The departure of an NBA prospect is never easy for the team he leaves behind, especially if the player still has eligibility remaining and he isn't a surefire lottery, or even first round, pick. That means his college team may not have fully expected or prepared for his absence from the team's roster the next season.
Two of Xavier's recent NBA players -- Semaj Christon and Derrick Brown -- left school early to be drafted in the second round, 55th and 40th respectively. In terms of both talent and positional depth, Xavier faced a significant drop-off in attempting to replace them the following seasons.
However, the Musketeers are supremely prepared for their latest NBA draft defection. Redshirt sophomore point guard Edmond Sumner declared for the NBA draft on Tuesday. He will hire an agent, meaning he will forgo his remaining college eligibility.
Prospects like Sumner -- a 6-foot-6 point guard who is frequently on the receiving end of designed alley-oops -- are a rarity, especially for a program like Xavier. The Musketeers were 44-14 in games in which Sumner played in his three seasons in Cincinnati and they were almost guaranteed to have a size and athleticism advantage at point guard as long as he was on the floor.
Does his departure hurt? Of course. But Xavier will possess the talent and depth to survive, if not succeed, without him.
First, it's worth noting there's a chance Sumner wouldn't have been healthy and available until next March, if he had returned to school. Xavier has recruited knowing there was a chance that Sumner would leave school early and a pair of former four-star prospects will likely share the majority of the team's ball-handling duties next season.
Freshman point guard Quentin Goodin averaged just shy of 15 minutes per game before Sumner's injury. He played 35.5 minutes per game after sliding into the starting point guard role for the final 17 games of the season. Xavier won its next three games immediately after Sumner's season-ending injury in January, struggled through the month of February, then rebounded to win a pair of games in the Big East Tournament and advance to the Elite Eight. The experience Goodin gained in the second half of the season will be invaluable for his development and for the program moving forward.
Xavier will also bring top-30 recruit Paul Scruggs, who's ranked as one of the top point guard prospects in his recruiting class, into the fold next season. He's the highest-ranked recruit the Musketeers have signed since Christon.
Somehow, Xavier played its best basketball this season with Sumner on the sidelines. While it's hard to fathom how or why, it may not be a coincidence.
Recruiting rankings aren't everything but Xavier's incumbent point guards -- Goodin and Scruggs -- are ranked higher than Sumner was coming out of high school. Neither may possess Sumner's explosive athleticism but they both have good size for the position (6-foot-4 and 6-foot-3, respectively) and the pedigree to be high-level guards in the Big East.
It's never easy to lose an early entree player to the NBA draft but Xavier is in good hands.
Two of Xavier's recent NBA players -- Semaj Christon and Derrick Brown -- left school early to be drafted in the second round, 55th and 40th respectively. In terms of both talent and positional depth, Xavier faced a significant drop-off in attempting to replace them the following seasons.
However, the Musketeers are supremely prepared for their latest NBA draft defection. Redshirt sophomore point guard Edmond Sumner declared for the NBA draft on Tuesday. He will hire an agent, meaning he will forgo his remaining college eligibility.
Prospects like Sumner -- a 6-foot-6 point guard who is frequently on the receiving end of designed alley-oops -- are a rarity, especially for a program like Xavier. The Musketeers were 44-14 in games in which Sumner played in his three seasons in Cincinnati and they were almost guaranteed to have a size and athleticism advantage at point guard as long as he was on the floor.
Does his departure hurt? Of course. But Xavier will possess the talent and depth to survive, if not succeed, without him.
First, it's worth noting there's a chance Sumner wouldn't have been healthy and available until next March, if he had returned to school. Xavier has recruited knowing there was a chance that Sumner would leave school early and a pair of former four-star prospects will likely share the majority of the team's ball-handling duties next season.
Freshman point guard Quentin Goodin averaged just shy of 15 minutes per game before Sumner's injury. He played 35.5 minutes per game after sliding into the starting point guard role for the final 17 games of the season. Xavier won its next three games immediately after Sumner's season-ending injury in January, struggled through the month of February, then rebounded to win a pair of games in the Big East Tournament and advance to the Elite Eight. The experience Goodin gained in the second half of the season will be invaluable for his development and for the program moving forward.
Xavier will also bring top-30 recruit Paul Scruggs, who's ranked as one of the top point guard prospects in his recruiting class, into the fold next season. He's the highest-ranked recruit the Musketeers have signed since Christon.
Somehow, Xavier played its best basketball this season with Sumner on the sidelines. While it's hard to fathom how or why, it may not be a coincidence.
Recruiting rankings aren't everything but Xavier's incumbent point guards -- Goodin and Scruggs -- are ranked higher than Sumner was coming out of high school. Neither may possess Sumner's explosive athleticism but they both have good size for the position (6-foot-4 and 6-foot-3, respectively) and the pedigree to be high-level guards in the Big East.
It's never easy to lose an early entree player to the NBA draft but Xavier is in good hands.