JasonEvans
10-25-2010, 10:34 AM
I know everyone is amazed at Baylor's recruiting lately, and for good reason. Coach Drew has done a fabulous job even if some feel he is doing it through shady methods.
But, I wanted to briefly highlight another school that is often off the radar but now seems to be doing quite nicely in the recruiting department -- Xavier.
In just the past few days, Xavier has landed Michael Chandler (the #4 center in the class of 2011 and a top 50 prospect) and D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera (the #3 PG in the class of 2012 and a top 25 prospect. Both these kids had offers from Kentucky and a slew of other top-tier programs.
Xavier's 2011 class already includes top 75 SF Dezmine Wells (who had offers from NC State, Wake, Va Tech, and Virginia among others). Dave Telep says Xavier now has the #10 ranked class overall in the 2011 recruiting class -- that's impressive.
Xavier has always been a highly competitive program that has gotten the most out of its kids and done a great job at finding diamonds in the rough. But, these recruits are a bit higher class than Xavier traditionally lands. Xavier did not have a single top 150 prospect in 2009 (according to Rivals). They had exactly 1 top 100 kid in 2010 (#86 ranked wing Justin Martin), though they did have a couple other kids who were just outside the top 100 and figure to be a nice recruiting class.
Now, we all know that recruiting rankings are no guarantee of success. Xavier landed a top 50 kid back in 2008 in big man Kenny Frease and he has -- so far -- had only limited success for them. Still, I think it worth noting these two recent commitments and send our props to Xavier Head Coach Chris Mack. He is doing a very impressive job with the Musketeers as he enters his second season on the job.
--Jason "betting that Mack's name comes up in high-profile coaching searches verrrry soon" Evans
But, I wanted to briefly highlight another school that is often off the radar but now seems to be doing quite nicely in the recruiting department -- Xavier.
In just the past few days, Xavier has landed Michael Chandler (the #4 center in the class of 2011 and a top 50 prospect) and D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera (the #3 PG in the class of 2012 and a top 25 prospect. Both these kids had offers from Kentucky and a slew of other top-tier programs.
Xavier's 2011 class already includes top 75 SF Dezmine Wells (who had offers from NC State, Wake, Va Tech, and Virginia among others). Dave Telep says Xavier now has the #10 ranked class overall in the 2011 recruiting class -- that's impressive.
Xavier has always been a highly competitive program that has gotten the most out of its kids and done a great job at finding diamonds in the rough. But, these recruits are a bit higher class than Xavier traditionally lands. Xavier did not have a single top 150 prospect in 2009 (according to Rivals). They had exactly 1 top 100 kid in 2010 (#86 ranked wing Justin Martin), though they did have a couple other kids who were just outside the top 100 and figure to be a nice recruiting class.
Now, we all know that recruiting rankings are no guarantee of success. Xavier landed a top 50 kid back in 2008 in big man Kenny Frease and he has -- so far -- had only limited success for them. Still, I think it worth noting these two recent commitments and send our props to Xavier Head Coach Chris Mack. He is doing a very impressive job with the Musketeers as he enters his second season on the job.
--Jason "betting that Mack's name comes up in high-profile coaching searches verrrry soon" Evans