WH ranks A-10 by position

49ers Basketball Forum 🏀
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[i]Originally posted by W.H.[/i]@Sep 28 2005, 07:14 PM [b] Looking ahead, one of the things I am most interested in discovering is who surprise who more. Will Charlotte surprise the A-10 with just how good they really are, or will Charlotte fans be surprised by just how good the A-10 really is.

I admit to being a bit of an A-10 homer here. I think it will be the latter, but that’s what the games are for.

[/b]


Many of us are aware that we will have our hands full this year.

Welcome to the board WH. It sounds like you know your stuff.

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[i]Originally posted by W.H.[/i]@Sep 28 2005, 11:57 PM [b] Don't think it's a picnic to play in places like St. Bonaventure, either. When they have a decent team, they are better than ECU (where you lost last season). [/b]
We are quite familiar with St Bonaventure. They beat us the year we had Rodney White.
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[b]to Iron9er, I think St. Joe's was clearly a better team at the end of last season than Charlotte. They started off horribly but made huge improvement. [/b]

That is obviously an opinion of yours. Mine would differ. They were probably close. But, my statement stands, we would have been no worse than the A10’s best team last year ( could give you a tie with GW, but thats all I’d concede). Being as that the Hawks were in the NIT last year, I’d have to say we had a better season than them, and yes, the beginning of the year counts.

[b]As evidence, I cite the Memphis-Charlotte and Memphis-St. Joe's game at the end of the regular season and in the NIT tournament. [/b]

Thats simply not evidence. I’m sure you know this, but games against like opponents means close to nothing. Other than something to debate about of course. Unless you believe the tons of teams that beat ECU last year would beat us as well, since we lost to them in that debacle of an away game.

[b]I would have put GW and Charlotte last year in the same grouping. I dont see either team with separation. [/b]

I would for last year and this year, thats all I was saying. Good thing these teams play twice, should be fun B)

[b]Don't think it's a picnic to play in places like St. Bonaventure, either. When they have a decent team, they are better than ECU (where you lost last season). The road trip to Olean NY is an absolute killer. [/b]

That is a disgusting town and I have bad flashbacks vs St. Bonnies. No conference game is easy. Well, though, as decimated as St. Bonnies has been recently, this one should be. They have been terrible post scandal, but who knows.

We wont run the table. I mean, for our team, I’d view that as almost impossible. We drop stupid games all the time. But, if we’re not in AT LEAST the top 3 in the conference, there will be A LOT of teeth gnashing Niner fans, myself included. And with our talent, I think we would be justified. I really expect much more out of that from this team (although I’m more concerned with the NCAA tourney and how far we get), but I’m cautiously optimistic. Good luck.

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Awsome post W.H.!!! :slight_smile:

I remember hearing St. Joe’s coach saying that this is the most talent he’s seen in the conferece. Was that just typical coach hype or is there some truth to the statement?

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I really enjoy reading WH’s stuff. I think I agree with him, especially down the stretch. It hurts, but we were a miserably bad team down the stretch last year. I think St. Joe’s would have whipped us. But I think they would have lost to the Niner team that played Bama early in the season.

About D. Alexander - it’s hard to argue where he’ll end up, as we haven’t seen him play as a Niner yet, but if I was a guessing man, I’d bet one right about where WH said. I don’t think anyone else will play their way onto his lists unless EJ or Goldwire improve dramatically.

WH said on the A-10 board that he didn’t anticipate anyone winning more than 12 games in the league. Too much parity. I think that’s a great point and the more optomistic fans among us might wanna take that under advisement. In particular to us - we are going to have to win a lot of very physical half court basketball games in small NE gyms to win this league. That’s not something we’ve excelled at historically.

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[i]Originally posted by NinerAdvocate[/i]@Sep 29 2005, 08:50 AM [b]In particular to us - we are going to have to win a lot of very physical half court basketball games in small NE gyms to win this league. [/b]
Per NA's comment, here's where we'll have to win those games -- Dayton to Richmond...


UD Arena (13,455)
University of Dayton
Opened 1969; renovated 2002


A. J. Palumbo Center (6,200)
Duquesne University
Opened 1988


Rose Hill Gym (3,200)
Fordham University
Opened 1925; renovated 2002


Charles E. Smith Center (5,000)
George Washington University
Opened 1970s; renovated 1996


Tom Gola Arena (4,000)
LaSalle University
Opened ???


Mullins Center (9,000)
University of Massachusetts
Opened 1993


Ryan Center (7,657)
University of Rhode Island
Opened 2002


Robins Center (9,180)
University of Richmond
Opened 1972

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And Bona to Xavier…


Reilly Center (6,000)
St. Bonaventure University
Opened 1966


Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (3,200)
Saint Joseph’s University
Opened 1949; renovated 1987


SLU Arena (13,000) – future primary site for SLU men’s basketball
Saint Louis University
Opens ???


Liacouras Center (10,206)
Temple University
Opened 1997


Cintas Center (10,250)
Xavier Univeristy
Opened 2000

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More WH goodies:

[i]Originally posted by W.H.[/i] [b]All-Conference Teams

Below are my picks. First, I try to guess who the coaches and media will pick. In parenthesis, I list my alternative selections.

Typically, voters look at who was on last year’s list and build largely off of that. Still, the preseason list often looks quite different from the postseason one. Only nine of the 15 preseason picks ended up on the postseason list.

What I’ll be curious to see is who is chosen as preason player of the year. Will A-10 voters lean toward co-player of the year Steven Smith (and show a little favoritism), or give the nod to the new guy, Curtis Withers?

To my mind, those two, along with Mardy Collins, are the obvious favorites. Dawan Robinson, if healthy and out of legal trouble, is a darkhorse (I picked him as my preseason POY last year before he broke his foot). Dunston is also a possibility with a monster second year.

FIRST TEAM

Steven Smith, LaSalle.
Curtis Withers, Charlotte.
Mardy Collins, Temple.
Rashaun Freeman, Massachusetts.
Bryant Dunston, Fordham.

SECOND TEAM

Dawan Robinson, Rhode Island.
Mike Hall, George Washington.
Pops Mensah-Bonsu, George Washington.
Bryant McAllister, Duquesne (my substitute: J.R. Pinnock of GW)
Justin Cage, Xavier.

THIRD TEAM

Ahmad Smith, St. Bonaventure.
Kevin Steenberge, Richmond.
J.R. Pinnock, George Washington. (my substitute: Brian Thornton, Xavier).
Stanley Burrell, Xavier.
Monty Scott, Dayton (my substitute: D’Angelo Alexander, Charlotte)
Chet Stachitas, St. Joseph’s.

Other strong candidates include:

Mitchell Baldwin, Charlotte.
Brian Roberts, Dayton.
Norm Plummer, Dayton.
Kieron Achara, Duquesne.
Marcus Stout, Fordham.
Carl Elliott, George Washington.
Jermaine Thomas, LaSalle.
Maurice Maxwell, Massachusetts (Homer in me says he ends up on the postseason list).
Stephane Lasme, Massachusetts.
Jamaal Wise, Rhode Island.
Jermaine Bucknor, Richmond.
Tyler Relph, St. Bonaventure.
Dwayne Lee, St. Joseph’s.
Ian Vouyoukas, St. Louis
Mark Tyndale, Temple.
Antywane Robinson, Temple.
Justin Doellman, Xavier.
Will Caudle, Xavier.

ALL DEFENSIVE

Justin Cage, Xavier.
Dwayne Lee, St. Joseph’s (my substitute: Maurice Maxwell)
Carl Elliott, George Washington (my substitute: Mike Hall)
Mardy Collins, Temple
Stephane Lasme, Massachusetts)

Other terrific defenders who could easily be on this list are Mike Hall and J.R.Pinnock of GW and Marques Bennett of Dayton.[/b]

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And his All-Rookie picks…

[b]This is probably the hardest incoming freshman class from which to choose All-Rookie players. I see a lot of talented young players entering the A-10, but few that will get the minutes to shine because there are better upperclassmen ahead of them. Two of them could be on Saint Louis, but will A-10 voters recognize them?

Remember, jucos and transfers are not eligible. Only true freshmen and redshirt freshmen.

ALL-ROOKIE TEAM

Tommie Liddell, Saint Louis: Fr. G 6-4 200 East St. Louis, IL/Hargrave Military (VA). SLU needs scoring and defense on the wing. This versatile swingman is highly skilled and athletic.

Aaron Jackson, Duquesne: Fr. G 6-2 180 Hartford, CT/Worcester Academy. Jackson is going to get a lot of minutes on a Duquesne team that’s thin in the backcourt. He may not be as good as some of the league’s rookies, but the minutes are there for the taking. He’s an athletic, slashing point guard.

Alvin Mofunanya, Saint Joseph’s: Fr. PF 6-8 230 Englewood, NJ. A warrior in the post, Mofunanya won’t score much as a freshman, but he could be a good rebounder and shotblocker. The Hawks needs lots of help up front, so he should get some quality minutes.

Semaj Inge, Temple: Fr. G 6-4 180 Camden, NJ. Temple’s point guard of the future, he might be ready now to help out and maybe free up Collins to move to the wing now and then. Inge can handle the ball and shoot.

B.J. Raymond, Xavier: Fr. G-F 6-6 212 Toledo, OH. Xavier is thin in the backcourt. Raymond is a bigtime talent and will get a shot at some time on the wing.

Other frosh that will get a chance at serious minutes include, in order of preference:

–Kevin Lisch, Saint Louis. The Billikens need a guard who can shoot. Lisch is the man.

–Noel Wilmore, George Washington. He’s a shooter, and GW needs a backup wing guard.

–Marshall Taylor, LaSalle. Big guard is a versatile scorer who can stroke the triple. The Explorers need all the help they can get.

–Chris Lowe, Massachusetts. He’s the only true point guard on the roster, so it’s all up to him. The smallish Lowe is a quick, penetrating pushman from New York.

–Jimmy Baron Jr., Rhode Island. The coach’s son is a deadeye long-range shooter. The Rams were one of the worst shooting teams in the A-10 last season. Sounds like a match.

–Ahmad Nivins, Saint Joseph’s. Nivins was more highly rated than Mofunanya in high school, but he might take more time to develop. A bigman with great athleticism, the Hawks hope they’ve found the next Dwayne Jones, with perhaps some better offense.

–Edwin Lashley, Saint Joseph’s. He’s one of the best shooters in the nation’s freshman class. His defense is another question.[/b]


Link: WH’s All-Rookie Team

GO A-10!

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[i]Originally posted by run49er[/i]@Sep 29 2005, 10:59 AM [b] And his All-Rookie picks...
[b]--Chris Lowe, Massachusetts. He’s the only true point guard on the roster, so it’s all up to him. The smallish Lowe is a quick, penetrating pushman from New York.[/b]

[/b]

I’ll be interested in seeing how good this kid is, since we apparently took a long look at him.

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Heck, Iron9er, you don’t have to concede anything. I am a donkey about some of my opinions, too.

It’s true that Charlotte had a better year overall than St. Joseph’s. It’s also true that the beginning of the year counts. What really hurt the Hawks was injuries. Pat Carroll separated his shoulder before the season started and didn’t get right until January. And the team’s next best scorer, Chet Stachitas, suffered a severe ankle sprain in mid-December that hobbled him the rest of the year.

Yet the Hawks, in my stubborn view, were clearly much better at the end of the year than the 49ers. A costly late-season loss at URI – the Hawks only lost two conference games – probably cost them a bid to the NCAA tournament. In any case, we’ll never know.

As for the 49ers’ final placement, I would argue that five teams are capable of winning the league title. Two more could be considered possibilities. Given the unbalanced sked and one-division format, it would be easy for me to see the 49ers finishing below the top three, if just on tiebreakers alone. We’ll need the league tourney to settle the question once and for all.

To Survivor, the A-10 has done a terrific job recruiting across the board in the past two years, and the current recruiting season looks good too. We have a super sophomore class. Can’t say I entirely agree with Martelli, but he still might be right. The league has also done a better job of weeding out the weaker coaches. The only guy who I think can’t cut it is Danny Nee of Duquesne.

The jury is still out on Bonnies coach Anthony Solomon. This season will be the first in three years where he has some size and talent. If Tyler Relph lives up to the hype, the Bonnies will not be an easy win in Olean like they were last year. I hate playing there as a UMass fan. Even when the Minutemen were good and the Bonnies stunk, they gave up trouble. Calipari certainly remembers.

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WH just keeps cranking it out… :lol:

[b]And keep an eye on …

Start with the terrific sophomore class in the A-10.

--Leemire Goldwire, Charlotte. Shooter deluxe.

–Norman Plummer, Dayton. Undersized post player with uncanny skills close to the basket.

–Brian Roberts, Dayton. Silky shooter can freeze defenders like deer in the headlights.

–Devario Hudson, Duquesne. Small forward is highly athletic with skills.

–Chauncey Duke. A long and athletic shooter who can defend.

–Marcus Stout, Fordham. Big scoring guard with great passing ability.

–Kevin Anderson, Fordham. Big point guard defends and distributes. He just needs to work on his shot.

–Maureece Rice, George Washingon. Get used to hearing this name. The savvy Rice is a born scorer and can handle the point in a pinch.

–Darnell Harris, LaSalle. The 5-11 jumpingjack is a serious 3-point threat.

–Tabby Cunningham, LaSalle. Diminutive point guard is very quick and showed steady progress as a freshman despite doubts about whether he could play at this level.

–Lawrence Carrier, Massachusetts. A good 3-point shooter and scorer in a power forward’s body.

–Jon Lucky, Rhode Island. A big, crafty point guard with good floor vision.

–Will Daniels, Rhode Island. Has all the tools to become a great small forward. Very athletic, can handle the ball, shoot and defend.

–Parfait Bitee, Rhode Island. A decent shooter and advanced defender.

–Drew Crank, Richmond. Big center has some skills and is hard to move off the blocks. The question is whether he can fit into the team’s new Princeton-style offense.

–Michael Lee, St. Bonaventure. Skinny as windowpane, but tremendous athleticism and shooting skills. The likes of Lee don’t end up in Olean all that often.

–Abdulai Jalloh, St. Joseph’s. Potential to be a good scorer and is already a tough defender. Jalloh is very strong and has great springs.

–Dwayne Polk, St. Louis. A dynamo in the open floor, Polk simply needs to improve his jumpshot to become a very good player. On the smallish side, but his quickness makes up for it.

–Mark Tyndale, Temple. The Owls’ next big star. He’s a rugged wingman who can drive, rebound and defend. His shot is shaky, but he’s working on that.

–Josh Duncan, Xavier. The 6-9 forward shoots like a guard but is strong enough to overpower defenders in the paint. After Bryant Dunston, he might be the A-10’s most talented sophomore.

TRANSFERS AND JUCOS

[b]–De’Angelo Alexander of Charlotte put up some pretty impressive numbers at Oklahoma.

–Marcus Bennett, Charlotte. Former Michigan recruit can play both backcourt positions, shoot and defend.

–Jerell Jamison, Charlotte. A top-rated juco, Jamison is a super athlete who likes to slash and is a lockdown defender.[/b]

–Ryan Lambert, Duquesne. Undersized rebounding machine is a high-energy guy who could make the Dukes surprisingly competitive.

–Devon Greene, Fordham. Former BC player is an athletic slasher who can hit a jumper now and then.

–Regis Koundjia, George Washington. A top 35 recruit two years ago, Koundjia left LSU for more playing time. He is extremely athletic and wiry strong.

–Marshall Taylor, LaSalle. Siena transfer was a bigtime scorer in the Philly prep ranks.

–Dante Milligan, Massachusetts. Pittsburgh transfer was highly sought as a prepster. He’s a fine shooter and great athlete whose game is perimeter oriented.

–James Life, Masachusetts. One of the top scorers in the juco ranks. Life is a lights-out shooter.

–Brandon Thomas, Massachusetts. Former star at Long Island University is a multskilled wingman who can score in a variety of ways and handle the ball.

–Darrell Harris, Rhode Island. Skinny postman put up huge numbers in the juco ranks.

–Oumar Sylla, Richmond. Athletic wingman from Valparaiso (via NYC) is a great defender and decent ballhandler who might be forced to play point on a team short of guards.

–Tyler Relph, St. Bonaventure. Former Mr. Basketball in New York State left West Virginia for more time and freedom to shoot, which he does best.

–Ivan Kovacevic, St. Bonaventure. Not much of a scorer, but Ivan is supposed to be a tough rebounder and enforcer in the paint. The Bonnies badly need help on the boards.[/b]


Link: WH: And keep an eye on

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When did Goldwire become such a great shooter? What were his stats from last year? I also thought his release was a little slow.

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boy…wh loves his basketball :smiley:

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[i]Originally posted by TheShowDawg[/i]@Sep 29 2005, 02:19 PM [b] When did Goldwire become such a great shooter? What were his stats from last year? I also thought his release was a little slow. [/b]
he was 40 of 115 from behind the arc last year

over the summer in all the games i watched him play in in the jeff mcinnis summer league (which was about 5 or 6), he shot about 50% from three pt range. all reports indicate that he has been busting his ass to improve and will be even better…

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[i]Originally posted by casstommy[/i]@Sep 29 2005, 03:21 PM [b] boy...wh loves his basketball :D [/b]
LOL, from what I know of WH, he dumps a whole lot of info this time of year and then resumes lurking for most of the rest of the season.

It’s nice to have someone cover our conference so well though.

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WH ranks the coaches…

[b]I don’t consider myself an expert on coaching by any stretch, but here is how I would rate the current crew. I take into account experience, postseason play, tactics and strategy, and recruiting.

  1. Phil Martelli, Saint Josephs. Two years, ago the Hawks fell a basket short of the Final 4, relying on two NBA-caliber to push the pace, penetrate and kick out to the 3-point shooters. After a poor start last year, Martelli retooled the offense on mid-fly, slowing the pace down and utilizing half-court sets to free up his two shooters (Carroll and Stachitas). St. Joe’s marched through the A-10 (14-2) before losing in the conference title game. After barely missing out on an NCAA bid, the Hawks came within a last-second shot of winning the NIT title. With last year’s performance, Martelli has cemented his claim to the No. 1 spot. Martelli has since parlayed the school’s great success into his two best recruiting classes ever, at least on paper. The Hawks are now recruiting with the Big Boys. No more throwaway scholarships on practice players.

  2. John Chaney, Temple. The Hall of Famer is in the twilight of his career, but the Owls can still beat anyone in the league. Because of a typically brutal noncon sked, they are battle hardened and are a consistently tough road team. The matchup zone was back last season after a one-year hiatus and the 2005-2006 squad has a lot of experience in the starting lineup. The offense is still prehistoric, but the latest edition is loaded with shooters. What’s lacking are a few good big guys, unless Wayne Marshall overcomes his health problems. The Owls win in large part because they turn the ball over less than anyone else in the league. They eat up less disciplined, mistake-prone opponents.

3) Bobby Lutz, Charlotte. Lutz has had great success at Charlotte, with only one losing season and five appearances in the NCAA tournament. He’s the best recruiter in the A-10 and is a good strategist. Lutz will use a variety of defenses to confound opponents. He likes an uptempo offense, deploys lots of pressure and gives his shooters a lot of freedom. After some postseason success early in his tenure at Charlotte, the Niners have stumbled a bit. The month of March has not been kind to Lutz in recent years.

  1. Brian Gregory, Dayton. First he won big with the former coach’s players. Next he delivered a tremendous first recruiting class. Then he he won 18 games by relying heavily on his freshman recruits. Gregory’s teams play hard, dig in on defense and are fundamentally sound. He’s proven to be a fabulous recruiter as well. Don’t be surprised to see him in the Big 10 in a few years. Gregory may just be in his third year as a head coach, but he’s a lot better than many coaches with far more experience.

  2. Jim Baron, Rhode Island. Baron has now rebuilt thee programs. His teams tend to be physical and are rarely outworked. While he’s not a genius at X’s and O’s, he’s not stupid, either. He prefers an aggressive man defense and will use some pressure, but he’ll also adopt junk defenses and zones if he has to. His offenses haven’t always been consistent, however. Recruiting has also been uneven. Rams fans are restless, but Baron has a record of accomplishment. Still, he could fall on this list if URI doesn’t come out strong. The talent is there.

  3. Dereck Whittenburg, Fordham. He rebuilt Wagner and is now doing the same at Fordham – and doing it much faster than most Rams fans could have dreamed of. Whittenburg has done it with excellent recruiting of overlooked players. His team is also beginning to take on the personality of its coach, a fiery no-nonsense kind of guy. For a bunch of young guys, the Rams have also shown surprising maturity and discipline. That’s a credit to the coach.

  4. Karl Hobbs, George Washington. Hobbs is the second best recruiter in the league. It’s amazing the talent he’s acquired at Foggy Bottom. Arguably he should be ahead of Baron and Whittenburg for that reason alone, but the Colonials are still a streaky, inconsistent bunch. GW needs to play with more discipline. Given all the talent, the Colonials should be better than they are. Hobbs has made big strides as a coach, but there’s more progress to be made.

  5. John Giannini, LaSalle. After rebuilding the Maine Bears, Giannini is trying to do the same at LaSalle. Though the team only had 7 ½ decent players last year, the Explorers still managed to hang tough with most teams. They even beat Xavier late in the year and knocked a more talented Massachusetts team out of the league tourney. Giannini can coach, no doubt about it. The real question is whether he can recruit to LaSalle. If he does, the Explorers will win. There’s not a coach in the league who can outwit him.

  6. Brad Soderberg, Saint Louis. Soderberg’s teams employ a sharp motion offense and are always very tough defensively. What his teams lack are offensive explosiveness, and that’s a result of too little athleticism or skills among Billikens players. Soderberg simply has to recruit better. He still seems to be looking for hidden gems and has trouble landing big fish, Tommie Liddell aside. Maybe it’s the location. Maybe it’s the lack of an on-court arena. Maybe it’s the coach’s personsality. Whatever it is, Soderberg has to get better players, period. He’d probably be ranked a lot higher if that had been the case.

  7. Travis Ford, Massachusetts. Ford did a great job in rebuilding a dreadful Eastern Kentucky program. His players gave tremendous effort – evidently a hallmark of Ford’s teams – in the NCAA tournament loss to heavily favored Kentucky. And if his early efforts at UMass are an indication, he’s a recruiter in the league of Lutz and Hobbs. Ford even recruited a top 25 recruiting class, by one service’s estimation, at EKU. That’s impressive. What we don’t know is how well Ford will do at a higher level, especially in a league where physical, halfcourt play is more common than in his old league. The guess here is that he will do just fine.

  8. Chris Mooney, Richmond. Mooney, a former Princeton player under the Pete Carrill, has great credentials. Yet smart though he may be, Mooney is still very young (33) and has only one year of head-coaching experience at the Division 1 level. He’s now in a bigger league and will have to show he can recruit the kind of players that can compete in the A-10 – and in the Richmond classrooms. His first year at Richmond will certainly be challenging. He lost his three best guards and the program’s top two recruits. Ball-handling and perimeter scoring will be big question marks. Even if Mooney is a coaching prodigy, there’s only so much juice you can squeeze out of a (Meyer) lemon.

  9. Sean Miller, Xavier. Miller is obviously bright, knows the game inside out and can recruit. Yet he did cost his team a few victories in his first season. He stuck with zone defenses for too long and employed questionable substitution patterns at times. If a team takes on the personality of its coach, one wonders what kind of personality Miller really has. He almost seems as if he’s too nice of a guy. Still, he’s young and has only been a head coach one year. His second season should provide a much better indicator of his ability.

  10. Anthony Solomon, St. Bonaventure. The Bonnies’ roster was so depleted after the Jan van Breda Kolff academic scandal that it’s taken Solomon three years to build a decent roster. It’s hard to judge his first two years. The woefully undermanned Bonnies did play hard and did not stand around feeling sorry for themselves. Solomon has some shooters and big guys who should be able to rebound now. He gets graded this year. A good coach could put up a pretty good fight with the latest Bonnies edition – if Tyler Relph lives up to his reputation as a sharpshooting point guard. That’s going to require a distinct style and perhaps a willing to try to control the pace of the game. The Bonnies really haven’t done that under Solomon.

  11. Danny Nee, Duquesne. Nee has had a long and productive career, mostly at Nebraska. Since he left the Cornhuskers, he’s led unremarkable and even downright awful teams at Robert Morris and Duquesne. After saying last year’s team could be his best at Duquesne, the team faltered badly in the beginning of the season and never recovered. The Dukes have lost 78 games under Nee in his four years, and recruiting has been lackluster. He’s got one more season to make some noise before he gets the heave-ho.[/b]


Link: WH: Rating the Coaches