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A way too early preview of the 2009-10 Atlantic 10 men’s basketball season: 14-10th place
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I know that this past college basketball season hasn’t even been over for two months yet, but its never too early to start looking ahead at the future. As the late signing period has closed, this is a good time to get a gauge of the rosters that college basketball teams will field next season. Of course there will be a few exceptions, notably some transfers, as well as whether some players will hire an agent for the NBA Draft. While those possibilities will be lightly considered, the majority of the predictions will be based on the players we know will be playing for their respective schools next season.
14. Fordham- After a 3-25 season which included a 1-15 record in conference play, there is a near complete overhaul coming in the Bronx this season for Fordham’s roster. Chris Bethel, Luke Devine, and Zachary Wing are amongst the graduates, while Trey Blue and Mike Moore are players who are transferring from the program. Point guard Jio Fontan, who was one of the Atlantic 10’s better freshmen last season, also has requested to be released from his scholarship, although the Rams are playing hardball with him. Lance Brown and Chris Gaston are the two best recruits that are coming into the Rams program this season. Brown is a very good shooter but is limited in other aspects, while Gaston is likely to be a power forward who needs to develop his skills with his back to the basket. In the final analysis, Derrick Whittenberg is definitely on the hot seat, and will need to show marked improvement to save his job. It is hard to see where that improvement will come from, even from a paltry three wins last season.
13. George Washington- In just four short years, George Washington has gone from a team which had a 27-3 season and an NCAA Tournament appearance, to last year’s 10-18 record with a 4-12 mark in conference. Karl Hobbs’ program has quickly sunk to the depths of the conference, and will need some big surprises to come about from their roster of players for the team to improve. Three of the team’s top four scorers graduate, with only forward Damian Hollis returning amongst those four. The Colonials bring in three prep school players into the mix as freshmen this year, with small forward David Pellom having the most potential to be an impact player immediately for George Washington. Karl Hobbs’ job is on the line, and unless several players have unexpected jumps this season, Hobbs may very well be looking for a new job come this time next year.
12. Saint Louis- In Rick Majerus’ second season as Billikens coach, Saint Louis made some improvements but ultimately fell short of the lofty standards expected from a team coached by Majerus. On top of that, Saint Louis loses three of their top five scorers to graduation, and will have a very young team which includes no seniors and only two juniors. However, Majerus brings in another strong recruiting class which includes two players from Australia in shooting guard Christian Salecich and small forward/power forward “tweener” Cody Ellis. The Billikens also bring in highly-touted point guard Justin Jordan, as well as another “tweener” in Jon Smith. Those four players will be expected to contribute immediately, while Jeff Reid and Cody Remekun seem to be longer-term projects. Last year’s freshmen will be expected to grow up a bunch this season as well. Led by guard Kwamain Mitchell, who is the only returning double-digit scorer, this Billikens squad will surely go through its share of growing pains. However, there is a solid nucleus for the future here, which may start to show improvement during the second half of the conference schedule.
11. Saint Joseph’s- After a quick start in A-10 play last season, the Hawks fell off sharply towards the end of last season, finishing 9-7 in the conference and bowing out to Temple in the second round of the conference tournament. Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Ahmad Nivins graduates, as does starting point guard Tasheed Carr, leaving holes in the front and back courts. Coach Phil Martelli brings in two impressive guards in with this recruiting class in Carl Jones and Justin Crosgile. However, both guards are under six foot tall and could take some time to adjust to the college game. The Hawks also add forward Carl Baptiste, who is a fundamentally sound power forward, but may not have the athleticism to make an immediate impact in the Atlantic 10. The Hawks are going to need Chris Prescott to make big strides in his sophomore season, along with a few other surprises, to have any hope of matching last year’s win totals both overall and in the league.
10. Charlotte- The 49ers would probably have to be regarded as the most disappointing team in the Atlantic 10 last season. After a 20-14 season in 2007-08, the 49ers returned the vast majority of their team, only to go 11-20 overall, and 5-11 in Atlantic 10 play. The team loses their two best forwards in Lamont Mack and Charlie Coley to graduation, but does bring in one of the best power forwards in the 2009 recruiting class in Chris Braswell, who was a player who originally committed to Georgetown before re-opening his recruitment. Braswell will make an immediate impact for the 49ers, and along with the return of point guard Dijuan Harris, gives Charlotte a good inside-out threat. K.J Sherill and Gohkan Sirin are also power forwards recruited this year by coach Bobby Lutz, who will provide depth to the 49ers squad. The 49ers will need junior An’Juan Wilderness, to continue to develop, as well as Shamarr Bowden to provide some quality outside shooting for the 49ers to crack the top-half of the conference this season.
