Matt Stainbrook prepares for basketball future

After a spate of NBA workouts and Summer League stints in Orlando and Las Vegas, former Xavier center Matt Stainbrook is back on the Musketeers' campus and awaiting the next step in his professional career.

He's 99 percent sure he'll end up overseas, perhaps in Belgium, Germany, France, Italy or Israel.

As his agent finds the best career fit, Stainbrook's plans are to work out at XU's facilities, drive for Uber, and prepare for the next chapter of his life.

"It's stressful and it's fun. The fun part is obviously being able to travel and look forward to something that will be your career for a little bit," Stainbrook said. "The stressful part is just not knowing where I'm ending up. I barely know what I want for breakfast tomorrow, let alone where I'll be in a month."

Two Summer League invites should enhance his prospects.

Before joining Indiana Pacers in the Orlando Summer League July 4-10, Stainbrook participated in the team's mini-camp in Indianapolis. Although he was grateful for the opportunity and had "a great time" competing in practices, Stainbrook was a bit surprised the success didn't translate to playing time in Florida.

Stainbrook checked into just one contest, a 90-65 rout by Detroit. He scored three points in 4:18.

"Being a rookie, you know you're guaranteed nothing. So I wasn't bitter about not having playing time or anything like that. Overall, I had a really good experience with Indiana. I enjoyed its process," Stainbrook said.

The Pacers prepared him for his next NBA Summer League stop with Golden State in Vegas. By the time that league unfolded July 10-20, Stainbrook was accustomed to the shorter shot clock and defensive three-second violations.

Playing with Golden State, he said, was a blast.

"First off, the players that I got to play with were all really nice guys. I got along with them really well, sort of connected immediately. And it's always fun seeing guys that you like succeeding. That made it really easy off the bat," Stainbrook said.

"And then the coaches were really, really helpful. Having Luke Walton as your head coach – he liked me as a person, he liked me as a player."

In five games with the Warriors, Stainbrook averaged 14.6 minutes, 4.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and five points. His best game was July 16 against the Knicks, an outing in which he scored 10 points behind 4-for-4 free-throw shooting. He also had three rebounds, an assist and a block.

One perk of playing for Golden State was seeing many of the Warriors' stars, including coach Steve Kerr.

"Draymond Green came to a game, and Leandro Barbosa, Andre Iguodala and Harrison Barnes. Just seeing some of those guys that are now champions and stuff like that, it's crazy," Stainbrook said.

"And then you see the work ethic. I remember hearing that Harrison Barnes got in the second weekend we were there. He got straight off the plane and went to lift…and then came in to the gym to get some shots. It was cool to sort of see what it takes to be a pro. Until you feel the schedule and everything that goes with it, it's hard to sort of put it into words."

Stainbrook gained other insights through Summer League – like players' size, athleticism and IQ – and garnered teams' feedback through his agent. He was told he was a very skilled big man with a style of play coaches appreciated, and that they'd like to see him work on his conditioning and a longer mid-range shot.

If he were to play in the NBA, it's also plausible that Stainbrook would need to transition to power forward because of his size.

Xavier coach Chris Mack kept up with his former player via text messages throughout the Summer Leagues and was pleased with the way Stainbrook seized his chances.

"The opportunity that he was able to get playing with two Summer League teams is a great thing. It will only boost his stock for a team overseas. The higher-profile player you are, the more money you command, and I think he'll land with somebody pretty daggone good," Mack said.

"He deserves it. He's a great player. He's really made the most of his opportunity here at Xavier and beyond. I'm anxious to follow his career as it unfolds."

BATTER UP: You're invited to the Xavier basketball team's second annual softball game at Hayden Field. The 'Xavier World Series' is at 2 p.m. Thursday, and refreshments will be provided as Team (James) Farr squares off against Team (Remy) Abell.

Team Farr features J.P. Macura, Travis Steele, Tim Stainbrook, Luke Murray, Mario Mercurio, Myles Davis, Sean O'Mara, Jeremy Growe, Kaiser Gates, Joe Sullivan and Larry Austin.

Team Abell includes Chris Mack, Chris Barbour, Alex Bergen, Matt Jennings, Brett Sanders, Jalen Reynolds, Trevon Bluiett, Ty Sampson, Allen Payne, Edmond Sumner, Makinde London and Mike Pegues.