Atlantic 10 Notebook: Holiday Edition
Ian Nolan, A-10 Columnist
Leading off
As we get ready to turn the calendar from 2011 to 2012, it is time to dole out some awards from the year to date. These players below have established themselves as the early favorites to be named first-team All Atlantic 10 through the first third of the season. After taking off next week for the holidays, we'll come back on the first Monday of January to break down the Atlantic 10 regular season tip-off.
Finally, be sure to return tonight at 8 PM EST to join in our first Atlantic 10 chat of the season with myself and CCT President and Cox Sports analyst Chris DiSano.
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G- Carl Jones, Saint Joseph's- The league's leading scorer (19.0), Jones has been simply fantastic in leading the Hawks to an 8-3 start. Jones has emerged as one of the top guards in the league as expected, and his 29 points paced the way for SJU's signature win against 17th ranked Creighton.
G- Tu Holloway, Xavier- Brawl aside, Holloway has been as good as advertised and is leading the conversation for the league's Most Outstanding Player. Holloway is third in the league in scoring (17.6) and fourth in the league in assists (4.9).
G- Ramone Moore, Temple- Fran Dunphy was calling for Moore to become a first-team caliber guard and the Philly native has been just that. Moore is shooting over 40% from three and has scored in double figures in every game save one (Toledo on Dec. 7th).
F- Chris Braswell, Charlotte- The best big man in the
league this year, Braswell is sixth in the league in scoring and
second in rebounding. The junior is also third in the league in
field goal percentage at 63%.
F- Andrew Nicholson, St. Bonaventure- Nicholson has not played up to expectations this year but makes the list due in large part to lack of quality big men around the league. Still, Nicholson is third in the league in rebounding and 11th in scoring. He has been slowed by illness for much of the season.
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Required Reading
To get up to speed on the Richmond Spiders, and their most recent loss to Bucknell, visit the Richmond Times-Dispatch for all coverage of the Spiders.
To read about the national college basketball landscape, check out Rush The Court. This week they've got some coverage of Fordham, Xavier and check in on the Vegas odds to win the national title.
The Mid Majority is attempting to get 800 game recaps sent in by fans this year. To monitor their quest, click here.
To read about how Saint Joseph's and their fans handled Villanova in a blowout Saturday night, check out the Philadelphia Inquirer.
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Power Rankings: Plus what each team needs for the holidays
(Power Rankings are a list of the top five teams in the league not solely according to record, but rather a combination of record, talent, momentum and other intangibles.)
For this edition of the power rankings, we'll not only rank all 14 teams, but also answer the question, what does each team need for the holidays?
1. Saint Louis (10-1) 10-1, and winners of their last four, I know exactly what to get this team for Christmas: Send this SLU team on the road into a hostile environment of a near top 25 team for a real test. Saint Louis would benefit greatly from one final road tune-up before conference play. The Billikens are traveling to New Mexico on Dec. 31st, but SLU would love to swap one of their next two opponents (Arkansas State, Texas Southern) out for a road trip to somewhere like Illinois or Missouri. This is SLU's first week atop our power rankings.
2. Xavier (8-1) 8-1 and ranked ninth in the country, Xavier would have entered Christmas break as hot as any team in the country but Oral Roberts handed X their biggest loss at the Cintas Center. So, what to get for the team that seemingly has it all (aside from our top spot)? Xavier's gift should be a dose of sportsmanship and humility. It's not easy being at the top every year, but Xavier has to do a better job representing the league moving forward. Xavier drops in our rankings not because they lost, but because they were beaten so badly without their backcourt.
3. Saint Joseph's (8-3) Saint Joseph's is not only the biggest surprise team of the year thus far, they are also shaping up to be the one with the brightest future. So what do the Hawks need for the holidays? Phil Martelli's club could use some tight games in the early portion of their conference schedule in order to speed up the maturation process of the young Hawks. There is little doubt now that Saint Joseph's is a real threat to challenge for one of the top three spots in the league. However, they'll need some tight games early to help build character and settle their nerves for the same situations come March.
4. Temple (6-3) Temple seems to get the biggest gift every year down in Atlantic City, so they're not as easy to shop for as others. This year, the Owls could use the gift of good health. Center Michael Eric is out with a knee injury and junior forward Scootie Randall has yet to play a game this season as he recovers from off-season knee surgery. In a year that Temple is not the favorite to win it all down at Boardwalk Hall, these two key injuries only make the forecast of a fourth title in five years all the more bleak for Fran Dunphy's club. The Owls don't drop a spot because of their road loss to Texas.
5. Dayton (8-3) Few expected Dayton to be
sitting at 7-3 ten games into the season, but all the sudden
expectations around the UD campus are starting to heighten. Dayton
will soon set it's eyes on finishing in the league's top four to
earn a first round bye to Atlantic City, but the road is bumpy
early on. This holiday season, Dayton could use an easier schedule
to kick-off A10 play. Unfortunately that's not in the
cards. Instead, they will start by playing: Saint Louis, at
Temple, at St. Bonaventure, vs. La Salle before getting Xavier and
going on the road to Saint Joseph's.
6. La Salle (7-3) Honestly who expected this team to be 7-3 through their first 10 games? La Salle is scoring the ball at a fantastic clip, pouring in over 74 points a night and even buckling down on the defensive end where they rank second in the league in field goal percentage defense and fourth in the league in points allowed per night. With their talented backcourt of Duren-Galloway-Pettis, the Explorers could actually make some noise this year. What do they need? Continued hot shooting. Galloway (51%), Pettis (38%), Sam Mills (41%) and Taylor Dunn (42%) have combined to lead the A10 in three pointers made per game (9.0).
7. UMass (9-3) As noted several times here in the notebook in previous weeks, UMass has been in this position before: Entering league play after a quality start, confidence starting to form. For this holiday season, UMass needs to start A10 play with a few victories to build momentum and to keep the questions about Derek Kellogg's future out of the locker room. With their first three games against Fordham, La Salle and Charlotte, the Minutemen will have a chance to hit the ground running this year.
8. Charlotte (6-2) Despite being one of the youngest teams in the league this year, Charlotte has won six of their first eight, thanks in large part to Chris Braswell. In order to keep making strides with his new young core, coach Major will need the gift of stamina and continued good fortune. The 49ers have remained unscathed by injury this season, and, if that continues, Charlotte should continue to see big returns on their young team including freshman point guard Pierria Henry who leads the team in assists.
9. St. Bonaventure (5-4) Having already lost Marquis Simmons and Michael Davenport for the season due to injuries, the Bonnies could ask for the gift of health like Temple. Instead of giving out the same gift twice, St. Bonaventure will get the emergence of a scorer to complement Andrew Nicholson. Demitrius Conger (10.9) and Matt Wright (8.9) have been adequate thus far, but Mark Schmidt's club will really need someone to become a true secondary scorer (think 15 points a game) from this point forward to finish in the top half.
10. Duquesne (6-5) Duquesne has been effective in several statistical areas this year including field goal percentage defense (46%) and assists (15.7) but no one in the league could use a solid rebounder for the holidays more than the Duquesne Dukes. Duquesne ranks near the bottom nationally in rebounding (29.1 per game) and is outrebounded on average by over nine boards per contest. B.J. Monteiro a 6-5 guard/forward is the club's leading rebounder at just 4.8 per game. Size has always been a downfall of Ron Everhart's recruiting and system, but this year their rebounding deficits are greater than usual.
11. Richmond (6-5) The Spiders have largely depended on their guards to shoulder in the scoring load. With this in mind, Richmond could use the emergence of a real low post threat for the holidays. Sophomore forward Derrick Williams has been fine, averaging 9.5 points and six rebounds but hasn't had a lot of help down on the blocks for Chris Mooney's club. Senior Darrius Garrett hasn't given UR much production down low, and fellow senior Josh Duinker has been simply another role player thus far. At some point, one of them is going to have to step up and aid Williams.
12. George Washington (4-6) George Washington was
predicted by yours truly to finish third this year, and thus far
that prediction looks to be a huge miss. For the holidays the
Colonials could use a time machine to fast-forward through
the gelling process that is still underway down in Foggy
Bottom. The talent exists on Mike Longergan's club, but they simply
haven't been able to put the pieces together through their
first 10 games. Expect this club to improve drastically as we
turn towards February.
13. Fordham (4-6) The Rams have been a combination of awful and competitive at times; the sign of a young team. More than anything else, Fordham needs a shooter for the Holidays. The Rams rank 332nd nationally in field goal percentage (37%) and are shooting just 25% from deep this year. If the Rams are going to win more than a handful of games from here on out, they need to get their guards clicking to open up some space for Chris Gaston.
14. Rhode Island (1-10) Rhody is just
1-10, and while the URI was expected to
take its lumps this year, no one thought Jim Baron's club
would be this bad. While chemistry issues and youth are
clearly hampering this young team, they've also just flat out stunk
at times; see their most recent 32 point road loss at Georgia
State. Their gift? The
gift of two transfers becoming eligible this week: Andre
Malone (Auburn) and Billy Baron (Virginia) should
both step in and make immediate impacts.
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Nolan's Take- Stocking Stuffers
In this edition of Nolan's take, we'll look at some stocking stuffers, or, in our case, some interesting facts and stats from around the league.
- Dayton is undefeated at 5-0 when their opponents record eight or fewer free throws made.
- Charlotte is 4-0 when Chris Braswell scores at least 19 points.
- Saint Louis has four wins this year of over 20 points or more.
- Saint Joseph's has out blocked their opponent for each of the last 11 games.
- UMass is 6-0 this year when committing 12 or fewer turnovers.
- C.J. Aiken leads the nation in blocks per game with 4.7
- T.J. McConnell leads the nation in steals per game at 3.2
- UMass is tenth in the nation in rebounds per game at 41.8
- La Salle is eighth in the nation in three point percentage at 42%
- Saint Joseph's is third in the country in blocks per game with 8.09
- Richmond is 15th in the nation in free throw percentage at 75.8%
- Ramone Moore scored his 1,000th point against Texas and Juan Fernandez is now three points short of the milestone.
- UMass is 5-0 at home this year, the same number of non-conference wins they had all of last year.
Thanks for reading each week, have a safe and happy holiday season and we'll see you back here on January 3rd OR tonight at our live chat at 8 PM.
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Braswell photo courtesy of Charlotte
Athletics Media Relations; Dayton, Dillard photo courtesy Erik
Schelkun; Mikic photo courtesy GW Sports Information
