Travis Steele out at Xavier

  One night after Xavier defeated Cleveland State in the first round of the NIT,  the school decided to part ways with Travis Steele after four seasons as their head coach.

Steele's record with the Musketeers was a decent 70-50 but none of Steele's four Xavier teams were selected for NCAA Tournament play and in each of the last two seasons suffered late-season collapses that sent them to the NIT rather than the NCAA.

Xavier started this season 16-5 before losing eight of their final ten games along with an overtime loss to Butler in the first round of the Big East tournament to finish 18-13 and outside the NCAA's.

Steele replaced Chris Mack in 2018 when Mack left for Louisville, where he also left this season after involvement in a recruiting scandal.

I admit I don't watch nearly as much college basketball as I once did, so I don't have concrete opinions on some issues in the game because I'm just not knowledgeable enough.

However, on the rare occasions that I do watch, it's usually Xavier or Ohio State, so I'm a little closer to this one than any other hire in college hoops.

Xavier doesn't play football at all, so it is the quintessential basketball school and after years of working its way through the mid-major morass to finally make the big-time in the sport, Xavier cannot afford to settle now, if the goal is to be among the best in the game.

Xavier now resides in a power conference (in basketball) in the Big East with all the competition that comes with membership and yet they still share a state with Ohio State, an area with a strong mid-major (Dayton), and even a city with a team with a strong basketball tradition (Cincinnati), so in their situation, Xavier cannot afford to take a step back where not making the tournament four years in a row is tolerated.

Xavier had made the Big Dance sixteen times in eighteen seasons before Steele replaced Chris Mack so a setback such as during the Steele years is significant.

Still, it's not insurmountable and Xavier still as a Big East member doesn't have to be a steppingstone job anymore, so it's very important to get this hire correct.

One name that I keep hearing is that of former Xavier coach Sean Miller, who built the Arizona Wildcats team that is a number one seed in the current tournament in his twelve seasons since leaving Xavier for Arizona.

Miller is reportedly being chased by openings at Florida and South Carolina and its not out of the question that Steele's removal could be in order to return Miller to Cincinnati.

Chris Mack could also be a candidate but both Miller and Mack would come with NCAA problems at their previous school so there could be a possible suspension for both or either to start the season if Xavier goes in that direction.

Another former Xavier (and Ohio State) coach that could be involved might be Thad Matta, who left Ohio State due to health issues and hasn't coached since.

I don't have knowledge of the situation changing but Matta wouldn't be the first coach to return from health issues feeling renewed from a few years away from the game.

Archie Miller was disappointing at Indiana but he was terrific at nearby Dayton before that, knows the area, and could have simply been a bad fit in Bloomington.

And unlike his brother, Archie wouldn't come with NCAA issues.

Xavier has usually promoted from within for over thirty years when hiring a new head coach with the exception of Thad Matta (from Butler) and should they do so again, Jonas Hayes could be the man.

Hayes will be coaching Xavier through the NIT.

Connecticut assistant Luke Murray could be in the hunt with a Xavier background.

Murray was a Chris Mack assistant for three seasons before leaving with Mack for Louisville, where he stayed until this season with UConn.

If the Musketeers go outside the family, Cleveland State's Dennis Gates has been mentioned as a strong candidate after three seasons with the Vikings that have seen two regular-season titles, a trip to the NCAA, and an NIT bid this season.

Xavier is far from a downtrodden program so the right hire could turn things around as quickly as next season- but another set of seasons similar to the Steele years could put the school in a difficult spot to dig out.

This hire has to be a winning one.