Xavier Bishop
Photo by: Andrew Pedersen
An Offensive Force, MSU Senior Guard Xavier Bishop Leads Cats to New Heights After Committing to Defense
2/25/2022 5:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Xavier Bishop's transformation to a defensive force as a point guard has led MSU to the top of the Big Sky
BOZEMAN, Montana – Nearly 700 points, 201 assists and 45 steals after Xavier Bishop arrived at Montana State, his career as one of the most prolific point guards in Bobcat history seems natural, almost pre-destined. Bishop, at times, makes things look easy.
But that was never the case. In fact, his ability to simply survive at Montana State boils down to a simple statement.
"If your point guard isn't going to guard," says Bobcat head coach Danny Sprinkle, "you're not going to win games." And not winning games was something neither Sprinkle nor Bishop were willing to endure.
Bishop arrived at Montana State in the summer of 2019 -- a few weeks after current Bobcat head coach Danny Sprinkle -- after transferring from Kansas City. He'd enjoyed individual success, but the only winning team he played for there was 18-17.
A long relationship between Sprinkle and former UMKC coach Kareem Richardson, and Sprinkle's recruitment of Bishop coming out of high school, helped lead Bishop to Bozeman. Sprinkle soon learned something about his lightning-quick guard. "He wasn't too high on defense before he came here," Sprinkle said. "It was great that he had a year to sit out, because he's actually become a really good defender. And he's taken pride in it, which I'm super proud of him for doing."
NCAA transfer rules at the time called for Bishop to sit a year in order to play his final season. And while that final season falling in the Covid season of 2020-21 led to Bishop retaining eligibility for this season, it was embracing his first season at MSU that led to a transformation in Bishop's game. Not only did he improve defensively, he also became the kind of point guard Sprinkle knew he needed.
"Before he got here he was just a scorer," Sprinkle said. "(We) got into it in practice even when he was sitting out. I had to make him understand, 'You draw so much attention when you drive and get the ball into the paint. Yeah, you can score, but you need to make other players better.' That's the thing I think he's (improved) the most. He's made Jubrile (Belo) better, he's made Tyler (Patterson) better, he's made Amin (Adamu) better because of the attention he garners."
Bishop scored 1,055 points in three seasons at UMKC, leading the team in scoring and assists in 2018 and 2019, but when the coach who recruited him, Kareem Richardson, was fired in 2019 Bishop felt it was time for a change. And it wasn't easy. "We hadn't had much success there, but it was difficult (to leave) because I had built so many relationships and I didn't want to leave my teammates that I had been with for three years. But I definitely felt like I could take a chance on myself and find a better program and a better school in general when my coach was fired. It was a hard decision, but at the same time it was an easy decision because I felt like I could help another program find success."
While Bishop knew he needed the year of development, things didn't always proceed smoothly. "I felt like it was the most important year for me basketball-wise. I got to work on a lot of things, a lot of weaknesses, and turn some of them into strengths."
Sprinkle said that was by design. "You have to be demanding," he said. "There were times that I knew I had to get him out of his comfort zone. I love him, but I had to push his buttons. I had to piss him off. I had to go at him in practice sometimes and get the most out of him. I knew how to do that after just knowing him, the more I coached him I learned how to get under his skin. I know how to (push) him a little bit to get him going. When he does that he's a completely different player, and he locks in at a completely different level."
The process, Bishop said, worked. "Just becoming more of a point guard," he said of his primary goal. "I think some people could have argued before I got here that I was a 5-8 shooting guard, but definitely my leadership, passing ability, and also I feel like I took a big stride defensive since I got here. Those are the things I can see the staff help me make a huge jump."
Sprinkle had one factor on his side throughout Bishop's redshirt season – the presence of All-Big Sky guard Harald Frey, then a senior. "I didn't want to play him and Harald together," Sprinkle said of the importance of Bishop and Frey working together in practice for a season, "I wanted him to replace Harald. I knew he needed a year to develop, he knew he needed two years to get his degree and so everything fell into place."
Frey, now a professional player in Germany, said competition often got heated. "We had a special relationship in where we used to be super competitive on the court making each other better," Frey said, "even to the point where we got mad at each other and it would be words exchanged. But right after practice we would be best friends again."
Bishop lights up at the mention of Frey. "That's my guy," he says breaking into a wide smile. "We still communicate, talk to each other, almost every day."
While acknowledging that he needed the year of improvement that his redshirt season offered, he also offers without hesitation that it was by no means a breeze. "I feel like my redshirt year was something I needed but it was definitely tough, practicing and working out and then you've got to go put on a polo and khakis and watch the team play. It was a great year, it was a fun year, but it was definitely difficult."
After the challenge of a redshirt campaign, which ended prematurely with the onset of the global pandemic, Bishop and the college basketball community had a season of empty gyms and irregular schedules thrust upon them.
"The Saturday games were the toughest games," he said. "We were playing at noon, really early, sometimes 11 am. Trying to get up and get yourself going knowing there's no fans and no one to get you going, that was the hardest part. It felt like practice, like closed scrimmages, all the time."
Bishop faces his second and final scheduled Cat-Griz game on Sunday afternoon at 3 pm – the teams didn't meet last season because of Covid protocols in the UM program – and for Bishop it's somewhat bittersweet. "I wish I could have gotten more Cat-Griz experiences, but the first one was pretty fun. Hopefully I can leave Montana State undefeated against them. I'm definitely enjoying it, looking forward to it."
Bishop also carries a personal connection into his final rivalry contest. His father, William Bishop, played football at UM for one season in the 1980s. He finished his career at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, but "he really loved it out here and really was big on how great the people are, the support and the community," Xavier Bishop says. "He definitely enjoyed his time out here."
His father's passion for football led Xavier Bishop to the sport in his younger years, a traumatic event ended it. "I broke my arm in eighth grade and that was it," he said with a laugh. "I was all about basketball after that."
Privately, though, he'd fallen in love with the game years before. "My dad started an AAU team for my big brother and his friends, so I would be two, three, four year olds, traveling all across the country with them, going to different tournaments. I actually thought I was part of the team because I would have on their jersey, the head band. If they would be playing bad I would be on the bench talking crazy to them. I've been talking a lot of stuff since I was two, three years old, I actually thought I was going to get in (the games). So (his love for basketball) definitely came from watching my big brother play."
While Bishop has made his mark on the court, averaging 13.4 points and 4.2 assists per game during his two seasons as a Bobcat, he has been entirely at home in his new surroundings. "I could send him into an elementary school in Bozeman," Sprinkle said, "and after an hour he'd know everyone in the building."
Sprinkle said Bishop has truly taken to a leadership role, which is confirmed by his teammate and fellow senior Abdul Mohamed. "It's unbelievable to play with him," Mohamed said. "He has so much heart and he has so much fight in him. When you have that from one of the leaders on your team – and mind you he's not 6-6, he's 5-8 or 5-10 – everybody on the team loves him, I love him, and it's easy to play with a guy like that. I think he's the Big Sky Player of the Year, him or (Bobcat center) Jubrile Belo, if you ask me."
That tone is set by the Bobcat coaching staff, Bishop said. "They allowed me to be me, they didn't try to change me or change who I was," he said.
And Bishop being Bishop has led the Bobcats to nearly unprecedented heights. MSU has already won 21 games, matching a program high during the Big Sky era, and carrying a two-game lead into the regular season's last four games the Cats seek the program's first Big Sky regular season title in 20 years.
But none of that matters to Bishop now. He's having too much fun.
"It's been great," he said, his million dollar smile saying more even than his words. "A lot of fun."
#GoCatsGo
But that was never the case. In fact, his ability to simply survive at Montana State boils down to a simple statement.
"If your point guard isn't going to guard," says Bobcat head coach Danny Sprinkle, "you're not going to win games." And not winning games was something neither Sprinkle nor Bishop were willing to endure.
Bishop arrived at Montana State in the summer of 2019 -- a few weeks after current Bobcat head coach Danny Sprinkle -- after transferring from Kansas City. He'd enjoyed individual success, but the only winning team he played for there was 18-17.
A long relationship between Sprinkle and former UMKC coach Kareem Richardson, and Sprinkle's recruitment of Bishop coming out of high school, helped lead Bishop to Bozeman. Sprinkle soon learned something about his lightning-quick guard. "He wasn't too high on defense before he came here," Sprinkle said. "It was great that he had a year to sit out, because he's actually become a really good defender. And he's taken pride in it, which I'm super proud of him for doing."
NCAA transfer rules at the time called for Bishop to sit a year in order to play his final season. And while that final season falling in the Covid season of 2020-21 led to Bishop retaining eligibility for this season, it was embracing his first season at MSU that led to a transformation in Bishop's game. Not only did he improve defensively, he also became the kind of point guard Sprinkle knew he needed.
"Before he got here he was just a scorer," Sprinkle said. "(We) got into it in practice even when he was sitting out. I had to make him understand, 'You draw so much attention when you drive and get the ball into the paint. Yeah, you can score, but you need to make other players better.' That's the thing I think he's (improved) the most. He's made Jubrile (Belo) better, he's made Tyler (Patterson) better, he's made Amin (Adamu) better because of the attention he garners."
Bishop scored 1,055 points in three seasons at UMKC, leading the team in scoring and assists in 2018 and 2019, but when the coach who recruited him, Kareem Richardson, was fired in 2019 Bishop felt it was time for a change. And it wasn't easy. "We hadn't had much success there, but it was difficult (to leave) because I had built so many relationships and I didn't want to leave my teammates that I had been with for three years. But I definitely felt like I could take a chance on myself and find a better program and a better school in general when my coach was fired. It was a hard decision, but at the same time it was an easy decision because I felt like I could help another program find success."
While Bishop knew he needed the year of development, things didn't always proceed smoothly. "I felt like it was the most important year for me basketball-wise. I got to work on a lot of things, a lot of weaknesses, and turn some of them into strengths."
Sprinkle said that was by design. "You have to be demanding," he said. "There were times that I knew I had to get him out of his comfort zone. I love him, but I had to push his buttons. I had to piss him off. I had to go at him in practice sometimes and get the most out of him. I knew how to do that after just knowing him, the more I coached him I learned how to get under his skin. I know how to (push) him a little bit to get him going. When he does that he's a completely different player, and he locks in at a completely different level."
The process, Bishop said, worked. "Just becoming more of a point guard," he said of his primary goal. "I think some people could have argued before I got here that I was a 5-8 shooting guard, but definitely my leadership, passing ability, and also I feel like I took a big stride defensive since I got here. Those are the things I can see the staff help me make a huge jump."
Sprinkle had one factor on his side throughout Bishop's redshirt season – the presence of All-Big Sky guard Harald Frey, then a senior. "I didn't want to play him and Harald together," Sprinkle said of the importance of Bishop and Frey working together in practice for a season, "I wanted him to replace Harald. I knew he needed a year to develop, he knew he needed two years to get his degree and so everything fell into place."
Frey, now a professional player in Germany, said competition often got heated. "We had a special relationship in where we used to be super competitive on the court making each other better," Frey said, "even to the point where we got mad at each other and it would be words exchanged. But right after practice we would be best friends again."
Bishop lights up at the mention of Frey. "That's my guy," he says breaking into a wide smile. "We still communicate, talk to each other, almost every day."
While acknowledging that he needed the year of improvement that his redshirt season offered, he also offers without hesitation that it was by no means a breeze. "I feel like my redshirt year was something I needed but it was definitely tough, practicing and working out and then you've got to go put on a polo and khakis and watch the team play. It was a great year, it was a fun year, but it was definitely difficult."
After the challenge of a redshirt campaign, which ended prematurely with the onset of the global pandemic, Bishop and the college basketball community had a season of empty gyms and irregular schedules thrust upon them.
"The Saturday games were the toughest games," he said. "We were playing at noon, really early, sometimes 11 am. Trying to get up and get yourself going knowing there's no fans and no one to get you going, that was the hardest part. It felt like practice, like closed scrimmages, all the time."
Bishop faces his second and final scheduled Cat-Griz game on Sunday afternoon at 3 pm – the teams didn't meet last season because of Covid protocols in the UM program – and for Bishop it's somewhat bittersweet. "I wish I could have gotten more Cat-Griz experiences, but the first one was pretty fun. Hopefully I can leave Montana State undefeated against them. I'm definitely enjoying it, looking forward to it."
Bishop also carries a personal connection into his final rivalry contest. His father, William Bishop, played football at UM for one season in the 1980s. He finished his career at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, but "he really loved it out here and really was big on how great the people are, the support and the community," Xavier Bishop says. "He definitely enjoyed his time out here."
His father's passion for football led Xavier Bishop to the sport in his younger years, a traumatic event ended it. "I broke my arm in eighth grade and that was it," he said with a laugh. "I was all about basketball after that."
Privately, though, he'd fallen in love with the game years before. "My dad started an AAU team for my big brother and his friends, so I would be two, three, four year olds, traveling all across the country with them, going to different tournaments. I actually thought I was part of the team because I would have on their jersey, the head band. If they would be playing bad I would be on the bench talking crazy to them. I've been talking a lot of stuff since I was two, three years old, I actually thought I was going to get in (the games). So (his love for basketball) definitely came from watching my big brother play."
While Bishop has made his mark on the court, averaging 13.4 points and 4.2 assists per game during his two seasons as a Bobcat, he has been entirely at home in his new surroundings. "I could send him into an elementary school in Bozeman," Sprinkle said, "and after an hour he'd know everyone in the building."
Sprinkle said Bishop has truly taken to a leadership role, which is confirmed by his teammate and fellow senior Abdul Mohamed. "It's unbelievable to play with him," Mohamed said. "He has so much heart and he has so much fight in him. When you have that from one of the leaders on your team – and mind you he's not 6-6, he's 5-8 or 5-10 – everybody on the team loves him, I love him, and it's easy to play with a guy like that. I think he's the Big Sky Player of the Year, him or (Bobcat center) Jubrile Belo, if you ask me."
That tone is set by the Bobcat coaching staff, Bishop said. "They allowed me to be me, they didn't try to change me or change who I was," he said.
And Bishop being Bishop has led the Bobcats to nearly unprecedented heights. MSU has already won 21 games, matching a program high during the Big Sky era, and carrying a two-game lead into the regular season's last four games the Cats seek the program's first Big Sky regular season title in 20 years.
But none of that matters to Bishop now. He's having too much fun.
"It's been great," he said, his million dollar smile saying more even than his words. "A lot of fun."
#GoCatsGo
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