The Xavier Falcons basketball team shocked the state last year, making a Cinderella-like run all the way to the state semifinals, where they would lose to the top seed and eventual champion, Hillhouse. This year, despite losing three key seniors in Lucas Hannen, James Sullivan, and Tim Boyle, the Falcons are very motivated and looking to turn some heads yet again. I got the opportunity to talk with four seniors on the team, Karl Sturm, Jeff Place, Joe McCormack, and Brandon MacPherson. All four have been in the program for four years, and offered me some insight into what the season might look like for those cheering in the stands.

Who will be the key players this season? What will the starting lineup look like and who will be some key guys off the bench?

Karl Sturm: Elijah Pemberton will be key. So will Brandon MacPherson and Thomas Jackson. The starting lineup will most likely be; Thomas at Point Guard, Pemba [Elijah Pemberton*] at Shooting Guard, MacPherson at Small Forward, Kaleb [Lutton] at Center with either me or Alex White at Power Forward. We are very deep this year off the bench, you can look for Alex White or myself at the big man spots off the bench, and watch for sophomores Evan Curtain and Kaleb Downing at the guards.

Jeff Place: This is all tentative, bro, but my best guesses are; starting lineup: Kaleb Lutton, Brandon McPherson, Thomas Jackson, Elijah Pemberton, and Karl Sturm. Key guys off the bench: Joe McCormack (if he doesn’t start), Alex White, and me.

Joe McCormack: The starters will probably be Thomas at Point Guard, Elijah at the Shooting Guard, Brandon playing the other wing and Karl and Kaleb playing the big men. Chris Mishler, John Haberski, maybe Jack Kane, and I will get time off the bench.

Brandon MacPherson: I don’t know for sure at this point.

*Editor’s note: Elijah Pemberton is a junior who will be serving as the team’s captain for the season.

What are some key games to watch for this season?

Karl: The season opener against Cheshire [December 18^th], both Fairfield Prep games, and Wilbur Cross, especially against them on senior night.

Jeff: Definitely games against Fairfield Prep, Wilbur Cross, and Hand. We play Ledyard in the Christmas tournament too, first round this year.

Joe: Prep is always good, and all of our division games are important.

Brandon: Probably the toughest team in our division, Fairfield Prep**. That will be a key game. Playing against the seven footer they have is a tough matchup. Another tough team we play is Wilbur Cross, who we went into triple over time with last year in the SCC tournament.

**Editor’s Note: Fairfield Prep’s 7 footer referred to by Brandon is Pascal Chukwu (7’1”), who verbally committed to Providence and is listed as one of ESPNU’s top 100 high school recruits.

What’s the team’s strength? Why is this a strong point and who are some of the standouts in this area?

Karl: Our natural scoring ability. We have three guys who can score at will; Pemba, B-Mac [Brandon], and Jackson. But the whole team is committed to defense this year, which will make that a strong point for us.

Jeff: Our team strengths are our speed and ability to run the floor. We are not as big this year, but everyone is well conditioned, making it possible for a quick transition from defense to offense. Elijah, Thomas, Kaleb [Lutton], Brandon, and Joe are all standouts in this area. Also, another strength is our defense, Joe and Brandon are great defenders and our guards will provide good pressure.

Joe: Since we’re kind of small this year we’re going to have to take advantage of a fast break offense stemming off our ball handlers Elijah and Thomas, and defense is going to be huge this year, our record could probably sway substantially based on our D.

Brandon: I think our strength this year will be our guard play. With Elijah as a returning starting point guard and Thomas Jackson (a sophomore who had a significant role off the bench last year), handling other teams’ defensive pressure and setting up our offense won’t be problems.

What are the biggest challenges for the team to overcome this year? What’s the key to overcoming these challenges?

Karl: Rebounding. We are smaller than usual. This means everyone will have to commit to the boards.

Jeff: A big challenge for us is a lack of size. The key to overcoming this challenge is to stay persistent in pursuit. We’re going to have to hustle a lot this year. Hopefully our legs will keep us up. Another weakness is staying healthy, that hurt us last year.

Joe: Rebounding I’d say, it goes along with being small, we can’t let teams get multiple chances every time down the court. Overcoming that really just comes down to practice and really players’ mentality. If everybody on the court boxes out every defensive play then we should be golden.

Brandon: Rebounding and defense. Although we are an athletic team we are undersized height wise. The key to overcoming these is just working harder as a team, which means everyone boxing out every possession and communicating with each other.

What’s the biggest loss for the team from last year, and how do you fill the void?

Karl: Elijah will help make up for James Sullivan’s scoring, but Tim Boyle’s boards will hurt. Again, the whole team will have to help.

Jeff: Biggest loss for us is a “sharpshooter”. We lost James Sullivan and Lucas Hannen, two of our best shooters. But I wouldn’t be surprised if someone like Thomas, Joe, or Elijah could fill that void.

Joe: Without Sully [James Sullivan] we have no true shooter and without Tim we’re going to lose our best rebounder. Without a shooter were going to have to concentrate more on working for the highest percentage shot since our three point percentage will probably go down. And Kaleb and Karl are just going to have to step up to the challenge with rebounding.

Brandon: Probably our biggest losses are our seniors and captains Lucas Hannen and James Sullivan. Sullivan was our leading scorer and to replace that, guys like me, or Elijah, or any of the other starters need to step up and execute on offense. Lucas was a reliable player on the court and in the locker room, he was always giving out constructive criticism and that’s something the seniors on the team need to do again this year.

What would you say is the X-factor for the season?

Karl: The rebounding.

Jeff: The sophomore bench players. We have a lot of talent in the younger players. They all bring something unique to the team (rebounding, ball handling, good defense, etc.). I can’t pinpoint just one person. A lot of younger guys could see time this year due to a lack of upperclassmen.

Joe: Karl and Kaleb. It’s each of their first years really stepping fully into varsity shoes so we’ll see if they can perform how the team needs them to.

Brandon: I guess the sophomores coming off the bench, like if somebody gets in foul trouble or needs a break.

Are there any underclassmen to watch for?

Karl: Evan Curtain, Kaleb Downing.

Jeff: Kaleb Downing, he’s sophomore guard.

Joe: Nobody in particular that I haven’t mentioned already.

Brandon: Alex White, Evan Curtain.

What is your prediction for the season and why?

Karl: The sun, baby. We may not have the most naturally gifted players, but we have the drive, the returning starters, and the scoring. It will all come down to our defense.

Jeff: I think the season’s results are going to come down to how much guys are willing to sacrifice for the team. From what I see, the guys are ready to do what it takes to win. We understand we may not be perfect, but we’ll try to be as close to it as possible. We have some tough games, but every game is winnable. It’s going to take a team effort, but I believe that we can go very far this year if we work together.

Joe: We have lots of potential to do damage in both the SCC and CIAC, but our potential will definitely become clearer after the first couple of games, because it’s going to take a lot of work to make up for the losses and weaknesses.

Brandon: I don’t like making predictions, but how well we do is definitely related to how hard we want to work in practice.

As you can see, these four guys are very confident about their upcoming season, and based off of last year’s results, they have no reason not to be. Please come out and support the Falcons as they seek to win the school’s first ever basketball state championship this season! Also The Kestrel staff wishes the team good luck in hopes of another successful season!