Today’s Game:
Xavier Gold Rush (0-0) vs. Southern Polytechnic Hornets (0-0) Xavier Roster
Friday, October 31, 2008, 5 p.m. No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown
Men’s Basketball The Barn (capacity 1,300), New Orleans 0 Cordell Hadnot F 6-7 Fr. Los Angeles, Calif.
Briefly: Xavier plays its earliest regular-season opener . . . XU has won 12 consecutive openers. 1 Michael Ruffin G 6-1 Jr. New Orleans, La.
Series: Southern Poly defeated Xavier 74-60 on Nov. 19, 1988, in the only previous meeting. 2 Michael Harvey G 6-1 So. Amite, La.
Rankings: Xavier is No. 19 in the Victory Sports Network NAIA Division I preseason rankings. The 3 Kelechi Okoroha F 6-4 Sr. Missouri City, Texas
Rush didn’t crack the NAIA Division I coaches preseason top 25 but ranked 32nd among all teams with votes. 4 Alex Stone G 6-2 Jr. Somerset, N.J.
In 2007-08: Xavier was 24-10, 12-6 (third place) in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference, finished 10 Devin Andrew G 6-4 So. Harvey, La.
second in the GCAC Tournament and reached the Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I National Championship 11 Olumide Olafioye G 6-4 Jr. River Rouge, Mich.
for a school-record fourth consecutive season . . . Southern Poly was 13-17, 7-11(sixth place) in the 12 Shaun Dumas G 5-11 Sr. New Orleans, La.
Southern States Athletic Conference and lost in the opening round of the SSAC Tournament. 14 Ryan DeRousselle G 6-1 Jr. Marrero, La.
Honored: Xavier’s only seniors — guard Shaun Dumas and forward Kelechi Okoroha — were 15 Landon Bussie F 6-5 Jr. Baltimore, Md.
chosen to the preseason All-GCAC team by the league’s head coaches. 20 Dannie Woods F 6-7 Jr. San Antonio, Texas
Distinguished: XU is one of nine with active streaks of four or more consecutive appearances at the
22 Harold Cleveland G 6-2 Jr. Pasadena, Calif.
Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I National Championship. The others are Azusa Pacific, Concordia (Calif.),
23 Cornelius Kennedy F 6-5 Jr. Los Angeles, Calif.
Georgetown (Ky.), LSU-Shreveport, Mountain State, Oklahoma Baptist, Oklahoma City and Robert Morris.
Tune In Tomorrow: Both teams will play Saturday — Xavier at 5 p.m. against Carver Bible and 24 Josh White F 6-6 Fr. Los Angeles, Calif.
Southern Poly at 7 p.m. at Loyola. XU’s women will play a 7 p.m. exhibition Saturday after the men’s game. 44 Jamaan Kenner G 6-4 Fr. LaPlace, La.
HEAD COACH: Dannton Jackson (Xavier 1992 and 1996) . . . 115-50 in
Shaun sixth season at Xavier.
GCAC Men’s Standings Dumas
ASSISTANT COACH: David Egans (Xavier 2002), third season.
(2007-08 final) League Games All Games
W L Pct. W L Pct.
LSU-Shreveport 16 2 .889 31 3 .912 Southern Polytechnic Roster
Mobile 15 3 .833 22 10 .688 No. Name Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown
Xavier 12 6 .667 24 10 .706 1 Jas Rogers G 6-1 Jr. Newark, N.J.
Tougaloo 11 7 .611 17 13 .567 3 Jarrod Clark F 6-7 Sr. Jacksonville, Fla.
Spring Hill 10 8 .556 19 12 .613
Loyola 9 9 .500 16 13 .552
4 Travis Smith G 6-2 Sr. Columbus, Ga.
William Carey 7 11 .389 17 15 .531 Kelechi
10 Greg Hughes F 6-6 Sr. Liberty, Miss.
Belhaven 7 11 .389 16 16 .500 Okoroha 14 Anthony Snell G 6-2 So. Jonesboro, Ga.
SUNO 2 16 .111 5 20 .200 20 Ledonshay Johnson F 6-6 Sr. Tallahassee, Fla.
Dillard 1 17 .056 5 21 .192 22 Joe Posey G 6-5 Sr. Colonial Beach, Va.
2008-09 Preseason All-GCAC 23 Brenden Slotter G 6-2 So. Marietta, Ga.
Sean Bennett Loyola 5-11 Junior Guard 24 Chase Armstrong G 6-2 Sr. Powder Springs, Ga.
Michael Bridges Dillard 6-4 Junior Guard Shaun Dumas and Kelechi Okoroha participated 32 Nick Mattone G 6-4 Sr. Boston, Mass.
Jeremy Cable Tougaloo 6-6 Senior Forward 33 Brent Jennings G/F 6-4 So. Atlanta, Ga.
Monday in the New Orleans Hornets’ Read to Achieve
Marcus Coleman Spring Hill 6-0 Junior Guard
Shaun Dumas Xavier 5-11 Senior Guard series at Bethune Elementary School in New Orleans. 34 Jordan Harrell G 6-3 Fr. Marietta, Ga.
Tyrone Hamilton LSUS 6-0 Senior Guard 40 Cris Davis G 6-2 Fr. Douglasville, Ga.
Dexter Middleton William Carey 6-3 Senior Guard Upcoming Home Games 42 Justin Thompson F 6-9 Sr. Canton, Ga.
Dax Miller Belhaven 6-2 Senior Guard Saturday, Nov. 1 — Carver Bible, 5 p.m.
Kelechi Okoroha Xavier 6-4 Senior Forward Friday, Nov. 7 — Huston-Tillotson, 6 p.m.
44 Tony Foster F 6-9 Jr. Harvey, La.
Jeremy Price Spring Hill 6-1 Senior Guard Friday, Nov. 14 — Wiley (Student Homecoming), 7 p.m. 54 Anthony Washington F 6-9 Sr. Las Vegas, Nev.
Jared Stevenson LSUS 6-1 Junior Guard
Donte Walker Mobile 6-2 Soph. Guard Monday, Nov. 17 — Philander Smith, 6 p.m. HEAD COACH: Jeff Jones, fourth season.
Korey Whiting Belhaven 6-3 Senior Forward Saturday, Nov. 22 — Texas College (Alumni Homecom-
ing), noon
ASSISTANT COACH: Collier St. Clair, fourth season.
GRADUATE ASSISTANT: Richarde McCray, first season.
Follow Xavier men’s basketball on the Web at www.xula.edu/athletics/mb
Xavier dedicates season to deceased former player
One of the strengths of the Miami Dolphins’ back-to-back Super Bowl champions of the early 1970s was a formation
called the 53 defense.
The Xavier Gold Rush will operate its own version of the 53 defense during the 2008-09 basketball season — a tribute
to former XU student-athlete Stephen Stallworth.
Stallworth, who wore No. 53 as a member of Xavier men’s basketball teams in 1999-2000 and 2000-01, died on September
3, 2008, in a trucking accident in Conway, Ark. He was 30 years old.
The Gold Rush also will wear uniforms with a No. 53 patch in memory of Stallworth.
Stallworth was a 6-foot-7, 205-pound forward from Pensacola, Fla. As a senior he ranked third with 9.2 points and 4.7
rebounds per game for the Gold Rush’s 2000-01 team, which was 24-7, earned a share of the Gulf Coast Athletic Confer-
ence regular-season championship and received a bid to the NAIA Division I National Championship at Tulsa, Okla.
He was a two-year letterman for the Rush and received his bachelor of science degree from Xavier in May 2002.
“Stephen was a hard-working kid,” said Dale Valdery, Xavier’s coach from 1990-2002. “He came to work every day and
was a good student. I never had any problems with him. He gave 100 percent at all times. He got along well with all his
teammates.”
Dannton Jackson, Xavier’s current head coach, was an assistant coach on the teams Stallworth played for. David Egans, Stephen Lamar Stallworth
Xavier’s current assistant, was a teammate of Stallworth in 2000-01. Nov. 30, 1977-Sept. 3, 2008
“Stephen was real easy to get along with,” Jackson said. “He was a hard worker and fun to be with. He was our best post
player at the time. He helped us win a championship.”
Stallworth graduated from Pensacola High School in 1996.
He was an all-conference player for Faulkner University and
was on the University of South Alabama roster in 1998-99
before transferring to Xavier.
Stallworth lived in Fort Worth, Texas, and worked for
Schlumberger at the time of his death.
Survivors included his wife, Monique Thornton Stallworth;
his 4-year-old daughter, Logan Amelia Stallworth; his father,
Ed C. Stallworth Sr.; his mother, Mattie Jones Stallworth; his
brother, Ed C. Stallworth Jr.; and sisters Deana E. Stallworth,
Shanitha Stallworth, Shanelle Stallworth and Shanenne
The Gold Rush in 2008-09 will
Stephen Stallworth (front row of players, second from right) helped Xavier Stallworth. A scholarship fund has been established for Logan wear uniforms with a No. 53 patch
go 24-7 in 2000-01 and reach the NAIA Division I National Championship. Stallworth. in memory of Stephen Stallworth.