The Not Xavier Guys

Xavier’s TBT team, the inimitably named Zip Em Up, is made up almost solely of Xavier players. Among them is one of the players who made zipping up famous, Mark Lyons, as well as the duo of Trevon Bluiett and JP Macura, who raised it to an art form. While the team has pedigree in the realm of white sheets and yellow tape, not every player on the roster will be familiar.

Devin Davis and Riley Lachance will both be playing with Zip Em Up in less than a week. Davis made his name at Houston with a team that lost on a buzzer beater in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Lachance is the 15th all time scorer at Vanderbilt.

Devin Davis

Davis is 6-7, 221, but he didn’t start his career as a modern style swing forward. Davis was a monster in the paint in college who didn’t spend a lot of time out near the arc. That has changed in his professional career as he has begun to develop a stroke from outside. Currently playing in the top tier of French basketball, Davis is averaging 12.3/5.6/1.2 for Le Portel where he is shooting .463/.375/.811.

Davis’ career has taken him from the G League to Greece and now to France. He’s fixed the free throw problems that plagued him at the college level while not losing the effectiveness and tenacity that make him a problem in the paint and on the glass. For a team built around guards and swing men, a forward that isn’t afraid to mix it up inside is a welcome addition.

Riley Lachance

If you saw that name and conjured up an image of what you thought that person might look like you were probably right.

Photo by Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images

Unlike Davis, Lachance is a prototype for his position. He’s a 6-2 guard who doesn’t quite crack 200 pounds and can really shoot the ball. At Vandy he averaged almost 11 points a game and threw in three assists, but it was his 41.3% three point shooting that made him a weapon.

In his professional career Lachance has remained a sniper. In two of the four years he has played professionally he has taken more three point attempts than twos. That career has taken him to Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands where the played for the fantastically named Zorg & Zekerheid Leiden, and now back to the G League. Zip Em Up has added him because he can space the floor and shoot the ball.

For now, those are the two guys on the official Zip Em Up roster who never played for Xavier. Both bring something to the team that it needs and both will see time on the floor, especially Davis in the post. It’s less than a week until we find out exactly how they will fit in.