A10 ranking for next season

Temple was 3-0 againts Dayton and Xavier last year. Temple lose no starters and have recruited a true point gaurd, allowing Mardy Collins to become the 2-gaurd. Dayton lost one of their starters to Illinois. I don’t see why people are picking them over the OWLS. I just think Chaney is due for a Big Year :huh:

i see a lot of the a10 being like st louis’…you beat them, no one cares…u lose, suddenly you’re fighting for a ncaa bid

besides GW, xavier, st joes, and maybe dayton…a win against anyone else will barley make the scroll line on espn…a loss will have andy katz asking, is charlotte really a given for the torney?

Lunardi of ESPN has us in the Dance and the automatic bid from the A10 in 2006. Also a 10 seed.

For those who are interested in getting a good handle on next years A-10, I am going to post a link to a post on the Saint Louis board that went up in April. It is written by a regular poster on the A-10 board who goes by the moniker of WH. I have been following his obsevations for a few years and his accuracy has been uncanny. I believe that many other regulars on the A-10 board share my respect for him. If you read his post, take into account the time that it was written. Since then, a number of teams have lost players/coaches in the offseason, most notably Richmond.

http://www.billikens.com/cgi-bin/dcforum/d…ewmode=threaded

And here is a link to the A-10 message board.

http://www.basketballboards.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=79

honestly think our starting line is going to be better or if not heavenly compared to last year. yea eddie, and plavich were great and iti had his two great games of the season (see alabama and southern miss statistics). But i like the way we started out during the NC State game. Where we opened up with a 20 - 4 lead on them because we pressured the ball and we ran them like it was no tommorow honestly if we play like that all the time next year and lutz makes the mistake of putting us in a man defense we will do better than every one will predict…

i need not remind everyone how talented deangelo alexander is. while he was at ohklahoma during the NCAA tourney he average 18.4 ppg as a freshman. That is incredible if you ask me.

then you have marcus bennett who is finally being cleared to play. Who is a nasty spot shooter and has a very quick first step.

then you have ej dreighton who is a versitale power foward where he can pull up from beyond the arc or take it to the hoop and get the other team in foul trouble where he gains much needed points from his 83% free throw percentage.

you have chris nance when he is in the game the entire teams attitude changes. Everyone seems to be more confident.

leemire goldwire is a strong pg/sg who has a great court vision and has a decent 3 game.

mitchell baldwin has the be the fastest and best assist to turnover ratio guy i’ve seen in a really long time.

jerrell lewis the one of the best ball handlers i’ve seen since Steve Nash. He finds a way to get the ball into places where you wouldn’t think it would be even possible for a ball to make it to

jerrell jameson is a tough spot shooter who adds a decent 20 foot range shot to our offense and he is decent at defense

antwon coleman is massive piece of steel. uses his weight to an advantage gets good box outs for rebounds and has a decent follow up shot.

courtney williams has a great ball control for a power foward and has a great sense of where everyone is on the court at all times.

curtis withers is just what can i say. The nastiest and most talented player i’ve ever seen. He has a 3 point game, inside game, finishes well a decent shot blocker can steal the ball. Lacks in free throw percentage. But if he gets that up he could possibly depending on his point production could easily become player of the year

mitch mullis is a freshman that we are getting that is a big threat from a slashing view point has a great first step but needs to work on his over all game.

LUTZ does make bad choices while coaching sometimes but what coach doesn’t so i honestly do think we have a run for making A10 champions next years and i hope that all the A10 members on this board don’t take this lightly because we are more talented than you think…

if you remember correctly george washington came and beat us opening night 2003-2004 season but the main reason was because curtis withers wasn’t in the line because he was suspended for a undisclosed reason.

Looking forward to the upcoming season. I suspect that George Washington will be the heavy favorite to repeat as A-10 champs with the return of Pops Mensah-Bonsu and Mike Hall, plus the addition of LSU-transfer Regis Koundjia, who becomes eligible after the fall semester.

Dayton will also vie, though the transfer of rising-sophomore Trent Meachem to Illinois hurts. Just have to wait and see if the incoming freshmen are on par with last year’s group.

Xavier is going to be tough, especially if the Musketeers can stay healthy. The loss of the much-hyped Churchill Odia doesn’t hurt one bit, especially with newcomers B. J. Raymond and Derrick Brown coming on board.

Saint Joseph’s got a “reprieve” when Dwayne Jones went undrafted and decided to return to Hawk Hill for his senior season. If the 2005 A-10 Defensive Player of the Year can expand on his offensive game, he’ll be a legitimate NBA prospect in 2006. Much will depend upon the returnees and the four freshmen, especially since the Hawks must replace co-A-10 POY Pat Carroll.

UMass has Rashaun Freeman and a new coach in Travis Ford. The Minutemen will contend, especially if JUCO All-American James Life is as good as advertised.

Temple has some players, especially Mark Tyndale and Mardy Collins. Still, the Owls always play an insane OOC that recently relegates them to the NIT. Something tells me this is John Chaney’s swan song.

Fordham will be the darkhorse after finishing .500 in the league in 04-05. A-10 Freshman of the Year Bryant Dunston will contend for POY in 2005-06. Dereck Whittenburg is building a contender in the Bronx.

Rhode Island is a big question mark. Injuries and dismissals decimated the Rams last season. The return of red-shirt Dawan Robinson, plus the acquisition of JUCO Darrell Harris, should elevate the Rams from the A-10 cellar.

Richmond has really been hit hard by transfers, dismissals, and denied UR admission of their start recruit (ended up at VPI with Seth Greenberg!). Have a good one in Kevin Steenberge, but the combined losses of guards Courtney Nelson (transfered to Rutgers), Daon Merritt (dismissed due to legal woes), and Andres Sandoval are huge. Chris Mooney’s first year at the helm could be a long one.

LaSalle is estatic over the return of co-POY Steven Smith, who will use his senior season to work his way into the first round of the 2006 NBA Draft. Anything resembling a .500 season will be considered a success for the Explorers.

Saint Louis is another question mark. Lost a lot, though Reggie Bryant never really impressed me. Much will depend upon the returnees taking it to another level, plus contributions from heralded newcomers Tommie Liddell and Kevin Lisch.

Duquesne is a non-factor as long as Danny Nee is the coach. 'Nuff said!

Once again, Bona should bring up the rear of the conference. The once-proud Bonnies are still suffering from “Weldergate” and though the Bonnies should win more than 2 games in 05-06, double digit wins would be something of a miracle in Olean, NY.

BTW, Charlotte finishes in the top 5… :smiley:

[i]Originally posted by dax[/i]@Jul 5 2005, 02:55 AM [b] if you remember correctly george washington came and beat us opening night 2003-2004 season but the main reason was because curtis withers wasn't in the line because he was suspended for a undisclosed reason. [/b]
Nothing "undisclosed" about that! Not the best picture I've ever seen of Withers on the Web either! :rolleyes:

awe i thought it was the funniest looking picture of him on the web but it was undisclosed to the university until they posted him up on the sheriff’s webpage