Xavier men’s basketball staff, 2 student-athletes receive preseason honors

The Xavier Musketeer men's basketball coaches and staff and a pair of key players are among those receiving high honors in The Almanac, the annual college basketball season preview produced by The Field of 68 staff that comes out this week.
 
Xavier sophomore guard Desmond Claude earned a spot on the BIG EAST Conference Second Team, while senior guard Dayvion McKnight was named BIG EAST Preseason Newcomer of the Year.

A panel of anonymous BIG EAST coaches also tabbed McKnight as a breakout star and named Sean Miller and his staff the best development staff in the league. (Editor’s note: Miller’s staff includes former McClain High School and XU standout Dante Jackson, who is in his sixth year as an assistant coach.)
 
Claude, who was selected to the 2023 BIG EAST All-Freshman Team by the league coaches, played a more and more significant role on XU's veteran team as the season progressed. Three of Claude's five double-figure scoring games came in the last five games of the season, including 11 points in the NCAA Second Round win over Pittsburgh.
 
McKnight, who transferred to Xavier from Western Kentucky, earned All-Conference USA honors each of the last three seasons. He ranked fifth in C-USA in scoring last season at 16.5 ppg., seventh in in assists at 3.8 apg., sixth in in steals at 1.9 spg. and 20th in rebounds at 5.0 rpg.
 
The Almanac goes live Wednesday morning.