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Monday, June 15, 2009
Xavier’s Brown passes up senior year
Derrick Brown is NBA-bound.
The Chaminade-Julienne product won’t be returning for his senior season at Xavier, the Cincinnati Enquirer just announced, leaving a substantial hole in the Musketeers’ lineup.
Could this be the season Dayton finally ends a nearly three decade drought of beating Xavier in Cincinnati? Although the Musketeers have won or shared the last three Atlantic 10 titles, Brown’s departure just might have made UD a lock to be the preseason league favorite.
The Flyers return 10 of their top 11 scorers from a team that finished tied for second in the A-10 last year and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament, and they should get a bump with the additions of promising front-court players Josh Benson and Matt Kavanaugh.
What’s more, Xavier was bound to go through some growing pains with the coaching transition from Sean Miller to Chris Mack, who no doubt was counting on Brown’s experience (and 14-point average) to be a solidifying force.
The Musketeers still have the formidable Jason Love and Kenny Frease in the post and some talented guards, but they lose forwards B.J. Raymond and C.J. Anderson in addition to Brown.
With their championship pedigree, it would be foolish to count them out of the title hunt this season, but those heavy losses — and some recruiting defections — have certainly made the Musketeers look as vulnerable as they’ve been in years.
