VCU picked to win A-10

Tuesday, coaches and the media descended upon the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn for the Atlantic 10 media day.

October 8, 2013; 4:10 PM • by Aaron Williams

Tuesday, coaches and the media descended upon the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, New York for the Atlantic 10 media day. The event included plenty of interviews and the release of the conference preseason polls. As expected, VCU was picked to win the league; a feat Coach Smart has yet to accomplish in his very young career.

A-10 Preseason Poll

Team	Points	12-13 A-10 Record	12-13 Overall Record
VCU (19)	307	12-4	27-9
Saint Louis (5)	288	13-3	28-7
La Salle	265	11-5	24-10
Massachusetts	236	9-7	21-12
Saint Joseph’s	199	8-8	18-14
Richmond	173	8-8	19-15
Dayton	171	7-9	17-14
George Mason	141	N/A	22-16
Rhode Island	130	3-13	8-21
George Washington	122	7-9	13-17
Fordham	58	3-13	7-24
St. Bonaventure	56	7-9	14-15
Duquesne	38	1-15	8-22

The conference boasts four NCAA caliber teams in VCU, Saint Louis, La Salle, and Massachusetts that will compete every night for first place. The middle of the conference is extremely crowded and a bucket or two over the course of sixteen games could be the difference between fifth and tenth place. The two teams that have the most potential to over perform the predictions are Rhode Island and George Washington. Both add talent to already skilled young teams primed to make a leap.

First Team Preseason All-Conference

Name	School	Position
Tyreek Duren	La Salle	G
Chaz Williams	Massachusetts	G
Dwayne Evans	Saint Louis	G/F
Treveon Graham	VCU	G/F
Juvonte Reddic	VCU	F

Second Team Preseason All-Conference

Name	School	Position
Sherrod Wright	George Mason	G
Isiah Armwood	George Washington	F
Xavier Munford	George Washginton	G
Langston Galloway	Saint Joseph’s	G
Ronald Roberts Jr.	Saint Joseph’s	F

Third Team Preseason All-Conference

Name	School	Position
Brandon Frazier	Fordham	G
Tyrone Garland	La Salle	G
Jerrell Wright	La Salle	F
Cedrick Lindsay	Richmond	G
Jordair Jett	Saint Louis	G

Preseason All-Defensive Team

Name	School	Position
Isaiah Armwood	George Washington	F
Patricio Garino	George Washington	G/F
Chaz Williams	Massachusetts	G
Alonzo Nelson-Ododa	Richmond	F
Jordair Jett	Saint Louis	G
Briante Weber	VCU	G

2013 Post Season Honors

Juvonte Reddic and Treveon Graham both performed on a First Team All-Conference level last season, but the votes didn’t add up for either one probably because they play on the same team. Either way, VCU returns the best front court in the conference and both players could make the First Team come March. With guards like Briante Weber , Rob Brandenberg, and Melvin Johnson, it’s a little surprising that only two players made any of the top three teams. A VCU manager is probably already cutting out articles for bulletin board material.

At the end of the day, this is all just talk. It’s all interesting until 7:00 PM on Friday, November 8th when HAVOC! 5.0 takes the court against Illinois State.

Coach Smart

He’s wicked smart, he’s a great interview, he’s funny…oh, and he’s an awesome basketball coach. Coach Smart’s best suggestion on Tuesday: an A-10/Big East Challenge. It’s unlikely to happen, but the ten best teams from the A-10 playing the Big East would make for great television and even better basketball. Don’t get too caught up in the prospect. Instead, enjoy these gems from Tuesday: