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Who is going to be Xavier's shootout hero this year?

Big East Basketball Tournament - Quarterfinals Photo by Elsa/Getty Images

Our guy RetireFiftyTu - whom you should all be following on Twitter - dropped some interesting knowledge on us yesterday. Since my computer is broken and I'm on mobile, I'm throwing up a screenshot instead of embedding. Sorry.

The obvious follow-up is at the bottom of the tweet. First, let's define a role player.

Right off the jump, I'm going to eliminate Tre, JP, and Kaiser for reasons that I trust are obvious. None of the team's top three scorers is a role player. I'm also eliminating Tyrique from consideration. I went back and forth on this one, but he's definitely a focal point when he's on the floor. If he stays out of foul trouble, he's not a role player (to me).

Let's run down who is left.

Naji Marshall

Why he might: he's 6'7" with the appendages of a seven footer. He has the craftiness of a much less athletic dude on the offensive end. He hasn't shown any signs of being cowed by a moment. He stays active on the offensive glass.

Why he might not: he's not built for a drawn out fight in the paint, which these games tend to become. He's a freshman. He dropped an ORtg of 17 against Wisconsin.

Sean O'Mara

Why he might: he's more athletic than he gets credit for. His footwork around the rim is exquisite. He's got a set you could bowl with; I like to think he demanded the ball, Jimmy Chitwood style, before the decisive possession against Arizona. He's cash from the line.

Why he might not: he's not getting a ton of minutes. He fouls a lot. It might come down to whether or not he can do the things that aren't scoring well enough to stay on the floor.

Quentin Goodin

Why he might: if anyone on this team is going to punch on UC's center, it's Q. He has a 15:1 A:TO in Xavier's two A games (Wisconsin and Baylor). I love him so much I looked into adopting him, but it turns out he's a legal adult and already has parents. He is strong and has really improved in reading the defense to get to the rim.

Why he might not: his jumper occasionally draws nothing but glass. He seems more likely to dish out a remarkable amount of assists than hunt a large number of points.

Kerem Kanter

Why he might: he's coming on strong, hitting 8 of his last 10 from the floor and averaging 10.5 PPG in the last two games. He's effective around the rim with either hand. The team has seemed willing to feature him on offense for stretches.

Why he might not: he hasn't gotten more than 15 minutes in any game. His long jumper has been AWOL for most of the year. He might not get a chance of Tyrique or Sean goes off.

Paul Scruggs

Why he might: he's 6'3", long, and bouncy. He's making 60% of his shots from inside the arc.

Why he might not: Coach Mack rides veteran guards in big games. He turns the ball over kind of a lot. He's a freshman in one of the meanest games in all of college basketball.

Of course, there's always the potential that Elias Harden drops 16, or Tre and JP combine for 63 and Kaiser adds another 20. I'm ready for this thing to jump off.