'I want to make the big jump.' Desmond Claude eyes bigger role for Xavier basketball
In Xavier's Baha Mar Hoops Summer League opener against the University of Victoria on Aug. 8, Desmond Claude committed his fourth foul with 16:39 remaining in regulation with a reach-in violation.
Just over a one half into the season already offered a learning experience for the sophomore guard.
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"He (Claude) has to understand that the role he has on this year's team, a silly foul or a silly two fouls can really cost him and cost our team," Xavier head coach Sean Miller said after the game. "He probably learned a valuable lesson that every foul he commits counts, and he doesn't have the luxury of committing one when he's not alert on an ill-advised play."
Claude watched the film from the game and agreed.
"Although it wasn't my intention (to foul), that's just something I have to hyperfocus on. For me to have a bigger role this year, I definitely have to avoid that," Claude told The Enquirer Thursday.
The role for Claude is simple: be one of Xavier's key leaders and contributors on both ends of the court in his second season with the Musketeers. Claude showcased his potential in the Bahamas, scoring 21 points against the University of Victoria to go with eight rebounds. In the final exhibition contest, he played 22 minutes without a foul as Xavier ran past Bahamas Raw Talent Elite, 123-58. Overall, in two games, Claude finished with a team-high 43 points on 16-of-27 shooting with 12 boards and three assists.
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"Personally, I want to make the big jump this year and they (coaches) want me to make the big jump, too," Claude said. "We all locked in together and figured out ways to help me. The big thing for me was confidence on top of building off the experience from last year. It's just a matter of me doing what I do and that was being a good player, scoring when I can, locking up defensively and being more aggressive."
The veteran of the group
"Being an experienced player, the role that he (Claude) has on this year’s team, it’s much, much different than being a young freshman on the team a year ago on that team," Miller said.
Last year, Claude was a freshman from Putnam Science Academy joining a Xavier roster that was stacked with experience that eventually anchored the program to a Sweet 16 run in Miller's first season back with the Musketeers.
Claude eventually flashed toward the end of the year, scoring in double figures five times over Xavier's final 12 games, including an 11-point performance in a win over Pittsburgh in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
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"Although I adapted pretty well and really quickly to college basketball, there will still kinks here and there that I hadn't figured out like pace, physicality and just playing against stronger guys with more experience," Claude said. "The game slowed down even more for me as time went on."
Claude was thrust into the locker room as a freshmen newcomer. When he arrived back at Cintas Center as a sophomore, he was considered the veteran of the group, which isn't a common label for someone who just turned 20 years old in May.
"Coming in here a year ago as a wide-eyed freshman. You look at him here early on this summer, looks like a different person and player," Miller said of Claude's play in the Bahamas.
Claude is one of just a handful of returning players from last year's Sweet 16 run, but he's the only healthy returner with Zach Freemantle, Kam Craft and Jerome Hunter all sidelined with injuries. Suddenly, Claude was the experienced leader of a group with double-digit first-year Musketeers.
"It was definitely an adjustment," Claude said. "I'm just trying to be the leader that I am, showing them the path on offense or defense. `You're not playing with guys who already know it, they have to learn it, so it takes time and patience. I've got patience and everyone has adapted really well."
"We're bonding really well together."
The biggest question surrounding Xavier basketball is how the Musketeers will build off a tournament run with so much turnover. You can only assess so much from a pair of exhibition victories, but Claude is the only player who can give first-hand experience from each year.
"We're learning quick and we're bonding really well together," he said. "Every time we play with each other you can tell the chemistry is growing and getting stronger."
Xavier's roster keeps growing, too, with the international additions of freshmen forwards Lazar Djokovic and Gytis Nemeiksa. There is still experience suiting up this summer for Xavier, though, with four transfers (Logan Duncomb, Quincy Olivari, Dayvion McKnight and Abou Ousmane) who have experienced multiple years of the collegiate basketball grind.
"Guys like Dayvion, Quincy, they're key players for us who have adapted really well. I thought it would blend quick and all of the guys are very smart, so it's just a matter of reps," Claude said. "They're getting more comfortable, more aggressive and they're learning the system more. The IQ within the system is going up."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Desmond Claude hoping to 'make the big jump' for Xavier basketball
