Transfers hope to have big impact on Xavier basketball

CEDAR RAPIDS - As the voice in the movie Field of Dreams once put it, 'If you build it, they will come.”

This applies to the Xavier boys' basketball team for the upcoming season. Of the 14 players, five are transfer students. The team has been strong in recent years and with many players looking for future careers in the sport, a solid team will lead to better opportunities for college recruitment. Although some of the boys came primarily to play basketball, there also are those who moved into Cedar Rapids recently or wanted to go to Xavier because of the Catholic education.

'I attended Kennedy High School for my freshman and part of my sophomore year,” junior forward Max Techau said. 'I transferred to Xavier because I thought it would be a better fit for me overall as well as for my future in basketball.”

Techau, along with Matt Mims, said they transferred primarily to play basketball, but also believe Xavier has much to offer off the court.

'Something I really liked about Xavier when I was looking at it was their class size because I wanted a small class,” Mims said.

Xavier's graduating class of 2018 has 201 students. Prairie, Mims' previous school, has 406 students in its sophomore class.

Junior Maliki Wilson transferred to Xavier from Washington High School and plays on the football, basketball and soccer teams.

'My parents and I spent a lot of time considering the possibility of me transferring to Xavier, and we decided that it would give me a better preparation for my future,” Wilson said.

Wilson transferred to Xavier around the beginning of his sophomore year and spoke of how easy it was to transfer because of how welcoming the other kids were.

Another transfer, junior Spencer Dempewolf, came to Xavier for the academic and faith aspects.

'I moved with my family to Cedar Rapids and my parents told me I could pick any school,” he said. 'I am Catholic and I wanted a smaller school so it was a great fit for me.”

Dempewolf transferred from Marshalltown High School in Marshalltown.

Senior Reese Houtakker, originally from Center Point-Urbana, came to Xavier because he wanted to play with Xavier's team and also play for Coach Ryan Luehrsmann.

'I talked to Mr. (Tom) Keating and the basketball coaches before my transfer,” Houtakker said.

Houtakker, along with the other transfer students on the basketball team, all have a positive outlook for the future and many mentioned a hopeful run to Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.