I’m headed to Cape Cod for a couple days before I take to the road for the ever-important
July recruiting period. I didn’t go out in April, so I’ve got some catching up
to do. LeBron and I will be spending the first three days hanging together in Akron, then I’ll head to the Peach Jam and will finish up
in Las Vegas.
Here’s an offseason rundown of the A-10:
Charlotte – Bobby Lutz will take his team to Toronto for Labor Day and will also play in the tournament in
Anaheim from Nov. 27-30. The 49ers brought in Shamari Spears
from Boston College and will also go on the road for non-conference games
against Maryland (1/3), Davidson and Southern Illinois (12/6) and play Clemson at home on Nov. 22.
Dayton – Flyers assistant Anthony Solomon returned to Notre
Dame and was replaced by Cornell Mann (Western Michigan). Dayton
will play in the Chicago Invitational and will face Auburn (11/28) and Marquette (11/29). The Flyers will also play at Creighton
(12/10) and at home against Marshall
(12/23) and George Mason. Head coach Brian Gregory also lost Thiago Cordeiro (Arkansas State).
Duquesne – Greg Gary got the head job at Centenary and Kim Lewis went with him.
The two Dukes assistants were replaced by Scott Rigot, formerly of Kentucky, and Steve Hall, a high school head coach out of Detroit. Duquesne lost Stephen Wood, but gained Kentucky big man Mike Williams via transfer. Ron Everhart’s
team will play West
Virginia
(12/13) and go on the road against Pittsburgh (12/6) and Duke (11/28).
Fordham – No staff changes, no trips, no transfers and a non-conference game
against Villanova. The word out of Fordham is that freshman point guard Jio
Fontan, a 6-foot-1 floor leader from St. Anthony’s, has been terrific in open
gym so far this summer and will be handed the ball from Day One.
George Washington – Karl Hobbs kicked Cheyenne Moore and Miles Beatty off the
team at the end of the season. The Colonials will also participate in the
Rainbow Classic out in Hawaii.
La Salle – John Giannini’s team will open with UConn in the
Paradise Jam in the Virgin
Islands on Nov. 21. The
Explorers will play Florida State at home on Nov. 18 and also play Villanova at home on
Dec. 14.
Rhode Island – Pat Skerry left to join Keno Davis down the road at
Providence. The Rams will play in the Philly Hoop Group Classic
in November and will also face Duke (11/16) and Providence (12/6) on the road. Hakim McCullar is transferring
out of the program.
Richmond – The Spiders will play in the CBE Classic and will also travel to Spain in August for 12 days. They will also play Wake Forest at home on Dec. 19 and travel to Virginia Tech on
Jan. 14. Chris Richard left to become a walk-on at Oregon State.
St. Bonaventure – The Bonnies are playing in a five-team
round robin tournament hosted by Rutgers. It also includes Rutgers, Delaware, Robert Morris and Marist. St. Bonaventure will open
with Robert Morris at home on Nov. 14. The Bonnies also lost Hilary Hailey (Maryland-Eastern Shore) and Matt Morgan (Winthrop).
Saint Joseph’s – Assistant Doug Overton left to coach in the NBA.
The Hawks will play in the Maui Invitational and also have road games against
Villanova and Creighton. Forward Todd O’Brien transferred in from Bucknell
while D.J. Rivera left for Binghamton.
St. Louis – Assistant coach Paul Biancardi left to take a
full-time gig with ESPN and has not been replaced yet. Rick Majerus & Co.
will play Boston College at home in a return home-and-home series. The
Billikens also lost four players via transfer – Adam Knollmeyer (Missouri
Science and Technology), Dustin Maguire (Northern Kentucky), Marcus Relphorde (Indian Hills) and Anthony
Mitchell.
Temple – The Owls will play in the Palmetto Classic in Charleston, S.C., a new tournament that will include the College of Charleston, Clemson and five other teams. Temple will also play against Tennessee (12/13) and at Kansas (12/20).
UMass – New coach Derek Kellogg hired a staff that includes Vance Walberg, Adam
Ginsburg, Antwon Jackson (William & Mary) and Andy Allison as the director
of basketball operations. The Minutemen will play in the Coaches vs. Cancer in Michigan and also have home games against Boston College and Vanderbilt and road games against Kansas and Houston. UMass will bring in Doug Wiggins (UConn) and lose
Max Groebe.
Xavier – Director of Operations Bill Comar left for a spot on the road at
Loyola-Chicago and has not been replaced yet. The Musketeers will play in the
Puerto Rico Tip-Off from Nov. 20-23 along with Memphis, USC and Virginia Tech. They will also play
non-conference games against Duke, Butler, Auburn,
LSU and Virginia.
NEW ENGLAND ELITE TOP
75
The New England Elite 75 Camp will be held Thursday, Aug. 14th at Boston University from 4-10 p.m.
The event, run by New England Basketball Services’ Adam Finkelstein, featured
nearly every top high school player from New England a year ago – regardless of grade.
Erik Murphy (Florida), UConn commits Alex Oriakhi and Jamal Coombs as well as Mike
Marra (Louisville), Tevin Baskin, Austin Carroll, Nate Lubick, Nadir Tharpe all
attended last year and are expected to return this year.
RANDOM NOTES: Paul Biancardi has
left St. Louis to take a full-time gig at ESPN.com. Biancardi was extremely
grateful to Rick Majerus for the opportunity this past season… Purdue’s Paul
Lusk has been promoted to associate head coach by Matt Painter. … New Orleans head coach Joe Pasternak nabbed another big-time
transfer with the addition of ex-Memphis wing Doneal Mack. The Privateers also
got Joey Cameron last week.
Jeff Goodman is a senior college basketball writer for FOXSports.com - This is the only place you'll find continuous daily updates from the world of college basketball, so check back as often as you'd like.