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Friday / November 22.
  • Coaches Say A-10 is Realignment-Proof; A-10 Preseason Poll

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    NEW YORK — The way Dr. John Giannini sees it, the Atlantic 10 Conference is virtually realignment-proof.

    Despite the losses of Butler, Temple and Xavier, the A-10 remains a strong and potent league capable of sending multiple teams to the NCAA Tournament.

    “Everyone has a lot of questions about realignment and how it’s going to affect conferences,” the La Salle coach told SNY.tv Tuesday at the conference’s media day at Barclays Center. “I don’t think it’s going to have a big effect at all on the Atlantic 10.”

    Butler and Xavier are now in the Big East while Temple resides in the American Athletic Conference. Yet the 13-team A-10 is loaded with established teams — including former Final Four participants VCU and newcomer George Mason — and those on the rise. Davidson, another established program, joins as the league’s 14th team in 2014.

    Giannini pointed out that only the Big East had more Top 100 teams than the A-10 last year, and only the Big Ten (6) had more teams win games in the NCAA Tournament than the A-10 (5).

    “First, the depth of our league is almost unmatched,” Giannini said. “Last year we had 10 teams in the top 100 of the RPI, second only to the Big East. And we had a lot of teams just on the outside, and teams with new coaches that are rebuilding. I think programs like Dayton, George Washington, Rhode Island are going to cross over that 100 barrier this year. I think George Mason, who’s a new addition, is going to be a consistent top 100 team.

    “So I just think we have more good teams, including right now, than just about any other conference in the country.”

    Giannini also points out that the A-10 has historically withstood the losses of high-profile programs like Villanova, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Rutgers and Penn State.

    “If you look at the A10 historically, they’ve endured the changes in conference membership as well or better than anyone else,” he said. “We’ve lost some big names in the past and only gotten better….This league’s always been good and I think we’re positioned to continue being good now.”

    VCU was picked first in the A-10, followed by St. Louis, La Salle and UMass.

    “The exciting thing is that the vast majority of teams in the league are improved from last year coming into the season,” VCU coach Shaka Smart said.

    “Obviously, the way our 13 teams are able to perform in November and December will go a long way towards determining how good our league can be.”

     

    Atlantic 10 Conference Predicted Order of Finish

    1. VCU (19) 307

    2. Saint Louis (5) 288

    3. La Salle 265

    4. Massachusetts 236

    5. Saint Joseph’s 199

    6. Richmond 173

    7. Dayton 171

    8. George Mason 141

    9. Rhode Island 130

    10. George Washington 122

    11. Fordham 58

    12. St. Bonaventure 56

    13. Duquesne 38

     

    First Team Preseason All-Conference 

    Tyreek Duren, Sr. G, La Salle

    Chaz Williams, Sr. G, UMass

    Dwayne Evans, Sr. F, St. Louis

    Treveon Graham, Jr. G, VCU

    Juvonte Reddic, Sr. F, VCU

     

    Second Team Preseason All-Conference

    Sherrod Wright, Sr. G, George Mason

    Isaiah Armwood, Sr. F, George Washington

    Xavier Munford, Sr. G, Rhode Island

    Langston Galloway, Sr. G, St. Joe’s

    Ronald Roberts, Jr, Sr. F, St. Joe’s

     

    Third Team Preseason All-Conference 

    Branden Frazier, Sr. G, Fordham

    Tyrone Garland, Sr. G, La Salle

    Jerrell Wright, Jr. F, La Salle

    Cedrick Lindsay, Sr. G, Richmond

    Jordair Jett, Sr. G, St. Louis

     

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    Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.

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