Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Jan. 21 Notebook

La Salle freshman Rodney Green picked up his third Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie of the Week honors on Sunday. The A-10 Co-Players of the Week are Temple's Dionte Christmas and Fordham's Marcus Stout.

---

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Dionte Christmas - Temple
Sophomore, Guard, 6-5
Philadelphia, PA/ Philadelphia Luthern Christian Academy

Christmas averaged 26.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in a pair of games...had 22 points and a career-best eight rebounds on Jan. 17 in Temple’s 85-79 win over Saint Louis...scored a career-high 31 points on Jan. 20 in the Owls’ 85-77 loss to Rhode Island...shot 9-of-16 from three-point range and 15-of-31 overall from the field...knocked down 14-of-16 free throws...leads the A-10 in scoring (20.1 ppg.) and 20-point games (12)...named the A-10 Player of the Week for the second time this season.

Marcus Stout - Fordham
Junior, Guard, 6-4
Southfield, MI/Renaissance HS

Stout hit 20-of-34 field goal attempts, including 12-of-20 from beyond the arc, in leading Fordham to three Atlantic 10 victories...averaged 18.7 points and 3.3 assists...added eight rebounds and five steals...scored a season-high 26 points and made all six of his three-point attempts in the Rams’ 71-59 win at Duquesne on Jan. 14...his driving layup with 4.2 seconds remaining in overtime lifted Fordham past Saint Joseph’s on Jan. 17, 56-55...had 17 points in the Rams’ 77-68 win over Saint Louis on Jan. 20...his 165 three-point field goals place him fifth on the school’s all-time list.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

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

Green earns his third A-10 Rookie of the Week award after averaging 20 points, five rebounds and 3.5 steals on .542 shooting (13-of-24) in two contests...scored 18 points, grabbed eight rebounds and added five steals in La Salle’s 78-59 win over NJIT on Jan. 16...had 22 points in the Explorers’ 93-92 loss to Pennsylvania on Jan. 18...ranks third in the Conference in field goal shooting (.550).

---

A-10-SHUN
NEWS FROM AROUND THE ATLANTIC 10

WEEKLY HONOR ROLL

• Charlotte sophomore Leemire Goldwire averaged 24 points and three rebounds in a pair of contests. He connected on 13-of-25 attempts from three-point range
• Junior Brian Roberts of Dayton averaged 20 points in two games and shot .571 from the field. UD freshman Kurt Huelsman averaged five points and 4.5 rebounds last week
• Freshman Brenton Butler of Fordham averaged 11 points and 3.3 assists while committing just one turnover in three victories
• George Washington senior Dokun Akingbade recorded double-doubles in wins over Richmond (Jan. 17) and Charlotte (Jan. 20) and knocked down 12-of-16 shots from the floor. Freshman Damian Hollis of GW had 13 points versus Charlotte
• Junior Darnell Harris of La Salle averaged 20 points and five rebounds in a pair of games
• Massachusetts senior Rashaun Freeman had 22 points and 11 rebounds versus Xavier on Jan 18
• Sophomore Jimmy Baron of Rhode Island averaged 18.5 points and 2.5 assists in a pair of wins
• Richmond freshman Dan Geriot averaged 11 points and 3.5 boards in two games
• Sophomore Ahmad Nivins of Saint Joseph’s had 22 points and six rebounds at Fordham on Jan. 17
• Saint Louis sophomore Tommie Liddell averaged 25 points, 7.5 rebounds and five assists in a pair of road contests
• Senior Dustin Salisbery of Temple averaged 23.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in two games
• Xavier senior Justin Doellman scored a team-high 16 points and added seven rebounds and four assists in the Musketeers’ 83-77 win over Massachusetts on Jan. 18.

IT’S NOT WHAT IT USED TO BE

Nine different A-10 players scored 30 or more points in a game during the 2005-06 season, and the 30-point mark was reached 14 times overall. At just past the halfway point of the 2006-07 campaign, six different players have already poured in 30 points in a game, with Dayton’s Brian Roberts leading the Conference with a pair of 30-point efforts to his credit. There have been seven 30-point games overall this year, including three times in a four-day span last week. Below is a look at the three 30-point efforts that took place from Jan. 17-20:

• Jan. 17 - Leemire Goldwire of Charlotte scored a career-high 30 points in the 49ers’ 80-59 win over Dayton. The junior guard scored 24 points in the final 7:58 of the first half, hitting 6-of-6 field goals from beyond the arc and 6-of-6 from the line during that stretch.
• Jan. 18 - La Salle’s Darnell Harris poured in a career-best 32 points on 8-of-14 shooting from three-point range in the Explorers’ 93-92 loss to Pennsylvania.
• Jan. 20 - Dionte Chrismas of Temple scored a career-high 31 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the field, including 6-of-12 from three-point range, in the Owls’ 85-77 loss to Rhode Island.

BEEN A LONG TIME

For just the second time in its 23 years as a member of the Atlantic 10, Rhode Island won at Saint Joseph's and Temple in the same season. On Jan. 20, URI earned an 85-77 victory at the Liacouras Center. Rhody won an 86-81 contest at Saint Joseph's on Jan. 13. During the 1997-98 season, the Rams posted a 74-64 victory at Temple (Jan. 4) and an 83-68 win at St. Joe’s (Jan. 6).

PLENTY OF MUSKETEERS TO GO AROUND

Xavier had six players score in double figures in its 83-77 win over UMass on Jan. 18. It marked the first time that the Musketeers had six double-figure scorers in one game since a win over Toledo on Dec. 20, 1999. Senior forward Justin Doellman led XU with 16 points and moved into fourth place on the school’s all-time blocked shot list with 118.

HOME SWEET HOME

Dayton improved to 12-0 at home this season as a result of its 72-54 victory over Richmond on Jan. 20. It is the fourth-longest winning streak in UD Arena history. The Flyers are one of six A-10 teams with at least eight home victories this season, along with George Washington (8-0), Fordham (8-1), Xavier (8-1), Rhode Island (8-2) and Saint Louis (8-2). Fordham’s eight home wins equal its total from all of last season, while the Colonials’ 76-68 win versus Charlotte on Jan. 20 extended their home winning streak to 23 games, tying them with Memphis for the fourth-longest active streak in the nation.

BALANCING ACT

With Xavier’s 83-77 win over Massachusetts on Jan. 18, no teams are undefeated in A-10 play after just four games this season. The last time the Conference did not have an undefeated team after four games was the 1992-93 season, when Saint Joseph’s started off 3-0 before falling to West Virginia in double overtime (82-81) on Jan. 21, 1993. In addition, every A-10 team has at least one league win after four games for the first time since the 1983-84 campaign. That year, UMass opened 0-3 before turning aside West Virginia (71-60) on Jan. 14, 1984.

SKILLED MARKSMAN

Entering play on Jan. 21, seven players are shooting 43.1 percent or better from three-point range, with Saint Louis sophomore Tommie Liddell leading the way with a startling .528 percentage (38-of-72) from beyond the arc. Sophomore Jimmy Baron of Rhode Island has also knocked down more than half of his three-point field goal attempts and is second in the A-10 at 52.1 percent (62-of-119). By comparison, George Washington’s Carl Elliott led the Conference in three-point shooting last season (.438), with De’Angelo Alexander of Charlotte finishing second at .429.

ALONE AT THE TOP

At 5-1 in Conference play, Rhode Island sits alone atop the A-10 standings for the first time since Jan. 18, 1997, when the Rams boasted a mark of 5-0 in league play. At the time, URI was in first place in the A-10 East Division as the Conference utilized a two-division format.

IT’S A CONFERENCE THING

Charlotte has made at least nine three-point field goals in each of its five A-10 games this season. The 49ers are averaging 10.2 field goals from beyond the arc in league play, and sophomore guard Leemire Goldwire has knocked down a total of 13 triples in his last two league contests.

THE OLD FASHIONED WAY

Sophomore Ahmad Nivins of Saint Joseph’s has converted 10 three-point plays in five A-10 contests this season. Nivins ranks second in the Conference in field goal percentage (.634) and sixth in scoring 17.5 ppg.), while his 71.7 percent shooting from the foul line is up from .706 a year ago.

ROARING TWENTIES

Tommie Liddell of Saint Louis scored a team-high 21 points in the Billikens’ 76-68 loss at Fordham on Jan. 20, his sixth consecutive 20-point effort. The sophomore guard is averaging 24.16 ppg. over his last six games while shooting .573 (51-of-89) from the field. On the season, Liddell is averaging a team-high 16.8 ppg., good for ninth in the league and up from 10.3 ppg. a year ago when he earned Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year honors. He also leads the Conference in three-point percentage (.528), in large part due to his 24-of-40 (.600) shooting from beyond the arc in his last six games.

DUKE ON THE MEND

Duquesne head coach Ron Everhart announced on Jan. 19 that graduate student center Almamy Thiero was admitted to Pittsburgh’s Mercy Hospital overnight for treatment of blood clots in his lungs. Thiero, a first-year transfer from Memphis, admitted himself after experiencing discomfort in the early hours of Jan. 19. He is expected to be hospitalized indefinitely.

“Our concern right now is with Al and his family,” said Everhart. “Fortunately, he got to the hospital in time for the proper tests to be run and he’s resting comfortably. I feel for Al because he is such a quality person who has fought through so much adversity in his career.” Thiero, who transferred to Duquesne late this summer after completing his undergraduate degree at Memphis, has had a career marred by injury.

As a freshman at Memphis, he had a metal rod placed in his lower leg to repair a stress fracture and had a second surgery on the leg in 2003. He missed the majority of the 2003-04 season when blood clots were discovered in his lungs. Thiero played a full season as a junior before missing the 2005-06 campaign while recovering from an ACL injury suffered in the summer of 2005. His Duquesne career began with arthroscopic surgery on his knee on Oct. 9.

Thiero was one of five players to have seen action in each of the Dukes’ first 15 games. He is averaging 2.4 points and 3.3 rebounds in 11.5 minutes per game.

EYE 75 ON THE SCOREBOARD

Dayton is 18-2 under head coach Brian Gregory when it scores at least 75 points. Both of the losses were in double overtime. The Flyers’ lone setback in Conference play this season came in a 75-74 loss at Rhode Island on Jan. 7.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS

Rashaun Freeman of Massachusetts had 22 points and 13 rebounds in the Minutemen’s 83-77 loss at Xavier on Jan. 18, his 39th career double-double. Freeman is sixth in school history with 1,575 points.

SENIOR RECOGNITION

De'Angelo Alexander of Charlotte and Massachusetts' Rashaun Freeman are among 30 candidates for the 2007 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, the nation's premier tribute to college seniors. The award is presented annually to an NCAA Division I male and female senior basketball player who excel both on and off the court. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award was launched during the 2001-02 season to honor the attributes of college basketball seniors who remain committed to their university and pursue the many rewards that a senior season can bring. Sponsored by Lowe's, the award has already reached its sixth year. Previous winners from the A-10 include David West of Xavier (2003) and Saint Joseph’s Jameer Nelson (2004).

GRAND TRIO

Senior forward Justin Cage of Xavier is two points shy of joining the 1,000-point milestone for his career. Teammates Justin Doellman and Stanley Burrell each entered the XU 1,000-point club earlier this season. The last time Xavier had three players reach the 1,000-point mark in the same season was in 1997-98, when Lenny Brown, Darnell Williams and Gary Lumpkin accomplished the feat. For the record, Xavier won its first-ever Atlantic 10 Championship in 1998.

MAKES FOR AN EASY BOXSCORE

A rare occurence happened in Saint Joseph’s 56-55 (OT) loss at Fordham on Jan. 20 as Ahmad Nivins and Pat Calathes accounted for all of the Hawks' 21 first-half points, with Nivins notching 12 and Calathes tallying nine. Jawan Carter became the first Hawk other than the duo to reach the scoring column when he hit a three-pointer at 18:19 of the second half.