2008 Woodie Awards
COMMENTARY: Xavier still class of A-10; Temple, Dayton strong again
Eli Rosenswaike, Collegian Columnist
Issue date: 11/24/08 Section: 2008 Basketball Season Preview
The man - or in this case, the woman - in charge of the Atlantic 10 has changed this season, not much else has.
Xavier is still the class of the conference, while teams like Temple, Saint Joseph's, Dayton, Charlotte and Massachusetts are talented enough to potentially make a run and reach the NCAA Tournament.
But new A-10 Commissioner Bernadette McGlade, who spent the last 11 years in the Atlantic Coast Conference, is likely to see a virtual repeat from last season in the A-10, where the Musketeers steamroll the conference and a few other teams sneak into the NCAAs.
With the season barely underway, now is a good time to dissect all the teams in the A-10 - or the Atlantic 14 as I like to call it - and see how they rank in my opinion.
1. Xavier Musketeers
Lose three stars to graduation, add a few new ones; coach Sean Miller has a nice thing going on in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Losing studs Drew Lavender, Stanley Burrell and Josh Duncan will be felt, but Miller has returning starters Derrick Brown and C.J. Anderson, as well as veterans Jason Love and B.J. Raymond. He's got a talented sophomore (Dante Jackson), a solid transfer (Jamel McLean) and a host of highly-touted freshman.
This team will be just fine, but may be hard-pressed to repeat last season's Elite 8 appearance.
2. Temple Owls
After failing to reach the NCAA Tournament for seven-straight seasons, Temple returned last year.
Expect them to be back again this season.
The Owls return four starters, including two of the better players in the A-10 - Dionte Christmas (the best) and Lavoy Allen. Christmas is the leading returning scorer in the conference (19.7 last year) and Allen is underrated and has improved his game already this season.
The team is experienced, talented, well-coached and ready to step up and become even better this year.
3. Dayton Flyers
Dayton narrowly takes the third spot in my preseason rankings-expectations. Its best player is gone (Brian Roberts), but three of their four leading scorers are back and a healthy Chris Wright is nothing other teams in the conference want to contend with.
Xavier is still the class of the conference, while teams like Temple, Saint Joseph's, Dayton, Charlotte and Massachusetts are talented enough to potentially make a run and reach the NCAA Tournament.
But new A-10 Commissioner Bernadette McGlade, who spent the last 11 years in the Atlantic Coast Conference, is likely to see a virtual repeat from last season in the A-10, where the Musketeers steamroll the conference and a few other teams sneak into the NCAAs.
With the season barely underway, now is a good time to dissect all the teams in the A-10 - or the Atlantic 14 as I like to call it - and see how they rank in my opinion.
1. Xavier Musketeers
Lose three stars to graduation, add a few new ones; coach Sean Miller has a nice thing going on in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Losing studs Drew Lavender, Stanley Burrell and Josh Duncan will be felt, but Miller has returning starters Derrick Brown and C.J. Anderson, as well as veterans Jason Love and B.J. Raymond. He's got a talented sophomore (Dante Jackson), a solid transfer (Jamel McLean) and a host of highly-touted freshman.
This team will be just fine, but may be hard-pressed to repeat last season's Elite 8 appearance.
2. Temple Owls
After failing to reach the NCAA Tournament for seven-straight seasons, Temple returned last year.
Expect them to be back again this season.
The Owls return four starters, including two of the better players in the A-10 - Dionte Christmas (the best) and Lavoy Allen. Christmas is the leading returning scorer in the conference (19.7 last year) and Allen is underrated and has improved his game already this season.
The team is experienced, talented, well-coached and ready to step up and become even better this year.
3. Dayton Flyers
Dayton narrowly takes the third spot in my preseason rankings-expectations. Its best player is gone (Brian Roberts), but three of their four leading scorers are back and a healthy Chris Wright is nothing other teams in the conference want to contend with.
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