Atlantic 10 Notebook

After a lapse of way-too-many weeks, DuquesneSports.com again publishes the Atlantic 10 Conference Men's Basketball Notebook. The biggest news for Duquesne fans: despite 26 points and 8 rebounds in Saturday's loss at Niagara, the league did not designate DU freshman, and Brooklyn, N.Y. native, Robert Mitchell as the top rookie. Today, it's Rodney Green of the 5-2 La Salle Explorers.

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PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Rashaun Freeman - Massachusetts
Senior, Forward, 6-9
In one game for the Minutemen, Freeman scored 21 points and pulled down five rebounds to lead UMass to a 72-68 win at Louisville on Dec. 13...shot 7-11 (.636) from the field and 7-10 (.700) from the foul line...he also handed out one assist...the win ended Louisville’s 24-game non-conference home winning streak...this is his first Player of the Week award of the season and fourth of his career.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Rodney Green - La Salle Freshman, Guard, 6-5
Philadelphia, PA/Prep Charter HS

In La Salle’s only game of the week, Green recorded a career-high 25 points along with six rebounds as the Explorers earned an 86-73 win at Central Connecticut on Dec. 16...was 11-14 (.786) from the field and 3-4 (.750) from the line...he also had two assists and two steals...this is his first Rookie of the Week award.

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A-10-SHUN
NEWS FROM AROUND THE ATLANTIC 10

WEEKLY HONOR ROLL

• Dayton’s Brian Roberts had game highs of 17 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists to lead the Flyers to a 66-55 win over Western Carolina on Dec. 16...Freshman teammate Marcus Johnson had 13 points and six boards in the victory
  
• Robert Mitchell posted 26 points and eight rebounds in Duquesne’s contest at Niagara on Dec. 16. Mitchell was 9-18 from the field and 6-6 from the line
  
• Sebastian Greene had 19 points in Fordham’s game at No. 13 Texas A&M on Dec. 12
  
• Maureece Rice registered 22 points, 10 rebounds, and a couple of steals and assists as George Washington downed UMBC, 72-51, on Dec. 12
  
• Rodney Green had 25 points (11-14 FG, 3-4 FT), six rebounds, two assists, and two steals in La Salle’s 86-73 win at Central Connecticut on Dec. 16
  
• Rashaun Freeman netted a game-best 21 points and pulled down five rebounds in leading Massachusetts to a 72-68 win at Louisville on Dec. 13
  
• Rhode Island’s Will Daniels had 22 points and six rebounds in the Rams’ affair with DePaul on Dec. 16
  
• A.J. Hawkins posted 12 points, eight rebounds and three steals for St. Bonaventure in its game at Albany on Dec. 16
  
• Ian Vouyoukas averaged 14.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in a pair of wins for Saint Louis. Included in his week was a 17-point, 11-rebound effort in a 67-60 win at Pacific on Dec. 12
  
• Dionte Christmas scored a career-high 29 points to go with a career-high five assists in Temple’s 75-70 win at Towson on Dec. 16
  
• Justin Doellman posted 19 points, six rebounds, three steals, and three blocks in Xavier’s 76-58 win over Arizona State on Dec. 16.

CAUSE AND EFFECT

Dayton leads the Atlantic 10 in scoring defense, allowing just 57.3 points a game. The Flyers, who have never ended a season leading the A-10 in this category, have gotten this far by doing something that hadn't happened at Dayton in 48 years - holding five straight opponents to 55 points or less. This season, UD has put the clamps on South Carolina State (55 points), Holy Cross (53), Creighton (54), Grambling (49), and Western Carolina (55). At roughly the same point in the 1957-58 season, it was St. Mary's (CA) (50), Ohio (41), Fordham (35), Utah State (47), and Manhattan (51). The result of this commitment to defense is that Dayton's 9-1 start this year matches the Flyers' best start since head coach Brian Gregory's first season at UD - 2003-04. A win against Miami (OH) on Wednesday will give Dayton its first 10-1 start since the 1976-77 season.

THE TEACHER AND THE PUPIL

UMass head coach Travis Ford played three seasons at Kentucky, helping the Wildcats earn three Southeastern Conference titles and go to the 1993 Final Four after a trip to the Final Eight in 1992. On Dec. 13, he had the chance to go up against his former coach as the Minutemen met Rick Pitino’s Louisville squad at Freedom Hall. When all was said and done - with most of the saying being done by Rashaun Freeman, who had 21 points - the Minutemen emerged with a 72-68 victory, snapping the Cardinals’ 24-game non-conference home winning streak. Ford and the Minutemen get the chance to do the same at Ford’s alma mater on Friday.

WHAT’S ALL THIS THEN?

After not having two players record double-doubles in the same game in the 90-year history of the program, Saint Louis has seen it happen twice this year. It first happened on Nov. 25 when Tommie Liddell (18 points, 12 rebounds) and Ian Vouyoukas (16 points, 13 rebounds) led the Billikens to an 81-78 win over Houston at the Scottrade Center. Then it happened again on Dec. 16 with Vouyoukas (11 points, 10 rebounds) and Liddell (10 points, 11 rebounds) combining to lead SLU to a 77-53 win over Tennessee-Martin. With the two leading the way, the Billikens are 8-2 and enjoying their best start since opening the 1997-98 season at 8-2. SLU would eventually go 22-11 that year and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS...CHRISTMAS

Making an early claim to the A-10's Chris Daniels Award as the league most improved player is Temple sophomore Dionte Christmas. As a freshman last year, the Philadelphia resident played in all 32 games, but averaged just 11.3 minutes a game. In that time, he registered 3.5 points and 1.6 rebounds. This year, Christmas has come early at Temple as the sophomore leads the Atlantic 10 with a 21.7 ppg average. After netting 12 points in Temple’s season opener, Christmas has scored at least 20 each of the next six games, including a career-high 29 in the Owls’ 75-70 win at Towson, where he not only scored, but handed out a career-high five assists and guarded Gary Neal, the former La Salle and 2003 A-10 Rookie of the Year who entered the game 12th in the nation in scoring. HOME SWEET HOME

Xavier’s 76-58 win over Arizona State on Dec. 16 was its 17th consecutive home win over a non-conference opponent. Xavier, 6-0 at home this season, has outscored its opponents by an average of 82.0-56.8 at the Cintas Center. At 8-3, you would expect to see some Musketeers among the A-10's top scorers, but you don’t do to an extraordinary balance. Xavier has four players averaging in double figures in scoring: Josh Duncan (12.5 ppg), Stanley Burrell (10.7 ppg), Justin Doellman (10.4 ppg), and Justin Cage (10.3 ppg). Starting point guard Drew Lavender is at 6.6 ppg and a team-high 3.82 apg. All five Xavier starters have led XU in scoring in at least one game this season.

DID YOU KNOW...

Should Atlantic 10 teams maintain their combined .605 winning percentage, it would be the best league winning percentage since going 90-58 (.608) during the 1997-98 season. Six times in the past 30 years league teams have combined to win more than 60 percent of their games: 1992-93 (.712), 1991-92 (.679), 1993-94 (.663), 1994-95 (.610), 1997-98 (.608), and 1996-97 (.601).

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, YES; A-10, WE HOPE NOT

It remains to be seen whether there is actually an Atlantic 10 Player of the Week jinx, but Dec. 9 co-Player of the Week Ahmad Nivins of Saint Joseph’s sprained his ankle in practice on Dec. 13 and is doubtful for the Hawks' next game on Dec. 19 against Saint Mary's. Nivins averaged 21.6 points in the three games of the NABC Classic in Louisville to be named to the all-tournament team. In the first two games, against Bellarmine and Louisville, Nivins averaged 27.0 to earn the A-10's weekly honor. Nivins is hopeful of being back in action for the Hawks' first game after the Christmas break, which is against Hofstra in the Aeropostale Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 28. The sophomore is leading the Hawks with 16.0 points and 7.1 rebounds per game.

ACHARA ON TARGET

Duquesne’s Kieron Achara, who entered the season a 52.4 percent career shooter, has been on fire since returning to action after missing nearly a month with stress fractures in his foot. Achara, whose practice time is still being monitored, is 16-22 from the field in three games back. The 6-10 Scot was 6-6 in scoring 15 points in 25 minutes versus West Virginia on Dec. 9 and followed that by going 8-12 from the field in adding 17 more points at Niagara on Dec. 16. Achara, who played a season-high 32 minutes at Niagara, scored 13 in the second half in helping the Dukes rally from a 12-point deficit to pull within one in the 78-74 loss. With the quick start, Achara has upped his career field goal percentage to .537, which is tied for third-best on Duquesne’s all-time list.

DOWNTOWN RENEWAL

Through the first three games of its current four-game home stand, Rhode Island is 34-66 from the perimeter (51.5 percent). Overall, Rhody is connecting on close to 44 percent from deep (93-212) - good for sixth nationally. That’s a big turnaround for URI, which ranked near the bottom of the Atlantic 10 a season ago. During 2005-06, Rhode Island was 11th in the A-10 in three-point shooting (124-406, .305). A major reason for the turn-around has been the play of Jimmy Baron. Over the last three games, Baron has connected on 16 of his 24 shots from the perimeter (.667). The sophomore entered last week fifth nationally in three-point field goal percentage.

HE’S BACK

On Dec. 15, Temple junior guard Mark Tyndale was declared eligible to compete after sitting out the first semester due to NCAA eligibility guidelines. He saw his first action one day later, coming off the bench at Towson to score 14 points and grab eight rebounds in 24 minutes to help lead the Owls to a 75-70 win. Last season, Tyndale led Temple with a 5.1 rebound average while placing third on the team in scoring (10.9 ppg). The Philadelphia native started all 32 games in 2005-06, ranking second on the team in assists (87), steals (73) and minutes played (36.4 mpg).

KING FOR A DAY

George Washington freshman Travis King is off to a fast start, thanks to his three-point shooting. The New Haven, CT, native has converted 11 of his 19 attempts from beyond the arc, including a 3-3 effort at Providence on Nov. 26. His 57.9 percent shooting would lead the A-10 but his 1.2 threes made per game is just under the 1.5 minimum. His 11 threes make up 52 percent of his made field goals (21).

CHANGE IS GOOD

After using just two different starting lineups all of last season, making one switch after 14 games due to Jarhon Giddings' injury, Richmond head coach Chris Mooney has been shifting his starting unit this year. Mooney has used five different starting lineups in eight games, including using a different starting unit in each of the last five games. A primary reason for that is that Mooney has been playing six freshmen. Richmond started four freshmen in its first two games of the season and while “freshmen are freshmen,” Mooney knows that freshmen can step right in and contribute. Why? Because he did. Mooney pulled the rare accomplishment of starting as a freshman for Hall of Fame coach Pete Carril at Princeton, doing so on a defending Ivy League championship team that had all five starters returning, no less. Mooney was the runner-up for Ivy League Rookie of the Year and helped the Tigers to the Ivy League title and a NCAA Tournament bid.

BOMB’S AWAY

De'Angelo Alexander moved into Charlotte’s all-time top 10 in career three-pointers after hitting four at Davidson on Dec. 9. Alexander now has an remarkable 119 threes in his year-and-a-half career with the 49ers.

THE START OF SOMETHING BIG

Freshman Robert Mitchell, who has led Duquesne in scoring in six of the Dukes’ past seven games, leads the team (and all A-10 freshmen) with a 19.3 ppg scoring average. The 6-6 Brooklyn native’s quick start has given him a realistic chance to break the Duquesne freshman scoring average record of 16.6 ppg set by Wayne Smith in 1998-99. Mitchell, who has topped the 20-point mark five times, is 15-32 from the three-point arc through nine games. His .469 percentage from the arc is also better than the freshman record of .426 set by Tony Petrarca in 1986-87 (52-of-122).

IT’S EASY BEING GREEN

Five La Salle freshmen are playing significant minutes, but the one who is rising to the top is Rodney Green. Green has started all seven games for the Explorers and sits atop the team rankings in points (16.6 ppg), field goals (43), field goal percentage (.662), free throws (30), free throw attempts (42), and offensive rebounds (17). As a matter of fact, Green is second in the A-10 among rookie scorers (Robert Mitchell of Duquesne is first at 19.3 ppg). Green lit Central Connecticut up for a career-best 25 points on Dec. 16 in earning his first Rookie of the Week award of the season.

JOIN THE FUN

Through its first nine games, Fordham has had five different leading scorers. Chris Bethel netted 15 in the season-opener and Brenton Butler then led the Rams with 20 points against Tennessee. Bryant Dunston scored a team 11 points in the Belmont game and Marcus Stout exploded for 21 in the win over St. Francis (NY). Against Manhattan, Butler led all Rams with 18 points while Sebastian Greene scored a career-high 20 in the Iona win on Dec. 3 and 19 at Texas A&M on Dec. 12. Dunston led all scores at Maryland with 19. Fordham also shares the ball during each game as in four of the first eight games the Rams have had at least four players score in double figures, with Fordham winning each of those games. The Rams currently have four players averaging in double figures, led by Stout (14.2 ppg).

REUNITED

Zarryon Fereti and Jermaine Calvin are back together. The guards were the starting back court tandem last season at Southern Idaho junior college and they are now St. Bonaventure’s starting back court. The change has worked well for both players. Fereti is averaging 16.3 ppg and is shooting 11-21 (.524) from three-point range over the last three games. The 6-3 Australian is now the Bonnies’ leading scorer at 13.0 points per game and has scored in double figures eight times on the year. Before the Dec. 6 game with Ohio, Calvin had played a moderate role, averaging 17 minutes per game coming off the bench. But against Ohio, he earned the first start of his Bonaventure career and made the most of it, totaling six points, six rebounds, six assists, and four steals in 34 minutes of action. All of those figures were season highs. He has started the past three games and has averaged 2.7 points and 4.0 assists those contests. Calvin began his college career at Utah where he played with All-American Andrew Bogut, then played one season at Southern Idaho.

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Happy Holidays to all.