BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The story was vintage Phil Martelli. It was also true and confirmed by Martelli himself. At the Atlantic 10 media day in early October, Paul Hewitt of George Mason was recalling a conversation he had with Martelli over the summer. This took place at one of those prep showcases/tournaments when coaches are afforded the opportunity to get out and see players they are targeting for recruiting. “We talked about how our league meetings could conflict with the live evaluation periods and that should be taken into consideration,” Hewitt recalled. Martelli agreed and continued by asking, “Paul, when are your league meetings?”
Martelli was serious but can be forgiven. In a conference where you are figuring how to compete with a VCU, Saint Louis and La Salle, to name a few, please excuse the Saint Joseph’s mentor for forgetting the conference just added another program of distinction in George Mason.
Hewitt is impressed with his school’s new “address.” “Back when I was an assistant at Villanova we called the Atlantic 10 the steak sauce league,” Hewitt recalled. “To us they were the A-1 just Temple. We would say to recruits ‘Why do you want to go to the steak sauce league?'” Today, the scenario is quite different. “The Atlantic 10 has a membership of programs with commitment,: Hewitt said. “Up and down this is a very strong league.” Pre-season prognosticators peg the Patriots eighth in the 13-team conference.
Predictions aside, Hewitt is excited. He is excited for the level of competition, challenge and logistics. On the latter subject the Mason mentor makes several good points.
“We will have a nice local rivalry in our nation’s capital with George Washington,” he predicts. “Beside that, not all that far away are VCU and Richmond. Plus a little north are La Salle and Saint Joseph’s in Philadelphia. That cuts down on travel considerably.”
As Hewitt notes, these days the mega-conferences are in. That entails leagues spread out over several hundred miles and a time zone or two. “We ask student/athletes to play a game on a weeknight,” he says. “Then they charter back a long distance, get back at 3 a.m. and we wonder why they are exhausted in class and practice.”
To Hewitt, there is a step up competitively from the CAA, but it is a step that will benefit all concerned. “Our fans,” he said, “are going to see talent and teams of a national reputation.”
