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  1. #1

    Xavier in the NBA: 31 Consecutive Seasons and Counting

    With Edmond Sumner playing 22 minutes last night for the Indiana Pacers, a former Xavier player has now checked into an NBA game for 31 consecutive seasons.

    This trend started on 11/7/1989 when Stan Kimbrough logged 1 minute for the Detroit Pistons vs the Chicago Bulls. A total of 16 former Musketeers have played in the league during this time.

    The most former Xavier players who played in the same season was 6. This was achieved in four separate seasons: ‘99-‘00, ‘00-‘01, ‘03-‘04, ‘04-‘05.

    Xavier Players in NBA By Season:
    1989-90: Stan Kimbrough
    1990-91: Tyrone Hill
    1991-92: Hill, Derek Strong
    1992-93: Kimbrough, Hill, Strong
    1993-94: Hill, Strong, Aaron Williams
    1994-95: Hill, Strong, Williams, Brian Grant
    1995-96: Hill, Strong, Grant, Larry Sykes
    1996-97: Hill, Strong, Williams, Grant, Michael Hawkins
    1997-98: Hill, Strong, Williams, Grant, Hawkins
    1998-99: Hill, Strong, Williams, Grant, Hawkins
    1999-00: Hill, Strong, Williams, Grant, Hawkins, James Posey
    2000-01: Hill, Strong, Williams, Grant, Hawkins, Posey
    2001-02: Hill, Williams, Grant, Posey
    2002-03: Hill, Williams, Grant, Posey
    2003-04: Hill, Williams, Grant, Posey, David West, Torray Braggs
    2004-05: Williams, Grant, Posey, West, Braggs, Lionel Chalmers
    2005-06: Williams, Grant, Posey, West
    2006-07: Williams, Posey, West
    2007-08: Williams, Posey, West
    2008-09: Posey, West
    2009-10: Posey, West, Derrick Brown
    2010-11: Posey, West, Brown, Jordan Crawford
    2011-12: West, Brown, Crawford
    2012-13: West, Crawford
    2013-14: West, Crawford
    2014-15: West
    2015-16: West
    2016-17: West, Crawford, Semaj Criston
    2017-18: West, Crawford, Edmond Sumner
    2018-19: Sumner, JP Macura
    2019-20: Sumner (so far)

    I hope Macura and Bluiett get to add to this year’s total at some point this season.

    Regardless, great job former Muskies!

  2. #2
    Supporting Member GoMuskies's Avatar
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    Cool list. The one most surprising to me is Michael Hawkins. I didn't realize he had such a lengthy NBA career, even if it only totaled 75 games, about 650 minutes and 135 points. To play in parts of 4 separate NBA season is impressive (you have him listed for 5, but he didn't appear in the NBA in 1997-98). Also kind of funny that as our conference situation has improved, our NBA presence has declined. Peak Xavier NBA was with MCC players. Second best Xavier NBA was with A-10 players. The worst Xavier NBA (so far) has been with Big East players.

  3. #3
    Supporting Member paulxu's Avatar
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    I don't know if this necessarily applies to X, but in the "old" days, most of the guys stayed around for 4 years and developed.
    In today's world, so many players are leaving school early, and only a few get picked up. The rest are in the D league, or go overseas to make money.
    ...he went up late, and I was already up there.

  4. #4
    Junior sirthought's Avatar
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    I agree that it's interesting the Big East versions of X players haven't been as successful at getting a contract in the league. The NBA was really different when Tyrone Hill and Derek Strong were drafted, so perhaps we just had luck at recruiting players that could be developed to fill a niche. Today's NBA players seem to require either a super specialization (3pt specialist, defensive lockdown) or be pretty good at absolutely everything.

    i know Romain Sato was on the Spurs roster more than once, and I thought he had made it into a game, but maybe that was preseason. I've often wondered about players who have done well abroad and if their NBA teams just gave up on them too soon. Sato could have done well in this NBA, I believe. I also think Derick Brown playing for Larry Brown in a time when the NBA was really transitioning to today's style was about the worst landing spot for him. I still think he should have stayed at X another year, where the team would have had a real final four shot with him on it. Sigh.
    Last edited by sirthought; 10-26-2019 at 02:46 AM.

  5. #5
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    The NBA is a different league now vs then. The game used to run through true big men. Not like that any more. You didn't have to be ultra-athletic, you just had to be very skilled.

    Players like Tyrone Hill and Derek Strong would have a hard time making the league today.

  6. #6
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    As much as I miss lunchpail guys like Hill and Grant, the NBA is such a better game than it was in the 80s and 90s.

    At least the good NBA. The bad NBA is still bad (and also still populated by athletic marvels)

  7. #7
    Sophomore jhelmes37's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by drudy23 View Post
    The NBA is a different league now vs then. The game used to run through true big men. Not like that any more. You didn't have to be ultra-athletic, you just had to be very skilled.

    Players like Tyrone Hill and Derek Strong would have a hard time making the league today.
    Considering he's in the BE, Tyrique is every bit as talented as Hill and Strong. Nobody expects Tyrique to make the league and Hill/Strong had 10+ year careers...

    Very different league now.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by jhelmes37 View Post
    Considering he's in the BE, Tyrique is every bit as talented as Hill and Strong. Nobody expects Tyrique to make the league and Hill/Strong had 10+ year careers...

    Very different league now.
    I am not sure abut that comparison.
    Maybe if Tyrique played in a mid major, his numbers would be greatly inflated and more attention would he get.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by jhelmes37 View Post
    Considering he's in the BE, Tyrique is every bit as talented as Hill and Strong. Nobody expects Tyrique to make the league and Hill/Strong had 10+ year careers...

    Very different league now.
    I don't know about that. The BE is a step up, but I still think that's a stretch.

  10. #10
    Supporting Member noteggs's Avatar
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    Sure Hill and Strong may not have had a 10 year career in today’s game, but all it’s relative to their time. Probably 80% to 85% of the players back then would be in the same boat.

    I agree with GO, it’s wild we had more pro players in weaker leagues. Especially the number of top 100 recruits we’ve gotten over last ten years. I guess it was easier back then finding diamonds in the rough (aka Brian Grant) when we didn’t have the 247 recruiting sites of the world and AAU taking over high school basketball.

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