Living the Dream Pt. 3

In the Living the Dream series so far we've had a look at how some Xavier players overseas have adapted and thrived. Last week we caught up with the members of the 2004 Elite Eight run that are still playing ball professionally. That foray left us with only three guys out there playing somewhere. One of them you'll remember quite well, one is a blast from the past, and the other is a testament to never giving up.

Mega March Madness: An Introduction

I'm not a guy who spends a lot of time worrying about how popular he is (because that would be depressing), so it's easy for me to not have to sugar coat ugly truths in fear of hurting people's feelings. For instance, you may not think that sentence is an appropriate opener for any Xavier-related article, but I don't care. For another instance, I'm about to tell you that I'm here to combine a couple of things that very few people enjoy: Mondays and the idea of expanding the NCAA basketball tournament.

Artist's rendition of a person who remembers the original format.

I'm not as old as say, some of you (I'm assuming) or my dad (obviously), so the NCAA tournament has always been a 64-team affair to me. Even with the ridiculous "play-in game" brought about in 2001 and the even more ridiculous "first round" instituted last season, you're not in the real tournament (by my high standards) until you hit that Thursday-Sunday stretch of games. Other people probably have other standards; some might have enjoyed the 32-team format, or even the original 8-team set up. Perhaps you are partial to the 53-squad layout of 1984. It hardly matters. The point is that the NCAA tournament is evolving and expanding inexorably, and it probably always will.

Around the A-10

"Why does no one love me?"

With news that Juwan Staten is heading to join Bob Huggins and Aaric Murray in West Virginia http://wvillustrated.com/wvubasketball/story/id/1093, the book is more or less closed on the Brian Gregory era at Dayton. While complaints against Gregory were plentiful, at least from the Dayton side of things, perhaps the biggest knock on his tenure was his inability to develop talented players. Exhibit A is of Course Chris Wright, who went from averaging 10.4/5.7/0.3 on .602/.200/.804 in 20.6 MPG as a freshman to 12.8/8.5/1.7 on .464/.227/.618 in 28 MPG as a senior.

Xavier Fills Coaching Vacancy

Richardson, no doubt planning something amazing.

Xavier filled the spot vacated by Pat Kelsey's departure today, adding former Drake assistant Kareem Richardson to the staff. Richardson, like Coach Mack, was once a point guard at Evansville, though his playing days came after Mack's had ended. More recently, Richardson has been an assistant at the University of Indianapolis, Indiana State, Wright State, Evansville, and Drake. Richardson served as recruiting coordinator at Drake, and put together the top class in the conference for two of his three years there.

Prior to his time at Drake, Richardson also served as the recruiting coordinator at Evansville. In his four years there, he had three players he recruited make the All-Conference Freshman team. In a 2009 interview with College Insider, Richardson said he advocated up-tempo offense, aggressive, man-to-man defense, and relentless effort on the glass. He also said that he believes recruiting is the life-blood of a program and that he'll "get up the earliest, stay up the latest, and work the hardest" to land the right players. Richardson is noted to have a handle on Chicago and the surrounding regions as a recruiter, which may help X with the likes of highly-rated combo guard Kendrick Nunn and others from that area.

Living the Dream Pt. 2

That's a lot of reps at 185.

In Part One of the Living the Dream series, we looked at some of the better known Xavier players who are now playing abroad. Since then Stanley Burrell has returned to Twitter with an explanation of his absence ("To all of you that have been sending me msgs. I really appreciate it. Me not responding was nothing personal. I just had to really lock-in.") and this video of highlights. Justin Doellman has returned to the states, and we're assuming Josh Duncan has continued being a beast. Next comes a look at the alums of the 2004 team that advanced to the Elite Eight.

Know Your Non-conference Opponent: Oral Roberts

It looks like a chicken to me.

Welcome back for another rousing go-round of Know Your Non-conference Opponent. Today's subject is the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles. Like Orel Hersheiser or any Morehead State athletic team, ORU has the ability to draw giggles from the males 18-35 demographic just via mention of their name. That demographic once included Scott Sutton, who now settles for the distinction of being the Golden Eagles' head coach (that was a brilliant segue; take notes, journalism majors). Sutton took over the post in 1999 after serving as an assistant coach at ORU, and has compiled a respectable 204-138 record in his tenure. He is also the son of coaching legend Eddie Sutton and brother of coaching non-legend Sean Sutton. His other brother, Steve, is a banker in Tulsa.

Oral Roberts will be visiting the Cintas Center this year, probably in an effort to enhance their recruiting footprint in southwestern Ohio. Even though they went down in the first round of the less than illustrious CIT last year, there are some signs that point to the Golden Eagles being something other than an early-season patsy for X. KenPom placed them at a not-too-hateful 130th in the country last season, and that was with the nation's 302nd most experienced squad. Of the top seven offensive players on the team in terms of possessions used, five were sophomores or freshman and all seven of those players are coming back for 2011-2012. In fact, of the 7,050 minutes played by the Golden Eagles last year, 6,892 of them are coming back this season. Considering the fact that there are 200 minutes to be divided in a single game, it's safe to say the ORU didn't lose much this summer.

Living the Dream Pt. 1

Playing ball, not arrested

Throughout the summer we'll keep your mind on all things Xavier with a few series about players past and present. From the occasional look back to the lesser lights of Xavier (remember Churchill Odia?), to in depth looks and possibly an interview or two with former players, to a look at our guys still playing abroad, we'll have it covered. Concepts like the Ohio Cup and an NCAA wide tournament will also come and go to keep your mind off the Reds waning playoff hopes.

With the announcement week that CJ Anderson has joined the Dayton Air Strikers of the IBL,it has been confirmed that yet another Xavier Musketeer is now playing his trade as a professional basketball player. While names like James Posey and David West jump immediately to mind when thinking of Musketeers who have gone on to play professionally, the list certainly doesn't end with those in the NBA. Gary Lumpkin, Aaron Williams,and Lenny Brown are among those who continued to play elsewhere.

The recent success of the Xavier program has led to even more of an influx of XU players into leagues around the world. Not all are stars in their respective leagues, not all even play a lot. All of them, though, are still playing basketball for a living. The first part of the series starts with some of the more recognizable names from recent history that didn't make the NBA.