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Xavier Musketeer power rankings, week two

There was plenty of movement in the second week of the power rankings, but the top two spots remain in the same firm hands.

Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports

We're back for week two of the Musketeer Power Rankings as determined by me. My goal is to list, in ascending order, which players on the roster I think have made themselves the most valuable. The rankings are based both on the preceding week and the year as a whole, reference almost nothing of objective substance or value, and are the product of no consultation with anyone beyond my bad self. Here we go:

13. Makinde London (Last week: 13, change: 0)
Makinde continues to wear the developmental redshirt, which means he continues to not contribute anything on the floor. It's worth noting that Coach Mack can pull the developmental redshirt at any point in time for any reason, making Makinde eligible to play this season. If the frontcourt keeps producing like it has, that may be a possibility.

12. Edmond Sumner (12, 0)
It's hard to do too much moving if you hadn't played last week and now you still haven't played. Get well soon, Edmond!

11. Larry Austin, Jr. (10, -1)
Austin is falling due to both his own performance and that of other people. He has had trouble keeping hold of the ball when he has played, and Brandon Randolph continues to make a case for extended minutes. I think Austin just needs a few minutes in a low-leverage situation to get his feet under him, but those opportunities are rapidly fading.

10. Sean O'Mara (11, +1)
O'Mara leapfrogs Austin in large part due to James Farr and Jalen Reynolds. As long as those two continue to struggle with consistent output and staying out of foul trouble, there's a chance that O'Mara comes sprinting to the fore to grab some key minutes.

9. James Farr (6, -3)
Despite starting, James Farr doesn't even get 15 minutes per game, and he's not exactly changing the way you watch basketball when he's out there. He's done a decent job on the glass, though he totally disappeared after a hot start against SFA, but he hasn't offered a scoring threat and continues to look semi-confused on defense despite being a junior. He's endearing on Twitter, though. Sorry, James.

8. JP Macura (9, +1)
There are a lot of guys on the team who do many of the things that JP Macura does, but nobody does all the things that he does quite the way that he does them. He's completely fearless with the basketball, which leads to points inside and outside of the arc and the occasional turnover. Defense and the aforementioned looseness with the ball are the only things keeping him from moving up even more.

7. Myles Davis (8, +1)
Remember early last year when it felt like Myles Davis might go off for 3-4 threes in as many possessions if the other team lost track of him? He's kind of got that vibe back again, but he also showed some skills putting the ball on the deck and attacking last week. Couple that with increasing defensive competence and an awesome hairline and Myles is primed to move even higher on this list.

6. Jalen Reynolds (3, -3)
I'm no less high on Reynolds's ability this week than I was last week, but his incredible ability to foul anything with a pulse is keeping him from cracking the top five this week. He is averaging 7.7 fouls per 40 minutes played, which we all recognize is technically impossible in the context of a single game. Control yourself, man!

4 (tie). Brandon Randolph (7, +3)
Randolph continues to keep his baser instincts to create his own shot at bay in favor of setting the offense a reasonable distance from the hoop and getting the whole team involved. He's still turning the ball over just a hair too much, but he's as good a backup point guard as you could reasonably hope for as a Xavier fan.

4 (tie). Dee Davis (4, 0)
I'll admit my pro-Dee bias may have something to do with this, but he is hitting open threes and passing out assists like communion crackers right now. Unfortunately, he also keeps passing to the wrong team and occasionally forcing his own shot. You wouldn't expect a senior point guard to have to play himself into the season, but Dee really needs to tighten it up right now.

3. Remy Abell (5, +2)
I was prepared for Abell to be a decent shooter and a good defender; I was not prepared for how clever he is going to the hole or how solid his overall game is. He almost never fouls and - aside from that little 1-6 from deep early last week - doesn't force his shot. Only his failure to convert any of his five FT attempts and a deluge of "Remy is Abell" puns from hack announcers are holding him back.

2. Trevon Bluiett (2, 0)
You could make a case for Bluiett to top this chart, and here it is: he has the best ORtg on the team, hits like three quarters of his shots, plays as many minutes as anyone, doesn't look like an idiot on defense, doesn't seem to be hunting shots, is easy on the eyes, rebounds like he's getting paid to do it, and - three games into the season - is spawning "is he the best Xavier freshman you have ever seen?" conversations. Sounds like a pretty convincing case, if not for...

1. Matt Stainbrook (1, 0)
I'm not saying Bluiett can be replaced by one guy on the roster, because he can't, but we have enough guys who do enough of the things that he does that we could Frankenstein together a decent Bluiett replacement, hit it with lightning, and hope for the best. We don't have another big man who can have the offense run through him, dominate the boards, block shots, and not foul or suck his way out of the game. Matt Stainbrook, you can't be stopped right now.