University of Massachusetts freshman guard Jordan Laguerre will sit out this season as a partial qualifier after a ruling by the NCAA's academic clearinghouse.

Privacy laws prohibit schools from releasing further academic details, but eligibility is determined by a player's standardized test scores and performance in core courses in high school.

"We've appealed it already and he came back as a partial qualifier," UMass coach Derek Kellogg said.

Laguerre will be able to practice with the team but won't be eligible to play in games or travel, making him, for all practical purposes, a redshirt. He can earn the year back provided he reaches NCAA minimum progress requirements toward a degree at the end of four years.

Laguerre, a shooting guard, was a candidate to help the Minutemen make up for the scoring lost with Anthony Gurley's graduation.

The Minutemen begin full-time practice for the 2010-11 season Saturday and will open on Nov. 11 against Elon at 9 p.m. at Curry Hicks Cage.

UMASS PICKED 12TH - The Minutemen were picked No. 12 out of 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 preseason poll that was released Thursday at the league's annual media day.

Twelve teams qualify for the league's postseason tournament.

Kellogg said he wasn't surprised by the ranking, but thought his team would finish higher.

"We're probably the toughest team in the conference to get a gauge on how good we are, or who we are, because there's a lot of kids that will be new to the team and guys in different roles," he said. "As much as people can see who we have, they have some questions on how those guys will jell and how good some kids have become over the summer. The thing they can't put a price tag on is the work they did, (the) strength and conditioning they did over the summer.

"I think we have the potential to be a very good basketball team," Kellogg continued. "We're going to be a fun team to watch that's going to play as hard as any team in the country. We're going to win some basketball games."

Kellogg hoped the ranking would serve as motivation.

"I think guys are conscious of what people are saying about them and not having anyone on the top three teams," Kellogg said. "It's motivating. It's one more thing that can push these guys to come together. There's nothing better than having a chip on your shoulder and feel like you've been slighted a bit."

Xavier was picked first, followed by No. 2 Temple and No. 3 Saint Louis.

St. Bonaventure enters the season with its highest expectations in years at No. 4. The Bonnies were picked No. 13 last year, but finished seventh and return preseason first-team all-conference big man Andrew Nicholson.

Defending tournament champion Richmond was No. 5, followed by No. 6 Dayton, No. 7 Saint Joseph's and No. 8 George Washington.

No. 9 Duquesne, No. 10 Rhode Island and No. 11 Charlotte were ahead of UMass, while No. 13 La Salle and No. 14 Fordham complete the poll.

LALANNE HONORED - UMass freshman big man Cady Lalanne was selected for the league's all-rookie team. Lalanne, who sat out last year as an academic nonqualifier, is rehabbing a broken foot, but should be back at practice shortly.

Kellogg challenged Lalanne to live up to the expectations.

"I told Cady he should be the freshman of the year in the league. He needs to get himself in shape so he can do that. He needs to get his foot healthy and he's got to come in with a chip on his shoulder," Kellogg said. "He's a guy that could really help elevate this team when he gets healthy."

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.