The 2012–13 Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball season marks the 37th season of
Atlantic 10 Conference
The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Easte ...
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
. The season marks the first for new members
Butler
A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some al ...
and
VCU, and the last for departing members
Temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called church (building), churches), Hindui ...
and
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
. The
2013 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament will be held for the first time at
Barclays Center
Barclays Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association. The ...
in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behi ...
.
Preseason
Prior to the season, the Atlantic 10 welcomed new members,
Butler
A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some al ...
and
VCU. The two schools joined the conference immediately, rather than waiting a season as Butler initially intended, because they "weren't going to be allowed to play in the respective conference tournaments."
With the addition of these programs, the conference sits at 16 teams for one year, yet the conference slate stayed at 16 games. "The league had to be creative with its schedule knowing that it would be for only one season. Every team will play each team once with one rivalry game twice."
The conference moved the conference tournament to the
Barclays Center
Barclays Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The arena is home to the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association and the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association. The ...
in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...
, New York, after six seasons in
Atlantic City. Analysts predict "the league's Big Apple debut might result in a record number of bids for this stacked conference."
The contract lasts for five years. "I just think it's going to be a rebirth of college basketball in New York," said
Fordham coach
Tom Pecora, who was born in the borough.
For the 2012–13 season, Butler lost
Ronald Nored
Ronald Nored (born March 1, 1990) is an American basketball coach, currently an assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Previously he served as the head coach of the Long Island Nets of the NBA G League ...
to graduation and Chrishawn Hopkins to a violation of team rules, but returned nearly every other significant player and added key players in transfer
Rotnei Clarke
Rotnei Clarke (born July 20, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for Scafati Basket of the Italian Serie A2 Basket. He played college basketball for the University of Arkansas and Butler University before beginning his profe ...
and freshman Kellen Dunham.
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
's Chris Braswell "might be the best big man in the league, and the 49ers have a good recruiting class entering the fold."
Dayton's frontcourt garnered press for its depth, with
Kevin Dillard
Kevin Andre Dillard (born October 15, 1989) is an American professional basketball player for KK Gostivar of the Macedonian First League.
High school
Dillard attended and played high school basketball Homewood-Flossmoor High School, in Flossmoo ...
returning as
point guard, along with transfers Vee Sanford and Matt Derenbecker.
"Va. Tech transfer Tyrone Garland joins a loaded perimeter group" at
La Salle, and
"could be a title threat" with point guard
Chaz Williams
Chaz Calvaron Williams (born April 6, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for Njarðvík of the Úrvalsdeild karla. He played college basketball for University of Massachusetts (UMass) and was considered one of the top point gu ...
, who returned along with three other starters following a run to the NIT semifinals.
2012 A10 tournament champion
Saint Bonaventure
Bonaventure ( ; it, Bonaventura ; la, Bonaventura de Balneoregio; 1221 – 15 July 1274), born Giovanni di Fidanza, was an Italian Catholic Franciscan, bishop, cardinal, scholastic theologian and philosopher.
The seventh Minister Gen ...
faced potential struggle after the loss of
Andrew Nicholson, who "was a dominant force throughout his career."
However, the Bonnies returned Marquise Simmons and Michael Davenport from injuries.
Saint Joseph's returned everyone "from a team that was in the mix for an NCAA bid until late."
Saint Louis was the favorite among many analysts because, although it lost
Brian Conklin, the team returned Kwamain Mitchell and "locks down on D."
The Billikens are without coach
Rick Majerus
Richard Raymond Majerus (February 17, 1948 – December 1, 2012) was an American basketball coach and TV analyst. He coached at Marquette University (1983–1986), Ball State University (1987–1989), the University of Utah (1989–2004), and S ...
, who "is taking a leave of absence for health reasons."
Majerus died on December 1, 2012, prompting Commissioner Bernadette McGlade's statement, "The entire Atlantic 10 family is grieving tonight over the loss of coach Majerus. His undeniable knowledge and love of the game was known to all, and he was an excellent teacher committed to the student-athlete. This passion made his impact on A-10 basketball over the past five years immeasurable. He will be missed at Saint Louis , within the A-10 and nationally; our prayers and condolences are with coach Majerus’
family and the Saint Louis University community."
Perpetual favorites
Temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called church (building), churches), Hindui ...
and
Xavier both lost "key weapons" but neither were expected to have a "huge drop" as Temple's "Scootie Randall will be healthy
ndKhalif Wyatt
Khalif Wyatt (born June 10, 1991) is an American professional basketball player who last played for SCM U Craiova in the Liga Națională. He was the Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year as a college basketball senior in the 2012–13 sea ...
is back" and Xavier adds
Semaj Christon
Semaj Rakim Christon (born November 1, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for Derthona Basket of the Italian LBA. He played college basketball for Xavier.
High school career
The Cincinnati, Ohio native attended Winton Woods High ...
and Isaiah Philmore.
However, Xavier lost all of its starters and half of its "highly regarded recruiting class (Myles Davis and Jalen Reynolds) to academic issues."
CBS analyst Jeff Borzello noted that "It will be interesting to see how VCU adjusts in its first year. With that said, the Rams return many of their weapons from last season."
However, the rams do not have freshmen recruits Mo Alie-Cox and Jordan Burgess, who "is considered a top 100 recruit," as the school announced they were only partial qualifiers by the NCAA and thus were not eligible to compete until at least the 2013–14 season.
Atlantic 10 preseason poll
Source
Atlantic 10 preseason teams
Source
Conference Previews
Several media outlets projected the final Atlantic 10 Conference standings for the 2012–13 season:
Preseason watchlists
Regular season
Rankings
A-10 vs. other conferences
''As of 12/3/2012''
Weekly honors
Throughout the conference regular season, the
Atlantic 10
The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located in states mostly on the United States Eastern ...
offices name a player of the week and rookie of the week each Monday.
Butler's Roosevelt Jones was named the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week on January 21, 2013.
Postseason
Atlantic 10 All-Conference teams
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2012-13 Atlantic 10 Conference Men's Basketball Season