CINCINNATI (AP) – The choices get tough now for Romain Sato.

Xavier’s versatile guard is finishing his undergraduate degree and thinking he might get a master’s in international business. Or, he might put school on hold and wind up in the NBA as a draft pick – the second round is a possibility.

There’s also a chance he could play in Europe if the NBA doesn’t want him, perhaps studying in his spare time.

So many choices, so much uncertainty. None of it rattles the college senior’s calm demeanor. He doesn’t change his facial expression or voice inflection as he matter-of-factly lists the options, until he gets to the last one.

Then, the smile flashes and the eyes beam.

“I want to go visit my parents,” Sato said. “That would be nice.”

Sato hasn’t seen them since he left the Central African Republic in January 1999, a terrified 17-year-old who didn’t speak English but was expected to start classes in his new home of Dayton, Ohio, only a few days later.

The remarkable journey is nearly complete. Xavier is 19-10 heading into the Atlantic 10 tournament in Dayton. The Musketeers play St. Bonaventure in the first round on Wednesday.

As expected, Sato has been their best player. Little else has gone according to expectations.

Xavier has struggled this season without David West, the national player of the year in 2003 who went to the NBA as a first-round pick. Sato and senior guard Lionel Chalmers found themselves trying to fill West’s void while teaching a young lineup how to win.

The record isn’t what they expected, although a 9-1 finish to the regular season showed it might not be too late to accomplish a few things. And Sato’s numbers haven’t been up to par, ending any thought of getting picked early in the first round of the NBA draft.

Given how much he has matured a half-world away from home, Sato doesn’t let any of it bother him. In his perspective, life is good and there’s no reason to fret.

“He’s been about as good as anybody I’ve ever seen, especially the last month or two months, on just enjoying the process, enjoying his teammates, enjoying going to class, enjoying joking with the coaches,” assistant coach John Groce said. “He has really developed a big-picture perspective this year. I think that’s been the biggest change.”

Xavier was hoping he would develop into a big-time player as well. The university sent out nesting dolls that depict him in a Xavier uniform, a graduation gown and his native garb. He also has a Web site with information about his six languages and his native land.

For the first time in his four-year career, Sato’s scoring average is down – 16 points per game, after he averaged 18.1 last year with West getting most of the attention from opposing defenses.

Now, defenses concentrate on Sato, who’s had to find different ways to make an impact.

The 6-foot-5 shooting guard has concentrated on rebounding and is fifth in the conference with 7.9 per game – a remarkable statistic for someone who spends so much time behind the 3-point arc.

Sato’s defense also is so good that coach Thad Matta uses him to cover everyone on the opposing team except the center. He might cover the point guard for part of a game, then slide down and deny the ball to a much bulkier power forward later on.

“I’ve been doing this for 10 years, and I have never seen a guard rebound like he does,” Groce said. “And I’ve never been around a guard who has guarded so many different types of players and positions. It’s really odd.”

Sato also has learned what it’s like to be a leader in a foreign land.

“We’re kind of coming into our own as leaders,” said Chalmers, the team’s most vocal leader. “We handle things differently. That’s where we need to be with it. Early on, we didn’t know which way to go with things and nobody wanted to stop over anybody else. It was kind of up in the air.”

So are the next few months.

Sato is still close with his legal guardians in Dayton, who taught him the language and helped him through the tough transition to a new culture and a new sport – he didn’t start playing basketball until he was 14 years old.

When he thinks about the choices immediately ahead, he remembers their best advice.

“They always tell me: You can never worry about anything else because you’ve been through a lot,” Sato said.