UNLV basketball putting on full-court press for local prospect Xavion Staton

By Mike Grimala (contact)

Sunday, July 14, 2024 | 2 a.m.

Xavion Staton makes for an easy target around Las Vegas.

Whenever the 7-footer leaves the house, he attracts plenty of attention. And it seems everyone in town has an opinion to share:

Come to UNLV.

“I get it a lot,” Staton says with a laugh. “Whether it’s teachers or fans or just people when I’m out and about, they’re like, ‘Hey man, UNLV, that’s the move.’ There’s a lot of people like that.”

They are smart people.

Coming off a junior season that saw Staton average 13.8 points, 14.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game while leading Sierra Vista to a state championship, locals are wise to want him suiting up for the Scarlet and Gray.

Staton is rated the No. 35 player in the country, according to the 247 Sports composite rankings. He is the top high-school player in Nevada and the No. 3 center in the nation for the Class of 2025. He earned Gatorade State Player of the Year honors for 2023-24.

He’s got offers from all manner of blue-blood college programs, and UNLV head coach Kevin Kruger has made him the program’s top recruiting priority.

It’s a lot to take in for Staton, who is currently playing on the summer circuit with his AAU team. He was not considered a hot prospect until a major growth spurt between eighth and ninth grade added seven inches to his frame, and he’s still growing — as is his list of college suitors.

He credits his mother and father for helping him navigate the recruiting process, which has gotten crowded and, according to Staton, pleasantly hectic.

“I’m really enjoying the process,” Staton says. “To go through it is a true blessing. I’m not thinking of it as a hassle at all. It can get to be a lot at times, but I’m grateful to have that chaos.”

Following his growth spurt, Staton has adapted to life as a big man rather fluidly, with alley-oops and blocked shots atop his list of favorite things to do on the court.

“I’m an elite shot-blocker, in the most humble way,” Staton says. “That’s one of the things I take the most pride in is blocking shots. It doesn’t matter who it is, I’m going to jump with them and make it harder for them to score.

“And I’m definitely a lob threat. I love to catch lobs and finish at the rim. Basically right now I play around the rim. I’m a read-and-react kind of guy. I go and set screens and then roll, short roll into the corner, lobs, things like that.”

That skill set, and the potential to get exponentially better has earned him offers from top-tier schools such as Arizona, Creighton, State San Diego State, Texas, Kansas, USC, Illinois Ohio State and more.

UNLV has also offered, and Staton is interested.

Staton says UNLV was the first school to reach out to him during the summer before his junior year. Assistant Barret Peery made initial contact, and now the entire staff is involved in making Staton feel like the program’s top priority.

Staton attended two UNLV home games last season — his first ever — and came away impressed.

“It was a great experience,” he says of his trips to the Thomas & Mack Center. “I’d never been before then, so it was great being able to go. It’s a great atmosphere. I enjoyed watching. The team was solid. Their games were fun to watch and I had a lot of fun being there.”

Staton is also tight with current UNLV star D.J. Thomas, another Las Vegas product who stayed local by choosing to sign with the Scarlet and Gray last year after leading Liberty to a state title. Staton and Thomas talk “daily” these days, and their families are close.

Staton can’t deny the pull of playing for the hometown team.

“It does,” Staton said. “It’s definitely something that I keep in the back of my mind. Being born and raised in Vegas, that can be a thing, too. Not that I’m basing [my decision] off that, but I do think about it. I do follow D.J.’s story, because I know D.J. That hometown hero aspect is definitely something that plays into it.”

One factor at the front of Staton’s mind is academics. He has a maintained a 4.03 GPA at Sierra Vista and takes his schoolwork seriously.

The college he eventually chooses will have to treat academics as seriously as he does.

“The school support system is my biggest priority,” Staton says. “If that support system isn’t in place, then I won’t be able to focus on my academics or my basketball.

“I’ve been playing this game since I was four, and I’m riding on this. But I’m going to be realistic with myself — let’s say basketball doesn’t work out in any which way, because anything can happen — I want to be able to fall back on academics and have a successful career in what I want to do, which is architecture and interior design.”

Staton is currently arranging plans to take official visits to Arizona, Michigan, Ohio State and UNLV, but he hasn’t necessarily narrowed his list. He says he would like to make a decision before the start of his senior season, but it’s not a hard deadline.

His top goal for the coming year is to help Sierra Vista win another state championship.

“There’s nothing bigger than winning state,” Staton says.“We won for first time in history last year at Sierra Vista, so being able to repeat would break another record. For our own satisfaction, we want to be able to say that we went out winning state back-to-back.”

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.