Jonas Hayes is the answer to some of Xavier's Sean Miller questions

Probably the thing about this week in Xavier basketball that people are going to remember the most is the mutual agreement to part ways with head coach Travis Steele and the subsequent hiring - or rehiring, I suppose - of Sean Miller to fill that same role. Miller is one of the best coaches in Xavier history and was undoubtedly the best option available in the market. Xavier hit a home run with this hire.

Of course, there's a reason Miller was available and Xavier could afford him: the (somehow still unadjudicated) accusations that he was privy to recruiting violations that took place during his reign at Arizona. While much of what ESPN originally reported regarding Miller has been proven unfounded, he still has a Level 1 charge of lack of head coach responsibility hanging over his head. Similar charges have resulted in multi game suspensions; Xavier should assume Miller will be missing for at least a portion of the non-conference season.

All that brings us to Jonas Hayes. He is an excellent recruiter who has been integral in landing some of the most retention-worthy players on Xavier's roster. Keeping him on may help keep some cohesion between this team and the next (if that's the kind of thing you're into).

Additionally, he has been reported as a hot name in the head coaching market this season, particularly in relation to the SEC jobs that have come open in the portion of the country from which he hails. Now he's gobbling up experience in the head seat during Xavier's NIT run. That experience has been all of one game so far, but it was a good one.

According to Bart Torvik, it was Xavier's fourth best performance in terms of adjusted defensive efficiency all year; the top three were against Norfolk State, Central Michigan, and Ball State. The Muskies looked energized and focused, and they forced Florida - a top-50 offense - into its worst offensive performance of the season. Hayes himself seemed super composed in game and during the postgame presser. He said the decision to start Kunkel and run with one big was "a hunch" that he just ran with. He's either the most visceral coach in the country, or he's fine not defending his decisions in a press conference.

Either way, Xavier is likely to have a need for an interim head coach at the start of next season, and I think the man for the job is already on the staff.