From the A-10 board:
POWER RANKINGS
Xavier. This is a shaky team right now, but the Muskies have too much experience and talent to fold. They still are the best team in the league. Justin Cage and Brandon Cole need to assert themselves in the locker room and Stanley Burrell and Josh Duncan have to take off their dresses. I don’t care what anyone says, Johnny Wolf is tougher than Drew Lavender.
Massachusetts. The Minutemen are big, physical and starting to learn how to play tough – exactly the sort of team that will give Xavier trouble. Rashaun Freeman has probably taken the lead in the race for A-10 POY and Stephane Lasme is also a beast inside. The shooting and ball-handling come and go, however, and the team has to play smarter. UMass has big games coming up at Kentucky and vs. Miami. They would be in great position if they run the noncon table. Ford says he’s been too easy on the players and tried to find everyone time. Now he says you sit unless you produce. About “time.”
George Washington. The Colonials would be sitting pretty for an at-large bid had they simply kept their 20-point lead vs. USC. Make no mistake, though. This team is still very good, better than I expected. Yet Karl Hobbs has to realize that Carl Elliott is not a bigtime scorer and put the ball more in the hands of Mo Rice and Rob Diggs. Getting back Cheyenne Moore, who looked spectacular the other night, will also relieve pressure on Elliott to score. This GW team is actually pretty darned good in the halfcourt but still supremely long and athletic. Are they tough, though? They weren’t vs. USC.
Dayton. The Flyers should be undefeated, but they get a pass after beating Louisville and Creighton. Here is a team that takes on the personality of its coach. The Flyers might be the toughest group in the league so far. They defend and don’t back down. Of course, the Flyers don’t have a choice. Their frontcourt is small and the shooting comes and go. They have to dig deep to win. So far, they are. Dayton has a big test coming up at Pittsburgh. I don’t expect them to win, but how they play will tell us just as much as whether they win.
Saint Louis. The Billikens are tough enough and good enough to win the A-10, but they need to play better in “big” games. They’ve lost their first two major tests in games that weren’t very close. They have to beat Missouri State at home and UNC is still susceptible. As I suspected, Soderberg’s effort to speed up the offense has resulted in less intensity on defense. Saint Louis needs to get that intensity back on a consistent basis. What’s more, Ian Vouyoukas has to play with intensity every night. He has not played as well as he did last year. If only the Bills had a real power forward …
Temple. The smallish Owls are getting killed on the boards, but they are defending as well as anyone in the league and the players aren’t intimidated by anyone. Fran Dunphy may be a tender-hearted guy, but he’s a tough basketball coach. Few coaches would have gotten Temple to a 3-3 start, and with Mark Tyndale suiting up soon, the Owls become a player again in the A-10. Whatever the Owls lack in size, they make it up with quickness, extended defense and good shooting. Tyndale, the team’s best rebounder, will help out tremendously on the boards, and he can score, too. Just as important, he’s as tough a player as you will find in the A-10. We need more like him.
Fordham. The very experienced Rams want to play tough defense and body up opponents, but they can’t maintain their intensity. The biggest problem, though, is the poor play of Bryant Dunston. He doesn’t look anything like a candidate for player of the year. He’s been meek in the post and doesn’t demand the ball. The best player, surprisingly enough, has been Sebastian Greene. The very talented and athletically gifted junior has come out of his shell in a big way. Now if the Rams could find some consistent outside shooting. Frosh Brenton Butler is a nice young player, but he can’t carry the load on the perimeter.
St. Joe’s. After a great start, the Hawks have struggled badly to score and defend. Ahmad Nivins is turning into a monster in the post and junior Pat Calathes has continued to improve by leaps and bounds. Yet Rob Ferguson still doesn’t want to assert himself and the four freshman guards are up and down like a yo-yo. Martelli will get this program righted, but it might take all season. This team badly needs a vocal leader, but he’s sitting on the bench and won’t be available until next year.
Rhode Island. The Rams can score and have a trio of nice building blocks in forwards Will Daniels and Kaheim Seawright and guard Jim Baron Jr. After that, though, URI is awash in inexperience. Jon Lucky, the only true point guard on the roster, has a bad ankle and has been ineffective. There’s very little size in the frontcourt and the defense is a work in progress. URI will have to outscore teams to win.
10) Charlotte. The Niners have enough talent and experience to finish much higher, but this team lacks character and toughness and doesn’t play with togetherness. Can that change in the next month? It’s a tall order for Bobby Lutz, who’s hearing more calls for his head. A big problem has been injuries, especially to shooting guard Leemire Goldwire. He’s the toughest player on the Niners and a guy who has to lead his teammates. Unless he and EJ Drayton take over the leadership of this team, the Niners are likely to remain adrift. De’Angelo Alexander can shoot as well as anyone in the league, but he’s a solo act.
Richmond. The Spiders can shoot the ball as well as anyone in the league and will pull off some upsets, but they are incredibly young and don’t have any hair on their chest. Bigger teams easily push them around inside and the long season is likely to hit them hard by the end of January. It would help if senior bruiser Gaston Moliva returns soon from a broken foot. The Richmond program is taking its lumps, but this team should be very competitive next year and appears to be on the right track. Frosh C-F Dan Geriot is a future star and perhaps Ryan Butler, though he throws some of the worst passes in the league. What the Spiders could use is another good point guard.
Duquesne. The shorthanded Dukes are slowly getting healthy, but the program is still dreadfully short on size and experience. For the most part, the young Dukes have played with heart, energy and even toughness. This team can score and the Dukes will pull off a few upsets through sheer determination. A 20-loss season is still likely, though, and Dukes fans will have to wait until next year to see if the long-dormant program is finally waking up.
LaSalle. The Explorers will probably move up in the rankings soon enough, but this team is also extremely young and the offense is erratic. The shooting is actually decent enough. Yet LaSalle has struggled to handle the ball and is turning it over with alarming frequency, especially in key moments. Not surprisingly, the youngsters sometimes struggle to defend. Senior Mike St. John has been particularly ineffective at both ends of the court. The brightest spot is frosh Rodney Green, a top candidate for newcomer of the year. He’s a future star.
St. Bonaventure. The Bonnies just hired a new athletic director who says his priority is to restore the basketball program to prominence. He’ll never succeed unless he axes the current coach immediately after the season is over. This is his only chance to get it right. The Bonnies don’t do anything especially well, have lost a bundle of games they should have won and play with no fire or toughness. They make Xavier look like Rocky Balboa.
Link to entire post: POWER RANKINGS and other thoughts