A-10 Basketball Previews

St. Joe's

St. Joe’s will look to rebound after a down year in 2008-09 that saw them miss the NCAA Tournament after making it the previous year. St. Joe’s went 17-14 overall last year and just 9-7 in A-10 play, good for a fifth place finish. Head coach Phil Martelli has led the team to six NCAA Tournament appearances during his 14-year tenure, Martelli also led the Hawks to a 27-0 perfect regular season in 2003-04 and an Elite 8 appearance. St. Joe’s will look to ride the back of senior guard Darrin Govens who averaged 12.5 ppg last year, started all but one game, and averaged 35 minutes per game.

Rhode Island

After a 23-11 overall record and 2nd place finish in the A-10, coach Jim Baron and Rhode Island will look to build on recent success in 2009-10. Senior guard Keith Cothran averaged 13.2 ppg, scored in double-digits on 22 different occasions, averaged 27 minutes per game last year and will lead the Ram’s attack. With three consecutive seasons of 20+ wins, Rhode Island looks to be a real threat to the A-10 title and could possibly be an NCAA Tournament team. Junior center Will Martell looks to be a mainstay for Rhode Island this year. The 7-foot, 245 pound Michigan native averaged 12.9 minutes per game and provides a sizeable presence in the paint for the Rams.

George Washington

Coming off consecutive lackluster years of conference play, coach Karl Hobbs will look to turn the Colonials around this season. With three returning starters and nine letterwinners, the Colonials should work their way up from the depths of the A-10. That might be a hard task to accomplish after losing 2008-09 team MVP Rob Diggs. As a senior, Diggs averaged 13.4 ppg, 7.3 rpg, and had 47 blocks on the year. Looking to lead the Colonials will be senior forward Damian Hollis. Hollis averaged 13.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg, and was an 84 percent free-throw shooter in 08-09. One upside for the Colonials will be the depth at the guard position, as they have five on the roster.

Richmond

Richmond might be one of the surprise teams in the A-10 this year. Under the direction of fifth-year coach Chris Mooney, the Spiders have five returning starters and 11 letterwinners to a team that finished fifth in the conference in 2008-09. After leading the team in scoring in his first two seasons, center Dan Geriot tore his ACL last summer and missed the entire 08-09 season. Standing at 6-9/255, Geriot gives the Spiders a huge presence in the paint and should have a huge impact this season. At 6-10/225, junior forward Justin Harper should be a mainstay for Richmond. Harper had a career-high 28 points and nine rebounds against URI last season.