RUNNING MAN
HOW DID THAT LOGO GET LAUNCHED, AND WHY IS IT SO DARN POPULAR WITH FANS?
FREE THROW WOES
FELIX BOE-TANGEN
LET’S START WITH THIS: YES, THE MUSKETEERS PRACTICE FOUL SHOTS
MEN’S SOCCER STANDOUT ‘STOPPED BREATHING AND DIDN’T HAVE A PULSE’
XavierNation THE OFFICIAL MAGAZINE FOR XAVIER ATHLETICS
S I R
G IN
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FEARLESS SOPHOMORE ZACH FREEMANTLE READY TO HELP LEAD MUSKETEERS
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Contents X AV I E R N AT I O N
FALL 2020
26 | Jersey Boy Zach Freemantle’s love for the BIG EAST and his fearless play make him a player to watch in his sophomore season.
WARMUP 14 Flash Mob
Xavier’s student-athletes have a little fun during fall picture day.
16 A Slam Dunk
When Zach Hankins and Ashley Gomez put a ring on it, they created Xavier’s first basketball union.
18 First Time’s a Charm
Former Musketeer Jason Kokrak captures his first PGA Tour title.
34 | Nothing but Net P H O T O G R A P H S ( F R O M T O P) B Y F R A N K V I C T O R E S / B O B S T E V E N S / M I C H A E L M I L L AY, R O O T E D C R E AT I V E / H A R T O N G D I G I TA L M E D I A
Inquiring fans want to know: Why does Xavier have trouble making free throws? It’s both a hot-take topic and a fair question.
40 | Who is that
Caped Runner?
You just know there is a story behind Xavier’s iconic Running Man logo. Well, it starts with a man named Dick Keller.
20 Back to the BIG EAST
UConn’s return sets up a thrilling new chapter for the conference, its fans, and college basketball.
22 Making Introductions Meet the newest members of Xavier’s men’s and women’s basketball teams.
COOL DOWN 54 Century Mark
Xavier had big plans for celebrating its 100th anniversary of basketball. Then COVID-19 showed up.
56 At a Crossroads
Former Xavier men’s basketball player and current Cincinnati Police Sergeant Dwayne Wilson keeps the city and his fellow officers safe.
44 | Head Strong A kick in the head felled Xavier soccer player Felix Boe-Tangen on the pitch. Now he’s working toward returning—and giving thanks along the way.
58 Fond Memories
Eddie Johnson played professionally in Brazil, served in the army, and spent 25 years as a Baltimore police officer. And his love for Xavier runs deep.
59 A Fresh Start
50 | Pandemic Precautions Xavier Nation goes behind-the-scenes at a men’s basketball practice to see how COVID-19 affects the players, coaches, and Cintas Center.
XavierNationMagazine.com
Kim Blanton persevered through a liver transplant, bringing the same hustle to her recovery as to her playing days.
60 Program Updates
A look at all 18 Musketeer teams.
64 Post Game Interview Father Graham talks about his special basketball memories.
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WARMUP
FROM THE EDITOR
Contributors
OUR BALANCING ACT
W
E ALL KNOW THE DAILY NEWS CYCLE IS 24/7.
It never stops. Not on TV. Certainly not online or on social media. Magazines? Well, they are a little different. We start planning issues of Xavier Nation magazine roughly six months before they are sent out. Our first meeting for this issue was April 24, just more than a month after the new coronavirus wiped out the end of the 2019–2020 college basketball season, including the NCAA Tournament. Trying to conceive of a November 2020 magazine was a challenge. We had no idea what campus would look like in the fall or whether there would even be a 2020–2021 basketball season. We had no summer events/activities from which to get photos. There was so much up in the air. It was hard to plan for how much—if any—COVID-19-related content we should work on, knowing that the ongoing story of the virus changes regularly. Our content deadlines are more than a month prior to your reading this, so we didn’t want outdated stories. There were also conversations about the protests after the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Could we ignore these issues, or might they be outdated by the time we published? It’s all a balancing act. As far as the coronavirus, you will see: A dramatic story about men’s soccer player Felix Boe-Tangen, who almost died on the field last year during a match against Memphis. For that article, Boe-Tangen and Xavier medical personnel were photographed wearing masks. Exclusive behind-the-scenes photos of the precautions and daily rituals that must be observed by the basketball programs for safe practices in the wake of COVID-19.
JACK BRENNAN Former Cincinnati Enquirer and Cincinnati Post reporter and longtime Cincinnati Bengals public relations director.
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.
TABARI McCOY Award-winning writer and stand-up comedian. Host of podcast A Tight 45 with Tabari McCoy. Learn more at tabarimccoy.com. @tabarimccoy
KEVIN McNAMARA Former longtime Providence Journal reporter who’s covered the BIG EAST for 32 years and can now be found at KevinMcSports.com. @KevinMcNamara33
MICHAEL PERRY Former Xavier beat reporter and former sports editor of The Cincinnati Enquirer. Author and publisher of Xavier Tales: Great Stories from Musketeers Basketball (2008). @mdperry14
As far as the societal issues we are facing:
All good stuff. Enjoy.
Sincerely, Michael Perry, Editor-in-Chief
SHANNON RUSSELL Former Xavier beat reporter for The Cincinnati Enquirer and The Athletic who now covers Louisville basketball for the Louisville Courier-Journal. @slrussell
musketeers@xaviernationmagazine.com
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PHOTOGRAPH PROVIDED BY MICHAEL PERRY
We were fortunate to talk with former Musketeer Dwayne Wilson, a sergeant with the Cincinnati Police Department who has devoted his life to law enforcement and shared his perspective.
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past, present, and future
Michael Perry (The Cincinnati Enquirer)
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CHUCK CLEAVER Still Almost Famous LEGGY Band on the Run
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HA IM NG IN G A R M IG R C IT Y H A E B E T A N TS — VEN A WEE ND N HE HE S H L P IN LL — ARED G HAN ME DS D IV AL , S TH ERS E N IT Y UM BY BE RS OU
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PHOTOGRAPHERS Nick Brown, Greg Fisher, Glenn Hartong, Malinda Hartong, Kostas Lymperopoulos, Shawn McLaws, Michael Millay, Henry Paulk, Greg Rust, Bob Stevens, Frank Victores
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XAVIER NATION MAGAZINE 312 Elm St., 19th floor, Cincinnati, OH 45202 513.768.8414 • www.XavierNationMagazine.com
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HIGH WIRE ACT XAVIER SENIOR MIDFIELDER SEAN WILSON ELEVATES OVER KEVIN VANG OF PROVIDENCE COLLEGE TO HEAD THE BALL.
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TOUGH FINISH // Xavier lost 2–1 to the Friars in a BIG EAST match at the Xavier Soccer Complex in November 2019. Providence scored the gamewinner at the 87:26 mark. PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL MILLAY, ROOTED CREATIVE
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HOME, SWEET HOME // The Musketeers defeated the rival Cincinnati Bearcats 73–66 in December 2019 for their eighth consecutive home victory in the series. XU is 8–1 against UC at Cintas Center. PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL MILLAY, ROOTED CREATIVE
LET IT FLY SENIOR CAMERON TAYLOR STRETCHES FOR A XAVIER THROW-IN AGAINST THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY.
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HE’S GOT HOPS COACH TRAVIS STEELE SHOWS THAT HE CAN GET OFF THE GROUND, TOO, DURING THE CROSSTOWN SHOOTOUT.
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HIGH-SCORING AFFAIR // This victory in March 2020 was, by far, the Musketeers’ highest-scoring baseball game of the season. Xavier finished with 17 hits. Stephenson had a double, two RBI, and two runs. Rivero was 1-for-3 with one RBI and one run. PHOTOGRAPH BY NICK BROWN
LET IT FLY SENIOR CAMERON TAYLOR STRETCHES FOR A XAVIER THROW-IN AGAINST THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY.
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THIS IS FUN
XAVIER INFIELDER EDDIE RIVERO (9) CELEBRATES SCORING WITH CATCHER LUKE STEPHENSON (21) DURING A 24–15 VICTORY OVER NORTHERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY.
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LOOK AT HIM MOVE TYRIQUE JONES DANCES IN THE XAVIER LOCKER ROOM AFTER THE CROSSTOWN SHOOTOUT LAST DECEMBER.
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HAPPY DAYS // Jones, in his senior season, had 10 points, nine rebounds and one blocked shot in Xavier’s 73–66 victory over the University of Cincinnati. Jones, who graduated last May, went 2–2 against the Bearcats during his career, winning twice at home and losing twice on the road. PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL MILLAY, ROOTED CREATIVE
JUMP FOR JOY XAVIER GOAL COMES AT THE 78:46 MARK AND COMPLETES A COMEBACK FROM A 1–0 DEFICIT.
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Warmup// MUSKETEERS SAY I DO PG. 16
GOLF WIN PG. 18
UCONN RETURNS PG.2O
JUST TO GET YOU STARTED
MEET THE NEWCOMERS PG. 22
AND MORE
DERRICK OTIM 1996–2020
P H O T O G R A P H B Y M I C H A E L M I L L AY, R O O T E D C R E AT I V E
TRAGIC LOSS // Derrick Otim died in July at age 24 after a swimming accident in South Carolina. The 5-foot-7 midfielder from Nottingham, England, played soccer for the Musketeers from 2016 to 2019 and as a senior was third team allBIG EAST. He appeared in 70 games at Xavier, tallying seven goals and nine assists. He graduated last May.
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WARMUP
PICTURE DAY
PHOTO FUN // XAVIER STUDENTATHLETES SHOW OFF THEIR PERSONALITIES.
1 READY, SET…: Kiara Ainsworth, a senior
from San Antonio, finished 14th in the 60-meter dash at the BIG EAST championships.
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2 BALANCING ACT: Jayda Carlton, a junior
middle blocker from Harrisburg, North Carolina, finished No. 1 in the BIG EAST in blocks last season. 3 HO, HO, HO: Jason Carter, a senior forward
and team tri-captain from Johnstown, Ohio, has scored 1,057 career points in college, including 836 at Ohio University. 4 I’M TALKING TO YOU: Madeline Dingle, a
senior from Park Ridge, Illinois, competed in five cross country meets last season. 5 RELAXING: Caroline Welsh, a junior goal-
keeper from Turpin High School in Cincinnati, saw her first college action last season in a 4–0 victory against Northern Kentucky. 6 CHEST TRAP: Payton Miller, a redshirt
senior midfielder from The Woodlands, Texas, started 12 of the 14 matches in which he appeared last season. 7 SHOWING OFF: From left, women’s basket-
a senior right-side hitter from Mableton, Georgia, had a Xavier season-high 20 kills and 21 points vs. DePaul in November 2019. 9 POSING MID-AIR: Lucas Houk, a sophomore
from Dayton, Ohio, competed in six cross country meets last season and placed 50th at the BIG EAST championships. 10 THE THINKER: Nate Johnson, a graduate transfer from Gardner-Webb, played in the 2019 NCAA Tournament against eventual champion Virginia.
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PHOTOGRAPH BY TK
8 DEFYING GRAVITY: Moriah Hopkins,
P H O T O G R A P H S B Y M I C H A E L M I L L AY, R O O T E D C R E AT I V E
ball assistant Mary Grimes, associate head coach Candice Finley, head coach Melanie Moore and assistant Lester Rowe.
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PHOTOGRAPH BY TK
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WEDDING BELLS
A SLAM DUNK
// WHEN ZACH HANKINS AND ASHLEY GOMEZ PUT A RING ON IT, THEY CREATED XAVIER’S FIRST BASKETBALL UNION. — J A C K B R E N N A N
Ashley Gomez and Zach Hankins, photographed on their wedding day, Aug. 16, 2020.
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ZACH HANKINS AND THE FORMER
Ashley Gomez have a marriage made in Xavier Musketeer Heaven. They are the fi rst men’s and women’s basketball players from XU to tie the knot. But their attraction began with more razz than romance, over a protein shake in Cintas Center in the summer of 2018. “We were standing at a little place with snacks and protein shakes,” Zach recalls. “I was still very new on campus [as a grad transfer from Ferris State], and the refrigerators weren’t clearly marked as being for players or coaches or whoever. So I just asked her, ‘Am I allowed to take this?’ I didn’t know her at all at that point, but she said right away, with a whole lot of sass, ‘Oh, you’re a men’s player. You can have anything you want.’ “I just really liked that attitude she showed, and later we fl irted a little over social media, and before long we were dating.” Zach asked Ashley to be his steady girlfriend just a couple hours after his fi rst XU game, in November of ’18. And again, it wasn’t all that romantic. They were in a McDonald’s drive-thru. But Zach took his courting game to a higher level—literally—when they were together in Ashley’s home state of Oklahoma this past April. Inside the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, Zach whipped out an engagement ring and proposed. “We were way up there,” he recalls. “On top of Mount Scott.” Their wedding took place this past Aug. 16 in Edmonds, Okla., a suburb of Oklahoma City. Several players from the Xavier programs made the trip, including Sarah Leyendecker, who was one of the bridesmaids. “We also got a lot of nice attention from Xavier fans on social media,” Ashley says. “They said our kids all have to come to XU to play ball. We didn’t go crazy with a Xavier theme at the wedding, but we did have XU Basketball cookies.” Zach has pro ball in Turkey in his plans for 2020–2021. Prior to that adventure, the couple will reside in Oklahoma.
XavierNationMagazine.com
PHOTOGRAPHS BY DANIELLE HOLSEY
WARMUP
PHOTOGRAPH BY TK
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WARMUP
WINNING
FIRST TIME’S A CHARM // FORMER MUSKETEER JASON KOKRAK CAPTURES HIS FIRST PGA TOUR TITLE.
Xavier University alum Jason Kokrak won the fi rst PGA Tour title of his career in thrilling fashion. He overcame a three-stroke deficit with a 3-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole and won the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek in Las Vegas in October. According to news reports, it was his 233rd tournament in his 10th season on tour. Kokrak shot an 8-under-par 64 on his fi nal round on Sunday, Oct. 18. With the victory, he earned spots in the 2020 Masters in November and the 2021 Masters and PGA Championship. The 2007 graduate is a member of the Xavier Athletic Hall of Fame.
Kokrak, 35, was featured in the second issue of Xavier Nation magazine in spring 2015. When asked by Xavier Nation for the best golf tip he’d ever received, Kokrak said: “Don’t ever get too high or too low. When things are going great, don’t get overly excited and stay within yourself. On the fl ipside, stay confident, be patient, and don’t get down on yourself.”
Jason Kokrak knocks it out of a bunker (below) on his way to winning his first PGA Tour title (right).
PHOTO GR A PH S BY C H A SE S T E V EN S/ L A S V EG A S RE VIE W-J O URN A L
I
T HAPPENED.
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“IT WOULD BE OUR HOPE TO BE IN THE GARDEN FOR MANY YEARS TO COME.”
PHOTOGRAPH BY TK
— VAL ACKERMAN, BIG EAST COMMISSIONER
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CONFERENCE UPDATE
Bryce Moore goes against UConn’s Christian Vital during Xavier’s double overtime win over the Huskies in the 2019 Charleston Classic championship.
BACK TO THE BIG EAST
// UCONN’S RETURN SETS UP A THRILLING NEW CHAPTER FOR THE CONFERENCE, ITS FANS, AND COLLEGE BASKETBALL. — R O R Y G LY N N
HE UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT IS BACK IN THE BIG EAST. THE
same UConn basketball program with four national championships in the last two-plus decades, just in men’s basketball; the women’s program has 11 national championships over that same span. The Huskies were charter members of the BIG EAST from its 1979 inception until 2013, when the shifting landscape of college athletics—including the commitment of seven core BIG EAST schools to return to the conference’s basketball roots—left UConn scrambling. After a stretch in the American Athletic Conference, the BIG EAST announced last summer that UConn would rejoin the league in 2020. “What UConn brings is a national brand to our league,” says Xavier coach Travis Steele. “When you think of the BIG EAST, you think of teams like UConn. You think of multiple national titles and big moments in the Garden and all the great players and coaches they’ve had.” Yes, yes, and yes. To recap: Multiple national titles: The Huskies won men’s championships in 1999 (against Duke), 2004 (against Georgia Tech), 2011 (against Butler), and 2014 (against Kentucky). Big Garden moments: From their fi rst BIG EAST men’s tournament championship in 1990 to the most recent in 2011, the Huskies have proven highlight-reel ready. Maybe the most memorable moment of all wasn’t even a victory, but a six (six!) overtime loss to Syracuse in 2009. In all, UConn men’s basketball has seven BIG EAST tournament titles to go with 10 regular-season titles.
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Great players and coaches: Tate George. Scott Burrell. Ray Allen. Rip Hamilton. Khalid El-Amin. Jake Voskuhl. Rudy Gay. Ben Gordon. Emeka Okafor. Kemba Walker. Jeremy Lamb. Shabazz Napier. The legendary Jim Calhoun guided the Huskies to the fi rst three of those national championships. Former Huskie Kevin Ollie guided his alma mater to the 2014 national title out of the AAC. But the Huskies’ trek through the AAC wasn’t all smooth mushing. UConn made only one more NCAA appearance over the next four seasons, dipping below .500 for backto-back seasons before the school fi red Ollie in 2018 for improper contact with recruits. Dan Hurley has reversed the trend with 16- and 19-win seasons, but has work left to do. “I honestly feel they were adrift in terms of attracting the type of players they were accustomed to getting,” says Bill Raftery, analyst for BIG EAST basketball on Fox Sports and the Final Four on CBS. “They were getting some good players, but not the Ray Allens.” If you’re known by the company you keep, the BIG EAST affi liation should help UConn, just as UConn’s return should help the BIG EAST. “It’s not hard to see them selling out Gampel [Pavilion] again, selling out Hartford again,” Raftery says. “This is a program accustomed to being in the upper echelon of the league. This will rejuvenate the fan base. You know who’s not going to be happy? The women’s coaches.” UConn established itself as the gold standard in women’s basketball with a remarkable 11 national championships from 1995 to 2016, including four straight 2013–2016 and a 111-game winning streak. In men’s basketball, XU has played UConn twice: A 66–50 loss in the 1991 NCAA Tournament, when Steele was 9 years old, and a 75–74, double-overtime victory last November in the Charleston Classic. “Adding them to what I think is already the best league in the country just makes us that much better,” Steele says.
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PHOTOGRAPH BY HENRY PAULK
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WARMUP
GETTING TO KNOW YOU
MAKING INTRODUCTIONS // MEET THE NEWEST MEMBERS OF XAVIER MEN’S AND WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAMS.
#13
#31
Janashia Brown
Bryan Griffin
Megan Harkey
In high school, you were in the National Honor Society. What was your favorite subject? I always loved English, and I’m a history nerd, too. But I’ve always been obsessed with Black history. When I first got to prep school, my advisor and honors English teacher was African American, so she taught a lot of stuff about myself and my history I didn’t know, so I just submerged myself into the topic. People say I’m good at math, but I don’t consider myself good at math; I just work hard at it.
You have the same name as a popular cartoon character (although yours is spelled differently). Do people ever mention that to you? It actually comes up a lot, and it’s funny because Family Guy is like my favorite show, so a lot of people as soon as they meet me, that’s like their ice breaker—it’s either that or “You’re so tall.”
You’re 6-foot-6—what’s the best and worst thing about being tall? I like being tall. I think it’s a great attribute and it’s a great thing in basketball, especially, as I get to be over [the top of] everybody and get rebounds. The worst thing has to be the comments and the stares and negative comments from people.
What do you enjoy away from the court? I listen to a lot of music. I play video games and am actually one of those people that’s really into real estate, so I’ll be on YouTube watching videos on real estate investing and learning about paths of income.
What do you like to do away from basketball? Definitely a hobby that I did in high school is writing. I was on my newspaper staff and did a lot of journalism and stuff like that. I really enjoy writing. I enjoyed writing about sports as I was the sports editor my junior year.
When did real estate become a passion? It was actually during quarantine. I was working out like twice a day and in my down time, I didn’t have much to do, so I was just looking up things online about how to get passive income and I came across wholesaling and such, so it’s something I got into.
You volunteered with a nonprofit— Beloved: The Molly Jane Mission—in high school. What did you do? I started doing it my senior year because my best friend Claire, her family made a nonprofit. Long story short, her cousin was raped and murdered in 2017 and her cousin’s mother named the nonprofit after her. It raises awareness, money, and supplies in general for sexual assault victims.
Favorite book? I would have to say Catcher in the Rye or The Secret Life of Bees. With Catcher in the Rye, I have a very dry sense of humor, so I kind of related to Holden Caulfield. I’m not a delinquent, but I felt some of the things he said were very funny whereas other people, they might find it offensive. . . I had watched the movie The Secret Life of Bees before I read the book and my mom was like, “No, you need to read the book. The book is better.” I loved it. It’s one of my favorite books. What do you think it will be like if there are limited or no fans in the stands? It will probably feel like a scrimmage. What should Xavier fans know about you? On the court, I’m very hardworking and will always support my teammates and have their back. Off the court, I’m ambitious and very caring and generous.
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What’s your major? I’m getting my master’s degree in business administration; my first degree is in healthcare administration. Eventually, I want to work in a hospital network and work my way up or even be a part of creating my own one day. I also want to be able to do real estate on the side while basketball is going on.
Talk about that experience. I definitely learned about how common sexual assault is. We made these “Beloved bundles” that are critical for sexual assault victims. We made clothing for victims so they could leave the hospital dressed [since the clothes they arrived in are evidence needed for testing]. We had to make hundreds of those every few months. It was very eye-opening.
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M B B P H O T O G R A P H S B Y M I C H A E L M I L L AY / W B B P H O T O G R A P H S B Y S H AW N M C L AW S
#42
—TA B A R I M C C OY
GETTING TO KNOW YOU
#10
Nate Johnson
You have several jerseys hanging up in your room. How many do you have and what is the significance of each? [Laughs.] I have six hanging up. Two are jerseys I played in during a summer tournament and the rest are celebrity jerseys. I have an Allen Iverson jersey, a Jimmer Fredette—he’s my favorite shooter—and a Carmelo Anthony. There’s also an Aaliyah jersey [from an MTV Rock N’ Jock game she was in]. One of the jerseys is my high school all-star game jersey—they all just mean something to me. Favorite athlete growing up? Nonbasketball-wise, I’d definitely say my dad [Nathan Johnson Sr.] because he used to play football. He probably beat me [in sports] until I was about 14 because he was always fast. If you got two tickets to any concert, what would it be? Kodak Black. He’s my favorite rapper. I’d take my younger brother. He’s 16 and his name is Xavier, too. Favorite basketball memory? It would probably be that NCAA Tournament game [while at Gardner-Webb] against Virginia. That first bucket I scored and the way the crowd went crazy is something I could never forget. Your favorite tattoo? Probably my Romans 8:31 tattoo on my shoulder area—it says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” I’ve always loved that quote.
#3
Colby Jones
What is your major? Business analytics. A lot of my friends in high school were talking about what we wanted to do and were spreading ideas around; I just feel like my traits are well-suited to that major. Favorite TV show or cartoon growing up? The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. I always watched that growing up. Zach was always getting in trouble, but Cody always got the blame for it. It was a really fun show to watch. NBA player you model your game after or look up to? I definitely look up to Kobe Bryant. I always watched him growing up and tried to do his fadeaways. Currently, I watch Devin Booker a lot because he trained with my AAU coach [Robert Shannon], so we do the same workouts. Favorite meal? Chicken alfredo. My mom used to make it all the time when I was growing up, so it’s just my favorite food. Any fears or phobias? Sharks and deep water. I was about 7 or 8 and there were two sharks that swam right in front of me and we had to run out of the water real fast. That scarred me forever. I was in Florida at Panama City Beach. Me, my mom, and my brother were out there floating and they just swam right in front of us. I love looking at sharks and marine life and stuff like that, but if I’m in the water with them, I can’t do that. Favorite dessert? A brownie with vanilla ice cream. The brownie has to be hot. The vanilla complements [the brownie] well and [it] just tastes good together. Hidden talents? I played the saxophone growing up. I was in the band in 9th and 10th grade, so I can play the saxophone pretty well. I like to play a couple jazz pieces but no particular style.
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WARMUP
#5
Adam Kunkel
If you could be a member of any music group? Migos. Man, that’s the one group that sticks out in my head when I think of music groups. Migos always comes out with some fire music. I couldn’t be on the mic, but I’d produce some music. Pretty much everything I do throughout the day, I’m listening to music [while I do it]. It just helps make the day go faster. Favorite food? I feel like my favorite food is weird and not a lot of people have it as their favorite, but it’s salmon. When I was younger, my mom made some salmon and it just was a hit for me. I loved it. I’ve just stuck to it ever since. It’s a healthy food, it’s good food, so it works. Where would you like to travel? Dubai. I’ve just seen a bunch of stuff about Dubai and being there, it seems like you’re in a different world. Pet peeves? People who smack on their gum or food when they chew. That one always gets my gears grinding. Who would you choose to play you in a movie? Adam Sandler, because he’s funny, he’s goofy, and I think he could do a good job. Plus, he can hoop a little bit. Shows you’ve binged during quarantine? One that I loved was Stranger Things. They’re coming out with a new season soon, so that will be a binge watch. It’s just different—there’s not a lot of shows on Netflix like it with the alternate dimensions and stuff like that. There’s a lot of action in it, superpowers in it—it’s pretty cool. If you were to play another college sport? I’d say football. I played one year [in high school] and in the second game I broke my ankle, so I hung it up after that.
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GETTING TO KNOW YOU
#11
#11
#15
Dwon Odom
Kaelynn Satterfield
Mackayla Scarlett
Would you rather have to dunk or block a shot to win a game? Ooh, that’s a tough one, but I’d have to go with a game-winning dunk. With me and a dunk, you don’t know what’s coming. I could do any dunk, so the crowd wouldn’t know what’s coming but either way they’d be excited.
Your dad played at the University of Cincinnati. What’s it going to be like playing against your dad’s former school? I never really knew how big a rivalry it was until I came for my visit. It was kind of cool and shocking at the same time. People recognized my dad—not even older people; it was students that are currently enrolled.
Favorite player growing up? I loved Carmelo Anthony. My favorite women’s basketball player is Maya Moore. Moore’s a guard like me, and she’s a scorer. I like to score. With Anthony, I don’t even know—I just grew up watching him because my parents, they’re Knicks fans, and whenever I would watch them, he always caught my eye.
You played your freshman year at Ohio State. If asked for advice, what would you tell freshmen? I had a unique first year of college. The advice I would give is mingle with your teammates as much as you can, connect with them because there are going to be a lot of nights where you’re missing your family, you’re far from home, and your family is not with you every night—that can get tough.
Strongest part of your game? I think I play defense pretty well.
Pre-game rituals or superstitions? I gotta eat two packs of Skittles before a game. It’s a must. I have to have two packs of Skittles with me and I always put my left my sock on first and my left shoe on first. I have to. It started when I was in high school. To be honest, I saw Marshawn Lynch do it and I saw him eating Skittles before every game and I said, “You know what? Let me try this.” I started doing it and it just caught on. Favorite movie? I love The Blind Side. It’s about sports, of course, but it [also] involves family, changing someone’s life [and] giving someone hope. I first saw that when I was younger, [and] it just stood out to me. If you could trade places with celebrity for a day? LeBron [James]. Just to experience that lifestyle and to see what it’s like to have the whole world [paying attention to] you all the time and how every kid just looks up to you, everyone asks you for advice, etc. Your favorite tattoo? Probably the one I just got that says. “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” It just gives me a lot of confidence and I just feel like I could do anything. It’s on my wrist. Food you can’t stand? Sushi. I can’t do it. My mom and I are just alike with a lot of things and whatever she doesn’t like, I don’t like. I tried it and it’s just not for me.
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What you hope to improve? My midrange game, just being more confident using it in a game. I always practice it, but in a game, I’m not comfortable [quite yet].
Hidden talents? I paint a lot. I’m big on the Black Lives Matter movement, so I try to paint based off of that.
Where would you love to go on vacation? Jamaica, because my family is from Jamaica and I haven’t been there in years. We were supposed to go this summer, but COVID-19 happened.
Favorite TV show growing up? I watched a lot of The Proud Family when I was younger. It was something new every episode, it was funny. I was young—I thought everything was funny.
Favorite Halloween costume as a kid? I’m going to have to go with the boxer costume I had. To be honest, I went to Party City and they were out of costumes.
Favorite Christmas present? I was 5 or 6 years old [and] I woke up really early being a little kid on Christmas and I had this kitchen set. It was 5 feet tall. It had all the kitchen utensils and everything, and I would just fake cook every day after that.
Favorite food? Mac and cheese.
What should Xavier fans know about you? I’m always going to give 100 percent no matter what I’m doing. It’s pretty simple. Favorite thing to do away from basketball? Besides sleeping, there isn’t much. Sleep, paint, listen to music—I don’t really do much.
Least favorite food? The foods I can’t stand are eggs and avocadoes. I don’t like the way eggs smell; it just makes me want to vomit. Avocadoes are just too creamy and—no. Collect anything? Usually when I go on vacation to different states, when we go to the gift shops, I usually collect little snow globes from the places we go to. I have five now, but will probably add more from the road traveling with Xavier.
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M B B P H O T O G R A P H S B Y M I C H A E L M I L L AY / W B B P H O T O G R A P H S B Y S H AW N M C L AW S
WARMUP
GETTING TO KNOW YOU
#14
Ben Stanley
Who would you compare your game to? I play really awkward; I have a different type of [game]. I can do a lot of things on the court. I don’t really box myself into [one thing]. I guess Pascal Siakam or Thaddeus Young—that’s a weird one, right?—people say Kyle Anderson, but I don’t see that. I play all over the court. I have a weird game; I don’t think there’s anyone in the league who plays just like me. Pre-game rituals or superstitions? I gotta pray. I cross myself up during the game. If you see me play during the game, you’re going to see me [make a cross motion] like 50,000 times. I’m always talking to God on the court, trying to pray, trying keep him involved, trying to give him the glory, so I guess that’s my superstition. Favorite food? I like cheeseburgers. I also like steak. I like medium steak, a medium Porterhouse [specifically]. That’s a good meal right there. Any secret talents? I’m crazy at Madden [football]. I’m a pretty solid player. Are you a sneakerhead? Yeah, I’m a sneaker guy. I like Air Jordan 11s; my craziest pair right now is probably a pair of the “Space Jam” 11s, but I like finding the shoes that no one else has. So, a funky colorway [is great]. Jordan 11s and 8s are my favorite. With the 11s, it’s the icy bottoms when they are fresh out the box, the bottom of the shoe is all light blue and you almost don’t want to step outside, but I gotta wear the shoes at least once. I like the straps on the 8s, and usually around the heel they have interesting brush strokes or paint splatters—and you don’t see a lot of shoes with straps the way the 8s lock at the ankle.
XavierNationMagazine.com
#24
Shaulana Wagner
Favorite athlete growing up? Kobe Bryant. I liked his mentality and how hard he worked. I also like Russell Westbrook for the same reason—he goes hard every play, no matter what. Describe your game. I would say I hustle and do all the little things—I’m a hardworking player. Best aspect of your game? My defense. I love to “D” people up. Favorite musical artists? YoungBoy Never Broke Again, Lil Baby, and Lil Durk and A Boogie wit da Hoodie. They’re just hard—there’s no other word to describe them. I love their beats, their raps. They’re just hard! If you were to play a different college sport? Football. I used to play—that was my first sport before basketball—I love football. I played receiver, cornerback, safety, and quarterback. I liked playing defense better because it’s more intense. I love to be hyped. Favorite food? Mac and cheese or steak. And I love broccoli. I love cheese, so mac and cheese is great and with steak, I can’t explain that. Broccoli, a lot of people don’t like it and I don’t know why, but I do. Favorite TV show growing up? SpongeBob SquarePants. It was just funny. You had to have a sense of humor to watch that show. Greatest lesson you’ve learned? Basketball-wise, my old coach told me, “When the time to perform has come, the time to prepare has passed.” It stuck with me because it’s true.
WARMUP
#0
C.J. Wilcher
Most famous person you’ve met? I’ve met Kevin Durant. I didn’t really have a conversation [with him] but I got his autograph. It was a super dope experience as he ended up having like 66 points that game. New York is the mecca of basketball, so it was a cool experience. It was a summer league park game and he just showed up. I had a pair of shoes—I played at like 10 in the morning and he played at 8 at night, so I was there all day—and I had a shoe from the game I played in and he signed my shoe. I still have it. Favorite tattoo? All my tattoos have a lot of meaning to me, but my favorite is the one on my hand and one behind my ear. The one behind my ear is my mother’s name in purple, which is her favorite color. My mom means a lot to me. She helped me through a lot of times when I was down on myself growing up; I wasn’t the most confident person and she helped me with that. The one I have on my hand, I designed it myself and it says “333.” It means a lot to me because one, I designed it; two, when you see 333, it’s an indicator there are angels around you to hear your prayers and they’re coming into your life. Also, I had four siblings growing up. I lived with two of them, my older brother and my younger brother, so there’s three of us—“333” is for that. If you could record a song with anyone, who would you choose? This artist named Brent Faiyaz. His music is very calming [to me] and I listen to him before games to calm down. What’s your major? I’m majoring in exercise science. I love working out and I’m very intrigued by the human body, so learning about it will help me become in the best shape possible as an athlete on my own versus having to go to a trainer.
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XavierNationMagazine.com
PHOTOGRAPHS BY FRANK VICTORES (LEFT) AND GREG FISHER (RIGHT)
Y E
r the o f e v o tle’s l rless play n a m in Free s fea Zach ST and hi r to watch A e BIG E him a play eason. make phomore s his so
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Zach Freemantle was voted as a team captain for this season along with seniors Paul Scruggs and Jason Carter. That’s a rare honor for a sophomore.
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P H O T O G R A P H S B Y G R E G F I S H E R ( L E F T ) A N D M I C H A E L M I L L AY ( R I G H T )
M AY B E
ZACH FREEMANTLE’S
ROOTS TELL YOU ALL YOU
D E E N Y W R E ALL O N K O T
Unlike so many of Xavier’s stars over the years, Freemantle didn’t come to town from some nearby Midwestern hoops hotbed. He’s also not from Atlanta, Washington, D.C., or another big city that rolls out a conveyor belt of prep stars every year. Freemantle is a modern-day Xavier player, one who has BIG EAST blood coursing through his veins. He’s a Jersey kid, a label that’s drawn college coaches from near and far for decades. The best Jersey kids long to play in the BIG EAST. No matter where you suit up, you get to swing home a few times a year to show off in front of your boys. Come March, you get to compete at Madison Square Garden, the basketball Mecca for any Jersey kid growing up a few train stops away from New York City. It’s a path that Jersey kids have followed for 40 years and now that Xavier is a BIG EAST mainstay, it isn’t all that surprising that a tough kid from Teaneck, N.J., chose to become a Musketeer. “The BIG EAST, for sure. That’s where I wanted to play,” Freemantle says. And here he is, now looking to help lead the Musketeers as a sophomore. “Zach plays with a chip on his shoulder,” coach Travis Steele says. “He’s tough. He’s always getting under the opponents’ skin. That’s who he is.” And that’s a good thing for Xavier.
PHOTOGRAPH BY TK
How did Steele lure Freemantle to Cincinnati? While scouting other prospects at the Peach Jam just outside Augusta, Ga., in the summer of 2018, Steele and assistant coach Ben Johnson spotted an aggressive forward playing with the New Jersey Playaz. The coaches quickly Googled Freemantle’s name and found a slew of mid-major interest. Word was growing, however, with Penn State, Clemson, Boston College, and a few others schools also seeing what Xavier was seeing.
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PHOTOGRAPHS BY BOB STEVENS
“It was an accident,” Steele says, “but we liked Zach right away. When Coach Johnson and I went back to see him again that night we were blown away. We offered [a scholarship] right away.” Within hours Freemantle’s world was turned upside down. His mother, Michaela, received a call from Steele and thought someone was joking with her. That became a common theme. “We had just gotten done playing Mean Streets [of Chicago] when I got a text from Coach Steele. I was in shock,” Freemantle says. “Nothing like that had happened before in my recruitment.” Xavier was coming off a 29-win season and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. It owned cachet, especially for a youngster who longed to play in the BIG EAST. The recruiting game was over within days. “Nobody wanted me the way Xavier wanted me,” Freemantle says. Identifying a good player may not be all that difficult, but becoming sold on an 18-year-old is what differentiates the winners and pretenders in recruiting. It took Steele and Johnson only a few phone conversations to realize Freemantle would be a priority. One selling point: Nearly every time Steele made his recruiting call, the Jersey kid would be running to a basketball game. That the games just happened to be on the other side of the George Washington Bridge in two of the most competitive parks in America sealed the deal. “I’d call him, and he’d be going to Dyckman or Rucker Park. He’d play anywhere,” Steele says. “We like to ask does this kid like it, love it, or live it? Zach lives it.” Anyone who survives for more than a few runs on Harlem’s fi nest courts had better be tough. The famed DJs at Rucker dubbed Freemantle “Baby Love,” short for Baby Kevin Love. That suited him just fi ne, but nicknames are earned, and toughness oozed out of the Jersey kid. Where did it come from? “Zach is tough. He is tough as nails. He gets that from his mother,” Larry Freemantle, Zach’s father, said in a video introducing Xavier’s Class of 2019. Michaela Freemantle watched her son fi ll his bedroom with sports paraphernalia, most notably New York Yankees pennants and a poster of his idol, Derek Jeter. But as he grew from an aspiring point guard to a 6-foot-9 high school star, it was clear he’d land in the front-
“I’D CALL HIM, AND HE’D BE GOING TO DYCKMAN OR RUCKER PARK. HE’D PLAY ANYWHERE. WE LIKE TO ASK DOES THIS KID LIKE IT, LOVE IT, OR LIVE IT? ZACH LIVES IT.” — HEAD COACH TRAVIS STEELE
court and strive to battle with the biggest, baddest players around. “Zach was always one of the biggest kids on the floor,” says Billy Armstrong, Freemantle’s high school coach at Bergen Catholic, “but he played on our freshman team. As a sophomore we had three bigger kids and I probably should have played Zach more. But as a junior he became a force. I think college coaches were late on him and pigeon-holed him a bit. They didn’t realize Zach was athletic as he is. He was going up and dunking on guys by that time.”
XavierNationMagazine.com
If Xavier fans quickly glimpsed a large chip on the freshman’s shoulder a year ago, that came as little shock to anyone close to Freemantle. Even though he led Bergen Catholic to its first New Jersey state title in 17 years, Freemantle wasn’t on anybody’s top 100 list of recruits. Guards KyKy Tandy and Dahmir Bishop were the more touted members of Steele’s 2019 class, yet when Freemantle first arrived in Cincinnati in the summer it didn’t take long for his dominant trait to stand out. In some of the first few pickup games he ran in against his new teammates, Freemantle happened to be matched up
against perhaps the toughest dude in the BIG EAST in senior Tyrique Jones. “Zach would not back down,” Steele says, “and we all know Tyrique is an intimidating, big guy. Tyrique would take advantage of Zach, for sure, but Zach never, never backed down. He’d go back at him the next possession.” Freemantle recalls that introduction to Xavier basketball fondly. He knew Jones and All-BIG EAST scorer Naji Marshall would be the team’s leaders, but he felt he could fit in as well. “Those runs worked wonders for me,” he says. “It was really good work going up against Tyrique. Scoring on him
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T H G I BR S T H LIG
P H O T O G R A P H ( L E F T ) B Y M I C H A E L M I L L AY, R O O T E D C R E AT I V E
Zach Freemantle went through Xavier’s team photo shoot and later worked with Xavier Nation on a creative cover for this issue of the magazine.
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P H O T O GR A P H S ( T O P) B Y H A R T O N G D I G I TA L M E D I A
in the post was a real challenge and no one rebounded like him. It got me ready for the BIG EAST.” Jones nicknamed his new teammate “Young Bull,” a moniker that BIG EAST fans quickly realized fit nicely. While foes embraced the importance of keeping the powerful Jones in check, it was Freemantle who kept making plays and surprising opponents. The freshman seemed to improve by the week and ended up posting eight of his 11 double-figure scoring games versus BIG EAST foes. “I was getting more and more trust from my teammates and that helped me,” says Freemantle, who would go on to average 7.5 points and 4.3 rebounds. “That helped my confidence and I started to play with confidence.” His contributions helped keep Xavier chugging along toward an NCAA Tournament berth last season. The season highlight? That’s easy. Playing in the Garden for the fi rst time, he watched St. John’s scramble the Musketeer attack and force 21 sloppy turnovers. But when a play needed to be made, Marshall found the freshman who fl ipped home the go-ahead basket in an eventual 77– 74 clutch win.
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“I WAS GETTING MORE AND MORE TRUST FROM MY TEAMMATES AND THAT HELPED ME. THAT HELPED MY CONFIDENCE AND I STARTED TO PLAY WITH CONFIDENCE.” — ZACH FREEMANTLE
The BIG EAST’s coaches voted Freemantle (and Tandy) onto the league’s all-newcomer team. In his fi nal 14 games, or once he moved into the starting five alongside Jones, Freemantle’s averages escalated to 9.1 points and 5.2 boards a game. Included were 18-point outputs against both Creighton and DePaul. Steele sees that fi nish as a harbinger of what can unfold for the Musketeers in 2021. Jones, Marshall, and point guard Quentin Goodin need to be replaced. Veterans Paul Scruggs and Jason Carter will be key, but the progression of Freemantle and Tandy looms large. “We will play through Zach a lot more,” Steele says. “I know we can put him in different positions on the floor. Zach wants to be our leader, wants to be our face.” That’s music to Freemantle’s ears. Asked what role he sees for himself, the engaging 20-year-old didn’t fl inch. “I was a spot-up 3-point shooter or a post player last year. That’s it,” he says. “Now I think I can do everything, maybe even point guard. OK, point forward. I wear number 32, so maybe like Magic Johnson.”
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T WHA KE IT TA S E O D HOTS S K N I Y TO S ARIT H C THE OT FROM T’S N I ? E P STRI THE OUT B A JUST . TICE C A R P
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PART I
THE WHISTLE BLOWS Among memorable scenes in Hoosiers, the seminal 1980s film about a fictional 1950s team and making the most of your opportunities in basketball and life, this is one. When tiny Hickory High’s team arrives at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse for the Indiana high school championship game, the first thing coach Norman Dale makes his players do is measure the distance from the free-throw line to the baseline, and from the floor to the basket. The message: Wherever you play basketball, whatever the stakes, whomever the opponent, among the constants are 15 feet from the foul line to the backboard, and 10 feet up to the basket. There is no constant like a free throw. You can take all the variables—the quality of the defender, the time needed to get the shot off, shooting off the dribble vs. catch and shoot—and throw them out those Hinkle Fieldhouse windows. It is basketball’s most reliable shot. Until it stops being reliable.
PART II
STEPPING UP TO THE LINE So, we ask: Why does the Xavier basketball team have trouble making free throws? It’s both a hot-take topic and a fair question. The Musketeers have finished at or near the bottom of the BIG EAST in free-throw accuracy in three of the past four seasons, and 220th or worse in the nation in those seasons. Last season, Xavier made just 65.8 percent of its free throws, which ranked 318th of 350 Division I programs. It was Xavier’s lowest free-throw percentage since 1993–1994 when the team shot 64.6 percent from the line. Paul Scruggs shot 73.7 percent from the foul line last season to lead the Musketeers, the lowest team-leading free-throw percentage in 26 years (Pete Sears, 72.6 percent).
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Xavier finished the abbreviated 2019–2020 season with a record of 19–13. Consider: If the Musketeers could have improved their free throw shooting even to 70 percent—which would have tied them for 208th in Division I, still the bottom half of rankings—that would’ve translated into 25 more made free throws. That’s not insignificant considering the Musketeers lost seven games by a total of 25 points. Coach Travis Steele doesn’t let the numbers change how he sees the equation. “First and foremost, we want our guys to get to the free-throw line,” he says. “In any good offense, that’s one of the places where you should live. If you break down the most efficient places to score, No. 1 is layups. No. 3 is catchand-shoot 3s. And No. 2 is free throws. So we want them there.” Making free throws “is just essential,” says Bill Raftery, college basketball analyst for CBS and BIG EAST games on FoxSports 1. “It can keep you in a lead. It can keep you in a game, particularly in a league this good,” he says. “Over the last two minutes, you can’t have empty trips. You make your free throws, you take the points, and you get to set up your defense. It just sustains you.”
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PHOTOGRAPH BY HENRY PAULK
Jason Carter was 2-of-2 from the foul line during a 75-74 victory over Connecticut last November. In that game, Xavier made just 16 of 26 free throws (61.5%).
PART III
THE CROWD ROARS A segment of the fan base has noticed Xavier’s free-throw issues. Oh, how they’ve noticed. Anger and snark are popular emotions among on fan boards and Twitter. On xavierhoops.com, during the 68– 62 loss at Villanova, user GOMUSKIES observed: We get [Tyrique] Jones at the line for one and one when the TO ends. Yay. Jones shot 59.2 percent from the line last season. Over on musketeerreport.com, during the 84–82 double-overtime loss to Marquette, user Maddenm3 said: There’s a guy that sits next to me that yells “FREE THROWS!!!” all game, every game. He gets so angry yelling it that it gets comical at times. He almost had a hernia tonight. How sensitive a subject was freethrow shooting at Xavier last winter? Steele professes to steer clear of the message boards and Twitter tirades all season. In March, Mario Mercurio, Xavier’s associate athletic director for basketball administration, was watching a rerun of Xavier’s double-overtime, 101–96 Sweet 16 loss to Kansas State in 2010. After missed a foul shot. Mercurio was moved to tweet: Oh no. @XavierMBB going to get some @’s about practicing FT’s.
Of course, Xavier practices free throws. All good teams do. Not-so-good teams do, as well. No coach goes into a game willing to sacrifice easy points for a lack of preparation. “But some guys can make 90 of 100 in a gym,” Steele says, “and they don’t always do it in a game.”
PART IV
JUST LIKE IN PRACTICE In the past 41 seasons, Xavier has shot below 70 percent from the foul line just 14 times. That includes seasons under Steele (2), Chris Mack (4), Sean Miller (1), Thad Matta (1), Pete Gillen (4), and Bob Staak (2). It shot better than 75 percent from the foul line just once (2017–2018). It shot 72 percent or better 19 times, including under all the coaches above plus Skip Prosser, whose teams never shot below 70.3 percent from the foul line. Once at the foul line, success or failure is in that player’s hands. It’s the ball and the shooter and the shooter’s preparation. The Xavier staff is well aware of the numbers. It is committed to doing whatever it can to turn them around. Players shoot free throws after conditioning drills. They’re responsible for shooting 100 daily with a position coach. When it comes to improving from the
CAREER FREE THROW % LEADERS PLAYER
SEASON
%
1. Tu Holloway
2008-12
.852
2. Joe Geiger
1961-64
.843
3. Myles Davis
2013-17
.824
4. Bill Kirvin
1959-62
.819
5. Steve Thomas
1962-65
.812
6. Hank Stein
1956-59
.809
7. James Posey
1996-99
.808
8. Derek Strong
1987-90
.802
9. J.P. Macura
2014-18
.798
2014-18
.784
10. Trevon Bluiett
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stripe, Steele’s willing to think outside the box. Last season, Xavier began interrupting live scrimmages to shoot free throws. When a shooting foul occurred, that became an opportunity to sacrifice some practice flow in favor of perfecting foul-shooting form. Dr. Peter Ganshirt, a Crestview Hills– based sports psychologist, is a resource, as well. He’s been consulting with all Xavier programs, including men’s basketball, for the past two seasons. Ganshirt, who also works with athletes from professional golf to the NFL, said that with free-throw shooting, the absence of external forces like defense should result in less pressure to execute. “Having said that, that’s obviously not the case,” he says. “Many times it’s one of the most difficult shots to make.” Ganshirt looks at the equation in terms of three domains: cognition (“the six inches between your ears,” he says); behaviors, such as a pre-shot routine for each player; and attitudes about the shot, typically related to external variables, such as, “What are fans going to think? What will social media and the press say?” Ganshirt says a hierarchy of emotions helps drive athletes’ performance, including intensity, determination, optimism, and happiness. But the No. 1 variable is confidence. “You can be happy, but if you don’t have confidence, your probability of making the shot doesn’t improve,” he says. He works with players to develop a personal affi rmation to be included in the free-throw routine, “self statements” that are specific to the athlete and his personality. All are designed to “infuse the emotion of confidence” prior to the free throw routine. These become part of practice. “You start with the confidence piece, then go to the repetitions piece,” Steele says. “I want our guys ultimately to be confident. Just because you miss one, it shouldn’t affect your next one.” Structure is stressed. “We work on routines, so you’re doing the same thing every time you’re up there,” Steele says. “Then it becomes muscle memory.” Steele and his staff prioritize getting your eyes on the target early, before you begin the shooting motion; having identifiable starting and stopping points, so they can be more easily repeated; and limiting motion, as “more movement
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means more room for error.” Steele is comfortable with players maintaining individuality in terms of their routines. Some might simulate the shooting motion with an empty hand. Most like to bounce the ball, but how many times varies. Some might like to spin the ball in their hands. “Everybody does some things a little differently, and we respect that.”
PART V
STUDYING THE RIM
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TOP SINGLE-SEASON FREE THROW % LEADERS PLAYER
SEASON
FT-FTA
%
1. Joe Geiger
1961-62
74-82
.902
2. Josh Duncan
2006-07
66-75
.880
3. Bill Kirvin
1959-60
78-89
.876
4. Ken Harvey
1995-96
48-55
.873
5. Myles Davis
2014-15
102-117
.872
6. Tu Holloway
2010-11
235-270
.870
7. Joe Geiger
1963-64
119-137
.869
8. Drew Lavender
2007-08
79-91
.868
9. Keith Walker
1979-80
58-67
.866
2011-12
218-253
.862
10. Tu Holloway
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PHOTOGRAPH BY BOB STEVENS
Larry Silverberg, a professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at North Carolina State University, has studied the dynamics of basketball for more than 20 years. Specifically, “the development of a suite of simulation tools that accurately predict the trajectory of a basketball, its collisions with the backboard and rim, and statistically analyze the probability of a shot.” His team focused on two particular areas: bank shots and free throws. Silverberg, 64, didn’t play basketball past high school, but says he can still get in the 90 percent range with practice. “It is something that can be improved, but you have to really want to,” he says. Silverberg likes to break the foul shot into four components: a smooth motion to generate the right velocity, aiming for the center of the hoop, proper trajectory, backspin. While all are important, not all are equal. Silverberg says the fi rst two have the most bearing on the outcome. A fluid motion facilitates shooting the ball just hard enough every time. Naturally you want to aim for the center (on the leftright grid; front-back, you want a little past center, 2 inches from the back of the hoop, he says). His proper trajectory is between 46 and 54 degrees; the right backspin will make the ball rotate about three times in a second. Silverberg’s might not be revolutionary concepts, but he helps bring analytics to a well-populated table. “You develop consistency by practicing,” Silverberg says. “But if you don’t know what the proper trajectory is, you’ll get more consistent at a less-than-optimum trajectory; you’ll get consistent at a not-very-good shot. “Lots of players shoot 68 percent. A lot
fewer shoot 90. It’s not that the 90 percent players are more consistent. They’re just consistent at a better shot.” Raftery agrees. “Practicing free throws is a lot like golf. I can go out and hit a bucket of balls and say I’m practicing, but if I’m doing bad things, am I improving? You can shoot 100 free throws, but if you’re not doing adjustments on each one, are you getting better? Or are you just shooting?”
PART VI
HE SHOOTS Two questions: Who’s he? And how does he shoot? At the end of the day, those players on your team who have the ball in their hands the most, who take the most shots, and particularly those who like to attack the rim, are going to take the bulk of your free throws. “Our guys who got fouled a lot last year,” Steele says, “were not our very good foul shooters.” Nothing will hurt your foul-shooting numbers—and your offense—like having volume shooters shoot poorly. Take Jones. In addition to shooting 59.2 percent—lowest among XU’s regular eightplayer rotation—he also got to the line a team-high 174 times. Jones missed more free throws (71) than all but one other Musketeer attempted. You need look back only three seasons to fi nd XU’s offense running through two effective foul shooters in Trevon Bluiett and J.P. Macura. In the 2017–2018 season, Bluiett shot 84.8 percent on 197 attempts. Macura shot 82.1 percent on 117 tries. Xavier shot 77.9 percent from the line, second in the BIG EAST and 10th in the NCAA. Since the ball is in his hands so often, it’s a plus when your point guard shoots free throws well. Tu Holloway is XU’s all-time leader in free throw percentage (85.2 percent). Because he also attacked the rim with a vengeance, he made 792 trips to the line. “We won just about every close game we were in because he was going to go knock them in,” Steele says. Jones had an attacking mentality as well, as did leading scorer Naji Marshall, who fared somewhat better at the line (71 percent). Which is a good reminder that BIG EAST basketball players must
XavierNationMagazine.com
XAVIER TEAM FREE THROW % BY YEAR NCAA
BIG EAST
FT%
RANK
RANK
2019-20
65.8
319
T9
2018-19
67.9
285
9
2017-18
77.9
10
2
2016-17
68.9
222
8
2015-16
73
61
T3
2014-15
73
49
T2
2013-14
68.8
214
8
2012-13
66.7
261
2011-12
69.5
163
2010-11
74.7
29
2009-10
71.1
103
2008-09
67.6
216
2007-08
74.9
20
2006-07
74.1
32
2005-06
72.4
67
2004-05
73.2
41
2003-04
68.9
178
2002-03
74.7
29
2001-02
72.1
72
2000-01
70.3
102
1999-2000
71.0
76
1998-99
73.5
20
1997-98
73.8
14
SEASON
bring more to the party than a knack for knocking down an unguarded shot. According to Guinness, there’s no more reliable foul shooter than Ted St. Martin, who once made 5,221 in a row. He’s also 57 years old and never played above high school. Neither did Bob Fisher, whose Guinness free throw milestones include most in a minute (and most in a minute with alternating hands, underhand, and blindfolded). Neither could beat the Butler Bulldogs off the dribble, close out on Creighton’s
wings, or mix it up with Marquette on the boards. In the end, there are many facets to the modern player. And coaches try to maximize their strengths and work on their weaknesses. “Really, shooting in general was an issue for us,” Steele says. “But if you’re scoring more than one point per possession, you’re a pretty good offensive team. As bad as we were [from the line] as a team, our points per possession was still high.”
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WHO O is that (
The story behind Xavier’s iconic Running Man logo. By Shannon Russell
)
CAPED ED D
PHOTOGRAPH BY TK
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O PHOTOGRAPH BY TK
NER? XavierNationMagazine.com
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F
ORMER XAVIER MEN’S BASKETBALL COACH AND ATHletic director Bob Staak stopped by a Manhattan restaurant two years ago between BIG EAST tournament sessions at Madison Square Garden and noticed a fan’s T-shirt. The front featured a cartoon figure of an 18th-century Musketeer dribbling a basketball with his right hand, a halo of a hat around his head and an ample cape billowing behind. Staak approached the fan and asked if he went to Xavier. Indeed he did. “I said, ‘That logo and that uniform were when I coached there.’ I introduced myself and we had a nice conversation,” said Staak, an NBA scout for the Miami Heat. “The fan related to me how this is a very popular thing, the Running Man, and everybody’s trying to get it. I was kind of surprised.” Popular may be an understatement. The retro Running Man logo is all the rage, an iconic throwback to the uniforms Xavier wore between 1983 and 1995 while a member of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference. When Xavier joined the Atlantic 10, the Running Man was phased out, although the design remained on the Cincinnati Gardens floor the first season in the new league. The logo disappeared altogether for a decade before reappearing in a 2006 outing against Detroit Mercy. In what was dubbed the first “Throwback Night” at Cintas Center, Josh Duncan scored 25 points and the Musketeers throttled the Titans 88–55 while outfitted in replicas of the unis XU wore in the MCC. They were white with twotoned blue type and trim, a Running Man poised on each side of the shorts. “It’s one of those logos that transcends time. It was cool back then and it’s still cool now,” says Xavier all-time leading scorer and radio analyst Byron Larkin, who wore the logo as a Musketeer. “Some logos you look at and say, ‘That looks so old.’ But not the Running Man. Even though it is old, it doesn’t look old. Kids can get into it now. That’s what I think is so unique: It appeals to fans back in the day as well as kids today.” Xavier has remained loyal to its main logo, the X, and will continue to follow that path, but the Running Man continues to resonate with the Musketeers’ fan base. How the hoops-playing logo came into existence is a story unto itself. A man named Dick Keller knows, and he says it started with a soccer ball.
A Soccer Player
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Ralph Lee drives to the basket during an 83–73 victory over Pittsburgh at Cincinnati Gardens on Dec. 7, 1985.
Dee Rowe, was close friends with then– BIG EAST commissioner Dave Gavitt, and those ties led him to the Rhode Island–based advertising, marketing and public relations agency. Staak hired Duffy & Shanley to handle rights, arena issues, sponsorships, and other revenue generating initiatives on behalf of Xavier. (Company president Jon Duffy said his father doesn’t recall the Running Man logo specifically, although he does remember Staak well. Shanley’s son, the Rev. Brian Shanley, is the former president of Providence College.) The partnership gave the Running Man a prominent place in Xavier Athletics branding. Still, the logo lacked a certain excitement when it debuted. “I don’t think there was a lot of fanfare. There wasn’t, that I remember, any
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PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY DICK KELLER (LEFT) AND BY GREG RUST (ABOVE)
IF KELLER HAD A PROFESSIONAL NICKNAME, it could be the Logo Whisperer. A renowned graphic designer and illustrator with 200 logos to his credit, Keller did myriad projects in Cincinnati, Philadelphia, and Eastern portions of the country. The St. Xavier High School grad worked with Xavier’s admissions and public relations offices in the 1980s and befriended Rene Durand, the dean of admissions and financial aid. They bonded over soccer. Keller started a six-team, 30-and-over amateur league in College Hill to help adults understand the game their kids were playing, have some fun, and bond over post-match beer. Durand Dick Keller enjoyed soccer and wanted to participate. Durand said in a recent conversation that he couldn’t recall the Running Man’s connection to Xavier, but Keller remembers that Durand “loved the idea of getting into the soccer league” and “went out and had T-shirts made.” Keller offered the use of a logo he’d created, a Musketeer kicking a soccer ball, but Durand had already ordered the shirts. He advised Keller to send the logo to Staak for possible use with Xavier Athletics. Staak loved it. “I changed it from a soccer player to a basketball player and took it over to Bob Staak,” Keller says. “At that time, Xavier was interviewing with a new [communications] agency in New England. I never got to meet anybody there but Staak sent a copy of it up to them. I’m going to tell you the honest to God’s truth—he said, ‘They said they couldn’t do any better.’ ” The agency was Duffy & Shanley, co-founded by David Duffy and Joe Shanley in 1973 and the designer of the first BIG EAST logo. Staak’s college coach, Connecticut’s
opposition to it. And on the flip side, I don’t think people were goo-goo and gaga over it either. This was what we’re doing and it was accepted and we moved on,” Staak says. Eddie Johnson agrees. The former center wore the uniform from 1981 to 1986 and said players didn’t think twice about the logo. “What I remember was how short those shorts were. If you weren’t in shape, you didn’t look good in them, whereas nowadays these guys play in shorts down to their knees,” Johnson says. Other Xavier logos inspired by the Running Man are rumored to exist— adapted for swimming, rifle, and women’s basketball, for example—but Keller knows nothing of them. He only created the original, which came with a handlettered font that spelled “Musketeers.” Although the specially-tailored type disappeared along the way, Keller remains immensely pleased with the Running Man and its revival. “It’s probably the best college logo ever created,” says Keller. “It’s too good not to use.” Keller has never made a dime off the Running Man logo. He enjoyed creating the design and was a Xavier fan so he gave it to the university for free.
EAST, you get a little bit of room to have fun and tie in history. I know it’s appreciated by former players who have worn that jersey. When you’ve had the successful run like we have, there’s no harm in taking a minute to reflect on some of those eras and teams that got us to where we are today,” Mercurio says. Not every college basketball program has an alternate mark like the Running Man. Some stick with a primary logos while others employ an array of art. Vice President for Administration and Director of Athletics Greg Christopher says striking a balance between the iconic X and the retro Running Man is important for Xavier. While variety is key, part of the Running Man’s allure lies in its rarity. A recent Xavier basketball survey in The Athletic revealed that 63.2 percent of respondents would like to see Running
Man uniforms worn in big games but limited to three or four a season. And 27 percent were satisfied with once per season. The rest preferred the Running Man look in all games. “Our fans clearly love it and identify with it. I don’t see it going away by any means, at least in the near term. To me, the X is distinctive and unique and we’re not going to get rid of it. I also can’t imagine there’s an appetite on our campus for changing our colors and going back to the royal blue. How we use it today is probably how we’ll continue to use it in the near future,” Christopher says. That’s fine by Larkin. The logo triggers happy memories of his hall-of-fame career. “It’s always a favorite night of mine when I see players come out in the Running Man uniforms,” Larkin says. “I love when they bring them back.”
PHOTOGRAPH BY BOB STEVENS
Popular with Fans WHEN PROSPECTIVE XAVIER basketball players make official visits to campus, they traditionally participate in photo shoots wearing Musketeers uniforms. Players have multiple options from which to choose. They gravitate toward the Running Man uniforms time and again. The trend surprises Mario Mercurio, Xavier’s associate athletic director for basketball administration, because of the limited games in which the uniforms have been worn. Xavier has dressed in Running Man unis 10 times since joining the BIG EAST in 2013. The Musketeers wore the alternate uniforms at home twice in 2018–2919—traditional whites against Villanova and a first-time twist, royal blues, versus Marquette. Travis Steele’s team wore the throwback uniforms three times in 2019–2020, all against BIG EAST opponents. “I think as our brand and platform have expanded with the move to the BIG
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KyKy Tandy drives to the basket against Villanova last season. Note the Running Man on his shorts, just like Ralph Lee (opposite page).
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Head STRONG A kick in the head felled Xavier soccer player Felix Boe-Tangen on the pitch. Now he’s working toward returning—and giving thanks along the way.
PHOTOGRAPH BY TK
By Adam Baum
P H O T O G R A P H B Y TMKI C H A E L M I L L A Y , R O O T E D C R E A T I V E
Felix Boe-Tangen walks off the field with assistant athletic trainer Connor Gearhart during Xavier’s 2–1 victory over crosstown rival Cincinnati in September 2019.
FELIX BOE-TANGEN , r e b m e m re r e v e n l i w n e g n a -T e oment Felix Bo
It was a moment
It was a m
will never
remember, but one everyone else at the XU Soccer ept. 14, 2019, on SComplex x le p m o C r e c Soc e else at the XU n o ry e v e e n o t bu on Sept. 14, 2019,
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win the header, which I did…but at the same time as I was heading it, my opponent tried to clear the ball and he kicked me in the face. “Then it’s all black until I woke up in the hospital.”
Felix was about 100 yards from assistant athletic trainer Connor Gearhart and team physician Emily Dixon, both of whom were stationed on Xavier’s sideline.
“I saw one of our players waving over frantically and the ref waving over frantically, which is never a good sign,” says Gearhart, who took off sprinting. When Gearhart reached midfield, Dixon says, “He started waving for me to come and I took off running.” Gearhart saw Felix having a seizure. The medical staff immediately called to activate emergency medical services (EMS). Xavier has TriHealth paramedics in the parking lot at all home matches, so they were on scene quickly.
XavierNationMagazine.com
P H O T O G R A P H S B Y M I C H A E L M I L L AY, R O O T E D C R E AT I V E
Xavier University’s men’s soccer team, ranked No. 10 in the country at the time with a 3–0–1 record, was hosting Memphis under the lights on a Saturday night. There was a crowd of 1,248 in attendance. In the 13th minute, the Musketeers had a free kick in Memphis’s end and Felix was one of five or six Xavier runners who rushed in to win the ball. “One of our guys swung it into their box and it came right to me,” says Felix, who’s from Oslo, Norway. “I wanted to
will never forge wil net.ver forget.
P H O T O G R A P H B Y M I C H A E L M I L L AY, R O O T E D C R E AT I V E
“By the time I got out there it was pretty clear that Felix was in the middle of a grand mal seizure, which is not uncommon after a head injury,” says Dixon. “His face was blue, he was seizing, and he had a lot of blood on his face—we found out later he had a lot of facial fractures—and at that point, you’re thinking airway, breathing, circulation.” When Felix fell, his body instinctively rolled into a recovery position, so they left him in that position. “He seized for several minutes…by the time he stopped seizing, at that point, the paramedics weren’t out there yet,” says Dixon, “but I was checking for a pulse and breathing, and he stopped breathing and didn’t have a pulse.”
“Felix turned purple and I remember Emily doing CPR and saying, ‘Come on buddy, come on buddy…’ ” —Xavier men’s soccer coach Andy Fleming
Dixon thinks the blood in Felix’s mouth blocked his airway down to where she couldn’t feel a pulse. She called for a defibrillator and “started compressions and by the time we had called for all those things, the paramedics had come out and they had an ambu bag, which you can put on their face to give them respiration.” They were able to get Felix to start breathing again. Xavier men’s soccer coach Andy Fleming struggles with emotion as he remembers those minutes last September. “I haven’t talked about it in months,” says Fleming, his voice shaky. “Felix turned purple and I remember Emily doing CPR and saying, ‘Come on buddy, come on buddy,’ and I’m like holy shit, I’ve never seen CPR administered and I’ve certainly never seen it not work and then they broke out the defibrillator.” Fleming says the stadium was silent until he heard the ambulance coming down Victory Parkway. Gearhart rode with Felix to the hospital. What felt like an eternity for those present was only 14 minutes, Dixon says, from the time Felix was kicked until he was loaded into the ambulance. “By the time he left, he had a pulse,” says Dixon. “He wasn’t quite responsive because after a seizure and a concussion he was in a postictal state where he was a little bit confused.” It was 14 minutes that Dixon, Gearhart, and the entirety of Xavier’s soccer team will likely never forget. “I’ve done a lot of codes and resuscitations and
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I’ve done CPR…that’s the first time I’ve had to do it on the field with an athlete I know with no supplies,” Dixon says. “Typically, my experience with that is in hospitals where you’ve got a full team of nurses and critical care people and anesthesiologists and ventilators…not in the middle of a soccer field.”
Fleming said Felix’s teammates were “devastated” as they watched the events unfold. At some point during the match, Gearhart relayed news back to the field
that Felix was doing OK, but after the double overtime loss, many of Felix’s teammates stayed at the field and waited. Dixon, who went to see Felix in the neuro ICU after the game, says: “We got back to the field around midnight or 1 a.m. and there were still players sitting outside in the parking lot and as soon as they saw us, and we could tell them he’s fine, you could see the relief on their faces.” “I’ll honestly never forget those 14 minutes,” says Sam Sergi, one of Felix’s teammates. “I was lined up right next to
him for that free kick and I’m usually the one who makes the run that he did. Felix is a guy who loves to score goals and he’s willing to put his body on the line, and going head first into a header like that is a testament to how courageous he is. “Once that [injury] happened, everything was kind of in standstill. Being a man of faith...really the only thing I looked to do was pray, and it was kind of cool to see everyone in the stands whether they were from the team we were playing or our fan base, they were all praying.”
P H O T O GR A P H B Y H A R T O N G D I G I TA L M E D I A
“I met with everyone that was there from the medical staff helping me, even down to one of the parking guards who does security.… I don’t think I can thank them enough.” —Felix Boe-Tangen
Team physician Emily Dixon, assistant athletic trainer Connor Gearhart, and Felix Boe-Tangen meet on the Xavier soccer field where Boe-Tangen was injured.
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P H O T O G R A P H B Y M I C H A E L M I L L AY, R O O T E D C R E AT I V E
Sergi says the remainder of that game included some of the hardest minutes of soccer in his life. “Felix’s injury happened and they called it a foul, so we got a penalty kick out of it,” Sergi says. “When the ref blew the whistle to start the game back up after 15 minutes of us not knowing what was going on, I had to step up and take the penalty kick. “I didn’t know where my mind was at the time, but I ended up making the penalty kick and when Felix woke up, one of the first things he wanted to know was that I made that shot. I remember walking into the hospital the next day to see him and he said, ‘I’m so glad you made that PK, I would have been pissed if you didn’t.’ and I’m thinking, ‘I didn’t even know if you were alive.’ ” Felix was still confused the next day when he woke up in the hospital, but he remembers the first question he asked was if Xavier won the game. “That was the first thing on my mind,” says Felix. Then, he called his mom. “My mom and little sister were watching the game [back home in Norway],” Felix says. “She watched it on the screen, but she couldn’t see what happened. She saw me go down and after like 10 seconds the camera just pans to the middle [of the field] and from there she could just see ambulances and people running. “I almost felt like it was worse for her and the people watching it since for me I don’t remember anything. I think it was more traumatizing for my little sister and mom…they basically braced for the worst case scenario.” When Felix called his mom, she was already on her way to see him. Anne, Felix’s mother, says, “I saw Felix get knocked down, but the camera was kind of far away, so I couldn’t see what happened. Then I was saying to my daughter, ‘Why doesn’t Felix rise up again?’ I just saw him laying there.” Anne started looking at plane tickets. She spoke to Gearhart and one of the doctors at the hospital, then she packed her things, hopped in a taxi for the airport, and that’s when her son called. “The first time I spoke to him, he spoke Norwegian to me and then he spoke English. He could turn his head around and speak different languages and he was joking, so I thought, ‘OK, he’s the same guy as he’s always been,’ ” Anne says. “From the accident until I was there I think it was 17 hours—from Oslo
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to New York, New York to Cincinnati.” Felix left the hospital the day after the injury, then started the slow road to recovery.
He needed surgery to repair his broken nose, then it was an extensive concussion protocol. After a couple of weeks, Felix was bombarded with an array of doctor appointments because he needed concussion clearance and cardiac clearance. “I got my EKG taken a bunch of times, CT scans, I took an MRI of my chest and it was made pretty clear right away that I wasn’t going to play the rest of the season, so we took the whole process extremely slow,” says Felix, who’s now a junior at Xavier. In November, Felix was cleared to start lifting weights again. He didn’t start soccer-related activities until January. He eased back into it, still not cleared for contact, though his return at practice was a welcome sight for the team. Had the coronavirus pandemic not hit, Felix was on track to make a full
return to the pitch for spring practice. His return will have to wait even longer because the BIG EAST Conference postponed the fall regular season until the spring of 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s been nearly a year since Felix’s injury. It was the type of experience that has stuck with those involved and likely will stick with them for some time. “It really rattled people, including myself,” says Dixon. “This was not an easy thing to go through.” Felix may not remember exactly what happened, but he’s grateful for the help he received. “I met with everyone that was there from the medical staff helping me, even down to one of the parking guards who does security,” says Felix. “I’ve tried to show my appreciation as much as I can. I don’t think I can thank them enough.” Adam Baum is the Xavier beat reporter for The Cincinnati Enquirer. A version of this story will also appear in The Enquirer.
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PRECAUTIONS XAVIER NATION GOES
P H O T O GR A P H B Y H A R T O N G D I G I TA L M E D I A
BEHIND THE SCENES AT A MEN’S BASKETBALL PRACTICE TO SEE HOW COVID-19 AFFECTS THE PLAYERS, COACHES, AND CINTAS CENTER.
WE’VE ALL BEEN IMPACTED BY THE coronavirus that began changing our daily lives last March. Since then, everyone in the country has been challenged by this pandemic, which has affected people’s lives, jobs, livelihoods, social activities, sports activities, and, well, just about everything. In order for Xavier to practice and prepare to play games, there had to be adjustments made to how the team approached each day. And despite all the precautions, there have been instances of positive testing that created some days of quarantining. Glenn Hartong, Xavier Nation’s photo director, went behind the scenes for an October practice so he could share the daily protocols and procedures. “We have done our best to be compliant and diligent in our efforts,” head athletic trainer David Fluker says. “We take the health and welfare of our student-athletes, and all Xavier students, very seriously. This is a combined effort between our medical team and the entire Xavier University medical team.” Hartong’s perspective: “Athletes have their temperature taken and answer screening
questions every time they enter Cintas Center,” he says. “Access to team areas is strictly controlled. Even though I was documenting this for Xavier Nation magazine, I couldn’t access the locker room, the players’ hallway, or the training room. As the players enter the arena, they sanitize their hands and wear masks until they go onto the playing surface. Seats along the sidelines are spaced out at 6-foot intervals. Coaches and trainers wear masks and do their best to be heard. The basketballs are continually rotated and sanitized. It’s readily apparent that a strong effort is being made to keep everyone healthy.”
Xavier women’s tennis players Natalie Moyer, left, and Emily Thomas sanitize their hands after receiving a health screening from health assessment monitor Andrew Stein, far left.
(Above) As part of the comprehensive COVID-19 protocols, Matt Jennings, head strength and conditioning coach, wears gloves as he makes up fortified water bottles at basketball practice. (Left) Entering Cintas Center for practice, junior guard Spencer Cody has his temperature taken as part of a daily health screening in which all Xavier athletes participate.
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P H O T O GR A P H S B Y H A R T O N G D I G I TA L M E D I A
(Clockwise from top left) Graduate assistant Leighton Schrand sanitizes a basketball during a practice at Cintas Center; sophomore guard KyKy Tandy sanitizes his hands as he enters the Cintas Center arena for a men’s basketball practice; signs throughout Cintas Center limit access to athletic team areas to promote social distancing; everyone who is not actually engaged in athletic activity has to wear a mask, including Xavier head coach Travis Steele.
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HAPPY ANNIVERSARY
CENTURY MARK
// XAVIER HAD BIG PLANS FOR CELEBRATING ITS 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF BASKETBALL. THEN COVID-19 SHOWED UP.
that Xavier celebrated 100 years since it starting playing college basketball. It’s still happening, but the hoopla is muted because of the pandemic. Players and teams are not being invited back to games because of the uncertainty surrounding fan limitations and in-game activities. Give-away promotions have been shelved. “We had so many great ideas,” says Brian Hicks, associate athletic director for external relations. “Obviously, like everything else, Xavier is sending postcards featuring court designs they had to be changed. We’ve had to get creative. If we couldn’t over the years to season ticket holders and VIPs. count on seeing our fans, then we wanted to send them some sort of commemorative item to celebrate our 100 years.” Season ticket holders and VIPs have been receiving special postcards with Xavier’s ence championship. The Musketeers playing court designs over the years. There will be six in the series. Special vintage clinched the 1981 Midwestern City embroidered patches featuring some of the more popular team logos are in developConference title with a 59–57 victory ment that also will be sent to season ticket holders and VIPs. “They are our most loyal over Evansville at a packed Schmidt supporters,” Hicks says. “We were excited to develop these collectibles for them.” Fieldhouse. That team, coached by Xavier launched its celebration, presented by Heartland Bank, at its Feb. 22, 2020, Staak and led by Steve Wolf, Anthony home game against Villanova last season when the first 1,920 fans received a comHicks, Tom Condon, Dwight Hollins, memorative poster and a special video debuted. The Musketeers’ first game on record Dexter Bailey, and Jeff Jenkins, finwas in February 1920. ished 12–16 overall but was 8–3 in Xavier has launched a special website to recognize many of the stars and moleague play. Xavier beat Evansville ments from the program’s first 100 years: www.goxavier.com/MBB100. There is also in its MCC tournament opener, then a special Twitter account @XavierMBB100. Former Musketeer guard Brad Redford lost to Oklahoma City 82–76 at has introduced a podcast series featuring interviews with former players, coaches, and Riverfront Coliseum. other personalities. The first two guests were former coaches Thad Matta and Bob LOOKING AHEAD Staak. A new episode comes out every week. Next fall (2021) will mark 20 years “One hundred years is still something we want to recognize and celebrate,” Hicks since the volleyball team won the says. “COVID or not, it’s a big deal for us, our fans, our former players and coaches Atlantic 10 title and earned its first and everyone who has been a part of Xavier basketball.” ever NCAA Tournament appearance. There are other milestones to be acknowledged during this school year: April 2021 will also mark 20 years MEN’S SOCCER TO THE NCAA TOURNAMENT (2010) since men’s golf got to the NCAA This is the 10-year anniversary of the men’s soccer team’s first NCAA Tournament apTournament for the first time. pearance. It was Andy Fleming’s first season as coach, and the Musketeers went 10–7– 4, 5–4–0 Atlantic 10. But Xavier, whose roster included future FC Cincinnati players Nick Hagglund and Luke Spencer, defeated Temple (1–0), tied No. 15 Charlotte (0–0) and beat LaSalle (2–0) to win the A-10 conference tournament and earn an automatic NCAA berth. The Musketeers lost to West Virginia 4–2 in the first round. LEAGUE CHAMPS 1981 It’s the 40th anniversary of Xavier’s first men’s basketball regular-season confer-
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P H O T O G R A P H B Y D ’AN D R A S E Y M O R E
HIS WAS GOING TO BE THE SEASON
PUBLIC SAFETY
AT A CROSSROADS
// FOR FORMER XAVIER MEN’S BASKETBALL PLAYER AND CURRENT CINCINNATI POLICE SERGEANT DWAYNE WILSON, KEEPING THE CITY AND HIS FELLOW OFFICERS SAFE HAS A BIGGER MEANING IN THE SUMMER OF 2020. — R O R Y G L Y N N
Dwayne Wilson today, and on the court as a Musketeer (right).
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AT THE INTERSECTION OF ONCE-IN-A-
generation racial protests and a oncein-a-century pandemic stood a policeman, a sergeant with nearly 25 years on the force. Way back when he played basketball at Xavier, the policeman was known as a team player: Thoughtful, always prepared, willing to do whatever was needed of him. Those same qualities have served Sgt. Dwayne Wilson well in the Cincinnati Police Department. So, looking back at the intersection of two extraordinary events—the COVID-19 pandemic and the protests arising nationwide in the wake of the death of an African American man, George Floyd, under the knee of a Minneapolis officer—Wilson reflected on how it all fit together. “I hate to say it like this, but the timing was almost a blessing in disguise,” Wilson says. “Because the pandemic was going on, everybody was sitting around with nothing to do. “When you have the George Floyd incident, in any other situation, I don’t know how many people would really have taken notice. Because this isn’t the fi rst time police have killed someone under questionable circumstances. But when nothing else is going on in the world, people have time to pause, to take note. Why is this happening again?” And as an African American man who has devoted his life to law enforcement, seeing another African American killed by a policeman, Wilson says, “Personally, it breaks my heart. Professionally, it breaks my spirit. That in 2020, we’re still seeing these types of senseless acts take place.” In Cincinnati, as in dozens of cities, anger over Floyd’s death sparked large demonstrations. For law enforcement, there is always concern when thousands gather in close proximity in public spaces; those concerns were amplified given fears of community spread of the new coronavirus. Wilson wasn’t on the streets, but in a sense he was. In his role, he’s responsible for training scores of officers. Their response is his response. Wilson says Cincinnati Police are taking standard precautions, like
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PHOTOGRAPH BY GREG RUST
WAY BACK WHEN HE PLAYED BASKETBALL AT XAVIER, THE POLICEMAN WAS KNOWN AS A TEAM PLAYER: THOUGHTFUL, ALWAYS PREPARED, WILLING TO DO WHATEVER WAS NEEDED OF HIM. THOSE SAME QUALITIES HAVE SERVED SGT. DWAYNE WILSON WELL IN THE CINCINNATI POLICE DEPARTMENT.
mask-wearing, frequent hand-washing, and sanitizing of equipment and vehicles. When officers respond to a home, people are asked to step outside to talk, he says. What Wilson calls the “reactionary gap,” the space between and officer and another person that gives the officer time to react, has grown. Sometimes the best reaction can be restraint. Wilson says he thinks that allowing protesters to demonstrate in a peaceful manner helped the city avoid the extent of the property damage and other issues that occurred in other metro areas. “I’m not saying by any means that no businesses were damaged,” Wilson says. “But I think if you compare, ours was a lot less.” Wilson says city officials, police,
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and protest organizers often will communicate beforehand to try to minimize potential danger. If protesters want to gather outside City Hall, say, or Fountain Square, police can help ensure they arrive safely without creating a more hazardous situation, such as impeding a highway. “The people have the right to peacefully protest,” Wilson says. “The thing is, in a lot of peaceful protests there is a certain faction that interjects themselves into the peaceful protest and uses the peaceful protest to cause destruction.” In his recruitment role, Wilson takes seriously his responsibility to make sure candidates are interested in a law enforcement career for the right reasons. “Nobody used excessive force on my
watch,” he says. “I don’t bring anybody into the police department that I think would act in that type of way. George Floyd died with three other officers there because no one had the balls to do anything about it.” Wilson says how officers respond should be a direct line back to their training. “There are mistakes of the head, and mistakes of the heart,” he says. “In all the years of training I’ve done, I can’t think of a reason to put a knee on someone’s neck for nine minutes. “Could someone put a knee on a neck in a struggle? Very easily. Could it stay there 30 seconds until I get you back under control? Yes. But if you are handcuffed and that happens, and other adults who are policemen don’t do anything about it…now you’re making a mistake of the heart.” If some benefit can come from the tumultuous summer, Wilson says, maybe it’s having more open discussions about a range of issues, from public health and human services to institutional racism and police reform. “One thing that has been good is the dialogue, in person and even on Facebook,” he says. “Unless you’re willing to talk about it, you’re never going to get past that elephant in the room.”
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WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
FOND MEMORIES
// EDDIE JOHNSON PLAYED PROFESSIONALLY IN BRAZIL, SERVED IN THE ARMY DURING DESERT STORM, THEN SPENT 25 YEARS AS A BALTIMORE CITY POLICE OFFICER. STILL, HIS LOVE FOR HIS TIME AT XAVIER RUNS DEEP. — S H A N N O N R U S S E L L
Johnson also keeps busy with a partbasketball career, he conjures memories of scortime job at a credit union in Baltimore. ing 18 points in the Midwestern Collegiate Johnson maintains a special affinConference Tournament championship against ity for the university that boosted him Saint Louis and the 1986 NCAA Tournament as a young collegian. “My main thing berth against Alabama. Those halcyon days came with Xavier was that it was a family,” after his bout with pancreatitis and before he Johnson says. “They didn’t give up on played hoops professionally, enlisted in the Army, you. It’s a great university. I would adfought in Operation Desert Storm, and devoted 25 vise anybody: If you’re looking for a years to a career as a Baltimore City Police officer. university that’s diverse and has good Those Billikens, though. There was just something satisfying about beating them. degrees that you can use anywhere in “St. Louis was probably one of my favorite teams to play because they would get up the world, I would say choose Xavier. and down like we did,” says Johnson, 57. “It was just like a run-and-gun. Since I knew And that’s from the bottom of my it was the last part of my career in college, I was dialed in more. It was at that time I was heart.” starting to peak as a player and go into manhood.” Johnson played mostly for Bob Staak and then Pete Gillen from 1981 to 1986. He required a redshirt season in 1983–1984 due to his inflamed pancreas. “I couldn’t even walk. I was sick and it came out of nowhere,” Johnson says. “I returned by the grace of God and hard work with Coach Gillen and my teammates pushing me.” Johnson averaged 12.3 points and 6.7 rebounds as a senior and started all four seasons he played at Xavier, but the health setback left him nine credits shy of his degree. He earned it eventually, but not until after playing two years of professional basketball in Brazil and Germany and serving four years in the Army. Johnson enlisted, much to his mother’s dismay, and served in Germany for 17 months. He returned stateside to Ft. Bragg in North Carolina—but not for long. “That’s when Saddam Hussein invaded Saudi Arabia. They put us on alert and within three days we were on our way to Saudi Arabia,” Johnson says. After his military service, Johnson fulfilled his degree requirements, worked as a disease intervention specialist, and ultimately joined the Baltimore police force. “When my mom found out I joined the police department, she really went crazy,” Johnson says, laughing. “But it was a beautiful career. I worked in narcotics. I did community service for a while. Then the [Freddie Gray] riots hit and I hurt my left foot [in an accident unrelated to work]. I said, ‘That’s enough.’ It’s not fun anymore.” He retired in 2016 and has spent much time with his family since then, including his mother, who’s now 93. Johnson and his wife, Shawan, have a daughter, McKala, who recently graduated from Morgan State with a degree in industrial engineering. Eddie Johnson, right, with his daughter McKala, left, and wife, Shawan.
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PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY EDDIE JOHNSON
HEN EDDIE JOHNSON THINKS OF HIS XAVIER
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
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A FRESH START
// KIM BLANTON PERSEVERED THROUGH A LIVER TRANSPLANT, BRINGING THE SAME HUSTLE TO HER RECOVERY AS SHE DID TO HER PLAYING DAYS.
—SHANNON RUSSELL
She was 32 years old, a decade removed from her Xavier basketball career, but she pressed onward through waves of nausea. A friend noticed Blanton was jaundiced. But why? Blanton was active and taking only two medications. She’d graduated from Xavier with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and health and worked as a certified strength and conditioning coach. Originally diagnosed with Hepatitis A, one week later a specialist delivered dire news: Blanton had acute liver failure. She needed a transplant immediately. Dangerously close to death, she underwent emergency surgery when a liver became available from a 31-year-old North Carolina woman who died in a motorcycle accident. “I remember when they wheeled me into surgery and my friends and family were lined up against the wall,” says Blanton, now 50. “The thought I had going in, which was weird, was, ‘Man. I’m glad I’m not them because they have to wait.’ ” Doctors found that Blanton’s liver failure was a result of her medication combinations. Only one of her medications had been filled through a pharmacy. Her doctor gave her samples of the other because her insurance did not cover it. “Now I always tell people: ‘Make sure that your pharmacist knows everything you’re taking because they know if something is going to interact,’ ” Blanton says. Blanton approached her health like her college basketball career, which is to say she was relentless and driven. A diminutive shooting guard—her 5-foot-4 frame was more common for a point guard— Blanton scored 1,058 points from 1987 to 1991 under Musketeers coach Mark Ehlen. She thrived in fact-paced games, lived for fast breaks, and fired with accuracy from 3-point range. Before her senior season, Ehlen gave her the ultimate green light from long range. Kim Blanton underwent liver transplant surgery in 2002. “He was like, ‘I just want you
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PHOTOGRAPHS COURTESY KIM BLANTON
N 2002, KIM BLANTON WAS CONVINCED SHE HAD A BAD CASE OF THE FLU.
to shoot 3s.’ I’m looking at him like, ‘Really?’ ” Blanton says. Her 87.5 perimeter percentage in a single game (7-for-8 at Saint Louis in 1991) still ties Nicole Levandusky (7for-8 against Fordham in 2001) for No. 1 in Xavier’s record book. Blanton also remains No. 1 in career 3-point percentage (43.7) and single-season perimeter shooting (48.9 in 1989– 1990, the same campaign she averaged 13.6 points). Blanton taught school for four years after graduation and pivoted to strength and conditioning work 22 years ago. She rents space at the Breakthrough fitness facility in Evendale to help people rehab injuries and improve mobility. It’s funny, she says. The liver transplant she had 18 years ago doesn’t impact her life much now. Blanton says she will be forever grateful for the successful surgery and the gift of organ donation. “I’m very fortunate,” Blanton says. “There are moments I just stop and thank God.”
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RECAP Men’s swimming celebrates back-to-back BIG EAST championships with its fifth title overall.
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
BASEBALL COACH: Billy O’Conner (Xavier ’09) NOTEWORTHY: The Musketeers competed in 15 games before the season was canceled due to COVID-19. When the season was called, Xavier ranked in the top 25 of the RPI after playing the second-hardest strength of schedule to that point.
BASKETBALL MEN’S COACH: Travis Steele (Butler ’04) NOTEWORTHY: The team won 19 games for the second straight season.
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After a loss to DePaul in the BIG EAST Tournament, Xavier’s postseason came to an end abruptly due to the pandemic. Travis Steele welcomes a top-20 freshman recruiting class, multiple transfers, and six returnees, including 2020 All–BIG EAST Freshman Team selections Zach Freemantle and KyKy Tandy and seniors Paul Scruggs and Jason Carter.
WOMEN’S COACH: Melanie Moore (Siena ’99) NOTEWORTHY: Xavier opened the Melanie Moore era with a season-opening win over Utah at Cintas Center. A’riana Gray was named to the All–BIG
EAST Honorable Mention Team for the second time in as many years. The forward led the team in scoring (15.8) and rebounding (9.3). She led the BIG EAST in rebounding, while ranking 53rd in the NCAA. Six players earned All–BIG EAST Academic Team honors.
CROSS COUNTRY MEN AND WOMEN’S COACH: TBA after national search process NOTEWORTHY: The women’s team kicked off the 2019 season by winning the Queen City Invitational. Anna Kostarellis won the individual title at the meet, the first of two firstplace finishes during the year
(she also won the Louisville Classic). Kostarellis posted a runner-up finish at the BIG EAST Championships and competed at the NCAA Championships (the third person in program history to compete at the NCAA Championships). She also was named the BIG EAST Sport Excellence Award recipient. A total of 31 runners earned All–BIG EAST Academic Team honors.
GOLF MEN’S COACH: Brian McCants (Ferris State ’94) NOTEWORTHY: The Musketeers competed at six tournaments during the season and
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P H O T O G R A P H B Y K O S TA S LY M P E R O P O U L O S
XAVIER UNIVERSITY WOULD HAVE APPROXIMATELY 300 STUDENT-ATHLETES PARTICIPATING IN 18 SPORTS DURING THE 2020–2021 ACADEMIC YEAR. HERE IS AN UPDATE ON EACH TEAM.
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SOCCER MEN’S COACH: Andy Fleming (Marist ’97) NOTEWORTHY: Xavier opened the season with a 2–0 win over No. 2/3 Akron. It was the highest-ranked opponent ever beaten by the Musketeers. Fleming also won his 100th career match and became the program’s all-time winningest coach. Senior Samson Sergi was named an All–BIG EAST First-Team selection and a CoSIDA Academic All-American. Derrick Otim, who died tragically this past summer, and Matthew Rosenberg earned All-BIG EAST ThirdTeam honors.
WOMEN’S COACH: Nate Lie (Miami ’00) Right-hander Evan Miller, from Harrison, Ohio, pitches against Northern Kentucky University last March. Xavier won a slugfest 24–15. The teams combined for 32 hits, including 12 home runs.
NOTEWORTHY: Women’s soccer rewrote its record book
hosted the Musketeer Classic on Oct. 21–22 at Maketewah Country Club. Xavier’s best finish was a sixth-place finish at the Health Plan Mountaineer Invitational on Oct. 7–8. The Musketeers’ final tournament before the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown was the Loyola (MD) Intercollegiate on Feb. 22–24. Eight golfers earned All–BIG EAST Academic Team honors.
PHOTOGRAPHS BY NICK BROWN (TOP) AND MICHAEL SHROYER (RIGHT)
WOMEN’S COACH: Breanna Jenco (Xavier ’13) NOTEWORTHY: The women’s team opened the fall portion of its schedule by winning the Redbird Invitational in Normal, Illinois. Xavier had two top-10 finishers at the tournament in Mikayla Fitzpatrick (fifth) and Andie Shukow (eighth). The Musketeers competed in three tournaments in the spring before the season ended due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Xavier was competing at the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational in Kaneohe, Hawaii, when the spring season was canceled. Seven golfers earned All–BIG EAST Academic Team honors.
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Xavier goalie Olivia Jenkins (0) is congratulated by Hayley Jakovich (5) and Allie Anderson after the Musketeers defeated Virginia Tech 1–0 in their first-round NCAA Tournament game in Blacksburg, Virginia. Jenkins had five saves. Molly McLaughlin scored the game-winner just 1:17 into the match.
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in 2019, sweeping the BIG EAST regular season and tournament championships and claiming the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win (over Virginia Tech). After going 9–1–2 in non-conference play, the Musketeers finished the BIG EAST regular season 7–2, winning five straight to close out league play and sealing the championship with a 2–0 win at Butler. The regular-season conference championship was the program’s first and earned Xavier the No. 1 seed in the BIG EAST Tournament. In the BIG EAST Championship, Xavier avenged its only two regular-season BIG EAST losses, to Villanova and Georgetown, with 2–0 wins to take the tournament title and earn the program’s first NCAA bid since 2000. The Musketeers finished with a school-record 17 wins and ranked No. 24 in the United Soccer Coaches poll, marking the first time in program history the team appeared in the national poll.
SWIMMING MEN’S COACH: Brent MacDonald (Valparaiso ’03) NOTEWORTHY: Xavier won the program’s second-straight BIG EAST Championship and team’s fifth title in the seven years since Xavier joined the BIG EAST, also winning in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2019. On the final day, Xavier had 15 swimmers in finals heats, including 10 in championship finals. Andrew Martin started off the day with a school-record and NCAA BCut performance in the mile to win the conference title. Landon Clark repeated as 200 fly champion to close out the individual events, posting a school-record time, while Brandon Abboud touched second to help secure the conference title. After placing second in the 400 free relay to close the event, Xavier finished
Andrew Martin celebrates after a school-record performance to win the conference title in the 1,650-meter freestyle at the 2020 BIG EAST Swimming and Diving Championships in East Meadow, New York. The Musketeers won a second consecutive team championship.
The top-seeded Xavier women’s soccer team defeated No. 2 seed Georgetown 2–0 to win the BIG EAST championship and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on Nov. 10, 2019. Five days later, the Musketeers defeated Virginia Tech 1–0 in Blacksburg, Virginia, for their first ever NCAA victory.
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PHOTO GR A PH S BY MIK E L AWREN C E , B IG E A S T CO NFEREN C E ( TO P) A ND S T E V EN B R A N S CO M B E (B OT TO M)
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Senior Sheridan Davenport is in the blocks, ready to start the 200-meter dash at the BIG EAST Indoor Track and Field Championships in Geneva, Ohio, on March 1, 2020. She finished 13th in 25.66. with 780.5 points, leading second-place Georgetown by 73.5 points. Brent MacDonald and his staff were named BIG EAST Coaching Staff of the Year following the meet.
WOMEN’S
P H O T O G R A P H B Y DAV I D D E R M E R
COACH: Brent MacDonald (Valparaiso ’03) NOTEWORTHY: Xavier finished in third place in the BIG EAST Championship after claiming three event titles, including a pair of relays (200 free and 400 free). Taylor Hogan won the 200 fly. Emily Conners led 11 all-conference honorees with all-league performances in seven events after finishing second in the 50 free, 100 free, and 200 free as
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an individual. Six other Musketeers earned the honor in multiple events.
TENNIS MEN’S COACH: Doug Matthews (Xavier ’09) NOTEWORTHY: Xavier finished 15 matches before the season was canceled due to COVID-19.
WOMEN’S COACH: Doug Matthews (Xavier ’09) NOTEWORTHY: Xavier finished 14 matches before the season was canceled due to COVID-19.
TRACK AND FIELD (INDOOR & OUTDOOR) COACH: TBA after national search process NOTEWORTHY: At the BIG EAST Indoor Championships, the two teams combined for six top-10 finishes. Anna Kostarellis won a bronze medal in the 5,000meter run and placed fourth in the 3,000-meter run. Hannah Russell placed fifth in the 800-meter run and Courtney Klatt took eighth in the one-mile run. On the men’s side, Lucas Houk took eighth in the one-mile run, while Brady Harless placed 10th in the event. The outdoor season never started due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
VOLLEYBALL COACH: Christy Pfeffenberger (Dayton ’05) NOTEWORTHY: Lauren Hanlon was named to the All-BIG EAST Freshman Team after leading the Musketeers in total kills (255). Jayda Carlton also led the BIG EAST in blocks per set (1.23), while ranking 11th in hitting percentage (.266). Carlton also ranked 51st in the NCAA in blocks per set. Off the court, the Musketeers earned USMC/AVCA Team Academic Honors after posting a 3.60 team grade point average. A total of 12 players earned All–BIG EAST Academic Team honors.
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POSTGAME INTERVIEW
FATHER GRAHAM
// XAVIER’S OUTGOING PRESIDENT TALKS ABOUT SPECIAL PLAYERS, COACHES, AND GAMES— AND MORE MEMORIES. Earliest memory of a Xavier basketball game? Sitting in the first row at the Cincinnati Gardens near the student section with John LaRocca, S.J., and realizing that the students were counting the number of beers I bought.
Memorable game in Cintas Center? Tie between the Xavier/Creighton, David West/Kyle Korver game and the first (and so far only) time we’ve beaten Villanova on our home court, when I never sat down at all. Not once. The place rocked. Memorable moment? Hands down, Lenny Brown’s buzzer-beating shot to lift us over UC [in November 1996]. Like the T-shirt said: No. 1 in the country, No. 2 in the city. Player you most enjoyed watching? J.P. Macura. The kind of player you hate when he’s on the other team is the kind of player you love when he’s on yours. I think he was hated by every other BIG EAST team and did just about everything humanly possible to earn it. Which is why he’ll always hold a place in my heart. What does Xavier basketball mean to the university? At least three things: It’s what you do between November and March, there’s no such thing as “Xavier Nation” without it, and it’s a helluva calling card.
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Favorite road game? Beating Arizona by two in the NCAA Tournament in San Jose in 2017 to advance to the Elite Eight. Sean O’Mara’s shot with however many seconds left. Trevon Bluiett shooting the lights out. The after-party at the hotel went on forever. Or could have. And should have. Memorable player moment? After that tough loss to Ohio State in Lexington in 2007, I happened to bump into Justin Doellman, Justin Cage, and Brandon Cole later that night coming out of the Commons on campus. You could tell just how down they were. We had an incredible conversation. I really treasured being with them at that tough moment. Memorable coach moment? Exchanging Irish histories and novels with Skip Prosser and talking about them later instead of Xs and Os. Such a class act. Such a tough loss. Player who has inspired you? Romain Sato had such an incredible work ethic and was so incredibly humble. Both of them are things to aspire to. Unlike speaking multiple languages, which is something I could never aspire to.
Player in whom you saw the most personal growth? David West. His decision to stick around for his senior year took a lot of guts. Years later when we inducted him into the Hall of Fame, he gave a speech about trying to be an upstanding person in the NBA and how Xavier helped him do that. I was incredibly proud of him and us both at that moment. Most satisfying part of watching players develop? Even the ones who come in pretty skilled on the floor get better and sometimes learn to play defense, which is always satisfying. It’s fun to watch role players grow into team leaders. Greg Christopher once used these words in a slightly different context, but I love watching a “Robin” grow up to be a “Batman.” But the way they grow into human beings—like David West did, or Brian Grant did, or any one of a number of other players—you realize that Xavier is giving them a lot more than better basketball skills, which are the things that will last. Will you attend games after you officially retire? Absolutely. Especially Final Four games.
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Pregame rituals or superstitions? Not really. But there’s that whole sweater twirling thing, and so I always have to wear a sweater without being too sure about wearing a sweater. It’s complicated psychologically.
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