Lavender makes impression
BY DUSTIN DOW | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER
He passed; he scored; he even pulled down a rebound. But most importantly, he was there - on the Cintas Center court Wednesday in a Xavier uniform.
Perhaps no Musketeers player had been talked about by Xavier fans - and coaches - with as much anticipation during the previous year and a half as point guard Drew Lavender, who transferred to Xavier from Oklahoma in the summer of 2005 but had to sit out last season because of NCAA transfer rules.
"I'd been practicing so long and feeling like I should be out there," Lavender said. "It was real hard for me just to practice and tough when they lost in games last season when our point guard didn't play too good. I just felt like being out there on the court, I could help this team out."
Even when Xavier was wrapping up 2005-06 by winning an Atlantic 10 championship and advancing to the NCAA Tournament, Lavender was portrayed inside and outside the program as the point guard of the future.
That future arrived Wednesday night at Cintas Center when Lavender - all 5-feet-7 of him - started his first game in an 82-58 victory against Division II Tusculum College in front of 8,516. Lavender finished with 14 points and six assists.He was never more impressive than during a one-minute stretch in the first half when he either scored or set up nine straight fast-break points with his passing, repeatedly finding freshman Derrick Brown in the open court.
It was merely an exhibition, but it was the kind of performance Xavier coach Sean Miller has been yearning for from the point guard position.
"I don't know if there's a more important position in college basketball than the point guard, and I like our point guard," Miller said last week. "I really do."
An accomplished point guard at Pittsburgh from 1988-92, Miller tolerated Xavier's point guard play by Dedrick Finn from 2004-06 because he had to until he dismissed Finn from the team near the end of last season.
Freshman Johnny Wolf stepped in and helped guide Xavier. But all along, it was made clear that the role would belong to Lavender as soon as he became eligible this season.
"We're going to be running a lot, and he's perfect for that," Wolf said. "He's going to really help this team."
Small as he is, Lavender doesn't look like much of a threat with the basketball - that is, until he starts dribbling it, weaving and driving his way through the defense. So dominant was this style in high school that he earned a spot on the McDonald's All-America team coming out of Columbus Brookhaven.
He was productive in two seasons at Oklahoma but less than happy in former Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson's system. Xavier beckoned as a major program close to his family and friends in Columbus. And fitting in at XU was easy.
"The guys heard of me before," Lavender said. "I think when I came here, the respect was here already, them hearing about I'm a McDonald's All-American and everything."
Though they've yet to play a regular-season game with him, his XU teammates have come to appreciate what Lavender's presence might mean.
"I feel like things are going to be a whole lot easier this year because I'm playing with the best point guard in our conference," said junior shooting guard Stanley Burrell.
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