Xavier Basketball: Why the Musketeers can compete for Big East title in 2019-20

Xavier Basketball returns a good amount of production from last season’s team. Could that be enough to contend in the Big East in 2020?

After a solid 2018-19 campaign, Xavier Basketball has high expectations for the upcoming season. The Musketeers had three grad students finish their careers last season. Kyle Castlin, Ryan Welage, and Zach Hankins all contributed last year, but Hankins abilities on the defensive end will be the biggest loss.

Most importantly for Xavier, they’ll be returning the majority of their roster.

Veterans Quinten Gooden and Tyrique Jones are back and will be in the starting lineup. Also, The young guns Paul Scruggs and Naji Marshall make their returns. If they don’t make huge improvements this year, Xavier’s season might be a bust. However, if they take their next step forward, the “Muskies” will be due for a huge season.

Here’s why Xavier could take home the Big East crown.

Travis Steele is the real deal

Following in the footsteps of Chris Mack is no easy challenge. Mack took off for Louisville last season, leaving the keys to the Cintas Center in Steele’s hands.

He got off to a rough start last season, trying to implement the patented stingy Xavier defense. The Musketeers were 11-13 and had given up over 70 points in 15 of their first 24 games (62.5%).

Then it all started to click.

Steele began to lean on Hankins more and more, and trust both of his big men on the defensive end. They closed out the year 7-3, only giving up more than 70 points in the games they lost (30%).

Not only will Steele be a more experienced coach, he already proved that he can recruit. Steele landed the 25th ranked recruiting class in the country, the second-best in the state of Ohio. If any of those players can produce early on in their careers, they’ll show the recruiting prowess Steele already possesses.

In order to succeed, Xavier will need big contributions from their Seniors

Quentin Goodin can jump out of the building but he needs to improve his jump shot. He only shot 29.8% from beyond the arc, while still taking 4.5 attempts. Either those attempts need to go down or that percentage needs to go up because Xavier can’t have someone out there just to launch three-point attempts.

Then we have Tyrique “The Freak” Jones. The nickname says it all. Jones is a full-grown man.

He completely fills out his 6’9″ 235 frame and will need to use every ounce of it this season. If he can shoot effectively inside the paint and rebound well, he’ll have a tremendous senior year.

Naji Marshall

Last and certainly not least, we have Naji Marshall. He’s the motor that will keep Xavier running this season.

Coach Steele really leaned on Marshall last season, but it didn’t work out too well. Marshall seemed overwhelmed most of the year on the offensive side of the ball but started to settle in at the end of the year. He has all the tools to succeed offensively, but he’ll have to connect on more threes this upcoming season.

But what Marshall lacks on offense, he more than makes up for on defense. He can go out and guard four positions on the floor, and more importantly, can do it well. If Xavier wants to continue their terrific work on the defensive end, they’ll have to go through their motor, Naji Marshall.