By: Paul Fritschner ~Staff Writer~

It was a tumultuous offseason for senior guard Myles Davis, to say the least. About one week after the academic year commenced, Myles was suspended from the basketball team indefinitely. After missing 15 games, he was reinstated during the postgame press conference on Jan. 7.

Since returning to the team, he had only scored two points (both at the free throw line) and had not made a shot from the field, going 0-8 including 0-6 from beyond the arc. It wasn’t exactly the jolt of offense the struggling Musketeers were looking for out of their leader, but such a prolonged absence lends itself to a natural delay in the development of team chemistry. He seemed a little discombobulated on the court and made some questionable basketball decisions, but he exhibited some leadership skills in gathering the team and energizing the crowd from the bench.

Then, all of a sudden, this came out of nowhere: A tweet announcing that he was leaving the team, effective immediately.

The tweet said, in part, “I would like to thank everyone and Xavier for allowing me to play basketball and get my degree but my family and I have decided that it is time for me to move on from Xavier and start a new chapter in my life.”

Head Coach Chris Mack told ESPN, “Myles and I met (Friday morning). As Myles has stated, he has left our basketball program. He and his family have asked for privacy and can share more information if they see fit.”

Such an abrupt departure raised questions in the minds of fans all across Xavier nation. There is probably a very large part of this story we do not know, and frankly, will not find out because it is not our business. All we know is that Davis is no longer a member of Team 95, and Xavier will have to move forward and try to piece together this season without him.

Shannon Russell, a Xavier writer who has been around the program for many years, had this to say on Twitter: “I’ll be 100 percent honest – it’s a big surprise. Davis hadn’t jelled with the team playing-wise, but that’s hard to do in just three games. I don’t know if he felt discouraged or if he felt he was a distraction or if his heart wasn’t in it. So many questions. #Xavier”

Clearly, there are a lot of dynamics at play.

For now, all the team can do is move forward. While Davis’ contribution to this year’s iteration of Xavier basketball was insignificant on the court, he was clearly far from the top of his game and who knows what could have been had he been able to play through March.

Also, Myles was 3-0 vs. the Bearcats and was looking to become the first Xavier player to sweep UC over the course of hiscareer. For at least one more year, this possibility has been denied. In addition, Davis had an opportunity to join Xavier’s 1000 point club. That chance is now void as well.

So folks, it’s time to get used to this team as it is right now. And I leave you with this, a tweet from Myles earlier that afternoon before he announced his departure: “Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do regardless of who it might hurt.”