Xavier gets talented 2012 guard

Xavier head coach Chris Mack and his staff waited until the second weekend of practice to host their annual hoops kickoff, Musketeer Madness. Their thought was that there would be less season opening events to compete with, they'd get a better crowd and be able to make more of an impression. They were right.

Saturday night, four-star combo guard D'Vauntes SMith-Rivera from the class of 2012 committed shortly after the Madness festivities were completed.

A physically tough and aggressive kid who is always in attack mode, the 6-foot-2 junior from Indianapolis (Ind.) North Central is a winner.

Though he'd been courted by several high level programs, nobody had done more work than Xavier. Assistant coach Travis Steele laid the groundwork and Mack moved in for the kill.

"I'm really comfortable with the coaching staff," Smith-Rivera told Musketeerscoop.com. "I've been watching them play over the years and I like their style and their success. They showed me some film tonight and showed me how I'm the missing piece to the puzzle for the program."

Currently ranked #25 overall in the class of 2012, Smith-Rivera runs with the loaded Indiana Elite program during the summers. In college, he projects as a scoring guard in the mold of another Indianapolis product, Cincinnati's Deonta Vaughn.