CINCINNATI — Jack Nunge will not return to the Xavier Musketeers for his last season of eligibility.
Nunge tweeted the news on Thursday afternoon, saying it was "time for me to say goodbye" to college basketball.
The 7-foot center had an unprecedented seventh year of eligibility in NCAA play that he could have returned to Xavier for one more year. Nunge had transfered to XU from Iowa two years ago, carrying extra years of eligibility thanks to red-shirting with injuries and the extra COVID year.
Nunge's tweet alluded to his journey continuing into professional basketball somewhere, saying he "can't wait to find out where basketball takes me next." Nunge also thanked his coaches, saying he'll be a Musketeer "forever."
#ThankYouX pic.twitter.com/gVAk1d1ZnP
— Jack Nunge (@jnunge24) April 13, 2023
Nunge led the Muskies in rebounds and blocks during the team's Sweet Sixteen run, while also putting up 14.2 points per game. He made a late block that sealed the team's comeback to avoid the upset in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament over Kennesaw State.
He joins seven other Musketeers to leave the team, either due to the NBA Draft, a lack of eligibility or decisions to enter the transfer portal. Colby Jones left before running out of elgibility to try his chances in the NBA. Guards Souley Boum and Adam Kunkel are out of eligibility to play. Four other players entered the transfer portal, according to various reports: KyKy Tandy, Dieontae Miles, Cesare Edwards and Elijah Tucker. Each of those four players saw small amounts of playing time throughout Sean Miller's first year back as head coach. Technically, those players could return, but Xavier is no longer required to hold their scholarship spot, per NCAA rules, and could replace them.
The only members of the team that played any significant minutes this past season that remain are forwards Zach Freemantle (whose season ended with an injury) and Jerome Hunter, plus freshman guard Desmonde Claude.
Nunge's brother, a sophomore, was a walk-on with the team this past year. It's unclear if he will continue to play in that role for the Musketeers next season.
The exodus comes as Miller enters his second year as head coach of the Musketeers during this second stint of his with the team. He inherited all of the players from previous head coach Travis Steele's recruiting. The smaller rotation that Xavier had with limited minutes for the role players that are now departing was a clear signal that Miller wanted to re-shape the team with his own recruits.
Xavier has four incoming freshman recruits, three of which are rated as 4-star players: 5-foot-10 guard Trey Green, 6-foot-7 forward Dailyn Swain, 6-foot-6 guard Reid Ducharme and 6-foot-9 forward Kachi Nzeh. 247Sports ranks Xavier as having the 14th best recruiting class in the nation.
XU also scored two transfers so far this offseason: Dayvion McKnight, a Junior guard from Western Kentucky who averaged 13.1 points per game and 4.4 assists per game in his career with the Hilltoppers, and Moeller grad Logan Duncomb, a 6-foot-9-inch sophomore forward transferring from Indiana University, where he played in a limited number of games, ending his 2022-23 season early after undergoing sinus surgery.
