Prospect Watch: Xavier Ball (2018)
Class of 2018 forward Xavier Ball of Hazelwood Central has been a welcome addition to the Hawks after transferring back home to St. Louis from Texas.
Before his sophomore year at Hazelwood Central, the 6’7″ Ball left St. Louis to move to Desoto, TX, where he spent his junior season. He decided to return to St. Louis for his senior season and his addition to the Hawks has made an already strong team even stronger. Ball has received recruiting interest from a number of schools such as UMSL and Fort Scott (AR). The Hawks entered the final week of the regular season with 22 victories and three tournament championships.
“I had been talking to the coaches about coming back to St. Louis for awhile,” Ball said. “I’m glad to be back. I was able to fit right in.”
Ball does not only provide size, but he has a versatile skill set to go along with it. He is averaging 11.6 points, 6.4 rebounds and one block while shooting 56 percent from the field. He turned in a huge performance in the championship game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament in December when he scored 24 points in the Hawks come-from-behind victory over St. Mary’s. His 3-pointer from the corner tied the game late and the Hawks went on to win.
The 3-point shot is a something that Ball has in his arsenal along with his ability to post up and get buckets inside and put the ball on the floor and score on the drive. He has become quite a matchup problem on a team that is well balanced offensively.
“I try to be matchup problem al the time,” he said. “If there’s a smaller player on me, I can go inside and post up. If there is a bigger player on me, I can work from the outside and use my skills.”
As the postseason approaches, Ball shares the same goal as his teammates, which is to make a deep run in the month of March. The Hawks have won district titles in two of the past three years, only to be defeated in the sectional playoffs by Chaminade.
“We’ve been coming together as a team,” he said. “We’re trying to make a big push in the playoffs and hopefully win a state championship.”