City of Basketball Love

Stephen Pianovich (@SPianovich)
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BROOKLYN – St. Joseph’s and La Salle were both tabbed as middle of the pack conference teams in the Preseason Atlantic 10 poll, which was released at the league’s media day Tuesday.

The Hawks were picked seventh with 194 points, while the Explorers were two spots behind them at ninth with 164 points. Dayton was picked as the league favorite and received 12 of 27 first-place votes, while Rhode Island was second in the poll and got eight votes for first. Defending regular season champion, Davidson, was picked third.

St. Joe’s is coming off a 13-18 campaign which featured a 7-11 Atlantic 10 mark. The Hawks do return DeAndre Bembry, who averaged 17.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game last season, leading the team in each category.

Bembry was chosen as a Preseason First-Team All-Atlantic 10 selection on Tuesday, as was La Salle’s Jordan Price. Price was the top scorer (17.2 ppg) on a La Salle team that went 17-16 last season and 8-10 in league play.

Despite its selection as league champs, the Flyers didn't have a player named on the top two preseason all-league teams; junior Kendall Pollard was a third-team selection. Davidson and Rhode Island had two players named apiece; the Wildcats had senior Jack Gibbs and Brian Sullivan on the first and second team, respectively, while the Rams had talented juniors Hassan Martin and E.C. Matthews both on the first team.

The complete Atlantic 10 preseason poll is as follows (first-place votes in parentheses):

1. Dayton (12) – 352 points
2. Rhode Island (8) – 347
3. Davidson (6) – 329
4. George Washington (1) – 285
5. VCU – 277
6. Richmond – 262
7. St. Joseph’s – 194
8. St. Bonaventure – 177
9. La Salle – 16
10. Massachusetts – 142
11. Duquesne – 113
12. Saint Louis – 96
13. George Mason – 52
14. Fordham - 45

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Atlantic 10 Preseason First Team
DeAndre Bembry (Jr., Saint Joseph's)
Jack Gibbs (Sr., Davidson)
E.C. Matthews (Jr., Rhode Island)
Hassan Martin (Jr., Rhode Island)
Jordan Price (R-Jr., La Salle)

Atlantic 10 Preseason Second Team
Patricio Garino (Sr., George Washington)
Kevin Larsen (Sr., George Washington)
Marcus Posley (Sr., St. Bonaventure)
Brian Sullivan (Sr., Davidson)
Shevon Thompson (Sr., George Mason)

Atlantic 10 Preseason Third Team
Mo Alie-Cox (Jr., VCU)
Terry Allen (Sr., Richmond)
Melvin Johnson (Sr., VCU)
ShawnDre' Jones (Jr., Richmond)
Kendall Pollard (Jr., Dayton)

Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Defensive Team
Mo Alie-Cox (Jr., VCU)
DeAndre Bembry (Jr., Saint Joseph's)
Patricio Garino (Sr., George Washington)
Hassan Martin (Jr., Rhode Island)
Mandell Thomas (Sr., Fordham)