brianstl Posted August 24, 2007 Share Posted August 24, 2007 On the main page of the Top 64 preview there is this blurb " The Atlantic 10 is on an upswing." http://collegebasketball.rivals.com/conten...&CID=699690 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted August 24, 2007 Share Posted August 24, 2007 On the main page of the Top 64 preview there is this blurb " The Atlantic 10 is on an upswing." http://collegebasketball.rivals.com/conten...&CID=699690 The A10 should be significantly better, and the next few years are looking good too. Based on what I'm seeing from us, XU, Duquesne, and UMass, I'm very optimistic about the conference's future. GWash will be down this year, but along with St. Joe's, they'll remain one of the stronger programs despite an occasional down year. Top to bottom, the only programs I'm disappointed with (based on what they're doing to improve) are Charlotte and St. Bonaventure. Neither have shown the drive to improve their schedules, staffs, or recruiting. Even Richmond will be older and have another year adjusted to the Princeton game. LaSalle might also be lumped in with Charlotte and SBU just because the program seems a little stagnant. Everyone else seems to be working to improve and restore the conference. Any mouth breathers still out there think we should have gone to the Valley? Those voices will be silenced, and Bernie and the rest of his staff at the P-D will have to write nice little pieces about how they were wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quality Is Job 1 Posted August 24, 2007 Share Posted August 24, 2007 Any mouth breathers still out there think we should have gone to the Valley? Those voices will be silenced, and Bernie and the rest of his staff at the P-D will have to write nice little pieces about how they were wrong. You think so? As long as the Missouri Valley is doing fairly well, many St. Louis media personalities will pimp for SLU's being in it, and they'll use the travel issue as their main thumping drum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thetorch Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 You think so? As long as the Missouri Valley is doing fairly well, many St. Louis media personalities will pimp for SLU's being in it, and they'll use the travel issue as their main thumping drum.The only way the mo valley talk will stop is if the tourney is moved out St Louis and Bernie and his crew aren't allowed access to free eats for a march weekend. The A-10 could put 3 teams in the final four and the local media would still ***** out to the MO Valley as long as the tourney is here and SLU is not a part of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Run49er Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 Top to bottom, the only programs I'm disappointed with (based on what they're doing to improve) are Charlotte and St. Bonaventure. Neither have shown the drive to improve their schedules, staffs, or recruiting. Greetings from Charlotte! I would say Bobby Lutz has upgraded both recruiting and scheduling. Hoopscoop ranked the Niners incoming class #13 and we just received a 2008 verbal from a player after he de-committed from Virginia Tech. Charlotte 49ers 2007-08 OOC schedule 11/9 High Point 11/12 Appalachian State 11/16-19 @ Paradise Jam Tournament (U.S. Virgin Islands): 11/16 vs. Georgia Tech - 1st round P-Jam 11/17 or 18 vs. Winthrop or Illinois-Chicago - 2nd round P-Jam 11/19 vs. Notre Dame/Baylor/Monmouth/Wichita State - 3rd round P-Jam 11/29 Wake Forest 12/5 Davidson 12/8 Southern Illinois 12/15 @ Hofstra 12/18 @ Tulsa 12/22 Gardner-Webb 12/30 Fairleigh Dickinson 1/5 Maryland 1/9 @ Clemson I can't speak for Bona, other than the fact they did make a coaching change. Not sure if they will ever be able to recover from the Weldergate scandal. BTW, the new board looks great! GO A-10! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Run49er Posted August 25, 2007 Share Posted August 25, 2007 Jeff Goodman of FOXSports also sees the A-10 on the upswing as well. From his blog: Moving forward won’t be easy this season in a loaded A-10 in which a handful of teams could all challenge for league supremacy. In fact, don’t be shocked if the conference has three teams who have a resume worthy of inclusion into the NCAA tournament. Xavier, Rhode Island, St. Joe’s, Saint Louis (with new coach Rick Majerus) and Dayton all have a realistic chance. "What’s happened in the league is that the bottom teams have gotten stronger,†(St. Joe's coach Phil) Martelli said. “So have the middle teams. The top team isn’t as dominant as its been in the past. The league’s as healthy as it's ever been going into the year and certainly, this is a year we need to get multiple teams into the tournament.†Link: FOXSports.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted August 27, 2007 Share Posted August 27, 2007 Greetings from Charlotte! I would say Bobby Lutz has upgraded both recruiting and scheduling. Hoopscoop ranked the Niners incoming class #13 and we just received a 2008 verbal from a player after he de-committed from Virginia Tech. Charlotte 49ers 2007-08 OOC schedule 11/9 High Point 11/12 Appalachian State 11/16-19 @ Paradise Jam Tournament (U.S. Virgin Islands): 11/16 vs. Georgia Tech - 1st round P-Jam 11/17 or 18 vs. Winthrop or Illinois-Chicago - 2nd round P-Jam 11/19 vs. Notre Dame/Baylor/Monmouth/Wichita State - 3rd round P-Jam 11/29 Wake Forest 12/5 Davidson 12/8 Southern Illinois 12/15 @ Hofstra 12/18 @ Tulsa 12/22 Gardner-Webb 12/30 Fairleigh Dickinson 1/5 Maryland 1/9 @ Clemson I can't speak for Bona, other than the fact they did make a coaching change. Not sure if they will ever be able to recover from the Weldergate scandal. BTW, the new board looks great! GO A-10! I'm glad to be proven wrong on this one. Somehow I missed how the incoming class was so strong. I was basing my impression mostly on last year's disappointing season, as well as some offseason turmoil with Lutz maybe switching jobs and heading to S. Alabama. I give Lutz a lot of credit for building a nice class and keeping it together with that distraction going on. They lost a lot of seniors from last year, but hopefully this class can fill those shoes right away. I would pick Bona and LaSalle to be the two to miss this season's conference tournament. Not exactly a bold prediction, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninerballin Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 The A10 should be significantly better, and the next few years are looking good too. Based on what I'm seeing from us, XU, Duquesne, and UMass, I'm very optimistic about the conference's future. GWash will be down this year, but along with St. Joe's, they'll remain one of the stronger programs despite an occasional down year. Top to bottom, the only programs I'm disappointed with (based on what they're doing to improve) are Charlotte and St. Bonaventure. Neither have shown the drive to improve their schedules, staffs, or recruiting. Even Richmond will be older and have another year adjusted to the Princeton game. LaSalle might also be lumped in with Charlotte and SBU just because the program seems a little stagnant. Everyone else seems to be working to improve and restore the conference. Any mouth breathers still out there think we should have gone to the Valley? Those voices will be silenced, and Bernie and the rest of his staff at the P-D will have to write nice little pieces about how they were wrong. How in the Hell is St. Joe's going to have a down year? Returning Starters Govens Williamson Calathes Ferguson Nivins Bench Stud Freshman Idris Hilliard DJ Rivera (starter minutes) I would say an NIT bid at worst for the Hawks this year. As for Charlotte, we lost a lot of seniors, but only one will be missed and that is EJ Drayton. Alexander ballhogged and jacked up too many shots, and there were two duds in the middle. Also Jerell Jamison will be somewhat missed, since he was a defensive stopper and a decent rebounder. The newcomers will contribute as much or even more than our seniors did last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pistol Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 How in the Hell is St. Joe's going to have a down year? Returning Starters Govens Williamson Calathes Ferguson Nivins Bench Stud Freshman Idris Hilliard DJ Rivera (starter minutes) I would say an NIT bid at worst for the Hawks this year. As for Charlotte, we lost a lot of seniors, but only one will be missed and that is EJ Drayton. Alexander ballhogged and jacked up too many shots, and there were two duds in the middle. Also Jerell Jamison will be somewhat missed, since he was a defensive stopper and a decent rebounder. The newcomers will contribute as much or even more than our seniors did last year. I already admitted my wrong judgment on Charlotte- I had totally forgotten about the huge incoming class. They lose a lot of seniors, but Alexander was always overrated and most of those guys are replaceable, certainly by the newcomers. I never said St. Joe's would be down this year. I said that GWash would be down, but along with St. Joe's, they are the kind of program that can weather the occasional down year and stay one of the stronger programs in the conference. I think St. Joe's will be a better than last year, but probably not an NCAA tournament team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SluSignGuy Posted August 29, 2007 Share Posted August 29, 2007 I already admitted my wrong judgment on Charlotte- I had totally forgotten about the huge incoming class. They lose a lot of seniors, but Alexander was always overrated and most of those guys are replaceable, certainly by the newcomers. I never said St. Joe's would be down this year. I said that GWash would be down, but along with St. Joe's, they are the kind of program that can weather the occasional down year and stay one of the stronger programs in the conference. I think St. Joe's will be a better than last year, but probably not an NCAA tournament team. GDub will not be down this year...We..err..they lost Elliot, but Hobbes reloads quite nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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