4-star point guard Desmond Claude reaffirms commitment to Xavier
Xavier fans receive significant news on Sunday as four-star Desmond Claude reaffirms his commitment to the Musketeers, following the recent coaching change. Last month, former head coach Travis Steele was fired but has since been replaced by Sean Miller.
“Due to the recent coaching change at Xavier University, I’ve taken some time to re-evaluate the status of my commitment to Xavier University. After meeting with Coach Miller last week and talking it over with my family, I’m reaffirming my commitment to Xavier University. I still feel confident that Xavier University represents a great opportunity for me and I look forward to the challenge. Can’t wait to get there!!! Let’s go X!” Claude said in a statement to On3.
A 6-foot-5 point guard out of Oakdale (Conn.) Putnam Science Academy, Claude is ranked as the No. 110 overall prospect in the On3 Consensus.
Desmond Claude is the second member of Xavier’s 2022 recruiting class to announce he’s sticking with the program, following Kam Craft’s reaffirmation just over a week ago. The Musketeers did however lose one key piece to their class, as Tyrell Ward, reopened his recruitment last month. Ward was the program’s third highest-ranked recruit in the modern recruiting era.
In March, Xavier fired Travis Steele after missing the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight season. In four seasons at the helm of Xavier, Travis Steele led the Musketeers to a 70-50 record. Prior to taking over the program in 2018, Travis Steele was an assistant for the Musketeers since 2009. Now, the coach is moving on from Xavier after over a decade of service.
Just a few days after Steele and Xavier parted ways, Sean Miller was hired to replace him. Miller coached the Musketeers for five seasons (2004-09) and finished with a 120-47 overall record, including four straight NCAA tournaments. Miller went on to be the head coach of Arizona for 12 years, before being fired after the 2020-21 season. In his tenure with the Wildcats, Miller finished with a 302-109 overall record, helping the Wildcats win five Pac-12 regular-season titles and three Pac-12 Conference Tournament titles.