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We continue our season preview coverage with Old Dominion JR SG Xavier Green. It has been quite an eventful 6 months for Xavier: conference All-Defensive team, conference tourney MVP, and named a team captain for the season ahead. He hopes to keep it going this year after his team graduated its top-2 scorers from last year. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Xavier about making the NCAA tourney and being a leader.
You grew up in Virginia: what made you choose ODU? It was close to home and I wanted my mom to be able to come see my games, which she was unable to do very much while I was in high school. I had a good connection with the players and thought that I could do something good here.
You play for Coach Jeff Jones: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? He is very defensive-oriented. I did not like the offense at 1st because I could not create as well but he has helped me change my game.
You appeared in 31 games as a freshman: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? I redshirted during my 1st year but I knew that if I played defense I would get onto the court, and then my offensive game started picking up.
Last year you led the team with 40.6 3P% and were also named to the conference All-Defensive Team: how do you balance your offense with your defense? I knew that I had to be more aggressive. I like to stop people on defense but am still learning how to balance the offense more. I had a little more help last year but might have to take on more of the scoring load this year.
In the 2019 conference tourney you made a 3-PT play with 4 seconds left in a 2-PT win over UAB and scored 16 PTS (including 9 in a row during the 2nd half) in a 6-PT win over Western Kentucky en route to being named tourney MVP: how were you able to play your best when it mattered the most, and what was the reaction like when you got back to campus? I was really dialed in leading up to the conference tourney and studied a lot of film. I wanted to do whatever I could do to help my team win, which included some meditation. There was a lot of joy/excitement when we got back and I even heard from some people who I had not heard from in a long time.
In the 2019 NCAA tourney you scored 7 PTS in a loss to Purdue: what did you learn from that loss that will help you this year? I will definitely be less nervous this year and will not get into foul trouble in the 1st half. You have to stay in the moment and just play your game rather than get caught up in the hype.
Your non-conference schedule includes games against Illinois/VCU and 1 of Washington State/Nebraska: which of these games do you feel will present your biggest test? Definitely that VCU game: it is a rivalry game and they always have a great team. Illinois is also a big game since they are a high D-1 school.
You and Aaron Carver were named co-captains during the offseason: what is the key to being a good leader? We have a lot of younger guys so we have to lead by example: the key is to always work hard.
You graduated your top-2 scorers from last year (Ahmad Caver/BJ Stith): how will you try to replace all of that offense? We are a more balanced team this year who can get multiple guys into double-digits. Marquis Godwin was out last year so we are looking for him to step up this year, and AJ Oliver who transferred in from Clemson will also be a good addition for us.
What are your goals for the upcoming season, and what are your expectations for the upcoming season? I am really looking to dominate. I think that we can win CUSA again and then make some noise in the NCAA tourney.