Maurice McAfee shook his head and smiled, watching Xavier teammate David West goof around before a pickup game a month ago.

        “You can tell he's a sophomore,” the senior guard said. “He's still childish.”

        Yet it was that same sophomore who corralled McAfee after a ragged XU practice two weeks ago, brainstorming about how to bring the newcomers up to speed.

        This is the real West. Not just a player The Sporting News and Dick Vitale's College Basketball project as an Atlantic 10 first-teamer. A sophomore ready to lead like a senior.

        “I feel like Coach (Skip Prosser) and them put that role on me,” West said. “I'm willing to take it. Even though I'm not a captain, I feel like a leader. I feel like I've been through enough to maybe help the younger guys.”

        This isn't talk. Last year, in the locker room after a loss at Duquesne, the 6-foot-8 center stood up and chastised his teammates for their lack of effort. Freshman or not, he took charge.

        West more than backed it up on the court. He led the A-10 in rebounding (9.1 average) — ranking second nationally among freshmen — and averaged 11.7 points, becoming the first player in school history to start every game as a true freshman.

        “I felt I had an OK freshman season,” he said. “But that's over with. I just need to build off the things I learned, the bumps in the road I had last year. I'll try not to hit those again.”

        What bumps? For one, a bump.

        West felt he let his teammates down when he caught n elbow to the face in a game at Dayton. Though he suffered a concussion, West felt responsible for XU losing that game, and its resulting four-game losing streak.

        “I struggled in that stretch, and my numbers were down (three points vs. La Salle, five points at Temple),” he said. “I kind of took that losing streak as, "I let them down.'”

        He came in at 225 pounds last year but burned off some weight and played light at 215. He felt his legs weren't strong enough to help him jockey in the paint. After intensive offseason weight work, “I'm 231 and muscle,” he said.

        Since he set the school's freshman rebounding record, West already is being likened to former XU standouts Tyrone Hill and Brian Grant.

        Prosser offers Grant's story as a cautionary tale. Few remember that his sophomore-year numbers (11.8 ppg, 9.1 rebounds, .576 shooting) were virtually identical to his freshman year (11.6, 8.5, .572).

        “He had some injuries, and he was much more of a known than he was the prior year, so defenses paid attention to him,” Prosser said. “We tell Dave we want him to avoid that. We want him to really improve in all areas. That's the challenge.”

        Prosser tells his players daily in practice to think “inside-out,” looking for West on the post before eyeing outside jumpers. Though West is just the third-leading returning scorer, Prosser said West can be the team's go-to scorer.

        West is the team's leader this preseason in scoring (17.5 avg.) and rebounding (8.5). He brings the emotions to match.

        “He really has a tremendous passion,” Prosser said.

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