The team from the Queen City have a solid nucleus of players from which to continue moving this program forward.  Coach Pete Gillen may not be Dr. X but he has done a fabulous job of recruiting gifted players who are not looking to be treated as stars.  If you go to Xavier you are not looking to be noticed.  The whole concept behind the entire Xavier system is earning your spot.  This worked well for Gillen and as he found a few players who became stars because of their workmanlike attitude that encompasses this program.  Oh, and they know how to play basketball the X-Men way.  Gillen has also got a terrific assistant in young Sean Miller who is also a terrific recruiter and will someday take over the reins of X-Men.  The question is if he is Magneto and Majestrix?

The leader of this year’s team is not Wolverine but he definitely has sharp hands.  The captain of the team is sophomore guard Byron Larkin.  Larkin has a personality that seems make others want to follow him.  A gifted scorer, Larkin led the team in minutes and was second in scoring but he is undersized for a two guard.  He tried playing point (the Musketeers had real problems at the point) but he was better as a two guard.  He just played better he said as a two guard and that fit him and nobody on the team argued.   He went into the season battling for time but when high scoring senior Steve Thomas went down it opened the door for Larkin to play full time at the two.  Larkin relies on his ability to create shots for himself and to find ways of scoring instead of raw ability.  Larkin did have some matchup issues with bigger shooting guards or quicker one guards but held his own due to his determination.  The Larkin name is legendary in Cincinnati with his brother Barry playing shortstop for the Reds but at Xavier Byron is the man. 

The most gifted player on the Musketeers has to be senior wing Bob Quick.  Quick shined in his third year and at times carried the team offensively.  A consistent scorer and rebounder, Quick was getting large minutes for Gillen and proved his worth throughout the season.  He earned 1st team all Midwestern Collegiate and was the best small forward in the league.  That will not be the same this year as the A-10 has some incredible talent on the wings including some dude in UMASS putting up ridiculous numbers.  Still, Quick fits his name and will continue to be a huge part of the X-Men’s transition to the A-10. 

The Musketeers have always played a double post and this year was no different.  The history of this program is filled with great board men who love to bang underneath from Dave Piontek and Big Bob Pelkington to Luther Rackley and Bob Fullerton.  This year sophomore Tyrone Hill gladly took over that coveted role.  The aforementioned group of seniors came in as the favorites to get the post spots but Hill quickly showed that one of the post positions was going to be his. Hill gave the team a little more size (6’9 240) and a consistency that the seniors could not match.  Hill never rests and never lets up.  This hometown kid is a solid rebounder, a decent offensive weapon and a great low post defender.  Hill has a bright future for this program and will no doubt be manning one of the posts for the next three years.   He was third on the team in scoring and blocked shots and was two rebounds short of leading the team in that category.   The group of upperclassmen will battle a great group of incoming freshmen for playing time up front.  Pelkington and Piontek were the starters going in but got surpassed on the food chain primarily due to the fact they are a bit undersized.  They go 6’7 and 6’6 respectively and though they are phenomenal board men have a difficult time matching up with the Laniers of the world.  Pelkington has an out as he is also a football player (TE) but is not giving up on the Musketeers and with his rebounding will play.  Piontek might have a harder time of it but Rackley has a shot as he goes 6’10 and can really board and also block a shot.  Boo as he was dubbed has been a solid backup since he got here and is limited offensively but unless the new kids are all of that he will still have a role.  Fullerton is another 6’10 big man who has played mainly on the JV so far but it is time to move up but with the new studs coming in his timing might just be off.  The X-Men have a fabulous JV system where they develop players and there is definitely a pecking order.  Gillen changed that last year with Larkin and Hill moving up and the freshman coming are supposedly even better then those two so all bets are off.  A good example of this is senior Joe Viviano who went into last season getting good minutes as a combo forward.  Not quick enough for the three and not big enough (6’5) for the post Viviano, who was huge in the past, lost massive minutes as the year progressed to junior Jerry Helmers at the three (who became Quick’s caddy) and the much younger and bigger sophomore to be Hill.  Two other sophomore big men will compete for minutes as well as Jeff Jenkins and Derek Strong were dominant inside on the JV so you can see Gillen does have numerous options down low.  No matter who plays the Musketeers will be in good shape up front as they have always been.  The same cannot be said for the back court. 

Senior guard Steve Thomas came into the season as the primary scoring option for the Musketeers.  The ambidextrous Thomas is one of the finest shooters in the country and even though he shoots his jumper off the wrong foot it usually goes in. It started out like he was going to be an All-American candidate as he led the Musketeers to a great start behind his great perimeter shooting.  And then he hurt his knee (ironically it was on the same day junior wing Nick Daniels went down a season ending injury on what is now called Black Saturday in Cincinnati).  The top two shooting guards were now out and Coach Gillen had to find somebody else to step up.  Senior Hank Stein got a few starts but was nowhere near the scorer this team needed.  Enter Larkin and the ascension of Quick as a bigger scoring option.  Stein can play and continued to be that kind of glue player and terrific leader off the bench.  Gillen moved Larkin into the two-guard spot full time and went looking for a point guard.  That was easier said than done.  

The biggest problem all year for the Musketeers was point guard.  Gillen tried everyone there without anyone taking over.  Seniors Bill Kirvin, Jimmy Booth, junior Keith Walker and Sophomores Anthony Hicks and Ralph Lee all got their shot.  Kirvin was incumbent and played well but was not as dynamic or as good of a defender as Gillen wanted.  Booth is a combo guard and Walker and Lee are pass first QB’s who do not challenge the opposition with their scoring.  He settled on Hicks at the end.  Hicks, like his fellow sophomores that took over starting roles, is just at a higher overall level of talent then the upperclassmen.  He can score as well as dish and is the prototypical modern point guard though needs to get a bit better at long-range.  He can play though and the Musketeers need him to be their leader.  It is his job now but be careful if Miller takes over as he was one of those pass first guards when he was playing for rival Pittsburgh. 

Overall, it was a solid season for the Musketeers.  A trip to the NIT ended in a quick exit and a rather good season was over much too early.   Most people thought the Musketeers deserved an invite to the Big Dance and they exited early due to disappointment.  But that is changing as the Musketeers have decided to join the enemy and have accepted an invite to the mighty A-10.  This conference has lost some big time programs to the power conferences but have brought in some big time replacements including the ever evolving X-Men.  There are already rumors that Gillen is leaving and Miller will be taking over next year in the revolving door of coaches in Cincinnati.  Heck, even the Reds let Sparky go.  Still, the Musketeers took one more step towards the respect they covet and next year will be the same.  If they can keep bringing in solid players that play the Xavier way of basketball it doesn’t matter who the coach is in Cincinnati.  Now, if they can just find that one superstar to get them over the hump and get the attention they deserve then X-Men will finally have conquered their foes.