The Atlantic 10 is traditionally one of college basketball's top non- BCS conferences. In 2010-2011, this was no different as three teams represented the league in the NCAA Tournament with Richmond making an appearance in the Sweet 16. For fantasy basketball, the A-10 is home to some of the top producers in the country. Even though the league had some of its top talent poached by Bob Huggins in the offseason (Dayton G Juwan Staten and La Salle C Aaric Murray transferred to West Virginia), the likes of Xavier guard Tu Holloway, St. Bonaventure forward Andrew Nicholson, and Fordham forward Chris Gaston are legitimate round 1 picks for leagues that draft from the entire Division 1 player pool. Let's take a more in depth look at what each team in the A-10 has to offer you on draft day.
Charlotte
The 49ers are led by their backcourt of Derrio Green and Jamar Briscoe. Both men put up similar numbers last season. Green was Charlotte's leading scorer last season, and of the two, has more of a proclivity to pass as he chipped in nearly four assists per game. Briscoe (12.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists) is the better shooter checking in at 35% from three a year ago. Keep an eye on forward Chris Braswell. He nearly averaged a double-double in his freshman season. While he regressed somewhat last season, he still averaged 11 points and recorded seven double-doubles.
Dayton
The 2011-2012 season will be a transition year for Dayton basketball. Head coach Brian Gregory is now at Georgia Tech, 1,600-point scorer Chris Wright has graduated, and as I mentioned in the first paragraph, highly regarded freshmen guard Staten has transferred to West Virginia. In Wright's absence, look for 6-foot-6 forward Chris Johnson (11.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.6 assists) to step into the spotlight. Southern Illinois transfer Kevin Dillard should help offset the loss of Staten. The former Saluki was the Missouri Valley Conference freshman of the year in 2008-2009, averaging 12.2 points and 4.2 assists.
Duquesne
Let's take a moment to remember Damian Saunders. He was the only player in NCAA history to finish his career with more than 250 blocks, steals and assists. The guy was the definition of a stat stuffer and will be sorely missed in fantasy circles. While it won't be easy to replace Saunders and fellow graduating senior Bill Clark (16.3 points, 6.2 rebounds), head coach Ron Everhart's up tempo style is always friendly to owners. Reigning Atlantic 10 freshman of the year guard T.J. McConnell is one of the best assist men in the country. He averaged 10.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. Forward B.J. Monteiro (11.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists) is an efficient shooter and the Dukes' top returning scorer.
Fordham
For the last two seasons, any discussion of Fordham basketball has begun and ended with Chris Gaston. The 6-foot-7 junior forward is the nation's top returning rebounder. He registered 17 double-doubles last season. Simply put, he is a rebounding monster. Besides Gaston, sophomore guard Brendan Frazier chipped in 11.0 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 3.3 assists. Head coach Tom Pecora has improved the level of talent in his short time there. For those of you in leagues that require a freshman starter, look for the foursome of Bryan Smith, Jeff Short, Ryan Canty, and Devon "Fatty" McMillan to see significant playing time for the Rams.
George Washington
From a fantasy perspective, there isn't a lot to be excited about the Colonials. Time will tell if that changes under new head coach Mike Lonergan. Only one returning player scored in double figures: guard Tony Taylor. He averaged 15.0 points and 4.6 assists per game. Taylor will have the ball in his hands a ton, so he is the guy to draft from GW. Guard Lasan Kromah is someone to keep tabs on. He returns from a foot injury that forced him to sit out last season. Kromah averaged 11.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 2009-2010.
La Salle
The Explorers have to replace two 1,000 point scorers (Jerrell Williams and Ruben Guillandeaux) and highly touted center Aaric Murray. Murray averaged 15.2 points and 7.7 rebounds, but ultimately clashed with head coach John Giannini, and now will suit up next season for West Virginia. Look for point guard Tyreek Duren to become the linchpin of the La Salle attack. The diminutive guard averaged 9.8 points and 4.4 assists last season. Guard Ramon Galloway transfers in from South Carolina to provide some scoring punch in the back court. Forward Devon White was a productive rebounder in limited playing time and could see a nice bump in his numbers with an expanded role. La Salle does not have much experienced depth in their front court, so expect freshman forwards Jerrell Wright, Matt Lopez, and Steve Zack to get a bulk of the minutes.
Massachusetts
It looks like it's going to be a rough year for Derek Kellogg's Minutemen. To paraphrase Rick Pitino, Lou Roe and Marcus Camby aren't walking through the door. UMass struggled to score last season and it won't get easier with the graduation of Tyrone Gurley. On a more positive note, the back court of Javorn Farrell and Freddie Riley has shown some flashes. Last season, Farrell had a 16-point, six-rebound, and four-assist performance against Richmond. Riley torched Rider for 28 points in last season's opener. Center Sean Carter won't score much, but is an efficient rebounder and is useful in leagues that count blocks. Hofstra transfer Chaz Williams is eligible this season. He averaged 9.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.2 assists and was a member of the CAA All-Freshman team in 2009-2010.
Rhode Island
Jim Baron has his work cut out for him with all the losses for the Rams. Delroy James, Will Martell, Marquis Jones, and Akeem Richmond are gone. Rhode Island does return one of the best three-point shooters in the country Nikola Malesevic. He shot 46% from beyond the arc a year ago. After that, it's a lot of uncertainty. Forward Orion Outerbridge was an efficient scorer in limited time. Transfers Andre Malone and Billy Baron should provide some scoring when they become eligible at midseason. Blake Vedder is worth watching since he's 7-foot-3, but he only played in five games last year and is probably more of a project.
Richmond
The Spiders are another team in the conference with heavy losses. The core of last year's Sweet 16 team (Kevin Anderson, Justin Harper, Kevin Smith and Dan Geriot) has moved on. Guard Darien Brothers is Richmond's leading scorer with only 7.6 points a game. Francis-Cedric Martel was an efficient scorer in small minutes. He scored 12 points in Richmond's victory over Vanderbilt in last year's NCAA Tournament. Forward Darrius Garrett is a superb athlete that averaged almost two blocks a game last season. Of the freshmen class, 6-foot-11 forward Luke Piotrowski is the star. Reports are that Piotrowski is adept at ball handling, has good foot work and can shoot it well from the outside. All of those attributes should serve him well in Chris Mooney's Princeton style offense.
St. Bonaventure
6-foot-9 senior forward Andrew Nicholson has quietly become one of the best players in the country. He is the conference's top returning scorer at 20.8 points and grabbed 7.3 rebounds. The Bonnies will need to find a replacement for graduated point guard Odo Adegboye( 11.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.0 assists). Michael Davenport and Demitrius Conger provide a nice compliment to Nicholson on the wings. Both have good jump shots and averaged double figures scoring while contributing five rebounds a game last season.
St. Joseph's
Phil Martelli's young Hawks struggled mightily for a good portion of last season, but finished strong in late February/early March making it to the semifinals of the Atlantic 10 Tournament. They are led by the dynamic back court of Carl Jones and Langston Galloway. Last season, Jones led the team in scoring (17.0) and assists (3.4). Galloway averaged nearly 13.0 points and 5.5 rebounds earning all-rookie honors in the Atlantic 10. Sophomore center C.J. Aiken (7.4 points and 4.3 rebounds) is a tremendous athlete, but still a little raw offensively. His value goes up in leagues that count blocks. Aiken finished third in the nation with 3.6 blocks per game. Hofstra transfer Halil Kanacevic (8.6 points, 7.6 rebounds in 09-10) should add additional depth to the front court.
Saint Louis
Expectations are high for Saint Louis to make push up the Atlantic 10 standings. That is largely due to the return of Kwamain Mitchell (16.0 points, 3.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds in 2009-10). Mitchell was briefly kicked off the team due to legal issues last season. He was later brought back and chose to redshirt in 2010-2011. Guard Mike McCall (10.4 points and 3.0 assists) is the Billikens' top returning scorer. Transfer guard Jake Barnett averaged almost 13 points a game at Toledo and shot 37% from the three point line. With that said, Saint Louis is typically a slow tempo team that is not very efficient offensively. It would probably be wise to look elsewhere for fantasy options.
Temple
With the exception of Lavoy Allen, Temple pretty much comes back intact for 2011-2012. The trio of Juan Fernandez, Ramone Moore, and Scootie Randall will lead the way. All three scored in double figures last season with Moore being the Owls' leading scorer at 15 points per game. Fernandez continues to be a very good distributor averaging four assists a game last season. The real surprise from last year was the play of guard Khalif Wyatt. He seemingly came from nowhere to average ten points and lead the Owls in three-point shooting at 42%. 6-foot-11 center Micheal Eric (7.1 points, 5.9 rebounds) will have to replace a large portion of Allen's production. If Eric can stay healthy and with the egalitarian nature of Fran Dunphy's offense, there is a legitimate chance the Owls can have five double figure scorers this season.
Xavier
Along with Butler, Xavier has set the standard on how to run a "mid-major" program. Any discussion of the Musketeers will start with guard Tu Holloway. Holloway (19.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.4 assists) would be my pick for the best fantasy player in all of Division 1. Xavier's offense goes through him, he is insanely efficient, and he played 94.5% of his team's minutes last season. That figure ranked sixth in the country according to KenPom.com. Outside of Holloway, the X-men have senior Kenny Frease (11.7 points, 7.1 rebounds) returning. The seven-footer has improved each year from his freshman season. Guard Mark Lyons (13.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists) had a very successful sophomore campaign and Xavier also has a highly regarded recruiting class led by 6-foot-5 small forward Dezmine Wells. There are two transfers to keep an eye on: Vanderbilt's Andre Walker (6.1 points and 5.3 rebounds in 09-10) and Monmouth's Travis Taylor (17.8 points and 7.6 rebounds). It will be interesting to see if Taylor can put up the same kind of numbers outside of the Northeast Conference.
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