Xavier in the NBA: 31 Consecutive Seasons and Counting

[Blue Blooded-05]

With Edmond Sumner playing 22 minutes last night for the Indiana Pacers, a former Xavier player has now checked into an NBA game for 31 consecutive seasons.

This trend started on 11/7/1989 when Stan Kimbrough logged 1 minute for the Detroit Pistons vs the Chicago Bulls. A total of 16 former Musketeers have played in the league during this time.

The most former Xavier players who played in the same season was 6. This was achieved in four separate seasons: ‘99-‘00, ‘00-‘01, ‘03-‘04, ‘04-‘05.

Xavier Players in NBA By Season:
1989-90: Stan Kimbrough
1990-91: Tyrone Hill
1991-92: Hill, Derek Strong
1992-93: Kimbrough, Hill, Strong
1993-94: Hill, Strong, Aaron Williams
1994-95: Hill, Strong, Williams, Brian Grant
1995-96: Hill, Strong, Grant, Larry Sykes
1996-97: Hill, Strong, Williams, Grant, Michael Hawkins
1997-98: Hill, Strong, Williams, Grant, Hawkins
1998-99: Hill, Strong, Williams, Grant, Hawkins
1999-00: Hill, Strong, Williams, Grant, Hawkins, James Posey
2000-01: Hill, Strong, Williams, Grant, Hawkins, Posey
2001-02: Hill, Williams, Grant, Posey
2002-03: Hill, Williams, Grant, Posey
2003-04: Hill, Williams, Grant, Posey, David West, Torray Braggs
2004-05: Williams, Grant, Posey, West, Braggs, Lionel Chalmers
2005-06: Williams, Grant, Posey, West
2006-07: Williams, Posey, West
2007-08: Williams, Posey, West
2008-09: Posey, West
2009-10: Posey, West, Derrick Brown
2010-11: Posey, West, Brown, Jordan Crawford
2011-12: West, Brown, Crawford
2012-13: West, Crawford
2013-14: West, Crawford
2014-15: West
2015-16: West
2016-17: West, Crawford, Semaj Criston
2017-18: West, Crawford, Edmond Sumner
2018-19: Sumner, JP Macura
2019-20: Sumner (so far)

I hope Macura and Bluiett get to add to this year’s total at some point this season.

Regardless, great job former Muskies!

[GoMuskies]

Cool list. The one most surprising to me is Michael Hawkins. I didn't realize he had such a lengthy NBA career, even if it only totaled 75 games, about 650 minutes and 135 points. To play in parts of 4 separate NBA season is impressive (you have him listed for 5, but he didn't appear in the NBA in 1997-98). Also kind of funny that as our conference situation has improved, our NBA presence has declined. Peak Xavier NBA was with MCC players. Second best Xavier NBA was with A-10 players. The worst Xavier NBA (so far) has been with Big East players.

[paulxu]

I don't know if this necessarily applies to X, but in the "old" days, most of the guys stayed around for 4 years and developed.
In today's world, so many players are leaving school early, and only a few get picked up. The rest are in the D league, or go overseas to make money.

[sirthought]

I agree that it's interesting the Big East versions of X players haven't been as successful at getting a contract in the league. The NBA was really different when Tyrone Hill and Derek Strong were drafted, so perhaps we just had luck at recruiting players that could be developed to fill a niche. Today's NBA players seem to require either a super specialization (3pt specialist, defensive lockdown) or be pretty good at absolutely everything.

i know Romain Sato was on the Spurs roster more than once, and I thought he had made it into a game, but maybe that was preseason. I've often wondered about players who have done well abroad and if their NBA teams just gave up on them too soon. Sato could have done well in this NBA, I believe. I also think Derick Brown playing for Larry Brown in a time when the NBA was really transitioning to today's style was about the worst landing spot for him. I still think he should have stayed at X another year, where the team would have had a real final four shot with him on it. Sigh.

[drudy23]

The NBA is a different league now vs then. The game used to run through true big men. Not like that any more. You didn't have to be ultra-athletic, you just had to be very skilled.

Players like Tyrone Hill and Derek Strong would have a hard time making the league today.

[smileyy]

As much as I miss lunchpail guys like Hill and Grant, the NBA is such a better game than it was in the 80s and 90s.

At least the good NBA. The bad NBA is still bad (and also still populated by athletic marvels)

[jhelmes37]

The NBA is a different league now vs then. The game used to run through true big men. Not like that any more. You didn't have to be ultra-athletic, you just had to be very skilled.

Players like Tyrone Hill and Derek Strong would have a hard time making the league today.

Considering he's in the BE, Tyrique is every bit as talented as Hill and Strong. Nobody expects Tyrique to make the league and Hill/Strong had 10+ year careers...

Very different league now.

[xukeith]

Considering he's in the BE, Tyrique is every bit as talented as Hill and Strong. Nobody expects Tyrique to make the league and Hill/Strong had 10+ year careers...

Very different league now.

I am not sure abut that comparison.
Maybe if Tyrique played in a mid major, his numbers would be greatly inflated and more attention would he get.

[scoscox]

Considering he's in the BE, Tyrique is every bit as talented as Hill and Strong. Nobody expects Tyrique to make the league and Hill/Strong had 10+ year careers...

Very different league now.

I don't know about that. The BE is a step up, but I still think that's a stretch.

[noteggs]

Sure Hill and Strong may not have had a 10 year career in today’s game, but all it’s relative to their time. Probably 80% to 85% of the players back then would be in the same boat.

I agree with GO, it’s wild we had more pro players in weaker leagues. Especially the number of top 100 recruits we’ve gotten over last ten years. I guess it was easier back then finding diamonds in the rough (aka Brian Grant) when we didn’t have the 247 recruiting sites of the world and AAU taking over high school basketball.

[xukeith]

Sure Hill and Strong may not have had a 10 year career in today’s game, but all it’s relative to their time. Probably 80% to 85% of the players back then would be in the same boat.

I agree with GO, it’s wild we had more pro players in weaker leagues. Especially the number of top 100 recruits we’ve gotten over last ten years. I guess it was easier back then finding diamonds in the rough (aka Brian Grant) when we didn’t have the 247 recruiting sites of the world and AAU taking over high school basketball.

Yes. When X was in MCC, they outrecruited every other MCC team. In A10 X outrecruited every other team. Now in BE, X is doing a fair job in getting top 100 players but so are Villanova (top 50), Creighton, Marquette and Butler.

[Blue Blooded-05]

Thought I’d update and bump this one back up...

A former Xavier player has now checked into an NBA game for 32 consecutive seasons.

This trend started on 11/7/1989 when Stan Kimbrough checked in for the Detroit Pistons vs the Chicago Bulls. A total of 17 former Musketeers have played in the league during this time.

The most former Xavier players who played in the same season was 6. This was achieved in four separate seasons: ‘99-‘00, ‘00-‘01, ‘03-‘04, ‘04-‘05.

Xavier Players in NBA By Season:
1989-90: Stan Kimbrough
1990-91: Tyrone Hill
1991-92: Hill, Derek Strong
1992-93: Kimbrough, Hill, Strong
1993-94: Hill, Strong, Aaron Williams
1994-95: Hill, Strong, Williams, Brian Grant
1995-96: Hill, Strong, Grant, Larry Sykes
1996-97: Hill, Strong, Williams, Grant, Michael Hawkins
1997-98: Hill, Strong, Williams, Grant
1998-99: Hill, Strong, Williams, Grant, Hawkins
1999-00: Hill, Strong, Williams, Grant, Hawkins, James Posey
2000-01: Hill, Strong, Williams, Grant, Hawkins, Posey
2001-02: Hill, Williams, Grant, Posey
2002-03: Hill, Williams, Grant, Posey
2003-04: Hill, Williams, Grant, Posey, David West, Torray Braggs
2004-05: Williams, Grant, Posey, West, Braggs, Lionel Chalmers
2005-06: Williams, Grant, Posey, West
2006-07: Williams, Posey, West
2007-08: Williams, Posey, West
2008-09: Posey, West
2009-10: Posey, West, Derrick Brown
2010-11: Posey, West, Brown, Jordan Crawford
2011-12: West, Brown, Crawford
2012-13: West, Crawford
2013-14: West, Crawford
2014-15: West
2015-16: West
2016-17: West, Crawford, Semaj Criston
2017-18: West, Crawford, Edmond Sumner
2018-19: Sumner, JP Macura
2019-20: Sumner, Macura
2020-21: Sumner, Naji Marshall

I was always surprised Sato never caught on with an NBA team. He had the size, athleticism, hops, shooting ability and played great defense.

Still hoping Bluiett and Macura get another look.

Great job former Muskies!!

[Xavier]

I remember Sato was rated the number 1 oversees player at one point. I looked into it at the time and NBA teams were interested but Sato was making a lot of money and he only had interest in NBA if they would guarantee a certain amount of playing time. It was something like that and it is why he never signed in the NBA.

I was pretty young at the time so I may have read stuff incorrectly but that is how I remember it.

[Xville]

When you think of Naji and Sumner vs JP and Tre...you start to understand why those two have stuck in the nba and the other two most likely won't. Not a knock on JP or Tre by any means (can't suddenly become an elite athlete), but Naji and Sumner are athletic freaks which is about everyone in the NBA. You either have to be an athletic freak, or be elite at something to stick.

[Xville]

I remember Sato was rated the number 1 oversees player at one point. I looked into it at the time and NBA teams were interested but Sato was making a lot of money and he only had interest in NBA if they would guarantee a certain amount of playing time. It was something like that and it is why he never signed in the NBA.

I was pretty young at the time so I may have read stuff incorrectly but that is how I remember it.

Makes sense...and I don't know Sato but I am just assuming that given his background, he was probably pretty comfortable playing in Europe especially with his ability to speak so many languages. He probably didn't have as big of a pull to play in the NBA as some others who grew up in the US, as long as he was making good money where he was at.

[drudy23]

Slightly different topic - do any former Xavier players play in Israel? Saw a video a couple days ago of teams having to take shelter during their game as air raid sirens went off.

Some of the videos of the missiles and the defense system are pretty insane.

[Blue Blooded-05]

I remember Sato was rated the number 1 oversees player at one point. I looked into it at the time and NBA teams were interested but Sato was making a lot of money and he only had interest in NBA if they would guarantee a certain amount of playing time. It was something like that and it is why he never signed in the NBA.

I was pretty young at the time so I may have read stuff incorrectly but that is how I remember it.

I could also be misremembering this, but I remember he was drafted by the Spurs and they controlled his rights for a number of years. This was during their Duncan/Parker/Ganobli dynasty, so he was essentially being blackballed by the best team in the NBA.

Obviously I’m biased toward Romaine and I’m sure it wasn’t as malicious as I’m making it sound. I wonder if he just got comfortable and enjoyed the closer proximity to his family in Central African Republic.

Would have loved to see what he could have done in the league, though.

[SM#24]

Thought I’d update and bump this one back up...

A former Xavier player has now checked into an NBA game for 32 consecutive seasons.

This trend started on 11/7/1989 when Stan Kimbrough checked in for the Detroit Pistons vs the Chicago Bulls. A total of 17 former Musketeers have played in the league during this time.

The most former Xavier players who played in the same season was 6. This was achieved in four separate seasons: ‘99-‘00, ‘00-‘01, ‘03-‘04, ‘04-‘05.

Xavier Players in NBA By Season:
1989-90: Stan Kimbrough
1990-91: Tyrone Hill
1991-92: Hill, Derek Strong
1992-93: Kimbrough, Hill, Strong
1993-94: Hill, Strong, Aaron Williams
1994-95: Hill, Strong, Williams, Brian Grant
1995-96: Hill, Strong, Grant, Larry Sykes
1996-97: Hill, Strong, Williams, Grant, Michael Hawkins
1997-98: Hill, Strong, Williams, Grant
1998-99: Hill, Strong, Williams, Grant, Hawkins
1999-00: Hill, Strong, Williams, Grant, Hawkins, James Posey
2000-01: Hill, Strong, Williams, Grant, Hawkins, Posey
2001-02: Hill, Williams, Grant, Posey
2002-03: Hill, Williams, Grant, Posey
2003-04: Hill, Williams, Grant, Posey, David West, Torray Braggs
2004-05: Williams, Grant, Posey, West, Braggs, Lionel Chalmers
2005-06: Williams, Grant, Posey, West
2006-07: Williams, Posey, West
2007-08: Williams, Posey, West
2008-09: Posey, West
2009-10: Posey, West, Derrick Brown
2010-11: Posey, West, Brown, Jordan Crawford
2011-12: West, Brown, Crawford
2012-13: West, Crawford
2013-14: West, Crawford
2014-15: West
2015-16: West
2016-17: West, Crawford, Semaj Criston
2017-18: West, Crawford, Edmond Sumner
2018-19: Sumner, JP Macura
2019-20: Sumner
2020-21: Sumner, Naji Marshall

I was always surprised Sato never caught on with an NBA team. He had the size, athleticism, hops, shooting ability and played great defense.

Still hoping Bluiett and Macura get another look.

Great job former Muskies!!

JP did get in one game with the Cavs last year (2019-20).

[Blue Blooded-05]

JP did get in one game with the Cavs last year (2019-20).

Updated. Thanks!

[MADXSTER]

Josh Doellmann was the MVP, best player and the highest paid player in Europe for, I believe, 3 straight years. He could've paid in the NBA but was doing just fine. Believe he is back home in NKY with his family.

[SC in DC]

I always thought of Doellman as a poor mans (but not too poor) G Haywood. He had high Bball IQ, decent shot, good passer etc.
Might not have had as good a career but I thought he was comparable.

[jhelmes37]

I always thought of Doellman as a poor mans (but not too poor) G Haywood. He had high Bball IQ, decent shot, good passer etc.
Might not have had as good a career but I thought he was comparable.

Odell man made plenty of money and had a long career overseas. Maybe not Haywood but he’s likely set for life from basketball.

[jhelmes37]

Odell man made plenty of money and had a long career overseas. Maybe not Haywood but he’s likely set for life from basketball.

*Doellman. Odell was a weird auto correct....

[XUBison]

Odell was such a stud.

[xukeith]

Josh Doellmann was the MVP, best player and the highest paid player in Europe for, I believe, 3 straight years. He could've paid in the NBA but was doing just fine. Believe he is back home in NKY with his family.

Maybe.
The market says he couldn't because he never did. He might have been a role player of the bench.

[MADXSTER]

Maybe.
The market says he couldn't because he never did. He might have been a role player of the bench.

Thanks for being so definitive.

[whopper]

Naj spoken highly of last night by David Griffin GM of Pelicans. Said he has Covid so unable to practice and cost him early but they are very pleased at what he has done (shockingly good if you were not a Naj fan). Good for him and i know there were some issues but his effort and effectiveness was excellent for X.

[joe titan]

Considering he's in the BE, Tyrique is every bit as talented as Hill and Strong. Nobody expects Tyrique to make the league and Hill/Strong had 10+ year careers...

Very different league now.

Under no circumstances can Tyrique Jones be considered of equal talent as Hill & Strong.

[XUBison]

Under no circumstances can Tyrique Jones be considered of equal talent as Hill & Strong.

Correct.

[whopper]

you may be right..Tyrique was limited and I remember Hill and Strong. However Kevin Garnett has an interesting take. He wonders if his generation could compete in today's NBA https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/02/08/magazine/kevin-garnett-interview.html

[smileyy]

Garnett would be just fine. "Lunch pail" guys like Hill and Grant not so much.

Then again if they developed today, they'd develop more relevant skills.