Previews in the paint: Miami

It's the dream of every retiring coach to go out on a high note.

For Charlie Coles, the 2011-2012 was more about injuries than wins, a finish no coach dreams of. The RedHawks went a dismal 9-21 in Coles' 16th season as Miami's coach, the school's worst single-season win percentage since 1969-70. 

Despite the brutal record, Coles, 70 years old, still left a winner.  He finished as Miami's all-time leader in wins with 263, as well as the MAC's all-time victory leader with 218, some of that time spent at Central Michigan.

With Coles enjoying retirement, John Cooper will lead the RedHawks after leading a program revival at Tennessee State University, ending the school's streak of 15 straight losing seasons.  Coopers' Tiger squad was the only team to beat Murray State in the regular season and lost by just two points in the Ohio Valley championship game.

Cooper inherits an interesting squad, to say the least.  Last season's All-MAC forward Julian Mavunga, who led the RedHawks in every statistical category except 3-pointers and steals, has graduated.  The second-leading scorer, then freshman guard Brian Sullivan, transferred to Davidson following Cooper's arrival in Oxford.

That leaves an obvious hole in the Miami offense, but some veterans are ready to fill them.  Bill Edwards, who was injured last season, should be good to go.  He started strong last season with a 14 point, 10 rebound game against Dayton and a 21 point, eight rebound game against Xavier.  After seven games though, he underwent season-ending surgery on his wrist.  The RedHawks will rely on his health for their front-court game this season.

Also a 2011-2012 injured player, redshirt junior guard Allen Roberts will return to the RedHawks' lineup.  In his sophomore season, Roberts averaged 7.9 points in 24 minutes per game.

Charlie Coles' influence will remain at Miami in several ways, especially in the scheduling. Loving to prepare for the MAC season with a loaded non-conference schedule, the RedHawks will meet #3 Louisville, #6 NC State, and Dayton. While that may not help a coach in his inaugural season, Miami could prove to be a surprise in the MAC. In the MAC East Division preseason poll, though, the RedHawks are predicted to finish last.

Previews in the paint: Xavier Musketeers

After a season filled with ups (#8 national ranking at one point) and downs (the brawl to end them all in the Crosstown Shootout), the Musketeers are entering what many might call a "rebuilding year," basically a euphemism for "Just don't embarrass us, please."

Coach Mack loses Tu Holloway and Kenny Frease to graduation, Mark Lyons to Arizona, and Dezmine Wells to sexual assault charges. That's 77.5 percent of Xavier's scoring, 69.1 percent of its rebounding, 85.0 percent of its assists, 76.6 percent of its made field goals, and 69.4 percent of the team's total minutes played.

How does a program recover from such a purging?

Coach Mack says that the squad will have to move away from relying on the few and focus more on the unit.

Transfer Isaiah Philmore and freshman Semaj Christon will bring fresh talent to the Musketeers' squad, but three veterans still remain in Cincinnati. Guard Brad Redford (3.3 ppg, 11.4 mpg), forward Jeff Robinson (3.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg), and forward Travis Taylor (4.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg) will have to build the team's core. Redmond is considered one of the best pure shooters in the country, but the former Mr. Basketball in Michigan only played seven scoreless minutes in Xavier's three NCAA tournament games last season.

Taylor showed great play during non-conference matchups last year, but was largely irrelevant in the A-10 season (6.8 ppg and 6 rebounds against non-conference teams, a tough schedule for Xavier, but only 4.2 and 2.9 in the A-10).

Xavier's extreme loss of talent makes Philmore's arrival the brightest spot of the 2012-2013 campaign.  Transferring from Townson University in Maryland, he lead the Tigers in scoring with 15.3 ppg and was second in rebounding (7.0 rpg) as a sophomore.  Standing at six feet, eight inches, Philmore will earn minutes quickly because of his ability to create mismatches.

Semaj Christian is a local player who many feel should step in and run the point, but Mack seems determined that sophomore Dee Davis will control Xavier's backcourt.

Given the rebuilding job ahead, the always tough non-conference schedule (Butler, a non-conference game schedule before the move to the A-10, Cincinnati, Purdue, Wake Forest, and Tennessee, among others this season) is not going to play in the Musketeers' favor.

This is the first season in some time that Xavier fans will not have a star to entrust with the game: no Tu Holloway, no Jordan Crawford, not Derrick Brown, etc. The Atlantic-10 is stronger than ever, and it is likely Xavier will find a home in the middle of the pack. 

Despite all the challenges ahead, it's important to remember that Xavier has found a way into the NCAA Tournament 11 time in the past 12 years.