PAWTUCKET – For most, a visit to Orlando coincides with a stopover at Disney World. The opportunity to get chummy with Mickey and Minnie Mouse ranks high on the to-do list along with the myriad of rides the theme parks have to offer.
For Jeff Xavier, the chance to hobnob with the Disney crew can wait. The Pawtucket native has some business to conduct in the Magic Kingdom’s backyard, dealings that could go a long way in molding a pro basketball career somewhere.
Xavier has been selected to participate in the Orlando Invitational, set for July 6-8 at the RDV Sportsplex, the practice facility for the Orlando Magic. The gist of the O.I. is to provide college basketball’s top graduating seniors and pros the chance to compete before a myriad of scouts from all walks of basketball life.
“Supposedly there’s going to be NBA jams, D-League jams and reps from European teams,” Xavier said after working up a sweat in a summer league contest Tuesday night at the Pawtucket YMCA.
Xavier informed his agent, former Villanova star and NBA first-round selection Michael Bradley, of the good news last Friday. Weyinmi Efejuku, a classmate of Xavier’s at Providence College, is also in line to attend the three-day event.  
The job fair for hoopsters has yielded a renowned sense of purpose for Xavier, who graduated from PC last month with a degree in management. The ex-St. Raphael cager has been going through a grinding workout schedule set up by another former Saint, T.J. Sorrentine, currently an assistant coach at Brown.
“T.J.’s been working me out at Brown,” said Xavier. “I’m there virtually every day.”
Sorrentine’s rigorous training methods have already paid major dividends, helping Xavier shed 15 pounds since the end of PC’s season in mid-March.
“I’m down to 185, which is my real playing weight,” Xavier happily reported. “That was what I weighed my junior year at PC, which is perfect for me.”
It hasn’t been all basketball for Xavier since receiving his diploma. Through the aid of Dean Harrington, whose son Tyler pitched a few seasons for the SRA ‘9,’ Xavier has been working part time at Shamrock Financial, a mortgage company located in East Providence.

Bump in the road
It appears the college-themed summer league Curtis McCants has poured his sweat into at the Pawtucket YMCA has hit a bit of a snag. Due to a paperwork snafu, Division I athletes can not start playing until July 18.
“There’s a two-step process. The first is when the NCAA comes and does a background check on the building just to make sure no violations have been made,” explained McCants. “The Y thought that was it [in terms of becoming certified], which was not the case. You have to apply with paperwork.”
McCants quickly rectified the holdup, only to realize there was more red tape to cut. “Once you finish complying, there’s a 45-day window in which you have to wait. When you’re dealing with D-I players, the NCAA doesn’t mess around.”
The glitch means Rakim Sanders (Boston College) and Marshon Brooks (Providence) are likely to take their talents to another summer league. Both players, along with PC’s Bilal Dixon and Jamine “Greedy” Peterson were spectators at the Y Tuesday night.
NCAA rules stipulate that a D-I player can compete in only one summer league. That means Sanders and Brooks cannot start off elsewhere only to join up at the Pawtucket Y once the 45-day waiting period expires.
“You live and learn, it was an honest mistake,” said McCants, the YMCA’s athletic director. “It’s an unfortunate setback for the guys, but the NCAA has been very helpful in making sure we do things the right way.”  

Towing an anchor
As much as Jake Grimes enjoyed his time as a walk-on at the University of Rhode Island, the desire for steady playing time outstripped everything. That’s why Grimes, a former All-Stater at St. Raphael, is taking his slashing and shooting talents to Rhode Island College.
The relocation from Kingston to the Capital City occurred a few weeks after URI’s season ended. Grimes wound up appearing in four games for the Rams, scoring five points in 11 minutes.
“It was nice playing for Coach (Jim Baron), but the downside is that I didn’t get to play much,” said Grimes, who played two years at CCRI before moving on.
Grimes mentioned he had a couple of options at some Division II schools outside of the state, but being the father to an infant daughter helped put things in perspective.
“If I wasn’t at URI, I would have gone to RIC,” said Grimes, who is looking to forward to running the break with point guard Antone Gray, a former SRA teammate.
Currently Grimes has one season of eligibility remaining, but he recently filed an appeal with the NCAA in hopes he would be granted two more seasons of college ball.