Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Notebook - 2/24

This is the Atlantic 10 Conference's Men's Basketball Notebook for play from February 17, 2008, through February 23, 2008. The week's awards go to La Salle's Darnell Harris and Chris Lowe from UMass who share player of the week honors, and to Richmond's Kevin Anderson as the league's top rookie.

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A-10 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Darnell Harris - La Salle
Senior, Guard, 6-1, 165 lbs.
Baltimore, Md./St. Francis HS

Harris averaged 23.5 points and shot 13-of-25 from three point range in leading La Salle to wins over Saint Joseph's (90-89) on Feb. 18 and Dayton (81-78, OT) on Feb. 21...scored 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting and added four assists versus the Hawks...tied his career high with eight three-pointers against Dayton...did not commit a turnover in 73 minutes of action.

Chris Lowe - Massachusetts
Junior, Guard, 6-0, 160 lbs.
Mount Vernon, N.Y./Mount Vernon HS

Lowe registered a pair of double-doubles and averaged 17 points and 11.5 assists in two victories...scored 13 points and dished out a career-high 13 assists in the Minutemen's 88-77 win over Saint Louis on Feb. 17...scored 21 points on 9-of-12 shooting and added ten assists on Feb. 21 as UMass downed Rhode Island, 98-91...added eight rebounds and three steals.

A-10 ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Kevin Anderson - Richmond
Freshman, Guard, 5-11, 165 lbs.
Duluth, Ga./Peachtree Ridge HS

Anderson earns his second consecutive A-10 Rookie of the Week award and fourth of the season after averaging 15.5 points and four boards in a pair of contests...scored 19 points on Feb. 20 as the Spiders edged Charlotte in overtime, 79-76...scored a team-high 12 points and added five rebounds in Richmond's 59-53 setback at George Washington on Feb. 23...added four steals and three assists.

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NEWS FROM AROUND THE ATLANTIC 10

WEEKLY HONOR ROLL

• Charlotte junior forward Lamont Mack averaged 20.7 points and 5.3 rebounds over three contests, while freshman forward An'Juan Wilderness averaged 11.7 points and three
• Senior guard Brian Roberts scored 30 points and added six assists on Feb. 21 in Dayton's 81-78 (OT) loss at La Salle
• Senior forward Bryant Dunston notched three double-doubles and averaged 18.7 points and 12 boards in three games for Fordham
• George Washington junior forward Rob Diggs scored 20 points and grabbed eight boards on Feb. 23 in the Colonials' 59-53 win over Richmond
• Rhode Island senior forward Will Daniels averaged 24 points while shooting 17-of-24 from the field, while teammate Parfait Bitee scored a career-high 25 points versus Xavier on Feb. 18
• Freshman forward Matt Morgan scored 13 points in 19 minutes of action in St. Bonaventure's 96-82 setback versus Temple on Feb. 20
• Temple senior guard Mark Tyndale averaged 20 points, ten rebounds and 7.5 assists in a pair of contests, while freshman forward Lavoy Allen averaged 11.5 points
• Senior forward Josh Duncan of Xavier averaged 15.5 points and made 11-of-15 field goals in a pair of victories

STAN THE MAN

Xavier senior Stanley Burrell is one of the top defensive players in the A-10 this season. Now ESPN analyst Jay Bilas says it's time to mention Burrell on a national level as well. "We also have a national Defensive Player of the Year award, but we have no candidates for it. Well, if I were to provide candidates for the Henry Iba Award (that's the Mr. Iba Award to you), I would list Kansas guard Mario Chalmers, Xavier guard Stanley Burrell, UCLA guard Darren Collison, Washington State wing Kyle Weaver, Marquette guard Jerel McNeal, and UConn center Hasheem Thabeet. Just looking at the steals and blocked shots leaders won't tell you the whole story on defense. Among a lot of great defenders out there, these few have stood out to me."

TOP BILLING

Charlotte head coach Bobby Lutz became the program's all-time leader in victories (183) on Feb. 23 as the 49ers downed Saint Louis, 81-64. The previous record was held by Jeff Mullins, who led the program from 1986-96. Lutz served as an assistant coach under Mullins in 1996 before taking over the program in 1999. Charlotte hosts Saint Louis on Feb. 23.

CENTURY CLUB

Senior guard Darnell Harris of La Salle leads the A-10 with 100 three-pointers made entering play on Feb. 24. In addition, Charlotte's Leemire Goldwire (97), Temple's Dionte Christmas (85) and Jimmy Baron (84) of Rhode Island are all on pace to drain 100 three-pointers this season. It would mark the first time in league annals that four players made 100 field goals from beyond the arc in the same season.

NOT STANDING PAT

Saint Joseph's senior forward Pat Calathes enters the Hawks' Feb. 24 contest at Rhode Island third in the A-10 in rebounds (8.0 rpg.), sixth in scoring (18.6 ppg.) and eighth in blocks (1.38 blg.). He has led the Hawks in scoring 14 times and in rebounding 16 times, while posting eight double-doubles and tallying 20 or more points in 11 contests. Last season, Calathes was one of two players in the Conference (Mark Tyndale, TU) to rank among the top 20 in scoring (13.9 ppg.), rebounding (7.1 rpg.) and assists (3.63 apg.)

FIVE MORE PLEASE

La Salle edged Dayton, 81-78, in overtime on Feb. 21, raising the number of overtime contests in league play to eight this season.

FULL MOON

Now in his third season at Richmond, head coach Chris Mooney has the team (14-11) one win shy of its highest single-season total since the 2003-04 squad won 20 contests. At 7-5 in A-10 play, the Spiders are approaching their two-year total for league victories (ten) with four A-10 contests remaining.

LOWE-RIDA

Junior guard Chris Lowe recorded a career high and A-10 season-high 13 assists on Feb. 17 in Massachusetts' 88-77 win over Saint Louis, the most assists by a UMass player since Carl Smith tied the school record with 15 on Jan. 23, 1986, versus Duquesne. He then added ten assists on Feb. 21 in the Minutemen's 98-91 win at Rhode Island, the third consecutive game that Lowe reached double figures in assists, the first three of his career.

REWRITING HISTORY

La Salle senior guard Darnell Harris knocked down eight field goals from beyond the arc on Feb. 21 as the Explorers edged Dayton in overtime, 81-78. Harris is the program's all-time leader in three-point field goals made with 319, good for second-most in A-10 history. The league record of 331 is held by former Massachusetts standout Monty Mack (1998-01).

WELL-ROUNDED

Rhode Island senior forward Will Daniels and Kansas State freshman Michael Beasley are the only players nationally to average 18.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, shoot 50 percent from the floor and amass at least 30 assists, 30 steals and 25 blocks.

BLOCK PARTY

Duquesne junior F/C Shawn James, who had seven blocks in Duquesne's 75-48 loss at Xavier on Feb. 22, continues to climb the NCAA Division I list for career blocks. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native currently ranks tenth on the all-time list with 430 rejections in 79 games. He needs eight blocks to pass Tennessee Tech's Lorenzo Coleman and 12 to pass Connecticut's Emeka Okafor to move into the eighth spot. Only two players have a higher three-year blocked shot total than James - Okafor who blocked 441 shots in 103 games and Colgate's Adonal Foyle, who sent back 492 shots in 87 games. Foyle ranks second on the all-time list. The Dukes resume action on Feb. 24 as they host La Salle.

TIGHT QUARTERS

Over its last five contests, the Fordham Rams are getting plenty of experience in playing close games. The largest margin of victory over the Rams' past five games has been four points , a 76-72 win over Massachusetts (Feb. 14) and a 69-65 overtime loss at Saint Louis (Feb. 20). The other three games included two-point wins over Charlotte (53-51) and Temple (78-76) and a two-point loss to Rhode Island (65-63).

HOME COOKIN'

Entering action on Feb. 24, home teams boast a record of 51-33 (.607) in league contests thus far.

MODEL OF CONSISTENCY

Senior guard/forward Gary Forbes of Massachusetts has scored in double figures in 30 consecutive games and has 16 performances of 20 or more points this season, tops in the Conference. Forbes leads the Conference in scoring at 20.3 ppg.

BALANCING ACT

The Musketeers are 18-0 on the year when four or more players reach double digits after downing Duquesne on Feb. 21, 75-48.

DOUBLING UP

Senior forward Bryant Dunston registered his fifth consecutive double-double on Feb. 23 with 12 points and 10 rebounds in Fordham's 78-76 win at Temple on Feb. 23. Dunston's league-leading 12 double-doubles are the most by a Ram since Sanford Jenkins recorded eleven in the 1991-92 season. The Queens, N.Y., native now has 37 double-doubles over his career.

GOOD AS GOLD

Leemire Goldwire scored a career and A-10 season-high 39 points in Charlotte's 87-83 win at St. Bonaventure on Feb. 9. Goldwire leads the league with five 30-point outings and is one of 14 players in program history to reach the 1,500-point milestone.

50'S STYLE

Saint Louis earned a 63-38 victory over George Washington on Feb. 13 to improve to 11-2 on the year when holding its opponents to under 60 points.

STUDYING MORE THAN PLAYBOOKS

Duquesne graduate student Kieron Achara (District 1), Rhode Island junior guard Jimmy Baron (District 2) and graduate student forward Luke Meyer (District 7) of Saint Louis have been named to ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District teams as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Each was a first-team selection and eligible for national academic All-America honors. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be a starter or an important reserve with at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average and at least a sophomore in academic standing.

ELITE COMPANY

Temple junior Dionte Christmas ranks second in the league in scoring with an average of 20.2 ppg., just behind UMass senior Gary Forbes (20.3 ppg.). Christmas is vying to become just the fourth player in A-10 history and first since George Washington's SirValiant Brown (2000, 2001) to lead the A-10 in scoring in successive years. The two other players to hold that distinction are John Battle of Rutgers (1984, 1985) and St. Bonaventure's Earl Belcher (1980, 1981).

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Dayton senior guard Brian Roberts was among ten men's basketball players who have been named finalists for the 2007-08 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award, it was announced on Feb. 8. Roberts is also on the short list for the Los Angeles Athletic Club's John R. Wooden Award, the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Naismith Trophy and the Basketball Hall of Fame's Bob Cousy Award. Only Roberts and Virginia's Sean Singletary appear on all four lists.

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A-10 Players of the Week

Nov. 5-10         Kieron Achara, Duquesne
Nov. 11-17        Will Daniels, Rhode Island 
                  Gary Forbes, Massachusetts
Nov. 18-24        Will Daniels, Rhode Island
Nov. 25 - Dec. 1  Michael Lee, St. Bonaventure
                  Joe Mbang, Rhode Island
Dec. 2-8          Leemire Goldwire, Charlotte
                  Drew Lavender, Xavier
Dec. 9-15         Gary Forbes, Massachusetts
Dec. 16-22        Dionte Christmas, Temple
                  Will Daniels, Rhode Island
Dec. 23-29        Brian Roberts, Dayton
Dec. 30 - Jan. 5  Pat Calathes, Saint Joseph's
Jan. 6-12         Leemire Goldwire, Charlotte
                  Brian Roberts, Dayton
Jan. 13-19        Ricky Harris, Massachusetts
Jan. 20-26        Pat Calathes, Saint Joseph's
                  Dionte Christmas, Temple
Jan. 27-Feb. 2    Rob Diggs, George Washington
Feb. 3-9          Pat Calathes, Saint Joseph's
                  Kevin Lisch, Saint Louis
Feb. 10-16        Josh Duncan, Xavier
                  Brian Roberts, Dayton
Feb. 17-23        Darnell Harris, La Salle
                  Chris Lowe, Massachusettts

A-10 Rookies of the Week

Nov. 5-10         Chris Wright, Dayton
Nov. 11-17        Damian Saunders, Duquesne
Nov. 18-24        Chris Wright, Dayton
Nov. 25 - Dec. 1  An'Juan Wilderness, Charlotte
Dec. 2-8          Chris Wright, Dayton
Dec. 9-15         Chris Wright, Dayton
Dec. 16-22        Damian Saunders, Duquesne
Dec. 23-29        Damian Saunders, Duquesne
                  Jerrell Williams, La Salle
Dec. 30 - Jan. 5  Kevin Smith, Richmond
                  Jerrell Williams, La Salle
Jan.6-12          Charles Dewhurst, Charlotte
Jan. 13-19        Kevin Anderson, Richmond
                  Paul Eckerle, Saint Louis
Jan. 20-26        Jerrell Williams, La Salle
Jan. 27-Feb. 2    Kevin Anderson, Richmond
                  Matt Morgan, St. Bonaventure
Feb. 3-9          Matt Morgan, St. Bonaventure 
Feb. 10-16        Kevin Anderson, Richmond
Feb. 17-23        Kevin Anderson, Richmond