Xavier Musketeers Still Atop The Atlantic-10

Josh Duncan, Drew Lavender, and Stanley Burrell have all departed, but Sean Miller's Musketeers still have the keys to success. 

Junior forward Derrick Brown was honored with First Team All-A10 Honors, and senior forward C.J. Anderson was named to the Third Team. The two combined for 22 points per game and 12.4 rebounds per game last year. Their point totals will only increase because of the departures of Duncan, Lavender, and Burrrell. 

B.J. Raymond, who shot 41 percent from three-point range, is a senior and will have a more important offensive role than last season. He averaged 9.9 ppg in 2007-08, and should see his field-goal attempts increase. 

Junior Jason Love and standout freshman Kenny Frease will share time at the five. Love did not need to have an onerous offensive role last season, but he still averaged 6 ppg and 5.5 rpg. 

ESPN rated Kenny Frease as a 96—a recruit ranking that premier schools sign. Standing at 7 feet, he is "An improving big man who is a hard worker with a great attitude. He possesses a strong set of hands and shows solid footwork with the ball. He can knock down the jumper to just inside the 3-point line on a consistent basis but ideally he should be down on the blocks (post game needs work). This big man goes and gets rebounds out of his area," according to ESPN's recruiting section.

Frease's fellow freshmen consist of three point guards and one shooting guard. ESPN praises the abilities of Brian Walsh, Mark Lyons, Terrell Holloway, and Brad Redford. All four freshmen guards are claimed to be good shooters, which is a piece of the game that Sean Miller loves to have on his side. The Musketeers shot 39.1 percent from beyond the arc last year, but lost Duncan and Drew, who were each over 40 percent. 

With the experience of Brown, Anderson, and Raymond, providing help to the talented freshmen, Xavier is the favorite to win the Atlantic-10.

Temple was voted to finish second—certainly posing a threat with the return of Dionte Christmas—but Xavier should be able to handle the Owls. 

Xavier is certainly capable of getting back to the NCAA Tournament, and probably the Sweet Sixteen. It is hard to imagine the Musketeers advancing to the Elite Eight, but anything is possible when you have solid players.