Xavier basketball notebook: A new season and the second Sean Miller era begins
The first week of fall practice is in the books for Xavier's men's basketball team. It started with an unexpected wrinkle on the first day of practice when senior forward Zach Freemantle was suspended from all team activities indefinitely.
Sources said the suspension is something Freemantle will have the chance to work his way back from.
The other 11 scholarship players on Xavier's roster all participated in the first week of practice.
Practices were uptempo and competitive. Sean Miller's practice style puts an emphasis on his team being able to think while tired. For as fast-paced as practices were during the first week, Miller also spends a lot of time teaching and talking through the ideas and principles of his system.
Jack Nunge started the season with the gold practice jersey and after the first week, Nunge earned the gold jersey again for week two.
More:10 thoughts on Xavier basketball ahead of the 2022-23 season
Coaching staff announcements
Xavier made three coaching staff announcements last week.
Ryan Reynolds got a title change from the director of basketball operations to special assistant to the head coach.
Cam Miller, Sean's son, was named the director of operations. Cam spent last season at Saint Mary's as a graduate assistant coach.
The third position was former Xavier star BJ Raymond, who announced over the summer during TBT that he was coaching at Xavier. Raymond will serve as Xavier's graduate program manager.
Adam Kunkel, Dieonte Miles basketball camp
Xavier teammates Adam Kunkel and Dieonte Miles are hosting a kid's basketball camp on Monday, Oct. 10 at Cooper High School.
Kunkel's a Cooper alum. Miles is also a Northern Kentucky product from Walton-Verona High School.
There will be two sessions, one for younger kids (ages 5 to 9) that runs from 10 a.m. to noon, followed by a session for ages 10 to 16 from 12:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
There will be opportunities for autographs and pictures.
Those interested can register here.
Kam Craft launches NFT trading card
Xavier freshman Kam Craft hasn't wasted any time capitalizing on Name, Image and Likeness opportunities. Student-athletes have that chance after last year when the NCAA adopted a new policy.
Craft recently partnered with VerifiedInk, a NIL platform that allows high school and college student-athletes to design, mint and sell their own NFT trading card. An NFT, or non-fungible token, is a digital asset that links ownership to a unique asset.
Craft's first NFT trading card went up for sale last week, giving Xavier fans the chance to purchase his digital memorabilia. According to VerifiedInk, 80% of sales go directly to Craft.
Musketeer Madness
The public's first chance to see Xavier's team will be on Oct. 21, at Musketeer Madness.
The free event opens with a fan fest at 5 p.m. on the plaza in front of Cintas Center. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the men's and women's basketball teams get introduced at 6:30 p.m.
The event will focus on blue-white scrimmages for both teams.
Coming soon
There will be a lot of preseason stories on Cincinnati.com. In the near future, keep an eye out for a feature on freshman point guard Desmond Claude, a man of many talents.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Xavier basketball new season and second Sean Miller era begin
