Father-son duo connection gives Oklahoma an all-league caliber newcomer to roster

Every conference outside of the high majors has lost all of its all-league players to either graduation or the transfer portal. That includes the Atlantic 10, with players such as Reed Bailey (Davidson), Jalen Haynes, (George Mason(, and Jayden Dawson (Loyola) all entering the portal.

A first-teamer was still around in Xzayvier Brown, a 6’2 guard from Philadelphia who was the former A-10 Rookie of the Year. This past season, he had a sophomore breakout campaign, averaging 17.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg, and 4.3 apg for the St. Joe’s Hawks. Unfortunately for the team, he won’t be around for Year 3, deciding to enter the portal on Monday afternoon.

But unlike most top players who enter the portal and have recruitments, there’s no question where Brown will be going. That’s because another former Hawk has left in Coach Justin Scott, the Associate HC with the program. He’s set to join the Oklahoma Sooners and Coach Porter Moser’s staff.

That’s very important because Scott is Brown's stepfather. So, with that close relationship, it would make sense for Brown to join him in the SEC program. The Sooners need a lead guard like Brown, as they have to replace freshman star Jeremiah Fears, who led the team with 17.1 ppg and 4.1 apg before entering the NBA Draft. 

Assuming it’s official that Brown is with Oklahoma, he joins Miami transfer guard Nijel Pack in the backcourt. It’ll be a potent scoring tandem for opposing SEC teams. The team also has Notre Dame transfer forward Tae Davis, who produced 15.1 ppg and 5.3 rpg this past season. 

Look for the Sooners to add a couple more guards for depth purposes, along with a center. But this core, led by Brown, will be good enough to make some noise in the SEC and make a run for another NCAA Tournament appearance.