2006 Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Notebook

As the Dukes get ready for Monday's season and home opener with Youngstown St., Atlantic 10 Conference Associate Commissioner Ray Cella issued the first weekly A-10 Men's Basketball Notebook. Duquesne's team is discussed in quite of few segments.

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PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Leemire Goldwire - Charlotte
Junior, Guard, 5-11
Palm Beach Gardens, FL/Dwyer HS

Matched his career high with 26 points in Charlotte’s 88-82 win over Hofstra on Nov. 11...was 6-10 from the field, including 2-5 from three...was also 12-12 from the foul line, going 10-10 in the final 1:07...the 12-12 effort was a career best...he also handed out a team-high four assists...this is the second Player of the Week award of his career.

ROOKIES OF THE WEEK

Marcus Johnson - Dayton
Freshman, Guard, 6-3
Cleveland, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary’s HS

Pressed into a starting role due to an injury to Andres Sandoval, Johnson responded by scoring 23 points and hauling down seven rebounds in the Dayton’s 78-62 win over Austin Peay on Nov. 11...his 23 points were the most by a Dayton freshman in his debut...was 8-14 from the field, including 3-7 from three.

Tiki Mayben - Massachusetts
Freshman, Guard, 6-2
Troy, NY/Troy HS

Recorded 12 points and 11 assists as Massachusetts downed Dartmouth, 98-61, on Nov. 11...had nine assists in the first half and 10 points in the second half...his 11 assists tied a Mullins Center record set by Monty Mack in 1998...Mayben also had two steals and a rebound.

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WEEKLY HONOR ROLL

• Charlotte’s Leemire Goldwire tied his career high of 26 points in the 49ers’ 88-82 season-opening win over Hofstra on Nov. 11. Goldwire was 12-12 from the line, including 10-10 in the final 1:07. He also had six rebounds and four assists
• Dayton's Brian Roberts scored 29 points, the most he has scored in a regulation game, in leading the Flyers to a 78-62 win over Austin Peay on Nov. 11...Freshman teammate Marcus Johnson scored the most points by a Dayton freshman in his debut in netting 23 points against Austin Peay
• Carl Elliott scored a career-high 25 points in George Washington’s 70-57 win at Boston University on Nov. 10. Elliott was 7-11 from the field and 11-11 from the line against the Terriers
• Rashaun Freeman posted 25 points and 10 rebounds in leading UMass to a 98-61 win over Dartmouth on Nov. 11. Freeman was 12-16 from the field, making his final six attempts...Freshman teammate Tiki Mayben registered a double-double in his debut, netting 12 points and handing out 11 assists
• Kahiem Seawright posted his first career double-double, going for 20 points and 10 rebounds, as Rhode Island cruised to an 86-62 win over Stonehill on Nov. 10. Seawright was 8-10 from the field and 4-4 from the line on the night
• Michael Lee averaged 18.0 points and 8.5 rebounds as St. Bonaventure split its two games at the 2K Sports College Hoops Classic in Austin, TX. He posted his second career double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds against Chicago State on Nov. 9, and then had 16 points, seven rebounds, and five blocks in a 68-59 win over Alcorn State the next night
• Tommie Liddell had eight points and 17 rebounds in Saint Louis’ 79-55 win over Quincy on Nov. 11
• Stanley Burrell had 19 points and four assists as Xavier beat Coastal Carolina, 79-46, on Nov. 11...Freshman teammate Derrick Brown added 11 points and six rebounds.

WOODEN YOU KNOW

Charlotte senior D'Angelo Alexander has been selected as one of the nation’s Top 50 candidates for the Wooden National Player of the Year Award. As a top 50 selection, Alexander is a Wooden Award pre-season All-America. Alexander led the 49ers with a 17.0 scoring average, adding 6.1 rebounds last season. He led the A-10 in three-pointers made (96; 3.0/gm) while shooting .429 from long range (3rd in the A-10). He is the league’s top returning scorer. A first-team All-Atlantic 10 selection last year, Alexander is a preseason first-team all-A-10 choice, as well.

RETURN TO FORM

After placing four teams in the 2004 NCAA Tournament and seeing two of them advance to within a hair of the Final Four, the Atlantic 10 looks to return to that form. To do that, the league will rely on seven returning All-Conference players and nine of the league’s top 20 scorers. Headlining the group are first-team honorees De’Angelo Alexander of Charlotte, Fordham’s Bryant Dunston, Rashaun Freeman of Massachusetts, and Ian Vouyoukas of Saint Louis. Returning members of last season’s All-Conference second-team are Xavier’s Stanley Burrell, Carl Elliott of George Washington, and Dayton’s Brian Roberts. Alexander is the league’s leading returning scorer, having averaged 17.0 ppg in his debut season with the 49ers. Freeman, who pulled down 9.3 rebounds a game a year ago, leads 11 of the league’s top 15 returning rebounders.

HE’S BACK

Dayton senior forward Monty Scott is poised to finish his UD career with a flourish. The team’s only senior, Scott was the Flyers’ second-leading scorer (11.2) and rebounder (4.3) in 2005-06, despite missing six games and being limited in practices and games for much more than that with a stress fracture in his left foot. Dayton’s MVP and an all-conference selection two years ago, there is little coincidence that the Flyers fast 8-3 start in 2005-06 came with a healthy Scott starting at forward, and UD’s struggles came after the injury.

PRESEASON PUB

Despite not being listed among the top 25 in the writers' or coaches' polls, Xavier did receive quite a bit of preseason recognition. The Musketeers were ranked in the polls by Sporting News (22nd), CBS Sportsline (24th), and Blue Ribbons (25th). Xavier was also the unanimous pick to win the A-10 by every major preseason publication.

HOME COOKING

When head coach Dereck Whittenburg took over the Fordham men’s basketball program in 2002-03, one of his goals was to recruit local talent from New York City. So far he has accomplished that as three scholarship players on the 2006-07 roster hail from New York City. They are senior forward Dominic Osei (Brooklyn, NY), junior forward Bryant Dunston (Queens, NY), and sophomore forward Chris Bethel (Bronx, NY). The past off-season, Whittenburg also made inroads into Westchester County, recruiting freshman guard David Boykins from White Plains High School.

BREAKING GROUND

On Aug. 28, Saint Louis broke ground on its new $80.5 million multipurpose Arena near Compton and I-64/Highway 40. Construction of the Arena complex will take 18-19 months with an opening in March of 2008. "I am very pleased to tell the St. Louis community that the beginning of this significant project is here," said University president Lawrence Biondi, S.J. "This Arena will be a beacon for Midtown St. Louis as well as further enriching our University campus life." The Arena complex includes a 10,600 seat Arena, which will be home to Billikens' men's and women's basketball games and a host of other events; an athletic practice facility, which will also host SLU women's volleyball games; and a three-story building that will house athletic department offices and support facilities.

AN IMPROVED NEST

An expansion of Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse and a dedicated center for men's and women's basketball highlight a comprehensive plan for enhancing varsity and recreational athletics at Saint Joseph's. The total project will proceed in three phases over the next several years. Phase one will be the construction of a 17,700-square foot center adjacent to the existing Fieldhouse that will house state-of-the-art facilities for men's and women's basketball. The center is to include new locker rooms, coaches' offices, meeting areas, and dedicated academic and study space. Phase two will see the relocation of at least five varsity sports and the student recreation/intramural program by 2009 to SJU's Maguire Campus (Episcopal Academy), followed by renovations to the existing Rec Center to house new athletic offices along with locker rooms and meeting space for the remaining varsity sports. A permanent practice area for men's and women's basketball will also be added to the Rec Center during phase two. Phase three is the expansion of the Fieldhouse to include a full-service concourse around the perimeter of the arena and an increase in capacity by at least 1,000 seats. It is expected that men's and women's basketball will need to play one full season off campus during the heaviest construction period, but both squads will retain access to the basketball center and new practice area.

MORE CONSTRUCTION NEWS

Work began on Nov. 6 at Dayton on the renovation of the vacated Physical Activities Center. The PAC was the university's campus recreation center until January 2006, when the $25.3 million RecPlex was completed. The renovated PAC will provide quality indoor practice space for 11 Flyer sports teams, including a dedicated full-court practice area for basketball. At the end of the 2006-07 season, the wooden playing floor currently at the UD Arena will be moved to the basketball practice gym at the PAC and a new "Tom Blackburn Court" will be used at the arena in 2007-08.

DRAFT DODGERS

George Washington’s Carl Elliott and Saint Louis’ Ian Vouyoukas withdrew from the NBA Draft to return for their senior seasons. GW’s starting point guard for the last three seasons, Elliott led the team in assists for the third straight year with 117 for an average of 3.9 assists per game. A second-team All-Conference pick, he also led the Atlantic 10 in three-point shooting at .438 and was second on the Colonials with 59 steals. Vouyoukas, the Billikens’ most valuable player, earned first-team All-Atlantic 10 honors and received the A-10’s Chris Daniels Award as the league’s most improved player. He ranked 14th in the A-10 in scoring at 13.9 points per game, sixth in rebounding at 7.4 rebounds per game, fourth in blocked shots at 1.9 blocks per game, and 13th in free throw percentage at 725.

NEW FACES

There will be a couple of familiar faces in new places when the 2006-07 season tips-off. Longtime Penn head coach Fran Dunphy moved across Philadelphia to take over at Temple. Dunphy, who was named head coach on April 10, spent 17 seasons at Penn, compiling a 310-163 (.655) record and 10 Ivy League titles while making nine trips to the NCAA Tournament. His Quaker teams won an unprecedented 48 straight Ivy League games and four league titles from 1992 through 1996. His 1993-94 team posted a 25-3 record and earned a No. 25 ranking in the CNN/USA Today coaches’ poll. Over the last eight seasons, Dunphy guided Penn to six Ivy League titles and a 93-19 league record. From 1999-2001, the Quakers won 25 straight league games, including a perfect 14-0 mark in 1999-2000. This past season, Penn was 20-9, its fourth 20-win season in five years.

Across the state of Pennsylvania, Ron Everhart begins his tenure at Duquesne. Named head coach on March 29, Everhart comes to Duquesne with a reputation of turning around programs. At McNeese State from 1995-2001, Everhart ended a streak of six consecutive sub-.500 seasons by leading the Cowboys to a 15-12 mark in 1995-96. His seven-year stay culminated with a 22-9 record, the Southland Conference regular season title, and an NIT bid - the school's first postseason bid in 12 years. Everhart then moved on to Northeastern in 2002, where he inherited a program that averaged fewer than nine wins in the six seasons prior to his arrival and produced 19, 21 and 19 victories in each of the past three years. In his five seasons, the Huskies averaged 16.4 wins. His 2004-05 team, which finished second in the America East Conference with a 15-3 record (21-10 overall), went on to earn an NIT bid - its first postseason appearance in 14 years.

STICKS & STIX

In addition to sharing New York City roots, Duquesne freshmen Stephen Wood and Robert Mitchell share matching nicknames. Wood, a 6-3, 180-pounder from South Jamaica, Queens, has been called “Stix” for years - same goes for 6-6, 175-pound Brooklyn native Mitchell. The only difference? Mitchell goes with the conventional spelling of “Sticks.” Both nicknames were derived from the slight builds of both Wood and Mitchell. “Hopefully after some more trips to the weight room, ‘Stix’ and ‘Sticks’ will be things of the past,” says head coach Ron Everhart. In deference to Wood, Mitchell has adopted “Melo” (short for Carmelo Anthony) as his adopted Pittsburgh nickname. Both Mitchell and Wood showed promise during the Dukes’ two preseason exhibition games. Mitchell tied for team high with 15 points versus Millersville and followed that with 16 against Mercyhurst. Wood, who once scored 50 points in a high school game while at Monsignor McClancy, scored 14 of his 16 points versus Mercyhurst in the first half including 4-4 from the three-point arc. Wood, who has been slowed by tendinitis in his knee in the preseason, hit 6-10 three-point attempts and shot 53.3 percent from the field in the two exhibition games.

STEPPING STONE

Three Atlantic 10 assistant coaches will be heading their own programs this season. Temple’s Dan Leibovitz will lead Hartford, Monte Ross of Saint Joseph’s is in charge at Delaware, and Benny Moss of Charlotte was named head coach at UNC Wilmington.

THE NEXT LEVEL

There are currently 18 Atlantic 10 alumni on NBA rosters. Below is a look at that list:

Name (School)          1st Yr.    NBA Team
Rasual Butler (LAS)    2002-03    New Orleans Hornets
Marcus Camby (UM)      1996-97    Denver Nuggets
Mardy Collins (TU)     2006-07    New York Knicks
Lynn Greer (TU)        2006-07    Milwaukee Bucks
Marc Jackson (TU)      2000-01    New Orleans Hornets
-->Mike James (DUQ)    2001-02    Minnesota Timberwolves<--
Dwayne Jones (SJU)     2006-07    Cleveland Cavaliers
Eddie Jones (TU)       1994-95    Memphis Grizzlies
Aaron McKie (TU)       1994-95    Los Angeles Lakers
Pops Mensah-Bonsu (GW) 2006-07    Dallas Mavericks
Cuttino Mobley (URI)   1998-99    Los Angeles Clippers
Jameer Nelson (SJU)    2004-05    Orlando Magic
Lamar Odom (URI)       1999-00    Los Angeles Lakers
Smush Parker (FOR)     2002-03    Los Angeles Lakers
James Posey (XU)       1999-00    Miami Heat
Steven Smith (LAS)     2006-07    Philadelphia 76ers
David West (XU)        2003-04    New Orleans Hornets
Delonte West (SJU)     2004-05    Boston Celtics

DEPTH CHARGES

There is no question that St. Bonaventure’s depth is improved this year; that is thanks to the improvement of returning players as well as the team’s five new players. Four of those newcomers are juniors who have junior college backgrounds: guards Zarryon Fereti and Jermaine Calvin, who were teammates last year at Southern Idaho J.C.; guard James Williams and forward Lounceny Kaba. The team’s only scholarship freshman is power forward Jourdan Morris.

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION

Rhode Island continues its 100th season of basketball with a bang. On Monday, Rhody hosts Houston at the Ryan Center. Houston is coached by former URI head coach Tom Penders. In two seasons with the Rams (1986-88), Penders compiled a 48-17 record. He guided the 1986-87 squad to a 20-10 mark and a spot in the NIT. But in 1987-88, Penders’ squad went 28-7 and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament - downing Missouri and Syracuse, before losing to Duke by just one point (73-72). Current Rams women’s basketball coach Tom Garrick was a member of that team. It marks Penders first time back to Rhody since leaving George Washington in 2001.

TRANSFER OF POWER

In the preseason A-10 poll, UMass was selected second by the panel of coaches and media. A major reason for that is the influx of talent brought in by second-year head coach Travis Ford. Among the newcomers is a trio of transfers who are expected to make immediate impacts. West Virginia transfer Luke Bonner adds a dimension few teams have - a 7-0 three-point shooter. Boston University transfer Etienne Brower is also a solid outside shooter who likes to penetrate. He averaged over 8.0 ppg at BU as a sophomore. Gary Forbes rounds out the trio. The 6-7 swingman from Virginia tallied 9.4 ppg as a Cavalier and, according to his coach, can be one of the best players in the A-10 this season. Add to the group first-team All-Conference performer Rashaun Freeman and you can see why people are talking up the Minutemen.

OUCH

Duquesne received more bad news when it was discovered that junior Kieron Achara was diagnosed with stress fractures in his left foot, sidelining him indefinitely. Achara will have the foot immobilized for two weeks and will have the injury re-evaluated at the end of that two-week period. Achara, the 2004-05 Atlantic 10 Chris Daniels Award winner as the league's most-improved player, had his 2005-06 season ended prematurely by surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. Achara, who injured the shoulder in a preseason scrimmage, played in three games before having surgery last December.

BEST LAID PLANS...

The plan was for former Richmond guard Andres Sandoval to be Dayton’s starting point guard, thus enabling head coach Brian Gregory to move Brian Roberts back to the two guard. Well, you can’t always have what you want. On Nov. 9, Sandoval, who spent last season at Sante Fe Community College, had surgery to repair his broken foot. Doctors inserted a titanium screw in his foot and Sandoval is now expected to miss four-to-six weeks. Roberts didn’t seem to mind moving back to the point in the Flyers’ opener as he torched Austin Peay for 29 points. Freshman Marcus Johnson got the start in place on Sandoval and scored 23 points.

WHAT’S ALL THIS THEN?

Saint Joseph’s players might be hearing the words “pass it inside” more than they have in the past few years, with frontcourt players Rob Ferguson and Ahmad Nivins seeming to be the main scoring threats, a change from the guard-dominated teams of the last several years. Ferguson is the Hawks’ leading returning scorer with a 10.8 average from last year. He shot 50.2 percent from the field and looks to be one of the top Hawks from the foul line, having converted 84.4 percent. Nivins was an Atlantic 10 All-Rookie selection last year, with 6.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. In an effort to replace what has been lost, head coach Phil Martelli and his staff brought in a host of new players. Freshmen Darrin Govens, D.J. Rivera, and Garrett Williamson held three of the five spots on the Pennsylvania all-state first-team as chosen by Associated Press. Rounding out the highly-recognized class, Jawan Carter was an all-state honoree and Delaware’s Player of the Year, while Rockwell Moody garnered Virginia Independent Schools all-state recognition. Four of the players were 1,000-point scorers in their scholastic careers - Carter (2,462), Govens (1,598), Williamson (1,349), and Rivera (1,122). The four combined amassed a total of 6,531 points. SJU’s recruits also come from successful high school programs. Carter (Tatnall School), Williamson (Lower Merion) and Moody (Bishop O’Connell) saw their teams each win state titles, while Govens’ Chester squad reached the title game (vs. Lower Merion) and Rivera’s Neumann-Goretti team captured the Philadelphia Catholic League title.

GW ALUM RED AUERBACH DIES AT 89

Former George Washington basketball player and GW Athletic Hall of Famer Arnold “Red” Auerbach died Oct. 28, in Washington. Auerbach played three varsity seasons for the Colonials in 1937-38, 1938-39 and 1939-40. A member of the inaugural GW Athletic Hall of Fame class inducted in 1959, Auerbach had coached the Boston Celtics to two NBA titles at the time of his induction. He would go on to win seven more championships with the Celtics for a total of nine NBA titles. He won a total of 16 titles as a coach and GM of the Celtics. Both the GW men’s and women’s teams will be wearing a red strip on their uniforms throughout the season to honor Auerbach’s memory.

MARSHALL TO SIT

Temple senior Wayne Marshall has decided to sit out the entire 2006-07 season. Marshall, who was declared ineligible for the fall semester due to NCAA guidelines on Sept. 1, will concentrate on his health as well as his studies this academic year. Marshall averaged. 7.2 points and 4.0 rebounds a game last year. He played in 24 games with 17 starts and ranked second on the squad with 22 blocked shots while also making 22 steals.

RAY OF SUNSHINE

Duquesne has played 2,117 games in its 90 year history, the Dukes’ radio play-by-play man Ray Goss has broadcast almost exactly half of them. According to a list of NCAA Division I radio broadcasters compiled by DeWayne Peevy of the Southeastern Conference, Goss is tied for eighth all-time in number of seasons behind the mic. Among active radio men, only Ball State’s Morry Mannies (51st year), Mississippi State’s Jack Cristil (50th year), and Minnesota’s Ray Christiansen (46th year) have more experience than Goss, who broadcast his first Duquesne basketball games as a student sports director in 1957. Goss started as Duquesne’s full-time play-by-play man in 1968-69.