2:51 AM EDT, Tue March 19, 2024
Banners On The Parkway Mar 14, 2024
Xavier wasn’t as good as UConn today

Xavier wasn’t as good as UConn today

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports This wasn’t entirely unforeseeable, but it still wasn’t fun to watch. The last gift this undermanned, battered iteration of the Musketeers gave to the fan base was hope. They came out of the gate like demons, pressuring UConn all over the floor, making shots, and sustaining an incomprehensible level of energy. Des got a bucket and an assist. Quincy hit a three, then another. Three minutes into the game, Xavier led 10-0. UConn punched back, because of course they did. They’re the best team in the nation. Having taken Xavier’s best...
Banners On The Parkway Mar 11, 2024
Quincy Olivari doesn’t get the respect he deserves

Quincy Olivari doesn’t get the respect he deserves

Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK The Big East slapped Xavier’s best player in the face with an indefensible decision. Quick, if a player leads a conference in scoring and three pointers made, finishes second in three point percentage, fifth in free throw percentage, 20th in rebounding as a 6-3 guard, 11th in steals, and is not lower than 19th in any offensive metric, which spot on the all-conference team should he play? Clearly that guy can go anywhere from the one to the three, right? Nope. The Big East named Quincy Olivari to honorable mention...
Xavier battles Marquette but falls in regular season finale

Xavier battles Marquette but falls in regular season finale

Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports The Musketeers were up for the fight against the Golden Eagles, but familiar failings made this game another one to throw onto the “almost” pile. Tonight’s game was never going to be the difference between Xavier making or missing the NCAA Tournament, it was already clear that winning the Big East Tournament is the only way the Musketeers go dancing this season. A win tonight over a top-10 Marquette team, albeit one without Tyler Kolek, could have given Xavier some momentum and a foundation upon which to launch a run at 4 wins in 4...
What is going on?

What is going on?

Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK Xavier has been bad before, rarely have they seemed so uninspired. This article is going to read as very critical of Xavier basketball. In a lot of ways it is. I’m not advocating for a change at head coach; I think that would be a horrible decision. I’m not campaigning for a kid to lose a scholarship; that would be cruel. Xavier’s season has been hamstrung by major injuries to Zach Freemantle and Jerome Hunter. The losses of Kam Craft and Reid Ducharme deprived the team of shooting and depth. Recently Sasa Ciani and...
Without even a whimper

Without even a whimper

He never, ever quits | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK Xavier gets run off the court early in a disheartening loss to Butler. Somewhere Dailyn Swain is recovering from a surgery that pulled his abdomen open. Hopefully the young man was heavily sedated and didn’t have to watch the first half of this game. What would be a terrible thing to happen in the first game you absolutely had to win? Allowing a 17-0 run? Turning the ball over 10 times? Having leading scorer go MIA? Shooting 30%? What about doing all of that? Would that be terrible? That’s what Xavier...
Xavier v. Butler: Preview, matchup, keys to the game

Xavier v. Butler: Preview, matchup, keys to the game

[Redacted] | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK There never was much hope, just a fool’s hope. We are at the pointy end of the basketball season. Teams are scrambling to solidify resumes, get on the bubble, secure a bid, lock down a one seed, and all the other amazing things that happen in March. Xavier is doing none of that. The Musketeers are hanging on to a finger grip on their tournament chances. The chance they gain an at large bid rests on them continuing an improbable run that doesn’t stop until they are in the game that could secure them an auto...
Something is up with Dailyn Swain

Something is up with Dailyn Swain

Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK It doesn't seem to be great, TBH First, what news there is: Dailyn Swain posted the above picture on his Instagram. No context, no caption, no further information. Just a first person shot of someone in a hospital bed with an IV. We assume it's him, but it would be kind of wild if it wasn't. Anything beyond that at this point is either speculation or a disrespect of his privacy. If/when he decides to release further information personally or through official channels, we'll pass it right along to you guys. What...
Have a game, Des Claude

Have a game, Des Claude

Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports Xavier’s unfairly maligned sophomore exploded in the second half of a must win game for Xavier. Desmond Claude is a polarizing player. To the unwashed Twitter masses he’s an unrepentant gunner who shoots too much and is a disappointing player in his freshman year. To the people who know the game he’s a guy flashing major upside and hampered only by a jumper that he deploys only to keep defenses honest. To Coach Miller he’s the player he frequently chooses to have the ball with the game on the line. Xavier still has a tiny chance for...
Banners On The Parkway Feb 29, 2024
Finding the Good

Finding the Good

Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK This team has long since drifted away from contention, that doesn’t mean the great moments are gone. In almost any normal circumstance Brad Colbert would be the best basketball player in the area. In any open run at your local Y or the courts where you play he would dominate. He finished a HS career that started at Moeller at the ISA in Willoughby. He’s a baller everywhere other than NCAA DI. Like all of us who picked up a basketball before we could walk, though, DI is where he wanted to end up. Coming into last night’s...
Banners On The Parkway Feb 27, 2024
The things we lost in the summer

The things we lost in the summer

I miss these guys. | Katie Stratman-USA TODAY Sports This year could have been an all-timer. Instead, the injury bug bit hard and scuttled the whole thing. What do you think Zach Freemantle is worth during a basketball game? Not in terms of his ORtg or a PPG/RPG/APG game line, but what effect does he actually have on the final score? What about Jerome Hunter? Not the value of every three he passes up to choose a shot he can actually make instead, but the impact of having him healthy and on the floor? Put another way, if you assume you need 80 minutes at the 4/5...
Banners On The Parkway Feb 25, 2024
Xavier v. Marquette: Preview, matchups, keys to the game

Xavier v. Marquette: Preview, matchups, keys to the game

Big East coach of the year? | Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports The road in front of Xavier is simple: win out There is no nuance in what Xavier has to do now. The Musketeers just kept missing opportunities and now they are here. There are two games that should be easy enough, a toss up, and two games against a very, very good Marquette team. Xavier has to win them all to have a chance at the tournament. Even just dropping the Marquette road game and then going on a four game winner won’t be enough. It’s five in a row, the auto bid, or the NIT. Unfortunately, it’s...
Banners On The Parkway Feb 20, 2024
How realistic are Xavier’s at large chances?

How realistic are Xavier’s at large chances?

Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports The Musketeers have some very heavy lifting to do I am not, by nature, a negative person. Sure, that’s the role I play on the podcast and how the rest of the staff here sees me, but I always think the best will eventually happen. No point in getting too down when the next dawn is just around the corner. I went to an NIT game once and actually cheered. So it brings me no joy to say that this season is on life support. The Musketeers are one loss from being dead, two losses from being what we call in the business “super dead.” X...

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