General
« Previous EntriesAtlantic 10 Season Preview
Monday, October 6th, 2008
As the college basketball season inches closer, the time for preseason awards and predicted orders of finish has come.
Over the next few weeks, College Chalktalk’s predictions will be unveiled. Later this week, CCT will begin with the 14th place team preview and continue in reverse order of finish. Generally, two team previews per week will follow until the pre-season conference favorite is selected.
Before launching into team previews, below is a look at CCT’s pre-season all-conference teams and individual award winners.
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First Team All-Conference
- Chris Lowe, Guard - UMass
- Dionte Christmas, Guard - Temple
- Chris Wright, Forward - Dayton
- Ahmad Nivins, Forward - Saint Joseph’s
- Derrick Brown, Forward - Xavier
Second Team All-Conference
- Kevin Lisch, Guard - Saint Louis
- Ricky Harris, Guard - UMass
- Rodney Green, Guard - La Salle
- Rob Diggs, Forward - George Washington
- Lamont Mack, Forward - Charlotte
Third Team All-Conference
- Tommie Liddell, Guard - Saint Louis
- Tasheed Carr, Guard - Saint Joseph’s
- Jimmy Baron, Guard - Rhode Island
- Marcus Johnson, Guard - Dayton
- C.J. Anderson, Forward - Xavier
Player of the Year
Dionte Christmas, Guard - Temple
Newcomer Spotlights - Tony Taylor & Chris Prescott
Friday, October 3rd, 2008
Tony Taylor (GW):5′11″, 165lbs., Guard
Archbishop Stepinac High School
Tony Taylor had just begun his recruitment process when Karl Hobbs traveled to White Plains, New York, to speak to the 5′11″ scoring point guard. Taylor must have been impressed, because on Hobbs’ drive back down to Washington, D.C., Taylor, who earlier claimed he would not be signing until late in the season, was a Colonial.
Taylor loved what GW had to offer both academically and athletically and could be one of the sleepers in the A-10 this season. After playing in the shadows of Melquan Bolding (who now also resides in the A-10) as a junior, Taylor had a monster senior season at Archbishop Stepinac, averaging just under 30 points per game while grabbing over seven rebounds and dishing out six assists per contest. His talent was on display last season when he went on a 12-0 individual run during one game, scoring four point plays on consecutive offensive possessions.
“He is a special player and makes coaching easier,” said Stepinac coach Timothy Philp. “Instead of calling timeouts or calling plays, he will make them on his own.”
Observations - Las Aranas en Espana: Richmond Asst. Coach Kevin McGeehan
Monday, September 15th, 2008In August, the University of Richmond Men’s Basketball team traveled abroad, primarily to Spain, playing four games against international competition, including three against professional teams. After returning home and settling into his routine, Assistant Coach Kevin McGeehan, once again, joins CCT and shares his thoughts on the Spiders’ experience.
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We had an amazing trip to Europe, visiting the Spanish cities of Barcelona, Sitges, Zaragoza, Bilbao, Burgos and Madrid. We also crossed the border into Perpignan, France for one game. The opportunity to travel together and experience other cultures was as valuable as the basketball we played. There is a closeness about our team that was only enhanced by our trip.
Las Aranas (”The Spiders”), as was printed on our uniforms, had a nice trip as well, finishing 2-2; with one of the losses coming in overtime. As a staff, we had a chance to see a couple of guys on the court who had not seen much time in the past.
Justin Harper played some last year, but had veterans Oumar Sylla and Gaston Moliva in front of him, each of whom shouldered a good portion of the minutes. Justin will be counted upon heavily this year to fill that void. Unfortunately, a sprained ankle in Game 3 kept him out of action the remainder of the trip. Prior to the injury, however, Justin showed an ability to be productive shooting and scoring the basketball.
Statistical Analysis: St. Bonaventure
Friday, September 12th, 2008SOUTH ORANGE, NJ -
One of the familiar culprits in what needs to be fixed to reverse the fortunes of St. Bonaventure is defense. Granted, a school must have players and a talent base which permits its team to win at the Atlantic 10 level. Coach Mark Schmidt came on board in 2007 with that as his first priority. Another focal point of his was reversing the culture/mindset of losing. Through one season, Schmidt has worked hard to address both of those areas.
Now, on the floor, the first priority is defense. In this study, three not too distant seasons of success were analyzed, looking in particular at the conference record, average number of possessions, and the offensive and defensive efficiency of those conference contests. Important to note, conference statistics are preferred because they more accurately measure a team’s success against similar foes. Including non-conference games in the analysis is not preferred, because a team’s numbers may appear better as a result of playing a weak non-conference schedule.
Atlantic 10 Rankings: The Top 25 Returnees — (Part 4, The Top 5)
Thursday, August 28th, 2008
5. Chris Wright, Forward- Dayton
Few freshmen in the history of the Atlantic 10 Conference have received the fanfare and hype that accompanied the Trotwood, Ohio native to campus last fall. Prior to breaking a bone in his right ankle, Wright was nothing short of brilliant for coach Brian Gregory and the Dayton Flyers. He nabbed the Rookie of the Week honor six straight weeks to begin the season, and was named to the A-10 All Rookie team despite playing just eight league minutes. The forward’s 22 point, 13 rebound performance against East Tennessee State in his first college game set the tone for what will likely be a monster career at UD.
To understand just how important Wright was to his team last season, consider this: In games he played, Dayton was 13-2; In games he did not, the Flyers were just 10-9.
He is an explosive forward with a 39 inch vertical leap who scores the basketball at a prolific rate. In fact, when Chris played 15 or more minutes in a game (10 times) he averaged 13 points on just 8 shots per contest. Compare that to some of the league’s best forwards last year in Rob Diggs (13.9 points a game on 10.8 shots) and Gary Forbes (19.4 points on 15.8 shots a game) and the numbers are truly impressive. Wright shot 60% from the field (which would have ranked second in the conference) and shot 80% from the free throw line. His 5.7 rebounds a game would have cracked the conference’s top 20 as well.
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