Findlay Oilers

The Xavier Musketeers play their one and only exhibition tomorrow night at 7 PM against the Findlay Oilers. These guys are the best in D2 according to the National Association of Basketball Coaches who have voted them preseason #1 at their level. All 5 of their starters either are or will be 1,000 point scorers by the end of this season. Ron Niekamp is their coach and he has been in place for 24 years. Josh Bostic is being tabbed as the D2 POY by a couple of organizations. Marcus Parker could start at point guard for the Dayton Flyers and improve their chances in the A10in my opinion. Of local Cincinnati interest Antoine Wilhite is a 6'7" frosh out of Lockland High. I am not sure of there bench rotation but here is the projected starting 5:

1- Marcus Parker Jr 5-9 165
2- Tyler Evans Sr 6-2 195
3- Morgan Lewis Sr 6-4 210
4- Josh Bostic Sr 6-5 230
5- Lee Roberts Sr 6-7 225

Sean Miller on Sports Talk last night with Paul Daugherty indicated X's starting 5 at this point in time are as follows:

1- Dante Jackson So 6-5 205
2- BJ Raymond Sr 6-6 212
3- CJ Anderson Sr 6-6 225
4- Derrick Brown Jr 6-8 227
5- Jason Love Jr 6-9 245

Now whether that is the starting 5 by tomorrow night shall be determined I guess. Findlay will provide a nice challenge to say the least as we prepare for the start of the season next Friday against IPFW.

Bearcat links week of 11/4

I found some interesting tidbits to share. Some good. Some not so good. Interesting either way.

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Top-NBA-Draft-Prospects-in-the-Big-East--Part-Five-21-25--3030/

http://gobearcats.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/110308aaa.html

http://gobearcats.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/110108aaa.html

http://www.collegehoopsnet.com/200809-cincinnati-basketball-preview-109-54232

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/65110-the-beast-that-is-the-big-east-four-teams-that-are-screwed-for-2008-2009

X Lands 'Spoon

JD Weatherspoon out of Northland High School in Columbus became Xavier's second commitment from the class of 2010 yesterday. He is currently rated as #135 overall in Rivals 150 for his class and is listed as a power forward at 6'6" with three stars. He plays for the loaded All Ohio Red AAU team which was dominant in summer ball this season. Think Bill Walker athleticism when you think of JD. If you don't believe me check out his highlight reel dunks up on Xavier Hoops and remember that was last high school season when he was a 15 year old sophomore. James Whitford is credited by JD with getting him to committ as well as our success of sending Ohio guys to the NBA (Posey, Grant, and Hill). Sure he has some improvements to make but we are starting to load the frontcourt with raw talent. At one point it was believed all tOSU had to do was offer but they are after bigger fish in Adreian Payne out of Dayton. Speaking of Dayton, the Flyers also wanted Weatherspoon. Another top 150 name to remember for 2010 is a face up power forward named Alex Gauna. He has already visited X and UD but will probably wait to make his decision.

10th Place - George Washington Colonials

Head Coach: Karl Hobbs
Record at GW: 123-82 (7)

Home Court: Charles E. Smith Athletic Center (5,000)

Roster:
1 Travis King So G 6-2 215
2 Xavier Alexander So G 6-6 215
3 Tony Taylor Fr G 5-11 170
5 Rob Diggs Sr F 6-8 202
11 Wynton Witherspoon Sr F 6-7 197
12 Johnny Lee Jr G 5-8 166
15 Aaron Ware Fr F 6-5 190
21 Hermann Opoku Jr F 6-9 225
22 Damian Hollis Jr F 6-8 205
31 Noel Wilmore Sr G 6-3 190
33 Matt Allbritton Fr G 6-4 190
42 Joseph Katuka So C 6-10 215

First 5:
1- T. King (his knee injury last year started things unraveling for the Colonials. They never recovered. A healthy King will go along way into making this team a success.)
2- X. Alexander (started last 14 games a season ago. His long range shooting needs to improve but the rest of his game is very solid.)
3- W. Witherspoon (athletic slasher transferred from VA Tech and fit right in with the rest of the team. Averaged 11 ppg a year ago.)
4- D. Hollis (here is yet another example of a Hobbs project developing. He will average close to a double double this season.)
5- R. Diggs (IF his improvement arch continues on the path it has been the last 3 seasons he could very well be a A10 POY candidate. IF that happens you can expect the Colonials to finish much higher.)

Second 5:
1- T. Taylor (this frosh is a very talented insurance policy, he will see plenty of court time.)
2- N. Wilmore (he will reprise his role of designated 3 point shooter off the bench.)
3- A. Ware (LA product fits the Hobbs mold of athletic wing players who were under the radar.)
4- H. Opoku (Austria native needs to show continious improvement.)
5- J. Katuka (he could easily be in the starting lineup. Knee injuries have bedeviled him but he oozes raw skills.)

Outlook: After three straight trips to the NCAA tournament the Colonials went 'thud' last year. The knee injury to King, Mo Rice's disappearing act, and a few other chemistry issues which Hobbs has fixed all added up to less than expectations for GW. Hobbs is too talented a coach to stay down for long and if King stays healthy and productive this is easily an NIT team, possibly more.

Jordan Latham Verbals to X

We picked up our first recruit from the Class of 2010 and he projects to be a good one. Jordan Latham is a 6'8' 210 power forward from Baltimore, MD. He is rated as having four stars by Rivals.com and is currently rated the 44th best prospect in the nation. He reportedly was picking up interest from Texas, VA Tech, Maryland, and Penn State. He had a good run in AAU ball this summer playing for Team Melo. Book Richardson won this kid over to our side. His recruiting skill is going to pay huge dividends for us and already has yielded Latham and Parrom. He is described as being an athletic finisher. This is a HUGE pickup for the Muskies.

Also we may have word on another top flight 2010 recruit by Monday morning. Justin Martin is a 6-7 200 pound wing forward who attacks the glass. 'J-Mart' is rated 38th overall in his class also with four stars by Rivals.com. The Indianapolis product is picking up serious interest from the state schools as well as Michigan State, Cincinnati, Louisville, and Kentucky. Needless to say how awesome would it be to get both of these kids in one weekend?