2000-01 record: 21-8; 12-4 in A-10 (2nd) Final Ranking: NR Postseason: Lost to Notre Dame 83-71 in first round of NCAA Tournament RETURNING LEADERS Points: West 17.8 ppg | Rebounds: West 10.9 rpg | Assists: West 2.0 apg | FG %: West 55.1% | 3pt %: Sato 37.4% | FT %: Frey 77.0% 00-01 Stats: Xavier | A-10

		Tuesday, Oct. 30 The single biggest key for Xavier will be frontcourt health and whistles. The Musketeers can be Top 25 good, with a fine young coach, conference player of the year candidate in David West, and a kick-tail attitude. However, there is not a lot of depth up front, and if fouls or injury takes West or Kevin Frey out of games, Xavier will be vulnerable.

Outlook
Poor Thad Matta. The new coach at Xavier faces a massive overhaul ... sorry. Wrong team. Xavier isn't lousy, it's loaded.

Matta landed a plum job for more reasons than Xavier's reputation and conference affiliation. He landed a plum job because the Musketeers ought to be good for the kind of season former coach Skip Prosser turned in almost every year before he left for Wake Forest -- namely, 20-plus wins and a spot in the NCAA tournament.

The best player on the team, and probably the entire conference, returns in 6-foot-8 junior center David West. He was named the league's Player of the Year last season for averaging 17.8 points and 10.9 rebounds. West led the league in rebounding, field-goal shooting (55.1 percent) and double-doubles (20).

Along with West, Xavier has back two solid-scoring starters, 6-4 sophomore guard Romain Sato (10.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and 6-8 senior forward Kevin Frey (11.4 ppg, 6.3 rpg). Sato hit a school-record eight 3-pointers in a 31-point outburst against Rhode Island, and tied the school freshman record with 16 rebounds against Samford.

The team must replace a nice all-around point guard in Maurice McAfee, but Lionel Chalmers is ready to go. The 6-foot junior averaged 8.9 points last season.

The Musketeers' newcomers include Keith Jackson, a 6-5 wing who could see considerable minutes right away, and 6-10 Anthony Coleman, who redshirted last season while dealing with a growth spurt that saw him grow nearly 13 inches since high school.

What we like: West is the kind of player Matta can build his program around, although the foundation already was in place when Prosser left. Frey, Sato and Chalmers form a very good supporting cast, and Jackson is a talent.

What we don't like: Depth could become an issue, unless a lot of players who didn't contribute much last season -- say, 6-4 junior Dave Young or 6-3 senior Alvin Brown -- earn more minutes.

The bottom line: What does Xavier do every year? About 20 wins and a postseason appearance? That'll happen again.

Key Players Returning
Player	Yr.	Pos.	Ht./Wt.	Comment
Lionel Chalmers	Jr.	G	6-0/175	PTS: 8.9 | REB: 2.2 | AST: 1.9
Kevin Frey	Sr.	F	6-8/230	PTS: 11.4 | REB: 6.3 | AST: 1.2
Romain Sato	So.	G	6-5/195	PTS: 10.7 | REB: 5.4 | AST: 1.4
David West	Jr.	F	6-8/225	PTS: 17.8 | REB: 10.9 | AST: 2.0

Key Losses
Player	Pos.	Ht./Wt.	Comment
Maurice McAfee	G	6-0/175	PTS: 9.6 | REB: 2.7 | AST: 4.8
Lloyd Price	G	6-5/200	PTS: 9.2 | REB: 4.4 | AST: 1.6

Xavier Signings
Player	Pos.	Ht.	High School/College
Keith Jackson	F	6-5	Cincinnati/Purcell Marian H.S.
Will Caudle	F	6-9	Indianapolis/Warren Central H.S.
Jaison Williams	G	6-3	Aurora/Hinkley H.S. (Colo.)