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First, the news:
Well... Looks like I'm going to be a Musketeer..... I will be attending Xavier University for my final year #Team95 pic.twitter.com/yt14CulF8g
— Malcolm Bernard (@MB_TBD2015) July 18, 2016
As we mentioned when Bernard visited the campus:
Let's start with the good news on Bernard: he put up 14.4/7.1/4.3 to lead the Rattlers in each category last year on a shooting line of .421/.211/.660. He also averaged 2.3 steals per game on a steal percentage of 3.6%. The vast bulk of his rebounding came at the defensive end. His assist rate was just outside of the top 50 in the nation, and his TO% of 22.1% is pretty acceptable for a guy being asked to do pretty much everything for his team. He also drew fouls at a pretty solid clip and was a good finisher around the rim.
The bad news? He can't shoot. His three-point percentage of 21.1% came on 11-52 from beyond the arc against all competition (FAMU played some games against non-D1 opponents, so numbers you can find for them vary according to whether or not those games are included). He hit just 30% of his two-point jumpers, a number worse than notoriously gun shy LAJ put up last year. This all combined to drag down his EFG% to 43%, well below the national average of 49.9%. Bernard's game depends on getting to the rim, but that's going to be a lot harder to do against Villanova than it was against Bethune Cookman.
Bernard will provide depth on the wings and a solid defensive option that Xavier was lacking. He mentioned when he left FAMU that he was trying to find a place where he could get into the NCAA tournament and win some games. It's almost certain that he'll have that chance with Xavier.