by Joe Jenkins

Created on: March 27, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

Anytime you talk about a team from a mid-major conference like The Atlantic 10 that has compiled a 29-6 and had a national ranking of 12 going into the tournament, you can imagine that this team has some talent that is well above average.

Yet when looking up and down the Xavier Muskateers line up, you will not find a dominating big man that averages 20 points and ten rebounds. Further inspection shows a squad that lacks a break down, ball handling distributor that adds 12 points and 9 assists.

In a game so closely associated with big names in big games, how does such a mid-major team find itself as a 3 seed in the sweet sixteen of the 2008 men's basketball tournament without a bona fide superstar to speak of?

They get there by playing the game as it was intended. Perhaps like no other team in the tournament, the Cincinnati-based Muskateers play an efficient, tenacious brand of team based basketball. To call them well rounded may be an understatement.

While there may not be a 20 point stud to be found with Xavier, they replace it with six men that average between 10 and 12 points per game. They do it not with one man burdened with hauling in 10-15 rebounds per game, but with those same selfless six hauling in between 3 and 7 boards per game.

This type of well rounded team play would lead many to believe that this team is loaded with seniors. To the dismay of the A-10, only forward Josh Duncan (12 ppg, 4.7 rpg), guard Drew Lavender (11 ppg, 4.4 apg, 1.1 spg), and guard Stanley Burrell (10 ppg, 4 apg) will be leaving at the end of this season.

Sophomore Derrick Brown (10.9 ppg, 6.7 rpg) and juniors C.J. Anderson (10.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg) and B.J. Raymond (10 ppg, 3 rpg) plan on giving opponents headaches for at least one more season.

Beyond the selfless offensive play, coach Sean Miller has made a name for himself and his Muskateers by preaching suffocating and opportunistic defense. Miller has done a fantastic job of making sure that balance is not just achieved in offensive scoring, but by balancing responsible offense with a grinding defense that will wear opponents down and force them into bad shots and turnovers.

Xavier may not be the top ranked team in the country. They may not have a marquis name that is a candidate for the National Player of the Year award. The Muskateers may even fall short of winning a National Championship this season.

One thing, however, is for sure. It will not be for lack of a team effort.

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