By: Brendan Burris ~Staff Writer~

By the end of the 2014 college basketball recruiting period, the Xavier men’s basketball team had what some have called the best recruiting class in the program’s history.

During the previous season, ESPN even ranked Xavier’s recruiting class no. 4 in the country.
Before the season begins, let’s take a look at the six newest Musketeers and how they might fight in to Xavier’s program.

Larry Austin Jr. — The last player of the 2014 class to commit was Austin Jr., a 6-foot-2 point guard from Springfield, Ill. Austin withdrew his initial commitment to the Tennessee when it fired its head coach and subsequently signed his letter of intent to play here in Cincinnati.

Austin was a first team All-State player in high school and was ranked as a three-star prospect according to ESPN.

Known as a great defensive player, Austin should be a solid piece to this year’s deep team.

Trevon Bluiett — A 6-foot-5 small forward, Bluiett comes from Indianapolis and was the highest ranked member of Xavier’s class, according to ESPN.

Ranked as the 13th best small forward in the country, Bluiett had originally committed to UCLA, but similar to Austin, withdrew his letter of intent and later chose Xavier. During his senior year of high school, he averaged 36 points and 12 rebounds per game.

Widely known as one of the best 3-point shooters in the class of 2014, Bluiett should play a big role in his first year, one that could include taking the starting small forward spot early in the year.

Makinde London — During his freshman year of high school, London was a 6-foot-1 point guard from Nashville, Tenn.

Fast forward to today: the 6-foot-10 power forward is looking to make a solid impact for the Musketeers’ team. Ranked a 4-star prospect out of high school, London played high school basketball at the Montverde Academy in Florida.

London’s all-around ability helped lead his high school team to a national championship.
J.P. Macura — The theme of this year’s class seems to be having many players with great shooting ability, something Macura was known for all throughout his high school basketball years.

Macura, who is from Lakeville, Minn., was a first team All-State player who scored 1,030 points in his senior season alone, enough to average 32 points per game.

Ranked as a 4-star recruit and FOXSports.com’s “Top 10 shooters in the class of 2014,” Macura looks to make an impact this year from behind the arc.

Sean O’Mara — At 6-foot-10, O’Mara played both basketball and football in high school, making him what coach Chris Mack called “one of the most physical high school seniors in the country.” Another first team All-State player from Illinois, O’Mara averaged 23 points and 13 rebounds a game.

O’Mara is praised for his versitile play in the post.
Known as one of the best high-school post players in the country, O’Mara is primed to add to a stacked Musketeer frontcourt.

Edmond Sumner — The final member of the 2014 recruiting class is 6-foot-3 point guard Edmond Sumner from Detroit.

One of two of Xavier’s recruits to be featured in ESPN’s “Top 100 in the class of 2014,” Sumner is a combo point guard and shooting guard who excelled in many different facets in his high school games.

As a senior, he averaged 20 points and 3 assists per game.

Sumner has proven to be the type of player that can adapt to any role given to him.
Following the departure of Semaj Christon to the NBA Draft and the Oklahoma City Thunder, many college basketball insiders believe that Sumner could be the next to step into his role.