Atlantic 10 Conference Preview – Part One
In order to prepare yourself for the 2004-05 Atlantic 10 men’s basketball season, you’re going to need to forget everything that has happened in the past five years. Forget the dominance of Xavier, Dayton and Saint Joseph’s. That era is over with, at least as far as Massachusetts and George Washington is concerned. The Minutemen are poised to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in over five years and may even relive the successes of the Marcus Camby era. Well, maybe not completely relive the successes of the Marcus Camby era – this is not a Final Four-caliber team. They, along with George Washington, are the class of the A-10 this year though.
The standings are not the only thing that will have a new look this season. Many teams, most notably Dayton, Saint Joseph’s and Xavier, have lost several key players. La Salle and Xavier both have first-year coaches. John Giannini, the new head man for the Explorers, will attempt to bring respect back to a program that was plagued by rape allegations in the off-season. Those allegations forced Billy Hahn, the former head coach, to resign and for the university to sever ties with the three players accused of the rape. Xavier’s Sean Miller will have a completely different objective, which is to lead the Musketeers back to the NCAA Tournament after losing his top three scorers from last year’s Elite 8 team.
Saint Joseph’s Phil Martelli will have a similar challenge after losing all three members of the nation’s best backcourt from a year ago. Jameer Nelson and Delonte West are now getting paid a lot of money to put the ball in the basket while Tyrone Barley is probably playing defense on anyone and anything he can find. I don’t think the Hawks will struggle as much as everyone thinks – they have amazing dedication, desire and determination. You don’t have to look any farther than their mascot to realize this. If he ever (and I do mean ever) stops flapping his wings during a game, he will lose his scholarship, which begs two questions. Why does a mascot get a scholarship for being anonymously goofy in an awesome costume, and why would you ever stop flapping your wings if you were wearing the hawk suit? It’s what hawks do, and I think it’s the least the mascot could do. This also makes me wonder if other mascots have the same type of deal. I really hope for the Stanford mascot’s sake that he or she must act like a tree for the entire game – or else. Now that’s a cushy gig. Just remain stationary (as if your roots were in the ground) and fall down every time there’s a gust of wind over 80 miles an hour (which tends not to happen inside basketball arenas).
Although Massachusetts and George Washington are the favorites to win each division, there is no guarantee that they will. There’s no guarantee that any team will finish the season where I say they will. As St. Bonaventure proved two years ago, there is no guarantee that any team will finish the season at all. What is guaranteed, however, is that this A-10 season will provide more parity and competitiveness than any in recent memory.
Hoopville Pre-season All A-10
First Team
G Dawan Robinson, Rhode Island
G Mardy Collins, Temple
G T.J. Thompson, George Washington
F Rashaun Freeman, Massachusetts
F Steven Smith, La Salle
Second Team
G Anthony Anderson, Massachusetts
G Bryant McAllister, Duquesne
F Mike Hall, George Washington
F Patrick Lottin, St. Bonaventure
F Brian Thornton, Xavier
Third Team
G Martin Osimani, Duquesne
G Carl Elliott, George Washington
F Pat Carroll, Saint Joseph’s
F Justin Doellman, Xavier
F Dwayne Jones, Saint Joseph’s
Conference MVP:
Rashaun Freeman, Massachusetts
Conference Freshman of the Year:
Churchill Odia, Xavier
Conference Newcomer of the Year:
Brian Thornton, Xavier
Defensive Player of the Year:
Dwayne Jones, Saint Joseph’s
Most Improved Player:
Justin Doellman, Xavier
A-10 Team Capsules (In Projected Order of Finish)
East Division
1. Massachusetts Minutemen
10-19 (4-12, A-10), 4th in A-10 East
Projected starting five:
PG Anthony Anderson (12.9 ppg, 3.5 apg, .387 3-pt %)
SG Art Bowers (9.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg)
F Maurice Maxwell (8.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg)
F Jeff Viggiano (9.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg)
F Rashaun Freeman (15.4 ppg, 8.5 rpg)
The Minutemen return all five starters from a year ago, and one of the three players that they lost, Paco Kotaridis, had three times as many vowels in his name than points scored. Junior forward Rashaun Freeman is a frontrunner to win the A-10 Player of the Year Award, and senior PG Anthony Anderson’s outside shooting skills will give Massachusetts a balanced inside-outside scoring attack.
After sitting out the entire 2003-04 season due to NCAA academic regulations, sophomore forward Lawrence Carrier will receive considerable playing time at the small and power forward slots. Carrier was rated as high as the 86th-best prep prospect two years ago. Canadian freshman Olivier Lamoureux was rated as Quebec’s best big-man prospect and should be well-groomed playing under Freeman. Another freshman big man, 6-foot 11-inch, 325-pound center Jeff Salovski, will also provide depth at the center position.
Freeman is truly a difference maker and will be the best player on the floor in almost every game Massachusetts plays this season. Combine him with four other returning starters and the Minutemen appear poised to return to their glory days of the mid-90s. Unlike the A-10 West, where many teams are on the same level, Massachusetts should be the best team in the east this season. The only team that should give them trouble is Temple, and even they won’t be able to post a better conference record than the Minutemen. Massachusetts has the talent to, and will win the A-10 East and advance to the NCAA Tournament this season.
2. Temple Owls
15-14 (9-7, A-10), 2nd in A-10 East
Projected starting five:
PG Mardy Collins (15.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg)
SG Dustin Salisbery (7.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg)
SF Antywane Robinson (4.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg)
PF Nehemiah Ingram (1.9 ppg, 2.9 rpg)
C Keith Butler (4.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.66 bpg)
The Owls must find new ways of scoring points as David Hawkins, along with his 24.4 points per game, have graduated. It may be a blessing in disguise, however, as Hawkins took 33 percent of his team’s shots last season. His departure will give talented juniors Mardy Collins and Antywane Robinson more scoring opportunities. Collins capitalized on his chances last year, averaging 15.5 points per game, giving him the A-10’s second-highest returning scoring average.
Mark Tyndale, who was named the best high school player in the Philadelphia area, appears to be the leader of a strong freshman class. The 6-foot 5-inch Tyndale averaged 22.7 points and 11 rebounds per contest in his senior year. DaShone Kirkendoll, a 6-5 wing from Dayton, Ohio, will give the Owls a legitimate scoring threat on the perimeter.
Hopefully these freshmen can contribute because Temple’s depth took several blows in the off-season. Junior Michael Blackshear was suspended from the team indefinitely for violating team rules for the second time in an Owls’ uniform. Blackshear played in 23 games last season, starting twice, and led the A-10 in offensive rebounds per game with a 3.1 average. Sophomore guard Tyreek Byard was also lost for the season after failing to meet academic requirements. Byard started nine games in 2003-04, and was second on the team in three-point percentage (.300).
Temple’s absolutely brutal non-conference schedule should help them shape up their game by the time A-10 play rolls around, and may look good to the NCAA Tournament selection committee in March. Their size will frustrate most conference foes and may help to slow down Massachusetts’ Rashaun Freeman. However, with the losses of Blackshear and Byard, Temple appears to only be six or seven deep. Despite the depth problems, the Owls should advance to post-season play for the 22nd straight season. How the freshman and role players contribute will dictate which tournament the Owls are invited to.
3. Saint Joseph’s Hawks
30-2 (16-0, A-10), 1st in A-10 East
Projected starting five:
PG Dwayne Lee (1.9 ppg)
SG Chet Stachitas (5.5 ppg, .439 3-pt %)
SF Pat Carroll (10.1 ppg, .458 3-pt %)
PF John Bryant (3.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg)
C Dwayne Jones (5.4 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 1.97 bpg)
To put it nicely, the Hawks were hit hard by graduation and the NBA Draft. Wooden Award winner Jameer Nelson and Delonte West are members of the Orlando Magic and Boston Celtics, respectively. Their backcourt running mate Tyrone Barley, last season’s A-10 sixth man of the year and candidate for defensive player of the year, has graduated. SJU’s only returning starters are big men who have not proved to be offensive threats and a small forward who can hit anything within the half-court stripe (who got most of his open looks from Nelson, West or Barley penetration). Stachitas, who averaged 5.5 points in 19 minutes a game last season, has big-game experience and will provide an offensive spark while on the floor. New point guard Dwayne Lee hasn’t seen much playing time during the last two seasons while backing up Nelson, but I can’t name a better person to be an understudy for.
The Hawks will suit up three freshmen for the 2004-05 season, 6-foot 1-inch guard Abdulai Jalloh, 6-foot 8-inch forward Rob Ferguson and 6-foot 10-inch swingman (no, that isn’t a typo) Pat Calathes. Jalloh’s athletic and energetic style of play should fit in with SJU’s backcourt, while Ferguson may give coach Phil Martelli a scorer around the basket that the Hawks so desperately missed last season. Calathes, who began his high school career as a 5-11 point guard, so his ball-handling skills are excellent for a big man. Although he will pose match-up problems for defenders, he will need to add bulk to his frail 205-pound frame.
Saint Joe’s can’t possibly replace Nelson, West and Barley, and certainly can’t reproduce the success of last season. The way I see it, anytime you have two guys named Dwayne in your starting lineup, there’s a good chance that you won’t be playing deep into March. When one of your other starter’s names sounds like a deadly disease (Chet Stuh-KYE-tus), it makes me wonder if you’ll be able to make to post-season play at all. If Martelli can figure out a way to get open looks for Carroll (which I’m sure he can), and one of the Hawks’ big men can figure out how to score (which I’m sure they probably won’t), the Hawks could make a push for first in a weak A-10. I don’t expect that to happen, although I believe that SJU will have a decent year.
4. Rhode Island Rams
20-14 (7-9, A-10), 3rd in A-10 East
Projected starting five:
PG Dawan Robinson (15.1 ppg, .403 3-pt %)
SG Randy Brooks (2.2 ppg)
SF Jamaal Wise (5.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg)
PF Scott Hazelton 5.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg)
C Jon Clark (3.0 ppg, 2.8 rpg)
The loss of starting guard Brian Woodward to graduation was the only hole that the Rams had intended to fill from last year’s team that quietly won 20 games. Dustin Hellenga, a three-year backcourt starter for the Rams, planned on returning for his senior season to team up with second team All A-10 selection Dawan Robinson, but Hellenga was dismissed from the team for academic irresponsibility last April. URI will hard-pressed to replace Hellenga’s 11.2 points per game, outside shooting touch and on-court tenacity. 6-foot-10 junior-to-be Chris Holm also left the team during the off-season after starting four games for the Rams in 2003-04.
Rhode Island was fortunate to land 6-foot-5 freshman guard John Lucky of Waterbury, Conn., who was considered to be one of the nation’s top-150 prep players last season. Lucky should see considerable playing time and may even crack the starting lineup before the year is over. Highly-touted freshman combo guard Parfait Bitee, a native of Cameroon, was regarded as Louisville’s top guard prospect last season, averaging 17.6 points and 7.6 assists. While Bitee sat out the first seven games of the 2003-04 season with a knee injury, his team was winless – after Bitee’s return, they finished 7-16.
Rhode Island traveled to the Dominican Republic to play four games this summer, and beat the likes of Hoto Mayor, Santo Domingo, San Cristobal and Santiago to return home undefeated. Robinson showed that he was ready to pick up the backcourt slack, averaging 18.8 points, 5.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game.
Before losing Hellenga, the Rams’ chances to win the A-10 East looked very promising. With a thin frontcourt and lack of a dominant big man, URI may struggle to earn its third consecutive NIT bid. Fortunately for Rhode Island, its non-conference schedule isn’t overly tough, which may enable them to rack up eight or nine wins before conference play. Because there is not a hands-down favorite to win the East, if the Rams play their cards right (and I’m talking like Chris Moneymaker right), they may be able to sneak up on some people and make some noise in conference play.
5. St. Bonaventure Bonnies
7-21 (3-13, A-10), 5th in A-10 East
Projected starting five:
PG Kern Carter (3.6 ppg, 1.0 apg)
SG Ahmad Smith (10.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg)
SF Patrick Lottin (13.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg)
PF Saulius Dumbliauskas (3.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg)
C Yankuba Camara (3.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg)
The Bonnies have lost several players from last year’s squad due to graduation, transfer or injury, but the most notable loss is wunderkind point guard Marques Green. For a point guard who stood 5-feet 6-inches tall, Green was an amazing scorer, averaging 19.4 points per game. The mighty mite also led SBU in assists, steals, minutes and three-pointers made. Also gone from last year is Maurice Young, the Bonnies’ third-leading scorer from a year ago (11.7 ppg), who transferred to Virginia. A chronic foot bruise has forced junior Cortez Sutton to sit out the 2004-05 season and Andy Smith, a freshman forward, requested a release from the program.
With all those players leaving or graduating, it’s not a surprise that St. Bonaventure coach Anthony Solomon brought in a slew of freshmen and transfers to fill his roster. Junior juco transfer Wade Dunston, a combo guard, should push for immediate playing time and sophomore forward Brian Gibbs, a transfer from Northern Mississippi Community College, should bolster the Bonnies’ frontcourt. Freshman forward Michael Lee will challenge both Dumbliauskas and Camara for playing time, while fellow first-years Isiah Carson and Willie Morse may come off the bench from the guard spot.
With the way the last few seasons have gone for St. Bonaventure, there isn’t anywhere to go but up. I expect the Bonnies to struggle mightily on offense early in the season, as they were dependent on Green to create opportunities for himself and others last season. And even when they do adjust to life without Green, they’ll still struggle, because frankly, they aren’t very good. They do, however, lead the A-10 (and maybe the nation) in foreign starters, with four. Carter is Canadian, Dumbliauskas is Lithuanian, Camara is from West Africa and Lottin hails from the Cameroon. That does have to count for something, right? My guess is that it counts for seven wins…again.
6. Fordham Rams
6-22 (3-13, A-10)
Projected starting five:
PG Derrick Breland (8.2 ppg, .333 3-pt %)
SG Jermaine Anderson (5.5 ppg, .339 3-pt %)
SF Dominic Osei (3.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg)
PF Bryant Dunston (19.5 ppg, 14.5 rpg – high school)
C Mushon Ya-akosi (6.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg)
Fordham, much like St. Bonaventure, had a nightmare 2003-04 season and lost its best players to boot. Forward Michael Haynes, a third-team all-conference selection last season, has graduated. Mark Jarrell-Wright, who averaged 11.6 points per contest last year, has also graduated. The Rams’ best returning player, guard John Blackgrove, transferred after missing most of last season with an injured back. Drew Williamson, who started 12 games for Fordham last season, and 7-foot-1 Mitar Zivonic are also searching for greener pastures. To be quite honest, I don’t know who will be able to fill these gaping holes in an already sub-par roster. Breland is capable of scoring in bursts, but bursts are not enough when a team of better players gave up 74.1 points per game last season. Ya-akosi is an extremely aggressive rebounder, which a good thing, because the Rams will be missing a lot of shots.
Fordham inked seven newcomers for the 2004-05 campaign, including five freshmen. Most of these freshmen won’t have much of an impact this year, but the 6-foot-8 Dunston proved to be a backboard bully in high school, ripping down 14.5 rebounds per game. He’ll need to play bigger than his height, however, as the Rams are extremely small up front.
Thankfully, none of Fordham’s players have had academic or health issues thus far, because a team this thin needs as many bodies as possible. In most cases, I could say that at least the Rams are the best team nicknamed the Rams in their division – but they aren’t (Rhode Island). They aren’t even the best team in their state (St. Bonaventure), and I’m almost positive you could scrape together five guys from the Bronx that could give them a run for their money. Coach Dereck Whittenburg’s plan is to rebuild this team from players that he recruited himself, which is a good plan because I don’t think Fordham could have won with the players they had. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think they can win with the players they have now, but as long as they’re “rebuilding,” another 6-22 (or worse) season doesn’t look as bad.
We’ll preview the West Division in Part Two, and wrap up the season outlook.
