Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Xavier goes 4-0 in Brazil and gets experience for six new freshmen

Chris Mack

Xavier head coach Chris Mack on the sidelines against Pacific during the second half of their NCAA college basketball game in the first round of the DirecTV Classic in Anaheim, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Alex Gallardo)

AP

Xavier recently completed a preseason trip to Brazil in which they went 4-0 and got a lot of playing time for the six new freshmen on the roster.

Not only did the newcomers get to play a lot during the 10-practice, four-game trip in South America, but with guard Dee Davis out for all four games with a hamstring injury, even more minutes were available.

According to Shannon Russell of Cincinnati.com, sophomore forward Jalen Reynolds also was very good on the trip, averaging 13.3 points and 10.8 rebounds in only 18.8 minutes per game.

Davis could have also played on the trip, but the coaching staff opted to hold him out.

“Dee could have played towards the end of the trip but not having practices under his belt, we really had nothing to gain by throwing him out there. We’ll start basketball activities – workouts, shooting – next week and I anticipate Dee being full-go by then,” Mack said to Russell.

Players ran the four games with international rules on the trip so it included a 24-second shot clock and extended three-point line to go along with more physical play.

“You could hold. You could push dribblers, so consequently you really had to take care of the ball while you were getting harassed,” Mack said to Russell. “It was eye-opening for some of our players.”

This kind of trip probably helped Xavier acclimate to the Big East because of the adjusted international rules and talent level of the professionals. Although young, it will be interesting to see how the Musketeers look this season without Semaj Christon and all of the new faces.

Follow @phillipshoops