Flyers are favored, but conference is deep

Chris Wright and the Dayton Flyers may be preseason favorites to win the Atlantic 10, but coach Brian Gregory says the league is as strong as it has been since he came to Dayton in 2004.

Associated Press photo Chris Wright and the Dayton Flyers may be preseason favorites to win the Atlantic 10, but coach Brian Gregory says the league is as strong as it has been since he came to Dayton in 2004.

ENLARGE PHOTO

Wright, Flyers take A-10 nod in stride

By Doug Harris, Staff Writer Updated 3:51 AM Friday, October 23, 2009

DAYTON — The University of Dayton men’s basketball team may be favored to win the Atlantic 10, but the league’s coaches expect a competitive race and believe the list of potential champions is long.

The Flyers received 33 of 57 first-place votes, but Xavier, which has won or shared three consecutive titles, earned 18 first-place nods, while Richmond had four and La Salle two.

“Obviously, I think Dayton can (win it),” La Salle coach John Giannini said. “Xavier can. We’re always going to believe we can. I like Richmond a lot.

“Our league is big with 14 teams, and if you look at the talent of teams picked 10th, 11th and 12th, those are good teams. Last year, George Washington finished 13th, yet Dayton and Rhode Island needed overtime and a little bit of luck to beat the 13th-place team.

“There’s so many good players. And I’m sure — like Duquesne — someone is going to emerge that may not be predicted as a contender.”

UD coach Brian Gregory believes the league may be even stronger than it was his first year when four teams received NCAA tourney bids in 2004, and other coaches agreed. But nine of the 15 players picked to the three all-league teams are underclassmen, and there doesn’t appear to be a single elite program this year capable of attracting national publicity for the A-10.

“You have a lot of good teams, and I think one of them will rise up and become that lead dog. One of them will become a powerhouse,” Saint Joseph’s coach Phil Martelli said.

“It’s a very well-balanced league. It’ll all play out. And come Selection Sunday, if all the things are done positively that should be done, we’ll get our just due.”

Xavier still humming

Xavier is just one of nine teams nationally to win at least 25 games the last three years, and new coach Chris Mack doesn’t intend to overhaul a system that’s obviously been working.

“I feel like the style maybe the average fan sees on the floor will be eerily similar to what they’ve seen in the last four or five years,” he said.

Mack is bubbling about Indiana transfer Jordan Crawford, the player who famously dunked on LeBron James this summer. He hasn’t played a second for the Musketeers, but he made the preseason all-league third team based on his 9.7 average as a freshman at IU.

“He’s our most talented player. ... I think he’s going to have an impact both offensively and defensively and, more importantly, behind closed doors in the locker room. He’s a tremendous addition,” Mack said.

Spiders get stronger

Richmond has four starters back from a 20-16 team and will be bolstered by the return of 6-9 junior Dan Geriot, a former all-league player who sat out last season with a knee injury.

“His approach (to his recovery) was as close to perfect as possible, and it’s really paying off now,” coach Chris Mooney said. “He’s a bigger and stronger player. He certainly has a better understanding of the game, which was already an asset of his. I think he’ll be able to finish his career in a great, great way.”

Frosh stands out

La Salle landed the most prized recruit among A-10 teams in Aaric Murray, rated by ESPN.com as the No. 8 center nationally.

“He’s a little more talented than I realized, which is saying a lot,” Giannini said. “He does things like win sprints. When we do our conditioning or ‘suicides’ like all teams do, it’s not often you have a 6-10, 6-11 guy win them, and that’s impressive because we have an athletic team.

“He needs to get bigger and stronger. But he’s so long and athletic, he’s probably blocked more jump shots than I’ve seen.”

Majerus upset

Saint Louis is considered the youngest team in the nation with no healthy juniors or seniors. The Billikens also have just 10 scholarship players, although Cody Ellis, who is ranked as the No. 1 high school power forward in Australia, will help if he’s ever cleared to play.

The NCAA is looking into his academic eligibility in a prolonged process that has tested coach Rick Majerus’ patience.

“I get confused by it, frustrated by it,” Majerus said. “There’s always going to be another league, another game, another tournament. But for the kid and his moment — and him having committed to this and having to go through this onerous process — I feel badly for him and my heart strings are tugged for his sake.”

Preseason All-Atlantic 10

First team
Player	School	Class	Pos.	PPG
Chris Wright	Dayton	Jr.	F	13.3
Kevin Anderson	Richmond	Jr.	G	16.6
Rodney Green	La Salle	Sr.	G	17.8
Ricky Harris	UMass	Sr.	G	18.2
Lavoy Allen	Temple	Jr.	F	10.9
Second team
Marcus Johnson	Dayton	Sr.	G	11.8
David Gonzalvez	Richmond	Sr.	G	16.0
DiJuan Harris	Charlotte	Sr.	G	9.0
Andrew Nicholson	St. Bonaventure	So.	F	12.5
Damian Saunders	Duquesne	Jr.	F	13.1
Third team
Bill Clark	Duquesne	Jr.	G/F	12.9
Keith Cothran	Rhode Island	Sr.	G	13.2
Jordan Crawford	Xavier	So.	G	9.7
Dan Geriot	Richmond	Jr.	C	14.3
Kwamain Mitchell	Saint Louis	So.	G	11.0
Defensive team
London Warren	Dayton	Sr.	G
Dante' Jackson	Xavier	Jr.	G
Jason Love	Xavier	Sr.	F/C
Nicholson St.	Bonaventure	So.	F
Garrett Williamson	Saint Joseph's	Sr.	G