About a week and a half ago I previewed the bottom half of the Atlantic Ten.  This time I look into the top half of the conference.  These are the teams that you should count on seeing in the postseason.

*7.             

*Charlotte 49ers

Coming off a 2004 NCAA Tournament

appearance, Charlotte

looked to become an instant force in the Atlantic Ten.  In their inaugural 2005-2006 season, Charlotte posted a

respectable 11-5 conference record.  2006-2007

saw a drop-off for Bobby Lutz’s team, going 7-9 in conference.  Last season Lutz had his team back in form as

Charlotte stood

4-1 in A-10 play heading into February.  A

month later, they were at a disappointing 6-7 conference record.  Then star guard Leemire Goldwire turned things

on, averaging just under 23 points a game in Charlotte’s final three Atlantic Ten regular

season games that led the 49ers into the Atlantic 10 Tournament on a roll.  An amazing comeback win over Massachusetts (most likely knocking the Minutemen out of

the NCAA Tournament) led Charlotte to the

semi-finals where they fell to eventual champion Temple.

Goldwire led the way with just under 22 points per game in the Atlantic

Ten Tournament.  Unfortunately for Charlotte, Goldwire ended his career with only six points

in an NIT first round loss at Nebraska.  Heading into their fourth Atlantic 10 season,

Charlotte looks

to replace Goldwire’s 18.6 points per game.

Seniors Lamont Mack and Charlie Coley, along with Sophomore An’Juan

Wilderness will provide a lift in the frontcourt, but the real task will be in

finding consistent guard play.    Michael Gerrity left the program earlier this

month, leaving the 49ers with four guards averaging a combined 14.5 points per

game last season, four points less than

Leemire Goldwire.  But if Lutz can find

the consistency at guard, his 49ers could have their best A-10 season to date.

*6.             

*Dayton Flyers

There is not one Atlantic Ten

coach who needs a big season more than Brian Gregory.  He had a successful first season in 2003-2004

taking over for Oliver Purnell.  He led

the Flyers to an NCAA Tournament berth.

Since then, the Flyers have largely been a disappointment, earning only

one postseason appearance in which they lost in the NIT quarterfinals to Ohio State

last season.  Last season should have been Gregory’s big year, but

injuries to Charles Little and superstar freshman Chris Wright sent the Flyers

from 14-1 to 23-11.  Heading into this

season, the Flyers will be without arguably the greatest guard in UD history,

Brian Roberts and his near 2,000 career points.

The good news for Dayton

though is the talent that remains.  The

Flyers have some excitement coming into the 2008-2009 season.  Sophomore Chris Wright is back and

healthy.  Junior Marcus Johnson averaged

14.1 points per game in the Flyers last seven games last year.  Gregory has a solid recruiting class coming

in.   However, like Charlotte, the Flyers need to get consistency

out of other guards to make up for the loss of Brian Roberts.  If junior guards London Warren, as well as

incoming freshman Paul Williams play well, and if senior Charles Little

improves off his 8 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game, the Flyers could

do some serious damage in this conference.

But if the Flyers keep losing to conference rival Xavier (six straight

losses) and keep disappointing in the league in general (24-29 in the past

three seasons), Brian Gregory could be looking for a new job.

*5.             

Saint Louis

Billikens*

Saint Louis made some of the biggest news

last off-season.  No, they didn’t land a

top ten recruit.  They landed a major

head coach in Rick Majerus.  The problem,

however, was that Majerus was dead set on changing the system that had been in

place.  Star guards Tommie Liddell and

Kevin Lisch both had production drop offs from the prior season.  That led the Billikens to a disappointing 7-9

Atlantic Ten record and no postseason.

So some maybe wondering why the Billikens are so high on the preseason

list.  There are quite a few

reasons.  The biggest reason is that

Kevin Lisch and Tommie Liddell are great guards.  Both guards are already 1,000+ point

scorers.  Both have had a season in Rick

Majerus’ new system.  Both will be

looking to end their Billiken career with a bang.  Also, Rick Majerus has had a season to

recruit.  Coming in this season will be

near seven-foot center and Rivals.com #107 recruit, Brett Thompson.  Last, but not least, the Billikens finally

have an on-campus home, the state-of-the-art Chaifetz Arena.  Still, there are a lot of questions coming

into the 2008-2009 season for the Billikens.

There is no question that they have the talent.  It will just be a matter of getting

everything to click this season.  If that

happens, Saint Louis

could be the surprise team of the league.

If not, the Billikens could slide further down the standings.

*4.             

**St. Joseph’s

Hawks*

Other than the days of Jameer

Nelson and Delonte West, St. Joe’s is usually nowhere near the top of the

league when it comes to athleticism.  But

they are always near the top of the league when it comes to consistency.  Since 2001-2002, the Hawks have won 91 league

games (including post-season).  That’s an

average of 13 victories a year.  Also,

since that 2002 season, the Hawks have only had one Rivals.com Top 150

recruit.  That man was Ahmad Nivins in

2005.  And he’s back for his last season

as a Hawk.  He averaged 14.4 points per

game last season and was one of the top big men in the conference.  Also coming back is the backcourt of Tasheed

Carr and Darrin Govens (combined 20.6 points per game, combined 8 assists per

game).  The bad news for the Hawks is

that Pat Calathes (all conference first team) and Rob Ferguson (11.9 points per

game), two big men who could shoot or play in the low post, are gone.  That would be a problem for most Atlantic Ten

teams.  But not St. Joe’s.  Head Coach Phil Martelli is a basketball

miracle worker and always finds a way to get the most out of his teams.  This year should be no different.  With loads of talent still in stock from last

year’s NCAA Tournament appearance, the Hawks will look to capitalize and make

another March run.  Don’t be surprised if

they do.  It wouldn’t be Martelli’s first

time.

*3.         Massachusetts

Minutemen*

UMass should have been in the NCAA

Tournament last season.  They had

non-conference wins over Syracuse, Boston College

and Houston.  They beat Dayton

once and Rhode Island

twice in conference.  They finished 10-6,

well enough for third place behind Temple

and Xavier.  Then Leemire Goldwire of Charlotte took control of

their quarterfinal match-up in the Atlantic Ten Tournament.  UMass led 36-17 at the half.  Goldwire had only five points.  Then UMass gave up 50 second half points, 19

to Goldwire.  The defeat, however, which

would have crippled most teams, seemed to refocus UMass.  They made an impressive NIT run all the way

to the title game before falling to Ohio

State.  The Minutemen off season seemed to parallel

that Charlotte

game.  Head Coach Travis Ford turned down

several high profile coaching jobs to stay with the Minutemen.  Then in a shocking twist, Ford bolted to Oklahoma State.

Now it’s up to new Head Coach Derek Kellogg to refocus UMass.  They will be without Atlantic Ten Player of

the Year Gary Forbes, as well as versatile forward Etienne Brower.  But the Minutemen have arguably the best backcourt

in the league, and one of the best in the country.  The senior tandem of Chris Lowe and Ricky

Harris (combined 30 points per game) will lead the way back to the

postseason.  They’ll be joined by

Rivals.com Top 150 recruit in point guard David Gibbs, which gives UMass even

more depth at guard.  Derek Kellogg has

all the tools in place to take UMass back to the NCAA Tournament for the first

time since 1998 and put UMass firmly back at the top of the conference.

*2.             

*Temple Owls

Fran Dunphy is bringing Temple back to where they

belong: the national spotlight, the NCAA Tournament, fighting for the top of

the Atlantic 10.  Last season saw the

Owls win the Atlantic Ten Tournament title for the first time since 2001.  With the duo of Dionte Christmas and Mark Tyndale,

it should have been no surprise that Temple

would be in that position.  But it was a

surprise.  Temple was 6-8 on January 13^th.  They finished the season by going 12-4,

earning the second overall seed in the Atlantic 10.  Fran Dunphy is primed to lead the Owls to a

repeat performance.  Yes, Mark Tyndale is

gone.  But Dionte Christmas is back.  And anytime a team brings back a guard as talented

as Christmas, they are bound to be dangerous.

The senior has a legitimate chance to break 2,000 career points and will

look to increase his 19.7 points per game.

Sophomore guard Lavoy Allen will look to have a breakout year after

putting up 8.1 points in his debut season.

Temple

also brings back guard Ryan Brooks (8.6 points per game).  They will challenge UMass with depth at

guard, and will play a similar exciting, run-and-gun style.  It took time for things to click last season,

but this year Temple should start rolling from the

word go.  Temple should be back in the NCAA Tournament

again this season, and with a star senior guard, could do some damage come

March.

*1.             

**Xavier

Musketeers*

As Ric Flair always said, “To be

the man, you gotta beat the man.”  Well,

Xavier is and has been ‘the man’ ever since joining the conference in 1995.  They’ve won four conference tournaments and

have won or shared six regular season championships.  They’ve appeared in the NCAA Tournament nine times

since joining the league.  They had the

2003 National Player of the Year in David West. They are also only one of nine

teams in the country to make two “Elite Eight” appearances in the last five

seasons.  They have been the epitome of consistency

and will look to capitalize on last year’s “Elite Eight” appearance and first

30 win season in school history.  Not all

things are perfect for the Musketeers though.

The senior trio of Josh Duncan, Stanley Burrell and Drew Lavender graduated.  That leaves the Musketeers looking for

answers, primarily at the guard position.

Luckily for reigning Atlantic Ten coach of the year Sean Miller, the

corps of freshmen and sophomore guards should step in and pay dividends.  Sophomore guard and former Rivals.com Top 150

recruit Dante Jackson will see more minutes this year.  The hole left by Drew Lavender at point guard

is the biggest question mark, but Miller has brought in guards Terrell Holloway

(Rivals.com #100), Mark Lyons (Rivals.com #103) and Brad Redford

to fight for minutes.  Better news for

Musketeer fans is that the front line should be the best it has been in some

years.  Forwards C.J. Anderson (10.7

points per game, 5.9 rebounds per game), potential NBA first round draft pick Derrick

Brown (10.9 points per game, 6.5 rebounds per game), and guard/forward B.J.

Raymond (9.9 points per game) all return.

Sophomore forward and Tulsa transfer

Jamel McLean (6.0 points per game, 4.8

rebounds per game in 2006-2007) is eligible.

Miller also added Kenny Frease (Rivals.com #41) at center to go along

with Jason Love (6.0 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game).  The mixture of an experienced front line, a

Top 25 recruiting class and arguably the best coach in the league will keep

Xavier at the top of the league and back in the NCAA Tournament.  And unless someone else steps up, Xavier

looks to continue to be ‘the man’ for years to come.