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HOW THEY'LL STACK UP
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XAVIER: Should christen Cintas Center with league championship.
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DAYTON: "Other" Ohio school will be heard from often this season.
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TEMPLE: No Pepe for whole season. No Karcher to pick up slack.
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UMASS: Monty Mack just not enough to carry Minutemen to top.
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GEORGE WASHINGTON: SirValiant (24.6 ppg) will give it up more.
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FORDHAM: Rose Hill suddenly a destination point for recruits thanks to Hill.
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ST. JOSEPH'S: Hawks have enough to break .500, but not much more.
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ST. BONAVENTURE: Not enough depth to string together magical seasons.
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RHODE ISLAND: Dinno Daniels takes the ball out of Marbury's hands.
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LA SALLE: Still hasn't shown it can be successful on this level.
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DUQUESNE: When football ends, does anyone notice these Dukes?
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Tuesday, Nov. 7
Xavier is the team to beat in the Atlantic 10 and Romain Sato could be one of the top newcomers in the country. The Musketeers have scorers at every position with Sato at shooting guard, Maurice McAfee at the point, Lloyd Price on the wing and Kevin Frey and David West inside.
But the Musketeers will find the Atlantic 10 one of the most balanced leagues in the nation, making it tougher to distance themselves. Temple, Dayton, Massachusetts and George Washington have the talent to win the title, with Fordham, St. Bonaventure and St. Joseph's all potential NIT teams.
The Atlantic 10 is going to one division this season, which could hurt teams trying to get at-large berths. In the two-division format, a team could hide itself by winning a weaker side.
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ESPN.com All-Atlantic 10
Guard: Monty Mack
Senior, 6-3, UMass
Guard: Tony Stanley
Senior, 6-4, Dayton
Guard: SirValiant Brown
Sophomore, 6-1, G. Washington
Forward: Lloyd Price
Junior, 6-5, Xavier
Forward: Rasual Butler
Junior, 6-7, La Salle
Player of Year ...
Monty Mack, Massachusetts:
The fifth-year senior gives the Minutemen everything a shooting guard should -- points, a go-to option in close games and leadership. Mack averaged 19.8 points a game last season, shooting 41 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from behind the 3-point arc.
Introducing ...
Jeff McMillan & Liberto Tetimadingar, Fs, Fordham:
McMillan led St. Thomas More to last year's New England prep school championship, beating Tetimadingar's Worcester (Mass.) Academy in the championship game. The 6-8, 250-pound McMillan will start at center, with the 6-8, 205-pound Tetimadingar next to him a power forward.
Best backcourt ...
Xavier: Maurice McAfee, Lionel Chalmers and Romain Sato. While Mack is the best guard in the conference, the Musketeers boast three pretty good ball-handlers who can score. McAfee led Xavier in scoring last year (15.1), while Sato comes in as Mr. Ohio Basketball. Chalmers sat out last year as a partial qualifier, but his quickness and knack of passing could allow McAfee to move to off-guard at times.
Best frontcourt ...
Massachusetts: Micah Brand, Kiwana Rhymer, Jackie Rogers. The only problem may be a lack of true small forward who can score. But Bruiser Flint has plenty of big bodies to rotate in and out in an effort to take some of the pressure off Mack in the backcourt. The juco transfer Rogers could be fun to watch, arriving from Barton County (Kan.) College, where he averaged 18.8 ppg. and 7.3 rpg.
Team on way up ...
Fordham: An NIT bid could await Bob Hill and the Rams after flirting with .500 last season. If good things don't happen this season, don't fret. The future is only going to get better with a healthy Cori Spencer (torn ACL) and strong 2001 recruiting class.
Team on way down ...
St. Bonaventure: Fans of the Bonnies could brag all last season about their team, and then watched it nearly upset Kentucky in overtime in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Well, the heart of last year's club is gone, meaning memories of Capers, Cyrus and Winn will have to suffice this season.
Tournament tough ...
NCAA: Xavier, Temple.
NIT: UMass, Dayton.
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ALSO SEE
ESPN.com Preseason Top 25
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