XU: My five favorite Musketeers
These are my five favorite players that I watched. I've listed them in no particular order.
Byron Larkin (1985-88): The Man. His time at XU matched my time at Butler. I was one of the radio voices of Butler basketball at our student station (WAJC). I called many Xavier-Butler matchups. Having grown up in Cincinnati I was fully aware of the Larkin name. Byron was so smooth on the court. I called a classic M.C.C. tournament game at Market Square Arena that XU won 104-98 in 1987. My friends would get on me for gushing over Larkin on the air during games. He averaged 17.0 points a game as a freshman, then 21.8, 24.8 and 25.3! His career total of 2,696 will never be touched.
Gary Massa (1978-81): He makes the list because I'll never forget him hitting the shot to beat Tennessee to win the 1978 Volunteer Classic when I was 12 years old at the time. He was a co-captain, MVP and member of the 1,000 Point Club. He started all four seasons. I believe he was the first Xavier basketball player ever to be named all-league. It was a shame he was injured most of his senior year. He was a member of Xavier's first league championship team and named the MCC's top student-athlete.
David West (2000-2003): Just a warrior. What a leader. What a presence on the court. He got better each year and eventually was the best player in college basketball. I witnessed first hand his 47 point effort vs Dayton in February of 2003.
J.P. Macura (2015-2018): I loved the fire and desire. I always thought of him as a combination of Dennis 'The Menace' and Shaggy from Scooby Doo. He fed off being disliked. Was he prone to launch an ill-advised shot every now and then? Sure. But I just loved watching him play and interact with opponents on the court.
Trevon Bluiett (2015-2018): I appreciated how he reshaped his body and improved his play over four seasons. He could score it, pass it and rebound it. The dude could flat out score. He finished with 2,261 career points, 2nd most in program history.
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