Raphiael Putney named Atlantic 10 co-Player of the Week

Raphiael Putney's 22 points, 10 rebounds and five rebounds earned him a share of the conference's weekly honors with La Salle's Ramon Galloway.

How will the Atlantic 10 Schedule affect the league race?

Each of the Atlantic 10's 14 teams play three opponents twice (one home game, one away) and the other 10 teams once each.

The set-up leads to an unavoidable advantages for certain teams as two games against Rhode Island are easier to win than two games against Xavier.

Here's a look at each of the league's teams and who they play twice:

Dayton (4-1) -  Xavier (4-2) , Saint Louis (3-2), Duquesne (3-3) - Combined: 10-7 -  Flyers are 2-0 so far.

UMass (4-2) - La Salle (3-2), St. Joe's (2-3), Rhode Island (0-5) - Combined: 5-10- UMass is 1-1 so far.

Xavier (4-2) - Dayton (4-1), Charlotte (2-3), SLU (3-2) - Combined: 9-6-  X is 0-1 so far.

Saint Louis (3-2) - Dayton (4-1), Xavier (4-2), Duquesne (3-3) - Combined: 11-6 - SLU is 1-1 so far.

La Salle (3-2) - UMass (4-2), Temple (2-2), George Washington (3-2) - Combined: 9-6 -La Salle is 1-1 so far

St. Bonaventure (3-2) - Fordham (1-4), URI (0-5), Duquesne (3-3) - Combined: 4-12 - SBU is 1-1 so far.

George Washington (3-2) - La Salle (3-2), Richmond (2-3), Charlotte (2-3) - Combined 7-8 -GW is 2-0 so far.

Duquesne (3-3) - Dayton (4-1), SBU (3-2), SLU (3-2) Combined: 10-5 - Duquesne is 1-1 so far.

Temple (2-2) - La Salle (3-2),  Fordham (1-4), St. Joe's (2-3) Combined: 6-9 - Temple is 1-0 so far.

Saint Joseph's (2-3) - UMass (4-2), Temple (2-3), Richmond (2-3) Combined: 8-8 - St. Joe's is 0-1 so far.

Richmond (2-3) - St. Joe's (2-3), GW (2-3), Charlotte (2-3) Combined: 6-9 - Richmond is 0-2 so far.

Charlotte (2-3) - Richmond (2-3), GW (2-3) Xavier (4-2)- Combined: 8-8 - 49ers are 1-0 so far.

Fordham (1-4) - Temple (2-2), SBU (3-2), Rhode Island (0-5) Combined: 5-9- Rams are 1-0.

Rhode Island (0-5) - Fordham (1-4), UMass (4-2), St. Bonaventure (3-2) Combined: 8-8 - Rams are 0-1 so far.

Atlantic 10 Math - How many wins will it take to ...

I'm running this again as the numbers are a little more relevant now:

I did this last year and I'm bringing it back again with updated numbers. I'm sure I'll run it again later in the season.

This is the seventh season that the Atlantic 10 has included 14 teams. I analyzed the standings from each of the first five seasons and came up with the following interesting (semi-interesting) facts and conclusions:

1. Average wins for a first place team is 14.0. Only twice -  Temple each of the last two years - has a team won 14 games and not been the A-10 Tournament's No. 1 seed.

2. Average minimum wins to earn a first round bye (fourth place) is 10.2. Ten league wins has been enough to earn a bye in the first round of the A-10 Tournament four out of six seasons. Only Fordham in 2006-07 and GW last year have won 10 and not gotten a bye. Richmond in 2007-08 is the only team to get single digit wins (9) to earn a first round bye.

3. Average minimum wins to get a home game in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament (eighth place) is 7.8. St. Bonaventure in 2009-10 and UMass last year are the only teams to have hosted a first round game with a losing record at 7-9.

4. Average minimum wins to make the Atlantic 10 Tournament (12th place) is 5.0. Only Richmond, which was 4-12 in 2006-07 and St. Joe's last year have ever got into the tournament with fewer than five wins. Only George Washington in 2007-08, was left out of the tournament with five wins. No team has ever been left out with six wins.

5. Only one team has ever gone 12-4 in A-10 play. Xavier in 2008-09. It was enough to win the league.

6. Xavier's 15-1 record last year was the first time a team had 15 wins in league play since the expansion to 14 teams. Three have gone 1-15.

7. The sixth place team has always had nine wins.

8. The team with the fewest league wins to earn an NCAA Tournament at-large berth was Saint Joseph's in 2008. The Hawks were 9-7 in regular season conference play.

9. The team with the most league wins not to get and NCAA Tournament at-large bid was UMass in 2007. The Minutemen won 13 A-10 games that year.

10. The teams with the fewest A-10 wins to get an NIT bid wes Rhode Island which went 7-9 in A-10 play in 2007-08 and Dayton, which was 7-9 last year.

11. No. 10 seed George Washington had the fewest league wins and still earned a postseason bid. The 2009-10 Colonials were 6-10 in conference play and went to the CBI.

Average win totals for:

First place: 14.0
Second: 12.3
Third: 11.3
Fourth: 10.2
Fifth: 9.3
Sixth: 9.0
Seventh: 8.2
Eighth: 7.8
Ninth: 7.3
10th: 6.7
11th: 6.0
12th: 5.0
13th: 3.5
14th: 1.3

Place finish by win total

16 wins - First (1)
15 wins - First (1)
14 wins - First (3), Second (1)
13 wins - First (1), second (1), third (2)
12 wins - First (1)
11 wins - Second (3), third (2), fourth (2)
10 wins - Third (2), Fourth (1), fifth (2)
9 wins - Fourth (1), Fifth (4), Sixth (6), Seventh (1), Eighth (1)
8 wins - Seventh (5), Eighh (3), Ninth (2) 10th (1)
7 wins - Eighth (2), Ninth (4), 10th (2), 11th (1)
6 wins - 10th (3), 11th (4), 12 (2)
5 wins - 11th (1), 12th (2), 13th (1)
4 wins - 12th (2), 13th (3)
3 wins - 14th (1)
2 wins - 13th (2), 14th (1)
1 win - 14th (3)
0 wins - 14th (1)

What to make of this Atlantic 10...

About a week ago, someone who I won't embarass here casually mentioned to me that UMass had a nice easy start to its Atlantic 10 schedule in Fordham and La Salle.

The Explorers were picked 13th in the A-10 preseason poll and the Rams 14th. Two wins for a good team right?

Since then Fordham has beaten Georgia Tech and Harvard, the same Crimson team that beat Florida State who pounded UMass in the Bahamas.

La Salle, who seems to annually have UMass' number especially in Philly, beat Xavier Wednesday, and the Explorers will have an extra day off before the Minutemen arrive Sunday.

So this has become a big week for the Minutemen.

WIth one day of games in the books, few things went as expected in the A-10.

Start with Temple, who is missing Scootie Randall and Michael Eric, beating Duke. This is the same Temple team that barely beat Delaware.

Dayton loses its No. 2 scorer, Josh Benson, which hurt the Flyers so much that they reacted by beating Saint Louis.

Saint Joseph's beat Duquesne in overtime. Are the Dukes better than they've looked? Are the Hawks worse?

It was hard to know quite what to expect from Charlotte or Richmond before so what does the 49ers beating the Spiders mean?

Stay tuned...

Atlantic 10 approves the $2,000 stipend; "relaxes" rule that affected Trey Davis.

I'm pasting in the Atlantic 10's release that came out Wednesday night. My analysis on what this means to will be in italics and bolded.

The Atlantic 10 Conference Council of Presidents and Directors of Athletics concluded their annual joint fall meeting Wednesday, engaging in discussion and taking action on several major issues in college athletics.
 
The primary topic of discussion was the most recent wave of conference realignment. The group unanimously agreed to remain proactive in solidifying its commitment to its members as the best basketball only conference in Division I.  The Council approved a conference-wide policy to fund  the total cost of attendance for men’s and women ‘s basketball grant-in aids while confirming  that each member institution can approve similar funding for all other sports programs within their department.  This decision resulted from the NCAA recently passed legislation permitting cost of attendance additions to traditional grant-in-aid scholarship offers up to $2,000.

“This is a really positive decision for the Atlantic 10 that will immediately impact our recruiting in the sports of Division I men’s and women’s basketball and reinforces the national commitment the A-10 has to basketball,” stated Commissioner  Bernadette  V. McGlade.

* This isn't surprising, but its smart of the Atlantic 10 to get it out quickly that their school are planning to participate.  Sends a good message to recruits.

UMass will have to wait for the Mid-American Conference, Hockey East and the Colonial Athletic Association (men's lacrosse) to decide if some of their other sports will participate. UMass will decide on its own whether it will offer $2,000 to its other sports that compete in the Atlantic 10.

In addition, the Council of Presidents adopted an affiliate membership policy for Olympic sports programs which will become a part of the A-10 conference constitution and bylaws.  Currently the A10 has an affiliate member in the sport of field hockey.  This policy will allow for a more formalized process when considering affiliate member applications.
 
The league also acknowledged the potential challenge(s) of intra-conference transfers in the sport of basketball.  As a result the group unanimously approved relaxing the A-10 penalty for prospective student athletes who have signed a National Letter of Intent. 

* I'm not exactly sure what "relaxing" means here (I'll be asking shortly), but it certainly applies to Trey Davis, who wasn't able to enroll at UMass in September because he'd previously signed a letter of intent at George Washington. But it made me wonder hypothetically - If Davis, who is at Vermont Academy, decided he wanted to enroll at UMass at the end of the first semester, could he? I have no idea what Davis' financial means are, but prep school isn't free and I'm assuming not cheap. Could he under these relaxed rules enroll at UMass and redshirt the second semester while getting an academic head start and learning the system? Could he enroll and play? This is simply a hypothetical. I have no indication or even inclination that this is a possibility.

 The group accepted reports from two Atlantic 10 Strategic Initiative subcommittees on competitive operating standards and revenue resource allocation. The subcommittees are studying options to further strengthen the A-10.

In related business, the Council of Presidents discussed the recent NCAA presidential reform initiatives and voiced concern related to the upcoming NCAA legislative recommendations that would eliminate foreign tours, reduce scholarship limitations in the sports of men’s and women’ basketball and potentially reduce, by 10 percent, the overall allowable competition in all sports.  The Council also authorized the Commissioner to engage in conversations with other Division I institution presidents and Division I conferences related to the precedent being set by the current expedited governance process and the concerns related to major legislation being proposed outside of the normal governance process and adopted immediately by the NCAA Board of Directors.

Temple to the Big East? Could happen

Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News says the Big East is set to vote on offering Temple an all-sports membership:

Meanwhile, a source close to the Big East said that league is expected
to vote on offering Temple full membership in the league at its
secretive presidents’ meeting Sunday in Washington, along with demanding
a more firm commitment from restless members Connecticut and Rutgers.
The Big East lost longtime members Syracuse and Pitt to the ACC in
mid-September.

If this happens, its unclear what this will mean to UMass' long term future in the MAC.

Part of UMass' appeal to the MAC was to give the league an eastern
travel partner and a rival for the Owls. When the Minutemen were added
to the league, Temple amended its league agreement to go from being a
contract member to a full football member. According to UMass'
membership agreement, if either the Minutemen or Owls withdrew from the
MAC, they would be assessed a $2.5 million withdrawal fee.

The schools' memberships are intertwined. If Temple withdraws and
UMass chooses to leave as well, the Minutemen would only pay a $500,000
fee.

The MAC would have options too. If Temple leaves, the MAC could keep
UMass as a full member, convert UMass to a contract member for a length
of at least two years, or replace Temple with another school.

Atlantic 10 to Brooklyn: A good idea?

So the Atlantic 10 is moving its men's basketball tournament yet again.

Brooklyn is the latest spot, following Atlantic City, Cincinnati, Dayton and Philadelphia. The quest is to find big crowds without compromising the event's neutrality, which was an issue in Ohio.

Neutraility shouldn't be an issue in Brooklyn. Fordham barely has a homecourt advantage at Rose Hill Gymnasium, its fans aren't likely to be a factor at Barclays Arena.

The A-10 always seems to believe that there's a neutral or close-to-neutral city out there where 10,000 will show up for its tournament and if they move around enough people will eventually show up. This quixotic quest precedes the conference's current administration. Don't get me wrong, I don't blame them for trying. But there might not be a such a place.

The problem is the league's fans don't travel well. Most of the schools have a good base of diehards, who'll show up, but not enough. Getting causual fans to go to a game between Rhode Island and St. Bonaventure is a challenge. Will New York, which has a few residents, have enough casual fans show up to give the building some energy? The A-10 always resisted playing in the Wachovia Center, opting for the Spectrum because Wachovia was too big. Barclays figures to be at least comparable.

In year one, I'd push cheap tickets and reasonable parking. BIG discounts for group sales. Create a fun event that people will want to come back to, instead of pricing people out before they ever walk in.

Having the event in New York at the same time as the Big East Tournament also seems like a risky play. Does the league want to be New York's junior varisty event? I get the desire for New York media exposure, but the A-List media will be at Madison Square Garden. The Big East will be on the backpage of the NY tabloids, but the A-10 gets 16 inches somewhere deep inside.

If people show up, the Atlantic 10 will look brilliant and what media people cover it won't matter. If not the league will be looking for yet another home for its tournament, not too far down the road.

Searching for the motive and the message

On the Atlantic 10's website, there's a Q&A with Commissioner Bernadette McGlade on conference shifting and other issues facing college athletics. I think its a good idea and something I'd like to see the A-10's web site do more of.

But McGlade's first answer got my attention.

How will the current conference realignment issues impact the Atlantic 10, especially since most moves are football driven and the Atlantic 10 is a basketball-driven league?

The current realignment activity, driven by BCS football, between the ACC, the Big 12, SEC, the Big East and other conferences are not directly impacting the Atlantic 10 Conference (at this moment). However, Temple has FBS football (and Massachusetts is elevating its football to the FBS level), thus at some point they could be affected, which impacts the A-10. Additionally, if or when, new realignment decisions are forced, or chosen, the A-10 could be "realigning" as well. If a conference makes a decision to divide or separate from its football playing member institutions and its' members who do not sponsor football, the A-10 could have an opportunity related to non-football member institutions. The goal is to remain together and make decisions that would strengthen the A-10 in terms of institutional academic profiles, media markets, geographic footprint and nationally recognized basketball and overall athletic program support.

Let's break the answer into a couple parts:

The current realignment activity, driven by BCS football, between
the ACC, the Big 12, SEC, the Big East and other conferences are not
directly impacting the Atlantic 10 Conference (at this moment).
However, Temple has FBS football (and Massachusetts is elevating its
football to the FBS level), thus at some point they could be affected,
which impacts the A-10.

I found it a tad odd that she'd mention Temple and UMass as having the potential to move, but it's the second half of the answer that is fascinating me:

Additonally, if or when, new realignment decisions are forced, or
chosen, the A-10 could be "realigning" as well. If a conference makes a
decision to divide or separate from its football playing member
institutions and its' members who do not sponsor football, the A-10
could have an opportunity related to non-football member institutions.
The goal is to remain together and make decisions that would strengthen
the A-10 in terms of institutional academic profiles, media markets,
geographic footprint and nationally recognized basketball and overall
athletic program support.

If you sift through the commissionerspeak, she appears to be referencing the Big East and the possibility of the schism between the football and basketball schools. She then alludes to "the A-10
could have an opportunity related to non-football member institutions."

Is she suggesting that the A-10 would try to add the non-football schools? Some of them? All of them? I like her aggressiveness attempting to improve the league rather than risk losing teams, but how big a conference is she contemplating?

But my bigger question is why is she putting this out there. Believe me as a reporter, I'm all for administrators who like to talk, there aren't enough of them. But this was a Q&A done by the A-10, not with a media member where she'd be answering unexpected questions with no chance to edit her answers.

Presumably, these were all answers crafted to appear exactly the way she wanted them to leaving me to ponder her motive. Why did she want to comment publicly on the potential for a Big East split, and if she really does want to add Big East's hoop-only teams, why announce your intentions?

I'm extremely curious.

Gurley named to Atlantic 10 Third Team

Here's the thing about poseason awards. If the Minutemen finished higher Gurley would probably be second team at least, but leading scorer on an eighth place team lands on the third team.

As usual coaches have no perspective when voting for coach of the year. Xavier was picked to be good (second) and was good (first) and the coaches picked Chris Mack as the Coach of the Year.

Take nothing away from Mack. He's done a terrific job. He inherited a great program and has kept it there. That's not easy to do. But was his the most impressive coaching job of the year?

Duquesne's Ron Everhart was picked eighth and finished fourth. He did that at a program that had been a serial loser in the conference. Getting the Dukes to a first-round bye and likely an NIT trip is much harder than winning a regular season title at Xavier.

George Washington went from 10th to fifth without Lasan Kromah who was out for the season. St. Bonaventure from 13th, which would have beeb out of the A-10 Tournament to having a home game at No. 7.

My vote (I don't have a vote, as only the coaches pick in the postseason) would have been for Everhart.

Xavier's  Tu Holloway was the player of the year.

Duquesne's T.J. McConnell, whose game I love, was the rookie of the year.

Scootie Randall was the most improved player, raising some eyebrows from people that thought Justin Harper would have made a good candidate, while Temple's Khalif Wyatt was the league's top sixth man.

If the season ended today - Atlantic 10/Scenarios

IF THE ATLANTIC 10 TOURNAMENT STARTED TODAY

If the Atlantic 10 Tournament started today, here's how it would look:

* UMass beat St. Bonaventure and Dayton giving the Minutemen the No. 7 seed.

* Dayton beat St. Bonaventure giving the Flyers the No. 8.

* La Salle beat Saint Louis giving the Explorers the No. 10.

* George Washington beat URI giving the Colonials the No. 5

First-Round Byes
1. Xavier 14-1 faces Dayton/SBU
2. Temple 13-2 faces UMass/LaSalle
3. Richmond 12-3 faces Rhode Island/SLU
4. Duquesne 10-5 faces SJU/GW

First-round games at home sites:
No. 12 Saint Joseph's (3-12)  at No. 5. George Washington (9-6)
No. 11 Saint Louis (6-9) at No. 6. Rhode Island  (9-6)
No. 10 La Salle (6-9) at No. 7 UMass (7-8)
No. 9 St. Bonaventure (7-8) at No. 8 Dayton (7-8)

Remaining games

*1. Xavier 14-1 -  at SLU -- Has clinched first
*2. Temple 13-2 -   vs. La Salle -- Has clinched second
*3. Richmond 12-3 - vs. Duquesne - Has clinched third
+4. Duquesne 10-5 -  at Richmond - Could finish 4-5 -

+5. George Washington 9-6 - vs. Dayton - Could finish 5-6
+6. Rhode Island 9-6 -  at SBU - Could finish 4-6
+7. UMass 7-8 -  at Fordham - Could finish 7-11
+8. Dayton 7-8 -  vs. GW - could finish 7-10

+9. St. Bonaventure 7-8 -   vs. URI - Could finish 7-11
+10. La Salle 6-9 - at Temple - could finish 8-11
+11. Saint Louis 6-9 - vs. Xavier could - could finish 8-11

12. Saint Joseph's 3-12 - at Charlotte - could finish 12-13
13. Charlotte 2-13 - vs. St. Joe's - could finish 12-13

^14. Fordham 0-14 - vs. UMass

* Clinched a first round bye
+ Clinched Tournament berth
^ Incapable of earning a tournament berth

 Three-team tie-breakers

If they finish in a three-way tie the order would be:
Involving UMass:
1. UMass (2-0), Dayton (1-1), St. Bonaventure (0-2)
3. UMass (2-1), Dayton (1-1), La Salle (1-2)
4. UMass (2-1), St. Bonaventure (1-1), La Salle (1-2)
5. La Salle (2-1), Saint Louis (1-1), UMass (1-2)
6. Saint Louis (2-1), UMass (1-1), Dayton (1-2)
7. Saint Louis (1-1), UMass (1-1), St. Bonaventure (1-1),  - SLU get higher seed because it would have had to beat Xavier to be tied.

FOUR TEAM TIE BREAKERS
1. UMass (2-1), Saint Louis (2-2),  Dayton (2-2), St. Bonaventure (1-2)
2. UMass (3-1), Dayton (2-1), St. Bonaventure (1-2), La Salle (1-3)
3. St. Bonaventure (2-1), La Salle (2-2), UMass (2-2), Saint Louis (1-2)
4. Saint Louis (2-2), UMass (2-2), Dayton (2-2) La Salle (2-2), - SLU get higher seed because it would have had to beat Xavier to be tied.

FIVE TEAM TIE-BREAKER

1. UMass (3-2), Dayton (3-2), St. Bonaventure (2-2), La Salle (2-3), Saint Louis (2-3)

If the season ended today - Atlantic 10

If the Atlantic 10 Tournament started today, here's how it would look:

* Saint Joseph's and Charlotte haven't played yet to break the head-to-head tiebreaker at No. 12 

* George Washington and Rhode Island haven't played to break the head-to-head tiebreaker at No. 5.

* UMass beat St. Bonaventure giving the Minutemen the No. 8 seed

First-Round Byes
1. Xavier 11-1 faces winner of UMass/St. Bonaventure in second round at Atlantic City
2. Temple 11-2 - faces La Salle/Dayton in second round at A.C.
3. Richmond 10-3 - faces SLU/No. 6 in second round at A.C.
4.  Duquesne 9-3 - faces No. 12/No.5in second round at Atlantic City

First-round games at home sites:
No. 12 (Saint Joseph's (2-10) or Charlotte (2-10)) at No. 5. (Rhode Island (7-5) or George Washington (7-5))
No. 11 Saint Louis (4-9) at No. 6. (Rhode Island (7-5) or George Washington (7-5))
No. 10 La Salle (4-8) at No. 7 Dayton (7-6)
No. 9 St. Bonaventure (6-6) at No. 8 UMass (6-6)

7. Dayton 7 6
8. Massachusetts 6 6

9. St. Bonaventure 6 6
10. La Salle 4 8
11. Saint Louis 4 9
12. Charlotte 2 10
12. Saint Joseph's 2 10
14. Fordham 0 12

A-10 To Break Ground On Five-Year Strategic Initiative Plan

A-10 To Break Ground On Five-Year Strategic Initiative Plan

The strategic initiative outlines four key areas of emphasis.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The Atlantic 10 Conference announced that the A-10 Council of Presidents adopted a five-year Strategic Initiative Plan at their annual fall meeting held in Philadelphia, Pa., this past week.

The five-year Strategic Initiative Plan is comprised of four emphasis areas, including: 1) Conference Membership; 2) Student-Athlete Experience; 3) Competitive Operating Standards; 4) Conference Brand, Equity, and Revenue Resources.

The Strategic Initiative Planning Subcommittee along with the A-10 governance bodies, worked diligently to determine the primary goals and initiatives within the four key areas of emphasis.

“The Atlantic 10 has made great strides in the last couple of years, academically and athletically,” said Rev. Michael J. Graham, chair of the A-10 Council of Presidents. “The adoption of a five-year Strategic Initiative Plan is a clear statement that collectively, the Atlantic 10 Conference is prepared to increase and extend this success into the future.”

With the adoption of the Strategic Initiative Plan serving as the foundation for the future, the Atlantic 10 Conference is committed to providing quality competition while further strengthening its academic and athletic integrity as a premier Division I conference in the nation.

Bad news for Xavier

From the Associated Press:
CINCINNATI — Xavier’s Brad Redford has torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, costing the Musketeers their top 3-point shooter.
The junior guard hurt his knee during practice on Saturday. A medical test on Sunday found the tear, which will need reconstructive surgery and sideline him for the season.
Redford was one of the Atlantic 10’s most accurate 3-point shooters in his first two seasons. He set a Xavier record by making 46.5 percent from behind the arc as a freshman. Of his 108 career baskets, 101 have come from behind the arc.
His long-range shooting forced defenses to extend and opened up the middle of the floor.

UMass basketball picked No. 11: No players honored

The Atlantic 10 preseason poll came out as part of the league's annual media day, which is at Chelsea Piers in Manhattan, and the Minutemen were picked No. 11. The Minutemen were the only team with no players on any of the all-conference, rookie, or defensive teams.

2010-11 Atlantic 10 Preseason Accolades

Preseason Poll (# first place votes), Total Points

1 – Temple (19), 350

2 – Xavier (3), 325

3 – Richmond (3), 311

4 – Dayton (1), 310

5 – Rhode Island, 233

6 – Saint Louis, 223

7 – Charlotte, 218

8 – Duquesne, 172

9 – La Salle, 133

10 – George Washington, 130

11 – Massachusetts, 126

12 – Saint Joseph’s, 91

13 – St. Bonaventure, 80

14 – Fordham, 28            

Huge setback for Saint Louis hoop

Saint Louis' top two players Willie Reed and Kwamain Mitchell are both not enrolled in school according to the Associated Press and the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

The text of the AP story is below:

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Saint Louis will open practice this week without two top players.
The school said Wednesday that point guard Kwamain Mitchell and center Willie Reed are not currently enrolled. The 6-9 Reed averaged 12.4 points and 7.9 rebounds and Mitchell averaged 15.9 points and three assists last year, when both were sophomores.
The school said federal law did not allow them to release any additional information without the consent of the students involved.

Atlantic 10 to Newport News

The A-10's move to Virginia is now official, although the migration ceased to be a secret earlier this week.

On a personal note, I'm sorry that the move means that associate commisioner Ray Cella is leaving the conference. He's a lifelong Jersey guy and didn't want to move south.

Ray is as good a guy as there is in college athletics and coaches, administrators and media are going to miss seeing him at league events. I know I sure will.

Atlantic 10 moving out of Philadelphia

to  

The Atlantic 10 is moving from Philadelphia to Newport News, Va.

There's an announcement coming Thursday.

It seems like an odd move. I want to say up front there's potentially a good reason that I'm not aware of, but...

I get that rent on office space in downtown Philadelphia probably isn't cheap, but wouldn't it make more sense to move somewhere more centralized. Philly does have some suburbs in Pennsyvania and Jersey.

The move could very likely create a turnover in the staff of the league as the league's employees will have to decide whether to uproot themselves and their families to a location almost 300 miles away. As someone who thinks highly of the people I know who work in the league, that would be a shame.

What does this mean to the league, I'm not really sure. I can't imagine it would affect things that much in terms of competition. I would guess that it would become more expensive for the league administrators to fly places. Although a quick scan of Expedia shows reasonable (under $300) flights to A-10 airports (Hartford, Saint Louis, Buffalo, Charlotte, Pittsburgh and Cincinatti) from Newport News International Airport on a random November weekend.

For fans, athletes and for that matter media, there's not a ton of reasons to be at the league office. So it won't change much.

But there's certainly something so be said for being among your league's fans, for living in a place that gets your league's games on normal cable TV. It seems like a certain amount of how your conference is being received gets lost when you aren't.

End of rant.

...542 miles to Newport News...

This and that

UMass is recruiting NYC forward Angel Nunez, but the Minutemen have tough competition.

All-Star free-lancer Josh Katzowitz has a good story about Atlantic 10 facility improvements.

A couple of future Minutemen played in the annual Chowder Bowl.

Gary Forbes is now playing for the D-League Select team in the Vegas Summer League too.

One of the best boys lacrosse players in Maine is headed to UMass.

...five days til Harper's Island, Six Days til Entourage...

Rooster Notes: Fordham whithering further

One of the features I'd like to have on this blog for the summer is a regular day for links to stories about A-10/CAA Football/Hockey East notes. I'm not working from June 11-24, but after that I'm going to pick a day that will feature the links and notes. 

Every Monday or maybe every other Monday depending on how often other outlets are putting out news.

Some of these will be a little dated, but since nobody plays a game again until August at the soonest.

Back when the Atlantic 10 was the Eastern 8, the league had a short-lived mascot called the Hoopster Rooster. It needs to be resurrected if only so I can buy a T-Shirt with the logo on it. I'm naming the summer conference notes blog after the HoopRoost.

Enjoy:

Men's basketball

Dayton's Doug Harris looks at the further decay of Fordham.

The always interesting Tom Timmerman takes a look how Atlantic 10 schools rank across the board in 2008-09 athletic department performance.

There's a handful of good college hoops nuggets in this Charlotte Observer notebook. Among the most noteworthy is that Comcast is adding ESPNU a move that will impact quite a few western Massachusetts and New England residents::

Comcast will add ESPNU to its lineup before the college basketball season, more
than doubling the number of homes in which the college-focused sports
station will be available. Comcast, which will now also carry ESPN360.

Duquesne gave productive walk-on Jason Duty a scholarship.

This is old, but still relevant. New Xavier coach Chris Mack figures to add some intensity to the Xavier-Dayton rivarly.

Oregon State is likely playing at George Washington this season which means the Colonials could get another visit from President Barack Obama, whose brother-in-law Craig Robinson is the coach at OSU:

"Do the five new players realize what's in store for them early next season? ... a trip to the D.C. area to play George Washington U., and if schedules work out perhaps a chance to meet President Obama and the First Lady, who just happens to be coach Rob's little sister."

Dionte Christmas is preparing for the NBA.

Jim Baron is being inducted into the St. Bonaventure Hall of Fame.

Football

Delaware added a linemen from West Virginia.

...three months til football season...

The Atlantic 10 makes it official

The A-10 is staying on the Jersey shore.

"The decision to return to Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City provides a great opportunity to grow our marquee event and truly brand the Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Championship," states McGlade. "The facility is well-suited for this Championship, Atlantic City is a historic seashore resort, and the city has welcomed the Atlantic 10 and committed to host three more great years."

...one year til A-10 in A.C...