Xavier University Athletics
Xavier Honors its Stars at Men's Basketball Banquet
04.11.05 | Men's Basketball
Xavier finished 17-12 overall in its first season under head coach Sean Miller, including wins over Iowa State and Miami (Florida) and a season sweep of two games against 2005 Atlantic 10 Champion George Washington. Xavier finished tied for second in the Atlantic 10 Conference West Division at 10-6 and reached the semifinals of the A-10 Tournament.
Senior guard/forward Keith Jackson (Cincinnati, Ohio) was honored as the only senior member of the 2004-05 Musketeer squad. Jackson also delivered the traditional senior speech. Jackson averaged 13.1 minutes a game, which was eighth on the team. Jackson won 95 career games at Xavier, which is just four shy of the school record of 99 wins.
Sophomore forward Justin Cage (Indianapolis, Ind.) was presented the “Lew Hirt Society Coach’s Award.” Cage, who was named to the 2004-05 Atlantic 10 Conference Third Team and the 2004-05 Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team, was second on the team in scoring (11.1 ppg.) and third in rebounding (5.6 rpg.) and assists (2.2 apg.).
Freshman guard Stanley Burrell (Indianapolis, Ind.) was honored with the “Connie Brown Most Inspirational Player Award.” Burrell, who was named to the 2004-05 Atlantic 10 Conference All-Rookie Team, led Xavier in scoring at 12.7 ppg., including a team-high 14.7 ppg. for A-10 regular season games. Burrell became just the third XU freshman ever to lead the team in scoring, joining Lenny Brown (1995-96) and Byron Larkin (1984-85). Burrell also earned a spot on the five-member 2005 All-Championship Team for the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament after leading XU at 15.5 ppg. in its two tournament games, becoming the first Xavier freshman ever to earn All-Atlantic 10 Tournament honors.
Sophomore forward Justin Doellman (Union, Ky.) was given the “Ernest A. Staak Memorial Award” for unselfish dedication and love of the game. Doellman averaged a team-high 6.0 rebounds to go with 10.9 points (third on the team) and 2.8 assists (second on the team). Doellman averaged 3.6 rebounds, 7.3 points and 1.7 assists as a freshman.
Junior forward Will Caudle (Indianapolis, Ind.) earned the “Gordon E. Nead Award” as the team’s most improved player. Caudle averaged 8.0 points and 4.1 rebounds in 17.3 minutes per game over the last 14 games, including an 18-point game against Dayton on March 5 that earned him the Blackburn/McCafferty Game MVP award. Caudle averaged 4.1 points in 11.4 minutes per game for the first 15 games.
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