Desmond Claude

Position:
Guard
Height:
6-6
Weight:
207
Class:
Sophomore
Hometown:
New Haven, Conn.
High School:
Putnam Science Academy

2023-24 BIG EAST MOST IMPROVED PLAYER: Named by the league coaches as the 2023-24 BIG EAST Most Improved Player ... Improved his scoring (freshman to sophomore year) from 4.7 ppg. to 16.6 ppg., rebounds from 2.5 rpg. to 4.2 rpg. and assists from 1.8 apg. to 3.2 apg.; his assist-to-turnover ratio improved from 1.24 to 1.45 and his free-throw shooting improved from .571 (28-49) as a freshman to .794 (131-165) as a sophomore.

LED THE BIG EAST IN SCORING DURING MARCH: Led the BIG EAST Conference in scoring for the month of March at 22.8 ppg. for Xavier's six games, including his top two career scoring games, 36 in a win at Georgetown on March 2 and 30 at Georgia on March 19; tied his third-highest scoring game with 26 in a win over Butler in the BIG EAST Tournament on March 13.

2023-24: Second on the team and tied for eighth in the BIG EAST in scoring at 16.6 ppg. ... Scored in double figures in 31 games (second on the team) and led the team with 12 games of 20 points or more ... Named to the BIG EAST Honor Roll for the fourth time as a sophomore on March 4 after averaging 23.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steals in a pair of Xavier wins vs. DePaul on Feb. 28 and at Georgetown on March 2, while shooting 60 percent (18-30) from the field; scored a career-high 36 points in the win at Georgetown, the second-highest total by a BIG EAST player this season (Quincy Olivari had 43 at DePaul) and more importantly, he helped Xavier erase a 12-point halftime deficit by contributing 26 second-half points on 10-12 second-half shooting to go with four second-half assists ... Team-high 22 points vs. Providence on Feb. 21 ... 23 points vs. St. John's on Jan. 31 ... 19 points with a career-high nine assists vs. Georgetown on Jan. 19, 21 at Providence on Jan. 13 and his first career double-double with 21 points and a career-high 12 rebounds at St. John's on Dec. 20 ... 22 points vs. Creighton on Feb. 10 and 20 at Creighton on Jan. 23 ... Scored a then-career-high 26 points vs. Butler at Cintas Center on Jan. 16 ... Second on the team and 14th in the BIG EAST in assists at 3.2 apg. ... Second on the team and 13th in the BIG EAST in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.45 ... Seven assists with one turnover to go with 11 points in the Saint Mary's win on Nov. 19 ... Fourth on the team in rebounding at 4.2 rpg. ... Named to the BIG EAST Conference Honor Roll for the third time this season (second-straight week) on Jan. 22 after averaging 22.5 ppg. and 6.5 apg. in wins over Butler and Georgetown; had a hand in eight of XU's final 10 points to help erase an 87-82 deficit in the Georgetown game with under three minutes left as he scored six of XU's final 10 points and had the assist on the game-winning dunk by Dailyn Swain. ... Also on the BIG EAST Honor Roll on Jan. 15 after averaging 18.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in games vs. UConn on Jan. 10 and at Providence on Jan. 13 ... 15 points to go with six assists at Purdue on Nov. 13, including 13 and two in the second half ... BIG EAST Honor Roll on Nov. 13 after averaging 18.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in the wins over Robert Morris on Nov. 6 and Jacksonville on Nov. 10.

2022-23: Selected to the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team by the league coaches ... Three of his five double-figure scoring games came in the last five games of the season ... Scored 11 points in the NCAA Second Round game vs. Pittsburgh on March 19 ... Scored 11 points in the BIG EAST Tournament Semifinal win over Creighton on March 10 ... Followed that up with 11 points in a season-high tying 32 minutes in the BIG EAST Championship Game vs. Marquette on March 11 ... Grabbed a season-high seven rebounds in the Butler win on March 4 ... Scored a season-high 12 points on 5-9 shooting, including 2-4 from 3-point range, in 27 minutes at Providence on March 1 ... Averaged 20.8 minutes a game, which was tops among non-starters ... Averaged 25.3 minutes per game for his last 13 games ... Missed two games due to a non-Covid illness but returned to play 18 minutes vs. Villanova on Feb. 21, contributing two 3-pointers ... Followed that up by logging a season-high 32 minutes at Seton Hall on Feb. 24 ... Scored 11 points against St. John’s on Feb. 4, hitting 4-4 from the field, including 3-3 from 3-point territory, to go with three assists ... Contributed six points on 3-4 shooting to go with three assists and four rebounds at UConn on Jan. 25 ... Logged 28 minutes in his first collegiate start vs. Southeastern Louisiana on Nov. 30; had six assists and four rebounds in that game ... Hit a big 3-pointer vs. Florida on Nov. 24 and vs. Duke on Nov. 25 ... Contributed seven points and three assists in the Montana win on Nov. 11 and six points with three steals vs. Fairfield on Nov. 15.

NATIONAL CHAMPION AND PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Named 2021-22 National Post-Grad Player of the Year (Next Up Recruits) ... Led his PSA team to a perfect 38-0 record and the 2022 National Prep Championship, the third for the school in four years ... Named the MVP of the 2022 National Prep Tournament ... Averaged 13.6 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals for undefeated Putnam Science Academy, while shooting 57.7 percent from the field, including 43.3 percent from 3-point range ... Basketball coach: Tom Espinosa ... In addition to his prep school success, Claude enjoyed tremendous NIKE EYBL success, averaging over 15 points and nearly five assists per game in NIKE EYBL play.

PERSONAL: Full name is Desmond Allen Claude ... Nicknamed Des ... Born May 30, 2003 in Syracuse, N.Y. ... A business major ... Parents are Paula and Chris Rivers ... Has three siblings: Jason, Cameron and Jalen.

XAVIER CAREER HIGHS
Points	36	Georgetown (March 2, 2024)
Field Goals Made	13	Georgetown (March 2, 2024)
Field Goals Attempted	23	Creighton (January 23, 2024)
3-Pt Field Goals Made	5	Georgia (March 19, 2024)
3-Pt Field Goals Attempted	7	Villanova (February 7, 2024) and Jacksonville (November 10, 2023)
Free Throws Made	12	St. John's (December 20, 2023)
Free Throws Attempted	14	St. John's (December 20, 2023)
Rebounds	12	St. John's (December 20, 2023)
Assists	9	Georgetown (January 19, 2024)
Blocks	2	Winthrop (December 16, 2023)
Steals	4	Bryant (November 24, 2023) and Creighton (March 10, 2023)