Semaj Christon to enter NBA draft

[HoosierPal]

Jeff Goodman ‏@GoodmanESPN 6m
Xavier sophomore guard Semaj Christon told ESPN he is heading to the NBA. Story coming.

F. Big East can't get a break. Semaj comes back, X is easily a ranked team next year.

The majority of the NBA Draft sites have him as a late first rounder. That means a guaranteed contract.

[Jet915]

Jeff Goodman ‏@GoodmanESPN 6m
Xavier sophomore guard Semaj Christon told ESPN he is heading to the NBA. Story coming.

F. Big East can't get a break. Semaj comes back, X is easily a ranked team next year.

The majority of the NBA Draft sites have him as a late first rounder. That means a guaranteed contract.

Late 1st round is a tenuous position.

[XBand15]

Hopefully this works out best for him. I would have loved to had him back for another year but he has to do what is best for his family.
*walks over to bar and picks up bottle of whiskey*

[TheHall]

Didn't X just put together its best recruiting class ever...stop being greedy early departures are standard in the modern cbb landscape.

[xsteve1]

Didn't X just put together its best recruiting class ever...stop being greedy early departures are standard in the modern cbb landscape.

Not sure anybody's being greedy. Most X fans are happy for Semaj. Having guys leave early actually helps recruiting. Especially if you want to recruit high 4 star and 5 star recruits.

[TheHall]

Didn't X just put together its best recruiting class ever...stop being greedy early departures are standard in the modern cbb landscape.

Not sure anybody's being greedy. Most X fans are happy for Semaj. Having guys leave early actually helps recruiting. Especially if you want to recruit high 4 star and 5 star recruits.

Chill just a figure of speech, like don't loose sleep over Semaj taking his talents to the NBA. Every conference is dealing with teams losing players of SC's caliber, which levels the playing field some IMO. But I agree totally that it helps recruiting in the medium to long term, especially is SC makes noise in the league.

[Randy]

I know nothing about his personal financial situation, so that may be a major factor.

For a basketball only perspective, this is a terrible decision. He is not a first round lock in an absolutely loaded draft. Should add bulk to that frame and move way up into the first round of the 2015 draft, imo.

First off, yes I believe his family financial situation played a factor.

Second, I don't agree that it is a terrible decision in any way. Add bulk? H'es already pretty ripped compared to what he was as a freshmen, definitely not a stick or at the level that it would keep him from getting drafted. The "loaded draft" really is a pretty normal draft after the first 8 or so picks, so while next year may be weaker at the top, there is no guarantee it really helps him any since his ceiling may probably still be around the 10-12 mark. There are also zero guarantees when coming back. Xavier fans saw a fringe first round prospect (at least a 2nd round pick at minimum) in Tu Holloway come back and then not get drafted at all a few years back. Semaj's quickness and explosiveness with the ball is off the charts and I expect him to test/measure REALLY well at the combine. I would be really shocked if he is not a first round pick.

fair enough. However, i have seen multiple draft boards of him in mid second round territory.

[Xudash]

Just wait, in Goodman's story, he'll probably say Semaj decided to leave cause he hated the TV deal.

Now that's funny.

[muskienick]

And he will soon hire an agent.

As a Xavier fan, I would have loved to have him back for a third year, especially since the incoming class will provide the good shooters that we were sorely missing this season.

I believe that Xavier will still be among the top half of the Big East even with six players coming in who have never worn a Muskie uniform in a D-1 basketball game. Reynolds and Myles Davis will have had a year under their belts after sitting out an entire 2012-2013 year with absolutely no organized basketball training.

The team will have the advantage of traveling and playing overseas for a 10-day jaunt prior to the regular season. And, once the regular season starts, they will be participating in an exempt tourney in California against a slate of teams that could be be a little bit less challenging than the one they faced last season.

Don't anyone feel sorry for Xavier in 2014-2015! But our five freshmen (and junior transfer, Remy Abell) had better acclimate themselves to high-level D-1 college basketball without too much delay, especially on the defensive end of the floor. If Coach Mack can't consistently count on them on that end of the floor, the Muskies will lack the depth needed to finish among the top teams in the Big East and make some noise in "The Show." The speed, talent, shooting, and quickness seem to be there for the asking. But defense takes dedication, determination, and a slew of hard work. Those factors represent the big unknown for the Xavier Musketeers for the 2014-2015 season.

[Jet915]

Let's just hope Mack stays at Xavier.