Greg Christopher talks about the coaching search

The final piece of theater today was AD Greg Christopher meeting with some of the Xavier media. In the press conference, linked above, he did his best to answer questions without going to deep into answering questions. Christopher was open and forthcoming throughout the time, which means it also wasn’t a brief encounter. If you don’t have the time to watch the whole thing, here’s a recap of some of the more burning questions you may have.

Does Xavier have anyone lined up yet? No. Christopher adamantly refused to get into names or any sort of specifics in that regard. When pressed with whether the coach was someone already in the building or someone else who may have contacted him, Christopher said “I haven’t looked at my phone since 3pm.”

What is the time frame? “Whether that is a week or two or longer, I don’t know.” That’s obviously not the answer that most Xavier fans will have wanted to hear. What it does speak to is Christopher’s obvious desire to conduct a full search. Travis Steele isn’t going to just be awarded this job.

What will the search entail? Trying to find that best person for the job. Christopher hinted at a third party search group, people inside the building, and people across the industry helping with finding the new candidates. The AD also said that he had a list and that it was evolving. Again, he got into absolutely no names.

Who is still on staff? “Maybe you had better ask him those questions.” That was Christopher’s response to a query about Basketball Director of Administration Mario Mercurio, but that was also the gist of any questions about any stuff. Rumor has Luke Murray and Mike Pegues going with Coach Mack to Louisville. Christopher said he would talk to all staff tonight. Losing Mercurio would be a massive blow to an already depleted program.

What of the players? The team as it is still stands. There hasn’t been any word yet that would suggest that will change. Evan Boudreaux already re-opened his recruitment, meaning Xavier has already lost at least one player and opened a scholarship. AD Christopher said that he will be calling all recruits tonight to find out where they stand.