Philmore joins Musketeers

Philmore in action against Coppin St.

While the deluded of you that think the Reds are a good baseball team (they aren't) struggled through one of the longest games in baseball history, a transfer joined the Xavier Musketeers. Isaiah Philmore, a 6-7, 230lb forward for the Towson Tigers, has, according to several sources, elected to transfer to XU.

Philmore (@ThaProphet31 on Twitter) averaged 15/7/1 last year as a sophomore, and managed a respectable .353 from behind the arc. While they three point number is hardly world beating, it would have looked nice on this year's team. Philmore was something of a stat stuffer, blocking nearly one shot and grabbing nearly one steal per game. His efficiency on the offensive end wasn't great, as he scored 1.34 points per shot, a number more in line with a guard. 
When Philmore was being recruited ESPN opined that he had the handle and outside shot to play at a high level. According to that same report, Philmore's speed and potential were enough to attract the attention of a high-major program. Despite that, Isaiah turned down Miami (Fl), Va Tech, and Marquette on his way to the Tigers. 

Strengths: Scoring. Philmore is good shooter (49%) who gets to the line regularly. He also rebounds well for a forward of his size. Philmore also scores consistently, failing to break double digits in only five of 30 games he played this year.


Weaknesses: Decision making. Towson was awful this year, so that may be part of it, but Philmore threw the ball away with aplomb, finishing with a 1/2 assist to turnover ratio. From a primary scorer, that's almost inexcusable.

This year Philmore showed flashes of great potential in gamess of 33 against UNC-Wilmington and 27 against Jeff Robinson victims La Salle. Wing forward could be a crowded spot when Philmore becomes available after his mandatory one year off, but there's no reason he can't be another Xavier transfer come good. 

In semi-related news, it appears Olu Ashaolu will be transferring to Oregon, and not Xavier. A shame, as the man would have been eligible immediately.