Xavier Basketball: 2021-22 season preview and outlook for Musketeers

Key reserves

Wing/Guard – Colby Jones, Soph.

Colby Jones is a player that holds Sixth Man potential in the Xavier basketball rotation given what he can do. He’s a two-way presence that averaged 7.7 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.9 apg, and 1.3 spg across 15 games (11 starts) in 2020-21, earning Big East All-Freshman honors as a result. He’s a 6-foot-6, burly guard built a lot like Paul Scruggs. Playing like Scruggs should help his cause and he’s on the right trajectory.

Guard – Adam Kunkel, Senior

Adam Kunkel gives the Musketeers a confident scorer off the bench when needed. Kunkel posted 7.0 ppg across 16 appearances in 2020-21. As he improves on his shot-making in 2021-22, look for his role to increase on the perimeter.

Guard – KyKy Tandy, Junior

KyKy Tandy is another ballhandler off the bench that can bring perimeter scoring and playmaking in the paint to the lineup. Tandy averaged 6.6 ppg, 1.3 rpg, and 1.1 apg. He’s another bouncy 6-foot-2 guard that can do a little bit of everything when he’s on the floor.

Forward – Jerome Hunter, Junior

Jerome Hunter is another Big Ten basketball import out of Indiana set to make his debut with Xavier basketball. He’s a 6-foot-7 forward that showed average development with the Hoosiers from 2019-21. He produced 6.3 ppg and 3.0 rpg this past season. He’s another stretch-big that can play inside and out on both ends for the Musketeers.

Forward – Ben Stanley, Senior

Ben Stanley made four appearances in the rotation in 2020-21 before going down with an ACL injury in early January. He put together averages of 22.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg, and 1.5 bpg back in 2019-20 as a member of the Hampton Pirates. He’ll look to return to that caliber of a player with a healthy 2021-22 campaign.