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Xavier Basketball: 5 questions facing the Musketeers this offseason

By Lukas Harkins

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 09: Naji Marshall #13 of the Xavier Musketeers reacts in the first half against the Providence Friars during semifinals of the Big East Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 9, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 09: Naji Marshall #13 of the Xavier Musketeers reacts in the first half against the Providence Friars during semifinals of the Big East Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 9, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 09: Marshall of the Xavier Musketeers. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – MARCH 09: Marshall of the Xavier Musketeers. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

Xavier basketball has a new coach and is losing plenty of talent. The Musketeers will look completely different in 2018-19 but could still have a solid season.

The last two seasons have been special for Xavier basketball. In 2016-17, the team had an up-and-down year and barely squeaked into the NCAA Tournament. However, once there, the Musketeers got rolling in a hurry, making it all the way to the Elite Eight before falling to Gonzaga. In the following season, the team picked up right where it left off. Led by All-American Trevon Bluiett, Xavier won the Big East regular-season title and was awarded a No. 1 seed in the Big Dance.

Heading into next season, though, there are a lot of question marks surrounding the program. The team was already expected to lose a talented senior class but the departures of head coach Chris Mack and power forward Kaiser Gates were unexpected. Even though the Musketeers have been one of the more consistent programs in the Big East as of late, one has to imagine that they are in for a big step backward in 2018-19.

This is, of course, not meant to say that they will be bad in this upcoming season. It is simply meant to say that the team will not be competing for a No. 1 seed like it did this past year. Other than Villanova, the Big East seems poised for a down season this year so Xavier could easily in the top half of the league. If that occurs, there is no reason to believe that they cannot find a way to reach the NCAA Tournament.

In order for that to happen, though, we are going to need to find some answers to burning questions surrounding next year’s team. Here are five of those most pressing Q’s.