Atlantic-10 Conference Preview









Notes:

        Conference expansion? The A-10 was one of the conferences in the background of all of the conference expansion talks this summer. If the massive shakeup and apocalyptic changes had occurred, the domino effect likely would have had the Big East Conference raiding the Atlantic 10 Conference to construct a football or Catholic conference. For now, the conference emerges fully intact after a few of the major conferences were left changed.

        Most of the best return: The conference lost a few of its top players in Jordan Crawford (Xavier), Rodney Green (La Salle), Ryan Brooks (Temple), and Ricky Harris (UMass), but several key players are still in school and will serve as major building blocks this coming season. There is no clear cut player of the year in the conference, but Kevin Anderson from Richmond, Temple's Lavoy Allen, Damian Saunders of Duquesne and Dayton's Chris Wright are the early season front runners.

        An underrated conference: Being known more for being a strong mid-major, the Atlantic 10 may have taken the next step last season into a power conference. Xavier has made their way to three straight Sweet 16s as they defeated the streaking Minnesota and the surprising Pittsburgh before giving Kansas State everything they had in the double-overtime loss. Temple was dealt an extremely tough draw with No. 12 Cornell, the same team that made their way to the Sweet 16 before surrendering to Kentucky. Richmond, the third A-10 team to make the NCAA Tournament was upset in the opening round by Saint Mary's.

        In NIT postseason play, Dayton rallied through the entire field, topping Illinois, Mississippi and North Carolina en route to a championship. Rhode Island was just one point away from taking on conference foe Dayton in the NIT championship, but fell short to the Tar Heels.

Predictions:
  1. Temple 

Temple's most significant offseason moves weren't additions, but instead retentions. Coach Fran Dunphy, who has led the Owls to three straight Atlantic 10 titles, was given a large contract extension to keep him on board and away from other teams, like Rutgers. Lavoy Allen also returned to school after testing the NBA Draft waters this summer. Despite Dunphy's 0-3 record in NCAA Tournaments with Temple and Allen's passiveness on the offensive end of the court, both moves are excellent for the Owls' future.

The 29-win Owls ran into probably the toughest draw in the 2010 NCAA Tournament when the Selection Committee listed Cornell as the No. 12 seed, a team that had spent most of the year in the nation's Top 25 polls. Looking forward to this year, Lavoy Allen must take on a larger offensive role, while Juan Fernandez, a guard with outstanding scoring instincts, will need to step up his defense with shutdown guard and 14 point per game-scorer Ryan Brooks gone to graduation. A key to the team will be the development Ramone Moore and T.J. DiLeo, two guards vying for starting spots alongside Fernandez. Whoever it is that steps in will need to withhold the defensive tradition at Temple that held opponents to a conference low 56.8 points per game last season.

Player to watch: Lavoy Allen, Forward
  2. Dayton 

Dayton was one of the favorites last season, beginning the year ranked in the Top 25, streaking out to a 10-2 start before dropping road losses to New Mexico, Xavier and St. Joe's. That was the team's problem- they simply couldn't win on the road. The Flyers didn't lose a home contest until the end of January to Rhode Island, while they lost 5 of 9 on the road at that point. But the talent is back with Chris Wright and Chris Johnson and the addition of a heralded top 100 recruit, Juwan Staten. Coach Brian Gregory gained valuable experience last season as the A-10 preseason favorites rebounded from a poor start, faded late missing the NCAA Tournament and then finished on top of a strong 2010 NIT field.

Chris Wright is the player to watch this year as he is a legitimate NBA prospect and a tremendous athlete at 6'8", 225 pounds. He can score, rebound and defend both frontcourt positions. Chris Johnson is again by his side this year. The 6'6" wing was the team's second-leading scorer behind Wright and is a strong rebounder and a very good perimeter threat. Although Dayton lost three of its top five scorers, they'll have the coaching and talent to start and finish atop the A-10.

Player to watch: Chris Wright, Forward
  3. Xavier 

Sure, Xavier's leading scorer and star player, Jordan Crawford has moved on to the NBA, taking his 20.5 points per game and long-range arsenal with him and the team's leading rebounder, Jason Love, graduated, leaving his 11.8 points and 8.7 rebounds to be filled, but the Muskateers still have plenty of talent; they've been to three straight Sweet 16s, joining Michigan State as the only other team to do so. Returning are guards Terrell Holloway, Mark Lyons, Dante Jackson and Brad Redford. All contributed last year and seemed primed to take on bigger roles in 2010-11, especially Holloway, an undersized point guard with dynamic quickness and ability to create off the dribble. Dante Jackson is a 6'5" guard who will become the team's big perimeter threat this year with the departure of Crawford, as he knocked down over 40% of his shots from behind the arc last year. Jackson also duplicates his offensive skills as one of the best defenders in the league. Joining the backcourt is another big guard, Justin Martin, one of the top shooting guard prospects in the country. At 6'6", he's got a great lengthy frame that allows him to catch-and-shoot out to 25-feet or use a shot-fake and dribble to get into the lane.

Xavier doesn't have the talent to make a fourth straight Sweet 16, but their program should make a run at a league title and should make some noise in another NCAA appearance.


Player to watch: Terrell Holloway, Guard
  4. Richmond 

The Richmond Spiders spent some time in the nation's Top 25 in late February with early season wins over Mississippi State, Missouri and Florida on the road, while taking down Temple and Old Dominion at home. One of the best guards in the conference and perhaps the country, Kevin Anderson, returns to leads a core of contributors from last year's program. Anderson is very quick and dynamic with the ball in his hands and can run Richmond's Princeton-Style offense without many mistakes. Anderson is the 2010 conference player of the year and the leading returning scorer in the conference at 17.8 points per game. In addition, Justin Harper, Dan Geriot and Kevin Smith return, but missing from this year's team is key guard, David Gonzalvez, a 2010 2nd Team All-Atlantic 10 pick and 1st Team All Defensive Team in the conference. Harper should slide in nicely to the void left behind by Gonzalvez and his 1,700+ career points; Harper is a 6'10 small forward, an NBA prospect with the ability to score both inside and out. Albeit a little too inconsistent last season, Harper strung together strong performances together late in the season and will need to do so throughout the course of his senior year for Richmond.


Player to watch: Kevin Anderson, Guard
  5. Saint Louis 

A young Saint Louis team surprised many, racking up 23-wins en route to a fourth place A-10 finish, but will not catch many by surprise as the Billikens return nearly their entire roster in 2010-11. Leading the way is one of the league's best inside-outside tandems in Willie Reed and Kwamain Mitchell. Mitchell is an undersized scoring guard at 5'10", but uses his quickness to average 16 points per game and knock down a total of 64 3s in 2009-10. In the low blocks is Willie Reed, who scored 12.4 points per game on 58.7% shooting from the floor and corralling 7.9 rebounds per game. Reed recorded 14 points and 13 rebounds against Iowa State and 20 points and 15 boards against Notre Dame in back-to-back games in November last season. Add in 6'8" forward Cody Ellis, a rising sophomore who averaging 10.5 points as a freshman, fellow first-year, Christian Salecich, and Kyle Cassity, the team leader in assists per game, and the Billikens have a strong returning core group of players to compete as a dark horse candidate for the league title.


Player to watch: Willie Reed, Forward
  6. Charlotte 

Coach Bobby Lutz was fired and Alan Major will be replacing him with one goal in mind- get to the NCAA Tournament. Major inherited some talented forwards in Sharmari Spears and Chris Braswell. Together, the duo combined to score 25.5 points and collect 14.5 rebounds. Spears is a rising senior, and although undersized, is as aggressive as they come on the court, while Braswell is still young (sophomore) and learning to utilize his talents. As strong as that frontcourt combination may be, Charlotte graduated starting point guard DiJuan Harris and three other contributing guards, leaving a huge void behind. Aside from rising junior, Derrio Green, the backcourt has many questions and Coach Major only brings in one recruit, a 6'4" Slovenian guard who played at a high level in Europe for Union Olimpija in 2009-10.

Player to watch: Shamari Spears, Forward
  7. Rhode Island 

A one-point loss to North Carolina capped the 2009-10 season for the Rams, falling just short of an NIT championship berth against conference foe Dayton. Gone from the team are leading scorer Keith Cothran and leading rebounder Lamonte Ulmer, but returning to the team in 2010-11 is Delroy James, a forward who stepped up his play late in the season to average 19.3 points per game in the NIT postseason, but will need to be more aggressive rebounding for the ball for Rhode Island to be successful. 7-footer Will Martell will seek out more minutes and rebounds to replace Ulmer while rising sophomore Akeem Richmond and Marquis Jones will look to replicate Cothran's leadership and perimeter scoring. Charlotte will need to avoid another colossal collapse (1-7 in the team's final eight) to find the postseason in this season.

Player to watch: Delroy James, Forward
  8. Duquesne 

Damian Saunders leads a very pedestrian Duquesne team that finished 16-16 in 2009-10. Saunders did everything possible to help the Dukes win, giving it all to score, rebound and defend, showcasing his talents for NBA scouts, but unfortunately, no one stepped up to help him on consistent basis; Saunders will begin the year as a dark horse to win the conference's player of the year because of his all-around game and contributions. Bill Clark, a co-captain and the team's second leading scorer and rebounder, was suspended for the College Basketball Invitational loss to end the season, so he'll really need to turn around his career for the Dukes to have a shot at finishing in the top half of the conference.

Player to watch: Damian Saunders, Forward
  9. Massachusetts 

UMass finished just 12-20 last season and they lost their best player in Ricky Harris, but we're expecting the Minutemen to be better in 2010-11. Why? Guards Anthony Gurley, Freddie Riley and forwards Terrell Vinson, Sean Carter return to the starting lineup and only one player in addition to Harris, Lex Mongo and his 19 career minutes, don't return this year. Coach Derek Kellogg also brings in three of the top conference's incoming freshmen in 6'5" shooting guard, Jesse Morgan, 6'7" power forward, Maxie Esho and 5'9" point guard Daryl Traynham. Expect these three, along with Vinson, one of the top forward prospects in the class of 2009, and classmate Freddie Riley to take on a larger role with Harris' void left behind.

Player to watch: Terrell Vinson, Forward
  10. George Washington 

George Washington played some close games down the stretch last season, including eight games decided by six or less points in conference play; they lost five of these games and still finished 16-15 overall and 6-10 in the league. This year, they return nearly every contributor from last season's squad with the exception of leading scorer, Damian Hollis. With the experience and increased roles of the returning players, George Washington could move to .500 in the league.

Player to watch: Lasan Kromah, Guard
  11. Saint Joseph's  

Saint Joe's graduates its top two scorers, who combined for 26 points per game, but Coach Phil Martelli does return its starting frontcourt of Idris Hilliard and Todd O'Brien and two rising sophomore guards Carl Jones and Justin Crosgile. The Hawks biggest problem last year was giving up offensive rebounds and second-chance points on the defensive glass. Hilliard and O'Brien lead the way, but they'll need help from everyone else to reduce the -8 rebound per game difference they had last season.

Martelli also brings along one of the best recruiting classes in the league, headlined by power forward C.J. Aiken and shooting guard Langston Galloway. While Aiken may be a year away from contributing major minutes, Galloway was a major recruit who could provide a spark from the guard spot.


Player to watch: Idris Hilliard, Forward
  12. St. Bonaventure  

The Bonnies lost two of its top three scorers from last season in guard Jonathan Hall and Chris Matthews, but do return one of the league's best forwards, Andrew Nicholson, a 16.4 point and 7.1 rebound per game player. It will be difficult to replace Matthews, who was the team's second-leading rebounder, but also doubled as St. Bonaventure's best perimeter threat with 101 made 3s in 2009-10. Also leaving the team is starting point guard, Malcolm Eleby, who was released from the team after an on-campus fight this year. Replacing this much talent and productivity will have the Bonnies, once again, in the bottom of the A-10.

Player to watch: Andrew Nicholson, Forward
  13. La Salle  

La Salle lost one of the league's best guards in 2nd Team All Atlantic 10 pick, Rodney Green, but brings back of the conference's best bigs and one of the most promising centers in the 2011 NBA Draft, 6'10" sophomore Aaric Murray. Even with Murray and Green, along with Kimmani Barrett, Yves Mekongo Mbala, who both left La Salle as well, the Explorers still finished 12-18 overall and 4-12 in conference play. Last season's hopes were decimated by injuries, so Coach John Giannini will not only need better luck with health, but also increased production from returning forward Jerrell Williams and incoming freshmen guards Tyreek Duren and Cole Stefan.

Player to watch: Aaric Murray, Center
  14. Fordham  

Coach Tom Pecora has his work cut out for him at Fordham as the Rams have gone 1-31 in the Atlantic 10 and 5-51 overall over the past two seasons. Brenton Butler, a 16.5-point per game scorer graduated and Jio Fontan left the program for greener pastures in South California. That's obviously the bad news. The good news is Chris Gaston returns for his sophomore season. Gaston was the best freshman in the league last season, and one of the best in the country as he did it all for a poor Fordham team; he averaged 18 points and 11.4 rebounds. Fellow-rising sophomore, Lance Brown, will have a better year this year at the shooting guard spot.

Pecora brings along four incoming players, three freshmen to play on the wing and a JuCo transfer, a 6'10" big man. Marvin Dominique and Lamount Samuell, are lengthy offensive-attacking-minded players, while Branden Fraizer is a combo-guard who prefers to pull-up from behind the arc. Right now, aside from Gaston and Brown, no ones jobs are safe.


Player to watch: Chris Gaston, Forward