WEST DIVISION
Xavier
George Washington
DAYTON
LaSalle
Virginia Tech
Duquesne

EAST DIVISION
UMass
Temple
Rhode Island
St. Bonaventure
St. Joseph’s
Fordham

ATLANTIC-10 1st TEAM
G – Pepe Sanchez, Temple
G – Lenny Brown, Xavier
F – James Posey, Xavier (POY)
F – Lamont Barnes, Temple
C – Lari Ketner, UMass

ATLANTIC-10 2nd TEAM
G – Shawnta Rogers, GW
G – Tim Winn, St. Bonaventure
F – Coby Turner, Dayton
F – Antonio Reynolds-Dean
C – Caswell Cyrus, St. Bonaventure

ATLANTIC-10 3rd TEAM
G – Gary Lumpkin, Xavier
G – Bevin Robin, Fordham
G – Tony Stanley, Dayton
F – Rolan Roberts, VT
F – K’Zell Wesson, LaSalle

Most Overrated: Yegor Mescheriakov, GW
Most Underrated: Victor Thomas, LaSalle
Best Xs and Os Coach: Phil Martelli, SJU
Best Gameday Coach: John Chaney, TU
On The Rise: LaSalle
On The Decline: Duquesne

ALL NEWCOMER TEAM
G – David Morris, Dayton
G/F – Lamar Odom, URI
F – Lloyd Price, Xavier
F — Wayne Smith, Duquesne
C – Kevin Lyde, Temple

The Atlantic-10 Conference has reloaded yet again for another year of exciting teams, great players, and even better coaches. New to the scene this year is Tom Penders, the former URI and Texas skipper who takes the helm at GW to fill the void left by Mike Jarvis. Penders is a proven winner who knows what it takes to make the NCAA field and has shown to be one of the best recruiters in the country. With veteran A-10 coaches John Chaney, Jim Baron, Phil Martelli, Oliver Purnell, Skip Prosser, Jim Harrick, and Bruiser Flint roaming the sidelines as well, even the least knowledgeable fans can appreciate the caliber of coaching all in one league. But let’s be honest, the players are who we really care about. Once again, the A-10 will showcase some of the best talent in the country in 1998-99.

The A-10 West will be a three-horse race for the second time in as many years. Xavier, GW, and Dayton tied for the A-10 West title a year ago and all three figure somewhere in the mix again.

The Muskies took a serious hit when All A-10 performer Darnell Williams tore his ACL over the summer, but don’t feel too sorry for Skip Prosser’s team – they are still good enough to win the conference. Veterans Lenny Brown and Gary Lumpkin team up one final time as Xavier looks to fjord deeper into the NCAA this year after a disappointing loss to Washington last season. It seems as if Brown and Lumpkin have been playing at Xavier for nearly 10 years, but I am told this is indeed their final curtain call. They will get help from James Posey, the lanky 6-8 forward who will no longer come off the bench as the A-10’s best sixth man. Posey is a contender for A-10 Player of the Year and could wind up as one of Xavier’s best ever. He’s that good.

George Washington and Dayton will battle for 2nd place in the West. The edge is clearly in the Colonials’ favor however and could give the Muskies a run for their money. GW is used to winning, winning on the road, and winning against the best teams in the country outside the A-10. The addition of Tom Penders makes GW the wild card. It will take some time before GW turns into the ‘Runnin Colonials’ but don’t be surprised to see a more athletic, pressing team take the court. You can forget the European influence Mike Jarvis brought to Foggy Bottom as well. Penders recruits greyhounds and has owned the state of Texas for the best athletes in the country. This will not change with his arrival at GW.

Four starters return — Mike King, Yegor Mescheriakov, Antxon Iturbe, and Shawnta Rogers – two of which are All-Conference performers. The lone loss in the starting lineup from a year ago is 7-0 Alexander Koul, the biggest body in the league. Although many GW fans criticized Koul for not living up to expectations, he had a role and played it well. While some feel GW will be better by Koul’s subtraction, he will be missed. You can’t ever have enough big capable bodies in the A-10.

Dayton’s fortunes ride on the heels of senior Coby Turner and talented sophomore Tony Stanley. Turner was named A-10 Most Improved Player a year ago and Stanley placed on the All-Newcomer team. What the Flyer Faithful will tell you though is this: no one player is going to replace the numbers Ryan Perryman put up. At under 6-6, Perryman managed 15ppg and a nation-leading 12.5rpg, and many in town feel he deserved the A-10 Player of the Year award given to URI’s Cuttino Mobley. The Flyers have no single player to fill Perryman’s slot and will have to team up by committee to replace his stats. The Flyers may come close in this regard, but they may end up missing his leadership most.

Center Mark Ashman, point guard Edwin Young, and bench players Andy Metzler and Ted Fitz are proven guys who can lend quality minutes for Oliver Purnell. Junior Stephen Bamigbola, and newcomers Yuanta Holland, David Morris, and Nate Green are promising, but it will take a few games for them to find their role. Morris, a speedy jet from Laurel, MD, is the best of the bunch and may push for a starting spot by midseason. At under 5-10, many big-time programs backed off the playmaker because of his size, making him a recruiting steal for the Flyers.

The last intangible for UD is the home court advantage. Dayton is without question the toughest court in the A-10 and will once again be tough to beat at the UD Arena. What the Flyers need to accomplish to make it over the hump is a few quality wins against the Top-6 in the conference. If the road wins are there, Dayton could be dancing. If not, a 2nd straight NIT bid would be a decent consolation prize for a team that is a year away. Look for the Flyers to push into the nation’s Top-25 a year from now. Oliver Purnell has UD on the rise and a 10-year commitment inked just weeks ago means Flyer Faithful will be in store for many more wins. A commitment from Top-50 Brooks Hall and JUCO warrior Chris Strodes will make UD as good as any team in the West next season.

LaSalle is a strange story. They have talented young players in Victor Thomas and Garrett Bragg, and decent veterans Donnie Carr and K’Zell Wesson. Throw in Top-25 Philadelphia HS standout Rasual Butler and Speedy Morris has some tools on hand to win 14-16 games. For Speedy, his problem is finding the right playbook to make everyone happy. Not since the days of Lionel Simmons has LaSalle been gifted with guys like these who can hoop it up. Unfortunately, even the newly-renovated Hayman Center can’t make up for questionable coaching. The Explorers haven’t fielded a solid team in several years and the alumni are getting squeemish. Unless Speedy finds a way to put a few wins on the schedule, he could be looking for a job at the end of the year.

Virginia Tech lost their best player to a transfer. Jenis Grindstaff elected to bolt Blacksburg and transfer to UT-Knoxville, leaving sophomore Rolan Roberts and Russ Wheeler as the only strong cogs left over from last season. Roberts made A-10 All Newcomer Team and has been compared to former Flyer Ryan Perryman. Brendan Dunlop and Andre Ray are the other returning starters but, in a league of great players, will be outclassed every night against the A-10 Top-6. Bobby Hussey is a good coach and should get Tech back on their feet, but it won’t be this year. That 1997 A-10 West title seems like a long time ago to Hokie fans.

Duquesne fired Scott Edgar in the off-season and replaced him with assistant Darelle Porter. The Explorers will finish 6th in the West and it’s no secret why: too little talent, not enough playermakers, and an unproven coach. The only sign of hope is 6-7 newcomer Wayne Smith who could wind up on the A-10 All Newcomer Team.

In the East, DFE feels UMass is the team to beat. Lari Ketner, Monty Mack, Charlton Clarke, and Mike Babul may be the best returning foursome in the league. Add quality role players and an up-and-coming coach and it’s no wonder the Minutemen could tear up the conference with many wins. The Mullins Center is one of the toughest home courts in the A-10 and UMass typically gets ready for league play with a brutal non-con schedule. The Minutemen also play physical with several players tipping the scales at over 240lb. While all of this by itself doesn’t mean a whole lot, the entire package in Amherst should be good enough for another A-10 title and deep NCAA run.

Most preseason pundits have Temple as the team to beat in the A-10 East – even the entire conference – but the Owls, as good as they are, are a year away from making a legitimate run at a national title. Keeping Temple from being the class act of the A-10 is poor shooting and a propensity to shoot themselves in the foot. John Chaney’s suffocating 2-3 matchup zone is still the best defense on the entire east coast, but it won’t be enough this year. Even with a stellar recruiting class of Mark Karcher and Kevin Lyde, 1999-00 will be the year the Owls climb the polls and push for a Final-4 birth. Only Rasheed Brokenborough is lost after this season — that’s downright scary. Pepe Sanchez is the league’s best guard in a league of great guards. Only his shooting is subpar but in John Chaney’s system, there is room for that as long as you play great defense and don’t turn the ball over.

Rhode Island brought in the best crop of newcomers in A-10 history, highlighted by former Parade National Player of the Year Lamar Odom. Odom, 6-10, 215lb, can play all five positions on the court and could end up as one of the top five newcomers in the country. Tip Vinson, Tavorris Bell and others give Jim Harrick a bright future in Kingston. Veterans Antonio Reynolds-Dean, Preston Murphy, and Luther Clay are all solid and give Jim Harrick a nice base to mix his talented newcomers in. URI has the raw talent to win the East, but UMass and Temple have more leaders and experience to win the big game when it counts.

St. Bonaventure will again play spoiler in the East. The Bonnies lack the talent of the three teams ahead of them, but own the best home court advantage in the division that lends them to a few upsets in Olean every year. Center Caswell Cyrus, once heavily recruited by Dayton, teams with Tim Winn to form a great high-low presence for Jim Baron’s team. Assuming Winn’s off-court troubles vanquish and he is eligible, the Bonnies have the firepower to nab another NIT birth, and if UMass, Temple, or URI falters, could squeeze into the NCAA. But it is a long shot. Pete Van Paassan, Terrence Durham, and David Capers need to overachieve every night or a 4th place finish and another NIT trip looms.

St. Joseph’s and Fordham round out the division and will fight for 5th place. An edge goes to the Hawks due to their better home court advantage and head coach over an up-and-coming Ram program.