AMHERST

The University of Massachusetts men's basketball team continues to be a landing spot for members of the DC Assault AAU program as forward Maxie Esho, who verbally committed to the Minutemen last fall, has officially signed his national letter of intent.

The 6-foot-8 forward will join former DC Assault players Javorn Farrell, Raphiael Putney and Terrell Vinson next year.

"We're excited to have him," UMass coach Derek Kellogg said. "We've been around him and watched him play for a couple of years now. He's a great kid and he's a long athletic kid that really hasn't scratched the surface (of his potential) yet.

"We'll have to be patient with him, but down the line it will really worth having him come here," he added. "He plays a lot of different positions and defensively he's a little ahead of the curve which is a nice bonus."

PUTNEY TO REDSHIRT? - Kellogg has not wavered in his belief that Putney has star potential, but his chance to fulfill that promise might be better served with a redshirt season.

Putney, an extremely skinny 6-foot-9, 180-pound rookie forward, sat out parts of Monday's practice with a hip injury. He did not play in Friday's 84-67 loss to Central Florida.

While Kellogg believes that a year to get bigger could benefit Putney tremendously, the decision will eventually be up to the player.

"I have not decided yet. I'll probably end up meeting with him over the next few weeks," Kellogg said. "He'll play a lot into it. It's his decision, not my decision. I'll meet with him and see what he wants to do."

WEEKLY HONORS - Damian Saunders of Duquesne seems right at home in his new role as the Dukes' go-to guy. The junior forward had 17 points, 19 rebounds, five assists and four steals in Duquesne's 85-62 win over Nicholls State on Friday to earn Atlantic 10 coplayer of the week honors.

He shared the award with Chris Wright of Dayton, who had 25 points and eight rebounds in the Flyers' 90-80 win over Creighton.

Shamarr Bowden of Charlotte and Aaric Murray of La Sallemade an instant impact in their collegiate debuts and shared the A-10 rookie of the week award.

Bowden, a 6-foot-3 guard, had 21 points in 11 minutes off the bench in the 49ers' 86-70 win Friday over UNC-Asheville. At one point he scored 12 points in 67 seconds.

Murray, the Explorers' highly-touted big man, had 16 points and 11 rebounds for La Salle in its 83-80 win Saturday over Hampton.

GAMES OF THE WEEK: Three Atlantic 10 teams with high expectations have a chance to prove themselves early with big games this week.

Duquesne at Iowa, Wednesday, 9 (ESPNU) - Most preseason magazines have Iowa near or at the bottom of the Big Ten, but any win over a Big Ten team would be noteworthy for Duquesne.

Dayton vs. Georgia Tech, Thursday, 11:30 a.m., San Juan, P.R. - After a strong showing in Saturday's win over Creighton, the Flyers will tangle with No. 21 Georgia Tech in the first round of the Puerto Rico Tipoff Tournament. Despite going 12-19 last year, the Yellow Jackets are picked high on the strength of a stellar recruiting class.

La Salle at South Carolina, Thursday, 9:30 p.m. - For years, La Salle coach John Giannini has lamented his team's youth. This year he has solid veterans coming off last season's 18-13 season and a strong recruiting class led by Murray. Are the Explorers good enough to hang with a solid Southeastern Conference team?

POLL POSITIONING - Dayton moved up in both polls after its win over Creighton. The Flyers are at No. 18 in the Associated Press Poll and No. 21 in the coaches poll.

Information from personal interviews, newspaper articles and sports information releases was used in this report.

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at http://www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.