Last Home Game Tonight, Thanks Seniors!
Posted by Josh on Wednesday, March 6, 2013 Under: Muskie Recognition
The season is winding to an end this week. It's not been an ideal season but I still hate to see it come to an end. The last home game is tonight against St. Louis. As it turns out, it also looks like it will be our last ever Atlantic 10 game at home.
St. Louis is playing great basketball. The Billikens have won 11 in a row and are now 12-2 in conference and ranked #16 in the AP poll and #15 in the USA poll. They run deep, playing 9 guys at more than 12mins/gm and having a balanced scoring attack with players all over the roster that can beat you. This is potentially the best team the Muskies will have played all year. Not exactly a cupcake game for Senior night so it will take a monumental effort to say the least.
Barring NIT games at Cintas, this will be our last chance to see Brad Redford, Jeff Robinson, and Travis Taylor.
Brad has been a fan favorite since he hit his first 3-pointer his freshman year. I guess everyone loves the white kid who can hit 3s. He has been a lot of fun to watch. When Chris Mack came to watch a Brad Redford workout in high school and Brad hit 92 of 100 3s, Mack thought there was no way he would do that again. And he didn't; his next session he hit 93 out of 100! That tells you how great of a pure shooter Brad is. Going into the SLU game, Brad has made 188 3-pointers at X (vs 23 2-pointers)! Being a guard on the same roster as Tu Holloway and Mark Lyons really made it tough for him to get a ton of minutes during his first 3 years but his toughness and constant work on his game earned him minutes where he could get them. This year, with only 2 other guards on the roster, Brad has came up huge when the team has needed him. He's averaging 7.6 pts/gm in 23 minutes/gm of play. His game against GW where he hit 7 out of 8 3-pointers was something that may never be achieved again.
Jeff came into XU under the radar. Just as Brad had, Jeff had some talented guys in front of him on the depth charts at X. Over the years though, Jeff has come off the bench and provided some high-flying dunks that has sparked the Muskies and excited the fans. His Senior year, he's worked his way into the starting line-up, averaging 7 pts and 5 rebs per contest. Some may be surprised to know that he shoots 74% from the line, very respectable for a guy a few inches shy of 7 feet tall. Finish strong Jeff!
Travis Taylor is a guy who most of us probably wish we had for 4 years. Trav transferred to X after 2 years at Monmoth. His first year at X wasn't great; behind Kenny Frease and Andre Walker, he played under 15 minutes per game and averaged 4.5pts / 3.7reb / 45% shooting. But Taylor has been working like a madman since he got to Xavier and it has paid dividends. His Senior year, he's averaging 11.8pts / 8.6reb / 56% shooting. He's leading the A10 in rebounding, something no Musketeer has done since a man named David West. He's truly a great example of what happens when you tirelessly work at something.
These guys were not 5-star recruits but they have worked hard and have worn the "X" with pride. Any Musketeer is a Musketeer for life. I'm happy to soon be able to call them fellow alums. Thanks Brad, Jeff, and Travis!
Go Muskies!
St. Louis is playing great basketball. The Billikens have won 11 in a row and are now 12-2 in conference and ranked #16 in the AP poll and #15 in the USA poll. They run deep, playing 9 guys at more than 12mins/gm and having a balanced scoring attack with players all over the roster that can beat you. This is potentially the best team the Muskies will have played all year. Not exactly a cupcake game for Senior night so it will take a monumental effort to say the least.
Barring NIT games at Cintas, this will be our last chance to see Brad Redford, Jeff Robinson, and Travis Taylor.
Brad has been a fan favorite since he hit his first 3-pointer his freshman year. I guess everyone loves the white kid who can hit 3s. He has been a lot of fun to watch. When Chris Mack came to watch a Brad Redford workout in high school and Brad hit 92 of 100 3s, Mack thought there was no way he would do that again. And he didn't; his next session he hit 93 out of 100! That tells you how great of a pure shooter Brad is. Going into the SLU game, Brad has made 188 3-pointers at X (vs 23 2-pointers)! Being a guard on the same roster as Tu Holloway and Mark Lyons really made it tough for him to get a ton of minutes during his first 3 years but his toughness and constant work on his game earned him minutes where he could get them. This year, with only 2 other guards on the roster, Brad has came up huge when the team has needed him. He's averaging 7.6 pts/gm in 23 minutes/gm of play. His game against GW where he hit 7 out of 8 3-pointers was something that may never be achieved again.
Jeff came into XU under the radar. Just as Brad had, Jeff had some talented guys in front of him on the depth charts at X. Over the years though, Jeff has come off the bench and provided some high-flying dunks that has sparked the Muskies and excited the fans. His Senior year, he's worked his way into the starting line-up, averaging 7 pts and 5 rebs per contest. Some may be surprised to know that he shoots 74% from the line, very respectable for a guy a few inches shy of 7 feet tall. Finish strong Jeff!
Travis Taylor is a guy who most of us probably wish we had for 4 years. Trav transferred to X after 2 years at Monmoth. His first year at X wasn't great; behind Kenny Frease and Andre Walker, he played under 15 minutes per game and averaged 4.5pts / 3.7reb / 45% shooting. But Taylor has been working like a madman since he got to Xavier and it has paid dividends. His Senior year, he's averaging 11.8pts / 8.6reb / 56% shooting. He's leading the A10 in rebounding, something no Musketeer has done since a man named David West. He's truly a great example of what happens when you tirelessly work at something.
These guys were not 5-star recruits but they have worked hard and have worn the "X" with pride. Any Musketeer is a Musketeer for life. I'm happy to soon be able to call them fellow alums. Thanks Brad, Jeff, and Travis!
Go Muskies!
In : Muskie Recognition
Tags: xavier "atlantic 10" "st. louis billikens" "brad redford" "jeff robinson" "travis taylor" pictures
