Xavier shed a lot of players over the last couple of years. Will any of them make March?
NIL and Covid changed the face of college basketball. Players transfer now more than ever and they have an added year to do it. Where a four year player was once the standard, they are now something of a rarity. Gone are the days of Jason Love developing slowly over time. It’s college basketball free agency now.
Xavier has always been good at bringing in good transfers. Tu Holloway, Jordan Crawford, Andre Walker, Brian Thornton, Travis Taylor, and a host of others have come to Xavier and made an impact. The last couple of years, though, Xavier has seen a steady stream out. If, like me, you’re a ball of nervous energy before the game tonight and have nothing better to do, check out where some of these guys landed.
Des Claude- Undoubtedly the biggest name to leave X last year. Des was supposed to be the cornerstone the team could be built on. Instead, he decamped for warmer climes. At USC he has been a mixed bag. His assist rate is up, but so is his turnover rate. His offensive efficiency is 103.1 after being 103.2 last season. His line of 15.5/3.5/4.1 is solid, but he’s struggled mightily in conference play for a USC team going nowhere.
Kachi Nzeh- While Des wasn’t necessarily mourned by most of the fansbase, Nzeh was. Kachi is a great athlete capable of the spectacular. He has gone to Penn State and done functionally what he did for Xavier last season. The developmental leap just hasn’t come for him yet.
Sasa Ciani- 10/7.7/1.3 looks awfully good, but Ciani has done it as a bang average player in terms of efficiency. He’s been steady for Illinois Chicago and he’s been a monster on the glass (seventh in the nation in defensive rebounding), but he still turns the ball over too much and is hopeless at the line.
Lazar Djokovic- Lazar is at Charleston with Chris Mack and seems to have found his level. He’s getting 8.1/6.1/0.6 with a 110 efficiency in 23 minutes per game. He’s probably the first of these guys with a decent chance of making the tournament. Charleston would need the auto bid, but they’re very in the running in the CAA.
Gytis Nemeiksa- This dude is close to full on lighting it up in Hawaii. (What a place to be a college athlete.) Gytis gets 11.8/5.8/1.0 in 23 minutes a game and does it with an efficiency of 115. He flickered for Xavier last year and has shown that talent more consistently for the Rainbow Warriors. It would take quite a run for him to be dancing this season, though.
Abou Ousmane- Abou is the one who got away. Where he’d have fit on Xavier’s front line had Lassina Traore stayed healthy is hard to figure, but Traore didn’t, and he left an Abou sized hole. Ousmane is getting 12.1/5.4/0.8 for Oklahoma State and in every way making last year seem like an aberration. Could Xavier use a big shooting 52% from the floor, 72% from the line, and 48% from behind the arc who is also blocking shots at a 5.4% clip? Yes. That’s what Ousmane was when they recruited and what he has been this year. What happened to him last season is anyone’s guess. Ok St won’t be in the tournament, though.
Dwon Odom- Dwon is doing well at Tulsa, but Tulsa is awful. He still can’t shoot, but his line of 13.3/4.6/5.3 comes with an efficiency of 110.8 and a shockingly high assist rate of 38.1%. He’s a great low-major guard.
Kyky Tandy- Yes, he’s still playing. Kyky is for FAU what every Xavier fan hoped he’d be here. 8.7/1.8/1.0 comes as essentially a spot up three point shooter. That explosive bounce is long gone, but Tandy can still really shoot it and still picks his spots well. He, sadly, will probably never taste the NCAA tournament. You feel for the kid, because he’s really a tale of what could have been.
Kam Craft- Also mostly a three and d guy, Craft is averaging 13/2.7/1.0 for Miami (Oh) under Travis Steele. He put up a casual 40 against Toledo in February and has started 30 games and averages 25 minutes for a Miami team that is second in the MAC. If Akron slips, Kam and Travis could well make the NCAA field.
Cesare Edwards- Edwards is the guy putting up the most eye-popping numbers of the transfers. How does 16.1/6.8/1.3 on 110 efficiency grab you? Edwards is the star of Jonas Hayes Georgia State team. Unfortunately, that team is in the bottom half of the Sun Belt and hasn’t improved much in the three seasons Hayes has been there.
Dieonte Miles- Miles finishes off our list. He’s at Morehead St now, where he’s still just pretty mediocre as a defense first, rebounding big man.
And that’s it. If things break right Kam Craft and Lazar Djokovic have a reasonable chance to get into the tournament. Cesare Edwards and Abou Ousmane are having very good seasons, and Des Claude is still pretty much what he was. Gytis Nemeiksa is filling it up in idyllic surroundings and everyone else is just enjoying college ball. Of everyone that’s gone, Xavier misses what Ousmane or Edwards offers the most. Such is life in the new world of college ball.