at Xavier impugns the idea of early entries. All concerned just want to be sure those who leave early do so for the best reasons and with the best preparation. “Anytime this topic of leaving early comes up, some Xavier fans say they’re happy we haven’t gotten into this business of one-and-dones,” Christopher says. “They associate it with Kentucky. But I remind people that Duke and others are making the same choices. I don’t think we should look down our nose at that.” Christopher says that even those who leave early benefit from their time as Musketeers. “In an ideal world, we’d love everyone to come to Xavier with the intent of staying four years and leaving with a degree,” Christopher says. “But I would also argue that one year at Xavier or two years at Xavier is better than no years at Xavier. Xavier is about more than spending X hours in a classroom. It’s about developing the young man or young woman.” Christon certainly didn’t seem inclined to disagree. “I will ALWAYS LOVE XAVIER,” he writes via Twitter. “That’s home. That’s what made me who I am.”
FROM TOP: Semaj Christon played for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2014 and 2015 NBA Summer League; he is now in Italy. Derrick Brown, now competing in Turkey, played in the NBA from 2009-2012 with Charlotte and New York and then was with Lokomotiv Kuban in Russia from 2012-2015. Jordan Crawford is averaging more than 40 points per game with his current team in China; he played in the NBA from 2010-2014 with Atlanta, Washington, Boston and Golden State.
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TALES FROM THE
ROAD P H OT O G R A P H B Y T K
FOR THIS GROUP OF LOYAL XAVIER SUPER FANS, EVERY COURT IS A HOME COURT. BY // RORY GLYNN
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Danny O’Malia, Greg Theissen, Charlie Brunette, Martha Schueler, Chris Ryan and Bob Ryan at Times Square in New York City during the BIG EAST Tournament.
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PHOTOGRAPH BY GREG RUST
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WHEN DANNY O’MALIA (XAVIER ’69) was an undergraduate, the men’s basketball program was mired in a 22-season NCAA Tournament drought; by the time his brother, David (’73), was a senior, the Musketeers were 3-23. “We almost certainly would have been last in the RPI, had there been one,” Danny O’Malia says. So Danny and a friend from high school and Xavier, Charlie Brunette, made a pact: Whenever, wherever, Xavier made the NCAA men’s basketball tournament, they would go. From 1983-2016, Xavier played in the NCAA Tournament 25 times. O’Malia and Brunette made good on their vow. “I did miss the ’61 NCAA trip,” Brunette says. “I was in eighth grade. My dad wouldn’t let me have the car.” They’re among a dedicated group of Xavier super fans, who miss home games only in extreme circumstances—“Weddings, funerals, baptisms and blizzards,” O’Malia says – and are as big a part of road trips as continental breakfast and GPS. Omaha or Philadelphia, Rhode Island or Paradise Island, Atlantic City or New York City, they follow their Musketeers, and their efforts do not go unnoticed back on Victory Parkway. “I’m not sure you can measure it, but it’s part of the fabric of what makes Xavier special,” Athletic Director Greg Christopher says. Xavier Nation caught up with Bob Ryan, 68, of Mount Lookout; Martha Schueler, 63, of Anderson Township; Greg Theisen, 65, of Indianapolis; Brunette, 68, of Indianapolis; and O’Malia, 68, of Carmel, Ind. Truth be told, Xavier Nation probably could’ve caught up with any number of other road warriors, and so this story is for all who’ve braved miles over icy roads, withstood the ire of opposing fans and represented the X in unfriendly arenas and watering holes.
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YOUR ROAD CREW
Indianapolis are our favorite destinations.”
O’MALIA:
O’MALIA: “Probably
“A regular foursome going to Cincy – Tom Feeney (‘58), Jim Alerding (‘67) and my brother Dave O’Malia (‘73). Others on the road – Charlie Brunette (‘69), Kokomo Ed Lopke (XU parent), Greg Theisen (‘72), Joe Ford (‘72). I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the late Bob Kolbus (‘58).”
THEISEN: “In the early days it was Danny and David O’Malia, Jim Alerding, Bob Kolbus and Joe Ford. All these guys are Lew Hirt Society members. In the middle years it was Danny, David, Jim, Joe and Tom Feeney. In the last 10 years it has been my wife Tricia and two kids, Kathleen and Patrick.” RYAN: “Family
and friends: Chris Ryan, Tim Ryan, Gene and Helen Duwell, Tom and Carol Albers, Dave and Sue Hellkamp, Pank and Sue Goulet, Mike and Pam Frey. Andy MacWilliams, Bill Daily, Tom Smith, Jim Gudmens, Lenny Kopowski, Tom Finn and many others. (My wife) Chris is a UC grad but a convert to Xavier.”
BRUNETTE: “Since
she retired, my wife, Chris, goes to a lot of the games, including the NCAA games. But the BIG EAST tournament we try to keep a guys’ thing.” SCHUELER: “The last year or two, the same group: Diana Klinedinst, Barb Smith, and our gentleman friend, Bill Dunlap, 87. A couple years ago I had to get a new minivan. They tried to put me in a red one; I said, God forbid. I got navy blue. I call it the Xaviermobile.”
FAVORITE CITIES TO VISIT SCHUELER: “I always loved Philadelphia when the Atlantic 10 tournament was there. Now with the BIG EAST in New York, that’s always a fun place to go. And Chicago.” RYAN: “This
is a tough question. But New York City, Philadelphia, Washington and
the best time I ever had was the ‘84 (Midwestern City Conference tournament) in Chicago. Too much fun to describe.” THEISEN: “I got a kick out of going back to Chicago, especially in the MCC days. I also enjoyed Evansville because they were so rabid and our games were usually really competitive.” BRUNETTE: “One
of the most exciting days is when the schedule comes out for the non-conference away games and tournament games so I know where I’m headed. I’m already looking forward to Colorado, Las Vegas and Maui. When Pete Gillen was the coach, we always told him, ‘Pete, Maui Classic, Maui Classic. Can’t you imagine 1,000 Xavier guys on the beach?’ And he’d say, ‘That’s what I’m afraid of.’ ”
FAVORITE ROAD VENUES SCHUELER: “When Xavier played at Madison Square Garden when Skip (Prosser) was the coach, and we played Mississippi State. It was such a dump! Then when we went there (after a $1 billion renovation was completed in 2013) for the BIG EAST tournament, we were like, ‘This can’t be the same place.’ ” O’MALIA: “Being an Indy native and growing up
with Butler, it’s gotta be Hinkle Fieldhouse.” RYAN:
“The Hoosier Dome, Market Square Arena and Hinkle in Indy. The Spectrum in Philly. Century Link in Omaha, MSG.”
BRUNETTE: “Vanderbilt,
with the coaches behind the baselines. The Philadelphia Civic Center for the first Atlantic 10 tournaments.”
THEISEN: “(Evansville’s) Roberts Stadium was always awesome. I loved the early A-10 games in Philly, getting to know the fans from
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TALES FROM THE ROAD Temple and Rhode Island. The Cable Car Classic in ‘89 was awesome. USF’s gym is smaller than my high school gym.”
St. Thomas, Puerto Rico and Orlando. The 1996 trip to Philly during the big snow. The team and a few fans walked to the Palestra for practice in 3 feet of snow.”
FAVORITE ROAD GAMES
O’MALIA: “The first time we made the (NCAA) tourney, in ’83 in Dayton (vs, Alcorn State). All the Sweet 16 stuff, especially in ’04.”
RYAN:
“The 1990 NCAA win over Georgetown at the Hoosier Dome to reach the Sweet 16. (And) 2004, defeating St. Joe in Dayton when they were No. 1, in the conference tournament.” SCHUELER:
“The 2004 and 2008 NCAA (Elite Eight) runs. I was there for both.”
O’MALIA:
“Beating UC at the Shoe (in 1996): ‘No. 1 in the country; No. 2 in Cincinnati!’ ”
THEISEN: “Lenny Brown’s jumper against UC.
Some UC (fan) was giving Danny and me a bunch of crap all night and he disappeared as the ball went through the net. … The game at Marquette when Jamie Gladden keyed the miraculous last-minute comeback. The Marquette fans were so nice to me – until we pulled off the incredible finish.”
FAVORITE ROAD MEMORIES SCHUELER:
“When Skip (Prosser) was the coach, we played in a tournament (in Puerto Rico) that Kentucky was in, too. If we both would’ve won, we would’ve played each other, but we lost. On our way home, we were waiting in the concourse with all the Kentucky people, and here comes (former UK coach) Tubby Smith, pushing his mother in a wheelchair. This was when my husband (Rob) was alive, and he was never bashful, so he goes up to Tubby and starts talking to him. I’ll tell you, Tubby could not have been nicer. I’ll bet we talked to him for a half hour. He was so complimentary of Skip and Xavier.”
RYAN: “The preseason trip to Ireland and England in summer of 1997. Holiday tournaments at Atlantis resort (in the Bahamas),
THEISEN: “The postgame parties in Chicago on Rush Street after a couple of MCC Tournament wins. The incredible feeling I got when we beat Texas to go to the Elite Eight game. The fun we had in Orlando that same year when we won the Sweet 16. Xavier’s first NCAA victory in ‘87 was in Indianapolis. Then we beat Georgetown in Indy in ‘90 to make our first Sweet 16.” BRUNETTE: “I don’t know why this one stands
out, but Eastern Illinois on a Saturday night over Christmas break. There was nobody in the gym, and you could hear everything. There was another Lew Hirt Society guy, Tim Keener from Ohio, and he’s yelling at every call. Well, the calls kept getting worse and worse. Finally I got up and went over to him and said, ‘Tim, the calls are just getting worse, would you just shut up?’ ”
FAVORITE HAUNTS BRUNETTE: “Most sports bars during the NCAA work out pretty well, wherever you are. Even in Boise, we found things to do. There was this observation point for hawks along the Snake River.” SCHUELER: “In the 2010 NCAA in Milwaukee,
there was a group of us hanging together. There was a whole block of Irish bars, and it was over St. Patrick’s Day, and there were a lot of Xavier people in town.” RYAN: “McGillins
Olde Ale House and the Vesper Club (thanks to Dennis Riley) in Philly are great places.”
O’MALIA: “Quatman’s Cafe before our sojourns to Cincinnati.” THEISEN:
“Quatman’s is by far my favorite pre-game stop. Back in the day I’d eat at Don Mattingly’s restaurant in Evansville and The Billy Goat in Chicago. Binkley’s in Indy is great before Butler games.”
ROAD HORROR STORIES SCHUELER: “Marquette, the year before last, we drove up the day of the game. The snow started on I-74; you couldn’t see anything. By the time we hit 465, there’s no lanes marked. The highways are covered in snow. Anyway, we finally get up to Milwaukee, and we play horribly, and we’re thinking, ‘We went through all this to watch them play like that?’ ” RYAN: “NCAA Tournament in 1997, The Palace of Auburn Hills. The Xavier team and fan hotel was the Hilton. There was no hot water for two days. But we weren’t planning any fine dining. We were there for the basketball.” O’MALIA:
“Providence for the Rhode Island game. We might have been the last plane out of Philly. The game was a horror story, too. “
THEISEN: “In 1991 we drove through tons of ice in Indiana on our way to Minneapolis where XU beat Nebraska in the first-round game. The next day, my nine-months-pregnant wife calls me to say she thinks she’s about to give birth. I told her to hang on for one more day. Ray Allen and UConn beat the crap out of us in the second round, and I drove the six of us home immediately after the game. We got back to Indy at 10 a.m. and our daughter was born the next day. Tricia held on, and my mother in law was not real happy! Our daughter Kathleen received her BS and MS from XU, and she says she would have done the same thing as me.”
£ X FANS EVERYWHERE (From left) Danny O’Malia, second from the right, joins Ed Lopke, Sister Rose Ann Fleming, Mary Beth Bruns and Bill Daily at the 2015 NCAA Tournament in Jacksonville. Bob Ryan with Tom Siemers, a passionate Xavier fan who passed away in 2014. Martha Shueler, center, with Diana Klinedinst, left. Lew Hirt Society members attend Xavier’s first Atlantic 10 tournament in Philadelphia in 1996: From left, Ned Coyle, Greg Theisen, Ed Lopke, Harry Hewitt (back center), Jim Valiton (front center), Bob Kolbus, who passed away in 2015, Charlie Brunette, Danny O’Malia and Ron Alvarez. For Theisen, going on the road also means attending games at Cintas Center, because he lives in Indianapolis.
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KRISTEN MASSA IS THE LATEST IN A LONG LINE OF MASSAS TO MAKE THEIR MARK AT XAVIER.
PHOTOGRAPH (CENTER) BY GREG RUST; FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY MASSA FAMILY
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FAMILY AFFAIR BY // BILL THOMPSON
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HE NAME IS FAMILIAR TO GENERATIONS OF XAVIER SPORTS FANS.
Kristen Massa, a first-team All-BIG EAST volleyball player as a sophomore outside hitter in 2015, is the third member of her family to wear an X on her jersey and the fourth to have an impact on the school’s athletic program. She’s proud of the connection, but knows the story isn’t about her. Or her father, Gary, who played basketball for Tay Baker and Bob Staak and is now the vice president for university relations. Or Aunt Laurie, who coached volleyball and basketball in the 1970s before becoming an administrator and being elected to the athletic department Hall of Fame. Or Aunt Barb, who played volleyball for her sister, Laurie. Actually, the story is about all of them. Kristen is the current public face in a family that has used sports to help build good lives for themselves, but more important, has used the lessons learned on the court and field to make their teams and communities better. “Kristen is very good at diverting attention from herself,” Xavier coach Christy Pfeffenberger says. “She has grown up in a spotlight but has really learned to be a team player. It’s very challenging to get her to talk about herself, even as her coach.” When Kristen does talk about herself, it’s in the context of her team, present and past. For example, a question as benign as: “What are you doing individually to improve during the offseason?” elicits this: “Well, the weight training program. My schedule is a lot of 7 a.m. (workouts). I see it as an awesome opportunity for next year because I know we’re going to be good. I have confidence in everybody.” OK. A different tack: Does having BIG EAST Player of the Year Abbey Bessler on your team give you more opportunities on the front line? “I trust everyone on the floor to get it done. That’s what made us stronger, that everyone can do it.” Last try: You played with your older sister Katie at Saint Ursula Academy, correct? “During her senior year, I was able to play with her. I was a scared little freshman coming in, I was very quiet. She took me under her wing. That really helped me.” Kristen’s father is happy to hear that his daughter is humble. “You hope that your kids grow
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up where they’re not the center of the universe,” Gary says. “That’s part of Jesuit education: Men and women for and with others.” He skips a beat. “But let’s make it clear that Kristen was never quiet and shy,” he says. “Maybe she thought that sounded good. She’s never met a stranger. She’s very outgoing. She just has that goofy personality that we all love.” Kristen, let’s be clear: Your dad is not calling you “goofy.” As a matter of fact, he’s proud of your accomplishments, discipline, and dedication to volleyball and school. More than anything, though, he admires your perspective. “It’s a huge commitment, Division I sports of any kind,” Gary says. “It’s year-round. Kristen picked Xavier because she didn’t want it to be her whole life. She visited places like Ohio State and Kentucky. She saw that she would have to be there for two-a-days all summer long. “Xavier doesn’t do that, but they’re working out right now [in February]; they probably had workouts at 7 a.m.
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PHOTOGRAPH (LEFT) BY GREG RUST; (RIGHT) BY DOUG COCHRAN
FOOTSTEPS TO FOLLOW // Kristen Massa’s father, Gary, scored 1,049 career points for the Xavier basketball team. Aunt Laurie is the director of athletics and recreation at John Carroll University in Cleveland. Aunt Barb, better known as “Pep” and now retired, was a high school physical education teacher and coach at St. Ursula in Cincinnati, then in Cleveland at Gilmour Academy and Hathaway Brown.
2015
BY THE NUMBERS VOLLEYBALL RECORD:
18-12 BIG EAST:
14-4
(tied for second) HONORS: Outside hitter Abbey Bessler, BIG EAST Player of the Year, first team all-BIG EAST; outside hitter Kristen Massa, first team; right side Sofia Peterson, second team MASSA’S STATS: Kills – 273 (2.68 per set), .225 hitting percentage; blocks – 47 (0.46 per set); digs – 50 (0.49 per set)
this morning. You can say that it’s not your whole life, but it’s still a ginormous commitment.” Gary and his wife, former Channel 12 news reporter Mary Krutko Massa, know about commitment. After his playing days, he stayed close to basketball as an analyst on Xavier television and radio broadcasts. “I did that for about 10 years,” he says. “I worked on television with John Popovich and Denny Janson at Channel 9. It was a lot of fun, but it was always a hobby. I did radio once in a while with Andy MacWilliams. But we were just starting a family and the last thing I wanted to do was the Xavier–St. Bonaventure game in Olean, New York, that takes three days to get there.” That choice has worked out well. Their son, Luke, who is an energy broker and lives in Oakley, quarterbacked St. Xavier High School to the state football championship in 2007, and then played at Notre Dame. Katie, who played basketball and volleyball at St. Ursula, is a University of Dayton graduate who works in marketing and lives downtown. Lauren, a senior at St. Ursula, played volleyball with Kristen for two sea-
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sons in high school. She will go to Dayton this fall. Pfeffenberger, a former assistant at Xavier before returning as associate head coach in 2014 and who took over for Mike Johnson as head coach last season, was at Notre Dame when she first saw Kristen. “I knew her brother was currently at Notre Dame and I thought we had a really good chance [of recruiting her],” she says. “As a high school player, Kristen was physically gifted…she had a raw athleticism that gave her an edge. From what I heard about her brother in high school, he was similar. I think it’s because of her family’s history that…it isn’t about being singled out with awards, it’s about being a team player. She always reminds us that this is fun and we are blessed for the opportunities that we have as a collegiate program.” The coach has helped Kristen fine-tune that athleticism into volleyball skills. But the Massas and the families of Pfeffenberger’s other players have probably reinforced the concept of life balance for the coach, who had a baby four days after the team was eliminated from the BIG EAST postseason
tournament in November. “[Being that pregnant] made me trust my assistants a lot because I like to be an active coach and I couldn’t,” she says. “Maybe I was a better coach because I could sit back and see. I tend to fly off the handle sometimes and say things without thinking, so it made me stop and take a lot of deep breaths.” Sometimes it’s what you don’t say that is most valuable. Gary believes that his highprofile presence on campus gave Kristen pause before she decided to play for the Musketeers. “She could have gone to different places,” he says. “It was her decision. We couldn’t have a better relationship, but that’s still pretty close, having your dad on campus. She’ll come up to visit [my office] and it’s wonderful when she does. We go to every game; we’re parents, you can’t help but do that. But when volleyball is over she wants to have friends, she wants to do things on campus. She wants to go to Rome in the summer. And thank God, why would you not want to? I’m glad Kristen’s that way, I really am.” There’s nothing the least bit goofy about that.
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“WE LOOK AT COLLEGE STUDENTS AS WHAT WE CALL THE POWERFUL PERCENT.”
P H OT O G R A P H B Y T K
— MAR K HAMMI T T
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COME ALL YE
FAITHFUL
P H OT O G R A P H B Y T K
Athletes in Action provides Xavier student-athletes with a supportive faith community. BY TABARI MCCOY PHOTOGRAPHS BY GLENN HARTONG
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DYNAMIC DUO: (Left) Susie and Mark Hammitt walk the halls of Cintas Center eager to have an impact on student-athletes. (Right) Mark leads a prayer with the men’s basketball team after a February practice.
J
OHN 3:16 IS ARGUABLY THE MOST
famous verse in what is widely considered to be the best known book in the world, the Bible. But there is another verse that serves to inspire Mark and Suzy Hammitt on a daily basis. “Matthew 28:19 [says] ‘Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,’ ” says Susie Hammitt, a former athlete at the University of Arizona. She and husband Mark serve as heads of the Athletes in Action program at Xavier University. “We’re trying to raise up disciples, and our target audience is athletes. We are seeking to make known the person of Christ in the lives of all the students.” Spend a little time talking to the Hammitts or any of the student-athletes they mentor, though, and you’ll quickly learn just how seriously they take the “action” part of their jobs.
WALKING THE WALK
Founded in 1966 by former Oklahoma State University athlete David Hannah (who was
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just 24 at the time), Athletes in Action (AIA) is a part of Campus Crusade for Christ International (Cru for short). Working in concert with Cru’s mission to “win, build, and send Christ-centered multiplying disciples who launch spiritual movements,” AIA seeks to “provoke conversation and challenge issues” in a time “dominated by a secular worldview.” For the Hammitts, that means spending more than a full work week doing just about anything they can to support the 90 percent of Xavier’s 300-plus student-athletes with whom they claim to interact. This includes leading Bible studies (or attending studentled gatherings), pregame chapel sessions, and hosting their regular Wednesday night meetings in Room 330 at Gallagher Student Center. Not to mention traveling to home and away games for just about every sport Xavier has to offer. Mark, a man as enthusiastic as he is positive, says all of these activities are about more than making their presence known, however. It’s a chance to build community— a community he says can change the world. “We look at college students as what we
call the powerful percent,” he says. “As the world’s population comes through this little funnel, at any given time, about 1 percent of the world’s population is in college. If we can reach that powerful percent knowing what’s going to happen when they graduate, boom! They’re back out there amongst the masses. It’s kind of reaching college students today who will be influencing tomorrow’s leaders.”
EXTENDED FAMILY AFFAIR
Those are among the reasons Nick Hagglund became interested in AIA during his time at XU. Hagglund, 23, was the 10th overall selection by Toronto FC in the 2014 Major League Soccer (MLS) SuperDraft. But long before he was a star student-athlete, he was just an incoming freshman trying to find a place to fit in after arriving at Xavier since, as he admits, his top two choices—the University of Cincinnati and the University of Dayton—didn’t really pursue him. Seeing how AIA provided the outlet he was searching for both spiritually and socially, his arrival at Xavier might be viewed
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as divine intervention. “School and sports and your faith and your social life is a difficult thing to balance, and there’s no book on how to do it well,” Hagglund says. “Being in a community and being able to share our stories and what we’re struggling with, how we feel about our coaches, and how we’re being treated and things like that when things aren’t going your way, there’s a place to talk about it. And I think Athletes in Action was that place.” Nia Baucke, a former track athlete who graduated from Xavier in 2012, says the Hammitts’ loving nature is a large reason AIA is so successful. “My mother became ill when I was in college and passed away the year after I graduated, so Susie really became a mother figure to me. I talked to her about pretty much everything and anything—from trouble happening on the team to my relationships with guys, and she really gave me wisdom and encouragement on a regular basis,” Baucke recalls. “I really love Mark and Susie because they don’t expect you to be perfect. They really seem to understand and really serve to build you up.”
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That in turn is what makes AIA so beneficial in her eyes, no matter where someone is in their spiritual journey. “The big misconception is really that it’s only for those who are ‘goody two shoes’ or only for those who are perfect or living these perfect lives. That’s not true at all,” Baucke says. “Being able to lead a Christ-centered life is about living a life filled with joy, a life filled with peace, being an encouragement to your teammates, focusing on what matters in life—that’s what Athletes in Action is trying to do.” Hagglund, who encourages all Xavier athletes to go to an AIA meeting and check it out first hand, agrees. “It’s not about trying to convert people to Christianity or anything like that; it’s about loving people. I think that’s what Mark and Susie do so well,” he says. “They love people in a way that’s so inviting that Christ would love people...Mark and Susie do that, and the leaders of Athletes in Action do that.” Susie Hammitt wouldn’t have it any other way. “We love our job. We love the students. We love Jesus,” she says. “It all works.”
“I REALLY LOVE MARK AND SUSIE BECAUSE THEY DON’T EXPECT YOU TO BE PERFECT.” —NIA BAUCKE
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KEEPING XAVIER’S BASKETBALL ARMY IN CLEAN TOWELS, GAME FILM, AND WATER BOTTLES FALLS TO THE STUDENT MANAGERS. WE TALKED TO FOUR FORMER MANAGERS ABOUT THE LESSONS THEY LEARNED AND THE FRIENDSHIPS THEY FORMED ON AND OFF THE COURT. BY // SUE VONDERHAAR
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H
OW COOL IS IT TO BE A STUDENT MANAGER FOR XAVIER MEN’S BASKETBALL? YOU TRAVEL WITH THE TEAM, STAY IN NICE HOTELS, WATCH GAMES COURTSIDE, AND MINGLE WITH CELEBRITIES. OF COURSE, WHEN THE GAME’S OVER, YOU SPEND HALF THE NIGHT IN THE LAUNDRY ROOM, WASHING, DRYING, AND FOLDING MOUNDS OF SWEATY UNIS AND TOWELS. THE SCUT WORK IS ENDLESS. BUT THAT’S ONLY A SMALL PART OF IT, ACCORDING TO FOUR FORMER STUDENT MANAGERS WE INTERVIEWED—ALL OF WHOM HAVE GONE ON TO EXCEL IN THE REAL WORLD. MOST MEANINGFUL, EACH SAID, WAS THE SENSE OF PURPOSE, THE LASTING FRIENDSHIPS, AND THE PERSONAL FULFILLMENT THAT COMES FROM BEING A PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER THAN YOURSELF. WE TALKED TO: • BRAD GASKILL, Team Sales Coordinator,
Team Sports—Under Armour, Inc.; graduated in 2008 (Sports Management, minor in Business) • MICHAEL KABBAZ, Vice President for
Enrollment Management & Student Success, Miami University; graduated in 1997 (Accounting); 2000 (M.B.A.) • KEVIN RIES, Full-time Equipment
Manager for Ohio State football; graduated in 2007 (Sports Management, minor in Business) • DAN SHWORLES, Assistant Equipment
Manager, Syracuse University; graduated in 2000 (Sports Management) They are all clear about one thing: It’s all about the team.
WHAT WAS THE COOLEST PART OF BEING A STUDENT MANAGER? GASKILL: “The sense and feeling of being
part of a team. The friendships made the experience rewarding in itself.” KABBAZ: “ ‘Xavier Family’ wasn’t just
something we said. It was how we treated each other. It was my family for four years.”
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RIES: “Being a part of such a successful program. I got to experience charter flights, nice hotels, team meals, team-issued gear, and the game-day experience while most of my friends waited in line for tickets.” SHWORLES: “Working for a program that
was on the rise—and for a coach like Skip Prosser.”
YOUR BEST MEMORY? GASKILL: “The 2007–2008 season and the
run to the Elite Eight. That team competed as a true team, top to bottom, and was very unselfish. The 30–7 record has yet to be touched since—though this year’s team is going to make a strong run at that.” KABBAZ: “Sitting on the bench during
the 1996 clutch win over the University of Cincinnati when Lenny Brown hit the game-winning shot on their home court with the clock expiring. The team stormed the court, and we piled up right in front of a less-than-happy Bob Huggins. I’ll never forget broadcaster Andy Mac’s [MacWilliams] words right after the winning shot: ‘The UC Bearcats are No. 1 in the country, No. 2 in their own city!’”
RIES: “The 2007 NCAA Tournament. We
were all invited to Coach [Sean] Miller’s for the selection show. By 10 p.m. that night, I was driving to Bloomington, Indiana, to pick up film on our potential second-round opponent [Ohio State]. On my way back to campus, I got pulled over a mile from the Ohio border. When the officer asked for a reason why I was traveling above the speed limit, I told him what I was doing. He said, ‘That’s pretty cool. Go ahead and stay within the limits until you get back into Ohio.’ Unfortunately, the OSU game ended up being our last game, but no one had given us a chance to hang with No. 1 seed Ohio State. I still remember the saying ‘28 Deep’ from that season. Coach Miller preached the importance of everyone involved with the program [28 people] to achieve success, including us managers.” SHWORLES: “Beating Cincinnati in the
Cincinnati Gardens back on December 18, 1999, when they were ranked No. 1. The place was electric and deafening. Then after the game getting the body paint [from enthusiastic fans] off the gray game jerseys early in the morning.”
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P H OTO G R A P H S C O U R T E S Y S Y R AC U S E U N I V E R S I T Y, B R A D G A S K I L L , M I A M I U N I V E R S I T Y, U N I V E R S I T Y C O M M U N I C AT I O N S A N D M A R K E T I N G A N D K E V I N R I E S
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Dan Shworles helps cut down the net after Syracuse won the 2016 NCAA Regional final in Chicago with a 68-62 victory over Virginia to advance to the Final Four. Brad Gaskill, right, and his teammates Evan Caruso, left, and Chris Webster, center, won the annual Under Armour 3on3 Basketball Class, held each year on Under Armour’s campus. Michael Kabbaz now helps recruit students to Miami University as Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Success. Kevin Reis, left, celebrates Ohio State’s 2014 football national championship with tight end Guy Ferrelli, center, and offensive lineman Brady Taylor, right. All three graduated from Bishop Ready High School in Columbus.
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YOUR FAVORITE PLAYER? GASKILL: “All the guys were special in their
own unique ways. I was convinced Brian Thornton lived in the locker room. He was always in there before and after practice and would just talk about anything. Justin Doellman is a guy I have stayed in touch with, even with him playing overseas. And when my friends and I start talking about the toughest players to play at Xavier, we always talk about CJ Anderson and Justin Cage.”
ers at 3 a.m. on a Sunday morning. [But now, in charge of equipment for the football Buckeyes], I do miss the days of 15man rosters instead of 120.” SHWORLES: “I don’t think people realize
how much time and energy it took to move every practice from Schmidt Fieldhouse to the Cincinnati Gardens. This entailed moving game basketballs, practice attire, and the other necessities to run a practice.”
KABBAZ: “This is tough. There were so many players I really liked and respected for different reasons. One of the great things about Xavier basketball is it attracted hard-working players who weren’t arrogant and who believed in ‘The Team’ above themselves. Xavier was—and still is—a program steeped in a culture of hard work, respect, and winning. I couldn’t be any more proud of what the program represents today and knowing I was part of something great.”
COACHES—PRODUCE.”
RIES: “All of the guys really were great
– M ICHA E L KA BBA Z
to us managers. If I had to pick a favorite, it would be Justin Doellman. He really took the time to give his appreciation to the managers. He even invited us over one night to his apartment, where he cooked us a steak dinner.” SHWORLES: “One of them was Darnell
‘Flight’ Williams. He was one of the many who always treated the managers as part of the team. I had a couple of classes with him and still speak to him to this day.”
WHAT WAS THE MOST THANKLESS TASK? GASKILL: “Probably having to clean up the
dorms after overnight camps.” KABBAZ: “Lots and lots of laundry. While
I loved going to every practice, sitting on the bench for games, and traveling with the team, finding yourself in a laundromat on the road after a late practice was certainly not glamorous. People would be amazed at how much laundry 20 players—and coaches—produce!” RIES: “Laundry is a big part of an equip-
ment manager’s job. At any level, collegiate or pro, you find yourself running six wash-
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“ PEOPLE WOULD BE AMAZED HOW MUCH LAUNDRY 20 PLAYERS— AND
YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT? GASKILL: “During summer camp one year
I was trying to keep some of the younger kids entertained by dunking. But one dunk backfired, and I ended up missing horribly and falling on the ground. I’m not sure who crushed me more, Stanley Burrell or the kids.” RIES: “On my first day of practice, I wasn’t
quite sure what I needed to be doing. The action was at the other end of the court, so I was sitting on the back of the opposite hoop. Coach [Chris] Mack walked by and asked if I was tired. I gave a nervous response of: ‘No, why?’—to which he asked why I was sitting down while everyone else was sweating. He indicated he would never see me sitting during practice again. Point taken!”
WHAT WAS THE MOST LASTING LESSON? GASKILL: “A sense of responsibility and ac-
countability.”
KABBAZ: “While Xavier has had a history
of storied coaches, Skip Prosser was the one who propelled Xavier basketball to the national stage. Skip was an amazing coach, but an even better human being. Every single day he instilled in the team, and in me, that learning to become a good and educated human being was the most important thing in life. I actually think he saw himself as a teacher more than he would identify himself as a basketball coach. He was humble, caring, and successful. These are lasting lessons that I still think about often 20 years later.” RIES: “The importance of doing the little
things—and doing them well. If even the smallest detail is forgotten, or not done at a high standard, it could create a domino effect. The manager role instilled a ‘headdown work-hard mentality’ that allowed me to succeed after college.” SHWORLES: “Humility. No one knows
your name unless you mess up.”
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO AN ASPIRING STUDENT MANAGER? GASKILL: “Find ways to be present and available as much as possible. Always be seen and not heard. And always keep your head on a swivel when coming out of a timeout or you might catch a towel to the face.” RIES: “Do everything you can while you’re in school. The time and access you have during your role as a manager provides the greatest experience and networking there is to offer. The Xavier staff will do everything they can to position you to be an attractive candidate for numerous job opportunities. Don’t sit down during practice [unless you’re charting/filming, etc.]. And don’t yell at the refs from behind the coaches— unless you want to draw a technical and become a manager legend.” SHWORLES: “Know that it is not about the
glory but about working for a program and the dedication and hard work it takes. Be responsible for everything you are responsible for. And understand that no task is too minor. Don’t talk about [injuries or team business] through social media. And don’t put yourself ahead of the program.”
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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
In 2012, Mike Moran was featured in the Lake County News-Herald’s “Most Influential” series.
GLAMOROUS LIFE FOR MIKE MORAN, COACHING IN DIVISION III MAY NOT BE FILLED WITH PERKS, BUT IT’S WHERE HE WANTS TO BE. BY RODNEY McKISSIC
M
MIKE MORAN WILL BE THE FIRST TO TELL YOU HE DOESN’T LIVE IN THE LAP OF LUXURY as a Division III head basketball coach. He owns a painting company to supplement his income, drives not one but two high-mileage cars, and has to make sure his John Carroll University locker room is nice and tidy before he leaves each day. How many coaches closing in on 500 career victories can say that? “No, I wouldn’t call it a glamour job,” he says. But the life the former Xavier University football player has chosen is one that he’s certainly happy with. “My kids were all educated in this system,” Moran says. “I have three kids who are head coaches in high school and my daughter is an accountant. That in itself is enough reward for the job.” Moran played football and basketball in high school but came to Xavier on a football scholarship in 1969. He injured his knee during his first year and as part of his rehabilitation Moran joined the freshman basketball team. “I was quickly told my basketball career was over and I was there to play football,” says Moran, a 1973 graduate. “That was probably a wise choice.” During his senior year, Fr. Albert Bischoff asked Moran about his plans after graduation and Moran told him he wanted to teach and coach. Bischoff lined up a job for Moran at Elder
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High School where he taught business and coached football and basketball. Eventually, Moran relocated to his native Cleveland, where he made his mark in basketball building a powerhouse at Villa Angela-St. Joseph’s. He was an assistant basketball coach when Clark Kellogg starred at St. Joe’s and an assistant football coach for future Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard. St. Joe’s alums who starred under Moran are a list of Ohio schoolboy legends: Kevin Edwards, Eric Riley, Treg Lee, Melvin Levett, and a slender guard named Stan Kimbrough, who eventually found his way to Victory Parkway. “When Xavier started turning their fortunes around in basketball, the one kid who really was the program changer was Stan Kimbrough,” says Moran, who won two state titles and had a 224–53 record in 11 years at St. Joe’s. “We had a lot of great, great players. We won the state championship in 1990 and ’91 and that was probably my leverage to get into college basketball.” That was 25 years ago. At John Carroll, Moran lives the life of non-scholarship hoops, year-to-year contracts, long bus rides, and overnight diners. And there are plenty of victories. In 2015–2016, the Blue Streaks reeled off 21 consecutive wins and finished 25–3 overall and ranked No. 5 nationally by D3hoops.com. Moran has won 11 Ohio Athletic Conference championships, been to the NCAA Tournament 12 times and the Division III Final Four once (2004). Moran is 441–220 in 25 seasons. “The nice thing is John Carroll is a Jesuit school just like Xavier and we get really good kids,” says Moran, who has also doubled as the golf coach for the last 22 years. “Your headaches, if you have any, are just on the court. At least I haven’t had to worry about off-the-court shenanigans and other stuff like that. When I first started here I was like, ‘OK, I have to have a study table, I have to do this and that.’ Then after a month and was like, ‘Geez, the kids who get into the school already know how to study.’ ” In 25 years, only six players became ineligible and all were able to get their grades back up and graduate. “One was my own son,” Moran says. “He blamed it on heredity. It wasn’t his fault, it was a hereditary problem. You should have heard that conversation.” All part of the Division III glamorous life.
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P H OT O G R A P H C O U R T E S Y J O H N C A R R O L L U N I V E R S I T Y S P O R T S I N F O R M AT I O N
COOL DOWN
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
COOL DOWN
Ta’Shia Phillips was an assistant coach this past season as Garden City (Kan.) Community College finished 21-11.
TO COACH OR NOT TO COACH
THAT’S THE QUESTION FOR TA’SHIA PHILLIPS. BY RODNEY McKISSIC
P H OT O G R A P H C O U R T E S Y G A R D E N C I T Y C O M M U N I T Y C O L L E G E
F
FOR A WHILE, TA’SHIA PHILLIPS WAS IN full retreat from what may ultimately become her identity. She loved the quieter recesses of basketball – a little personal training here, some hoops camps there – and each time people who knew better told Phillips that she should become a coach. Phillips was a remarkably consistent center for Xavier from 2007-11 before embarking on a one-year career in the WNBA. The urge was there to coach even as she resisted. “A lot of my family and friends and people who knew me always said, ‘Ta’Shia you should be a coach,’ ’’ says Phillips, the Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year in 2009 who this past season was an assistant coach at Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kan. “And I said, ‘There’s no way that I will be a coach. That’s not on my list of things to do, it’s not something that I think I would enjoy.’ ’’ She had legitimate reasons to defy: Her patience is thin and young adults, to put it mildly, frustrate her because they want to be the next Stephen Curry without the requisite grit and determination. But you can only run from yourself for so long. Phillips was the No. 8 overall pick in 2011 by the Atlanta Dream, who traded her on draft night to the Washington Mystics.
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She spent half the season in Washington, then played for the New York Liberty. She was finished with her WNBA career when Reggen Melson, a family friend and a one-time standout at Wright State, accepted a head coaching job at Scecina Memorial High School in her native Indianapolis in 2014. Melson and her husband own a basketball training business and Phillips worked a few of their camps. One day, Melson put another bug in Phillips ear. “I think you’d be a good coach.” “Reggen, I’m … not … doing … it.” “I’d really like to have you on my staff.” “Reggen, I’ll think about it.” Melson bombarded her with more calls than a telemarketer until Phillips finally relented. “I’ve worked multiple camps and people told me I should coach, so clearly God was trying to tell me something,” Phillips says. After one season at Scecina moved on to Garden City. Alabama assistant coach Shereka Wright, a longtime friend, recommended Phillips to Garden City coach Nicholas Salazar. “Ta’Shia’s experience was invaluable,” Salazar says. “In her, you have a woman who played collegiate and professional basketball at the highest levels.”
Phillips worked with post players and was responsible for monitoring player academics and scouting. She played a significant role in signing three freshmen, including guard Kavita Akula, the first Indian-born woman to play collegiate basketball in the United States, according to Salazar. After Garden City’s season ended, Phillips resigned to accept an assistant coaching position at the University of Indianapolis, a Division II program where she will work for new head coach Kristin Drabyn. “Ta’Shia has incredible future in this business,” Salazar says. “She is highly intelligent and eager to learn. This season was all about her getting her feet wet in collegiate coaching. I am confident that with her foundation here at Garden City Community College, the sky is the limit for her coaching career.” Time will tell if Phillips, 27, will be in coaching for the long haul. There are pros and cons to coaching. Phillips loves the teaching aspect and gravitates towards gym rats who want to learn. But time constraints are long and strenuous which isn’t conducive to family life. “I think it will probably take another year or two and really seeing if this is something that I’m fully invested in or not,’’ she says.
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STUDENT DEVELOPMENT
A LEADERSHIP MASTER CLASS ATHLETIC DIRECTOR GREG CHRISTOPHER HELPS XAVIER STUDENTS (INCLUDING STUDENT-ATHLETES) DEVELOP THE SKILLS TO LEAD. BY RORY GLYNN
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AMONG XAVIER’S FALL COURSE OFFERINGS IS SPMG 241, A TWO-CREDIT-HOUR CLASS in Athletic Leadership under the major of sports management. The university catalogue says: “This course provides an examination of leadership in sport. The class will explore various leadership theories and philosophies and study the influence of values on the leadership process.” The instructor says: “It’s really about the big, basic concepts of leadership. I don’t know that I can make you an expert on leadership in 16 weeks. And not that I’m an expert myself.” The instructor sells himself short. Who could better teach athletic leadership at Xavier than the leader of Xavier’s athletic department, Greg Christopher? Christopher, completing his third academic year as Xavier athletic director, last fall began teaching the leadership course that he developed and taught for three years at his previous school, Bowling Green State University. Bowling Green started a leadership development program after coaches expressed the need to develop leadership skills in their student-athletes. “Xavier’s mission statement talks about the education of the whole person,” Christopher says. “We’re trying to prepare our students for life after graduation in whatever field they choose. Developing leadership skills and helping students take inventory of their own strengths and weaknesses supports that part of the mission.” Christopher designed the course in more of a laboratory than a lecture format, where students would learn by interacting with one another. “This allows you to learn from the perspectives and experiences of a variety of individuals,” Christopher outlined in his course syllabus, “as well as contributing to others’ learning by sharing your own insights and experiences.” There’s a primary textbook, The Team Captain’s Leadership Manual: The Complete Guide to Developing Team Leaders Whom Coaches Respect and Teammates Trust, and selections
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from other books, including Wooden on Leadership by the late, legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden, and The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. The fall course met in Room 201 Cintas Center each Monday, 6 to 8:30 p.m. Attendance was compulsory; unexcused absences were deducted from students’ final grades. The students themselves comprised a blend of Xavier students at-large and Musketeer student-athletes. In Christopher’s class, all students have clearly defined requirements, including keeping a weekly journal; written assignments, including profiles of themselves as leaders and of leaders they’ve known and admired; oneon-one meetings with Christopher; and a final group presentation to the class. For the presentation, students could take up to 10 minutes but had to deliver it oldschool: No PowerPoint, Prezi or Google Slides allowed. “Their words, no bells and whistles,” Christopher says. Xavier Nation was invited to watch some of the final presentations. J.P. Macura and classmate Ryan May spoke on the topic of commitment. Fox Morrissey, a junior on the men’s golf team, spoke about working with less fortunate kids. Maddison Blackwell, a sophomore guard for the women’s basketball team, read classmates a quote from former British Prime Minister Tony Blair: “The art of leadership is saying no, not saying yes. It is very easy to say yes.” “For me personally, I don’t tell people no,” Blackwell says. “That’s something I need to work on.” Which aligned with a course objective: Determining where each student needed to grow to become a better leader. “We are competing in a very balanced BIG EAST Conference in a landscape of great parity across several sports,” Christopher says. “Intangibles can make a difference. That includes injuries, good coaching, locker room chemistry and team leadership. “This class is just a piece of the puzzle in terms of what we want to do to help develop our young men and women into great team captains and great leaders who will go on to become strong business and community leaders wherever they choose to live. That’s what success looks like.”
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SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF BIG EAST CONFERENCE ‘FIRSTS’ FOR THE MUSKETEERS DURING THE 2015–2016 ACADEMIC YEAR. HERE IS AN UPDATE ON EACH TEAM.
blowout wins over Dayton, Alabama, and USC. The Musketeers spent 17 straight weeks in the AP Top 25 and 16 straight weeks in the USA Today Coaches Poll, while spending 14 straight weeks in the AP Top 10. Xavier received its highest ever bid in the NCAA tournament (No. 2 seed). The Musketeers made a postseason run to the second round, where they were defeated by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Wisconsin junior guard Bronson Koenig. The team finished the 2015–2016 season 28–6 (14–4). KEY LOSSES: James Farr, Remy Abell, Kevin Coker
Senior Shane Crutchfield, a four-time all-conference selection for XU, won her first BIG EAST Individual Championship in 2016. It’s the first BIG EAST title for a women’s golfer in program history.
BASEBALL MID-SEASON
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COACH: Scott Googins (Ohio Wesleyan ’92), 11th season 2015–2016: After a tough non-conference schedule, XU was off to a 6–3 start in BIG EAST play as of Wednesday, May 4. The Musketeers have been one of the top teams in the nation in power and speed, ranking in the top 20 nationally in homers and stolen bases—including the top three boppers in the BIG EAST in Dan Rizzie, Andre Jernigan, and Joe Gellenbeck. Sophomore Will LaRue is one of the nation’s top base stealers with 23 in his first 44 games. Senior Dan Rizzie is also on the Johnny Bench Award Watch List for a second straight year after earning preseason All-BIG EAST honors. A defensive stalwart, Rizzie has thrown out 16 of 27 (59.3%)
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baserunners attempting to steal this season. KEY LOSSES: Andre Jernigan, Dan Rizzie, David Morton NOTEWORTHY: Head coach Scott Googins became the program’s all-time winningest coach on Friday, April 15, in an 8–5 triumph at Georgetown. The Musketeer skipper moved past John Morrey (287 wins, 1993–2004) with his 288th victory—after tying the record against Cincinnati on April 13.
BASKETBALL MEN’S COACH: Chris Mack (Xavier ’92), seventh season 2015–2016: Xavier finished non-conference play undefeated after capturing the AdvoCare Invitational with
NOTEWORTHY: Chris Mack received three separate National Coach of the Year (USBWA, CBS Sports, Basketball Times) awards following the season, marking a first for the program. Edmond Sumner was named a Kyle Macy Freshman All-American following the season after averaging 11 points per game as the starting point guard. The Musketeers played before record crowds all season, setting a new program best mark for average attendance at 10,281 fans (100.3% capacity). The previous record was set in 2001–2002 when XU averaged 10,224 fans per game. Xavier sold out 11 of its 16 home games, including eight of nine BIG EAST tilts. Nine games were played before standing room only crowds, including Xavier’s win against No. 1 Villanova—which was played before a record crowd of 10,727 on Feb. 24.
17–13 (8–10 BIG EAST) record during the 2015–2016 season. The Musketeers posted their second straight season with 17 or more wins, while recording the school’s 22nd winning record since joining the NCAA Division I ranks in 1982–83. Xavier opened the year with a win over Evansville in the inaugural Lauren Hill Tipoff Classic and defeated Cincinnati in the annual Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout. Xavier’s senior class finished its career with a 3–1 mark against the Bearcats. KEY LOSSES: Briana Glover, Aliyah Zantt, Jenna Crittendon NOTEWORTHY: Senior forward Briana Glover was named the All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention Team, picking up all-conference honors for the first time in her career. The Mason, Ohio, native became the 24th member of the Xavier 1,000-point club on Jan. 24. Classmates Aliyah Zantt and Jenna Crittendon also etched their names in the Xavier record books as Zantt finished her career ranked second all-time in steals (194), while Crittendon ranks ninth all-time in blocks (52).
CROSS COUNTRY MEN’S COACH: Ryan Orner (Towson ’99), fourth season
COACH: Brian Neal (Northern Kentucky ’91), third season
2015–2016: Xavier opened the season with a fifth-place finish at the annual Queen City Invitational. The squad ended the year with a seventh-place finish at the BIG EAST Championships hosted by Xavier in Mason, Ohio. The Musketeers also picked up USTFCCA All-Academic Team honors with a 3.05 team grade point average.
2015–2016: Xavier posted a
KEY LOSSES: Austin Winter
WOMEN’S
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NOTEWORTHY: Junior Aaron Peterson posted a time of 24:51.90 in the 8K race at the BIG EAST Championships, the 11th fastest time in school history. Freshman Charles Korodi paced the men’s team at the Queen City Invitational with a 14th place finish in his first collegiate race.
WOMEN’S COACH: Ryan Orner (Towson ’99), fourth season 2015–2016: The Musketeers started off one of the most successful seasons in school history by capturing the Queen City Invitational. Xavier finished fourth at the BIG EAST Championships and tied their all-time highest NCAA Regional finish, placing 10th out of 31 teams. The team was ranked as high as No. 12 in the Great Lakes Region during the season. KEY LOSSES: Emily Wolery, Sarah Mazzei NOTEWORTHY: Freshman Caroline Gosser shattered the school record in the 6K at the BIG EAST Championships by 22 seconds, posting a time of 20:24 to place 16th and earn All-BIG EAST honors. She was joined on the All-BIG EAST team with senior Sarah Mazzei and sophomore Madeline Britton who took 17th and 18th, respectively. Mazzei and Britton’s times rank second and third all-time at Xavier.
GOLF MEN’S COACH: Doug Steiner (Capital ‘83), 28th season 2015–2016: First Team All-BIG EAST golfers Daniel Wetterich and Jose Montaño led Xavier to a second-place team finish at the 2016 BIG EAST Championship. Montaño finished in a tie for third at 3-under, while Wetterich’s 9-over score placed him in a tie for 14th. Graduate student John Burger also finished in the top 20 at the conference tournament, placing 19th overall with a score of 10-over. At the Rutherford Intercollegiate, Montaño took second overall as an individual with a 6-under performance April 16–17. His first round 66 (-5) was a career-best and the lowest by an XU golfer since 2012. KEY LOSSES: John Burger, Matt Gerard NOTEWORTHY: Jose Montaño finished in the top three of each of his last six regular season events during the year, leading the team in stroke average (72.19) for a second straight year. Daniel Wetterich had a strong freshman campaign, participating in all 11 tournaments for Xavier and finishing second on the team with a 73.29 stroke average. Head coach Doug Steiner will retire following the conclusion of the academic year after leading XU to five NCAA
Regionals between 2001 and 2006 and sending five individuals to the NCAA Tournament since 2007. He also led Xavier to eight conference titles, while training current pros Jason Kokrak (PGA Tour), Sebastian MacLean (PGA Latin American Tour), Herbert Day (PGA Latin American Tour), and Andy Pope (Web.com Tour).
WOMEN’S COACH: Breanna Patz (Xavier ’13), first season, 2016 Co-BIG EAST Coach of the Year 2015–2016: The Musketeers collected a third-place finish at the BIG EAST Championship after shooting a combined 950 (+86) for the three-day tournament. Shane Crutchfield led the way, shooting a 222 (+6) to take the top spot. Hanna Lee also picked up her second top 10 finish at the championship, finishing eighth with a three-round score of 235 (+19). Rachel Johnson and Mikayla Smith finished tied for 20th and Lindsey Murray rounded out the scoring, finishing 27th for the Musketeers. KEY LOSSES: Shane Crutchfield NOTEWORTHY: A four-time all-conference selection for XU, Shane Crutchfield won her first tournament as a Musketeer in the last tournament of her collegiate career—taking the 2016 BIG EAST Individual Championship. The win was the first conference title for a women’s golfer in program history.
SOCCER MEN’S COACH: Andy Fleming (Marist ’97), sixth season
Led by junior Sydney Liggins, the Most Outstanding Player at the 2016 BIG EAST Championships, the women’s tennis team secured the first conference championship for a Xavier women’s sports team since joining the BIG EAST in 2013.
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2015–2016: The Musketeers unquestionably proved they could beat anyone, anywhere in the fall season—downing both No. 1 Creighton and No. 2 Notre Dame on the road en route to a 12-win season. XU’s win against the CU was the highest-ranked win in program history. This year’s senior class also left with a program-tying record 51 wins in addition to several defining moments—including
last year’s run to the Sweet 16. In the spring, Xavier hosted a friendly match against Cincinnati’s newest pro team, FC Cincinnati, and also raised over $5K for charity with the annual Devin’s Game—in support of the Down Syndrome Association of Greater Cincinnati. KEY LOSSES: Alex Ridsdale, Calum Latham, Chris Moore, Vince Shaw, Rhodes Moore, Kyle Martin, Dallas Jaye NOTEWORTHY: Xavier was featured on ESPN’s SportsCenter twice in the fall, including a ridiculous bicycle kick score by senior Alex Ridsdale during XU’s win over IPFW. After finishing the season with 12 wins, XU has won at least 10 matches in each of the last six years. Dallas Jaye was named BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year, marking a fourth straight year with a major player of the year award for XU. Despite losing seven seniors, Xavier returns a deep and veteran team for 2016—including All-BIG EAST center back Cory Brown.
WOMEN’S COACH: Woody Sherwood (Xavier ’91), sixth season 2015–2016: The 2015 Musketeers completed their most successful season since Xavier joined the BIG EAST in 2013, picking up the most conference wins for the program since 2010. XU collected 28 goals on the season, nearly triple the offensive output from the 2014 season (10). Ten different Musketeers knocked in a tally in 2015 and 17 total Musketeers finished with points for the season. KEY LOSSES: Megan Dalton, Maria Libertin, Kassidy Mikula, Emma Smith, Catherine Allon. Erin McGauley NOTEWORTHY: Freshman Samantha Dewey became the first Musketeer to pick up BIG EAST postseason honors after being unanimously selected to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team. Dewey matched Kenadie Carlson for a team-high in goals (7) and led the team in assists (8) for a team-high 22 points on the season.
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WOMEN’S COACH: Doug Matthews (Xavier ’09), second season
Sophomore Zachary Polk captured first place in the long jump at the BIG EAST Indoor Track and Field Championships, raising his total number of conference championships medals to five.
SWIMMING MEN’S COACH: Brent MacDonald (Valparaiso ’03), seventh season 2015–2016: The Musketeers repeated as BIG EAST Champions in 2016, winning a third conference title in the three years Xavier has been part of the BIG EAST. The Musketeers had eight individual event champions, and collected four relay championships to collect 832 points and defeat second-place Georgetown by more than 50 points. Xavier placed 12 men on the All-BIG EAST Team. KEY LOSSES: Nick Foster, Knox Hitt, Luke Johanns
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NOTEWORTHY: Three Musketeers posted NCAA B-Cut times during the BIG EAST Championships: Luke Johanns (50 free), Knox Hitt (100 fly), and Michael Pettinichi (100 breast). All three took first place in their respective events and each time also stands as a Xavier school record.
WOMEN’S COACH: Brent MacDonald (Valparaiso ’03), seventh season 2015–2016: Xavier finished third at the BIG EAST Championship in 2016, with 11 Musketeers earning a spots on the All-BIG EAST Team. Paxtyn Drew earned all-conference
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honors in six events and Caroline Gaertner earned the honor in five, including the 100 back— in which she was runner-up. KEY LOSSES: Claire Brolsma, Haley Dresner, Molly Kroeger, Kristen Liebert, Mackenna Rife NOTEWORTHY: Paxtyn Drew posted a pair of NCAA B-Cut times at the BIG EAST Championships, setting a time of 55.09 in the preliminaries of the 100 back and a time of 1:59.16 in the finals of the 200 back, where she placed third.
TENNIS MEN’S COACH: Doug Matthews (Xavier ’09), second season 2015–2016: The Musketeers posted a 12–9 mark during the spring season with a 3–3 record in BIG EAST play. Xavier earned the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament and defeated No. 4 seed Georgetown in the quarterfinals before being topped by No. 1 seed and eventual champion, St. John’s. KEY LOSSES: Zach Mueck, Brian Carman NOTEWORTHY: Xavier finished the season with backto-back wins, defeating rival Dayton before topping Butler on Senior Day. The Musketeers also moved to 3–0 in BIG EAST Tournament Quarterfinal action.
2015–2016: Women’s tennis captured the BIG EAST Championship by defeating No. 1 seed DePaul. The Musketeers finished the regular season with a 20–5 record and won 12 of their last 13 matches entering the BIG EAST Tournament. Xavier defeated No. 55 Indiana during the season—the program’s first win over a ranked opponent—and cracked the top-75 in the ITA Collegiate Tennis Rankings for the first time in program history. KEY LOSSES: Alex Brinker, Megan Morris NOTEWORTHY: The Musketeers punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament by capturing the BIG EAST Championship. The title was the first in program history and the first BIG EAST Championship by a Xavier women’s team since joining the conference in 2013. Junior Sydney Liggins was named the Most Outstanding Player at the BIG EAST Championships.
TRACK AND FIELD (INDOOR & OUTDOOR) MID-SEASON
MEN’S COACH: Ryan Orner (Towson ’99), fourth season 2015–2016: The Musketeers set one new school record and had two athletes medal at the BIG EAST Indoor Track and Field Championships. The meet was held at the newly opened Ocean Breeze Track and Field Athletic Complex in Staten Island, New York. KEY LOSSES: Austin Winter NOTEWORTHY: Zachary Polk highlighted the Xavier performances with a first-place finish in the long jump (7.18m) at the BIG EAST Indoor Track and Field Championships. The sophomore has now collected five medals at the conference championships during his career. Russell Platt also took the podium in the 60-meter dash as the junior posted a
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time of 6.92—breaking his previous school record—to place third.
WOMEN’S COACH: Ryan Orner (Towson ’99), fourth season 2015–2016: Xavier established four new school records at the BIG EAST Indoor Track and Field Championships. The Musketeers had two individuals medal at the meet, while three relay teams also took the podium. KEY LOSSES: Kaitlyn Crean, Onya Edwards, Caterina Karas, Sarah Mazzei, Emily Wolery NOTEWORTHY: Senior Caterina Karas (1,000-meter run), senior Sarah Mazzei (3,000-meter run), sophomore Madeline Britton (5,000-meter run), and freshman Kara Robinson (60-meter hurdles) all set new school records at the BIG EAST Indoor Track and Field Championships.
VOLLEYBALL COACH: Christy Pfeffenberger (Dayton ’05), first season 2015–2016: Xavier finished the year with an 18–12 record and 14–4 mark in BIG EAST play, the team’s 18th straight year with a .500 or above record. The Musketeers won eight of their final nine regularseason matches to earn the No. 3 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament. Since joining the BIG EAST in 2013, the Musketeers have posted a 38–14 record in conference play. KEY LOSSES: Makayla Agin, Lauren Metzger NOTEWORTHY: Junior Abbey Bessler was named the BIG EAST Player of the Year, becoming the 13th Musketeer to earn ‘Player of the Year’ honors at Xavier and the first to be tabbed BIG EAST Player of the Year since Xavier joined the conference in 2013. She was joined on the All-BIG EAST First Team with sophomore Kristen Massa, while junior Sofia Peterson was tabbed to the all-conference second team.
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POST GAME INTERVIEW What makes Dana’s so special to Xavier students? It has been Xavier’s community bar since 1935. We’ve had grandparents who went to Xavier come
BJ Hayley, 1994 graduate, is an owner and managing partner of Dana Gardens, the just-off-campus bar frequented by Xavier students and alumni.
in with their grandkids who currently go to Xavier and talk about the great times they’ve had there. We like to call it a home away from home. How did it feel last
year when you won $10,000 at the Crosstown Shootout? I was shooting free throws against another person. He was on one end of the court and I was on the other. We had 30 seconds to make as many free throws as possible. My strategy was to put up as many free throws as possible. I was going for a volume shoot. The guy I was going against was trying to line up every free throw and concentrate. He made 3 out of 9, and I made 5 out of 23—so I shot three times as many as him. The volume shooting was the reason that I won. Blue Blob or D’Artagnan? I love the Blue Blob. If I have to choose, I choose the Blue Blob. I’ve got a Blue Blob head cover for my golf club. How often do you attend basketball games? I’ve been a season ticket holder since 1995. I do not miss games. This year I also went to Michigan, Orlando, D.C., and the Seton Hall game. I go to all the NCAA games as well. What’s your favorite part of the Cintas experience? I like the camaraderie that I have with my friends and the social aspect of the Joseph Club. Before and after games, I enjoy talking Xavier basketball and other things in general; the Joseph Club is a lot of fun.
Tell us about Herschel. I met Herschel in the early ’90s. He was the manager at a bar downtown called Flanagan’s. My friends and I loved going down there before Reds and Bengals games at the old Riverfront Stadium. When we bought Dana’s, I hadn’t bartended, so he let me
IT’S MORE THAN JUST A WATERING HOLE. IT’S PART OF THE XAVIER EXPERIENCE. BY MIKAYLA WILLIAMS
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great friends and when Flanagan’s got bought out, we had just opened, so I said, “Hersh, come work up here.” He’s a great man. He was married over 50 years. His wife passed away a few years ago. He’s a great family man, loves interacting with the students, and I can’t believe how spry he is for a 78-year-old man. What’s
in the drink named for him? That is a trademark secret that we will never give out. Only five or six of us know how to make it.
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THE DANA’S MYSTIQUE
learn down at Flanagan’s. We became
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LIFE & DISABILITY INSURANCE
Every Free Throw Counts
HORAN is proud to sponsor the HORAN Free Throw Challenge throughout the Xavier basketball season. For every free throw made by Xavier, HORAN proudly donates $25 to the Xavier Scholarship Fund. During the 2015-2016 season, HORAN employees and members of their families presented a check in the amount of $7,500 for the HORAN Free Throw Challenge in front of an audience of thousands at the Xavier University Cintas Center. HORAN believes we have a responsibility to serve our region as a good corporate citizen to create strong communities that increase the economic vitality and quality of our neighborhoods. As a company and individually, we support initiatives that educate, enrich and heal.
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