Xavier head coach Sean Miller on radio show: Some players 'don't deserve to play anymore.'
Xavier's 88-64 loss Sunday to No. 5 Marquette, its fourth straight, did a number of things.
First and foremost, it was another missed opportunity for Xavier to add a Quadrant 1 win to its NCAA Tournament resume. It also dropped Xavier to under .500 overall and for the first time since early January (13-14, 7-9 Big East).
It also opened the eyes of head coach Sean Miller once the film was reviewed from an empty trip to Milwaukee.
Miller, speaking at his weekly radio show in Dilly Bistro in Mariemont, didn't hold back about his team's lack of effort at Fiserv Forum.
"The disposition of our group in Milwaukee playing Marquette is just fundamentally unacceptable," Miller told hosts and Xavier Hall-of-Famers Joe Sunderman and Byron Larkin. "They were not ready to play, they did not play with great effort, and there's a couple guys that quite frankly don't deserve to play anymore.
"For where we're at in 2024, it is holding people accountable in a world that really doesn't allow you to do it sometimes. You have to give Xavier maximum effort, you have to show up on time, you have to play for something that is bigger than yourself − those are just the beginning stages."
Miller hinted at changes to the rotation, and even the starting lineup, which has been tweaked throughout the year. Freshman Kachi Nzeh, who had 5 points and 6 rebounds in 15 minutes off the bench, will see that kind of workload moving forward as a guy that "practices hard every day, plays with tremendous energy and gives everything he has."
Typically, walk-ons only see the court in mop-up duty of a lopsided win or loss in the final minutes of regulation. On Sunday, though the outcome of the game wasn't in doubt with Xavier trailing big, Miller subbed in walk-on Brad Colbert with nearly eight minutes remaining.
If playing walk-ons means Miller has five dedicated Musketeers on the court giving it their all, then so be it.
"What is expected is that you're gonna play your heart out, you're gonna play with tremendous effort level from the start of the game to the finish. Or else I'm telling you right now, you will never play here," Miller said Monday. "You won't even know who these guys are. . . I think that we're gonna be very hard at holding our standard right there.
If that means that Brad Colbert starts or Brad Colbert plays more, the one thing I know about Colbert is, he's gonna give everything he has for the sake of the team. That's why I put him in last night."
Xavier hosts DePaul Wednesday
Based off Miller's comments, there's no telling what's in store for Xavier's lineup when the last-place DePaul Blue Demons visit Cintas Center Wednesday night.
The starting lineup has been modified numerous times this season, though only in the frontcourt. Gytis Nemeiksa and Sasa Ciani, starters in the Feb. 21 home loss to Providence, took a seat to freshman Dailyn Swain and North Texas transfer Abou Ousmane against Milwaukee.
Off the bench, Nzeh's gonna get more run in the frontcourt and it could mean minutes for freshman Reid Ducharme, who hasn't played since December and suffered a concussion last month. If Miller's looking for effort, there are other walk-ons available in Michael Wolf and Ian Sabourin (Badin High School).
With four games left until the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden and Xavier's NCAA Tournament hopes at a season-low, everything is on the table.
"What we're trying to do at Xavier is not for everybody. To win in the Big East, you need guys that love the game, that are willing to give everything they have for this school, for the program," Miller said Monday.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Xavier's Sean Miller: Some Musketeers 'don't deserve to play anymore.'
