Xavier University Athletics
Xavier Athletics Announces The Retirement Of Romain Sato's No. 10 Jersey
10.21.24 | Men's Basketball, Athletic Department
Sato is the fifth men's or women's basketball announced this year for this honor.
CINCINNATI --- Xavier University Athletics added a fifth and final new name to an elite short list of men's and women's basketball players that have been chosen to have their jersey numbers retired at a future date, No. 10 Romain Sato. The numbers will hang permanently in the Cintas Center, joining the eight existing banners.
Sato earned a reputation as a winner, something that continued during his successful pro career and led to his induction into both the Xavier Athletics Hall of Fame and the FIBA Hall of Fame. Sato helped Xavier average 24.8 wins per seasons and reach the NCAA Tournament four times, including the NCAA Second Round twice and the 2004 NCAA Elite Eight. Xavier won two A-10 Conference Regular Season Championships and two A-10 Conference Tournament Championships during his four-year career.
Sato helped lead Xavier to a historic four-game sweep of the 2004 A-10 Championship that included a blowout of then-No.1 and undefeated Saint Joseph's and a win over host Dayton in the title game. XU then posted wins over Louisville, Mississippi State and Texas on the way to its first-ever NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearance. Sato was named to the five-member All-Regional Team for the 2004 NCAA Tournament Atlanta Regional after scoring 18.3 ppg. and grabbing 7.3 rpg. He also made the 2004 A-10 All-Tournament Team, an honor he also won when XU won the championship in 2002. In addition to these honors, Sato was named 2003-04 Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American and 2003-04 NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) All-District 10 First Team. He earned a long list of other honors during his Xavier career, including First Team All-Atlantic 10 Conference twice and A-10 Conference All-Defensive Team three times.
Sato's individual numbers jump off the page. He is fourth on Xavier's all-time scoring list with 2,005 points and eighth on the all-time rebounding list with 892 rebounds. Sato still holds or shares a number of school records, including most consecutive starts with 130 and most consecutive free throws made with 31. His 307 career 3-point field goals made rank second only to Trevon Bluiett in school history. He shares the single game 3-point field goal record of nine with Bluiett.
Following his Xavier career, Sato was drafted by San Antonio in the second round of the NBA Draft but chose to start a successful career in pro basketball overseas. Earlier this year Sato was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame. Sato was a four-time champion in the Lega Basketball Serie A (LBA) in Italy, where he won a pair of Italian Cups and three Italian Supercups and earned an Italian League MVP honor. He also won titles in the EuroLeague (Panathinaikos Athens) and EuroCup (Valencia BC). Sato averaged 21.6 points and 8.6 rebounds for the Central African Republic in the 2009 FIBA African Championship and was a first-team all-tournament selection. Additional trophies earned during his impressive pro career include: Liga ACB champion (2017), All-Liga ACB First Team (2014), Spanish Supercup winner (2017), Italian SuperCup MVP (2009), Greek League champion (2011), Greek Cup winner (2012) and Turkish Cup winner (2013).
The first four new names revealed on the list since July were No. 5 Trevon Bluiett, a consensus Second Team All-America selection, and former Third Team All-American No. 52 Tu Holloway in addition to two women's basketball All-Americans and WNBA lottery draft selections, No. 11 Amber Harris and No. 53 Ta'Shia Phillps. Four former men's basketball players (No. 23 Byron Larkin, No. 42 Tyrone Hill, No. 33 Brian Grant and No. 30 David West) and two women's basketball players (No. 32 Jo Ann Osterkamp and No. 33 Tara Boothe) currently have banners hanging in Cintas Center. In addition, former President Fr. James Hoff and former Academic Advisor and current Faculty Athletic Representative Sr. Rose Ann Fleming are honored with banners.
The announcement of these latest five jersey number retirements culminates a multi-year process to develop a standardized approach to jersey retirements and conversations within Xavier Athletics. Individual jersey unveilings and recognitions will take place in the coming basketball seasons.
Sato earned a reputation as a winner, something that continued during his successful pro career and led to his induction into both the Xavier Athletics Hall of Fame and the FIBA Hall of Fame. Sato helped Xavier average 24.8 wins per seasons and reach the NCAA Tournament four times, including the NCAA Second Round twice and the 2004 NCAA Elite Eight. Xavier won two A-10 Conference Regular Season Championships and two A-10 Conference Tournament Championships during his four-year career.
Sato helped lead Xavier to a historic four-game sweep of the 2004 A-10 Championship that included a blowout of then-No.1 and undefeated Saint Joseph's and a win over host Dayton in the title game. XU then posted wins over Louisville, Mississippi State and Texas on the way to its first-ever NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearance. Sato was named to the five-member All-Regional Team for the 2004 NCAA Tournament Atlanta Regional after scoring 18.3 ppg. and grabbing 7.3 rpg. He also made the 2004 A-10 All-Tournament Team, an honor he also won when XU won the championship in 2002. In addition to these honors, Sato was named 2003-04 Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American and 2003-04 NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) All-District 10 First Team. He earned a long list of other honors during his Xavier career, including First Team All-Atlantic 10 Conference twice and A-10 Conference All-Defensive Team three times.
Sato's individual numbers jump off the page. He is fourth on Xavier's all-time scoring list with 2,005 points and eighth on the all-time rebounding list with 892 rebounds. Sato still holds or shares a number of school records, including most consecutive starts with 130 and most consecutive free throws made with 31. His 307 career 3-point field goals made rank second only to Trevon Bluiett in school history. He shares the single game 3-point field goal record of nine with Bluiett.
Following his Xavier career, Sato was drafted by San Antonio in the second round of the NBA Draft but chose to start a successful career in pro basketball overseas. Earlier this year Sato was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame. Sato was a four-time champion in the Lega Basketball Serie A (LBA) in Italy, where he won a pair of Italian Cups and three Italian Supercups and earned an Italian League MVP honor. He also won titles in the EuroLeague (Panathinaikos Athens) and EuroCup (Valencia BC). Sato averaged 21.6 points and 8.6 rebounds for the Central African Republic in the 2009 FIBA African Championship and was a first-team all-tournament selection. Additional trophies earned during his impressive pro career include: Liga ACB champion (2017), All-Liga ACB First Team (2014), Spanish Supercup winner (2017), Italian SuperCup MVP (2009), Greek League champion (2011), Greek Cup winner (2012) and Turkish Cup winner (2013).
The first four new names revealed on the list since July were No. 5 Trevon Bluiett, a consensus Second Team All-America selection, and former Third Team All-American No. 52 Tu Holloway in addition to two women's basketball All-Americans and WNBA lottery draft selections, No. 11 Amber Harris and No. 53 Ta'Shia Phillps. Four former men's basketball players (No. 23 Byron Larkin, No. 42 Tyrone Hill, No. 33 Brian Grant and No. 30 David West) and two women's basketball players (No. 32 Jo Ann Osterkamp and No. 33 Tara Boothe) currently have banners hanging in Cintas Center. In addition, former President Fr. James Hoff and former Academic Advisor and current Faculty Athletic Representative Sr. Rose Ann Fleming are honored with banners.
The announcement of these latest five jersey number retirements culminates a multi-year process to develop a standardized approach to jersey retirements and conversations within Xavier Athletics. Individual jersey unveilings and recognitions will take place in the coming basketball seasons.
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