Hoops Haven

As a mid major conference, the Atlantic 10 saw three teams advancing to the big dance last season, with Temple going as conference champ, and with Xavier and Dayton receiving at large bids. This year the conference is again loaded with strong balance, and is poised for another very competitive season.

Dayton is the obvious favorite with 10 of their 11 top scorers returning from a team which won a round in last season’s NCAA Tourney. They are anchored by Wooden Award candidate Chris Wright who is a lock for the NBA someday. Look for the Flyers to knock off Xavier’s streak of 3 consecutive regular season crowns. Duquesne returns four starters from an extremely athletic team that was a couple of Dionte Christmas bombs away from an NCAA bid. Coach Ron Everhart’s “10 men for 40 minutes” gives teams fits, with it’s ball hawking defense. LaSalle is poised for its best season since the early 90’s. Coach Giannini’s group is led by Rodney Green(17.8 ppg) and Ruben Guillandeaux, who was the conference’s 3rd leading scorer and 2nd in assists last season. The most exciting addition is newcomer, 6’10 Aaric Murray, who was a Top 50 recruit and gives the Explorers a powerful post presence. Xavier is one 9 teams in the nation to have 25 or more wins in each of the past 3 seasons. The Musketeers, like Dayton , rarely lose on their home court. However, they lost head coach Sean Miller to Arizona, and 3 seniors who combined for 37 ppg. Under new coach Chris Mack, Xavier will be hard pressed to duplicate the last 3 seasons. Richmond’s point guard Kevin Anderson, is one of the best in the country. Losing only one player to graduation, the Spiders could be a dark horse to win the conference. They must find a way to win on the road, which has proven to be (their Achilles heal) under Philadelphia native Chris Mooney. Temple lost leading scorer Dionte Christmas, Sergio Olmos, and guard Smardge Inge. Lavoy Allen returns, and he may be the best big man in the conference. Fran Dunphy’s teams always play tough defense, but desperately need scoring other than Allen. TU also had a sub par recruiting year. Charlotte returns preseason 2nd team selection point guard Dijuan Harris who is excellent. The 49ers are young and deep. Massachusetts had the best recruiting year in the A-10. Highly touted 6’5 guard Fred Riley and 6’7 Terrell Vinson were both pursued by Big East and ACC teams. The Minutemen only return one starter, but if the frosh develop………….lookout!  St. Joseph’s lost all world Ahmad Nivins, last year’s MVP of the conference and their only true scorer, to the NBA. The cupboard looks bare for 2010.  St. Louis’ two best players from 2009, Tommy Lindell and Kevin Lisch have departed. The Billikens always play excellent defense under Rick Majerus, but need offense desperately. George Washington has struggled under Coach Karl Hobbs. After last year’s 10-18 season, his job could be on the line. Fordham and St. Bonaventure have been buried at the bottom of the standings seemingly forever, and this year will be no exception.

Predicted Order of Finish:

1) Dayton

2) Duquesne

3) LaSalle

4) Xavier

5) Richmond

6) Temple

7) Charlotte

UMass

9) Rhode Island

10) St Joe’s

11) St Louis

12) George Washington

13) St Bonaventure

14) Fordham

Teams On the Rise

LaSalle, Duquesne, UMass

Teams On the Decline

St.Joe’s, St. Louis, Xavier

Coach of the Year Candidates

Giannini, LaSalle      Everhart,Duquesne      Kellogg, UMass

Player of the Year Candidates

Lavoy Allen, Temple      Chris Wright, Dayton      Kevin Anderson, Richmond

Other A-10 Players to Watch For:

Rodney Green, LaSalle

Rickey Harris, UMASS

Andrew Nicholson, St Bonaventure

Damian Saunders, Duquesne

Kenny Frease, Xavier

Freshman of the Year Candidates

Terrelle Vinson, Massachusetts

Fred Riley, Massachusetts

Aaric Murray, LaSalle

Chris Gaston, Fordham

Chris Braswell, Charlotte