I have been as guilty as anyone in labeling Xavier as something less than an elite basketball school, but much like Wichita State, I now understand that the Musketeers and Shockers are Top 25 programs with a bite.
Xavier’s recruiting Class of 2014 is the reason it beat Arizona last week. In retrospect, it was a Top 10 or 15 class.
The Musketeers’ top player, Trevon Bluiett was a four-star recruit who was offered scholarships by Arizona, Florida and Louisville, and took a recruiting visit to UCLA. Arizona, however, took Stanley Johnson, so it didn’t need Bluiett.
Looking back, Arizona would’ve been better off taking Bluiett than the one-year Johnson, who averaged 13.8 points and had little impact in the 2015 postseason. A three-year player like Bluiett now looks like a better choice.
Xavier wing man J.P. Macura, a four-star prospect who gave Arizona a lot of trouble, was offered scholarships by Florida State, Purdue and Butler. And the Xavier big man who sunk Arizona with a last-minute layup, Sean O’Mara, turned down NCAA teams Virginia, Iowa State and Dayton to become a Musketeer.
The teams like Xavier who sign three- and four-star recruits and keep them for longer periods than schools like Arizona and UCLA, now swing a big stick in March.
Arizona has the bruises to prove it.
