Xavier and Travis Steele entered this season with a cupboard stripped beyond bare and an incoming class of exactly two players. While every new coach faces challenges in his first year, Steele faced the prospect of actually having to build a roster to then see what his challenges would be. To do that, Xavier hit the grad transfer market. Now, a season later, Zach Hankins has added himself to the list of Musketeer cult heroes, and Ryan Welage and Kyle Castlin each had moments where they kept a thin team afloat.
Next season, Steele won’t face quite the same hurdles.