Muskie power rankings, week one

A couple of different comments over the weekend got me thinking about who is the most irreplaceable player on the Xavier roster. Since there is no free agency in NCAA basketball, potential replacements have to come from what is already on the roster; some guys make it obvious to see how that would happen, others would leave the team scrambling if they went down. I'll rank them here from most to least replaceable at the current juncture.

13. Makinde London
Sorry, Makinde, but taking a redshirt really hurts you here. I believe London has value to the program going forward - and Coach Mack obviously agrees - but his production on the floor this season will necessarily be limited to zero points and zero boards in zero minutes.

12. Edmond Sumner
Sumner may not stay here, but here is where he starts. We've all heard a lot about his potential and most of us buy in, but he has played fewer minutes than Kevin Coker so far this year. Getting on the floor is step one in being difficult to replace.

11. Sean O'Mara
If getting on the floor is step one, surely staying there is step two. O'Mara has a big body and a developed offensive game, but his approach was apparently just a hair too physical for the officials' liking last time out. We'll see if that was an aberration or the beginning of a pattern, but Sean is going to have trouble moving up until he's averaging fewer than 33 fouls per 40 minutes of playing time.

10. Larry Austin, Jr.
As long as Brandon Randolph is shooting sparingly and making good decisions with the ball, he's going to get the nod as the backup point guard. Since point guard skills are Austin's calling card, the floor is going to seem a long way away from him. Point guard depth is good to have, but a third point guard is not the keystone of the Xavier roster.

9. JP Macura
I love JP Macura. I would also love to be defended by JP Macura. The dude can flat-out put the biscuit in the basket, but so can almost anyone against Northern Arizona. I'm going to have to see those skills against tougher competition before I'm convinced they are too difficult to replace. And that defense is a work in progress at this point.

8. Myles Davis
Not since the heyday of the X Files has anyone wanted to believe harder than I want to believe in Myles Davis. He started like a house on fire last year, though, before fading down the stretch. I just don't want to get hurt again.

7. Brandon Randolph
Coach Mack said that Randolph had a good preseason, and the jarring egg he laid against Northwood seemed to serve as a wake-up call for him. His value on the offensive end lies mostly in avoiding wasted possessions and getting into the middle to cause havoc. When he does that and plays defense the way he can, he's a valuable asset to the team and deservedly the first guard off the bench.

6. James Farr
Would I be starting James Farr? No. Coach Mack is, however. At his best, Farr can be a constant menace behind the arc, a force on the glass at both ends, and a shot blocking machine. He goes AWOL for long stretches on offense, but he still offers reliable minutes at both big positions in terms of doing the dirty work.

5. Remy Abell
Abell is bigger than almost all of the Muskies' other guards, and he is rumored to be a lockdown defender in his own right. On offense, he's the rare player who doesn't need a lot of touches to be able to score efficiently. If you don't notice Abell too much, that means he's doing his job.

4. Dee Davis
Dee is the proverbial steady hand at the wheel for Xavier. A team that needs him to be scoring option one or two is probably on its way to a 17-14 season, but his ability to shut down opposing shooters and set up teammates for easy baskets works well in the roster as currently constructed.

3. Jalen Reynolds
If you didn't just get dunked on by Jalen Reynolds, you're probably about to get dunked on by Jalen Reynolds. He scored however he wanted to against Northern Arizona, but the fact that he has apparently added a jump shot is especially promising going forward. There aren't that many other people who can do all the things Reynolds does on the floor, and none of them are on the Xavier roster.

2. Trevon Bluiett
Do I have a freshman as the second-most irreplaceable player Xavier has? Yes I do. Is this too high a rating too early? Time will tell. Without Bluiett, the team has a couple of monsters inside and a bunch of nice complimentary pieces on the perimeter. Having a guy who can really go and get it on his own from the outside makes everything work, and Bluiett is the only player that offers that for Xavier.

1. Matt Stainbrook
Not only is he a great rebounder and a top-notch passer from the post, but Stainbrook is also tied for the team lead in three-point percentage. While I'm not sure his ability to step outside and make it rain is a big part of his game going forward, he is currently the straw that stirs the drink for X. A true back-to-the-basket post man through whom you can run the offense is a rare gem, and we have one in Matt Stainbrook.

You'll notice that I cited almost no numbers in this. This is a fairly subjective exercise, which leaves significant space for disagreement. I think I'll start running this like a weekly power ranking every Monday (I was sick yesterday, for those of you who were going to point out that it's Tuesday), so check back often. In the meantime, feel free to tell me where you disagree (or just laud me for my unassailable genius) in the comments.